As the most powerful set of eyes in the Naruto universe, those who possess the Rinnegan are comparable to gods. With a long list of god-like powers, the Rinnegan allows its wielder to manipulate the boundaries between time, space, and life. Here are the Rinnegan's most memorable abilities -- and the jutsu that trumps them all.
The Rinnegan's Most Notable Abilities
As one of the Three Great Dōjutsu, those who possess the Rinnegan in Naruto have access to a wide range of capabilities in their arsenal. Being considered either a God of Creation or a God of Destruction who is nearly unstoppable, each Rinnegan wielder uses their power uniquely. Madara Uchiha can use his Rinnegan to achieve Limbo, which allows him to create four clones of himself in another plane so no one without a Rinnegan can see or detect them. These hidden clones are just as powerful as the real Madara, making him nearly invincible when combatting non-Rinnegan wielders.
Meanwhile, Nagato unveils several powerful Rinnegan abilities earlier in Naruto when he attacks the Hidden Leaf as the Sixth Paths of Pain. The Human Path shocked viewers with its Absorption Soul Technique, where the Rinnegan user can instantly reap a human's soul while acquiring intel by reading their mind as they die. Nagato's Deva Path is even more powerful and memorable, allowing the user to manipulate force to attract and repel with great strength. This Path also gives the wielder an ability to create a small planet from surrounding matter and use it in a large-scale attack, which is how Pain destroys the entire Hidden Leaf. Given the jutsu's importance, Nagato uses Yahiko's body as both the wielder of the Deva Path and the leader of the Sixth Paths of Pain.
Several Sharingan-wielding Uchihas who have evolved into the Rinnegan have also unlocked unique abilities through their eyes. Obito uses the Rinnegan to fully control the Tailed Beasts and can even seal their power away. Sasuke develops the Space–Time Ninjutsu after awakening his Rinnegan with the chakra of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki himself. This jutsu allows Sasuke to travel between time and space into other dimensions. A similar technique was used by Obito, making it seem like he had the ability to teleport. Likewise, Sasuke unlocks the ability to teleport using his Rinnegan's Amenotejikara technique that lets him switch places with objects or people in his vicinity.
The Rinnegan's Greatest Power: Rinne Rebirth
While Rinnegan has many noteworthy abilities in Naruto, none are more powerful and useful than the Rinne Rebirth, also known as the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. Amplifying the Rinnegan's god-like power, wielders are able to control life and death. The jutsu summons the King of Hell himself and forces him to release the souls of the dead from the afterlife so they can be reunited with their bodies. This powerful technique can be used on an incredibly large scale, as demonstrated when Nagato resurrects the entire Hidden Leaf.
However, altering the basic rules of nature by manipulating life and death comes at a high price. Those who use the Rinne Rebirth technique exert a lot of chakra and ultimately die, exchanging the lives of others for their own. This sacrificial caveat causes Nagato to die after saving the Hidden Leaf he had destroyed himself, willingly sacrificing his life after Naruto convinces him to have a major change of heart. While they both bring back the dead, the Rinne Rebirth should not be confused with the more limited medical jutsu Granny Chiyo used to exchange Gaara's life for her own.
Despite the user facing inescapable death, the Rinne Rebirth remains the most powerful and useful jutsu in Naruto. However, the ability to resurrect the dead is not uncommon in anime. Sesshomaru from Inuyasha is able to spare the life of the recently deceased with his Tenseiga sword, notably using it to repel the underworld beings trying to take Rin's soul. Meanwhile, Eternal Dragons are able to revive the dead when wished upon in Dragon Ball Z. While anime viewers are no stranger to resurrections, none are done on a more impressive and grander scale than Naruto's Rinne Rebirth.