The Pain arc in Naruto was almost perfect, but it was ruined by the resurrection of the dead ninjas

Naruto is full of many arcs that can stand at the pinnacle of anime. From the original to Naruto Shippuden, it is nearly impossible to find an arc that is entirely terrible. For this feat, Kishimoto deserves all the praise he can get. However, there are many Naruto arcs that could have gone down as all-time favourites but were marred by bad decisions.

The original Naruto does not have these arcs; its arcs range from good to extremely good. It is Shippuden that mainly features these arcs, which were once close to being legendary, but were ultimately ruined by some questionable decisions. One that should have been the best but ends coldly because it gets too drawn out is the Five Kage Summit Arc.

Another arc that suffers from this same issue, and even more, is the Pain's Assault Arc. This arc is the first time Konoha gets attacked in Naruto Shippuden, and it was the perfect place to show the growth of Konoha Shinobi, including Naruto. Where the Pain's Assault Arc loses its potency is when Nagato revives everyone he killed in Konoha. This move stifled the impact that the deaths of the Shinobi had.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's views and may contain spoilers.

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Why the resurrection of Konoha Shinobi in Naruto was a terrible thing

The Uzumaki confronting Nagato and Konan (Image via Studio Pierrot)

One major reason the Pain arc was terrible in Naruto Shippuden was the unneeded Deus Ex Machina. While Deus Ex Machina is common in fantasy and adventure, and has significant use in Shippuden, the Deus Ex Machina in the Pain's Assault Arc was distasteful. The first reason it was distasteful was that Pain could have revived every Konoha ninja he hurt, but he revived a majority and left out one: Jiraiya.

Since the Rinnegan gave Nagato the ability to alter life and death, he could have brought Jiraiya back. However, this was not done, as Jiraiya's character needed to go, and Kishimoto used Jiraiya's character as a tool to spur Naruto on to grow. The Uzumaki grew from Jiraiya's death, and he could have grown as well from Kakashi's and many other ninjas.

Pain resurrects the people he killed in Konoha (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Kishimoto didn't want to dispose of so many fan favorites at once; that's why he made Pain resurrect Konoha ninja. Another reason why the Deus Ex Machina is distasteful is that the ability to resurrect is never used again. Sasuke does not use it, and none of the Otsutsuki who emerge in the Boruto saga use it; one character uses the jutsu, and it is Obito who uses it to bring Madara to life.

It seems like the Rinnegan rebirth technique is only used by Kishimoto out of convenience, and that is the biggest flaw in the arc. Another flaw is the fact that the revival removed the stakes the series had built up. The characters that died were an excellent reminder that the ninja world is cold and gritty, and that misguided actions have consequences.

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Final thoughts

The death of many characters in Konoha would have been a great incentive to the remaining ninjas, like Guy, Shikamaru, Neji, and Sakura. It is not the buildings that make Konoha; it is the people.

The tragedy of so many Shinobi dying would have made the series more compelling. Leaf ninjas would have been drawn to two choices: attack the Akatsuki head-on or rebuild with the little that remains.

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