Spoiler Warning: Due to the nature of this list topic, narrative spoilers for the Naruto anime are discussed in each entry.

Summary

Pain's Six Paths pose a formidable challenge due to unique, powerful abilities.
The Asura Path's mechanical augmentations, while valuable, were no match for Naruto.
Naruto strategically defeated each of Pain's Paths, highlighting his growth and determination.

Naruto is an anime series full of imposing villains, but not many can boast the same impact that Pain had. This heinous Akatsuki leader caused Jiraiya's death and robbed Naruto of a father figure he had grown to love and admire. It pushed the protagonist to reach new heights and acquire the power needed to take down this diabolical foe.

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This would be easier said than done, given that the Six Paths of Pain would outnumber Naruto and give him a beatdown to remember if he didn't bring his A-game. Nagato controls these puppets from the shadows to make up for his frail, aging body. Each Path of Pain boasts a unique technique that helps it stand out from the rest of the pack.

6 Human Path

Power: Mind-Reading At The Cost Of The Target's Life

Debut: Assault on the Leaf Village! (Episode 157 of Naruto: Shippuden)

The Human Path might be the least beneficial one of the lot in combat, but that shouldn't take away from how useful it can be. This heinous Path can read the minds of its opponents by yanking their soul from their body.

As one would expect, this leads to instant death for the unlucky target. This Path of Pain was sacrificed without a thought by Nagato to protect the Animal Path, making it one of the weaker bodies that he relied on.

5 Asura Path

Power: Augment A Body To Use Mechanical Armor And Weaponry

Debut: The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant (Episode 133 of Naruto: Shippuden)

The Asura Path can manipulate its body to create mechanical augments. This makes him a valuable resource in combat, although his power was cheapened when Naruto managed to obliterate this body with the use of a single Rasengan.

Sure, this body was resurrected later on, but it was clear that Pain would need stronger abilities to take out Naruto. The powers of the Asura Path were simply too basic to fend off the attack of a shinobi powered by Sage Mode chakra.

4 Animal Path

Power: Summon Creatures

Debut: The Man Who Became God (Episode 130 of Naruto: Shippuden)

Any summoning technique is bound to be useful, increasing the numbers of the attacking party. This is why the Animal Path is so valuable, since it gives Nagato control over massive creatures who can wreak absolute havoc.

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This summoner is exposed at close range, making it a risky proposition to place the Animal Path on the front lines. Ultimately, it couldn't match up to Naruto's might and was obliterated.

3 Preta Path

Power: Absorb Chakra

Debut: In Attendance, the Six Paths of Pain (Episode 132 of Naruto: Shippuden)

Absorbing chakra is always a useful ability to have, which is why the Preta Path is such a valuable member of Pain's artificial entourage. This single ability allows it to nullify most ninjutsu, making it quite tricky for shinobi to deal with its immense power.

However, Naruto managed to use this technique against the Preta Path when he was immobilized by this path. He simply channeled Sage Chakra and turned his assailant into stone, making it easy to free himself from its grip and keep the attack going.

2 Naraka Path

Power: Interrogation & Restoration

Debut: Power to Believe (Episode 158 of Naruto: Shippuden)

Defeating the Naraka Path was critical for Naruto to achieve victory against Nagato's Paths of Pain. Its powers were incredible, summoning a demonic gate that could either interrogate targets or revive any Path that had been decimated.

This Path alone helped Nagato bamboozle his foes for the longest time as he managed to overpower his opposition and make their efforts seem fruitless. Eventually, Naruto figured out that this was his primary target, and he managed to take out the Naraka Path after an epic struggle.

1 Deva Path

Power: Attraction & Repulsion

Debut: The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant (Episode 133 of Naruto: Shippuden)

The power of Almighty Push was strong enough to level the entirety of Leaf Village. This fact alone is enough to make Yahiko's body the strongest Path of Pain, with it being the last one standing when Naruto was struggling to defeat this powerful foe.

Naruto almost lost control over the Kyuubi in his body while fighting this opponent, but he managed to regain control of his senses after a brief encounter with his father. He analyzed the Deva Path's powers and how they worked, using the small gap he had to launch himself with a Rasengan and take out Nagato's last line of defense for good.

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Release Date: 2007 - 2017-00-00
Network: TV Tokyo
Directors: Masaaki Kumagai, Naoki Horiuchi, Kazunori Mizuno, Yuki Kinoshita, Kazuya Iwata, Hiroyoshi Kishikawa, Yusuke Onoda, Hisashi Ishii, Yoshihiro Sugai, Shu Watanabe, Akitaro Daichi, Takuma Suzuki, Kiyoshi Murayama, Tsuneo Tominaga, Kunitoshi Okajima, Kenichi Nishida, Hideki Takayama, Masaharu Watanabe, Akira Shimizu, Ayataka Tanemura, Hiroaki Nishimura, Atsushi Nakagawa, Kentaro Fujita, Masayuki Matsumoto
Writers: Yasuyuki Suzuki, Shin Yoshida, Junki Takegami, Katsuhiko Chiba, Yuka Miyata, Satoru Nishizono, Kento Shimoyama, Daisuke Watanabe, Hideto Tanaka, Masaya Honda
Franchise(s): Naruto