Having awakened it during the course of the Fourth Shinobi World War while fighting a reincarnated Madara Uchiha,Sasuke Uchiha’s Rinnegan is quite uniqueamong the various manifestations of this hallowed dojutsu in Masashi Kishimoto’sNaruto. From possessing six tomoe to granting him the space-time ninjutsu Amenotejikara, Sasuke’s Rinnegan has always remained a bit of an anomaly, one that still comes with a number of questions. Aside from these abilities as well as the standard Rinnegan Six Paths Technique, Sasuke’s Rinnegan also retains the abilities of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, most notably his ability to cast Amaterasu. Furthermore, the dojutsu cannot be deactivated like his Mangekyo Sharingan, although this has no effect on his chakra levels when not in use. The noticeable change is the disappearance of his tomoe, when his chakra levels are depleted, only returning after a certain cool down period where he will be left unable to use any of his dojutsu abilities.
With all this in mind, Sasuke has seldom been shown using the Six Paths Technique associated with the Rinnegan, despite the incredible boost in power they provide. For the most part his usage of the Rinnegan is confined to Amenotejikara as well as occasional applications of chakra absorption through the Preta Path, and the Deva Path’s ability to control attractive and repulsive forces, which permits him to employ Chibaku Tensei. This latter ability has only been used on a handful of occasions inNarutoand its sequelBoruto, most notablyto restrain the tailed beastsduring his final battle against Naruto at the Valley of the End, and the fight against Momoshiki Otsutsuki. Observing these scattered instances begs inquiry into why Sasuke does not utilize these techniques as prominently as his Mangekyo Sharingan abilities, and why they do not fit his fighting style.
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What Are The Rinnegan’s Paths?
Even though they are collectively referred to as the Six Paths Technique, there are actually seven abilities conferred by the Rinnegan, bestowing god-like power upon those in possession of this dojutsu. The paths take their names from the six realms of reincarnation in Buddhism. In an ideal scenario, Rinnegan users will be able to use all of these abilities simultaneously to their full potential, but Nagato, who was heavily injured early on in his life, split up the paths among six reanimated bodiesto create the Six Paths of Pain. Each of these paths had black receivers embedded within them and possessed their own copies of the Rinnegan, sharing visual information between them and negating any blind spots. Lastly, Nagato himself controlled the bodies remotely, serving as the seventh, Outer Path.
The Rinnegan’s paths begin with the Deva Path which controls attractive and repulsive forces, allowing the user to perform techniques such as Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei. After this, the Asura Path allows the user to weaponize their body and augment it with armor or mechanical enhancements. The Human Path grants the power to read another person’s mind and separate their soul from their body. A large variety ofsummonings are available through the Animal Path, while the Preta Path absorbs chakra in most forms, including any and all ninjutsu. The Naraka Path gives access to the King of Hell, who can interrogate victims and restore damaged bodies. Finally, the Outer Path is the source of the Samsara of Heavenly Life technique, through which, the user can summon the souls of the dead back from the Pure Land. Together, these paths elevate a user’s capabilities to a near-divine level, making those who possess the Rinnegan to be revered as gods within their time.
The Uniqueness Of Sasuke’s Rinnegan
Even among the few who have awakened it over the centuries in the shinobi world, Sasuke’s Rinnegan stands out. He is likely the only one to awaken a solitary Rinnegan, which is always active in his left eye. Sasuke’s Rinnegan is also the only one that possesses tomoe, whereas all the others only feature the traditional design of concentric circles. When his chakra reserves drop to extremely low levels, the tomoe disappear giving it the appearance of a standard Rinnegan, although he cannot use any of his ocular jutsu,including Susanoo for a whileif this occurs. Additionally, Sasuke’s space-time ninjutsu Amenotejikara is especially distinct among other techniques of this nature, allowing him to instantly switch placed with anything he desires that lies within his range. This has permitted him to utterly bamboozle and deceive opponents to fall into traps they had set themselves, conveniently evade or shield others from unavoidable attacks, or enhance his own speed to inhuman levels. For the most part, Sasuke has used this ability sparingly due to the way it drains his chakra, as well as the element of surprise that is crucial to its success.
Sasuke can also create portals to travel between dimensions with his Rinnegan. This has played a crucial role in his investigation of the Otsutsuki, even if its usage severely depletes his chakra reserves. Besides these combat abilities, Sasuke’s Rinnegan also has a heightened ability to recognize patterns, adding another dimension tothe Sharingan’s Eye of Insight. He can comprehend and analyze patterns concealed within codes, draw lightning fast comparisons, and finally decipher important information from vast amounts of data, elevating his already polished intellect to levels unseen. However, the reason behind Sasuke’s limited use of the Rinnegan Paths may stem from another place.
Why Sasuke Doesn’t Rely On His Rinnegan Paths
For the most part,Sasuke’s fighting style is rooted inhis visual prowess with the Mangekyo Sharingan. This includes his extremely powerful Complete Body Susanoo, Amaterasu, and its shape transformation with Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi. He is also extremely proficient in shurikenjutsu, taijutsu, as well as Fire and Lightning Release, which have been mainstays in his style since the start ofNaruto. These powers allow him to quickly adapt from fighting large numbers of opponents, to confronting extremely powerful adversaries who can create gargantuan constructs out of chakra. He has always been reliant on his speed, mastery of advanced nature transformations, and quick wits in combat, which have always served him well even against the most formidable foes, amazing all his peers with his rapid development as a shinobi at every step of his journey.
Using the Six Paths in full would have required him to alter his style considerably and also potentially slow him down, which defeats how successful his strategies have been throughout the main storyline of the series. The Six Paths Technique also requires a great deal of practice to hone and master in its entirety, due to the sheer diversity of powers that come with it, something that Sasuke has no real need of owing to how proficient he is with his main arsenal of jutsu and hisvisual prowess with the Mangekyo Sharingan. He could also be saving up some of the Paths for use when necessary so that he always has a few extra tricks up his sleeve at all times. Last but not least, Sasuke has made effective use of the Deva and Preta Paths in relevant situations, and his use of both is said to rival even the Sage of Six Paths, as stated by Kurama. Therefore, even though Sasuke’s main fighting style does not make use of the Rinnegan’s abilities in full, he is barely even hampered by doing so, and it is likely that the entire extent of his strength has still not been revealed to fans.
