The six paths of pain


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=='''The Six Paths Of Pain was a jutsu used by Nagato and served as his representation in Akatsuki. It allowed Nagato to control six separated bodies at the same time as if they were his own. Each of these bodies were reanimated corpses which were both kept mobile by, and made use of Nagato's chakra. While controlling them, Nagato used the alias Pain, yet still regarded them as separated from himself. However, all the Six Paths were eventually destroyed by Naruto Uzumaki during the Invasion of Pain.'''==

Use of the Chakra rods
In order to use the technique, Nagato remained in a large, chair-like machine that moved with six relatively short mechanical legs, and used several large chakra rods protruding from his back to transmit chakra. From there, his chakra was picked up by the numerous body piercings that each body possessed, which acted as chakra receivers. However, to control them, Nagato had to be ideally at the highest and closest point possible so that he could have the best range possible. Inoichi Yamanaka compared the ability to the Yamanaka clan's unique Mind Body Switch Technique, albeit on a greater scale.

Paths
As the name suggested, there were six bodies, or "paths", which comprised the jutsu. The only common feature shared by these bodies was their bright orange hair and Rinnegan. Each path had a number of body and facial piercings of various shapes, sizes, and patterns. Also, each body seemed to serve a specific purpose in battle, such as summoning, repair, and defense, rendering them open in other areas. This did not hold true for the Deva Path, however, which was imbued with several capabilities. Each path, with the possible exception of the second Animal Path, was in some way affiliated with Jiraya when they were alive.

When the paths were active together in battle, Nagato was able to see through their eyes, thus registering six separated fields of vision at the same time. Essentially working as shared vision for the paths, this allowed Nagato to coordinate their attacks and to provide defense for them without a blind spot. All of the paths demonstrated incredible speed, strength and the ability to create Chakra Diruption Blades which were used to incapacitate opponents. The paths were strongest when together, using combination tactics and the element of surprise to defeat their enemies; both Jiraiya and Kakashi fell victim to this technique. In the anime, it was shown that the paths do not feel pain and have cold skin. When the paths were lined up in formation the Deva Path was always in the center, while the Naraka Path stayed in the back. This was to protect it, so it could revive the others who had fallen. However, his technique, although powerful, had a flaw: each of the paths had a primary function or ability. With prior knowledge about the technique and each paths' abilities, one stood a better chance of defeating them, as witnessed in Pain's battle against Naruto.

When not in use, the bodies were stored in a hidden chamber within Amegakure's tallest tower. Within the room are six "pods" on which the bodies rest; each pod is connected to the wall via pipes or wires, and has a sliding cover that appears to feature the symbol of Amegakure, which conceals the faces of the inactive body. The pods are also numbered from one through six using daiji characters, and are ordered counter-clockwise around the room as follows: 壱 (1) - Deva Path; 弐 (2) - Asura Path; 参 (3) - Human Path; 四 (4) - Animal Path; 五 (5) - Preta Path; 六 (6) - Naraka Path. This numbering scheme corresponds with the ordering of the six Buddhist paths of Reincarnation.

DEVA PATH

The Deva Path (Tendõ), the first of The Six Paths to be shown, was the body of Yahiko. It was the most often seen and used of the six paths, and acted as Nagato's representative during Akatsuki meetings. Its main abilities revolved around manipulating gravity, allowing it to repel or attract objects. The Deva Path was permanently incapacitated after its Chakra receivers were removed from its body following its defeat by Naruto Uzumaki's Rasengan. Konan took this body, along with Nagato's body, after he died, and returned them to Amegakure, apparently putting the chakra receivers back into the body afterwards.



ANIMAL PATH

The Animal Path (Chikushõdõ) was the second of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain to be shown. It's the only Path shown to have existed as two different bodies. The first Animal Path was captured by Jiraya and sent to Konoha for study. It was replaced with a female body and the original was later recovered and destroyed by The Preta Path during the Invasion of Pain. The second Animal Path was later incapacitated by Naruto Sage's Techinique: Rasenrengan.

PRETA PATH

The Preta Path (Gakidõ) was te third of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain to be shown. It was incapacitated during the Invasion of Pain after it absorbed too much of Naruto Uzumaki's senjutsu chakra and turned into a toad statue.



HUMAN PATH

The Human Path (Ningendõ) was the fourth of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain to be shown. It was destroyed during the Invasion of Pain after it was stuck by Naruto Uzumaki's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.

ASURA PATH

The Asura Path (Shuradõ) was the fifth of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain to be shown. It was destroyed twice during the Invasion of Pain, first by Kakashi's Lightning Cutter and then for a second time by Naruto's Rasengan.

NARAKA PATH

The Naraka Path (Jigokudõ) was the sixth of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain to be shown. It was incapacitated during the Invasion of Pain by Naruto Uzumaki's Sage Technique: Rasenrengan.

OUTER PATH 

The Outer Path (Gedõ) was the seventh path of Pain, not included with the main Six Paths of Pain. It has control over Life and Death. When used by the Naraka Path, it's used for interrogation and rejuvenation.