Summary
Naruto’s jutsu system encompasses extremely broad powers. Ranging from medical ninjutsu as practiced by Tsunade to Kakashi’s deceptive techniques to theraw destructive power of Naruto’s Rasengan,it’s hard to imagine something jutsucan’tmake happen. The basic principle of jutsu is that it’s chakra manipulation which ushers forth energy that can be used in different ways. Jutsu are techniques which can be learned and taught, recorded on scrolls or passed down by teachers. They can also be created from scratch.
Within the wide range of jutsu, there’s one vitally important class of techniques: kinjutsu, or “forbidden jutsu”. Naruto himself regularly uses an incredibly powerful kinjutsuto produce multiple Shadow Clones. Several kinjutsu have been plot-pivotal throughoutNaruto’s long-running tenure. However, there’s one big problem: it’s never spelled outwhat precisely a kinjutsu is and how (if at all) kinjutsu are regulated.
15 Most Powerful Jutsu in Naruto History
Naruto is a series known for its plethora of iconic techniques and jutsus. These are the most powerful jutsu to ever debut throughout Naruto.
What Are “Kinjutsu”?
Kinjutsu Encompass A Wide Range Of Dangerous Techniques
Kinjutsu are, simply put, techniques prohibited from being taught. Their “forbidden” status also technically extends to their use, but in practice,the use of a forbidden jutsu is rarely condemned on its own. Context is very important, and while forbidden jutsu can be fearsome and their use might catch shinobi off-guard, it’s the context that determines how people view a kinjutsu’s use.
A technique can be prohibited for a number of reasons. The primary concern is danger. Some jutsu require an immense amount of chakra to perform, and can be dangerous to the user; others demand the life of their user or another in order to be effective. On top of this, indiscriminate destruction or violation of the laws of nature can also lead to jutsu being prohibited. There’s a lot of wiggle room. Kinjutsu isn’t a strict legal category as much as it’sa norm intended to foster responsibility, thoughtfulness, and caution.
Because it isn’t bound by the letter of the law, clans and villages might have unique ideas of whether something is a kinjutsu: the Uchiha Clan has forbidden Izanagi. Some things which aren’t technically jutsu (like Might Guy and Rock Lee’s Eight Gates) might be considered kinjutsu. The ability to perform a kinjutsu might render it acceptable, like howNaruto gets away with the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsusince he can use it safely. On the other hand,newfound danger might forbid it again: Tsunade forbids Naruto’s Rasenshuriken, which uses the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, because of chakra demands and bodily damage.
The following are well-known kinjutsu, showing their diversity and range:
Accelerates healing immensely but shortens total lifespan.
Izanagi
Danzo
Genjutsu which changes reality at cost of blindness in one eye.
Izanami
Itachi
Genjutsu trapping target in infinite loop at cost of blindness in one eye.
Kinjutsu Are Gray By Nature - And Also Essential
Kinjutsu might be considered open secrets, generally taught to those who can handle the knowledge responsibly (or stolen by nefarious actors). Although kinjutsu can cause great strife, they can also bring a strategic advantage and may make amajor difference in combat. Many villages and clans maintain the knowledge of various kinjutsu, whether passing them down or sequestering them in scrolls. Nobody is actually under the impression that kinjutsu are never going to be used, but the kinjutsu title and prohibition are an attempt to limit and control their deployment.
An analogy can be drawn to morphine. Administered by knowledgeable and careful hands, morphine can save life or at least drastically reduce suffering. Deployed without care, it can cause great problems, be used to poison people, and bring death to those who need it. Nonetheless, it’s considered a global necessity, and the economies of many countries as well as the pharmaceutical industry would collapse without the knowledge of its manufacture and use. As a society, it’s generally believed that morphine is prohibited not because of inherent danger, but because of the power it can have.
On several occasions inNaruto, the use of kinjutsu has been beneficial. After all, the entire series has a genesis in kinjutsu: Minatoused a forbidden seal to store Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Beast, within Naruto - an act decisively hailed as heroic, defining the Fourth Hokage’s legacy. However, kinjutsu have also been at the root of some ofNaruto’s most distressing situations and oppressive enemies. One can see Deidara’s devastating bombs from a prohibited jutsu letting him knead his chakra into clay, orthe reanimation jutsuthrough which Kabuto set up the devastating Fourth Great Ninja War (and with which Orochimaru sets up a defense by reincarnating past Hokage).
What Happens If A Shinobi Uses Kinjutsu?
Kinjutsu Use Is Handled Based On Context
The deep reverence for kinjutsu that leads villages and clans to maintain them is the same which leads them to deter their use.
If a shinobi uses kinjutsu, then as previously stated, context usually determines reaction. It’s worth noting, though, that there isn’t exactly a regulatory body that punishes the use of kinjutsu alone. Kinjutsu can be used in order to do things that would be considered criminal, butthey themselves are not generally seen the same way. Their use can certainly be discouraged or even dangerous, but use alone is hardly the parameter that theNarutoworld uses to determine how kinjutsu users should be handled.
This power is taken seriously; for instance, it leads Sunakagure to abandon research into a reincarnation jutsu. Kinjutsu arerecognized as vital and precarious. The deep reverence for kinjutsu that leads villages and clans to maintain them is the same which leads them to deter their use. There isn’t a grand authority on the use of kinjutsu, and control comes down to legal and social discretion by the societies and parties implicated in its use.
A village or clan might exile or punish a shinobi who uses kinjutsu - or valorize them. Considering their great cost, using kinjutsu inappropriately or rashly can lead to an untimely and meaningless death. Finally,shinobi have a code of honor, and even if a malicious kinjutsu user isn’t punished by a grand authority, they might make enemies out of their fellow shinobi — likely fatally.
It’s this context-bound element of kinjutsu that makes them so interesting. Kinjutsu reflectNarutothematically. Despite being prohibited, they don’t have a “good” or “bad” value in themselves, and using prohibited jutsu in appropriate contexts can even be celebrated. Like howNarutoavoids absolutely good or bad characters and instead shows the context behind every friend or foe, the softer approach taken with kinjutsu reflects a prohibitionsimply meant to prompt examination when it’s circumvented. With kinjutsu,Narutoshows its moral complexity and demonstrates the empathetic and thoughtful approach it wishes to reverberate throughout the world.
