How Tobirama’s Techniques Are Designed to Counter the Uchiha

The second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, is renowned for his genius intellect and resourcefulness in terms of inventing powerful jutsu and techniques. However, Tobirama is also known for another questionable aspect of his persona — his distrust of the Uchiha clan. Despite the Uchiha being integrated into the Hidden Leaf Village, Tobirama still remained skeptical of their true intentions, leading to a rift between the two clans down the line that offset several key events in the Naruto series.

However, Tobirama’s distrust wasn’t merely visible through his words and actions, as he even went as far as molding his techniques and jutsu to counter the Uchiha Clan in one way or another. Whether it’s his Flying Raijin Jutsu or his mastery over Water Release, Tobirama Senju intricately designed his techniques to rival the Uchiha and counter their godly powers.

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Tobirama’s Skepticism Towards the Uchiha

The Uchiha Clan Never Fully Gained Tobirama’s Trust

While Tobirama wasn’t the only character in the Naruto series to be sceptical of the Uchiha clan, his actions were arguably the most pronounced against them. However, Tobirama’s hatred for the Uchiha wasn’t entirely rooted in irrationality, as it stemmed from his time fighting the Uchiha Clan during the Warring States Period. The Senju and Uchiha clans were pitted against each other for years on end, and Tobirama spent most of his early life fighting the Uchiha, even losing his brothers and clan members to them.

Although Hashirama was forgiving and accepted the Uchiha with open arms, Tobirama never fully accepted the Uchiha as part of Konoha. His skepticism of Madara even forced the village’s co-founder to defect from the Hidden Leaf Village, indirectly resulting in the events that followed suit, which led to the fated battle between Hashirama and Madara at the Valley of the End. Even after Madara was supposedly defeated by Hashirama, Tobirama still kept a close eye on the Uchiha, signaling his distrust of the clan despite taking on the mantle of Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village.

It’s also worth noting that Tobirama lacked the strength that his brother possessed, whether it’s Hashirama’s immense chakra reservoirs, Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, or instant regeneration. However, Tobirama’s resourcefulness allowed him to become an equally powerful force by strategically designing his arsenal against the Uchiha clan, a feat that further showcases his genius intellect.

The Flying Raijin Jutsu Counters The Sharingan

Tobirama Invented the Flying Thunder God Technique to Evade the Sharingan

Arguably the most pronounced threat of the Uchiha Clan is their Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan. Known as the Copy Wheel Eye, the Sharingan is capable of detecting enemy movements almost instantaneously, allowing the user to track every single move of their opponent. This renders all taijutsu and physical attacks useless against the Uchiha, forcing Tobirama to devise a technique that would bypass this advantage of the Uchiha.

This predicament led to Tobirama inventing the Flying Raijin Jutsu, otherwise known as the Flying Thunder God Technique. The Flying Raijin Jutsu is a space-time ninjutsu that allows the user to teleport almost instantly to a marked seal, no matter how far it may be. The technique perfectly counters the Sharingan’s tracking ability, as space-time ninjutsu are instantaneous, meaning there is no time for the Sharingan to read its opponent’s moves.

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This technique was seen in action during a flashback of Tobirama’s fight against Izuna Uchiha, Madara Uchiha’s younger brother. In the battle, Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God Slash, a technique that allowed him to instantly slash Izuna in a split second, without his opponent even realizing what had happened. It’s worth noting that during the fight, Izuna had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, arguably one of the strongest dojutsu in the entire Naruto series. Despite possessing a Mangekyou, Izuna lost his life to Tobirama’s Flying Raijin technique. This battle perfectly showcased how Tobirama had cleverly crafted a technique that would bypass the Sharingan’s biggest advantage in battle.

Tobirama’s Mastery Over Water Release Counters the Uchiha’s Fire Style

The Uchiha Are Famed For Their Exceptional Fire Style

The Uchiha clan might have been renowned for using the Sharingan in their battles, yet they were also known for relying primarily on Fire Style techniques. While this holds true for most of the Hidden Leaf village, the Uchiha were specifically adept at utilizing Fire Style techniques to their advantage. This is evident from the iconic Fireball Jutsu or the Great Fire Annihilation technique used by Madara in his battles.

To counter the Uchiha’s exceptional mastery over Fire Style, Tobirama honed his Water Style techniques, an elemental release that is the inverse of Fire Release. While Tobirama had access to all five Elemental Releases, he excelled at using Water Style techniques to such an extent that he became widely known as one of the greatest water style users in the Shinobi world. Tobirama invented new Water Style techniques and even enhanced previously existing ones. A prime example of this is the Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet technique, a jutsu that requires forty-four hand signs to be used, the highest of any technique in the entire Naruto series.

However, Tobirama became so adept at using the technique that he only required one hand sign to cast the ability, a feat that is yet to be achieved by any other shinobi. Moreover, Tobirama was initially stated to be the only shinobi capable of producing water out of thin air. Unlike Fire Style techniques that allow shinobi to produce fire through their own chakra, Water Style traditionally requires users to rely on a nearby water source for the technique. However, Tobirama is capable of producing water out of thin air through his own chakra, a feat that left many in awe during his battle against Hiruzen in the Konoha Crush Arc.

The Shadow Clone Jutsu Overwhelms the Sharingan

Tobirama Devised the Shadow Clone Jutsu to Render the Sharingan Useless

Widely regarded as one of the most iconic techniques in the Naruto series, the Shadow Clone Jutsu has been witnessed time and again in the hands of Naruto Uzumaki, the series’ titular character. While the technique has now become synonymous with Naruto himself, the Shadow Clone Jutsu is actually the invention of Tobirama Senju. Unsurprisingly, the Shadow Clone Jutsu is another technique that was created simply to counter the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan.

According to the Naruto Databooks, none of the Three Great Dojutsu, whether it’s the Sharingan or the Byakugan, can see through Shadow Clones, meaning it is almost impossible to determine which Shadow Clone is the real Shinobi. Since the Sharingan primarily relies on trapping opponents into a Genjutsu or by reading enemy movements, the Shadow Clone Jutsu negates these advantages by overwhelming the Sharingan’s abilities.

If the user is unable to determine the real Shinobi among a sea of Shadow Clones, it will become nearly impossible to place the opponent in a Genjutsu using the Sharingan. In a way, the Shadow Clone Jutsu is a perfect counter to the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan, a feat that showcases not just Tobirama’s genius but also his utter resolve to neutralize the threat of the Uchiha Clan.

Naruto is available to stream on Prime Video.