The world of the commercially and critically acclaimed Naruto anime and manga is a bizarre blend of mystical fantasy and science fiction. Technology comparable to the real world’s and magical energy inspired by the martial arts concept of chakra mix to form a world where just about anything can happen and those talented enough can do almost anything. This combination of genres also leads to nearly every supernatural feat in Naruto having some kind of biological or scientific explanation.
Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village and one of the legendary Sannin, possesses a bizarre anatomy that allows her to perform all kinds of incredible actions. While the bulk of her abilities are due to her excessive physical training and medical studies during the Second Great Ninja War, her lineage also grants her many powerful abilities. As a descendant of both the Senju and Uzumaki clans, Tsunade has a strong affinity for ninjutsu and is able to use her naturally large chakra reserves in all kinds of unique ways.
Moreover, her character arc – which sees her go from a gambler running away from her problems to the inspirational leader of the Hidden Leaf Village – is one of the strongest in Naruto and makes her a rather compelling character. Even if her abilities are rarely shown after she takes on the role of Hokage, Tsunade’s fights and achievements are some of the most interesting in Naruto and it’s always entertaining to see all of the remarkable things she can do with her strange anatomy.
Here are 20 Strange Things About Tsunade’s Anatomy.
20. She Can Change Her Age At Will
In order to avoid paying her gambling debts, Tsunade designed a ninjutsu that allows her to alter her appearance at will without having to exert any effort. She can shift how old or young she appears at will, and this is why she looks like she’s in her mid-twenties, despite being in her fifties and sixties as the series progresses.
The only downside to this ability is that if she runs out of chakra, she will revert back to her natural appearance immediately. While she really only uses this technique to appear in her mid-twenties over the course of Naruto, hopefully, fans of the series will get to see all the shenanigans that come along with this power in the sequel series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
19. She Has Four Elemental Affinities
Most characters in Naruto can manipulate their chakra and transform it into an element for more powerful attacks. While a ninja can transform their chakra into any element, they all have a natural affinity for particular elements that allow them to better utilize certain nature transformations.
Most ninja can only best use one or two elements, but Tsunade can fully utilize four nature releases. Even if she rarely uses these techniques in the series, Tsunade is a master of Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning elemental ninjutsu; making her an even more versatile fighter than her other natural abilities allow. Such a range of elemental techniques means that she is able to effectively counter just about any foe that tries to take her on in battle.
18. She Cannot Use Wood Release Techniques
Despite having an affinity for the Earth and Water elements, and a heritage that would grant her access to the ability, Tsunade is not able to use the Senju clan’s devastating Wood Release Techniques. The Wood Release nature transformation is a kekkei genkai ability, which means that only ninja from a particular genetic background are able to use these abilities.
However, as a descendant of the Senju clan and wielder of the elements that combine to form Wood Release techniques, Tsunade should be able to use this power. Whether it’s her lack of interest in mastering this ability or some genetic hiccup that prevents her from using this ability, Tsunade never uses any of her clan’s special techniques and likely never will.
17. Her Tatoo Contains Overwhelming Power
The diamond shaped tattoo on Tsunade’s forehead actually contains a vast amount of chakra that she stores up over time. By donating a little bit of her energy to the seal every day, she can release the Strength of a Hundred Seal to access a colossal pool of chakra that allows her to push her abilities even further.
This technique allows her to further enhance her physical strength, survive even the most fatal of injuries, and heal others almost instantaneously. Granted, using it is a gamble and she can only utilize the technique once every few years, but this ability is utterly devastating and lets her control month’s or year’s worth of chakra in the span of minutes.
16. She Can Talk And Heal Through Slugs
Tsunade’s personal summon is a giant slug named Katsuyu. Not only is Katsuyu an offensive powerhouse that can spit lethal acid on command, but she can also divide herself into thousands of smaller slugs that share a hivemind.
Tsunade can use Katsuyu in her divided stated to heal other people and even communicate through the slug and give orders to entire armies directly. This ability of her’s is a major boon in large-scale battles and lets Tsunade organize complex battle strategies easily. Even if this technique does require a ninja to walk around with a slimy slug affixed to their back, the ability to follow the events of every part of a battlefield in real time is well worth the slight discomfort.
15. She Can Alter People’s Somatic Nervous System
Combining her impressive chakra control and her medical knowledge, Tsunade is able to alter a person’s somatic nervous system and essentially rearrange all of their motor skills. To do this Tsunade sends a bit of her chakra into a person and changes how their body interprets brain signals, making them move their foot when they mean to move their hand and so on.
This renders a person essentially immobile, unless they also possess a deep understanding of their nervous system and are able to for the changes. This technique is an effective and nonviolent means of defeating an opponent and was likely developed as a way for Tsunade to fight without triggering her.
14. She Can Heal Her Wounds Instantaneously
After Tsunade releases the chakra seal on her forehead, she is able to drastically increase her regenerative abilities and instantly heal from any and all attacks. This means that even if one of her vital organs receives damage or is outright destroyed, she can recover from the harm before she es from the injury. Even if this is technique is extremely draining, if functionally makes her immortal for as long as she is able to maintain the jutsu.
This is perhaps Tsunade’s strongest ability and her use of it throughout Naruto allowed her to overcome incredibly strong foes such as Orochimaru and Madara Uchiha. Although the price she pays for the technique makes it barely worth it.
13. She Ages Rapidly If Overexerted
Not only does the strain of her impressive healing techniques cause Tsunade to rapidly burn through her chakra reserve, but it also means that her body ages more quickly than normal due to the increased strain on her cells.
This means that when she does use up all of her chakra and her transformation jutsu is undone, she enters a withered and weakened state where she unable to defend herself from enemy attacks. Her actual appearance is far older than her natural age because she repeatedly pushed her body beyond its natural limits and aged rapidly as a consequence. Even though this weekend state has never fully appeared in the series, it’s implied to be rather severe and pitiable.
12. She Can Manipulate Living Things
Having a mastery of the Yang chakra release, Tsunade is able to use her chakra to control the life force of other living things. For instance, she can send her chakra into something like a plant and cause it to grow rapidly.
Generally, she uses this technique in conjunction with her medical knowledge to enhance her own or another’s vitality and increase the likelihood of successful surgery. While her utilization of this technique is heavily reliant on her chakra reserves and therefore isn’t as expansive as a tailed-beast like Naruto, her precision with this life manipulation is almost unrivaled. Her life manipulation is a critical part of both her offensive techniques and her abilities as a medical ninja.
11. She Can Transfer Her Chakra to Others
While Tsunade’s medical expertise allows her to perform delicate operations and create restorative drugs during peaceful situations, most of her in battle healing techniques come from donating her chakra to her wounded teammates. By giving her chakra to someone who has an injury, she invigorates their natural healing ability and allows them to recover from otherwise lethal injuries.
If not for this feature of her anatomy, there would be little hope for her comrades to survive the many devastating attacks present in Naruto. Either through direct or through her slug Katsuyu, Tsunade can give her energy to others and save them from an imminent and painful demise so long as she has enough chakra to spare.
