Pein

**Pain** (ペイン, *Pein*) and, while partnered with Konan, began leading a new Akatsuki, one that would sow despair in order to force the world to change its violent ways.

## Background Edit

Nagato lived with his parents in a village on the outskirts of Amegakure. When he was very young, Madara Uchihasecretly transplanted his Rinnegan into Nagato without his or his parents' knowledge.[8] Sometime later, during the Second Shinobi World War, Nagato and his parents took shelter in their home to avoid the fighting going on around them. One day, two Konoha shinobi broke into their home looking for food and Nagato and his parents tried to sneak out unnoticed. When they were discovered, his parents attacked the shinobi so that Nagato could escape. The Konoha ninja killed his parents in self-defence and, upon realising they were only civilians, tried apologising to Nagato. Overcome with grief, Nagato used Madara's Rinnegan for the first time to kill them and avenge his parents.

After burying his parents, Nagato began wandering in search of food and shelter. With resources scare due to the ongoing war, none he met would help him until he was found by Konan and Yahiko, orphans like himself. They banded together, acquired food to survive through any means, and shared dreams of a future where they were in charge and could use their power to eliminate war. Yahiko was particularly passionate about this point, which inspired Nagato to adopt the same goal.[10] In order to accomplish this, the three would need to become ninja. With few options to choose from, they approached Konoha's Sannin and asked to be taughtninjutsu. Jiraiya, guilty over his participation in the war, offered to teach them how to look out for themselves.[11]

Jiraiya found a place for them to live and taught them how to fish, but he would not teach them ninjutsu. While the orphans were out one day, they were found and assaulted by an Iwagakurechūnin. Fearing for his friends' lives, Nagato used his Rinnegan to kill the Iwa-nin. When Jiraiya arrived on the scene to help them, he noticed Nagato's eyes for the first time and was reminded of the legends of the Sage of the Six Paths, the original possessor of the Rinnegan. Because of this, Jiraiya changed his mind and began teaching them ninjutsu.[12] Nagato was remorseful for killing the Iwa-nin, but Jiraiya convinced him that sometimes violence and personal pain was necessary to protect others. In time he even shared his belief that Nagato was the Sage of the Six Paths' reincarnation and that, like the original Sage, Nagato would use his Rinnegan to usher in a world of peace.

For three years Jiraiya trained the orphans. Nagato, because of his Rinnegan, mastered everything he was taught.[13] Once they were able to defeat one of his shadow clones in a fight, Jiraiya decided they were ready to forge out on their own and he returned to Konoha, confident they would bring reform to the country.[14] The three formed an organisation they called Akatsuki, with Yahiko as its leader, and began advocating an end to war. Their message proved popular and they gathered many followers;[15] even Jiraiya would sometimes hear news of their exploits.[16] During the Third Shinobi World War, they were approached by a masked man calling himself "Madara Uchiha", but otherwise known as Tobi. Tobi offered to help them in their pursuits and show Nagato how to unlock the full potential of his Rinnegan. Yahiko refused the offer, suspecting Tobi only meant to use them.[17]

Throughout their quest for peace, Akatsuki's ranks swelled and became known throughout Amegakure, so much so that Hanzō, the village's leader, began to feel Akatsuki threatened his rule. He approached Akatsuki, offering to work together with them to help negotiate with the other warring villages. The next day, at a meeting to finalise the arrangement, Yahiko and Nagato were ambushed by Hanzō and his men, with support from Konoha's Danzō Shimura. Using Konan as a hostage, Hanzō threatened to kill her if Nagato did not kill Yahiko. Unwilling to let Nagato have that on his conscience, Yahiko killed himself, using his dying breath to state his faith that Nagato would change the world.[18] Enraged by Yahiko's death, Nagato took Konan back from Hanzō, though his legs were badly damaged in the process. He then summoned theDemonic Statue of the Outer Path and, upon linking with it, used it to slaughter Hanzō's men, though Hanzō himself escaped.[19] Afterwards, Nagato severed his ties with Amegakure by slashing the village's symbol on his forehead protector, no longer wishing to be affiliated with Hanzō's village.

Yahiko's death convinced Nagato that his philosophies about achieving peace were foolish; the world would never willingly end the cycle of death and hatred it had operated on for so long. Only through direct experience of war and all the losses and agonies it brought could anyone truly desire peace. Intending to personally bring that level of despair to the world, Nagato took on the name of "Pain". The damage he'd received from Hanzō and the link with the Demonic Statue left his body frail and deprived him of mobility. With the Rinnegan, he created the Six Paths of Pain out of corpses that he controlled remotely. For the Deva Path he used Yahiko's body — still wanting him to lead the organization in spirit — and for the other five he used the corpses of other miscellaneous shinobi that, without his knowing it, had met Jiraiya when they were alive. Pain began leading Akatsuki in a new direction, secretly accepting Tobi's earlier offer of support. Akatsuki composed itself with S-rank missing-nin and started offering its services as a mercenary group to ninja villages, earning the money necessary to fund its long-term plans.