What Powers Did Itachi Give to Naruto Before He Died?
Everybody has their own favorite side characters, especially in the shōnen genre of manga and anime. Regarding the Naruto series, it was always hard to pinpoint the ultimate favorite among many great characters. Still, one hero who turned into a villain and antihero to eventually become a hero, Itachi Uchiha, is someone Naruto fans can relate with. Before the Fourth Shinobi War, one encounter between Naruto and Itachi impacted the future happenings of the tragic event. This article will discuss what powers Itachi gave Naruto before he died.
During the Itachi Pursuit Mission and Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant story arcs in Naruto Shippuden, Itachi placed a crow with Shisui’s Mangekyo Sharingan’s Kotoamatsukami inside Naruto since he was the only one who wanted to protect Konoha from Sasuke without killing him. The crow was implanted in Naruto and “programmed” to protect Konoha, and it finally did after Kabuto used Edo Tensei to reincarnate Itachi. Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami in the crow activated and overridden Kabuto’s control over Itachi, who later helped Killer B and Naruto to defeat the resurrected Nagato.
We will discuss this topic more by mentioning circumstances around Itachi’s crow, its influence on the events just before the Fourth Shinobi War, and the impact of Itachi’s doings. If you are interested in this article, stay with us until the end of the article.
Did Itachi give his powers to Naruto?
During the Naruto series, Naruto, Team 7, and other variations of Konoha teams pursued many criminals and missing-nins over the years. Still, the pursuits for Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha were among the most important missions Team Kakashi had in years.
The Itachi Pursuit story arc is the one where Naruto encountered Itachi for the second time in his life (first occurred in part one of the series). After the news of Orochimaru’s death by Sasuke’s hand reaches Konoha, combined efforts of Team 7 and Team 8 are sent to find Sasuke and bring him to justice. They don’t know that Sasuke is also trying to find his brother on whom he wants to seek revenge. The Itachi Pursuit story arc continues during another storyline, Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant, where Jiraiya investigates Pain’s identity.
These arcs are happening simultaneously in the Naruto series, but Itachi’s mission is still unknown to the Konoha shinobi. Itachi purposely goes to Naruto and asks him to talk to him. Naruto refuses and starts attaching the Uchiha, who traps him in the genjutsu. During the sequence, Itachi asks Naruto what Sasuke means to him and what he will do if his brother attacks Konohagakure. Naruto says he will protect the village without killing “brother” Sasuke.
The answer seems to appease Itachi, who uses that moment to store a special crow in his body and leaves the scene. Naruto continues his search and eventually stumbles upon Sasuke.
What powers did Itachi give to Naruto?
We mentioned that Itachi implanted a special crow in Naruto without him being conscious of it. The animal was a crow with Shisui Uchiha’s left eye – Mangekyo Sharingan that casts powerful genjutsu Kotoamatsukami. It didn’t necessarily give powers to Naruto – it was simply a safety trigger that automatically awakens Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami in the presence of Itachi’s Mangekyo Sharingan.
Crow activated during The Fourth Shinobi War: Confrontation story arc when Naruto and Killer B finally set to join the rest of the Allied Shinobi Forces in the war against Madara and Obito Uchiha. Kabuto tries to stop them by resurrecting Itachi and Nagato, who immediately attacks two jinchuuriki. Itachi and Nagato don’t have control of their own bodies and proceed to attack; however, as usual, Itachi has the upper hand over everyone. The crow he previously stored in Naruto activates Kotoamatsukami and removes Kabuto’s control over Itachi’s body.
Itachi proceeds to help Killer B and Naruto in the fight against Nagato and eventually defeats him. Nagato finally has the chance to rest in the Afterlife after thanking Naruto for everything from the bottom of his heart. After its usage, Itachi destroys the crow with Amaterasu to prevent anyone from getting their hands on Shisui’s eye – like Danzo did before Shisui’s death.
Itachi then proceeds to find Kabuto and prevent the Impure World Reincarnation – before he leaves, Itachi tells Naruto that he needs to let his friends support him since they are his biggest strength. He departs with the wishes of Naruto to help Sasuke reform. So no, Itachi’s Crow did not give Naruto special powers but it acted like the special safety switch, which prevented Kabuto from abusing already deceased shinobi for his gain.
Why did Itachi give Kotoamatsukami Crow to Naruto?
In one of our previous articles, we discussed Itachi’s determination and intentions, which were his main motivations in the Naruto series. We know that the Uchiha clan has close connections to emotions, especially love and hate – the latter being the prevailing emotion in awakening their legendary Kekkei Genkai, Sharingan. Itachi deeply cared for his clan and village, Konohagakure, but most importantly, his brother Sasuke.
Since Itachi departed from Konohagakure, Itachi has been trying to protect his brother, but to do that, he needed to become the story’s villain and join the notorious group Akatsuki. Of course, in Akatsuki, Itachi needed to go through many “enemies” and potential allies to achieve his goals – to protect the village and his brother Sasuke. This is why Naruto was given the special crow because he was the only one who had faith in Sasuke and considered him his brother.
The fact that Naruto said he was a better brother to Sasuke than Itachi himself showed the missing-nin Naruto’s loyalty and love for his friend. The special crow holding Shisui’s Sharingan was activated and protected the village and Naruto himself, who later saved the world and his brother.
Intentions were always the biggest part of Itachi’s character, and in the end, he gave Naruto some really valuable advice: “You don’t become the Hokage to be acknowledged by everyone. The one who is acknowledged by everyone becomes the Hokage.” With this quote, Itachi made Naruto realize the true meaning of becoming Hokage and the importance of support for his friends, including Sasuke.