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Every Power Sasuke Has On Naruto Explained

The rivalry between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki is a vivid exploration of the old adage "steel sharpens steel." The final thread of the legendary Uchiha Clan of the Hidden Leaf is the classic cool, tough guy. His strength pushes the outcast Naruto to become stronger, and in return, Sasuke has to continually keep growing and exploring to keep up with his once and forever teammate. Eventually, Sasuke emerges as one of the strongest fighters on the whole planet, with a collection of powers made up of his prodigious hereditary skills honed by his wide assortment of strong senseis.

The jutsu and skills he possesses are vast and varied, yet they fall under a list of base powers he taps into and evolves throughout the series. To understand his abilities, you need to understand the powers behind them. Some come from his base chakra types. Some come from his dojutsu. Some come from his eventual Sage powers. He is taught some powers, he develops some powers on his own, and he inherits even more. One thing is undeniable, however — Sasuke is continually evolving his natural gifts, developing skills and abilities any other shinobi could only hope for.

Fire powers

Fire style is such a staple to the Uchiha clan that it's how Sasuke and Itachi's father first gauges their powers — by teaching them to blow out a huge fireball on the end of the family dock. When Sasuke is unable to pick up the power as quickly as Itachi, it seems to disappoint his father. But soon, Sasuke manages to create a fireball jutsu that looks like it could engulf a house. While his other skills mostly surpass his fire style, his evolving fire style jutsu serves him well, even in his battle against Kaguya.

His fireball jutsu may amount to easily evaded fireballs, however the Phoenix Sage Fire jutsu shoots a bunch of fireballs at his opponents. He can even augment them with shuriken, and when it comes to pure badassery, not much tops a flaming shuriken. Then there are fire releases like the Great Dragon Fire jutsu, which shoots out two large dragon-head fireballs which can bust through about anything, and also create the clouds necessary for his lightning striking Kirin technique.

Lightning powers

The other chakra nature Sasuke has developed from a young age is lightning. His first new super-powerful technique is the lightning-based Chidori taught to him by Kakashi. It's essentially an electric fist, allowing the wielder to punch with a lightning bolt. For a long time, the original Chidori is one of Sasuke's go-to attacks, but it evolves. He learns how to form it into various shapes like a long spear and countless lightning darts. He can send the lightning down his sword or blast it out in all directions.

Of course, as is the case for his fire releases, there are some more advanced lightning releases. One of those is also one of the coolest, most massive lightning powers you could imagine — the Kirin. It's basically a dragon-shaped lightning bolt that Sasuke can control with chakra. At one point, Sasuke's Kirin is strong enough to destroy Itachi's Susanoo, and during that fight the Kirin also pretty much levels a mountaintop. 

Chidori combos

This skill could arguably be included in the list of Sasuke's lightning powers. At the same time, these are techniques really only possible through Sasuke's enhancements. For instance, the Six Paths Dark Chidori is unique because Sasuke needs to gain power from the original Six Paths Sage, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, before he can use it. When he applies that Six Paths Sage power to his Chidori, it creates a darker version of the original strong enough to cut jinchuriki-mode Madara Uchiha in half.

Of course, the strongest Chidori combo is the Kagutsuchi Chidori. It is the culmination of Sasuke's rivalry with Naruto. Since they decide to celebrate having saved the world with a final battle seemingly to the death, it makes sense that Sasuke combines his Chidori with his Kagutsuchi, which allows him to control Amaterasu. Essentially, this makes a Chidori so next-level that it mitigates Naruto's Six Paths Rasengan, blowing up both of their arms and the Valley of the End. One could only imagine the power of this move if it actually landed.

Sharingan genjutsu

The Uchiha would be known as a formidable clan thanks to their fire style and their tradition of intense training. Their signature Sharingan, though, is why they are so feared by the higher-ups of the rest of Konoha that Danzo has them wiped out. There are many unique powers granted by the Sharingan, but the genjutsu these eyes grant the user might rank among the most fearsome. We first see this when Itachi captures Kakashi in his Tsukuyomi, trapping Kakashi inside his own mind where he gets stabbed over and over for days, all within about a moment of real time. Sasuke has this genjutsu power, and the frightening thing is that all he needs to do to capture you is look you in the eyes.

Sasuke mostly uses it to freeze his opponents, rendering them unconscious likely by trapping them in their own brains. The first time we see it, Sasuke traps Sai in a crazy world just by looking at him. Again, thanks to the Sharingan, Sasuke can do that simply by making eye contact. While the ability eventually gets enhanced by the addition of a Rinnegan, his Sharingan genjutsu is formidable by itself. Sasuke even uses it to defeat the uber-powerful Orochimaru when the villain tries to transfer to his body (again, mostly to possess the Sharingan).

Snake powers

Among other things, Orochimaru is known for his snake abilities. One of his many serpentine tricks is the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, and Sasuke learns it while under the Sannin's tutelage. With this ability, Sasuke can send several snakes out of his arm; snakes which grow long enough to launch a mid-distance attack. This attack also possesses the element of surprise since it's a bunch of long-reaching snakes that just shoot out of a sleeve — nobody expects that.

Another snake ability Sasuke learns is the Binding Snake Glare jutsu. At one point, he uses this to subdue two of his teammates while he's making his own four-person rogue team. The ability lets Sasuke shoot a snake out of each sleeve. Each snake grabs a shinobi, wraps them up, and keeps them from moving. This highly effective technique can stop almost any shinobi. They might be able to fight snakes, but surprise magic snakes are a whole different story.

Multiple summonings

It's a rare honor for a shinobi to sign a summoning contract with a ninja animal, and only the most elite ninja in the land have personal summons. Naruto has Gamabunta, though that was bestowed upon him by Jiraiya. Sakura's sensei, Tsunade, gave her Katsuyu the slug as a summoning. Kakashi can summon dogs. The Third Hokage can summon a monkey king who turns into a staff and a few others have a summoning partner. Meanwhile, Sasuke has two summons.

Sasuke gains the ability to summon the snake king Manda and, after summoning Manda to his own demise so Sasuke can hide from a blast from Deidara, Sasuke shows the ability to summon another huge snake, Aoda. After demonstrating that he can summon snakes, Sasuke shows the ability to summon a giant hawk, Garuda. While most shinobi can't summon any great ninja animal, Sasuke has a snake and a hawk. This partially explains why, when he forms his own team, he originally calls it Team Hebi (Japanese for snake) and then changes the name to Team Taka (Japanese for hawk). 

It would be really cool if he summoned them both at the same time, but since hawks are known to grab and fly off with snakes to eat them, it's doubtful Aoda would agree to the arrangement.

Amaterasu

While Amaterasu is technically a fire release, it's such a powerful ability that it warrants its own explanation, especially as Sasuke evolves the ability. It also follows in the tradition of the most powerful Sharingan abilities being named after Shinto deities. In Japanese mythology, Amaterasu is the sun goddess from whom the Japanese emperor is supposedly descended. Another "Naruto" skill named after a goddess is Tsukuyomi — named after the moon goddess — an ability Sasuke never seems to attain. Itachi first introduces us to Tsukuyomi, and he brings out Amaterasu in his epic battle with Sasuke. That battle ends with Itachi gifting Sasuke his eye and the ability to use Amaterasu.

Whether Sasuke could have learned Amaterasu himself, we'll never know. What we do know is that it's a powerful fire release connected to vision; the fire will burn whatever the user looks at and won't go out until it's fully incinerated. He uses it to take down Killer B, the first jinchuriki we see who can work with his Tailed Beast. Yet the Amaterasu is a black flame that can burn through almost everything and is unstoppable. So, to reemphasize our point, this is no standard fire release. Eventually, Sasuke figures out the Kagutsuchi, which allows Sasuke to shape and manipulate the Amaterasu; over time, he learns to combine it with his Chidori.

Susanoo

Three heavenly siblings in Shintoism are Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and their brother, the deity of storms, Susanoo. It fits that arguably the greatest form any Sharingan user can take on is Susanoo; specifically, the Perfect Susanoo, a massive samurai made of chakra that looks like an ancient shinobi mech. Throughout history we've seen it as the ultimate weapon form for any Uchiha, from Madara riding Nine-Tails into the final battle against Hashirama to Itachi breaking his Susanoo out against Sasuke. As far as Sasuke's Perfect Susanoo goes, it has even more importance than the rest, as it straight up saves the world.

That is, Sasuke's Susanoo protects Team 7 from Madara-Kaguya's Infinite Tsukuyomi, thus allowing them to regroup and eventually to re-seal Kaguya Otsutsuki. When Sasuke is able to have his Susanoo wield his Amaterasu like a weapon, it's a truly awesome and frightening display of power. Plus, Susanoo weapons are next-level, including Indra's Arrow which channels Nine-Tails power into a lightning arrow Sasuke's Susanoo can launch to devastating results.

To round out the Uchiha-Shinto deity circle, Izanagi and Izanami are the parents of Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo. While Sasuke is never seen using it, he sees Danzo use Izanagi, which allows you to restructure what happened in the world, for instance, change the moment when you're killed. Sasuke also sees Itachi use Izanami, which puts one's opponent in an endless time loop. So, probably at some point, Sasuke will be able to use those abilities as well.

Rinnegan paths

Sasuke doesn't get the Rinnegan until the showdown against Kaguya in "Naruto: Shippuden" when Hagoromo gives Sasuke half of his chakra. When that happens, the Rinnegan takes Sasuke's powers to deific levels. This is especially thanks to his Rinnegan, which is considered the most powerful dojutsu. Thanks to the Rinnegan, he can use several more special abilities, or paths, than seemingly any human in existence.

One path lets him pull objects towards a big floating object; another lets him push objects away, both of which are first displayed by Nagato. Sasuke can see invisible enemies and can therefore theoretically use all the other Rinnegan paths, including pulling out the souls of his opponents, bringing dead people back to life, and other abilities normally associated with gods. Of course, the Rinnegan has other great abilities, some of which augment Sasuke's already-formidable powers, others of which allow him the ability to travel through time and space like it's a walk down the road.

Amenotejikara

With Sasuke's Rinnegan, he can perform all sorts of next-level techniques. One of those is Amenotejikara, a truly formidable skill. Throughout "Naruto," one of the most impressive but basic skills is the Substitution jutsu, where a shinobi can make a clone out of a simple object. It's a cheap trick, but one that works well on lower-level opponents. With the Rinnegan, Sasuke can execute a real switch. The Amenotejikara lets Sasuke go wherever his eye takes him.

That is, Sasuke can switch places with an object. For example, Sasuke can leave behind his sword, then switch places with it to surprise an enemy. Or if he's getting attacked, he can easily switch places with another person so he's safe and the other person gets attacked instead. While some characters, like Minato, can teleport, it usually requires focus and a setup. Sasuke can change his location with just a blink of his Rinnegan eye. Plus, he can shift objects or other people to other places using just his eyes. Sasuke is a true master of geospatial movement thanks to his magical gift from Hagoromo.

Interdimensional Space-Time jutsu

The first time we see there may be some sort of alternate dimension in "Naruto" is when Kakashi uses his Kamui to suck things out of existence. Eventually we discover that Kamui actually takes objects to a separate dimension, though it always goes to the same one. Kaguya, on the other hand, is capable of transporting herself and her opponents to actual alternate universes thanks to her Rinnegan. 

Also due to the Rinnegan, Sasuke learns how to travel through her dimensions, and even into Momoshiki's dimension. Using this skill seriously drains him, and he has limits to how many people he can transport with him to the other universes. That said, he has some epic pseudo-multiverse traveling skills thanks to the Rinnegan. There's no Doctor Strange magic or Quantum Realm navigation necessary. All he needs is one purple eye full of equidistant rings. The Sharingan might help too, though, who knows?

Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei

Sasuke is Naruto's counterpart in more than just appearance and personality. As the pair of fighters are reincarnations of Indra and Ashura, Sasuke is the yin to Naruto's yang. Quite literally. Naruto gets a sun circle on his palm while Sasuke gets a moon. The two of them are the reincarnations of the sons of Hagoromo and receive these powers and marks to help them finally defeat and seal Kaguya.

The battle between Team 7 and Kaguya, anticipated for forgotten generations, is epic. They all combine their skills and wits to present some offensive and defensive powers they never even envisioned when they were just genin. The story has to culminate in the stopping of Kaguya, but how do you stop an all-powerful goddess? You trap her in a small planet, of course. When Naruto and Sasuke's hands both land on Kaguya, they trigger the Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei, which traps her in a floating rock pile about the size of a moon. 

While Sasuke can't do this alone, being one equal half of the team that finally does subdue Kaguya makes him one of the most powerful shinobi ever.

He can use and combine all chakra types

When Jiraiya recounts his first encounter with Nagato's Rinnegan, he explains that not only is the fabled eye a gift from the Sage of Six Paths allowing the possessor to master any jutsu as well as all five nature transformations with ease — he sees Nagato use these abilities firsthand. Therefore, with the Rinnegan, so too can Sasuke access all chakra natures in a way not seen since the Ōtsutsuki Clan was relegated to legend. 

Sasuke starts off with fire and then lightning chakra nature. Those are fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water. It is possible to learn to use all chakra natures — legend has it that Hiruzen Sarutobi, Lord Third Hokage, knew all jutsu and could therefore use all chakra natures. Sasuke, possessing the Rinnegan, Sharingan, and already two natures, is therefore able to learn all natures much more quickly. 

Controlling tailed beasts

While the Sharingan obviously provides many advantages, one of the reasons it's sought by power-hungry shinobi is its ability to control the Tailed Beasts. This control is why many Konoha higher-ups think a Uchiha might have set the Nine Tails on the village. It is how Madara rides an entranced Nine Tails against Hashirama in their final showdown. It's also why Sasuke can walk right up to the Nine Tails inside Naruto's head without fear. The Rinnegan, though, seems to have even stronger power over the Tailed Beasts, as it allows Sasuke to subdue them after defeating Kaguya. Basically, he controls them through a super-powerful genjutsu.

Obito seems to be able to control them even better with his Rinnegan, as he can stop and chain them all to reanimate the Ten Tails. This no doubt comes from the fact that the Sage of Six Paths first split the Ten Tails into nine tailed beasts. While one could argue that the power a great jinchuriki, like Naruto or B, wield over their Tailed Beasts is stronger than that of a dojutsu since it's based on shared experience and camaraderie, the fact remains that Sasuke can use his visual prowess to wield all the beasts, going for quantity over quality. 

Taijutsu skills

All of his ninjutsu and genjutsu aside, there's one undeniable fact — Sasuke is a superb fighter. The flashbacks all show a young Sasuke throwing a kunai perfectly on target while Naruto can hardly hit the wood. It shows him admiring and emulating Itachi's upside-down kunai throwing exercise. During the Chunin Exam Arc, he can copy Rock Lee's prodigious Taijutsu skills thanks to his eyes and ability. It doesn't stop there, however.

Sasuke eventually adopts the Kusanagi blade, named after a legendary Japanese sword, and wields it with aplomb. While at times he applies his jutsu powers to his weapons, he's also seen taking down a veritable army without killing a single soldier to his then-sensei Orochimaru's displeasure. In this way, Sasuke is like a star athlete who's just physically and naturally better than everybody. It's also a testament to the Sharingan that Sasuke can learn any move as quickly as he does. 

So, here's the deal — if somehow you can get through Sasuke's fire and lightning and dojutsu and his giant samurai and his pet Tailed Beasts, he'll probably still kick your butt with his regular ol' physical fighting skills.