Nagato

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Nagato (长门)
Alias(es)	Pain; calls himself a god and the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths 74.
Gender	Male 77.
Affiliation	Akatsuki; Land of Rain 87 102.
Occupation/Role	Akatsuki leader; controller of the Six Paths of Pain 77 102.
Status	Killed by Obito, then revived through Impure World Reincarnation. Last shown regenerating and continuing to obey Obito’s orders 150 161.
Former Teacher	Jiraiya, who trained Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan for three years 98.

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Hashirama-cell restoration	77	Receives cultivated replacement legs, regains the ability to walk, and gains vitality and chakra exceeding his pre-injury condition. The increase also strengthens the Six Paths of Pain.
First successful Wood Release	77	Produces enormous pillars with Giant Wooden Pillar Technique after more than forty attempts.
Wood Dragon Technique	89	Successfully creates a massive Wood Dragon. His attempt to develop it into a complete Wooden Man still fails.
Enhanced Deva Path	94 95	Deva Path is documented as strengthened through Yin-Yang Release, including a second round of enhancement that greatly improves its combat performance.
Complete Wood Golem / Wooden Man	121	Deploys a colossal humanoid construct wrapped in a Wood Dragon against five coordinated Kage-level opponents.
Impure World Reincarnation	150 151	Obito kills and reanimates him as a controlled combatant. His reanimated body can recover after destruction, allowing him to continue fighting 161.

Background / History

During the Second Shinobi World War, Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan wandered the Land of Rain, barely surviving. They encountered Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, and Jiraiya stayed behind to teach them. Upon discovering Nagato’s Rinnegan, Jiraiya believed he might be the Child of Destiny foretold by the Great Toad Sage 98.

Jiraiya remembered Nagato as kind, shy, and reserved. After receiving news that something had happened to his pupils shortly after the Third Shinobi World War began, he searched for them but found no trace and assumed they had died 98.

Yahiko’s death became the defining event behind Nagato’s pursuit of peace. Nagato later told Jiraiya that watching Yahiko throw himself onto his kunai convinced him that mutual understanding could not resolve human conflict; only violence could restrain humanity’s ambitions 120.

Appearance

• Red hair, retained after his physical restoration 77.
• Rinnegan, whose immense eye power visibly intimidates other Akatsuki members 78 102.
• Initially skeletal and immobilized, with damaged legs and a body riddled with black rods 74.
• Pale replacement feet cultivated from Hashirama cells 77.
• Black cloak patterned with red clouds, worn during the tailed-beast operations 93 98.

Personality

Nagato’s desire for peace becomes an obsession after Yahiko’s death. He knowingly accepts dangerous assistance from “Madara” and is prepared to sacrifice even the Land of Rain for his goal. His conviction makes him dismiss Jiraiya’s appeals despite continuing to address him respectfully as his teacher 74 87 120 153.

His belief that the Rinnegan marks him as a destined savior supports an early god complex. Learning Wood Release, however, gives him a more realistic appreciation of Hashirama’s strength: he admits that calling himself a god was arrogant and remains uncertain that he could defeat the First Hokage 74 89 139.

Nagato is also a cautious commander. He delays missions when jinchūriki are well protected, prohibits bounty work that might expose Akatsuki, and orders surveillance rather than immediately attacking Utakata. His distrust of “Madara” grows into an outright rejection of Infinite Tsukuyomi, which he regards as an escape from reality rather than genuine peace 134 137 145 148.

Abilities & Skills

Rinnegan: Attraction and Repulsion

Nagato uses gravitational control directly and through Deva Path Pain 93 94.

• Banshō Ten’in pulls targets toward him and manipulates objects, including boulders and severed tailed-beast parts 94 95.
• Shinra Tensei repels opponents, projectiles, and large-scale ninjutsu; it also supports his aerial movement 94 121.
• Super Shinra Tensei devastates extensive terrain. Deva Path’s blast buries nearly half of Kumogakure, while Nagato’s own strike severely injures the Eight-Tails 95.
• Planetary Devastation forms a black gravitational core that draws in surrounding matter. Killer B defeats it by destroying the core with a Tailed Beast Bomb; Kakashi later counters another use with Kamui 94 154.
• Observed interval: Shi and Samui identify an apparent eight-second gap between Deva Path’s Shinra Tensei uses, but the Raikage warns against treating it as a confirmed weakness 95.

Six Paths of Pain

Nagato controls the Six Paths of Pain, whose access to the Rinnegan’s power improves after his Hashirama-cell restoration 77.

• Fights personally while simultaneously directing Deva Path against a separate opponent 94 95.
• Shares Deva Path’s visual information, allowing him to monitor the Raikage’s battle while confronting Killer B 94.
• Reinforces Deva Path through Yin-Yang Release, enabling it to overwhelm ordinary Kumogakure shinobi and withstand high-level close-range assaults 94 95.

Preta Path: Sealing Technique Absorption

The Preta Path absorbs chakra-based ninjutsu, giving Nagato a second defensive option when repulsion is insufficient 152.

• Neutralizes Tobirama’s chakra-generated water attacks 152.
• Absorbs Naruto’s remaining Rasenshuriken attacks after Shinra Tensei fails to repel the entire barrage 152.
• Absorbs Tobirama’s lake before launching a battlefield-wide Wood Thorn attack 157.

Asura Path

Nagato manifests mechanical weaponry from his body 95 153.

• Grows additional mechanical arms that function as laser cannons, blasting holes through the Eight-Tails’ legs 95.
• Uses Asura Path weapons while trapped in Jiraiya’s senjutsu swamp 153.

Wood Release

Hashirama-cell limbs allow Nagato to learn Wood Release from a scroll supplied by Obito 77.

• Giant Wooden Pillar Technique: raises enormous pillars from the ground 77.
• Wood Dragon Technique: creates a large dragon used independently and as protection around his Wooden Man 89 154.
• Wood Golem / Woode Human Technique: produces a towering construct capable of fighting multiple elite opponents. He later restores it after Guy’s Daytime Tiger shatters most of its body 121 154.
• Hōbi Technique: shelters him inside a demon-faced wooden shield 154.
• Wood Clones: act as decoys during Konan’s explosive-tag trap 149.
• Advent of a World of Flowering Trees: spreads roots and pollen across the battlefield, restricting movement and threatening the defenders 152 156.
• Wood Thorn Technique: launches wooden spikes, including attacks timed immediately after Naruto finishes another technique 156 157.
• Limit: Nagato acknowledges that his Wood Release depends on transplanted cells and falls short of Hashirama’s mastery 89.

Yin-Yang Release and Shapeshifting

Nagato uses Yin-Yang Release to strengthen bodies and create black rods, but initially lacks the mastery required for Obito’s proposed escape operation 86 94 152.

• Accepts Obito’s instruction in maintaining the Shapeshifting Technique bodies needed for the Cicada Shell Escape Plan 86.
• States that the technique can reproduce kekkei genkai, carried weapons, and Sasori’s puppets 102.
• Warns that the escape operation will leave Akatsuki members weakened for six months 102.

Rain Tiger at Will Technique

Nagato blankets the Land of Rain with a surveillance rain technique 84.

• Detects Root spies as soon as they enter the country 84.

Demonic Statue Control and Sealing

Nagato helps control the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and seal tailed-beast chakra into it 98 134.

• Works with Obito to absorb the Seven-Tails and portions of the Eight-Tails, opening additional eyes on the statue 98.
• Recognizes that severed tails and horns remain useful sources of tailed-beast chakra 95.
• Predicts that sealing will become faster as the statue regains life 134.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Rinnegan — central to his combat power and belief in his destiny. Obito takes one eye for himself after killing him 74 150.
• Hashirama-cell replacement limbs — restore mobility and unlock Wood Release, but contain Obito’s concealed sabotage 77 149.
• Technique scroll — contains Hashirama’s Wood Release and Uzumaki clan secrets. The material is supplied to Nagato, but his mastery of the Uzumaki techniques is not demonstrated 77.
• Black rods — present throughout his injured body; he also creates a black rod through Yin-Yang Release during combat 74 152.

Relationships

• Konan — closest companion and family after Yahiko’s death. She cares for his restored body, distrusts Obito, and refuses to abandon him during their final confrontation. Obito kills them both 77 103 149 150.
• Yahiko — childhood companion whose death transforms Nagato’s understanding of peace and sacrifice 87 98 120.
• Jiraiya — former teacher who believes Nagato may fulfill the prophecy of peace. Their reunion becomes a battle, but Nagato continues to acknowledge his teaching and skill 98 120 121 153.
• Obito Uchiha / Tobi / “Madara” — strategic partner, benefactor, and eventual killer. He restores Nagato’s body while secretly making the transplanted limbs a means of immobilizing him, then reanimates him as a controlled subordinate 77 149 150.
• Itachi Uchiha — subordinate and known Konoha spy. Nagato prevents him from reporting intelligence, but later keeps him as a potential counterweight to “Madara” 78 102.
• Killer B and Gyūki — targets of Nagato’s attack on Kumogakure. They escape his apparent capture through a tentacle decoy; B later helps defeat his battlefield body 95 96 98 121 122.
• Neji Hyuga — opponent during Nagato’s reanimated service to Obito. Neji destroys Nagato and his Wooden Man, but Nagato regenerates and continues obeying orders 161.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Restoration and the Tailed-Beast Hunt

Obito’s report of an unknown fighter with Rinnegan-like abilities threatens Nagato’s confidence in his unique power. He urges Akatsuki to accelerate its plans and accepts treatment despite recognizing that “Madara” has ulterior motives 74.

Following surgery, Nagato begins Wood Release training and formally launches Akatsuki’s tailed-beast campaign. He assigns himself and Konan responsibility for the Six-, Seven-, and Eight-Tails 77 78.

Assault on Kumogakure

Nagato enters Kumogakure with Obito, Konan, and Deva Path after White Zetsu locates Killer B. He separates the brothers, personally confronting B while Deva Path battles Raikage A and the village’s defenders 93 94.

The operation devastates Kumogakure and appears to secure the Eight-Tails. During sealing, however, the captured B turns into a tentacle: the real jinchūriki escaped underground through groundwater. Akatsuki obtains only part of Gyūki’s chakra 95 96 98.

Cicada Shell Escape Plan

With the villages alert and Akatsuki’s abilities exposed, Nagato adopts Obito’s plan to fake the organization’s destruction and continue operating secretly. He reveals his true body to the members, explains the Shapeshifting Technique, and approves an offensive against the assembling Allied Shinobi Forces 100 102.

Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Kakashi, Rasa, and Killer B coordinate against him. They restrain his Wooden Man and expose him to a full-power Tailed Beast Bomb, after which Rasa pierces the apparently dead body’s heart. The body later begins turning into wood; Nagato remains alive and resumes directing the concealed Akatsuki 121 122 130 134.

Renewed Operations and Break with Obito

Nagato initially delays further captures while the villages maintain their defenses. Once Danzō’s war destabilizes them, he assigns Akatsuki teams to attack the remaining jinchūriki 137 139.

With only the Nine-Tails outstanding, Nagato and Konan prepare to remove “Madara.” Nagato intends to use Kinkaku and Ginkaku’s chakra to revive an incomplete Ten-Tails and learn how to become its jinchūriki, while explicitly rejecting Infinite Tsukuyomi 145 146.

Death and Reanimation

Their confrontation centers on Obito’s demand for the Rinnegan and his claim that the eyes were implanted in Nagato during childhood. Nagato challenges both his identity and his ownership story 148.

Konan’s explosive-tag trap fails because Obito can retreat into Kamui and replace the Sharingan consumed by Izanagi. Obito then activates the sabotage in Nagato’s transplanted limbs, immobilizing him 149.

Obito further claims that the Rinnegan’s chakra reshaped Nagato’s personality to resemble Madara’s. The accusation shatters Nagato’s confidence in his identity and destiny. Obito kills him and Konan, takes a Rinnegan, and revives Nagato under his control 150.

Controlled Assault on Konoha

Reanimated Nagato accompanies Obito and Madara into Konoha. His combined Rinnegan and Wood Release defenses overwhelm Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Guy, forcing them to retreat with serious injuries 151 152 153 154 155.

Nagato subsequently supports the operation that captures Naruto, including a field-wide Wood Thorn attack and the destruction of Tobirama’s shadow clone. When Neji arrives, Nagato interrupts an attempted sealing of Madara; although Neji destroys him, his regeneration allows him to continue serving Obito 157 161.

Notable Quotes

“For the sake of lasting peace, no matter what dangers lie on the road ahead, I will face them at any cost!” 74

“When Yahiko threw himself onto my kunai, I knew that mutual understanding between people was a dead end. Only violence can suppress humanity’s ambition!” 120

“The Infinite Tsukuyomi isn’t the Akatsuki’s goal. It isn’t our vision of peace!” 145