Naruto Shippuden Episode 31

[Abdula]

NO the Sandaime Kazegage's ability was not a Kekkei Genkai. His technique was very similar to the Shodai Hokage's in that it was a technique only he could perform it was not a Kekkei Genkai because like the Sharingan or Byakugan they would be passed on to their children and Tsunade does not posses the first abilities. This is one of the many things in Naruto that has never been explained.

For all you people who think that Gaara can no longer be the Kazekage I beg you to use whatever brains you have left. If he no longer had his abilities then everything Chiyo did and said about how Gaara as the Kazekage and Naruto as the future Hokage would change the relationship between the Leaf and the Sand and the ninja world as whole would be meaningless. I mean why give your life to save his if he doesn't have any of his abilities and can no longer control the sand or be the Kazekage it just makes no sense.

So whether you think its possible or even probable doesn't make a difference I can " Guaran Damn Tee " that Gaara is still the Kazekage and still has his abilities because if he doesn't Konoha trying to save him, Chiyo giving her life the save him, and all of Sunagakure coming to rescue him, the entire arc would be for nothing something i could see happening in Bleach but not in Naruto.

[Janusz]

That's just stupid. You shouldn't flamebait like that even if you have good arguments. There are lots of reasons to have the old hag do what she did and say what she said even if Gaara becomes powerless. First off, she could have just not realized he would become powerless. Or she could have seen the demoralizing impact Gaara's death would have had on the sand village. Or she could just have been suicidal after being forced to kill off her own grandson. Or maybe she wanted to save someone's life seeing how she was going to die anyway, be it because of the poison or of old age. Need I go on?

Besides, Konoha going on a rescue mission would not have been futile when they went as Gaara was still alive back then. And yeah cool people can die in Naruto too, remember the 3rd?

[Abdula]

Sure there are many reasons why Chiyo herself would have done it and although Gaara is one of my favorite characters his death was not surprising nor was it upsetting in fact I was more upset when they created some lame ass jutsu so they could bring him back to life which is not something I agree with or think should be happening within the Naruto world (Orochimaru). Now you have to remember that this is Naruto and Kishi would not have brought him back to life unless he intended to use him in some capacity in the near or perhaps distant future, that being said the character of Gaara would be completely different if not absolutely useless without his abilities.

P.S. I wasn't flaming.

[iMUSTbeTHEdevil]

I liked this ep alot actually. Some of the older music, and the flashes where Gaara was waking up was very cool. I liked it alot.

[Buffalobiian]

Wasn't Sandaime Kazekage's ability a Kekkei Genkai?

I'm pretty sure it was a move only he could do. It wasn't a bloodline limit, it was his own special power. Though, bloodline limits have to start somewhere, so maybe if he lived longer and had descendants, they may also have this trait, making it truly a bloodline limit. From what we've been told though, no, it isn't.

[DeathscytheVII]

My opinion is that Gaara still has his control over sand. For one thing, unlike Naruto, Gaara was fused with his beast before he was born, and I'll go on a limb and quote fillers here, but didn't Gaara say he wasn't going to rely on the power of Shukaku anymore? I'm thinking that his ability to control sand is unique to him, a side effect of being fused with the bijuu, but just because its gone doesn't mean that it never happened to Gaara, I'm sure some influence/powers of Shukaku still remain in him.

[masamuneehs]

Gaara was infused with a Ichibi Bijuu before he was born.

Naruto was supposedly infused with a Kyuubi either before or directly after being born.

Considering the "gateway" to life is still very much the same openness from just being born to having just been recently born, I don't see why Naruto minus his powers (like Kisame and Itachi said when they came to kidnap him all that time ago) would be worthless. I count the same for Gaara.

Not saying Gaara couldn't learn how to be a decent shinobi, but he's always been so lopsidedly based around his Ichibi's gifts

sides:

Kyu = 9
Ichi = 1

[Assertn]

NO the Sandaime Kazegage's ability was not a Kekkei Genkai. His technique was very similar to the Shodai Hokage's in that it was a technique only he could perform it was not a Kekkei Genkai because like the Sharingan or Byakugan they would be passed on to their children and Tsunade does not posses the first abilities. This is one of the many things in Naruto that has never been explained.

That is indeed an interesting point...one that I had never really thought of much myself...
However an ability should not have to be passed down for it to be qualified as a bloodlimit. Perhaps it may be a little over-analyzing, but it seemed Haku's mother did not expect Haku to inherit her bloodlimit, even though it was a bloodlimit. Even more credible, perhaps, is the point that not all uchihas are capable of unlocking the Sharingan. So even if your parents are both uchihas, you still might not inherit their abilities. Just as the shodaime Hokage's kids didn't inhert his ability.

You could even go farther to observe a more rapid mutation/evolution effect occuring with the chakra characteristics of decendents. This happens to such a degree that certain abilities might only exist within single generations, and then could immediately be lost again through dominant/recessive relationships between their abilities and the abilities of their spouses. Considering the immense variety of distinctly unique jutsus out there, this would pretty much have to be certain.

Finally, Sandaime Kazekage's iron jutsu is a characteristic of his own natural chakra. This is why Sasori is able to harness the ability just by possessing sandaime's body. If the body makes all the difference, then what else could it be than genetic?

[Abdula]

That is indeed an interesting point...one that I had never really thought of much myself...
However an ability should not have to be passed down for it to be qualified as a bloodlimit. Perhaps it may be a little over-analyzing, but it seemed Haku's mother did not expect Haku to inherit her bloodlimit, even though it was a bloodlimit. Even more credible, perhaps, is the point that not all uchihas are capable of unlocking the Sharingan. So even if your parents are both uchihas, you still might not inherit their abilities. Just as the shodaime Hokage's kids didn't inhert his ability.

You could even go farther to observe a more rapid mutation/evolution effect occuring with the chakra characteristics of decendents. This happens to such a degree that certain abilities might only exist within single generations, and then could immediately be lost again through dominant/recessive relationships between their abilities and the abilities of their spouses. Considering the immense variety of distinctly unique jutsus out there, this would pretty much have to be certain.

Finally, Sandaime Kazekage's iron jutsu is a characteristic of his own natural chakra. This is why Sasori is able to harness the ability just by possessing sandaime's body. If the body makes all the difference, then what else could it be than genetic?

You make some incredibly valuable points. First off Haku's mother did not expect him to inherit her abilities because he was not a pure blood for lack of a better term, she apparently had not even considered the possibility that Haku might be able to inherit her bloodline limit without his father also possessing it.

The Uchiha’s bloodline limit seems to be in another league when compared to others. With the Hyuuga and Kaguya clans it appears that their Kekkei Genkai is a given and is automatically acquired by their children from either or both parents. The Uchiha’s abilities appear to necessitate both parents to be Uchiha’s similar to sickle cell anemia and many other genetic diseases but the offspring are only born with the potential to awaken the Sharingan. The awakening itself has special requirements, after the initial awakening there appear to be other requirements for each tomoe as evidenced by Sasuke in his battles with Haku, Lee and Naruto respectively. When the Sharingan is finally fully awakened then there are other special requirements that need to be met before the Mangekyo Sharingan can be acquired. The Sharingan also seems to be the only doujutsu that allows the user to turn it off when not in battle and the eye then returns to a “normal” state.

Kekkei Genkais as well as the Sandaime Kazekage and the Shodai Hokage’s abilities are all the result of genetic mutation and eventual evolution a subject which immensely interests me as I myself suffer from a yet to be named illness that appears to be the result of random genetic mutation within my family although I posses no superhuman abilities or positive side effects.

[Buffalobiian]

The Sharingan also seems to be the only doujutsu that allows the user to turn it off when not in battle and the eye then returns to a “normal” state.
.

You can also turn the Byakugan on and off. It's just that their "normal" state is pupilless, in which case, "normal" can be argued. Would one consider an albino normal? It IS a lack of colour pigment in the iris, but that's similar to the difference in melanocytes between races of people. That's considered to be "different", but yet normal.

[Yukimura]

I think what the most practical aspect of the ability the turn off an eye techniques is surprise. An enemy can look at a person and easily identify them as a byakugan user by their lack of pupils even if they aren't actively using the technique. For sharingan users however, their inactive eyes look just like people with no doujutsu ability at all so you wouldn't be able to tell if someone had the sharingan or not unless they were using it.

This is a benefit since you could lure over confident ninja into engaging you in a fight and then spring sharingan on them, see through their technique, and kick their ass. For the byakugan if the enemy saw it they might recognize it and be inclined to just run like hell and making it that much more difficult (or at least more time consuming) for a user to kill them.

@Abdula there have only been two eye techniques revealed so it doesn't make much sense to say sharingan seems to be the only one you can turn off, until we see a third both are equally likely to be the 'different' one.

[Abdula]

I

@Abdula there have only been two eye techniques revealed so it doesn't make much sense to say sharingan seems to be the only one you can turn off, until we see a third both are equally likely to be the 'different' one.

Choose you're words more carefully. Manga prophets are not well liked.
-Assassin

[Assertn]

This is a benefit since you could lure over confident ninja into engaging you in a fight and then spring sharingan on them, see through their technique, and kick their ass. For the byakugan if the enemy saw it they might recognize it and be inclined to just run like hell and making it that much more difficult (or at least more time consuming) for a user to kill them.

In theory, yes. However since there's only like....3 people left with sharingan, they're all pretty well known and recognizable at this point.

[ASSpirine]

They just don't learn. Flashbacks about things that occured in the same episode is just NOT DONE.
Do they think the viewers have a short term memory or what? That lost us some quality... Naruto air time

[Yukimura]

Removed

I know what you were getting at, the reason I edited my post was because I initially responded as if this was the manga board since you laid down such heavy innuendo. However I changed it because there is not supposed to be any mention or reference to things from the manga on the anime board.

@Assertn: Of course from a storyline perspective it's unlikely any significant enemy will ever be surprised or uninformed about a sharingan user, but from a general Narutoverse perspective there is obviously a tactical advantage to being able to conceal one's abilities until a time of one's own choosing.

[RasenDori]

In theory, yes. However since there's only like....3 people left with sharingan, they're all pretty well known and recognizable at this point.

and even before they were wiped out, they were all senseless enough to brand themselves with the uchiha logo