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All of the Kage of the Hidden Villages from the Five Great Nations are collectively referred to as The Five Kage in the Naruto universe.
They are the Tsuchikage of the Village Hidden in Stones, the Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand, the Mizukage of the Village Hidden in the Mist, and the Raikage of the Village Hidden in the Clouds and the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
In the Naruto verse, the Kages are naturally the strongest shinobi within their respective villages, thus their position. Yet, in a matchup against the Akatsuki figurehead, Pain aka Nagato Uzumaki, even some of these legendary shinobi would face difficulty.
It is quite evident that Pain would easily trump some of them. On the other hand, there are certain Kage against whom Nagato wouldn’t stand a chance.
Disclaimer: This article purely reflects the author's opinions, which are subjective. It also contains spoilers from the Naruto series.
Nagato can easily defeat these Kages in the Naruto universe
1. Gaara
Gaara, a former Jinchriki of the One-Tail, debuted in the Naruto series as an adversary and eventually engaged Naruto Uzumaki in combat during the events of the Chunin Exam arc. Defeated by Naruto, he goes on to become the Fifth Kazekage at a remarkably young age.
As is proved repeatedly throughout Naruto, Gaara’s arsenal of abilities is largely dependent on his ability to manipulate sand. He is able to do so with extreme dexterity and is capable of using it both offensively as well as defensively.
Yet, while this significantly increases his reaction time, it would pale in comparison to the raw power which the Rinnegan grants Pain. In a one-on-one battle, Nagato would easily gain the upper hand against Gaara and blow all his sand away through a powerful Almighty Push.
It is also to be noted that Nagato’s Rinnegan also grants him access to Lightning Nature chakra, which serves as the antithesis to Gaara’s sand in case the Deva Path is neutralized temporarily.
2. Tsunade
It is quite evident that the First Hokage’s granddaughter would not pose much of a challenge to Nagato. While Tsunade possesses incredible strength through her ability to control chakra finely, her ace in the hole is her healing abilities.
Particularly her Strength of a Hundred Seal, which allows her to store her chakra effectively for extended durations of time and allows her to release the same, thus greatly amplifying the power of her techniques.
While these are remarkable feats, they would not be able to hold much of a candle against Nagato’s skillset. In the off chance that Tsunade manages to circumvent Nagato’s linked vision and dishes out some damage to the other paths, it would be easily reversed through Nagato’s use of the Naraka Path.
3. Yagura
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, is perhaps one of the few Kages on this list who is not a Hokage. Being Jinchriki of the Three-Tails, he was made the Fourth Mizukage at a young age.
In actuality, he was the third Jinchriki to master his Tailed Beast. No one can dispute his power, despite the fact that the Mist Village suffered terribly under his rule. A naturally talented ninja, Yagura’s Water Mirror Jutsu allowed him to make water mirrors that could deflect blows. He has access to enormous chakra stores and deadly power thanks to the Three-Tails.
Yet, despite such accomplishments, Nagato would still be able to beat Yagura to the ground easily owing to the fact that his Preta Path would allow him to easily absorb any jutsu that Yagura throws at him.
In addition, owing to the Outer Path, Nagato possesses a significant advantage against all Jinchurikis. It would be quite easy for him to subdue Yagura should he choose to use any of his Jinchuriki abilities.
4. Hiruzen Sarutobi
The Third Hokage is regrettably one of the many underappreciated characters in the Naruto series. Hiruzen was awarded the title while he was very young, and despite being a pupil of both the First and Second Hokage, he did not disappoint.
Hiruzen was one of just two ninjas who had ever been referred to as the "God of Shinobi. Throughout his life, he mastered every jutsu available in the Leaf Village. He was able to fight off the Nine-Tails while Minato handled Obito, and despite his advanced age, he was still able to stand his ground against Orochimaru and the reanimated forms of two Hokages.
As Sarutobi is mainly reliant on Ninjutsu, this would be a thorn in his side against a Rinnegan user like Nagato. The Third Hokage’s repertoire of jutsus, while impressive, would be simply ineffective against Nagato owing to the Preta Path’s limitless jutsu absorption potential.
At most, Sarutobi would be forced to utilize the Reaper Death Seal, which would only draw the match to a stalemate.
5. Kakashi
While the Copy Ninja and later, Sixth Hokage, is a formidable opponent in his own right, Kakashi is nerfed significantly by the end of Naruto. Owing to Madara stealing his Sharingan, Kakshi is left unable to use any of his previous abilities, including Kamui. The Copy Ninja also loses the ability to use Chidori, a technique that can only be effectively used in conjunction with the Sharingan.
In such a state, Nagato would be able to pull off a win easily simply through the raw power of his Rinnegan. While Kakashi may be able to draw out the battle briefly (as he does in the series), Nagato would still be able to pull through owing to his greater stamina reserves and his very much overpowered Deva Path.
Now, had this been the Kakashi who faced off against Kaguya with his Susanoo, it would have been far more difficult for Nagato to secure a win. But as things stand at the moment, Nagato would easily secure the win.
These Kages can easily give Nagato a run for his money
1. Minato
Naruto's father, Minato, was an inherent prodigy and excelled in the ninja arts, particularly the Sealing Arts, Space-Time techniques, and Ninjutsu. To top it all off, he was trained by Jiraiya himself, and even succeeded in creating the Rasengan after simply observing the Tailed Beast Ball in action.
While Nagato’s Rinengan may bestow him with a gamut of abilities, he still has ways to go before he can match up to Minato. The Fourth Hokage’s mastery of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu allows him to instantaneously teleport within two spaces which would easily allow him to anticipate and avoid most, if not all of Nagato’s techniques.
While the linked vision between the Paths may prove to be troublesome at first, Minato’s sheer speed and dexterity would eventually be able to outmaneuver that with ease.
2. A, the Third Raikage
While many may think that the Third Raikage would be beaten by Nagato, he possesses the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, an ability that allows him to cover his body in a layer of lightning chakra, thus greatly enhancing his stamina and speed. Dubbed the ‘Ultimate Shield’, he was able to defeat 10,000 enemy ninjas on his own thanks to this mode.
This would prove problematic as it was viewed when he was revived during the events of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Owing to his prowess in this technique, the Third Raikage can easily simulate a Chidori-like effect through his fingers, thus drastically increasing his offensive capabilities. He may increase its power even further by using fewer fingers.
Like Naruto, Nagato would be hard-pressed against a speedy ninja like him, much for the same reason as he would be against Minato.
3. Tobirama
In a face-to-face battle against the Second Hokage, Nagato would have a tough time owing to the fact Tobirama’s knowledge of Ninjutsu is one which is only rivaled by that of his protégé, Sarutobi.
Being a master of Water Style jutsus, Tobirama is able to draw upon his chakra without hand seals, a feat which is remarkable and is only matched by one other shinobi in the entire series.
On the off-chance that Nagato manages to put him on the defensive, he would simply be able to blitz away using the Flying Thunder God. In conjunction with this, his Flying Raijin would be easily able to one-shot Nagato.
4. Hashirama
It comes as no surprise that Nagato would be hard-pressed to pull off a win against the First Hokage. Being a master of the Wood Release, the First Hokage possesses a wide array of offensive techniques, including the Wood Dragon Jutsu, the Deep Forest Bloom, and the Sage Art: 1,000 Armed Kannon.
Hashirama will also be able to easily tank most of Nagato’s offensive jutsus owing to the Summoning Technique: Quintuple Rashomon, which would probably be able to hold off even a full-power Almighty Push.
Nagato simply doesn’t possess any jutsus in his arsenal which would be capable of holding Hashirama at bay. With the Wood Release being a combination of the Earth and Water Release, Hashirama also has access to the individual chakra styles as well.
As a last resort, should it be needed, like Naruto, Hashirama also has access to Sage Mode, which grants him the ability to harness Nature Chakra, a chakra type which cannot be absorbed by the Preta Path.
5. Naruto
Much like how things panned out in the actual series, Nagato’s abilities, which while did pose quite a problem to Naruto at the beginning, would simply be no match against him towards the end of the series.
By the end of Naruto, Naruto gains the Six Paths Sage Mode, a technique that allows him to harness Nature Chakra even while on the move. His usage in conjunction with the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode allows Naruto far greater strength than in comparison to Sage Mode alone. Indeed, a Sage Mode-powered Big Ball Rasenshuriken would easily overwhelm Nagato at this stage.
In conclusion
Nagato is one of the few shinobi within the ranks of the Akatsuki capable of defeating a handful of Kages without issue. But despite possessing the might Rinnegan, there remain quite a few Kages who would be able to put up more than a challenge against him.
Indeed, Kages are chosen because they are the strongest shinobi within their respective villages. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Nagato would indeed have a hard time against some of the older generations of Kages owing to their years of experience. They would have little to no trouble navigating around the Rinnegan user with ease.
