Nagato (Pain)

Nagato (長門), better known as Pain (ペイン, Pein), was the recognized leader of Akatsuki and Amegakure and was a major antagonist in the series. Referred to as "Leader" by all Akatsuki members, except for Konan, he directed the actions of the rest of the members and maintained authority over them. However, he had secretly collaborated with Tobi, who was actually Madara Uchiha, the benefactor of Akatsuki.

* Names*
(長門, Nagato)
Pain (ペイン, Pein)
God (神, Kami)
Child of the Prophecy (予言の子, Yogen no Ko)
Saviour of this World (この世の救世主, Kono Yo no Kyūseishu)

*Creation info*
Debut (Manga): Chapter 372
Debut (Anime): Eye of a Hawk
Voice actors (English): Troy Baker, Dave Wittenberg (Episode 135)
Voice actors (Japanes): Kenyu Horiuchi

*Personal Info*
Birthday: 19th of September
Age: unknown
Blood type: A
Kekkei Genkai: Rinnegan
Classification: S-class
Occupation: Akatsuki Leader and Village Leader
Affiliation: Amegakure and Akatsuki
Team: Ame Orphans
Partner: Konan
Ring零: (rei, "zero")Ring PositionRight Thumb (worn by the Deva Path)
Family: Nagato's parents
Nature Type: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yin and yang

- Animal Path
- Asura Path
- Banshō Ten'in
- Blocking Technique Absorption Seal
- Chakra Propulsion Boots
- Chibaku Tensei
- Deva Path
- Earth Release: Earth Style Wall
- Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique
- Five Seals Barrier
- Flaming Arrow Missiles
- Flaming Arrow of Amazing Ability
- Human Path
- Laser Explosion
- Magic Lantern Body Technique
- Mind Reading
- Mirrored Sudden Attacker Technique
- Naraka Path
- Outer Path
- Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique (The strongest)
- Preta Path
- Rain Tiger at Will Technique
- Sealing Technique: Illusionary Dragon Nine Consuming Seals
- Shadow Clone Technique
- Shapeshifting Technique
- Shinra Tensei
- Six Paths of Pain
- Soul Removal
- Summoning Technique
- Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path
- Together: Paths of Pain Strike
- Water Release: Violent Water Wave
- Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm

During the Second Great Shinobi World War, Nagato lived with his parents in a village near Amegakure. One day twoKonoha shinobi broke into their home looking for food, unaware that the place was still inhabited. Nagato's parents, believing they were going to be killed, attacked the two so that Nagato could escape. Having mistaken them to be enemy ninja, the Konoha ninja killed his parents. In his grief, Nagato awakened his Rinnegan and killed the assailants. He would come to consider this incident the first great pain of his life.
His family gone, Nagato wandered the country, going from house to house asking for food. In time he met a dog named Chibi and later, Konan and Yahiko, who began traveling with him in his search for food. One day, Chibi was killed in the crossfire from Hanzō's fight with the soon to be Sannin. Nagato mourned his death and promised himself that he would change the world. Soon afterwards the war ended, and the three orphans ran into the Sannin. Rather than return to Konoha with his teammates, Jiraiya decided to teach the three how to look after themselves.

Soon after Jiraiya began living with the orphans, Nagato and Yahiko were attacked by an Iwagakure ninja. Nagato reactivated his Rinnegan to defend Yahiko, killing the ninja. When Jiraiya found out about this, he decided to train them in ninjutsu. Nagato was very emotional about killing the ninja, and asked Jiraiya for help so he could protect Konan and Yahiko. Jiraiya's response was for Nagato to grow up and to use his eyes to find the peace that they both desired for the world. Three years later the orphans had become competent ninja, so Jiraiya returned to Konoha.
Over the years, news of the three's exploits would reach Jiraiya. This often consisted of the death of someone who opposed them; eventually he received word that they had all died. In truth, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko began a quest to find peace. They became full-fledged Amegakure ninja and gathered followers who shared their philosophies of an end to war. The leader of Amegakure, Hanzō, viewed the group as a threat to his position as leader and schemed with Konoha's Foundation to eliminate them. Claiming to want to discuss peace, Hanzō lured Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan to an ambush. There he forced Nagato to choose between killing Yahiko or Konan. Not wanting to force Nagato to make the choice, Yahiko impaled himself with a kunai that was placed in Nagato's hand. With Yahiko's dying breath, he told Nagato to survive, because he believed in Jiraiya's words that Nagato would become the world's savior. This would become the second great pain of Nagato's life.
Devastated, Nagato retrieved Konan and Yahiko's body and launched an attack against Hanzō's men. With the Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Pathhe was able to kill all but Hanzō. However, the technique left Nagato emaciated, with numerous chakra rods embedded in his back. He severed his loyalties with Amegakure by scratching through the symbol of his Amegakure forehead protector, resolving to teach the village and the world his pain. Yahiko's body would later be incorporated into the Six Paths of Pain as theDeva Path.
Upon adopting the alias "Pain", Nagato led the rebelling forces in the Amegakure civil war, and took control of the village by assassinating Hanzō. He then solidified his leadership by systematically killing anyone who had direct ties to the former leader. At some point he assisted Madara Uchiha in the creation of Akatsuki, using Amegakure as his base of operations.

Nagato is a fair-skinned man with chin-length red hair whose most noticeable trait is his Rinnegan eyes. As a child, his hair would regularly hang of his face blocking the view of his eyes. Nagato grew into a tall man, but after subjecting himself to the Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Nagato was reduced into a wither version of his former self with chakra receivers implanted into his back and smaller ones in his forearms. Nagato regularly uses a mechanical walker for mobility, which could fire Chakra Disruption Blades for personal defense.

Nagato was a sensitive, but kind boy, prone to crying, and was traumatized by the idea of killing others, even to save his friend Yahiko. Scared and unsure of his place in the world, he desired to help those he cared about, but never knew how. Nevertheless, he was a talented and gifted student, mastering every technique Jiraiya had taught him. He was consistently respectful and kind to Konan, who he claimed to be his "angel" in Amegakure. He was shown protecting her, without request or hesitation, from Jiraiya, before his battle with his former teacher. Apparently, she was the only Akatsuki member that addressed him by his names, Pain and Nagato.
As Pain, his personality was very different, having become a calm, serious, aloof, and detached man. Apparently believing traumas he experienced in his youth had enlightened him to the true meaning of pain and suffering, he considered himself a deity, and believed he had evolved beyond a mere human being. He sought to show the world the meaning of pain by using an ultimate weapon to deter future wars, by means similar to "mutually assured destruction", and showed no moral qualms about his actions. He was willing to kill Jiraiya to ensure the completion of his plans. He even went so far as to proclaim himself a "god of peace", that had to guide the world to maturity through pain. Finally, he felt that no-one could understand true peace unless they understood "true" pain, something his childhood friend Yahiko believed. Minato Namikaze believed Madara Uchiha to have been using this philosophy in his favor, in order to manipulate Nagato.
Nonetheless, he was seen to be quite respectful, particularly to the fallen and the dead. Given the Akatsuki members' frequent bickering, he often restrained them, and encouraged better relations among members. He even suggested that they mourn forDeidara after his passing, and reprimanded Kisame for calling Hidan and Kakuzu the "Zombie Brothers". After his battle with Jiraiya, he held a moment of silence for his former teacher, out of respect for his power.
Because Konohagakure was partly responsible for the tragedies in his life, he held some form of animosity for the village. Although Jiraiya's influence improved his opinion of the village during their time together, he eventually came to believe that Konoha profited from the tragedies of others and hated it and his former teacher.

With only the Nine-Tails remaining, Pain and Konan set out for Konoha. After eliminating the border guards upon their arrival, they infiltrated the village and dispersed, with each of the six Paths having a specific task: the Asura, Preta, and Animal Paths served as diversions, while the Deva, Human, and Naraka Paths looked for Naruto, with Konan aiding the latter team. While exploring and laying waste to the village and its inhabitants, the Deva Path was confronted by Kakashi Hatake. The Asura Path came to its aid and together they overwhelmed Kakashi and his allies at the cost of the Asura Path's destruction.
Across the village, the remaining Paths continued their tasks, fighting whatever Konoha ninja they came across. The Deva Path met with Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, who refused to reveal Naruto's location. Elsewhere, the Human Path used its unique interrogation techniques onShizune to learn that Naruto was at Myōbokuzan. Declaring that he would teach Tsunade the pain that Konoha had been so ignorant of, Nagato had the Deva Path use Shinra Tensei to obliterate the village while Konan and the other Paths withdrew.
As the smoke cleared, the Deva Path found that Naruto had returned with his toad allies. In retaliation for the village's destruction, Naruto swiftly crushed the newly restored Asura Path and began his fight with the remaining Paths of Pain. The Animal Path called upon its summons to attack Naruto, who parried them with the aid of his toads and proceeded to defeat the Preta Path. Soon afterwards, Naruto eliminated the Human Path with his Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, and then teamed up with Gamabunta to defeat the Animal Path.
With four of the Paths gone, the temporarily powerless Deva Path protected the Naraka Path, which restored the Preta Path. The Preta Path absorbed a second Rasenshuriken, but it had only been a diversion to give Naruto an opportunity to finish off the Naraka Path. The Deva Path, its power returned, detained Naruto so that the Preta Path could capture him, however Naruto allowed it to absorb his senjutsu chakra, which had the side effect of turning it to stone. Naruto escaped its clutches, but was seized once again by the Deva Path, who pinned him to the ground with fragments of a chakra disruption blade. The Deva Path then lectured Naruto about the chain of hatred, pain, suffering, and war that the ninja system brought to the world, and how he planned to use the tailed beasts' power to achieve peace and end conflict. He asks if Naruto can think of a better solution, but Naruto does not respond.
Before the Deva Path could take Naruto away, Hinata Hyūga came to his defense. She confessed her love for Naruto and engaged the Path, but was quickly struck down. Believing her to be dead, Naruto became enraged and activated his six-tailed transformation, with which the Deva Path could not compete in its current condition. With this realization, the Deva Path retreated to a location closer to Nagato, who had secluded himself nearby in order to control the Six Paths of Pain. This allowed the Deva Path to use Chibaku Tensei, trapping Naruto in a massive orb of earth and debris. This victory was short-lived, as Naruto soon progressed to an unprecidented eight-tailed state and broke free of the Chibaku Tensei. The sphere of rubble created by Pain's Chibaku Tensei crumbled, and Naruto, reverting to his normal form, emerged from the ruin.
Reflecting on the earlier lecture, Naruto demanded an opportunity to speak with Nagato, but was denied and attacked by the Deva Path. By taking advantage of the five second gap between the Deva Path's ability, Naruto was able to defeat it with a well-timed Rasengan; removing its Chakra Receivers, Naruto realized that he could use the incoming chakra transmission to track down Nagato. Upon discovering Nagato's hiding place, Nagato attempted to gain control of Naruto's body by firing another Chakra Receiver from a hidden compartment in his transportation device. The rod pierced Naruto's stomach, but Naruto was able to resist the influence of Nagato's chakra. Admitting to the rage he now felt towards Nagato, Naruto held his ground and asked Nagato how despite being a student of Jiraiya he could have strayed so far from their master's teachings. Hoping that Naruto would come to agree with his solution for peace, Nagato told him of the tragic past he shared with his childhood friends, Konan and Yahiko, and of the series of events that lead to Yahiko becoming the Deva Path and Nagato taking up the moniker of Pain.
Although Naruto agrees with Nagato's ultimate conclusion, he rejects it for differing with Jiraiya's ideals. In doing so, he answers Nagato's earlier question about how to attain peace: by "breaking the cycle of hatred". He decides not to kill Nagato, as that would only lead Konan to seek revenge, and in turn, lead others to seek revenge because of her actions. Amazed by Naruto's resolve and remembering Jiraiya's teachings, Nagato decides to put his faith in Naruto's method. Nagato then used the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive all the Konohagakure citizens that had been killed during his invasion. The strain of the technique costs Nagato his life, so with his final breath he wishes for Naruto's dream of peace to come true.
In the aftermath, Konan encases Nagato and Yahiko's bodies in paper and takes them back to Amegakure for burial. She leaves Akatsuki and pledges Amegakure's allegiance to Naruto and Konoha on behalf of Nagato, giving him a bouquet of origami flowers as a memento.

And later Tobi stole his Rinnegan, and in the shinobi war he was brought to life by Kabuto.

- (At meeting in Part I) "Of course ... no mistakes. Remember what we seek ... everything, including the Nine-Tailed Fox "We're both of the same breed, after all ... motives for war are of no concern. Religion, Ideology, Resources, Land, Grudges, Love, or 'A whim ...' No matter how pathetic the reason, it's enough to start a war."

- (To Jiraiya) "Yahiko has been dead for quite some time. All that remains is...Pain."

- (To Jiraiya) "We are Pain! We are God!"

- "Those who do not understand true pain can never understand true peace."

- "We are but men, drawn to act in the name of revenge we deem to be "justice". But when we call our vengeance "justice", it only breeds more revenge ... forging the first link in the chains of hatred.

- (To Tsunade) "I want you to feel pain, to think about pain, to accept pain, to know pain."

- (To Jiraiya) "But someday I'll break the curse. If there's such a thing as peace, I will find it!"

- (To Tsunade) "You think you're the only ones who matter. You think you can put off death. But peace that made you foolish and thoughtless. If you kill someone, someone else will kill you... this hatred binds us together."

- (To Naruto) "Love breeds sacrifice... which in turn breeds hatred."

- (To Naruto) "I ... will believe in you ... Naruto Uzumaki ..."

- (Last Words to Naruto) "Dying like trash... never ending hatred... pain that never heals... that is war... Naruto... this... is what you must face... The book... and you... It's like... someone... set this all up... Or... maybe... this... is... the hand of the real god... My role is over now... Naruto... you... can really--"

- His name means "long-lasting gate".

- Due to the unique nature of Nagato or Pain, Nagato's name was used for all actions done by the main body, while Pain was used for all the actions done by the Deva Path.

- The original Six Paths of Pain were composed of individuals associated with Jiraiya. They all seemed to share the want for peace.

- As Nagato's Six Paths of Pain were all deceased ninja, it could also be assumed that Animal Path's summonings were reanimated corpses as well, as they too had several body piercings and Rinnegan (possibly meaning that Nagato could see through their eyes as well). When he was small, Orochimaru offered to kill him and his friends so they would not have to suffer the horrors of war (at least, any more than they already had), but many years later he let Orochimaru join Akatsuki. It is unknown if Orochimaru is aware that two of the Ame orphans he tried to kill became his superiors. Three of the Six Paths of Pain appear as playable characters in Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel 3, with the other three as support characters, allowing all six to appear simultaneously in three-versus-one matchups.

- Nagato is the only Akatsuki member never seen wearing the organization's uniform. However, his Six Paths of Pain wear it in his stead.

- In the anime, Nagato is shown to have a jutsu for the Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind elements but not one for the Lightning element.

- According to the third databook:
1. Nagato's favorite phrase was "The stars are hidden on a rainy night".
2. As a child his favorite phrase was "Growing up".
3. His favorite food was grilled fish and stew.
4. His hobby was practicing ninjutsu.
5. His desired opponent was anyone in order to protect his friends.