:Morality is a fickle concept. One that can’t so easily be split into good, and evil, and can’t be predetermined for the entirety of a lifespan.
:Despite the earnest attempts of many to do good, excel, and protect those they care about, some men are twisted, reshaped, and corrupted, turning into dark inversions of who they once aspired to be, serving under malicious influences and discarded when necessary.
:But ultimately, they break free from the malevolent hold on their psyche, and embrace the light before passing on.
:Such as Lord Garmadon, the dark overlord and son of Ninjago’s greatest warrior.
:And Obito Uchiha, the masked ninja and devout follower of the Moon’s Eye Plan.
:Both of these fighters are incredibly powerful in their own right, but today they will meet on the field of war, and decide who among them is truly worthy of the title of “Lord”.
:I am Clank.
:I’m Junior!
:And I’m JJ. And it’s time…for a smackdown!
:Long ago, before the land of Ninjago was even conceived, there existed two races: the Oni, and the Dragons. They constantly fought each other, as the yin and the yang, with seemingly no way to ever come to peace.
:That is, until a child was sired of both bloodlines. Initially, it seemed like this would be the perfect way to come to a resolution, but eventually both sects began fighting over the boy. Annoyed, he left the realm of Oni and Dragons, and journeyed to a new realm.
:There, he forged four mystical weapons in the Golden Peaks and Temple of Light, and used them to create a new world to call home: Ninjago.
:However, his creation of a light world also brought forth the dark, in the form of the Overlord and his army of stone. Unable to beat them after a long seige, the great master split his island in two, trapping the Stone Army and Overlord on the other half.
:Eventually, he grew old, and realized he needed to train successors. So, as in accordance with the balance, he gave birth to two sons, each with one quarter of oni DNA. One was a boy named Wu, and the other…was Garmadon.
:Aw, that kid? He looks so cute! No way he’s the bad guy.
:Well, he wouldn’t have been…if he hadn’t been bitten by an immortal venomous reptile that turned every cell in Garmadon’s body to evil.
:Oh.
:As the years passed, Garmadon met a beautiful woman named Misako, and sought to make her his. So, in what would be one of the greatest mistakes he ever made, Garmadon stole Wu’s letter to Misako and presented it to her as his own, ultimately winning her favor and marrying her. They even gave birth to a boy, Lloyd Garmadon.
:Garmadon had many more adventures with Wu and without, either training as a disciple of the heartless Master Chen to destroy the Anacondrai Serpentine, or fighting the ruthless time twins Acronix and Krux to save the timestream, or trying to be a good father to his child.
:Eventually, however, Garmadon’s heart became too far gone, and he attempted to steal the Golden Weapons from the wall, putting him in conflict with his brother. Light and dark met in battle, and in the end the dark Garmadon was sent plummeting into the depths of the Underworld.
:Undeterred, he defeated the Skulkin general Samukai in one-on-one combat, and took control of the entire Skeleton army, seeking to gain the power of the Golden Weapons for himself.
:Wait, was that his entire arc?
:Nooope. Just everything prior to the formation of the four Ninja.
:What the hell is Ninjago lore, I’m so used to NINJAGO, NINJAGO COME ON COME ON, COME ON AND DO THE WEEKEND WHIP!
:Yes, well, it’s not all about jumping up, kicking back, whipping around or spinning. Garmadon was a true menace, a powerhouse fighter unlike any other. He was already potent enough in the Underworld, but upon traveling to the Realm of Madness, he gained an extra set of arms, allowing him to control all four Golden Weapons! An impressive feat, considering that Samukai, another four-armed fighter, was erased from existence completely.
:And Garmadon quickly put his newfound power to work, using the four weapons to kill the Great Devourer, a snake the size of several city blocks, and create a brand new Megaweapon by fusing the Golden Weapons together. This “Megaweapon” was incredibly potent, being able to warp reality and create almost anything Garmadon could think of, with the only caveat being its inability to destroy anything directly.
:Just like a genie!
:No, that’s later. Anyway, the big cheese somehow found a way to screw that up, and his Megaweapon crashed into a far-off comet. Luckily, he found a nice substitute in the form of the Stone Army, a massive fighting force to take over Ninjago, alongside a special tank known as Garmatron. This mech allowed the lord to shoot concentrated evil bullets all over, shifting the balance in Ninjago to the side of darkness…and allowing the Overlord to possess his body.
:Whoops.
:Well, after a good old final battle, Garmadon was restored to his human self, and became a sensei again. His favorite art form was the Silent Fist, allowing him to fight without fighting. This technique was so potent, it even allowed Garmadon to defeat Ultimate Spinjitzu Master Lloyd! You know, the guy who beat the Overlord, a rival of the First Spinjitzu Master? Yeah, pretty impressive.
:And it seemed like everything was gonna be hunky-dory…until Garmadon was revealed as a pupil of Chen, turned into an Anacondrai, and sealed himself in the Cursed Realm to set the Anacondrai Generals free to stop Chen. And then he died when the Preeminent was drowned in Ninjago’s ocean. Shame.
:So, after all that heartache, you’d think they’d just let Garmadon rest peacefully and have a nice legacy, but NO. He gets revived AGAIN by the Children of Garmadon, except now he’s evil again, takes out Lloyd in a 1 on 1, and becomes the Emperor of Ninjago. Until he’s defeated by Lloyd again, using the Silent Fist technique. Nice wraparound, admittedly.
:But even after he’s sent to jail, Garmadon’s STILL not done, because he gets brought back in order to stop the Oni from conquering and destroying all of Ninjago’s realms. And after awakening his oni powers and heritage, Garmadon teams up with his son one last time, using the reforged Golden Weapons to make a Tornado of Creation, destroy the Oni, and then just…left. Off to parts unknown, in self-imposed exile. A sort of tragic end, to a character with such a storied history.
:Speaking of that oni form…
:Eeurgh! It’s hideous! It’s lovecraftian, it’s…the Nega Chin!
:Garmadon himself is no slouch. Due to controlling the Element of Destruction, he can erase people from existence. Due to his time in the Underworld, he can manipulate darkness and shadows to aid him in battle. He can spin like a Beyblade with Spinjitzu to increase his power, he can drain the powers and life force out of his opponents, he can defy the will of fate itself written by the Sword of Sanctuary as an Oni, and (when push comes to shove) he can summon a building-sized Colossus!
:And finally, there’s his ultimate Megaweapon. Although he hasn’t shown its full capabilities before its destruction, he could use it to erase those who touched it from existence, revive the dead, make giant chasms, travel through time, and de-age anything. Pretty impressive, especially since he can swing it pretty fast, being able to keep up with characters on the level of laser dodgers like Nadakhan the Djinn!
:Ah, see, there’s the genie.
:However, in spite of Garmadon’s power, he isn’t perfect. His Megaweapon drains him of stamina quite severely, and although he has reduced its cooldown from a full day to just a few seconds, it is still notable. He’s also fairly arrogant, feeling the need to taunt his opponents when he has the upper hand, and it often costs him, such as when he lost his Megaweapon because he failed to move it out of the way of the Ninja’s Golden Weapon attacks in time.
:Arguably his biggest shortcoming, however, is that as an Oni, his power can be drained by an opponent refusing to fight him, as shown in his final battle with Lloyd atop the Colossus. And while his powers can return after some time if he battles with other opponents, that scenario is less likely to occur in one-on-one skirmishes.
:Still, Lord Garmadon is a force to be reckoned with. Oni, Dragon, Spinjitzu Master, Brother…many roles, all taken up by one called Destroyer.
:Many years prior to the birth of the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki, there was a four-man team in the village of Konoha. The Yellow Flash Minato, the white-haired jonin Kakashi, the beautiful kunoichi Rin, and a goggled crybaby with the moniker of Obito Uchiha.
:The Uchiha clan was one of the most powerful ninja sects in the world, for only they were gifted with the power of the Sharingan, an ocular enhancement that let them predict the movements of any foe, and allowed them to use the Genjutsu to top opponents in an illusory world. A power that Obito had…failed, to obtain at this point.
:No matter how much the young ninja struggled, he could never keep up with his contemporaries, Kakashi and Minato, the latter being next in line to take the role of Hokage, leader of the entire village. A role that Obito sought after himself, to prove his bravery, and to win the heart of Rin.
:On his last mission as a Konoha ninja, he tried to reach a raid rendezvous near a bridge, but ended up getting Rin captured by the enemy. Desperate to go after her, he disregarded the orders of his superior, Kakashi, and attempted a rescue. During the journey, his bravery finally earned him Kakashi’s respect, and the Sharingan…but at a heavy price.
:To save his friends from a rockfall, Obito pushed himself into danger, and ended up crushed. His wounds seemingly fatal, Obito ultimately passed on a gift to Kakashi: his left eye, bequeathing Kakashi with his own Sharingan, and a request to keep Rin safe.
:But, as fate would have it, he ended up surviving due to the timely care of an old man in a cave, and a set of cells from the great ninja founder of Konoha, Hashirama Senju, attached to a curious creature known as a Zetsu. As it turned out, the man was actually (get this) Hashirama’s old rival from decades ago, Madara Uchiha! Who was supposed to die, but didn’t because of time reversal bullshit.
:OK so try to follow here. Madara wanted to do a plan called Eye of the Moon to summon an Infinite Tsukuyomi and create eternal paradise on Earth. But he knew he was about to die, so he gave up his Rinnegan eye to a boy named Nagato, planning for that eye to eventually be stolen by another boy, being Obito. Then, he allowed Obito to heal up, then created a faked scenario where ninja from a rival village kidnapped Rin to turn her into a Jinchuuriki, forcing Kakashi to kill her, and having that happen right in front of Obito in order to drive him over the edge and make him more willing to follow Madara’s instructions.
:Then, when Madara died, Obito grew up and took on the name Tobi, where he took control of a giant Tailed Beast named Kurama to attack the Hidden Leaf, forcing his former mentor Minato to seal the Kyuubi into himself and his newborn son. But, no worried, Obito helped found a gang known as the Akatsuki in order to collect all the Tailed Beasts in order to eventually put them inside a statue known as the Gedo Mazo, all while allowing Nagato from earlier to act as a puppet leader of the group with full intention to rip out his Rinnegan later and plant it into himself, giving him both an upgraded Sharingan and a Rinnegan. Then, he started a shinobi world war to draw the last two Jinchuuriki out of hiding, steal their Tailed Beast chakra, put it in his statue, and absorb the Juubi within to become the Juubi’s Jinchuuriki, allowing him to activate the Moon’s Eye Plan himself!
Heh…heh…wow…
:But what Obito didn’t plan on was the power of friendship coming together to literally rip the Bijuu chakra out of him, leaving a broken husk behind. A husk that was confronted by his inner demons, and an optimistic Hokage-to-be. And with a new resolve, he attempted to resurrect those unfairly slain by his han-
:Uh oh!
:The Zetsu attached to Obito revealed it was just using him the whole time, and redirected Obito’s resurrection spell to revive Madara instead.
:The Zetsu kept Obito alive long enough for Obito to be able to witness the rebirth of Kaguya, and allowed Obito to assist his friend one last time, granting him the gift of two temporary Mangekyo Sharingans before passing on to Rin in the afterlife. A heartwarming end, really.
:That being said, don’t take Obito’s nature as a stepping stone to Madara to mean he’s weak. Far from it. In fact, Obito possesses some of the most potent abilities of any ninja.
:Starting with his most famous ability, the Kamui. This handy jutsu allows Obito to warp parts of his body between different dimensions when they come under attack, effectively turning him into an untouchable foe…mostly. He can even use this ability to transport himself and others fully into the Kamui Dimension, potentially leaving them there for eternity.
:As an Uchiha, he possesses the powerful fire-style jutsus, extremely potent in the field of offense. Such techniques like Great Fireball are nothing to scoff at, as long as he performs the appropriate hand signals.
:But with some of Hashirama’s cells within him, Obito also knows some basic wood jutsus, allowing him to create wood constructs to disorient targets. However, he is by no means as potent with the art as Madara, or Hashirama.
:His eyes are also extremely notable, with his Genjutsu being able to cast the aforementioned illusions by tapping into a target’s chakra receptors and manipulating them. Chakra is essentially a target’s spiritual energy, so most foes Obito comes across will have some variation of this. The eye also allows Obito a sort of pseudo-precognition, letting him know when and where an opponent will strike next. The Sharingan can even be upgraded to the Mangekyo Sharingan if the user kills someone they once loved (which Obito has done).
:Then, after the incident with Pain destroying Konoha village and the death of Nagato, Obito revealed the final tool he had access to with the eye: Izanagi. Named after the Japanese god, this technique is something of a gamble, where Obito must sacrifice one of his eyes after five minutes of continuous use, but can undo any event he pleases by making it no longer real. Death, illness, injury, all fades away under the scope of Izanagi. Unfortunately, Obito never quite demonstrated the ability of Amaterasu’s fire control, or the enhanced mental powers of the regular Tsukuyomi, but he’s not exactly starving for options.
:Upon killing Konan, another Akatsuki member, Obito yanked the Rinnegan from Nagato’s eye, giving himself a Rinnegan. With it, he gains access to all the abilities of the Paths of Pain, ranging from relatively simple abilities like the Asura Path’s mechanical augmentations or the Preta Path’s ability to absorb energy, to more destructive elements like the Animal Path’s summoning or the Deva Path’s gravity control and ability to create giant meteors in the form of the Chibaku Tensei, to more otherworldly and terrifying powers in the form of resurrection with the Outer Path, and knowledge of the opponent’s mind and control of their soul with the Human Path. It’s quite a versatile ability, no wonder Pain was so hard to stop.
:And we’re not quite done yet, either. For Obito still had one more trick up his sleeve: by absorbing the Gedo Mazo’s Juubi, Obito became a Jinchuuriki himself, and gained access to one of the most terrifying abilities in the entire ninja world: the Truth-Seeking Orbs.
:These Orbs are no mere balls. They can be reshaped into staves, chakra control receivers, and blades (most notably Obito’s powerful blade of Nunoboko), and have the uncanny ability to erase any ninjutsu they come across, and even erase parts of space-time entirely! Yes, space and time itself cower before ninja magic and a 70 meter radius. But there’s more. These orbs are even potent enough to stop the regenerative capabilities of entities who can regenerate from complete body destruction. If you get erased by these orbs, chances are you’re not coming back, and all they have to do is touch you. That’s quite a scary proposition.
:With all these abilities combined, Obito has some truly impressive feats. He’s gone toe to toe with the legendary Fourth Hokage Minato, and he can compare to Akatsuki like Kisame, who was powerful enough to be considered in the same league as Bijuu who can carve away mountains. He’s stronger than Pain, who killed Jiraiya, who can do the same. He’s faster than Itachi, a ninja who can perceive time in nanoseconds. He summoned a giant tree from the ground without breaking a sweat, and he even lived through the Rinnegan’s resurrection ritual (which is supposed to kill you). Needless to say, Obito Uchiha is one of the shining stars of his clan.
:But sometimes, he goes dim a little bit. While his Kamui is very impressive, opponents who can attack in other dimensions, or who can take advantage of Obito’s brief window of vulnerability after his attacks, can hit the ninja just fine.
:The Izanagi, as previously stated, closes Obito’s eyes after five minutes of use, preventing him from using any abilities of that eye afterward. His Juubi form gets rid of his Kamui ability altogether, the Human Path’s soul manipulation doesn’t work on opponents who are already living souls, the Naraka Path only works if the remains of someone else are around, and Obito can potentially leave himself open to attack while summoning the God Tree and activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi (although this can be mitigated with the use of Izanagi).
:Finally, Obito’s Jinchuuriki form is vulnerable to being taken away if the Bijuu chakra within him is removed, something very easily done by opponents who can absorb Obito’s energy. Thankfully, the Preta Path does help with this by absorbing and redirecting energy attacks to keep Obito safe, but much like the most of his other abilities, it does need to be manually activated, something that might not happen if he gets outsped.
:With all these factors in mind, Obito Uchiha is still one of the most potent members of the almost-extinct Uchiha clan, and someone who works tirelessly to meet his goals and save people in his own fashion. His ninjutsu is truly unparalleled.
JJ's Writing Corner 