Summary
Exalted as the most powerful among the “Three Great Dojutsu” inNaruto, the Rinnegan is a unique ocular ability that grants the user a wide range of techniquesand enhances their understanding of ninjutsu. Said to bestow god-like power on anyone who inherits it, the Rinnegan manifested in a few extremely powerful shinobi throughout the course of the series, each of whom had a major role to play in the story as it developed. The most well-known bearers of this ability in the series were Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Sasuke Uchiha, Madara Uchiha, and Nagato — also known as Pain.
While others such as Obito Uchihaand Black Zetsu attained the Rinnegan through different means, none of them truly honed their control over it in the same way that Sasuke, Hagoromo, Madara, and Nagato did. Additionally, some of these Rinnegan bearers inNarutoalso attained their own distinctive techniques derived from this ocular power, with each having versatile applications in different combat scenarios. Considering these factors, any debate on who possessed the best unique Rinnegan ability of them all will primarily involve them and their own interpretations of how to use this incredible ocular jutsu.
Eyes Bearing Divine Power
Characterized by concentric circles covering the eyeball — which is colored in a pale violet hue — the Rinneganwas first awakened by Hagoromo Otsutsuki, whose mother Kaguya, possessed the Rinne Sharingan. He used its power to fight and seal his mother and protect the world from the wrath of the Ten-Tails. Later on, he founded the creed known as ninshu, the predecessor of modern ninjutsu, and taught humans how to mold and exchange their spiritual energies.
Over time, Hagoromo’s prowess with this dojutsu earned him great fame and repute, to the point where he was revered as a divine figure known as the “Sage of Six Paths.” He even split the Ten-Tails' chakra into the nine Tailed Beasts with the aid of the Rinnegan’s mastery of chakra natures,allowing him to perform Yin-Yang Releaseand manipulate chakra on a fundamental level with the Creation of All Things Technique.
Centuries after Hagoromo’s death, his abilities were seen as the stuff of legend, with tales of the Rinnegan portraying those who awakened it as individuals who would go on to become a “God of Creation,” by restoring peace, or a “God of Destruction,” who would raze civilization to the ground. Many attempted to awaken the Rinnegan over the centuries, and Black Zetsu strived to guide members of the Uchiha clan to do so,finally finding success with Madara Uchiha.
Madara awakened his Rinnegan quite late in his natural lifetime, and he did so by combining cells from the body of Hashirama Senju with his own DNA. This process was a success due to the fact that Madara and Hashirama were the reincarnations of Hagoromo’s sons Indra and Asura, and the mix of chakra produced by combining their DNA yielded Hagoromo’s own chakra. With this, Madara was able to evolve his Mangekyo Sharingan into the Rinnegan, which also cured him of the blindness he sustained in one eye due to his use of Izanagi. He later went on to implant these eyes into Nagato, who would oneday go on to lead the Akatsuki as Pain.
The Main Contenders
When the Rinnegan was first introduced through Nagato’s use of the ability as Pain, the techniques associated with it were executed through the Six Paths of Pain, with a corresponding body fitted with black receiversfor each of the Rinnegan’s distinct abilities. This included the Deva Path, Asura Path, Preta Path, Animal Path, Human Path, Naraka Path, and the seventh Outer Path, which allowed Rinnegan wielders to revive the dead in exchange for their own life.
Nagato was able to channel these abilities and overwhelm opponents through the Deva Path’s manipulation of attractive and repulsive forces, the Preta Path’s chakra absorption, the Animal Path’s many summonings, the Asura Path’s weaponized body, the Human Path’s ability to read minds, and the Naraka Path’s power to interrogate and revive injured bodies. His mastery over this style of combat was suchthat he could overpower even Jiraiya, who was a member of the Sannin and one of the strongest shinobi in Konohagakure. This was the foundation of Nagato’s use of the Rinnegan.
Madara’s Rinnegan on the other hand, offered him all the abilities that Nagato possessed, as well as one unique to him, which was known as Limbo: Border Jail. With it, Madara could project clones of himself into an invisible realm known as “Limbo,” from where the clones could take down opponents without them realizing it. With both Rinnegan, Madara was able to create four such shadows and use them for both offensive and defensive purposes.
The only ones who could counter this were those who possessed either the Rinnegan or Six Paths Senjutsu, which allowed them to see, sense, and attack the clones. Beyond this, he could also use all of the Six Paths Techniques, andhe generally made use of the Preta Path’sabsorption as well as the Deva Path for Chibaku Tensei and other abilities such as Tengai Shinsei.
Sasuke was given a Rinnegan in his left eyeby Hagoromo during the Fourth Shinobi World War, and his unique ability was known as Amenotejikara. In essence, this technique was a special type of space-time ninjutsu that allowed him to switch the positions of any two targets within a certain range — which is an extremely handy ability because of how it can outmaneuver and disorient opponents when used effectively. By adulthood, Sasuke’s Rinnegan was also able to manifest portals to travel into other dimensions, which took his ocular powers to an entirely new level.
What Is The Best Rinnegan Ability?
Despite his mastery of all facets of the Six Paths Technique, Nagato was nowhere near as powerful as some of the other contenders, and the Rinnegan he possessed were also not his own. Although the other characters in the series did not exploit the Rinnegan’s range of abilities in the same manner as him, Nagato did not possess an innate special ability and only resorted to using six puppet bodies due to his emaciated physical condition. When compared to his Edo Tensei form, it is clear that the Six Paths of Pain fell short of Nagato’s true power, as seen in how he was able to overwhelm both Killer B andNaruto when the latter was in Nine-Tails ChakraMode during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Eliminating himmight make sense, since even at full health, Nagato would have a very minor temporary advantage over Sasuke and Madara due to his prolonged experience with the Rinnegan. This would soon pale in comparison to the sheer variety of techniques in the arsenal of both Uchiha, and the incredible speed with which they master jutsu, which would allow them to harness most of the Rinnegan’s true power in a limited time frame.
Madara’s use of the Rinnegan took place in short bursts and he did notrely on it as his primary combat ability. While his initial use of the Preta Path, Deva Path, and Limbo were quite effective against most opponents, Sasuke was soon able to fight and overpower him after awakening his own Rinnegan and Six Paths Yin Power, which places him slightly higher. The versatility of Sasuke’s space-time ninjutsu abilities also gives him an edge over Madara in this respect, as does his mastery of chakra absorption and infusion, which allowed him to power his Indra Susanoo with the chakra of the tailed beasts at the Valley of the End.
Comparisons between Hagoromo and Sasuke on the basis of their Rinnegan abilities are difficult, as the former’s usage of the dojutsu was barely shown in the anime or manga versions ofNaruto. As such, the safest bet might be to pit them on a relatively equal footing,especially since Sasuke was able tomold chakra on a level comparable to Hagoromo himself, according to Kurama.
