The Sharingan (写輪眼; Literally meaning "Copy Wheel Eye", Meaning (Viz) "Mirror Wheel Eye") is a dōjutsu kekkei genkai, which appears in some members of the Uchiha clan.[1] While its powers were first seen in Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, its true form first manifested in Indra, the earliest ancestor of the Uchiha clan, and later became regarded as one of the Three Great Dōjutsu (三大瞳術, San Daidōjutsu; Literally
meaning "Three Great Eye Techniques"), along with the Byakugan and the Rinnegan.[2] The Sharingan is also called "Heaven's Eye" (天眼, Tengan), because of the many abilities it grants the user.[3] Tobirama Senju defines it as the "eye that reflects the heart" (心を写す瞳, Kokoro o utsusu hitomi).[4]
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Abilities
The Sharingan's abilities consist of two parts: the "Eye of Insight" (洞察眼, Dōsatsugan) and the "Eye of Hypnotism" (催眠眼, Saimingan).[5] The first of the Sharingan's powers is being able to see chakra flow. The Sharingan itself gives colour to chakra, allowing the wielder to differentiate them.[6] They are also able to tell if a person is under a genjutsu because the person's chakra flow would be irregular. The Sharingan's second-most prominent ability grants the user an incredible clarity of perception, allowing them to easily recognise genjutsu and different forms of chakra, though not to the same extent as the Byakugan. This also allows the user to pick up on subtle details, enabling them to read lip movements[7] or mimic something like pencil movements.[8] In the anime, the Sharingan is also able to see through thick fog[9] and other vision-impairing screens.[10] As the Sharingan evolves, gaining more tomoe, this ability extends to being able to track fast-moving objects before finally giving some amount of predictive capabilities to the user, allowing them to see the image of an attacker's next move from the slightest muscle tension in their body and counter-attack or dodge without any wasted movement.[11] However, even though the user may be able to see an attack or know it is coming, their body may not always have time to react. The Sharingan's third and most well-known ability is that it grants the user the ability to copy almost any technique that he or she witnesses, apart from other kekkei genkai techniques. The user can memorise ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu with near-perfect accuracy, allowing the user to use the techniques as their own, or even modify them to create their own new techniques, much like Sasuke Uchiha's Lion Combo. In order to reproduce a copied technique, however, one must have the necessary skill or ability to perform them. A prime example is Rock Lee's brand of taijutsu. While Sasuke was able to copy some of Lee's moves, they put a much more significant strain on him since he hadn't trained nearly as much as Lee had. In addition to physical skill and kekkei genkai techniques, the Sharingan cannot reproduce techniques dependent on other factors, such as summons that the user has not signed a contract with. The Sharingan's final commonly-used ability is capable of inducing a unique brand of hypnosis that involves suggesting actions and thoughts to the opponent through genjutsu cast by simple eye contact between both parties.[12] More advanced Sharingan users can take the hypnosis ability even further to the point where a powerful summon like Manda[13] or even a tailed beast may be controlled, the latter considered a defining trait; however, only Madara and Obito Uchiha have achieved this feat. It has been stated by Madara Uchiha that the beasts were slaves to those with the blessed eyes.[14] When this was used against Manda and the Nine-Tails, their eyes took on the tomoe pattern of the users' Sharingan while under hypnotic influence. In a similar manner, one can enter a jinchūriki's subconscious to effectively suppress the tailed beast's chakra.[15] While this control can be absolute when used on a single target, when cast on multiple ones, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain said control, giving chance for stronger targets like the tailed beasts to temporarily break free in certain instances.[16][17]
The hypnotic ability coupled with the other aspects of the Sharingan can make the user appear as if they can "see the future". First, the user must perfectly mimic every move their opponent makes and possibly their thoughts and words through careful observation. Then, they suggest an action to the opponent such as hand seals for a technique that the opponent and Sharingan user already know and copy that. With these things done, the user can complete the action even before the opponent does, possibly using the Sharingan's genjutsu to confuse or delay them. As with other genjutsu, genjutsu cast by the Sharingan are capable of putting an opponent to sleep, inducing paralysis, replaying memories to someone else via genjutsu,[18][19][20] or creating various illusions to deceive someone or torture the person. The potency of the Sharingan's illusion is dependent on the user's knowledge and skill with implementing genjutsu. Two Sharingan users are also able to free each other from other forms of genjutsu by first using genjutsu on each other, allowing them to enter their comrades mind and free each other from the genjutsu.[21]
In addition, more rarely used by the Uchiha clan, the Sharingan can allow the user to perform two very powerful and unique genjutsu: Izanagi and Izanami, which alters or decide one's destiny, respectively. Using Izanagi, the user can warp reality for a short amount of time, changing reality into illusion and illusion into reality, thus escaping death and rewriting destiny; although to make use of this technique to its full extent, the user must have the DNA of both the Uchiha and Senju.[22][23] Izanami, on the other hand, is a genjutsu that traps the victim in an infinite loop disregarding their five senses;[24] this technique was specifically created to counter anyone who would abuse Izanagi's ability to alter their destiny, by forcing the victims to relive the situation over and over until they accept it and cease using Izanagi. Both techniques have been labelled kinjutsu, because use of either causes the eye that performed Izanagi or Izanami to close forever. Although the Sharingan consumes the user's chakra while active, the amount of chakra that the user must exert is so insignificant that they can keep it active constantly. In fact, Itachi Uchiha was so masterful with the Sharingan that he was able to keep it active for most of the time, only once deactivating it after using Tsukuyomi on Sasuke and Kakashi, as well as Amaterasu to escape Jiraiya, due to exhaustion. However, when a Sharingan is transplanted to a non-Uchiha, the chakra drain is significant, leading them to cover it up when not in use. This seems to be circumvented by acquiring Senju cells in order to boost their vitality.[25]
Stages
Sasuke's 2-1 Sharingan
Sasuke with both the initial (right) and secondary (left) stages of the Sharingan. The Sharingan's power, because of its ties to the Curse of Hatred, is both a blessing and a curse. The moment that an Uchiha comes to know a powerful emotion towards someone, such as love and friendship, a stressful or emotional condition brought out from losing that precious person causes the brain to release a special form of chakra that affects the optic nerves while transforming the eyes into Sharingan.[26] After its initial activation, the Sharingan may be used freely, although it is possible for an Uchiha to lose memory of such an event and not reactivate it until through willpower years later.[27][28] When the Sharingan is first activated by a user, it has a different number of tomoe (巴) around the central pupil, varying between users.[29][27]
Sasuke Sharingan
A fully matured Sharingan. The wielder of the Sharingan, through continued use and training, changes its form further, which involves the eye maturing fully until it has three tomoe. As the Sharingan develops, the user gains heightened abilities through the heightened ocular sense. For example, they can at least copy hand movements with one tomoe, predict a person's movement and copy techniques with two and completely use the Sharingan's abilities when it is fully matured. From what characters have noted, this dōjutsu apparently "glows" in the dark.[30][31] True to its name, the Sharingan and its derived forms have shown the ability to spin.[32] It is shown that when a person awakens their Mangekyō Sharingan without a fully matured Sharingan, their Sharingan will automatically mature while developing into a Mangekyō Sharingan.[33]
Receiving the Sharingan
The Sharingan needs to be activated by the user when they are faced with a difficult circumstance[34] or placed under emotional stress.[35]
It is also possible to transplant Sharingan from one person to another as noted the case of Kakashi Hatake who received his Sharingan from his former comrade, Obito Uchiha.[36] Madara Uchiha noted that an individual needs to possess two Sharingan in order to bring out the eye's true potential.[37] A Sharingan tranplanted into a non-Uchiha, like Kakashi, cannot be deactivated and requires him to use more chakra than an Uchiha would, covering the eye with his headband to conserve chakra while resting for long periods after extensive use in battle. Because Kakashi obtained his Sharingan from Obito, they share the same technique and other dimension.[38] Apparently, if a living Uchiha gives away their Sharingan, they will still have a link to the detached eye, and will be able to "see" what the eye sees in some instances, though this seems to be limited to a certain range.[39] This also holds true for the recipient of the eye.[40]
In a similar way, Danzō Shimura had a Sharingan instead of his normal right eye, that he gained from Shisui Uchiha, which he kept hidden under his bandages.[41] Danzō also possessed ten Sharingan in his right arm, which were kept sealed until he needed them.[42] It is also possible to transplant it to animals, as Itachi did to Shisui's Sharingan with one of his crows.[43]
However, if an Uchiha gives their Sharingan to another member of the Uchiha clan, the Sharingan can be deactivated and therefore, would not need to be covered up to conserve chakra. Mangekyō Sharingan
Main article: Mangekyō Sharingan
The Mangekyō Sharingan is awakened through the trauma experienced from the death of a person very close to the Sharingan user. With the user normally having to witness or experience this first hand, Uchiha throughout history have killed those closest to them in order to expedite this process.[44] To obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan, one must feel the emotion of losing a friend or family, as merely killing them or watching them die will not activate it. It is distinguished from a normal Sharingan by its appearance, which changes the form of the tomoe seal. Unlike the Sharingan, the appearance of the Mangekyō Sharingan differs from user to user with all known wielders of the dōjutsu having eyes that resemble variations of pinwheels; one variation is a rare form known as the "Straight Tomoe" (直巴, Choku Tomoe), which seems to grant the user fluidity in their movements when fighting.[45]
Itachi Mangekyō
Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan. The Mangekyō Sharingan gives the user's eyes enhanced might to the standard Sharingan's generic abilities and access to powerful techniques. Using the Mangekyō Sharingan puts strain on the user's eyes and erodes their vision, eventually causing blindness. This can be prevented by transplanting another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan from a close relative, such as a sibling. The newly acquired Mangekyō Sharingan looks like a merger of both eyes and is dubbed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (永遠の万華鏡写輪眼, Eien no Mangekyō Sharingan).
