Nagato

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Nagato (长门)
Alias(es)	Pain
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Akatsuki; Amegakure
Occupation/Role	Akatsuki leader; ruler of Amegakure; later recognized as the Rain Kage
Status	Active 293
First Appearance	Chapter 146 (as Pain) 146

Background / History

Akatsuki leadership

Nagato leads Akatsuki through the Six Paths of Pain, using the organization to capture the Tailed Beasts and seal them within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. When losses leave Akatsuki short-handed, he orders new recruitment and is prepared to personally assume capture missions if necessary 146 148.

He sees himself as a god capable of remaking a war-torn world through destruction and transformation. His authority within Akatsuki rests on fear and demonstrated power; even unruly members refrain from openly challenging him 156 240.

Conflict with Jiraiya and Konoha

Konoha's assault on Amegakure forces Nagato to confront his former teacher, Jiraiya, through the Deva Path—Yahiko's body. Jiraiya recognizes the grief behind Nagato's detachment and pleads with him to abandon violence, while Nagato accepts the encounter as a rematch between master and student 178.

During the battle, Xi Yun realizes that Nagato is sustaining the Six Paths from more than ten kilometers away while repeatedly using large-scale techniques. Nagato's chakra reserves prove comparable to a Tailed Beast, invalidating Xi Yun's plan to exhaust him 182.

A black Evil Entity enters Nagato's body during the battle and restores his previously withered physique. He later confirms that his legs have healed as well, allowing him to act personally rather than relying exclusively on the Six Paths 186 188.

Tailed Beast campaign and the Five Kage

Nagato personally captures the Four-Tails' jinchuriki, Rōshi, then hunts Killer B and defeats the Eight-Tails' attacks through Rinnegan techniques, including the absorption of a Tailed Beast Bomb 195 197 198.

After the Five Kage pursue him, Nagato deploys the Six Paths against them, then abandons the proxy strategy when it becomes ineffective. He fights the Kage with his restored body, using distance, terrain control, chakra absorption, and attrition to counter their coordinated attacks 219 221 226.

He later kills Orochimaru with Soul Extraction immediately after Orochimaru summons seven Edo Tensei Kage. Nagato retains control of the resurrected Kage by suppressing their self-awareness and using them as expendable fighters to drain the Five Kage's chakra 210 215.

Break with Obito

After escaping the Five Kage, Nagato turns on Obito. Having gained new Rinnegan abilities, he sees through Obito's space-time trick, impales him with a black receiver, uses Mind Dive to extract information, and kills him rather than submit to Obito's ambition 227 228.

Amegakure's expansion

Using a new red-haired body that he calls his final transformation, Nagato makes Konan his lover and announces a plan to create jinchuriki within Akatsuki. He seals seven captured Tailed Beasts into selected members and retains the ability to release them himself 236 243.

Nagato seeks to elevate Amegakure into a “sixth great nation.” His rule over the village is maintained through fear: the shinobi under him obey because they know the consequences of defiance, not because they openly share his vision 240.

At negotiations with the Allied Forces, Nagato demands recognition for Amegakure and threatens to release the seven Tailed Beasts if refused. When that pressure fails, he later offers the two Rinnegan to Hidden Cloud and Hidden Sand and declares that he will commit suicide as compensation. Tsunade concludes that this distribution would instead provoke conflict among the Five Great Nations 243 246 249.

Alliance with Xi Yun

Xi Yun confronts Nagato with comic books depicting Nagato's life, including the death of someone Nagato loves at Obito's hands. Shaken but not broken by the revelation that his world is a comic, Nagato agrees to work with Xi Yun to unify the Shinobi World 279.

Their partnership remains pragmatic. Nagato accepts Xi Yun's terms while concealing the arrangement from members such as Kisame, then later renegotiates with Xi Yun after Xi Yun gains the Rinnegan and the God Tree Fruit 280 291. He subsequently recruits Hidden Cloud into Xi Yun's cross-dimensional plan and attends a summit as Amegakure's Rain Kage 292 293.

Appearance

Nagato possesses the ripple-patterned Rinnegan. Years without sunlight leave him pale, and before his restoration he is physically withered and unable to use his legs normally 186 226.

• His body is restored to full vitality after an Evil Entity enters him; his legs recover as part of the transformation 186 188.
• He later uses a red-haired body and refers to it as his final transformation 236.
• He operates through six pierced corpses known as the Six Paths of Pain, including Yahiko's body as the Deva Path 178 207.

Personality

Nagato is cold, disciplined, and intensely pragmatic. He treats followers, corpses, and even loyal volunteers as resources when they serve his objectives; after losing the Naraka Path, he accepts a Rain ninja's request to serve only to use that man as a replacement vessel 189.

His godlike self-image is paired with a sincere desire to end the cycle of war. He believes overwhelming power is necessary to create peace and wants Amegakure to stand beside the Five Great Nations rather than remain a minor village 156 240.

Despite his ruthlessness, Nagato has deep personal attachments. Yahiko's death shaped his transformation, while Konan—whom he calls Nan—is the person he most clearly cannot abandon. Their relationship eventually becomes romantic 178 181 236.

Abilities & Skills

Rinnegan

Nagato wields the Rinnegan, described as the supreme dōjutsu and the Sage of Six Paths' eyes 197 207.

• Manipulates attraction and repulsion through Universal Pull and Shinra Tensei 184 197.
• Absorbs chakra and ninjutsu, including Killer B's Tailed Beast Bomb and the Tsuchikage's Dust Release 198 222.
• Uses soul-based techniques to extract souls, read memories, and resurrect the dead 207.
• Demonstrates sensory capabilities sufficient to detect pursuers, though not at the Byakugan's level of long-range observation 206.
• Gains additional Rinnegan techniques after his physical restoration, including Mind Dive, which he uses against Obito 227 228.

Six Paths of Pain

Nagato remotely controls six corpse vessels through chakra receivers. Their linked minds and shared vision make them difficult to outmaneuver as a group 182 207.

• Deva Path — controls attraction and repulsion through Universal Pull and Shinra Tensei 199.
• Preta Path — absorbs chakra and ninjutsu 199.
• Human Path — extracts souls; it kills Orochimaru with Soul Extraction 210.
• Naraka Path — uses the King of Hell to restore damaged Paths 199 207.
• Animal Path — summons giant creatures, including regenerative dogs and a giant bird 197 199.
• Asura Path — employs mechanical weaponry and missile barrages 181 199.
• Destroyed Paths can be repaired as long as the Naraka Path or Nagato remains available and the bodies are sufficiently intact 207 220.
• Nagato's real body can use the Paths' abilities directly, making the usual strategy of separating and destroying the vessels ineffective when he enters combat himself 207 219.

Chakra Reserves and Ninjutsu

Nagato possesses chakra reserves comparable to a Tailed Beast. He can sustain the Six Paths over distances exceeding ten kilometers while repeatedly casting massive-area techniques 182.

• Mastered all five basic chakra natures by age ten 182.
• Uses large-scale Water Release to flood and reshape the battlefield, eliminating Gaara's desert advantage 221.
• Combines overwhelming reserves with prolonged attrition tactics, attempting to force stronger but less enduring opponents to exhaust themselves 226.
• His early mobility was limited by his crippled legs; this limitation disappears after the Evil Entity restores his body 182 188.

Chakra Receivers

Nagato uses black metal receivers to control the Paths and suppress opponents.

• The receivers connect the Six Paths to his chakra and can be destroyed to disable a vessel 186.
• He impales Obito with a hidden receiver, suppressing his chakra before using Mind Dive 227.
• His forces use black rods to immobilize captured jinchuriki, including Rōshi 195.

Sealing and Jinchuriki Creation

Nagato uses the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to extract and seal Tailed Beasts 148 183.

• Oversees the extraction of Shukaku from Gaara and the sealing of the One-Tail into the Demonic Statue 148.
• Uses the Six Paths and the statue to capture jinchuriki, including Rōshi and Killer B 195 206.
• Seals seven Tailed Beasts into Akatsuki members and claims the authority to release those beasts at will 236 243.

Edo Tensei Control

Nagato takes control of seven Edo Tensei Kage after killing their summoner, Orochimaru 210.

• Suppresses their personalities and leaves only enough awareness for combat, preventing coordinated rebellion 215.
• Uses the resurrected Kage as “consumables” to deplete the Five Kage's chakra rather than relying on their full tactical intelligence 215.

Relationships

• Konan / Nan — Closest confidant and later lover. She remains at his side through Akatsuki's losses, his restoration, and his political ambitions 156 186 236.
• Yahiko — Former companion whose death profoundly shaped Nagato's worldview. Yahiko's body serves as the Deva Path 178.
• Jiraiya — Former teacher and battlefield opponent. Jiraiya recognizes Nagato's grief but fails to dissuade him from his path 178.
• Obito Uchiha — Former collaborator whom Nagato ultimately betrays and kills after rejecting Obito's ambition 227 228.
• Xi Yun / White Gale — Initially an adversary who exposes Akatsuki's secrets; later a necessary political partner in a plan to unify the Shinobi World 226 279 280.
• Sasuke Uchiha — An independent associate who refuses subordination but exchanges critical information with Nagato 227 229.
• Orochimaru — A pragmatic Akatsuki subordinate whose Edo Tensei Nagato appropriates after killing him; Orochimaru later returns to advise him on political strategy 210 243.
• The Five Kage — Primary military and political opponents during the struggle over the Eight-Tails, the Rinnegan, and Amegakure's status 219 246.

Notable Quotes

“Then follow behind me and watch quietly as Amegakure becomes the sixth great nation. We will change this Shinobi World and usher in true peace.” 240

“If I caught it once, I can catch it a second time. It's only the Eight-Tails.” 227