Are the Six Paths of Pain six different people?

No. They are six corpses animated and controlled remotely by a single man, Nagato, through his Rinnegan and chakra receivers (black rods) implanted in each body. "Pain" is the collective identity of these six bodies.

Whose body is the Deva Path?

It is the corpse of Yahiko, Nagato's dead childhood friend. The Deva Path acts as the front-facing "leader" and wields gravity (repulsion with Shinra Tensei, attraction with Bansho Ten'in). The true master remains Nagato, hidden.

What does each path do?

Each one holds one of the Rinnegan's six powers: Deva (gravity), Asura (mechanized body and weapons), Human (reads the mind and rips out the soul, which kills), Animal (summons without a contract), Preta (absorbs chakra), Naraka (the King of Hell: interrogation and repair of bodies).

Where is the real Nagato during the fights?

Elsewhere, off the battlefield. Crippled (his legs destroyed by a trap set by Hanzo), he controls the six bodies from a machine chair, hidden at the top of Amegakure's tallest tower and protected by Konan.

Should the Six Paths of Pain be confused with the Sage of the Six Paths?

No, it is a case of shared naming. The "Sage of the Six Paths" is Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the legendary ancestor of chakra. The "Six Paths of Pain" are Nagato's six corpses. Two unrelated concepts, brought together by the term "Rikudo / Six Paths".

Les Six Voies de Pain : les Rikudô de Nagato

The Six Paths of Pain: Nagato's Six Bodies

July 13, 2026

1219 words | Reading time: 7 min

UniversePainRinnegan

Six corpses controlled by a single man. Nagato controls the Six Paths of Pain from a distance thanks to his Rinnegan, a transplanted eye. This breakdown reviews each body: the Deva Path, Yahiko's corpse that plays the leader and wields gravity with Almighty Push (Shinra Tensei) and Universal Pull (Bansho Ten'in); the mechanized Asura Path bristling with blades, missiles and cannons; the Human Path that rips out the soul and kills every time; the Animal Path and its giant summons; the Preta Path that absorbs chakra, not to mention the King of Hell.

A single man controlling six corpses: the most chilling mystery of the Akatsuki. Here are the Six Paths of Pain, Nagato's puppet bodies.

Six Bodies, One Pilot
The Deva Path (Tendo)
The Five Other Paths
The Real Nagato
A Transplanted Rinnegan
Summary Table
FAQ

Six Bodies, One Pilot

"Pain" is not one individual, but the collective identity of six corpses animated and controlled remotely by a single man: Nagato.

He controls them through his Rinnegan and through chakra receivers — black rods implanted in each body. The six share a common field of vision and cover their blind spots; each path holds one of the Rinnegan's six powers.

Six figures lined up side by side, all in black cloaks with red clouds and topped with orange hair, their faces pierced with metal rings and crossed by a scratched ninja headband — Six bodies, six faces: what people call "Pain" is never a single man out in the field.

The Deva Path (Tendo)

The most emblematic one is the Deva Path (Tendo), the one that speaks like a leader: it is the corpse of Yahiko, Nagato's dead childhood friend.

It manipulates gravity: repulsion (Almighty Push / Shinra Tensei), attraction (Universal Pull / Bansho Ten'in) and Chibaku Tensei. Its one flaw: a recharge time of about five seconds, which Konoha will eventually exploit.

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A man with spiky orange hair, his face covered with metal rings and his purple eyes ringed with circles, raises one hand; to his left a woman with purple hair wearing a paper flower, both in black cloaks with red clouds, in front of a city of gray towers — This is the path that shows itself and speaks, alongside Konan.

The Five Other Paths

The five other paths divide up the remaining powers. The Asura Path is a mechanized body bristling with weapons; the Human Path rips out its target's soul to read their mind — which kills them.

The Animal Path summons giant creatures without a contract, the Preta Path absorbs all of the opponent's chakra, and the Naraka Path summons the King of Hell — who interrogates liars and repairs damaged bodies.

A bald, bare-chested humanoid creature with six arms and dotted with metal studs, crouching in front of a village with pointed roofs; two long jointed blades spring from its back — The Asura Path carries its arsenal inside its own body: extra arms and blades emerging from its back.

The Real Nagato

While Pain fights, the real Nagato is elsewhere. Crippled — his legs destroyed by a trap set by Hanzo —, he controls everything from a machine chair, hidden at the top of a tower and protected by Konan.

It is this revelation that shakes Naruto: the one he thought he was facing was only a shell, with the real enemy holed up far from the battlefield.

In a dark room, an emaciated man with red hair sits in a machine from which long black rods extend, his arms fitted into sleeves; a woman with blue hair stands on the right, a blond ninja seen from behind on the left — The pilot, revealed: a motionless body plugged into a machine, kept away from the fight.

A Transplanted Rinnegan

Nagato's Rinnegan is nothing natural: they are the eyes of Madara, transplanted into him as a child — a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan.

One last trap to avoid: these "Six Paths" have nothing to do with the Sage of the Six Paths. And "animating" corpses is not the same as resurrecting them — unlike Edo Tensei.

Extreme close-up of an eye with a pale purple iris crossed by concentric circles around a small black pupil, orange strands of hair and a metal ring on the side of the face — The concentric circles are the mark of the Rinnegan, the eye that commands the six bodies.

Summary Table

Path	Power
Deva (Tendo)	Yahiko's body, the "leader". Gravity: Shinra Tensei (repulsion), Bansho Ten'in (attraction), Chibaku Tensei. Recharge ~5 s
Asura (Shurado)	Mechanized body bristling with weapons (blades, missiles, cannons, extra arms)
Human (Ningendo)	Reads the mind and rips out the target's soul to extract the information — always kills them
Animal / Preta	Animal: summons giant creatures without a contract. Preta: absorbs all of the opponent's chakra/ninjutsu
Naraka (Jigokudo)	Summons the King of Hell: interrogates liars and repairs the damaged bodies of the other paths

FAQ

Are the Six Paths of Pain six different people?
No. They are six corpses animated and controlled remotely by a single man, Nagato, through his Rinnegan and chakra receivers (black rods) implanted in each body. "Pain" is the collective identity of these six bodies.
Whose body is the Deva Path?
It is the corpse of Yahiko, Nagato's dead childhood friend. The Deva Path acts as the front-facing "leader" and wields gravity (repulsion with Shinra Tensei, attraction with Bansho Ten'in). The true master remains Nagato, hidden.
What does each path do?
Each one holds one of the Rinnegan's six powers: Deva (gravity), Asura (mechanized body and weapons), Human (reads the mind and rips out the soul, which kills), Animal (summons without a contract), Preta (absorbs chakra), Naraka (the King of Hell: interrogation and repair of bodies).
Where is the real Nagato during the fights?
Elsewhere, off the battlefield. Crippled (his legs destroyed by a trap set by Hanzo), he controls the six bodies from a machine chair, hidden at the top of Amegakure's tallest tower and protected by Konan.
Should the Six Paths of Pain be confused with the Sage of the Six Paths?
No, it is a case of shared naming. The "Sage of the Six Paths" is Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the legendary ancestor of chakra. The "Six Paths of Pain" are Nagato's six corpses. Two unrelated concepts, brought together by the term "Rikudo / Six Paths".

In summary

Six corpses, six powers, one single pain: the Paths of Pain are the most terrifying embodiment of the Rinnegan — and the mask behind which hides the tragedy of a broken man, Nagato.