While death is a pretty malleable concept in anime, especially in a series such asNarutowhere reanimation and reality-altering Jutsu exist, it’s still quite rare to see a character faking their own death. It may not be a unique concept for the anime industry as a whole, yet it’s use in theNarutoFranchise is rather unconventional.
One of the few times this concept has been utilized is duringMadara and Hashirama’s final battle, an event that the show revisits several times throughout it’s run. While most believed that Madara had died during that cataclysmic battle, in reality however, he had simply faked his death and had gone into hiding till he naturally died of old age. Delving deeper into the details of the event reveals how Madara was able to slyly cheat death.
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The Battle at the Valley of the End
After leaving the Hidden Leaf Village in protest overthe Uchiha Clan’s unruly treatment, Madara finally returned years later, although this time to put an end to the village, along with his lifelong dream of building a peaceful settlement where no child would have to die of war. Naturally, Hashirama stepped up to try to put a stop to his sinister plans and reason with him, yet Madara stayed hell-bent on his resolve, resulting in one of the fiercest battles in anime history.
The cataclysmic battle ended with both sides exhausted and drained, yet Hashirama came out on top as he landed the final blow, piercing Madara’s chest with his blade. For most in the Hidden Leaf, it had seemed thatthe tale of Madara had come to an endand the threat of destruction quenched, yet unbeknownst to many, the threat had simply sublimed for the moment, giving way to an even bigger problem in the decades to come.
How Madara Cheated Death
Considering Hashirama’s strength and the severity of Madara’s wounds, there was no way for him to survive, at least that’s how it initially seemed. Being a resourceful shinobi, Madara activated the Uchiha Clan’s infamous forbidden jutsu, the Izanagi. TheIzanagi can be defined as a genjutsuof sorts, but instead of targeting a specific individual, one could say it puts all of reality under a genjutsu, altering it per the caster’s will.
The jutsu essentially allows the caster to alter reality itself, even to the extent of negating one’s own death. By casting the Izanagi just as he was struck by Hashirama, Madara was able to alter the moment he was struck, therefore allowing him to cheat death itself. He was able to achieve this feat by setting the Izanagi to trigger at a later time and date, a mechanism that can be considered anunexplained mystery of the Sharingan. When the set date arrived, the Izanagi suddenly activated, bringing Madara back to life and erasing his vision in one eye.
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His plan worked perfectly as he knew that Hashirama would neverlet Tobirama tamper with his bodyor allow him to study it. Madara then put a shadow clone jutsu in the coffin to replace himself just before it was buried. Although it may seem calculated, Madara’s plan was simply a last-second decision which conveniently worked out for him perfectly.
The Aftermath
After barely surviving the fatal fight with Hashirama, Madara went into hiding, never to be seen by a living soul again until his death. There have been many speculations as to why Madara never tried to attack the Hidden Leaf again,even after Hashirama’s death. After that fierce battle, Madara knew that he was at his limit, as even surviving was a miracle for him.
Fighting a shinobi that has been deemed as the ‘God of Shinobi’ is sure to take a toll on anyone, even the likes of Madara Uchiha. Consequently, he was never able to recover from his injuries, as the severity of the fight had perpetually weakened him. Even without Hashirama there to stop him, he knew he was no longer in his prime, andeven Tobirama and Hiruzenwould have been able to stop his advance. Even though he had given up on his plan, he had found another purpose in the form of Project Tsuki no Me, which he was able to eventually concretize through resourceful means.
