Rasengan

The  is a powerful A-Rank technique invented by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. After three years of its development, however, he never saw it completed, having never acheived the desired results before he died.

Minato's idea for the Rasengan was to take the Shape Transformation of his chakra to the "highest possible point" and then combine it with his chakra's nature affinity, creating a jutsu that did not need the aid of time-consuming hand seals to control. He died before he could accomplish this, but on shape manipulation alone, the Rasengan is still a very useful, powerful, and difficult jutsu to learn and master.

Usage
In Part I, Jiraiya taught Naruto Uzumaki how to use the Rasengan, breaking the learning process into three steps:
 * The first step was learning how to burst a water balloon by spinning the water inside in multiple directions at once using only the user's chakra, which emphasizes rotation.
 * The second step was for the user to burst a rubber ball, and since rubber is thicker and air is completely different from water, it forces the user to use denser chakra to break it. This step emphasizes power.
 * The third and final step was to combine both step one and two by spinning chakra inside a balloon without moving the balloon itself, emphasizing stability of the sphere shape.

Although most users learn how to form the Rasengan with one hand, Naruto and Konohamaru Sarutobi use one or more shadow clones to help in its creation. By having the hands of the shadow clones act as shells, Naruto and Konohamaru can complete and use the technique without using any extra time to master their chakra control.

Naruto has used a one-handed Rasengan in a one-tailed transformation and has also used a Rasengan without a clone in his battle with Shinnō in Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds.

Effects
The Rasengan does not require any hand seals to use, relying only on the chakra control of the user. Once it is complete it becomes self-sustaining, which does not give the Rasengan a definite limit like its counterpart, the Chidori. The compacted nature and moving speed of the chakra allows the Rasengan to grind into whatever it comes in contact with, inflicting major damage. This also tends to launch the target backward once hit. In an anime filler arc, Naruto was able to perform the Rasengan as a mid-range projectile technique by somehow throwing it into a wall.

The Rasengan was designed to use the caster's elemental affinities. Minato was unable to add his affinities to his Rasengan before he died. Kakashi Hatake tried to add his lightning element to his Rasengan, but was unable to and explains he uses the Chidori and Lightning Cutter instead, which require a certain point of shape manipulation and nature manipulation itself. Naruto was the first to add his wind affinity to his Rasengan and even advanced it to the point that he could create the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.

Improvement
While in training, Naruto improved the Rasengan with the Great Ball Rasengan, after Jiraiya pointed out during their time away from Konohagakure that it would be easier to hit an opponent with a larger Rasengan. Later, Naruto mixed his wind-natured chakra to start developing the Wind Release: Rasengan, as it was originally intended. Naruto took the Rasengan even further than his father by creating the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, a variant of the Wind Release: Rasengan. However, this new technique not only damaged the opponent's chakra circulatory system, but also damaged the user's arm and chakra circulatory system, making it a double-edged sword. Even so, Naruto overcame this obstacle as shown during his fight with Pain when, in Sage Mode, he threw the Rasenshuriken, preventing any damage done to his own body.

Naruto can also wield a Rasengan in both of his hands while in Sage Mode. Sage Art: Great Ball Rasengan uses two Great Ball Rasengan, while Sage Technique: Rasenrengan uses two regular Rasengan. Jiraiya is suggested to have been capable of doing something similar; when teaching Naruto the Rasengan, he holds the Rasengan in one hand and does the balloon exercise in his other hand.

Trivia

 * Every Naruto film, but the third Shippūden film featured a new version of Rasengan. The second Shippūden film is the only film to feature two new forms.