The Rasengan is an iconic jutsu that exists in the Naruto world. It is one of the signature techniques of Naruto Uzumaki that he has continued using over the years and does so even today in Boruto. The Rasengan holds a lot of meaning, being the legacy of one of the most legendary ninjas to ever live, Minato Namikaze.
Although it is far from the strongest jutsu in the world of Naruto, it is a technique that is considered to be one of the most used ones in the story. While the technique is mostly used by Naruto, the man responsible for its creation is someone else entirely.
What Is The Rasengan?
The Rasengan is quite a unique jutsu in the sense that it doesn't need the usage of any nature transformation, which makes it somewhat easier to perform. However, mastering the Rasengan comes with its own obstacles. Simply put, the Rasengan is a ball of chakra that rotates at an incredibly high speed in the palm of the user. This ball of chakra can be used to do tremendous amounts of damage to the enemies at a close range. The rotation is what digs deep inside the body of the user, sending them flying and dealing tremendous amounts of damage to them. While the Rasengan is only an A-Rank jutsu, it can be lethal, depending on who performs this technique and how much control they have over it.
As mentioned earlier, the Rasengan does not require the usage of any nature transformations. That means this Jutsu is simply chakra rotating at a very high speed. Furthermore, unlike most Jutsu, the Rasengan visualizes chakra very efficiently. With most techniques, getting a first-hand look at the chakra is incredibly hard, however, with the Rasengan, the chakra takes the physical shape of a sphere. Fans have seen this iconic jutsu being used over and over again throughout the run of Naruto to the point where it became one of the signature techniques of the protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto learned this jutsu from none other than his mentor, Jiraiya, however, the man responsible for the creation of it was none other than Minato, the 4th Hokage.
How The Rasengan Was Created
The Rasengan was created by Minato at a very young age, which just goes to show that he was a genius ninja with a keen intellect for developing different techniques. Minato was believed to be a generational talent and for someone like him, coming up with new jutsu wasn't a surprise for anyone. At some point in his life, Minato came across a Tailed Beast and saw it perform a Tailed Beast Ball. By carefully observing this Tailed Beast Ball, Minato decided to copy the basis of the technique and thus, he came up with the Rasengan. He followed the same idea and by putting out chakra in his palm and making it rotate at an incredibly high speed, he gave birth to the Rasengan.
Even though Minato was a genius, this jutsu was not easy for him to master. It took him 3 years to complete his technique, which just goes to show the complexity of the Rasengan, even though it does not have a nature transformation applied to it. The result was certainly worth it as it became his go-to technique and one of the reasons why he was feared all over the world of ninja. Across his many fights, Minato relied on this technique and eventually, ended up passing it down to the next generation, although indirectly.
The Completion Of The Rasengan
Although an incredibly powerful jutsu, the Rasengan wasn't meant to be a stand-alone technique. It was actually supposed to be a basis for an even stronger technique and Minato spent quite a few years of his life trying to perfect it. Minato was a user of three transformations and those were Wind, Fire, and Water release. He wanted to incorporate one of these nature transformations with his Rasengan to finally perfect it.
However, sadly, Minato ended up dying at a very young age and, thus, could not finish this jutsu. This means the Rasengan is actually an incomplete technique. This was revealed to the fans in the latter half of the story and ultimately, ended up becoming the basis for Naruto Uzumaki to do what his dad couldn't and finish this technique. Being a user of Wind Release, Naruto applied this nature transformation to his rasengan and ended up creating Wind Release: Rasengan. Improving upon it even further and mastering it further is what gave birth to the Rasenshuriken. Of course, there are many other perfected versions of the Rasengan as well, such as the Vanishing Rasengan, which sees Lightning Release applied to the technique. By itself, the Rasengan is just an A-Rank technique, however, when perfected, it becomes an S-Rank jutsu.
The Legacy Of The Fourth Hokage
The Rasengan is often called the legacy of the 4th Hokage and that is true in more ways than one. This technique could be considered a gift from Minato to Naruto, although it was passed down to him indirectly. It can also be considered to be symbolism for the Will of Fire. Minato created this jutsu to protect the village and his people. He ended up passing it on to Jiraiya, who later passed it on to Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto not only mastered its usage but even perfected it. What's more, he ended up passing it down to Konohamaru, who later taught it to Boruto, Naruto's son. The legacy of the Fourth Hokage continues to live on and will continue to live forever.
Even though it is an incomplete technique and many other stronger techniques exist in the world of Naruto, the Rasengan is special. Naruto continues to use this technique extensively even today. Both his apprentice, Konohamaru, and his son, Boruto, continue to do the same, even though they also know stronger techniques. In a way, the Rasengan has become the most iconic jutsu in the Naruto world and, for that, the world of ninja has Minato to thank. In the future of Boruto, this technique will likely be highlighted more often. It goes without saying that Plants will see more of the Rasengan as Boruto continues. The series still has a long way to go which means there are many opportunities for fans to see Boruto Uzumaki, Konohamaru, and even Naruto Uzumaki in action. There are also other characters who could end up learning this jutsu, such as Himawari or even Kawaki. Fans are very excited to see the legacy of the Fourth Hokage being carried on in the future and potentially being passed down even further.
Being the epitome of Minato's genius, this jutsu will be further highlighted in the upcoming one-shot written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, which is all set to release in July 2023.
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