Byakugan

The is a kekkei genkai dōjutsu that originated from the Ōtsutsuki clan. After the Ōtsutsuki settled on Earth,Naruto chapter 671, page 9 the Byakugan became more commonly associated with the Hyūga clan,Naruto chapter 78 descendants of the Ōtsutsuki. It is regarded as one of the "Three Great Dōjutsu", the others being the Sharingan and the Rinnegan.Sha no Sho, page 313
== Overview ==
Unlike dōjutsu such as the Sharingan, which do not manifest until users meet certain conditions,Naruto chapter 619 the Byakugan is present from the time of birth. Individuals with the Byakugan are typically identifiable by their unique eyes: the irides are enlarged and white (light lavender in the anime), and there are no distinguishable pupils. When users activate their Byakugan, the pupils become more distinct and the increased blood flow to their eyes causes the veins near their temples to bulge. Some users' Byakugan take on atypical characteristics:
* Himawari Uzumaki is a descendant of the Hyūga clan through her mother, but ordinarily has the same blue eyes as her father. Her eyes become featureless white only while her Byakugan are in use."The Day Naruto Became Hokage"
* In Itachi Shinden, Mukai Kohinata's family split off from the Hyūga clan several generations before his birth, leading most to assume his bloodline was too diluted to possess the Byakugan. Mukai does in fact have a Byakugan, but only in his left eye and which only resembles a Byakugan when in use.
* Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki's Byakugan usually appeared identical to any other Byakugan, but took on a golden colour after he absorbs Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki's power.Boruto chapter 8
* Urashiki Ōtsutsuki's Byakugan, similarly to Momoshiki's, appeared like any other, but also took on a golden colour after consuming the chakra he collected along his own eyes.Boruto episode 135
* Isshiki Ōtsutsuki only possessed one Byakugan, in his left eye; his right eye was seemingly a different dōjutsu.Boruto chapter 49
The Byakugan's array of abilities have rendered it highly coveted. Kumogakure has made various attempts to acquire and study the Byakugan over the years, notably during the Hyūga Affair.Naruto chapter 102 Ao of Kirigakure was able to acquire a single Byakugan from a Hyūga he defeated,Naruto chapter 459 which he went to great lengths to protect;Naruto chapter 471 unlike other dōjutsu that have been transplanted, Ao could activate and deactivate his Byakugan at will. When Danzō Shimura of Konohagakure learned of Ao's Byakugan, he made immediate plans to either destroy it or take it for himself.Naruto chapter 469, page 3 In order to prevent the Byakugan from being acquired by enemies, the Hyūga clan developed a practice of applying cursed seals to most of its members; when those branded with the cursed seal die, their Byakugan are destroyed.
The anime implies that simply possessing a Byakugan is not enough to be able to use its powers; even if one is born with visible traits of it, they must undergo intense training before the Byakugan's power can be activated, something not all users can accomplish.Boruto episode 8 The anime likewise shows the Byakugan activating automatically if the user is under stressful circumstances, even if they haven't learned how to activate it on their own.Boruto episode 9 Once a user does become able to use the Byakugan, they must avoid using it excessively, otherwise they will be rendered unable to keep it active until they've taken time to rest.Naruto chapter 540, page 4
== Abilities ==
Individuals with a Byakugan have a near-360º field of vision around themselves, save for a small blindspot at the back of the neck above the first thoracic vertebra.Naruto chapter 196, page 8 (Mukai, because only his left eye is a Byakugan, also lacks its enhanced sight on his right side.)Itachi Shinden: Book of Dark Night, page 30 The Byakugan's vision can penetrate almost any object, allowing users to see through walls,Naruto chapter 188, pages 7-8 peer underground,Naruto chapter 516 or even examine the contents of a person's body.Naruto chapter 70 Certain barriers have been shown to block a Byakugan's sight,Naruto chapter 186, page 5 as have smokescreens that are comprised of a particular mineral dust.Boruto chapter 53, page 13 Users can focus their vision on anything and everything within the Byakugan's range, allowing them to monitor individuals from afarNaruto chapter 490 or to quickly survey a vast area and pinpoint specific locations within that area.Naruto chapter 263 The exact range of the Byakugan varies between users, but can be improved with training: in Part I, Neji Hyūga's Byakugan had a maximum range of fifty meters,Naruto chapter 195, page 9 but by Part II could see at least 800 meters away. Hinata's Byakugan on the other hand could see at least 1 kilometer in part 1,Naruto chapter 58 page 7 at least 10 kilometers in part 2,Naruto chapter 396 page 6 and increased to at least 20 kilometers during The Last, while Kaguya Ōtsutsuki can cover much of the globe with her own Byakugan.
thumb|left|The Byakugan viewing the chakra pathway system.
The Byakugan can see chakra to a greater degree than the Sharingan. This enables users to distinguish certain types of clonesNaruto chapter 100 and even identify specific individuals' chakra signatures. Its ability to see chakra is acute enough to see the chakra pathway system within a target's body and the 361 tenketsu that run along it. The Hyūga have devised the Gentle Fist style of combat to specifically take advantage of this ability, wherein they strike an opponent's tenketsu to either seal or forcibly open them, thus giving the user complete control over their opponent's chakra.Naruto chapter 79 In Book of Dark Night, Mukai is able to use the Gentle Fist to carefully split an opponent's chakra-based jutsu so that it harmlessly passes around him.
As a result of the Byakugan's ability to see chakra, users are able to determine if an opponent is currently performing a genjutsu.Naruto chapter 394, page 15 Similarly, Ao credited his Byakugan for being able to expose that the Fourth Mizukage was under the influence of a genjutsu. But unlike the Sharingan, the Byakugan does not seem to give its users any particular defence against an opponent's genjutsu; in Book of Dark Night, genjutsu is deemed a viable method of capturing Mukai Kohinata, even with his Byakugan. The Byakugan can at least increase the effectiveness of the user's genjutsu, as Kaguya combined her Byakugan's vast range with the Infinite Tsukuyomi in order to subjugate entire nations. Momoshiki claimed his Byakugan could read the fate of others, though he lamented it didn't allow him to see his own.Boruto chapter 10, pages 8-17
Episodes of the anime have depicted the Byakugan as having a variety of miscellaneous abilities not seen elsewhere in the series:
*It can use infrared to detect a target through their body heat.Naruto episode 149
*It can determine the development of one's chakra, and even tell if one can mould chakra at all.Naruto episode 198
*It can see into a target's mind to determine their thoughts and feelings, even to look through their memories. Kaguya's ability to do so was so great that Hamura Ōtsutsuki, using his own Byakugan, was unable to repel her.Naruto: Shippūden episode 461
**Kaguya could likewise emit pulses of chakra from her Byakugan to subdue targets.
*It enables its users to analyse an opponent's tactics during a fight, granting them a certain amount of predictive ability.
== Evolution ==
When an Ōtsutsuki is implanted with the Byakugan of a Hyūga, this combination of the two clans' chakra transforms the Byakugan into Tenseigan. This transformation takes several days to complete, but once achieved the wielder gains several new skills, such as Tenseigan Chakra Mode and Truth-Seeking Balls. The Tenseigan can lose its power and revert back to Byakugan if the user is weakened enough in battle.The Last: Naruto the Movie
In the anime, Urashiki Ōtsutsuki could switch his eyes back and forth between Byakugan and Rinnegan at will.Boruto episode 62
== Forms ==
Byakugan.svg|The standard appearance of the Byakugan.
Byakugan Momoshiki.svg|Momoshiki and Urashiki's golden Byakugan.
== Trivia ==
* The kanji for can also be read as "shirome" or "hakugan". When the latter two readings are used, "白眼" is used to refer to the sclerae.
* Amado Sanzu created a drug to weaken the Byakugan, one of several options he devised in his mission to defeat Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. He believes those who ingest the drug would at the very least have their Byakugan's visual powers reduced, but speculates it could even kill them. For this reason, he warns against allowing Hinata or Himawari to take the drug.Boruto chapter 57, pages 15-16
* In the anime, the Byakugan's sight is normally illustrated in an inverted black and white colour scheme.
* In the anime, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's natural eyes are the same featureless white as Byakugan, though he displays none of the Byakugan's abilities.
* Masashi Kishimoto intended to give Himawari and Boruto Uzumaki Byakugan when they were introduced in Naruto chapter 700, but forgot. Article on cinemacafe (Japanese) Himawari is later depicted with Byakugan in "The Day Naruto Became Hokage".
* Users are sometimes shown performing hand seals to activate their Byakugan. The used seals are: Horse, Tiger with just index fingers, Boar with nearly straightened fingers, Hare, Rat, Dog, Horse, Dog, Hare, Rat, Boar with nearly straightened fingers, and Snake with the right index finger lifted. Sometimes, only the last seal is used.Naruto episode 40
* Masashi Kishimoto stated in Sha no Sho that if a Sharingan user and a Byakugan user were to mate, their offspring would have one Byakugan and one Sharingan.Sha no Sho, page 351
* In Naruto Shippūden the Movie, the Byakugan is able to see one's chakra nature affinity.
* The Byakugan cannot see the original of a clone made by the Shadow Clone Technique .
== References ==
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Category:Kekkei Mōra
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