This article contains spoilers from the Naruto series.
Masashi Kishimoto, the author of the Naruto series, has created many incredibly unique abilities over the years. Naruto's power system is one of the most exciting ones, which is precisely why fans love it to this day. At the core of this power system is Chakra, and this Chakra manifests itself in three distinct forms of Jutsu, those being Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu. Out of all three, it is quite clear that Genjutsu is the most underrated in the Naruto series.
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Itachi Uchiha from Naruto has spoken many great words of wisdom during his appearances in the series. Here are his most inspiring quotes.
Put simply, Genjutsu are illusionary techniques that affect the chakra circulatory system of the target and put them in make-believe scenarios which feel real in the moment. Genjutsu are used to trick users in a multitude of ways, and then combined with other arts to finish them off. Genjutsu are a specialty of quite a few ninjas, such as those of the Uchiha and even the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki. Over the years, fans have seen quite a few talented Genjutsu users in the Naruto series, but few have held as much talent as Itachi Uchiha, the legendary ninja from Konoha that fans adore. While Itachi was a prodigy when it came to Genjutsu, the fact is that by the end of the Naruto series, fans met a legendary ninja with even more skill in the Genjutsu department than him.
Itachi Uchiha Was A Genjutsu Prodigy In The Original Series
- Itachi's Genjutsu skills were immense
- Itachi could use Sharingan and Mangekyo Sharingan Genjutsu
When it comes to ninjas with powerful Genjutsu, it goes without saying that Itachi Uchiha will always be close to the top. Itachi awakened the Sharingan at a very young age, and with the power of this eye comes the ability to cast powerful Genjutsu. The fact is that Itachi was especially gifted, even among the Uchiha, both in terms of maturity and strength. Itachi's talent was such that he was destined to become the head of the clan and even the Hokage of the village at one point. In fact, it was stated that by the age of 7, Itachi already had the wisdom of a Hokage, and that makes him incredibly special as far as kids in Naruto go.
People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's how they define "reality". But what does it mean to be "correct" or "true"? Merely vague concepts... Their "reality" may all be a mirage. — Itachi Uchiha, Naruto
What fans truly cherished Itachi for was his incredible skill set. Itachi's best abilities often revolved around the usage of Genjutsu, and it goes without saying that he was one of the best at it. Itachi could perform a multitude of powerful Genjutsu, and these included Paralysis Genjutsu or the generic Sharingan Genjutsu. However, what made Itachi truly special is his Mangekyo Sharingan ability, and that is Tsukuyomi. In the world of Tsukuyomi, Itachi could control time and space, which means that even a second inside this world could feel like an eternity. In fact, Tsukuyomi is the only Genjutsu that exists in the Naruto world that can actually kill someone, aside from Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Itachi showed his feats many times throughout the series, such as during his short battle against Kakashi, or later down the line, against Sasuke Uchiha. While it goes without saying that Itachi was an overwhelmingly powerful Genjutsu user and quite easily one of the very best, the fact is that his own brother went on to surpass him in this arc later down the line.
Sasuke Uchiha Surpassed Itachi At Using Powerful Genjutsu
- Sasuke matched Sasuke's Genjutsu prowess
- Sasuke gained Rinnegan Genjutsu
Sasuke Uchiha was not as skilled as Itachi when it came to Genjutsu at first. In fact, even after Sasuke awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan and fought against Danzo, the latter made it quite clear that his Genjutsu was far inferior to that of Itachi Uchiha. However, as the story progressed and Sasuke got stronger, so did his powerful Genjutsu. By the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War, Sasuke's Genjutsu reached sky-high levels.
I am going to start a revolution. The Five Kage started this problem. I will execute them all, and all the Tailed Beasts with them. — Sasuke Uchiha
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In fact, Sasuke could even cast powerful genjutsu on the likes of Sakura, and fans know that at one point in her life, Sakura even developed a resistance to powerful Genjutsu. Even a Jinchuriki who is seemingly immune to Genjutsu can fall prey to certain genjutsu, but Sakura can't. Yet Sasuke managed to put her in an illusion, which is a feat on its own. One of Sasuke's biggest showings of Genjutsu came when he fought against Kabuto alongside his brother. Sasuke's Genjutsu, at this point, had developed to a level where he could be on the same footing as Itachi. Of course, by this point, Itachi still had the edge, but fans could clearly see that Sasuke's Genjutsu was slowly developing. The real upgrade came in the final segment of the Fourth Great Ninja War after he awakened the Rinnegan.
Sasuke Could Cast Rinnegan Genjutsu
While in terms of Mangekyo Sharingan Genjutsu, Itachi would always go on to reign supreme, the fact is that Sasuke could also cast Genjutsu with his Rinnegan, which he awakened in the 4th Great Ninja War. After Sasuke got access to the Rinnegan, his Genjutsu prowess grew tremendously. It is with his Rinnegan that Sasuke cast a Genjutsu on Sakura and managed to knock her out completely. His biggest feat came shortly after, when he used his Rinnegan to cast a powerful Genjutsu on all nine Tailed Beasts at once. Sasuke then went on to seal all nine of them with Chibaku Tensei and drained all their chakra. With a single glimpse at the Tailed Beasts, Sasuke rendered them all immobile and basically took them all out. This level of Genjutsu prowess is unheard of.
Even with the Mangekyo Sharingan, the most Itachi could do was control one Tailed Beast, and that is Kurama. Sasuke, on the other hand, flawlessly controlled all 9 and, while doing this, he was fighting Naruto Uzumaki on equal footing. For Sasuke to be able to pull off such a massive Genjutsu feat is absolutely immense, and it goes to show that, by this point, his Genjutsu was even more dangerous than that of Itachi.
Sasuke's Rinnegan Was Wasted In Boruto
While it goes without saying that Sasuke's Rinnegan developed greatly in the Fourth Great Ninja War and the years after, the fact is that all this power went to waste in the Boruto series. In this particular story, fans got to see Sasuke abandon the usage of all Rinnegan abilities apart from Amenotejikara for some reason. Even worse than that is the fact that Sasuke ended up losing his Rinnegan after Momoshiki stabbed it, and with that, this power has officially died in the sequel story. To this day, fans have absolutely hated this plot development and will continue to be dissatisfied with it, unless it is fixed at some point later in the line. For now, Sasuke remains severely incapacitated in Boruto and there are no signs of his return anytime soon.
Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is the sequel to the original Boruto series, written by Mikio Ikemoto, and supervised by Masashi Kishimoto. The series follows the journey of Boruto Uzumaki, 3 years after the events of Omnipotence struck in the story. Boruto must now work to save the world from the perils it faces while dealing with his brother, Kawaki. Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 30 is set for its official release on January 20, 2026. The release time of the chapter is 10 AM EST/ 3 PM UTC. As always, fans can read the chapter officially for free on the Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps.