Father Vs Pain

#### (Fullmetal Alchemist Vs Naruto)

**Core Theme**: Shadowy scheming shonen main antagonists who split themselves across multiple selves connected to numerical religious theology and hide their true form behind the shell of their former best friend. They plan to weaponize a mythical, inhuman figure(s) within their setting to rebalance the world as they see fit, using special organizations and a proxy nation to retrieve them. They have raging god complexes and a disdain for human nature, though one believes himself divine as the pinnacle of human experience whereas the other has willingly purged himself of anything relating to that. They are inherently reflective of the main protagonist, and, despite their blunt new aliases, can never quite overcome their childish old identity and how it is connected to a wise old man.

* Both are the principal antagonists of long-running shonen series, as well as fearsome leaders to groups within the story (The Homunculi and The Akatsuki)
* They originally took on different identities associated with a more innocent period in their life (Nagato and the Dwarf in the Flask). However, they always possessed unique attributes (Father's homunculus biology and Nagato's rinnegan) as a result of genetic experiments that crossed their DNA with that of another person (Madara transplanting his rinnegan in Nagato's eyes and the Dwarf in the Flask being brought to life with a sample of Hohenheim's blood.) They also had a connection to a sacred eye with a link to the divine (The Rinnegan and the Eye of God).
* During this time, they made the close acquaintance of an intelligent but temperamental young man who would go onto become a wise, battle-hardened but still goofy senior (Van Hohenheim and Jiraiya). This partnership would last for years and have a significant impact on all involved.
* However, after communicating with the ruler of their home country (The King of Xerxes and Hanzo, leader of the Village Hidden in the Rain) they made plans to develop something beneficial for both parties (Hanzo negotiating an arrangement that would give Nagato and the Akatsuki power in Ame and The King attempting to use the Dwarf's knowledge to solve the secret of immortality). What followed was a ruthless display of bloodshed, where both fell on differing ends of a betray (The Dwarf manipulating the kings ignorance into centering himself and Hohenheim within the alchemic circle, knowingly instigating a massacre of the Xerxian's and Hanzo reconvening on the pretense of a treaty, backstabbing the Akatsuki and instigating the events of Yahiko's death). This lead to both linking with the summonable remnant of a powerful inhuman figure (The Dwarf accessing the Gate of Truth, the key to Truth's domain, and Nagato merging with the Gedō Mazō, the husk of the legendary Ten-Tails) and instigating a massacre (Nagato slaughtering Hanzo's men and The Dwarf causing a genocide of the Xerxian people in exchange for an immortal body)
* In the wake of this event, both hid their unnerving true forms behind a shell that perfectly resembled their best friend (Yahiko and Hohenheim) and took on blunt new identities (Father and Pain).
* At some point, they also split their beings into a group that were each connected to one branch of themselves (Nagato assembling the Six Paths of Pain, each of which connected to an ability of the rinnegan, and Father splitting his soul across the Seven Homunculi, each of which was formed from a purged human emotion). Both of these groups correspond with real life numerical concepts within religious teachings (The Seven Deadly Sins from Christian theology and the six Buddhist Paths of Reincarnation) The process behind the creation of these vessels involved both using their unique biology to create a mythical object (Black Needle and Philosphers Stone) that would store their essence and then embedding it within another being.
* Both quickly established themselves as the shadowy leaders of a country (Amestris and Ame) that would become their a proxy state for continuing their interests. Despite the near divine reverence the people of this country held for them thanks to their amazing powers (Many in Ame considering Pain to be a god due to his abilities, and the early Amestrians labeling Father "The Philosopher of the East" thanks to his ability to use alchemy), word of their presence as leader was kept a secret (Father retreating to the shadows and hiding behind a loyal Amestrian puppet government and Pain's worship among the Ame people meaning that word of his coronation as leader never actually spread beyond the countries borders)
* They resided near an important building within this country (Pain's tower and Central Command). This hideout had similar motifs (very dark and shadowy with long wires running over it, as well as some incredibly blatant christ symbolism at times) as well as contrasting geography (Father's hideout was underground, residing below Central Command, whereas Pain's refuge was the tallest tower in Ame). They also took a liking to sitting in big-ass thrones that disgustingly embeds itself within their backs.
* They also use themselves as a buffer for others to draw energy from (Father using himself as an energy source for all Amestrian alchemy and Pain using himself as a chakra source for the Paths).
* They take a liking to bestial chimeras and consistently keep them at their beck-and-call (Father with his stationed army of chimeras and Pain with the Animal Path)
* Both would also be responsible for wars throughout the story, with the most notable being a civil one (Pain leading the resistance against Hanzo in the Ame civil war and Father organizing many wars and acts of violence to forge a crest of blood, but namely the Ishvalan civil war).
* Firmly entrenched as leaders within their story, they began to devise a large-scale plan to readjust the world as they knew it. This involved the gathering of a numerical group (The Five Human Sacrifices and the Nine Jinchuriki) who have been marked with the presence of a mythological figure (Truth and the Tailed Beasts). They planned to harness and weaponize the power of these figures (Pain using the collective harnessing of the Tailed Beasts to create a superweapon capable of bringing peace to the elemental nations and Father using the collective gate to harness the power of god for himself).
* While outwardly stoic and composed, they have insatiable god complexes that mark their relationship with the world around them. However, the contrast in these complexes is most punctuated by their relationship to humanity and emotion. Pain believes in his divinity on accord of his experience with the feeling of "pain", thinking of himself as evolved and enlightened due to his embrace of it. Meanwhile, Father thought of human emotion as pure weakness, and saw his rejection of it as an affirmation of his status as a god amongst men. While Pain had a neurotic obsession with bearing others pain so they themselves wouldn't have to, Father resented the mutual humanity of emotional support, and saw the need to purge any shred of emotion from his body. This contrast can be seen in their actions as well (Pain eventually repenting, and sacrificing his own life to revive all of the Konoha lives he took, whereas Father intended to sacrifice every soul in Amestris as a conduit for his godly ascension)
* Both have an array of abilities, their raw power and deadly skill leading many to consider them nigh-unbeatable by regular means. This abilities include a technique related to astrological bodies, that involves the summoning of a condensed orb that will expand to a sphere of ungodly power (Father's sun orb and Pain's Planetary Devastation). They also have the ability to completely shut down any attempts to use the power system against them (Pain's Preta Path and Father's ability to disable Amestrian alchemy), however, this technique is somewhat inapplicable to a form of their power system that uses the flow of natural energy (Father's disabling of Alchemy not effecting the Xing purification arts and Pain's Preta Path running the risk of overloading itself should it absorb too much Senjutsu chakra). They also have the ability to interact with and rip out souls.
* Both eventually face off against their friend from their youth (Jiraiya and Hohenheim), where they surprisingly struggle despite their advantage in raw power.
* The enactment of both's plans causes chaos among a specific city (Konoha and Centeral City), leading to a mass scale rebellion against their forces.
* They meet their eventual undoing in their battle against a temperamental blonde boy in a red cloak (Naruto Uzumaki and Edward Elric), who is connected to their old friend (Naruto being Jiraiya's student and godchild in some translations and Edward being Hohenheim's son) and has a traumatic past thanks to an event involving a blood seal. This character is one who they deeply reflect the worst qualities of (Pain reflecting the ways in which Naruto's desire for peace that was birthed from trauma and bonds can lead to disastrous outcomes, Father reflecting the ways in which Ed's hubris, pride and obsessive belief in the all-solving abilities of alchemy can lead to a detachment from the emotions that keep one human). They are also strangely related by blood to them (Nagato being born as another branch of the Uzumaki clan and Father being born from Hohenheim's blood).
* Both's final moments reveal a deep contrast between them. Nagato accepts his humanity and dies smiling as he withers into old age as a result of his attempt to revive all of Konoha. He lies his hopes for the future with Naruto, accepts the negative consequences of his ideology and peacefully wonders if his fate in life was influenced by an actual god. Meanwhile, Father dies in a mess of granite and rock, his frail body disintegrating into a inhuman nothingness. Rather than accept his fate, he lashes out in anger at the fact that god would not accept him as it's vessel, stewing over his defeat even as he is greeted by the "god" he seeks. As he's ripped asunder, he screams for his life, unable to figure out what he did to deserve such a fate.