Spoilers alert for Naruto: The Whorl Inside the SpiralFans have known for quite some time that narutoMinato’s father was the one who invented the Rasengan, but the story of this iconic ninjutsu was only revealed when Naruto: The Whorl Inside the Spiral was released, Naruto’s father-centered side story showing the source. How deeply connected Rasegan’s roots are with beauty and tragedy. Love story between Minato and Kushina Uzumaki.
In The Whorl Inside the Spiral, Minato is attempting to complete a jutsu under Jiraya’s guidance. After the Nine-Tails, Kurama, attempted to escape from her vessel, Kushina, Minato used her new jutsu, Rasegan, to stop the raging chakra beast, by appearing within the “inner world”. in” of Kushina and helped her seal Kurama once more. Minato then tells his future wife that he created a special technique for her to help her stand up to the other Jinchuriki and Biju in battle. Rasegan’s form was inspired by the Jinchuriki Chakra Orb that Minato saw with his own eyes during a near-fatal encounter with two other Jinchuriki.
The origin of the Rasengan is about Minato’s love for Kushina
The fact that Minato invented the Rasegan for Kushina makes sense considering what Naruto revealed long before the manga a special scene The Whorl Inside the Spiral. In a flashback to their time as a couple, Minato learned various sealing techniques from Jiraiya and Kushina themselves to protect their beloved. Even before that, Minato had single-handedly rescued the kidnapped Kushina when all other attempts failed. Although Minato is motivated by the admiration he has for her strength and even her hair, it is his actions that make Kushina fall in love with him.
However, Minato is best known for sealing the Nine-Tails Fox’s Yin half into himself and Naruto’s Yang half, believing that his son was the child of prophecy and that becoming a Jinchuriki would allow him serve that purpose. Without arguing about whether the Fourth Hokage sentenced his son to a life of suffering, it was clear that he put many contingencies in place to protect Naruto from harm. As a result, Minato is defined by the relationship he has with his son. The Whorl Inside the Spiral puts the focus back on his relationship with Kushina, the woman he loves and tries to protect as the destined Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails.
Minato’s failure to complete the Rasegan makes his story even more tragic
While incredibly moving, Rasegan’s origins add another layer of seriousness to Kushina and Minato’s love story. Minato is famous for his failure to complete the Rasegan, which Naruto did later by successfully combining chakra nature with an energy vortex. This gives the impression that Minato failed to protect his wife, which is true because Minato was unable to stop Tobi from removing the Nine-Tails from Kushina, killing her. And yet, it also means that this failure allows naruto to complete what his father Minato did out of love for his wife Kushina, turning rasengan from a mere weapon to a beautiful image of connection, family bonding and undying love.
Naruto: Vortex Within a Spiral available from Viz Media.