Out of the three major types of jutsu to exist in the Naruto world, Genjutsu is quite possibly the most intriguing. All Genjutsu are illusionary techniques and are cast by skilled users for a plethora of reasons, ranging from taking someone down without even lifting a finger to getting out crucial information from their minds.
Genjutsu is arguably the most versatile art there is in Naruto and perhaps even the most dangerous one, as evident from the fact that Kishimoto set up one of its types as the ultimate technique towards the end of the story. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, fans saw what was potentially the most powerful jutsu in the entire series being used to take down an entire populace – the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
What Is The Infinite Tsukuyomi?
Out of all the genjutsu in the world of Naruto, none is as powerful as the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The jutsu was first mentioned by Obito Uchiha upon declaring the Fourth Great Ninja War during the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron, but fans weren't truly able to grasp its scale until it was actually used in the story. Towards the climax of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the jutsu was finally unleashed and, as expected, it enslaved the entire population on earth.
Simply put, the Infinite Tsukuyomi is a powerful genjutsu than can be performed through the Rinne-Sharingan – a powerful Dojutsu. This genjutsu is reflected off of the moon and is then cast on the entire population, enslaving everyone in an eternal slumber. All those who are trapped in this jutsu enter a dream world where, usually, they get to live the way they wanted in real life and fulfill some of their ambitions. While the Naruto manga barely touched upon the many dreams that different ninjas experienced, fans did get to see a glimpse of a few, such as Hinata Hyuga's dream of being in a relationship with Naruto, Kiba becoming the Hokage of the village, or Shikamaru marrying Temari, among others.
Trapping all life in an eternal dream is already bad enough, however, the true danger of the Jutsu lies in what happens after one is caught in it. Slowly, the Infinite Tsukuyomi sucks the chakra out of all living things that are trapped into it. With time, they become a husk of their former selves and turn into White Zetsu, losing all their personality and becoming devoid of their chakra. At the same time, the chakra that is stolen from those trapped in the jutsu enables the birth of a new chakra fruit which, when eaten, grants tremendous power to the eater. Undoubtedly, the Infinite Tsukuyomi is quite easily among the most fearsome jutsu to ever exist in the Naruto world.
The Methods Of Casting The Jutsu
The Infinite Tsukuyomi can be cast in many ways and going by what Kishimoto illustrated in his story, there are three known ways to use this technique. The first was demonstrated to the fans by Obito Uchiha during the Fourth Great Ninja War where he used the Ten-Tails to create a God Tree. At the top of the tree, a Sharingan bloomed to reflect off of the moon to cast this mighty jutsu on everyone. Madara Uchiha, on the other hand, absorbed the God Tree itself and eventually gained access to the Rinne-Sharingan on his forehead. By flying close to the moon and reflecting his third eye off of it, Madara was able to use this jutsu and trap everyone around him in an eternal sleep.
Kaguya Otsutsuki, the first person to utilize this jutsu on the earth, achieved it in a different way. Using her Rinne-Sharingan, Kaguya was able to open a portal to a dimension containing the moon and then used it to shine the light of the jutsu upon the population of earth. Once trapped, the victims' eyes gain a Rinnegan pattern and they are slowly bound by the roots of the God Tree, where they slowly rot and turn into White Zetsu. At the same time, the caster of the jutsu also gains the ability to draw upon the chakra of those trapped in the jutsu for their own needs, as seen when Kaguya Otsutsuki absorbed massive amounts of chakra from those who she had trapped into it. This makes the jutsu even more dangerous as not only does it provide a means for the user to gain a massive army, but it also becomes a source for a tremendous amount of chakra.
Despite everything, the Infinite Tsukuyomi isn't invincible. This technique can be countered by a Rinnegan user, as their eye enables them to block the light of the jutsu. At the same time, it can also be released by a combination of the Rinnegan and the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Beasts. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha ended the Infinite Tsukuyomi by forming the rat hand-seal upon combining the power of the Rinnegan and the Nine-Tailed Beasts.