Susanoo

Susanoo is an ability granted to those who awaken the powers of both their Mangekyō Sharingan. It creates a gigantic, humanoid being that surrounds the user and fights on their behalf. As one of the strongest techniques granted to those that have acquired the Mangekyō Sharingan, it is the user's guardian deity, but at the same time, it consumes the user's life force and damages their body over time. With continued mastery of Susanoo, the user can bypass this weakness and can continue to sustain Susanoo with the only concern being their chakra reservoir.

Overview
According to Sasuke Uchiha, Susanoo is the third power granted to those who attain the. Obito Uchiha claimed that a pair of Sharingan capable of activating Susanoo is a rarity. Since it is formed through the materialisation of the user's chakra, Susanoo's abilities, appearance and colour vary among individuals. The user is able to freely move around within Susanoo's body as well as levitate inside of it, and can also leave its body entirely while maintaining it. It is also possible for others to enter Susanoo when allowed by the user. While Susanoo acts as a defence against external attacks, anything coming out of its body will simply pass through it. In the event that it is damaged or destroyed, Susanoo can easily be reformed, provided that the user is still physically capable of doing so.

Several users of this technique have demonstrated the ability to activate and maintain Susanoo without having their Mangekyō Sharingan active, or even their regular Sharingan. Madara was able to use this technique even without having any eyes.

Weaknesses
As with other techniques granted by the Mangekyō Sharingan, the user's eyes are strained while using Susanoo and a large amount of their chakra is consumed. Sasuke described the sensation of using this technique as feeling pain in every cell in his body, which only increased through prolonged use and as Susanoo developed. Because the user is able to freely pass through Susanoo, it is possible for an opponent to forcibly remove them from it; Gaara, for example, was able to drag Madara outside of his Susanoo using the sand under his feet. A sufficiently powerful attack can result in damage being done to Susanoo, especially during the technique's developmental stages, after which the user is left open to attack. Susanoo cannot defend against attacks which do not actually deal physical damage to it, such as strong lights and sounds, sound-based genjutsu, and paralysing pollen, all of which can impair the user's ability to sustain it.

Development
As it develops, Susanoo goes through several different forms, which the user can switch between at will; in the case of the first two stages, the user can also leave it in a state between forms. In its later stages, this technique can prevent enemies from reaching the user unless they can get through Susanoo's various layers. Susanoo's development was best demonstrated while Sasuke was learning how to use the technique, gaining additional forms as his control over it increased. When first activating the technique, the user can only manifest a portion of Susanoo's skeleton, such as a smaller version of its ribcage which, while providing a good defence, can still be fractured, as well as melted. The user can form other parts of the skeletal structure, such as an arm, to interact with their surroundings, or to wield one of Susanoo's weapons. When first forming, Susanoo manifests around the user as an aura.

Eventually, the user is able to form the entirety of Susanoo's skeletal structure. As it develops further, additional musculature and skin form atop Susanoo's bones, progressively completing its body until it enters a fully manifested form. In its next form, this fully humanoid shape is further surrounded by a layer of armour that causes it to resemble a yamabushi. Additionally, while users of this technique often only form Susanoo's upper body, it is possible to manifest a lower body complete with legs, granting Susanoo increased mobility.

Users who attain perfect mastery over this technique are capable of stabilising the chakra that comprises Susanoo, causing it to enter a colossal form known as the. In this state, Susanoo is clad in armour akin to that of a samurai, wearing robes, pointed boots and body armour on its shoulders and waist. The appearance of its helmet varies from user to user, though all known variations feature a long tengu-like nose. Susanoo's secondary arms also form into wings, allowing it to fly.

Itachi's Version
Itachi unlocked Susanoo by awakening Tsukuyomi in his left eye and Amaterasu in his right. His Susanoo is yellow in the manga, whereas in the anime its skeletal and armoured forms are red and its fully manifested form is orange. Itachi's Susanoo has a human-like skeleton with no visible abnormalities. In its fully manifested form, its face is framed by locks of hair, with an appendage on its chin reminiscent of a Pharaoh's false beard. Itachi's Susanoo has two sets of arms, which are conjoined at the elbows; the secondary arms are manifested as required. In its final form, the armour that surrounds Itachi's Susanoo resembles a long-nosed tengu and it wears a pair of magatama earrings.

In its primary left hand, Itachi's Susanoo wields the Yata Mirror, a shield which is endowed with all five nature transformations, allowing it to change its own characteristics depending on the the attack it receives, thus nullifying it. With its right hands it wields the Sword of Totsuka. The blade, also known as the, is a variant of the Sword of Kusanagi and is wielded by Susanoo's primary right hand and sheathed in a sake jar held by its second right hand. It is an ethereal weapon with an enchanted blade capable of sealing anyone it pierces, and can also cut through opponents and objects like a normal blade. Victims of the sword are trapped in a genjutsu-like "world of drunken dreams" for all eternity. According to Black Zetsu, the Sword of Totsuka combined with the Yata Mirror essentially made Itachi invincible. For long-range attacks, Itachi is able to use the powerful Yasaka Magatama. In the manga, Itachi's Susanoo is also able to wield a sword resembling a curved dagger in its skeletal form.

Sasuke's Version
Sasuke unlocked Susanoo by awakening Amaterasu in his left eye and the power to shape its black flames with Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi in his right. His Susanoo is purple in the anime and digitally coloured manga, though it was initially depicted as a dark shade of blue in the manga. Sasuke's development of Susanoo was marked by intense feelings of hatred; whenever angered by the words or actions of his opponents, Susanoo grew in power. His Susanoo was, accordingly, noted to be much darker in composition compared to Itachi's. In both its skeletal and fully manifested forms, it has a more demonic appearance in contrast to Itachi's, possessing horns, a long appendage on its chin and a malevolent grin. Sasuke's Susanoo can form up to four arms, manifesting the secondary arms as needed. When it first entered its armoured form, the tengu-like layer of armour surrounding it appeared identical to that of Itachi's armoured Susanoo, save for having jagged teeth around its hood. After Sasuke gained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, the layer of armour worn by his Susanoo changed in appearance. The mouth of the armour took on a beak-like shape, its arms gained additional plating and it overall became more ghastly in appearance.

Sasuke's skeletal Susanoo is able to wield a sword in its left hand. In its fully manifested form, his Susanoo wields a bow in its left hand and an orb capable of producing weapons, including arrows for use with said bow, in its second right hand. In Susanoo's armoured form, its bow grows in size and takes on a more shield-like appearance. After entering its armoured form for the first time, Sasuke's Susanoo demonstrated the ability to manifest an orb of black flames, which it can also wield in its earlier forms. Using Blaze Release: Susanoo Kagutsuchi, Sasuke can produce various weapons from the orb, including a blade wielded by Susanoo's primary right hand, which can be used to stab his targets and set them ablaze, and arrows which can be utilised with Susanoo's bow. Sasuke can also produce tomoe-shaped projectiles from the orb to set his opponents on fire from a distance.

By the late stages of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Sasuke was able to conjure legs for his fully manifested Susanoo and likewise greatly increase its overall size. Upon first stabilising Susanoo's chakra, Sasuke was able to shape it into armour for Naruto Uzumaki's Tailed Beast Mode. In that state, it wielded a plated sword which was able to cut through even the famed Sword of Nunoboko. After obtaining the Six Paths Yin Power from Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki and awakening the Rinnegan, the face of his fully manifested Susanoo temporarily changed; holes appeared in its cheeks, and it no longer bore a grin.

After further refining his control over this technique, Sasuke can stabilise Susanoo's chakra to create its "Complete Body" form. In this state, its helmet features a long tengu nose, two spikes over each eye, a slit stretching across its mouth, three gaps on each of its cheeks and one additional gap on its chin. Susanoo's winged secondary arms allow for flight, while retaining small fingers used to hold its pair of katana when not in use. In conjunction with Sasuke's Rinnegan, it was able to block out the light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Sasuke is also able to use his Chidori through this form.

Madara's Version
The two powers Madara unlocked to use Susanoo are unknown. Nevertheless, his Susanoo is blue in colour. It is made up of two entirely different sides that are conjoined along their spine, both of which have a distinct face. The front face has elongated canine teeth in its lower jaw bracket and two tusks growing from said jaw, while the back face has similarly elongated canine teeth in its upper jaw bracket and a single horn protruding from its forehead. It wields a pair of undulating blades, one being held by the right hand of both its sides. Madara's Susanoo is able to manifest a lower half with legs and feet.

Susanoo itself appears to be capable of contributing toward some of Madara's techniques, as it was seen forming hand seals when he drew down two meteorites. It is also able to use the powerful Yasaka Magatama for a ranged attack. Madara demonstrated the ability to combine this technique with the Multiple Wood Release Clone Technique to create a multitude of these ethereal warriors.

Upon entering its armoured form, Madara's Susanoo becomes an enormous construct, standing taller than the wreckage of his meteorites. The outer armour, which is fluid in nature and only remotely resembles the usual tengu-like armour, splits down the middle from its forehead down, revealing Susanoo's eyes while obscuring the rest of its face. Its arms gain plating and the secondary set wield its undulating blades. While in this form, the two front hands always appear to be forming the Tiger hand seal.

Madara's mastery over Susanoo allows him to manifest the "Complete Body" form, in which its head gains a long tengu nose and two lines running down from its mouth to its chin area, as well as hair which is tied up at the sides. Its primary arms lose their plating and decrease in size, while its secondary arms extend behind its shoulders as wings. Rather than undulating blades, this form wields a pair of straight katana, which are sheathed by its winged secondary arms and wielded by its primary arms. According to Madara, the offensive power of his Susanoo is comparable to that of a tailed beast. Madara has displayed the ability to equip his stabilised Susanoo onto Kurama to complement their respective abilities.

Indra's Version
The two powers Indra awakened to unlock Susanoo are unknown. However, as the first user of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Indra attained complete mastery over Susanoo, allowing him to manifest its "Complete Body" form. In said form, it has accentuated eye-holes, a long tengu nose, a spike over each eye, a slit across its mouth and three gaps on each of its cheeks.

Kakashi's Version
After receiving Obito's chakra and Sharingan powers, Kakashi manifested the dōjutsu in both of his own eyes, gaining access to both powers of Kamui — the short-range version in his right eye and the long-range version in his left eye — and thus unlocking the ability to use Susanoo. Kakashi was immediately able to stabilise Susanoo into its "Complete Body" form, in which it had the characteristic tengu nose, a forehead protector-like plating on its head, two locks of hair falling on either side of its face, a hole in its chin and a vertical mark extending across its left eye, similar to Kakashi's own signature scar. Its secondary set of arms formed wings, allowing for flight. By combining Susanoo with Kamui, Kakashi was able to launch multiple giant shuriken which warped away whatever they hit. His Susanoo could also wield a katana.

Shisui's Version
In the anime, Shisui gained access to this technique after unlocking Kotoamatsukami in both of his Mangekyō Sharingan. It is green in colour and has a wide mouth with elongated lower canine teeth. The construct has rounded shoulders with blade-like appendages on them as well as on the side of its face and along its forearms. Its right arm wields a drill-like lance that can be used in unison with Shisui's Fire Release to create a vortex of flames. It is also able to unleash a barrage of chakra needles.

Tailed Beast Influence
By forming a mirrored Ram hand seal, Sasuke drew the nine tailed beasts that were trapped in Chibaku Tensei satellites toward him and absorbed their chakra using his Complete Body — Susanoo as a vessel in place of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. His Susanoo then entered a form in which its armour contained a giant humanoid construct made of chakra, with lightning-natured chakra emanating from its back. Sasuke was able to produce a bow and arrows out of said chakra, with one such arrow being strong enough to counter two of Naruto Uzumaki's most powerful techniques.

Senjutsu Influence
Sasuke's Susanoo has shown the ability to take on the properties of Jūgo's Sage Transformation, resulting in what Orochimaru referred to as a. In this form, Susanoo has markings similar to Sasuke's Cursed Seal of Heaven.

Weaponry
As users gain more control over Susanoo, they are able to extend their power by forming weapons. Like Susanoo itself, the appearance and abilities of the manifested weapons vary between individuals. Additionally, as Susanoo becomes more powerful, its weapons do so as well.

Sword
All known users of Susanoo are able to manifest at least one sword for the ethereal warrior to wield. Despite their variations, each sword is extremely effective, and in the case of some users, the swords evolve along with Susanoo.


 * Itachi's Susanoo wielded a blade which was curved in nature and resembled a dagger or tantō rather than a sword. Itachi demonstrated the ability to manifest this blade while only forming his Susanoo's ribcage and arms. With it, he was able to cut through Kimimaro's bones, which were stated to be harder than tempered steel.
 * Sasuke's Susanoo is capable of utilising a blade resembling a sabre in its skeletal form, which is wielded by its primary left arm. Sasuke was able to use it to cut through several stone pillars with ease.
 * In its fully manifested form, Sasuke's Susanoo is able to generate a blade resembling an Ōdachi from the orb in its second right hand, with which it was capable of cutting through the roots of the tree form of the Ten-Tails.
 * Upon reaching its armoured form, Sasuke's Susanoo gained an orb made of black flames, from which Sasuke is able to forge a blade wielded by his Susanoo's primary right hand.
 * When Sasuke equipped his Susanoo onto Kurama, it wielded a plated sabre which, while enhanced by senjutsu, overpowered the Sword of Nunoboko.
 * Sasuke's Complete Body — Susanoo wields a pair of katana, with which it could cut through the satellites formed by Chibaku Tensei. When not in use, the blades are held by the hands on Susanoo's winged secondary arms.
 * Madara's Susanoo wields distinct, undulating blades, which resemble kris. The blades are held by the right arm of both sides of his Susanoo in its skeletal and fully manifested forms, and Madara can materialise one while only surrounded by his Susanoo's aura. He is able to throw it as a guided projectile. In the anime, Madara was able to manifest swords in all four of his Susanoo's arms; the blades left traces of blue, fire-like chakra in the ground after impacting and could unleash tremendous shockwaves capable of obliterating numerous shinobi in a single strike. When wielded by its armoured form, the blades were shown to be strong enough to block a caught Tailed Beast Ball being pushed against them by Hashirama Senju's Wood Release: Wood Human Technique.
 * In its "Complete Body" form, the blades more closely resemble traditional katana, complete with sheaths. Said sheaths are held by his Susanoo's back, plated arms, while the swords themselves are wielded by its front arms. Madara can use these to cut through a range of mountains in the distance with a single swing. The blades could be partitioned to a Tailed Beast Ball during its formation, giving it cutting power and preventing it from being caught.
 * Kakashi's Complete Body — Susanoo wields a katana with its primary right arm.

Bow
In its fully manifested form, Sasuke's Susanoo is capable of wielding an unusually shaped bow, which manifests on the wrist of its left arm. In its second right hand, his Susanoo holds an orb capable of creating arrows which can be grabbed by Susanoo's front right hand and fired through the bow at such a speed that evading them is nearly impossible. The bow can double as a shield strong enough to withstand attacks capable of shaving away at the terrain in Susanoo's immediate vicinity. The arrows, which are seemingly made with variable thickness based on the user's discretion, travel at a very high velocity and possess considerable piercing power; enough to easily breach a tree created by Wood Release. Even Kakashi Hatake, a ninja noted for his speed supplemented by the Sharingan's keen perception, was unable to dodge the arrows and was instead forced to use Kamui to warp them away. Only Kabuto Yakushi, while utilising the extrasensory capabilities of Sage Mode, has been able to successfully avoid one of these arrows thus far.

When Sasuke's Susanoo enters its armoured form, the bow gains a notable increase in size, more closely resembling a shield. Sasuke also gained access to an orb made up of black flames, which can be manifested in any of his Susanoo's forms. Sasuke later demonstrated the ability to produce arrows made up of black flames from said orb and launch them with his fully manifested form's bow.

After absorbing the chakra of the nine tailed beasts, Sasuke's Susanoo produced a longbow made purely of lightning chakra. The lightning arrow fired from said bow was powerful enough to completely counter Naruto's senjutsu-enhanced Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken and Wind Release: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken simultaneously, as Sasuke claimed it to be his most powerful attack.

Shuriken
Akin to the Yasaka Magatama, Susanoo can also manifest multiple shuriken, as demonstrated by Kakashi. They take the shape of the user's Mangekyō pattern and while handheld in proportion to Susanoo, their individual size is massive.

Lance
In its fully manifested form, Shisui's Susanoo wields a lance that has a dual function as a drill. It is often used with Shisui's Fire Release techniques to create more damage.

Influence

 * Similar to other Mangekyō Sharingan abilities, Susanoo was taken from Japanese mythology: Susanoo is the wild god of sea and storms, brother to Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. He was born from Izanagi washing his nose. Susanoo inherited his father's sword Totsuka no Tsurugi, which Izanagi used to kill his newborn son, Kagu-Tsuchi after his birth burned his mother, Izanami, to death. After his exile for his relentless harassment of Amaterasu, Susanoo redeemed himself when he used Totsuka to slay the serpent Yamata no Orochi and obtained the Sword of Kusanagi from the monster's corpse. He later gave the acquired blade to Amaterasu as a peace offering.
 * Susanoo's designs are based on, well known yokai that are associated with the ascetic practice of shugendō. In their final forms, the Susanoo are garbed in the attire of shugendō practioners, known as yamabushi, and wear hoods that resemble tengu masks, with Itachi's and Madara's appearing as long-nosed Hanataka Tengu and Sasuke's as a crow-billed Karasu Tengu. In Japanese myth, Susanoo produced the fiend Amanozako who is said to have been the progenitor of the Tengu.
 * Madara's Susanoo design may be influenced by, a human-like being described in the as having one body with two faces back-to-back, each with its own set of arms and legs.
 * The is one of the, together with the Sword of Kusanagi and the.
 * Itachi's Susanoo carries the Sword of Totsuka in a gourd. An ethereal weapon inside a gourd could be a reference to the hyōtan-kozō, a gourd spirit from Japanese folklore.

Trivia

 * When it was first used by Itachi, Susanoo was shown to have five fingers on each hand. In all subsequent appearances in the manga, Susanoo has six fingers on each hand. However, in the anime, Susanoo always has five fingers.
 * In the anime, the armoured form of Sasuke's Susanoo had a few minor changes: it had straight teeth and was shown wielding a gourd in its secondary right hand instead of an orb, and in its left hand a shield akin to the Yata Mirror, making it nearly identical to Itachi's armoured Susanoo.
 * Rather than a sword made of black flames, the anime rendition of Sasuke's Susanoo instead wields a sword which is capable of igniting those it pierces.
 * Itachi and Sasuke's Susanoo are depicted as different colours in the anime than in the manga. In Itachi's case, his Susanoo was illustrated in the anime before being coloured in the manga.
 * Prior to the completion of Sasuke's Susanoo, its fully manifested form was glimpsed as a shadowy figure in a genjutsu that Sasuke placed C under.
 * Sasuke's fully manifested form of Susanoo bears a great resemblance to Raideen the Brave, one of a number of Yoshiyuki Tomino references in the series (another being the Gundam-derived names of Kakuzu's techniques).
 * Both Itachi and Sasuke's armoured Susanoo's mouth area always appear to face to the right, but the mouth area of Sasuke's new version faces to the left side instead.
 * The Totsuka Sword wielded by Itachi's Susanoo is considered to be a "Sword of Kusanagi", although this has been popularly mistranslated as it being the perfect counter to the Sword of Kusanagi.
 * Shisui's Susanoo resembles the eponymous mecha from the anime Steel Jeeg.
 * During the Sasuke vs. Itachi boss battle in Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, Susanoo doesn't appear around Itachi, but behind him. However, during his "awakening", Susanoo appears around him in a much smaller form.
 * In Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, Madara's Susanoo's swords are capable of spinning, giving them a drill-like ability.
 * In the Third Databook, it was stated that Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu were required to unlock Susanoo. However, this was corrected by Sasuke, and Sasuke's explanation was once again verified by Kakashi.
 * Despite Madara, Indra, Sasuke and Kakashi all being shown to manifest a stabilised perfect Susanoo in the manga, only Madara is listed as a user of Complete Body — Susanoo in the fourth databook.