This post contains spoilers for Naruto.
Naruto is home to many incredibly powerful characters. The author made sure that the characters in the series are equipped with unique abilities. Depending on the power that they receive, a Naruto character could become as strong as a Kage.
Most of the time, such powers were reserved for a handful of people. One example is that of Wood Release, a Kekkei Genkai that was made popular by Hashirama Senju. For many people, the Wood Release is the ultimate Kekkei Genkai, but that’s not the case.
The Rinnegan Is The Strongest Kekkei Genkai
The Rinnegan Is The Most Powerful Eye In Naruto
The Rinnegan is one of the three great Dojutsu, along with the Byakugan and the Sharingan. Unlike the other two Dojutsu, the Rinnegan didn’t appear in the series until the second half of the story, and overall, it was a great decision by Kishimoto. If he had introduced the Rinnegan in the early stages, it would have caused a great number of problems and negatively affected the story.
The first user of the Rinnegan in the story was Nagato Uzumaki. He was chosen by Madara as the vessel for his Rinnegan. Nagato was selected because of his Uzumaki lineage, as they are known for having massive chakra reserves. It took a while for Nagato to master the Rinnegan, but when he did, he became an absolute monster in combat.
Initially, it was believed that the Rinnegan only granted a handful of abilities, but that has changed as the series has gone on. For starters, the Rinnegan allows its user to see the chakra flow of a person. This ability can come in handy, as the user can target the weak points and win the fight easily. The Rinnegan also enables the user to master any jutsu in no time. In fact, a Rinnegan user can use all five nature releases. The Rinnegan’s other abilities include:
- Manipulating the forces of attraction and repulsion
- Making mechanical adjustments to the body
- Extracting souls
- Summoning a plethora of animals
- Absorbing Chakra
- Gaining access to King of Hell
Almost all of these skills are dangerous and can end the life of a person in seconds if they’re not too careful. If a masterful person uses the Rinnegan, they wipe out nearly an entire area with a single attack. Tendo Pain had access to the forces of repulsion and attraction, and he used them to obliterate the Hidden Leaf Village.
Being able to absorb the chakra and steal the soul of a person are both rather lethal abilities. Nagato used these powers immaculately, but only when he was reanimated by Kabuto. Had he been healthy while invading the Hidden Leaf, there’s absolutely no chance that Naruto or anyone else in the village would have survived.
The Wood Release Is Still A Powerful Kekkei Genkai
Hashirama Used The Wood Release To The Fullest
The Rinnegan is superior to the Wood Release, but that doesn’t mean the latter is not strong. In fact, Wood Release is one of the most broken abilities in Naruto. When Hashirama used the Kekkei Genkai, he was able to subdue Tailed Beasts without any problems. Furthermore, he crushed Madara’s full-body Susanoo effortlessly. The Wood Release can also absorb and suppress another person’s chakra.
Unfortunately, after Hashirama, there wasn’t any other ninja in Naruto who could utilize the Wood Release on a similar level. Yamato was a decent user, but he didn’t even come close to the First Hokage’s level. However, it’s understandable that Kishimoto didn’t want to have another overpowered Wood Release user, as it would be nearly impossible for the heroes to beat them.
Masashi Kishimoto’s ingenuity helped the series to blossom, but the author made one grave mistake, which was introducing the Otsutsuki into the story. These extraterrestrial beings were much stronger than any Hokage, so it took an immense amount of strength to bring them down. Many fans consider it Kishimoto’s biggest mistake, but it’s likely that he wanted to set up a sequel.
Naruto
- Release Date
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October 2, 2002
- Network
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Adult Swim
