The Sharingan’s Tailed Beast Control, Explained

The Naruto series may have cemented Dojutsu to be the epitome of power, yet even among these visual techniques, the Sharingan holds a clear precedent compared to its counterparts. With several evolutions, unique abilities, and world-altering powers, the Sharingan is truly a coveted power that is leagues above the rest. Its many abilities, such as the Susanoo or Amaterasu, already deem the Dojutsu an extremely powerful asset, yet it has one more underrated ability that often flies under the radar — Tailed Beast Control.

With an already long list of abilities that the Mangekyo has to offer, the dojutsu further grants the user the ability to control Tailed Beast. While this ability has only been displayed a few times throughout the Naruto series, it still testifies to the unprecedented strength of the Mangekyo Sharingan, and how it can be a force to be reckoned with in the right hands.

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What Is Tailed Beast Control?

Taming Tailed Beasts And Their Chakra

In the Naruto series, Tailed Beasts are walking behemoths of Chakra that are treated as equivalent to weapons of mass destruction. Acquiring control over these creatures is seen as an almost impossible feat, yet a handful of Shinobi have accomplished this achievement through one method or another. While Jinchuriki are known to be the only ones to attain Tailed Beast Control from within, these creatures can also be subdued from the outside, whether it’s through Hashirama’s Wood Release, the Rinnegan’s Outer Path abilities, or the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Achieving Tailed Beast Control is certainly an ardent task through any of these methods, especially for Jinchuriki, who require a valiant resolve and strength to be able to suppress the beasts’ power and gain complete control and mastery over their Chakra. However, it can be just as difficult for a Shinobi to acquire Tailed Beast control through external methods, such as the Mangekyou Sharingan’s Tailed Beast suppression.

Oddly, the easiest method of Tail Beast control has been witnessed in the case of Hashirama, who, at one point, had several Tailed Beasts tamed through his Wood Release ability, the Hokage-Style Elder Jutsu: 10th Edict on Enlightenment. Since Wood Release naturally absorbs Tailed Beast Chakra, incapacitating these creatures through this Kekkei Genkai is arguably the easiest method of subduing them.

The Sharingan’s Tailed Beast Control

The Mangekyo Allows Its Users to Momentarily Tame Tailed Beasts

The Sharingan is known for its many feats, yet its most underrated ability is its power to control and suppress Tailed Beasts. In the Naruto series, this aspect of the Sharingan was witnessed in two different ways. The first instance of tailed beast suppression via the Sharingan was seen in the case of Sasuke, who used his 3-Tomoe base Sharingan to suppress the Nine-Tails Chakra leaking out of Naruto. This form of suppression isn’t exactly tailed beast control, though it is still akin to being able to tame a Tailed Beast, albeit on a smaller scale.

However, the actual ability of the Sharingan to control a Tailed Beast is only possible through the Mangekyo Sharingan. The Mangekyo allows its user to control a Tailed Beast by making eye contact with it, similar to putting an enemy under a Genjutsu. Once the Tailed Beast has been put under the user’s control, it can be used similar to a summon animal. However, summoning a Tailed Beast through this method requires an immense amount of chakra, something that even most Uchiha clan members would not be able to achieve.

However, it’s worth noting that controlling a tailed beast through the Mangekyou Sharingan isn’t the same as perfect Tailed Beast Control by a Jinchuriki. Since the Tailed Beast’s actions cannot be controlled by the Sharingan, they act more akin to a wild animal with an insatiable rage. This indicates that Tailed Beast control through the Sharingan is much weaker compared to perfect control by a Jinchuriki.

Every Mangekyo User That Can Control Tailed Beasts

Only Limited Mangekyo Sharingan Wielders Can Control Tailed Beasts

While the Naruto series hints at the Sharingan being able to control Tailed Beast to an extent, even at base level, actual instances of this ability are relatively low. The only characters that have actually used Tailed Beast control through the Sharingan are Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha. Madara used his Mangekyou to control the Nine-Tails during his battle against Hashirama Senju. He used Kurama similar to a summoning animal, though this summoning is done without a blood pact.

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However, taming Kurama through this method drained an immense amount of chakra, leaving him with a limited time period during which he could control the Tailed Beast. While Madara’s control over Kurama was much stronger, considering he was also able to clad the Nine-Tails in Susanoo’s armor, Obito’s control was rather weak and incomplete. Nevertheless, he was still able to force the Nine-Tails to go on a rampage through his Mangekyou Sharingan, an event that shaped much of Naruto’s narrative. While these two instances are the only examples of complete Tail Beast control through the Sharingan, another instance points towards the fact that even the base Sharingan has some effect on Tailed Beasts.

Sasuke’s example of suppressing Kurama’s chakra in Naruto through his own base Sharingan clearly showcases even the base dojutsu being able to suppress Tailed Beast chakra to some extent. This speculation is further backed by the fact that, after the Nine-Tails’ rampage, the Uchiha clan was suspected to be behind the attack, as the village elders were aware that the Sharingan could be used to tame Kurama. At the time, it wasn’t common knowledge that the Uchiha possessed the evolution of the Sharingan in the form of the Mangekyo, meaning they believed that even the base Sharingan could potentially control the Tailed Beast. However, not every user of the Mangekyou Sharingan can control Tailed Beasts, as seen in the case of Kakashi, who never used his own Mangekyou Sharingan to suppress the Nine-Tails’ chakra within Naruto.

How Does The Sharingan Suppress Tailed Beasts?

The Sharingan Can Be Traced Back to the Sage Of Six Paths

The Sharingan possesses a plethora of all-powerful techniques, yet the addition of Tailed Beast Control in the Sharingan’s arsenal is quite peculiar. Moreover, the Sharingan is the only Dojutsu capable of achieving this feat, as even the Rinnegan fails to suppress Tailed Beast chakra by merely making eye contact with the beast. The Rinnegan can only subdue Tailed Beasts via the Outer Path ability and the Black Rods. However, this peculiarity can be explained by looking at the Uchiha Clan’s lineage, which goes all the way back to the Sage of Six Paths.

Since the Sharingan is derived from Indra Otsutsuki, the son of the Sage of Six Paths, it’s likely that this power is also derived from that very source. This speculation further becomes plausible after considering that Hashirama, the reincarnation of Asura, can also control Tailed Beast through his own Kekkei Genkai. Since both powers are derived from the Sage of Six Paths’ abilities, who was the progenitor of the concept of Tailed Beast, it would make sense that these two clans would also possess the power to suppress these behemoths of Chakra.

Naruto is available to stream on Prime Video.