Shinra Tensei

Shinra Tensei is a technique used through the Deva Path of the Rinnegan, said to be its pinnacle ability.

Overview
Shinra Tensei can only be used by those who can manipulate the five basic nature transformations. The user creates a, which pushes away everything in the vicinity. This repulsive force is most commonly created around the user as a defense, repelling nearby opponents or incoming ninjutsu; it can also be used to disperse ninjutsu that have already struck the user, such as Amaterasu. Alternatively, the repulsive force can be created away from the user, destroying whatever is at the designated location.

Shinra Tensei's strength and area of effect are determined by how much chakra is used. In its typical usage, it repels only within a few feet's distance and has enough force to destroy earthen constructs. Nagato, after cutting off control of his other Six Paths of Pain and channeling all his chakra to the Deva Path, performs a Shinra Tensei that is large enough and powerful enough to reduce Konohagakure to a deep crater; doing this shortens his life and afterwards dulls the responsiveness of his Six Paths of Pain. At its standard strength, opponents can resist Shinra Tensei by securing themselves to the ground: coating their feet with chakra to increase traction, digging in deeply enough to counter repulsion, or grouping together to minimize the repulsive force's influence.

After Shinra Tensei is performed, there is a brief cooldown period during which it and other Deva Path abilities cannot be used. At a minimum, this cooldown is five seconds. During large-scale uses, such as the one that destroyed Konoha, the cooldown takes several minutes.

Influence
The names of Shinra Tensei and its companion ability, Banshō Ten'in, are derived from, a Japanese four-character idiom and homophone variant of , a Buddhist idiom which has come to mean "All of Nature" or "All of Creation".

Trivia

 * In the anime, Shinra Tensei is sometimes depicted as an orb of varying colours which surrounds the Deva Path.
 * In Naruto Shippūden: Shinobi Rumble, an enhanced, "Full Throttle" version of the technique called can be performed.