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Kekkei Genkai's

Byakugan

The Byakugan (meaning "White Eye") is a genetic trait that is shared amongst the members of the Hyuga Clan. Those that inherit the blood of this clan have almost featureless white eyes (Neji's and Hinata's eyes seem to have tints of lavender and blue-grey, respectively). Although it is not stated directly, it is assumed that all members of the Hyuga family possess the Byakugan. It is a common, although unproven, belief that the Sharingan is a genetic offshoot of the Byakugan.

The Byakugan is the primary focus of the Hyuga's special arts. When the Byakugan is activated, their pupils become more distinct, and the veins near their temples bulge.

The first ability of the Byakugan gives the user a near 360º field of vision, except for one blind spot at the back of the neck above the third thoracic vertebra.

The second ability is having the ability to see through solid objects, and can use a degree of telescopic sight. The distance and the degree of telescopic sight varies from person to person. In Part I, Neji Hyuga was able to see an area of 50 meters, but later he increases his visual range to at least 800 meters, while Hinata Hyuga's range in Part II stretches at least as far as 10 km. During the hunt for either of the Uchiha brothers, Hinata was shown to be able to view Amaterasu's flames, and the chakra in the area, from ten kilometers away. However, the Byakugan cannot see through certain barriers, such as the Four Black Fog Battle Formation used by the Sound Four.

Ice Release

A clan that lived in the Land of Water. Some time ago, the country was in the midst of a civil war. In this war, different sides battled each other using ninja, some of whom possessed kekkei genkai. After the war ended, memories of the horrific battles still lingered in the minds of the people, causing wide-spread persecutions against those with kekkei genkai. Because of this, Haku's clan, whose members carried the Ice Release kekkei genkai, went into hiding.

Haku and his mother, both deceased, are the only known members of this clan. What happened to the rest of the clan is unknown, but it is assumed that they were either killed or, like Haku's mother, went to live peaceful between normal people, without revealing their bloodline.

Rinnegan

The Rinnegan (meaning "Samsara Eye") is the most revered and, according to Fukasaku, the most powerful of all the three great dojutsu. The Rinnegan's occurrence is so rare that Jiraiya once believed its existence was only a legend, and Kakashi Hatake believes it to be only a mutation. There have thus far been only two known users: the Sage of the Six Paths and Nagato. With the Sage long deceased and with Nagato now dead, there are no confirmed Rinnegan users alive at this point.

The Rinnegan is characterized by a ripple-like pattern around the pupil, with a grayish-purple iris and sclera. In addition to enabling the user to quickly master various jutsu, the user may also use all forms of chakra nature manipulation. It also allows the user to use all of the six paths techniques. Like the Sharingan and the Byakugan, the Rinnegan also allows the user to see chakra, including otherwise hidden barriers. According to Nagato's partner Konan, the possessor of the Rinnegan is the seventh path of Pain, who is "beyond life and death", and can use the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, which allows the Rinnegan user to revive all people who have died recently.

Sharingan

The Sharingan (meaning "Copy Wheel Eye") is a Kekkei Genkai, which appears in the members of the Uchiha clan. Some characters believe that it was somehow derived from the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, though the Uchiha clan are the descendants from a person who inherited the "eyes" of the Sage of the Six Paths. Although the Sharingan consumes the user's chakra while active, the chakra levels that the user must exert is so insignificant that they can keep it active constantly. However, when a Sharingan is transplanted to a non-Uchiha, the chakra drain is significant.

The Sharingan, unlike the Byakugan, is not automatically activated in the user by birth. It is only first unlocked under some stressful or emotional condition, after which, though, the Sharingan may be used freely. When the Sharingan is first activated by a user, it has a different number of tomoe (?) around the central pupil, varying between users. The wielder of the Sharingan, through continued use and training, evolves it further which involves it gaining more tomoe, up to a maximum of three. As the Sharingan evolves, the user gains heightened abilities. The only level up from the three tomoe Sharingan is the Mangekyo Sharingan, which is gained by the emotional stress stemming from the loss of someone close to the user.

The Sharingan's first and most well-known ability is that it grants the user the ability to memorize any technique that he or she witnesses, apart from other Kekkei Genkai techniques. The user can memorize ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu with perfect accuracy, allowing the user to use the techniques as his own, or even modify them to create his own new techniques, much like Sasuke Uchiha's Lion Combo. In order to reproduce a copied jutsu, however, one must have the necessary skill or ability to perform them. A prime example is Rock Lee's brand of taijutsu. While Sasuke was able to copy some of Lee's moves, they put a much more significant strain on him since he hasn't trained nearly as much as Lee has. In addition to physical skill and kekkei genkai techniques, the Sharingan cannot reproduce jutsu dependent on other factors, such as summons that the user has not signed a contract with.

The Sharingan's second-most prominent ability grants the user an incredible clarity of perception, allowing them to easily recognize genjutsu and different forms of chakra, though not to the same extent as the Byakugan. This also allows the user to pick up on subtle details, enabling them to read lip movements or mimic something like pencil movements. As the Sharingan evolves, gaining more tomoe seals, this ability extends to being able to track fast-moving objects before finally giving some amount of predictive capabilities to the user. Even though the user may be able to see an attack or know it is coming, they may not have time to react.

The third of the Sharingan's powers is being able to see the chakra flow. The Sharingan can tell if a person is under a genjutsu because the person's chakra flow would be irregular.

The Sharingan's final ability is capable of inducing a unique brand of hypnosis that involves suggesting actions and thoughts to the opponent through simple eye contact. When used in conjunction with the other aspects of the Sharingan, this allows the user to perfectly mimic every move their opponents make even before they do, making it appear as if the user can "see the future". More advanced Sharingan users can take the hypnosis ability even further by tricking or even trapping their opponent within an illusion. The potency of the Sharingan's illusion is dependent on the user's knowledge and skill with implementing genjutsu.

Mangekyou Sharingan

The Mangekyo Sharingan (meaning "Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye") is a heightened form of Sharingan, said to be feared as the strongest dojutsu. The Mangekyo Sharingan is distinguished from a normal Sharingan through its appearance, which changes the form of the tomoe seal. Unlike in the case of the Sharingan, the appearance of the Mangekyo Sharingan differs from user to user; Kakashi Hatake's and Itachi Uchiha's both resemble pinwheels, Madara Uchiha's and his brother, Izuna's look more like a detailed form of the basic three-tomoe Sharingan, and Sasuke Uchiha's looks like a star.

Shikotsumyaku

Shikotsumyaku (meaning "Dead Bone Pulse") is the Kekkei Genkai of the extinct Kaguya clan, which gave them the ability to manipulate their own skeletal structure. By infusing their calcium with chakra, they can manipulate the growth and properties of their bones to their likings. The ability seems to be rare amongst the clan members, as Kimimaro was the only one to exhibit it out of his entire clan.

Apparently, this ability gives the user a unique body, as when Kimimaro was fatally ill, Kabuto Yakushi claimed there had been too little information on his body to give any medical treatment.

Wood Release

Wood Release (Japanese: Mokuton meaning "Wood Style") techniques combine earth and water-based chakra to create wood. Wood Release techniques can be produced from anywhere, including the user's body, as the user's chakra is literally converted into a source of life. Hashirama Senju was the originator of this ability, evidenced by the fact that none of his relatives have been shown capable of using Wood Release. The First's ability to use these techniques was the reason for him being given the title of Hokage, and with Wood Release Secret Technique: Birth of Dense Woodland he was able to grow the trees that served as the foundation of Konohagakure.

Orochimaru, in his quest to harvest the First's abilities, injected his DNA into 60 test subjects, and out of the 60 only Tenzo survived. This gave Tenzo the Wood Release abilities. However, he is not as masterful as Hashirama.

A possibly unrelated technique, but unique to the First and Yamato, is the Hokage-style Sixty-year-old Technique - Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-bringing Hands. This technique produces a seal "sit" on the user's hand that can suppress a tailed beast's influence over its host. This is done by producing wooden dragons from the ground that attach to the host and force the tailed beast's chakra to recede. The First Hokage's Necklace aids in this technique's execution, but its exact role is unclear.