Sasuke Not Using Amaterasu on Naruto: Why? - Tech With Tech
Sasuke Not Using Amaterasu on Naruto: Why? (All the Info)

Sasuke Not Using Amaterasu on Naruto: Why?

By Theresa McDonough

Here’s why Sasuke doesn’t use Amaterasu on Naruto:

Sasuke actually does use Amaterasu on Naruto precisely one time.

This happens in their final fight at the Valley of the End, and the technique is completely ineffective against Naruto.

Before that, Sasuke never uses it due to a lack of opportunity and a lack of desire to outright kill Naruto.

So if you want to learn why Sasuke doesn’t use Amaterasu on Naruto, then this article is for you.

Let’s get started!

Sasuke Not Using Amaterasu on Naruto: Why? (All the Info)

Who Is Sasuke?

Let me start this whole thing with a spoiler warning.

It is impossible for me to answer the original question without discussing major spoilers for the very end of the Naruto manga and the original anime series (Naruto and Shippuden).

So, this is your spoiler warning.

With that said, let’s go through brief recap.

In Naruto, Sasuke is Naruto’s best friend and rival.

The two work together many times, but they also fight many times.

When Sasuke leaves the Leaf Village, it’s one of the major plot points in the whole saga, and Sasuke is effectively an enemy of Naruto at points.

Despite that, Naruto always views Sasuke as a friend, and the last time they fight, Naruto is trying to save Sasuke while Sasuke is trying to kill Naruto.

Who Is Naruto?

You probably already know the answer to this, but let’s cover it anyway.

Naruto is the title character.

He’s the blond kid who grows into the strongest ninja in the entire world by the end of the series.

Most importantly, he’s the person who fights Sasuke at the very end of the manga.

What Is Amaterasu?

Possibly the most important thing I need to cover for this conversation is Amaterasu.

What is it?

It’s a special ninja technique that can only be used by the Uchiha clan.

Even then, it can only be used by those who awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, and even then only a handful ever have access to it.

The only characters we know for sure can use it are Itachi and Sasuke.

For the most part, Mangekyou Sharingan abilities are unique to each person’s eyes, but there is some inconsistency with that in the Naruto universe.

But, we know for sure that Sasuke and Itachi can use Amaterasu.

What does the technique do?

It’s a black fire that is said to be able to burn through absolutely anything, even other fire.

It never extinguishes except by the will of the user (or if they run out of chakra).

It’s one of the most powerful offensive techniques in the Naruto universe (although both Naruto and Sasuke ultimately have multiple techniques that are much, much stronger).

As such, Amaterasu is extremely dangerous and very effective for killing enemies.

Why Would Sasuke Use Amaterasu on Naruto?

Naruto and Sasuke are best friends and ninjas from the same village.

So, why would Sasuke ever use it on Naruto if it’s so dangerous?

Well, to shorten a very long story (700 manga chapters to be precise), Naruto and Sasuke have a falling out, and they fight multiple times.

It’s safe to say that Sasuke views Naruto as an outright enemy at points in the story.

So, it would make sense for Sasuke to kill his enemy with black fire, yet that doesn’t happen.

Why Doesn’t Sasuke Use Amaterasu? (2 Scenarios)

Actually, Sasuke does use Amaterasu on Naruto.

He does it exactly one time in one of the last chapters of the manga and at the end of the primary events in Shippuden.

Shippuden has a lot of “filler” episodes at the very end of the anime that tie up many loose ends that are not addressed as clearly in the manga.

So, I’ll explain the one time that Sasuke uses Amaterasu on Naruto.

Before that, I’ll explain all of the times that he doesn’t.

Not to worry, I’ll get through all of that pretty quickly.

#1 Through Most of the Series

For the vast majority of the manga and through almost all of Naruto and Shippuden, Sasuke does not use Amaterasu on Naruto.

There are basically three reasons for this.

First, it takes Sasuke a long time to learn the skill.

By the time Sasuke uses Amaterasu for the very first time, Naruto is preparing to fight pain, and the Akatsuki is nearly completely destroyed.

It’s pretty late into the grand story of Naruto.

So, for the most part, Sasuke couldn’t have done it even if he wanted to.

The second reason is similarly linked.

Naruto and Sasuke fight exactly three times in the manga and anime run (excluding flashback fights from when they were children).

The first fight takes place on the roof of the hospital after the Chunin exams.

Kakashi interrupts this fight before it can conclude, and Sasuke definitely doesn’t know Amaterasu yet.

The second fight is at the Valley of the End when Sasuke is running away to join with Orochimaru.

This is still in the original anime, and they’re still young ninjas.

Once again, Sasuke doesn’t know Amaterasu yet.

The third fight happens at the very end of the manga and Shippuden, and this is where Sasuke does in fact use it.

The third reason that Sasuke doesn’t use Amaterasu on Naruto is because, for most of the series, he doesn’t want to kill Naruto.

Amaterasu is an extremely high-level technique that can burn anything.

It’s a kill shot.

You don’t use it just to subdue someone.

Until the very final fight between Sasuke and Naruto, Sasuke never tries to kill Naruto.

He talks about it and even contemplates it, but he never really wants to do it.

It’s a defining character for Sasuke.

But, in the very last fight, Sasuke realizes that he can only carry out his plans if he removes all attachment, and the only way to do that is to kill Naruto.

As long as Naruto lives, Sasuke will still feel attachment to him as a friend.

#2 The Final Fight

That covers the reasons why Sasuke doesn’t use Amaterasu on Naruto for the vast majority of the series.

But, as I already pointed out, there is that one time when Sasuke does use it.

Let’s set the stage.

The final bad guy, Kaguya, appeared and put the whole world under a spell (genjutsu) to make them compliant.

Only the original members of Team 7 (Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura) are awake.

Working together, they defeat Kaguya.

Before they can wake everyone up from the spell, Sasuke traps all of the tailed beasts and declares his intentions to remake the world as he sees fit.

Naruto is determined to stop him.

Sakura and Kakashi are temporarily incapacitated, so Naruto and Sasuke leave the area so they can fight uninterrupted.

This is the final fight between the two, and Sasuke is fully determined to kill Naruto.

Naruto is fully determined to save Sasuke.

They have an epic fight.

After they exhaust most of their chakra reserves and most powerful abilities, the fight is still even between the two.

Sasuke doesn’t have anything stronger to use, but Naruto is no longer at his strongest either.

So, Sasuke hits him with Amaterasu.

Ultimately, Naruto is able to shrug off the technique, and the fight continues (I’ll explain how that works in the next section).

Seeing that Amaterasu won’t work, Sasuke continues to fight with Naruto in any way that he can.

Eventually, they exhaust each other, and the fight devolves into a formless brawl.

They fight through the night and can barely stand.

They attack each other with a final chidori and rasengan (their signature moves), and that clash ends the fight.

They each lose an arm from that clash, and they’re too exhausted to even move.

But, they’re both alive, and through the anime trope of understanding people by fighting them, Sasuke comes around to Naruto’s line of thinking, and they’re friends once more.

Why Didn’t Amaterasu Work on Naruto?

That’s the story of Sasuke using Amaterasu on Naruto, but it brings up an interesting question.

Amaterasu is supposed to be unstoppable.

Why didn’t it work on Naruto?

Basically, it’s because of chakra.

By this point in the fight, Naruto was cloaked in chakra from the kyuubi.

He also has natural sage chakra running through him.

On top of that, he was blessed by the Sage of Six Paths and has some of his natural abilities, and that’s not all.

Naruto also permanently has some chakra from all of the tailed beasts.

Even though he’s exhausted and low on chakra at this point in the fight, those innate things exist within him, and they afford very large barriers of protection.

Right before getting hit by Amaterasu, Naruto falls out of the sky and lands face-first on solid ground.

He’s unhurt because the nature chakra protected him.

The same principle protects him from Amaterasu.

Naruto effectively catches the fire on a sleeve of chakra and is able to sling it off of his body like water.

The Amaterasu keeps burning, but it can’t attach to Naruto because of the chakra sleeve and ends up on the ground.

Naruto is completely unhurt by the fire.

What About the Naruto Anime?

Everything I just described happened in the original manga.

What about the anime?

It didn’t always follow the manga to the letter.

Did Sasuke ever use Amaterasu on Naruto in that storyline?

Yes.

In fact, it happens pretty much identically when compared to the manga.

Naruto and Sasuke burn through their chakra using bigger attacks.

Sasuke tries Amaterasu.

Naruto catches it on a chakra sleeve and flings it to the ground.

This video has a pretty good truncated version of the whole fight.

You can watch it for yourself.

The Amaterasu part happens at 7:30.