Rasengan is one of the toughest jutsu to master and it is also graded as an A rank jutsu. It was created by Minato Namikaze the Fourth Hokage and has been a symbolic jutsu for Naruto his whole life. But one wonders, Why Does Naruto Need a Clone for Rasengan?
Rasengan is basically chakra rapidly spinning in the hand of the user. The force of the rotation and the potency of the chakra create friction and can damage a person completely with their internal organs. The bigger the Rasengan, the greater damage it can cause to any shinobi. It is known that Minato saw the tailed beast bomb and got the idea of creating a Rasengan.
Why Does Naruto Need a Clone for Rasengan?
What’s mostly ignored about Rasengan in Naruto is that it is very tough to learn because of the directions the chakra is required to rotate. The proper term used in the series is, “Changing the Form of the Chakra”. Every shinobi has a definite chakra form and flow to one particular direction. The process to master Rasengan requires one to rotate their chakra in all directions rapidly. This requires an enormous amount of focus.
Naruto could rotate his chakra rapidly towards his flow of chakra. But he failed to do it clockwise and anti-clockwise at the same time. While his training, he sees a cat playing with a water balloon rotating it from left to right and vice versa causing enormous friction.
This is when he gets an idea of using two hands to rotate the chakra. One hand for one flow of movement and the other hand for the opposite movement causing rapid chakra movement. This is when Naruto decides to use a clone to achieve multiple rotations. Whereas, Minato, Jiraiya, and Kakashi have enough experience and focus to rotate their chakra in several directions using one hand.
Does Naruto Learn to Use Rasengan Without a Clone?
No, Naruto mastered his Rasengan with the help of shadow clones.
Initially, Naruto uses his right hand to cause the necessary type of rotation. But the problem with this method was that Naruto couldn’t get much friction and the impact of the Rasengan was very weak with minimal destructive capacity.
Naruto tried his best to train without using a shadow clone but later on, he realizes that he will need a clone using both hands to create a large force of rotation from all directions and successfully create the necessary impact.
While fighting Kabuto, Naruto decides to use a clone for rapid rotation in all possible directions. This is when he successfully uses the Rasengan for the first time.
From here onwards, Naruto uses his clone several times in future missions. Naruto creates different variations in his usage of the Rasengan. Being a master of multi shadow clones, he also uses Rasengan barrage.
This continues even in Shippuden when he learns planetary Rasengan.
Here as well he uses shadow clones frequently.
When Does Naruto Learn Rasengan With Clones?
Naruto trains to master Rasengan for a long period. During his many weeks of training, he figures out that he is going to need a clone to create the necessary force in his rotation.
Naruto successfully uses the Rasengan for the first time in episode 94 of Naruto part 1 which is titled “Attack! Fury of the Rasengan”.
And in the manga chapter 167 titled “As Promised…!!”
This is after Orochimaru and Kabuto fight Tsunade and Jiraiya. Naruto initially uses Rasengan without using a shadow clone, but Kabuto easily evades it.
The second time he uses a shadow clone for creating a Rasengan, while one of his hands is holding Kabuto. This is the first time he succeeds in using the Rasengan and from here onwards Naruto always uses a shadow clone.
Does Naruto Still Need Shadow Clone for Rasengan?
No, he doesn’t need Shadow Clone for Rasengan.
Now as an adult, Naruto does not use a shadow clone for Rasengan. Naruto is way too experienced as of now and he’s also one of the most skillful shinobi in existence.
We see Naruto using one hand several times in Boruto anime. One of his greatest Rasengan feats comes when they are facing Momoshiki Otsutsuki.
In the latter half of the battle, Naruto asks Boruto to create a Rasengan. Boruto creates his small and tiny Rasengan. This is when Naruto uses his hand and creates a massive planetary Rasengan without any chakra drainage. This planetary Rasengan is used to defeat Momoshiki Otsutsuki.
Naruto uses Rasengan without clones several times later on. He uses different types of Rasengan and Rasenshuriken against Delta. He also uses it against Jigen and Isshiki.
Naruto in the war arc of Shippuden itself stopped using clones. At the beginning of the war, he uses his nine tails chakra to create a hand to create the Rasengan.
Can Naruto Do One Handed Jutsu?
Yes.
As explained above Naruto can create Rasengan strong enough to destroy an Otsutsuki with one hand.
In his Kurama avatar, he doesn’t even need his hands to do a jutsu. The Tailed Beast bomb doesn’t need any signs and can be done without the usage of hands. Naruto becomes so skillful that, at that point, he can actually do Rasenshuriken without the usage of shadow clones.
Naruto can instantly make supermassive Rasengan with one hand and also different types of Rasenshuriken with one hand.
In the war arc, in his six paths form Naruto casually creates tailed beast Rasenshuriken, lava style Rasenshuriken, magnet style Rasenshuriken, and Rasenshuriken using all the chakra of all the tailed beasts with relative ease and using one hand. Naruto truly becomes one of the most OP characters near the end.
When Does Naruto Use Rasengan With One Hand?
He uses one-handed Rasengan during the war arc for the first time.
After getting Kcm2, Naruto becomes very much experienced in using Rasengan and Rasenshuriken. This gives him the ability to use it with one hand. However, Kurama does help him out by creating a chakra arm.
But as the war went on, Naruto slowly stopped using the chakra arms and started doing Rasengan with only one hand.
After getting Six Paths Chakra, Naruto casually creates both Rasengan and Rasenshuriken with different chakra natures and Kekkei Genkai only with one hand.
Naruto completely stops using two hands or shadow clones near the end of the series and in Boruto.
Why Doesn’t Naruto Use One Hand Rasengan?
As a child when he was first trying to learn Rasengan, he couldn’t manage the multi-tasking required for the chakra rotation. It required too much focus and experience to pull it off. He couldn’t do Rasengan with one hand.
He tried using one of his hands to rotate one direction and the other hand to the opposite direction. This was partly successful but it did not create the necessary force. This is when he started using both of his hands for rotation by creating a shadow clone.
Near the end of the series, Naruto becomes capable and experienced enough to do it with one hand.
Can Konohamaru Use Rasengan With One Hand?
Konohamaru being Naruto’s student learns Rasengan using shadow clones from the very start. As Konohamaru is also very fluent in the usage of shadow clones, he learned to use Rasengan from Naruto using shadow clones.
One of the great feats that Konohamaru has in the series is when he kills one of the paths of Pain using Rasengan that Naruto taught him. While killing Pain he used a shadow clone to create a massive Rasegan and take out Pain.
We don’t see much of Konohamaru in the series as he is not part of the war because of being underage. So, as for Shippuden, we can assume that Konohamaru used Rasengan with one hand till the end of the Shippuden.
