The Underrated Ability That Gives Sasuke An Advantage Over Naruto

Over the course of Naruto's story, viewers see two of its main characters rise to the heights of power in the ninja world. The eponymous protagonist and his long-held rival, Sasuke, start out as two of the Leaf Village's most promising young shinobi. By the time the story ends, both are practically gods among men, capable of wielding some of the most powerful abilities that the world has ever seen. Few other characters, if any, have the capacity to put up a fair fight.

As two world-class shinobi, Naruto and Sasuke are roughly portrayed as equal to each other. The two have clashed briefly multiple times throughout the series, usually resulting in a draw or an incredibly slim victory for one of them. Their final fight in Naruto Shippuden depicts them pushing each other to their utmost limits. They continue fighting until neither of them can move and both of them lose an arm. Sasuke admits defeat soon after.

However, this does not mean that Sasuke is weaker than Naruto. The fight in question had already ended, and neither emerged the clear winner. But even though the two rivals reached a stalemate, that does not mean one could not beat the other in another fight. Despite training together and hailing from the same village, Naruto and Sasuke have wildly different abilities. There are many weapons in Sasuke's arsenal that give him advantages over Naruto, though most of them are abilities granted by his Rinnegan.

The Rinnegan is one of Sasuke's many dojutsu, or eye abilities. Sasuke is part of the Uchiha clan, which specializes in its own dojutsu called the Sharingan. And while a fully powered Sharingan is no slouch, the Rinnegan is easily the world's strongest dojutsu. In the right hands, it's more than enough to stand a chance against Naruto.

The Rinnegan alone is versatile enough to deal damage to almost any enemy. A complete master of the Rinnegan can steal chakra (the mystical energy used for jutsu) from targets, summon creatures, push and pull targets with destructive force, and even preside over death (via Narutopedia). However, that only scratches the surface.

According to CBR, Sasuke wields his own unique form of the Rinnegan that grants him exclusive abilities. With his special six tomoe Rinnegan, Sasuke can also travel across dimensions and instantly switch places with targets. These powers, in combination with his Sharingan's Amaterasu and Susanoo abilities make Sasuke incredibly overpowered by most standards, definitely enough that he poses a serious threat to his rival. 

However, it would be unwise to completely underestimate Naruto. Though Sasuke possesses abilities that give him an edge over Naruto, his orange rival possesses his own litany of abilities capable of returning the favor.