Naruto Shippuden is one of the most popular and influential anime series of all time, with a rich and complex story that spans hundreds of episodes and several spin-offs.
The series follows the adventures of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. Along the way, he faces many enemies and challenges, both from within and outside his world.
One of the most recent and formidable foes that Naruto and his allies have to face is Jigen, the leader of Kara, a secretive organization that has mysterious goals and connections to the Otsutsuki clan, a race of alien beings that seek to harvest the life energy of planets.
Jigen is not only a powerful and ruthless leader, but also the vessel of Isshiki Otsutsuki, one of the oldest and strongest members of the clan, who has been hiding inside his body for centuries.
But who is Jigen, and how did he become the vessel of Isshiki? What are his motives and plans, and how does he relate to the other characters in the series? In this article, we will explore the backstory, abilities, and role of Jigen in the anime Naruto Shippuden, and try to answer some of these questions.
Contents
All about Jigen
[schemas]- Sex: Male
- Species: Celestial Being
- Status: Deceased
- Occupation: Monk/Vessel/Inner
- Affiliation: Kara
The Origin of Jigen
Jigen’s origin is revealed in the sequel series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which focuses on the next generation of ninjas, including Naruto’s son Boruto.
In the anime, Jigen’s past is shown in a flashback, where it is revealed that he was once a simple human monk who lived around the time that Kaguya Otsutsuki and Isshiki Otsutsuki arrived on Earth.
Kaguya and Isshiki were partners who came to Earth to plant a God Tree, a gigantic tree that absorbs the life force of the planet and produces a Chakra Fruit, a source of immense power that the Otsutsuki clan covets. However, Kaguya betrayed Isshiki and left him for dead, as she had grown attached to the planet and its people.
Isshiki, who was gravely wounded, managed to survive by shrinking himself to a microscopic size and entering the body of Jigen, who was nearby.
Isshiki then began to slowly take over Jigen’s body and mind, by absorbing his nutrients and implanting his Kama, a special seal that allows the Otsutsuki to transfer their consciousness and power to another being.
However, Jigen’s body was not suitable for Isshiki’s full resurrection, as it was too weak and frail to handle his immense chakra. Therefore, Isshiki decided to use Jigen as a temporary vessel, while searching for a more compatible one.
He also formed a secret organization called Kara, which consisted of various individuals who had been modified by scientific ninja tools, and who shared his vision of creating a new world order.
Jigen’s Appearance
Despite his ancient origins, Jigen’s appearance managed to retain a youthful physique due to Isshiki Ōtsutsuki’s influence. He was a fairly tall man of light complexion.
He sported a shaved head, apart from a long mohawk of black hair tied in a long ponytail style reaching his lower-back, pronounced eye ridges void of brows, a broad nose, and large black eyes.
Some time after Isshiki took control of him, he gained a diamond-shaped Kāma mark on his chin and a Roman numeral “Ⅳ” tattooed below his left eye.
The area where his stomach was seemed to be completely black. He also wore black nail polish on his fingernails and toenails, five red earrings on the top of each ear, and an additional one at the bottom of each ear.
In his first appearance, he wore the black hooded cloak with maroon lining typical of Kara members, along with dark capri pants and sandals, and a dark collar.
In later appearances, he donned a flowing white robe with black vertical lines on the sleeves and coattails and his personal crest on the back, loosely fastened at the waist with a tasselled belt, worn with matching red hair tie, collar, waistband, bracers, and pants, all decorated with red pearl studs and simple sandals.
The Abilities of Jigen
Jigen, as the vessel of Isshiki, possesses incredible abilities that surpass most of the characters in the series. He is a master of ninjutsu, the art of using chakra to perform various techniques, such as manipulating elements, creating illusions, and enhancing physical attributes. He is also proficient in taijutsu, the art of hand-to-hand combat, and genjutsu, the art of creating illusions.
One of his most notable abilities is his Kama, which grants him access to Isshiki’s power and skills. The Kama allows him to absorb any ninjutsu that is directed at him, making him immune to most attacks.
It also allows him to manipulate space and time, by creating portals to different dimensions, and by shrinking and enlarging objects at will. He can also use the Kama to communicate with other vessels, such as Kawaki, a young boy who was experimented on by Kara and given a Kama by Jigen.
Another ability that Jigen has is his connection to the Ten-Tails, a monstrous beast that is the result of the fusion of the nine tailed beasts, the powerful creatures that possess immense chakra and are revered as gods by some.
The Ten-Tails is the source of the God Tree, and is also the key to Isshiki’s ultimate plan. Jigen keeps the Ten-Tails in a hidden dimension, where he periodically feeds it with his own chakra, in order to make it grow and produce a Chakra Fruit.
He can also use the Ten-Tails to enhance his own power, by entering a state called the Limitless Mode, where his appearance changes and his strength and speed increase dramatically.
Ninjutsu
As Isshiki’s vessel, his body was able to channel the various abilities of the Celestial Being. He could produce black rods capable of draining chakra from the victim and could also shrink matter to microscopic levels and just as easily return it to normal so rapidly.
He could also manifest various stored objects from a pocket dimension, which he could perform with the most minute of gestures such as a mere wave of his hand or even just a flick of his fingers.
He utilised these abilities to launch the black rods at microscopic size into the bodies of his foes while leaving them completely unaware, before returning them to their original size to instantly inflict catastrophic injuries.
He could also enlarge them whenever necessary to counter armed blows from enemies. He could also apply the ability to his own body, allowing him to disappear from sight and manoeuvre around the battlefield, as if teleporting, fast enough to catch the likes of Naruto and Sasuke off-guard.
The limitations of this ability remain unknown, but Sasuke was able to track his movement even at a microscopic level thanks to the Sharingan.
Once activating Kama’s full power, Jigen became able to use these abilities at an even greater level, able to spontaneously summon large black rods instantly to incapacitate Naruto and Sasuke and even form them from his neck to block Sasuke’s sword attack.
Physical and Chakra Prowess
Through Isshiki’s control, Jigen was an extremely skilled melee-combatant with both weapons and hand-to-hand combat. He had shown tremendous speed and strength, easily kicking Naruto away, impressing the Hokage with his reaction, and effortlessly catching a punch from Kawaki when he had Kāma activated, causing Kawaki visible pain by merely squeezing his arm.
He was also highly durable, suffering no injuries from a kick to the jaw from Naruto in his Six Paths Sage Mode. While he had Kama activated, Jigen was easily capable of handling Naruto in his Six Paths Sage Mode in physical combat and would have dealt a lethal blow had Sasuke not interfered both times.
Upon accessing Kāma’s enhanced state, Jigen effortlessly defeated Naruto and overpowered his shadow clones within a matter of moments. He had also displayed remarkable proficiency with a large black rod to easily parry blows from Sasuke, despite his skill in kenjutsu.
Even while severely weakened from his battle with Naruto and Sasuke, he remained fully capable of matching Koji Kashin in hand-to-hand combat.
As Isshiki’s vessel, Jigen wielded tremendously powerful chakra, compared to Naruto in his Six Paths Sage Mode form by Kawaki. When he activated Kāma’s transformed state, his chakra was such that it intimidated Sasuke into fleeing and later on unnerved both him and Naruto.
Even without Kāma, his sinister chakra was already strong enough to terrify Ino Yamanaka to the point of near-collapse, whereas she only felt a slight reaction upon sensing Delta’s chakra.
His reserves were shown to be able to maintain prolonged usage of his Kāma without issue against the likes of Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously, although using its full power for such a long period could still weaken him considerably, draining him of almost all of his chakra and taking two days to return to full power. Despite this weakened state, he retained enough chakra to battle Koji, using several of his techniques, with seemingly little drain.
Kama
Jigen possessed a Kāma mark on his chin, which had caused various augmentations to him including tremendously enhanced longevity, having remained in his physical prime for over 1,000 years.
It could be activated at will, causing it to spread across his entire body in nearly symmetrical sunburst patterns. He was able to pass a Kāma on to other individuals through the aid of science, albeit with a low success rate, more often resulting in death, and with Kawaki’s coming from him, he could synchronise with the latter’s Kāma to open a portal to his current location.
With his Kāma activated, the mark spread across his chin, eyes, and body in vertical sunburst patterns. In this state, Jigen’s power was already amplified to such levels that he was able to pressure both Naruto and Sasuke at once for an extended period of time.
His physical parameters were greatly enhanced, his strength being such that his blow pushed Naruto back noticeably despite him having properly blocked it, shocking the Hokage by the feat, resilient enough to be completely uninjured and instantly recover from being harshly kicked to the jaw by Sasuke.
His prowess with absorption could absorb large quantities of chakra from tailed beast-like entities, and effortlessly neutralise Naruto’s powerful Rasengan techniques and Sasuke’s Amaterasu, being unaffected even while in his microscopic state.
However, he could not manoeuvre as efficiently while absorbing. In the anime, he was shown charging up a beam of energy, similar to Kawaki.
When accessing the full power of the Kāma, his enhanced state progressed it far enough to make a horn protrude from his left temple and wrap around the back of his skull, resembling a crown.
In this state, Jigen gained an even more tremendous boost in power, able to easily defeat both Naruto and Sasuke. He was so fast and strong, he could easily dodge Sasuke’s Complete Body Susanoo’s sword slash and then penetrate it with a single kick to send Sasuke flying as well as punch Naruto out of his Tailed Beast Mode and causing him to draw blood with a single attack. Along with that, he was able to make Naruto and Sasuke bleed severely with just a few punches, even reverting Naruto back to his base form.
The Role of Jigen
Jigen, as the leader of Kara and the vessel of Isshiki, plays a major role in the plot of Naruto Shippuden and its sequel series. He is the main antagonist of the series, as he opposes Naruto and his allies, who seek to protect the peace and harmony of the world.
He is also the catalyst for many events and conflicts, as he influences and manipulates various characters and situations, such as Kawaki, Boruto, and the Otsutsuki clan.
Jigen’s main goal is to find a suitable vessel for Isshiki, and to complete the God Tree project, which would result in the destruction of the planet and the creation of a new world order.
He believes that the current world is flawed and corrupted, and that he is doing a service to humanity by bringing about a new era. He also views himself as a superior being, and looks down on anyone who opposes him or questions his authority.
Jigen’s actions and plans have a profound impact on the lives and destinies of many characters, especially Kawaki and Boruto. Kawaki, who was bought by Jigen from his abusive father, and who was subjected to harsh experiments and training by Kara, develops a deep hatred and fear of Jigen, and seeks to escape from his control.
He eventually forms a bond with Naruto and his family, who treat him with kindness and compassion, and who try to protect him from Jigen. He also becomes a brother figure to Boruto, who shares his fate as a vessel of an Otsutsuki.
Boruto, who is the son of Naruto and the protagonist of the sequel series, is also affected by Jigen, as he unknowingly receives a Kama from Momoshiki Otsutsuki, who was defeated by him and his father.
The Kama slowly transforms Boruto into Momoshiki’s vessel, and gives him access to his power and abilities. Boruto also learns about the true nature and origin of the Otsutsuki clan, and the threat that they pose to the world. He also witnesses the clash between Jigen and his father, and the consequences that follow.
Jigen, as the vessel of Isshiki, is one of the most powerful and dangerous enemies that Naruto and his allies have ever faced. He is also one of the most mysterious and intriguing characters in the series, as he has a complex and tragic backstory, and a twisted and ambitious vision. He is a character that challenges and changes the status quo of the world, and the fate of the characters, in the anime Naruto Shippuden.
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