Naruto: Extra Kekkei Genkai

Naruto: Extra Kekkei Genkai

Kekkei Genkai Nature Transformations

Today we’re going to discuss yet another aspect of chakra natures since there’s just so much information about them. Specifically, this article is the companion part to my discussion of the missing kekkei genkai chakra natures. This time we’ll be looking at what I’ve dubbed the “extra” kekkei genkai.

So basically, for this post, I’m going to assume you’ve read at least those two previous posts on chakra natures and have a basic understanding of them and how the chart is laid out. But there are actually natures that aren’t represented on the chakra nature chart as we know it.

In fact, there are currently five kekkei genkai we know of that are left out of this chart. These are Crystal, Dark, Mud, Steel, and Swift release. Crystal release is probably the most well-known of these natures because it was focused on in the Three-Tails capture arc of Naruto: Shippūden.

However, Mud release is actually the nature we know the most about, and is featured in one of the novels. Dark, Steel, and Swift release were featured in movies and make the least amount of sense. But of course, I’ll be discussing them anyway.

Known Chakra Nature Combinations

Of the five extra kekkei genkai, Mud release is the only one which we actually know the base chakra natures for. It’s made by a combination of Water and Earth natures, which is exactly the same as Wood release. So, the reason Mud release isn’t featured on the nature chart is because Wood release is featured in its place.

Hiruzen Sarutobi using a makeshift Mud release jutsu from the anime series Naruto
Hiruzen Sarutobi using a makeshift Mud release jutsu

And, keep in mind, combined chakra natures are kekkei genkai, meaning they’re tied to bloodlines. So just because the First Hokage could use Wood release doesn’t mean he could also use Mud release. He wasn’t a member of the bloodline that possesses that kekkei genkai.

Also, Mud release is the least exciting of the natures I’ll be discussing today because you don’t exactly need the kekkei genkai to use it. Yes, to use true Mud release you do, but if you know both Water and Earth release you can basically create a makeshift Mud release.

Unknown Chakra Nature Combinations

Crystal release is assumed to use the Earth nature as a basic nature, but the fact is that we don’t actually know. It could be the combination of Earth and Lightning, like Explosion release, but it could also be the combination of two other natures since it’s never been confirmed.

There’s also the possibility of Crystal release being an upgraded version of Earth release. I’m not going to get into upgraded chakra natures today, but look forward to a post dedicated to those in the near future (probably next Monday).

But basically, Crystal release can do just about everything Earth release can do, but stronger. It can also do things Earth release can’t do, such as create reflections much like how Haku used his Ice release back at the start of Naruto.

Guren using a Crystal release jutsu on Hinata from the anime series Naruto: Shippūden
Guren using a Crystal release jutsu on Hinata

Steel release is another one which likely incorporates Earth release in some way. It could be something like a combination of Earth and Fire, much like Lava release. Unfortunately, we don’t really know anything else about Steel release.

It would have been nice if we met a user of this style during the Stone Village arc of Boruto, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The Boruto series doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to expand upon these extra kekkei genkai.

But, although I say that, the next episode in Boruto has to do with the Samurai of the Land of Iron. If not the Land of Earth, I would expect a Steel release user to be from the Land of Iron, so maybe it’ll actually happen.

Are These Even Chakra Nature Combinations?

Dark release is where things start getting a bit more interesting. As far as I can tell, it isn’t a combination of any basic elemental chakra natures. Instead, it may be a combination of both Yin and Yang release, or simply an upgraded version of Yin release.

One of the notable jutsu using Dark release involves absorbing ninjutsu into a point on the user’s palm designated by a black diamond symbol. Based on this, Dark release may in fact be a kekkei genkai developed by close relatives of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

We’ve seen Ōtsutsuki clan members able to absorb chakra into their palms — like Momoshiki through the Rinnegan on his palms. We also know that Boruto received a black diamond mark on his own palm after defeating Momoshiki. Could this somehow be related to Dark release?

Probably not considering this is a movie-only chakra nature, but let’s just pretend.

The black diamond symbol on Boruto's palm from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
The black diamond symbol on Boruto’s palm

The final extra kekkei genkai is Swift release, which somehow makes even less sense than Dark release. If Dark release is an upgraded version of Yin release, then Swift release is an upgraded version of Yang release. It basically just allows the user to move at insane speeds.

There’s not really anything else to say about that nature. It’s pretty basic, but it also makes no sense because shinobi can already move at crazy speeds. And any teleportation jutsu is essentially just moving at the speed of light, so we already have that as well.

Naruto Chakra Nature Quiz

Naruto Chakra Nature Quiz

Find out what elemental chakra nature(s) you have!

Take Quiz

Conclusion

What are your thoughts on these extra kekkei genkai chakra natures? Do you think we’ll ever see them come up in the Boruto series? Let me know in the comments. I have my doubts, but it’s not entirely impossible.

Crystal release was anime-only (so it could come back), and Dark, Swift, and Steel were movie-only. However, although I’ve seen it said that Mud is novel-only, I kind of remember it being mentioned in the anime. I don’t know if we ever saw someone use Mud release, but I feel like it was explained, maybe by Yamato in relation to his Wood release.

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