Naruto: Is "Dark" Jutsu a Thing?

 

Many anime with a magic system (especially battle shōnen) have a dark side to it. Techniques that are considered taboo, unorthodox, dangerous, or just plain evil or demonic by nature; some forms of dark magic are powered by malicious intent. It's a corrupted form of the magic system that poisons the minds of whoever uses it and steadily drives them to do things they otherwise wouldn't; the more it's used, the worse it gets. Because of this, the dark arts are often introduced as the go-to power system of the villains. They're also sometimes used as a lazy excuse for an otherwise good character suddenly becoming uncompromisingly or irredeemably evil; this can work if written correctly, but that takes skill and careful planning.

This trope is technically more common in video games, but plenty of anime use it, too-- Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh, Slayers, Fairy Tail, etc. Many newer anime also invoke the trope of protagonists successfully using evil powers for good causes, including Bleach, The Seven Deadly Sins, Solo Leveling, and Jujutsu Kaisen (where "good" magic is the anomaly). Naruto may fall into the latter category, but it can be nebulous. Naruto's power system, chakra, doesn't have a dark counterpart. It's an amoral power that can only be classified as good or evil based on the person using it. Even the so-called Forbidden Jutsu only counts as a misuse of chakra.

Is There Dark Ninjutsu in the Canon Naruto Series?

One could argue that ninjutsu is an inherent corruption of chakra. The Sage of Six Paths introduced chakra to the world as Ninshu, or "Ninja Creed." This application of chakra was intended to help people better understand each other and connect them. However, it was eventually weaponized and turned into modern ninjutsu. In this regard, ninjutsu could be called evil because it involves using chakra to hurt others rather than connect with them.

However, this ties more broadly into asking whether using violence to resolve conflicts is wrong. Ninjas like Naruto use ninjutsu to protect others and fight more malicious ninjas. This means ninjutsu can be good or evil, depending on the users. Even Forbidden Jutsu aren't necessarily evil. They're more often classified as such because of risk to the user. Naruto uses several forbidden techniques, like the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Rasenshuriken, but neither of them are classified as such because they're evil (or even because evil people used them); the former drains too much chakra (in the average ninja) and the latter can cripple the user if improperly executed.

Compared to this, the techniques classified as forbidden for their ethical compromises (the Immortality Jutsu, Reanimation jutsu, etc.) are relatively minimal. The Tailed Beasts are an in-story example of a chakra source misinterpreted as evil. For most of the series, Kurama was labeled the Demon Fox Spirit (and declared himself hate incarnate). In fairness, some Beasts (including Kurama) expressed an explicit urge to kill and cause mayhem. However, this contempt was spurred on by humans constantly sealing them and using their powers as weapons against their will. The Sage of Six Paths initially created them to maintain peace and balance; like Ninshu, they were eventually weaponized, and their purpose was corrupted.

Even Kaguya Otsutsuki, the series' final antagonist, was another sign that bad ninjutsu has more to do with the user than their power. She was possessive of her vast chakra reserves. However, when her sons inherited her powers (Hagoromo, the future Sage of Six Paths, literally took her in as the Ten-Tails), they used them to develop Ninshu. The anime further revealed that Kaguya started with sympathetic and good intentions for humanity, though her means were still questionable. Either way, it was the users who decided on chakra's use as a force for good or evil.

Dark Ninjutsu in Non-Canon Naruto Material

Naruto's non-canon material was much more straightforward with the concept of evil powers being at play. The irredeemably evil ninjas use malicious powers and are sometimes fueled by literal demonic entities formed from the hatred and malice of humanity. These concepts were especially prevalent in the Shippuden movies; the villains in the first three movies are malicious ninjas at worst (or whatever the villains from Legend of the Stone of Gelel were supposed to be). This is the closest the Naruto franchise gets to having explicitly dark chakra.

Naruto Shippuden: The Movie reintroduced Moryo, a demon who wanted to conquer the world and create a "Thousand Year Kingdom." It accomplished this with a Ghost Army and the help of an old ninja clan from the Land of Demons (which is also non-canon). He inhabited the body of an evil medical ninja named Yomi, who could use a dark-colored chakra to manipulate his targets. This demon comes from another world, detaching it from the Naruto canon.

The next Naruto Shippuden movie, Bonds, introduced the Zero-Tails. This creature was born from dark thoughts and lives by feeding off the darkness in people's hearts. It produces dark chakra (闇のチャクラ, yami no chakra), which grows in response to the darkness in the user's heart. In another series, where more villains were designed to be unsympathetic, this concept might have been explored more. This should be the end of the conversation (this is it. Dark chakra exists in Naruto), but there's more to talk about.

The next Naruto movie, Inheritors of the Will of Fire, introduced Hiruko, a rogue ninja with Dark Release jutsu. In the Viz dub, this was called Shade Style Jutsu. It allowed the user to absorb and manipulate an opponent's chakra. However, the kanji for "Dark" (冥, Kurai) is more closely associated with gloominess, depression, and the underworld than its traditional metaphorical association with evil; this explains why the dub translated it as Shade Style rather than something more explicitly sinister. This is more of the kind of "dark" jutsu Kishimoto would have incorporated into the canon story if he had thought of it first; it would have fit along with the Nara clan's shadow jutsu.

The fifth Naruto Shippuden movie, Blood Prison, introduced one more demonic entity to the franchise. It emerges from the Box of Ultimate Bliss to make a Faustian bargain with whoever opens the box to have their wish granted. This dark entity supposedly dates as far back as the time of the Sage of Six Paths. However, for how many places the movie contradicts the canon and the timeline, one could easily disregard this ultimately non-canon demon.

Would the Naruto Franchise Benefit from Exploring Dark Ninjutsu?

The canon Naruto stories could explore the concepts of dark chakra. If the manga ignores the movies (which it has every right to do),.It would be a chance for the characters to contemplate the morality of ninjutsu, how far the ninja world has strayed from the Sage of Six Paths' vision, and whether there's a compromise to bring humanity closer to that ideal peace. Dark chakra users could oppose that vision and follow a different creed that emphasizes using chakra for personal gain; fighting with this mindset could grant them power as it would for Jujutsu Kaisen's cursed energy users. This could be what Boruto's series concerns itself with once the Divine Tree conflict is settled; it may even tie into it.

On the other hand, the Naruto franchise might be better off keeping dark chakra as far from the canon story as possible. It's generally more compelling to have antagonists with enough agency to make decisions and take action based on personal experiences rather than the influence of some dark external force (though manipulation by another person can still work). Naruto's villains are more realistic (and, in several cases, more sympathetic) because they choose their dark paths. They didn't need an evil force whispering in their ear and telling them to do wrong. They did it because the unfairness of their lives convinced them it was the only way. ​​​​​​​

It's a real problem that the audience can more closely relate to, making the villains' arcs more convincing. Besides this, the series already has plenty of "darkness" in the form of Forbidden Techniques. If the franchise needs an unsympathetic villain, it's better off distributing the means for such evil on a case-by-case basis. This means giving such villains signature forbidden techniques that trespass on natural law or ethics.

The series can satisfy the need for dark ninjutsu while keeping it isolated to a select few incidents caused by particularly rotten apples.What's most important for introducing a new concept to the Naruto franchise, like dark chakra, is ensuring it ties back into the series' themes. It could supplement one of the series' overarching themes, like overcoming hatred or the value of hard work. It would make a welcome addition if it could add more to the story than it takes away.