Naruto: 10 best quotes from Pain, ranked by influence
Naruto is a series with a lot of great characters and Nagato Uzumaki, most commonly known as Pain, is one of the most popular ones out there. The leader of Akatsuki is widely regarded as one of the best antagonists in the series and his personality, commentary on the sociopolitical elements of Naruto, and connection to the likes of Jiraiya and Naruto make him all the more compelling.
Pain is a very strong antagonist in the series and had a lot of great moments that cemented that position, with many different quotes that had, in a way, a big influence on the story.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Naruto series.
The 10 best quotes by Pain in Naruto
10. “All the pain forced me to grow up”
Nagato Uzumaki lived in a village close to Amegakure when he was a kid and lost his family due to war as collateral damage. This quote is a very strong reflection of that loss and how that molded him as a person, which would develop his philosophy in life later on.
Of course, the death of Yahiko later in his life is another example of how pain defined him and how he would use that to hurt the world. In many ways, this quote sums up Nagato’s backstory and motivations.
9. "No matter how pathetic the reason, it's enough to start a war"
One of the most interesting things about Pain as a character is that it allowed author Masashi Kishimoto to dwell deeper into Naruto’s world and the impact that wars have on the weak.
Pain is very upfront with his philosophy and goes on to explain that humanity doesn’t need a good reason to start a war.
In the context of the series and concerning Pain’s perspective, this quote is not about validating war as a whole but rather pointing out that people create these conflicts for the pettiest of reasons.
It’s actually a comment with a lot of validity and one that challenges a lot of conventions in the story.
8. “Love is the reason why there is pain. When we lose someone precious to us, hate is born"
It is no secret for fans of Naruto that Nagato had a very tough childhood. His upbringing was defined by tragedy, loss, and, of course, a lot of pain. Kishimoto always tried to make most of his antagonists very sympathetic and managed to do that with Nagato’s backstory.
The loss of Yahiko, a very good friend that inspired him to keep pushing forward with life, was a moment that truly defined his character and all the pent-up anger and resentment within him started to flow afterward, which is expressed through this quote.
In terms of influence, this quote defines a lot of his motivations to reshape Akatsuki and become Pain.
7. "We are just ordinary people driven to revenge in the name of justice"
This quote alone can describe the ethos of Akatsuki and what is driving the likes of Pain and Konan forward in the Naruto series. This is worth pointing out because they have very different upbringings when compared to other members of the organization.
While the rest of the Akatsuki are former ninjas of the highest caliber, they were two orphans that were trained by Jiraiya so they can do something positive with their lives and had nothing else but each other. In many ways, they felt hurt by the world and now they wanted to hurt the world back.
This is one of those quotes that can be ignored quite easily but, on a second glance, it can reflect the motives behind their actions and how they view society as outsiders.
6. “Just by living, people hurt others without even realizing it”
The influence of this quote is not so much about the story of Naruto but rather Pain’s philosophy on life, which is borderline nihilism. As a man consumed by tragedy and, well, pain, Nagato has become a person that cannot see beyond what is wrong with the world, and that, in return, doesn’t allow him to see the many shades of gray that define humanity.
Nagato believes that pain is the sole constant in humanity and existence, and while it's true that no single living thing can exist without feeling suffering at some point, there is a lot more to it, which is the basis of his conflict with Naruto.
5. "Love breeds sacrifice, which in turn breeds hatred. Then you can know pain"
Pretty much a Yoda quote but a good one, nonetheless. These words explain Nagato’s thought process when he was the leader of Akatsuki and the way he viewed society as an absolute path to tragedy, further cementing how the hardships he went through earlier in his life played a pivotal role in who he is.
While not really connected to that battle, it serves to contrast his philosophy to that of Jiraiya, his former master.
Jiraiya cherishes and loves life, even with all the different hardships he had to go through himself, which is something that contrasts with his former pupil, who has been consumed by the darkest aspects of himself.
4. “We act according to our own sense of justice”
Nagato, in a messed up way, believes to be doing the right thing. Naruto is filled with characters that have a lot of different points of view and Nagato believes to be doing justice, which is something that makes him a very compelling villain.
Pain believes that he is executing justice to a broken shinobi system that has hurt the weak for far too long and wants to execute revenge on those that have caused so much suffering.
It is a valid criticism of the way that ninjas in Naruto have done things for generations, although the way he goes about it is clearly wrong.
3. "In attendance... the Six Paths of Pain"
This quote had a great impact outside of the series. When Nagato was fighting Jiraiya and pulled out the Six Paths of Pain, after months of theories and discussions in the fandom about who he was, this was a moment that shook the manga and anime community.
It is a product of its time in the sense that the revelation has of course lost a lot of value over the years, considering how popular Naruto is as a franchise, but at the time it was a shocking moment and one that cemented Pain as one of the most intimidating figures in the series.
2. "Those who do not understand true pain can never understand true peace"
The influence of this quote is very meaningful because it defines who Pain is as a character and as the leader of Atkasuki. He is a man that has been consumed by war, suffering, and loss, which is a direct contrast to Naruto, who has overcome all the hardships he has gone through.
This last part is very meaningful because Nagato serves as one of the many Naruto parallels in the series, but this time around he is also a man that challenges the protagonist’s ideas and worldviews, even if Kishimoto never fully developed this concept. However, it serves to understand why Pain does things the way he does.
1. “I shall believe in you… Naruto Uzumaki…”
Pain was a phenomenal villain in Naruto and did his job very well, destroying Konoha and pushing the young Uzumaki to his limits, although his final moments, when he redeemed himself, have been very controversial.
It has been viewed as contrived, with a lot of plot-conveniences, and undeserving of the character he had been throughout the story.
Nagato’s final words were part of the moment he decided to give his life to bring back all of those that perished during his attack on Konoha. Characters like Kakashi, so important to the plot, got a second chance at life, bad writing notwithstanding.
When it comes to influence on the plot, this is the most significant quote of Nagato as a character.
Final thoughts
Pain is one of the best characters in all of Naruto and, of course, one of the best antagonists in the series. His presence, his personality, his very marked personality, and the way he challenged the ideals and values that were shown in Konoha throughout the series made him a very compelling individual that has lived on as one of the most prominent antagonists in anime.
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Prem Deshpande