Can Itachi beat Pain (Six Paths)? | One-on-One fight in Naruto Shippuden

Last updated on January 27th, 2022 at 10:15 pm

Naruto Shippuden can be rightly said to be one of the supporting pillars of the anime world. 

As a proud member of the Big Three, a lot of expectations are wound around Naruto Shippuden, and it rightfully lives up to it. 

The sequel to the series Naruto, the plot in Shippuden primarily revolves around Naruto after he returns to his abode, Konoha village, after two and a half years of training with one of the legendary sanins, Jiraiya-sama.   

During his training, various mysterious events unfolded that put Konoha village and the entire shinobi world in an extremely threatening position.

Akatsuki, a group of elite rogue ninjas, have gained considerable power to bring almost the entire shinobi world under their feet.

Among Akatsuki, Itachi and Pain are referred to as the strongest members. And many fans are discussing “can Itachi beat Pain (Six Paths)?”

The answer is no. Currently many Itachi fans disagree with me. But in this post, we’ve compared both characters’ abilities and explained the logical reason why Pain is more powerful than Itachi.  So, without any delay, let’s discuss.

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I) Who is Itachi Uchiha?

Itachi Uchiha was a shinobi of Konoha village. As a member of the Uchiha clan, he was too gifted with the Sharingan. 

Born to Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha, he culminated exceptional shinobi skills, making him an Anbu captain at quite an early age. 

He was marked with exceptional sword skills, vast chakra reserve, and a master of the Sharingan.

The initial episodes of the anime label Itachi as a rogue ninja, as he was one of the standing pillars of Akatsuki. 

Even his blood-brother Sasuke places him in a position of intense detestation where he aims to eliminate Itachi to avenge his parent. 

Itachi, who was known to wipe out the entire Uchiha clan sparing only his brother, was a subject of a nightmare for Konoha. 

However, the later episodes unveiled Itachi’s intense patriotism and love for his home village. He did not even think twice to wipe his entire clan out, including his parents for Konoha’s sake.

II) Who are the Six Paths of Pain?

Nagato was a shinobi of Amegakure and a descendant of the Uzumaki clan. 

He lost his parents during the third shinobi war and lived with his friends Yahiko and Konan. 

He was secretly planted with the Rinnegan by Uchiha Madara. His eye was quickly recognized by Jiraiya, who, despite Orochimaru’s insistence on eliminating them, adopted them as his students.

After two years of training under Jiraiya, the three friends from Akatsuki, whose main idea was to restore peace in the war-seeking shinobi world. 

However, during a fight with Hanzo, Yahiko took his own life to protect his friends. This incident triggered Nagato, and he shed his philosophies and resorted to violence to bring peace to the land. 

The fight with Hanzo crippled him greatly, rendering him immobile.

He took the name of “Pain” and distributed his chakra among six different corpses, together named as “Six Paths of Pain.” 

He could remotely control these bodies, which made him one of the strongest characters despite his crippled body. 

Each of these bodies was given the Rinnegan, making them immensely powerful. The Six Paths of Pain were named after the Six Buddhist Paths of Reincarnation:

•  Deva Path, which used Yahiko’s mortal body
•  Asura Path
•  Human Path
•  Animal Path
•  Preta Path
•  Naraka Path

Each of these bodies has been given a single ability, which altogether creates a huge advantage in any battle.

Can Itachi Beat Pain?  

No, Itachi is not capable enough to beat Pain (Six Path form). Yes, I know many Itachi fans are eager to see them otherwise; unfortunately, it is not so. 

Though Itachi has immense chakra reserve and his ability just adds up to it, we must not forget Pain’s abilities. 

The Six Paths of Pain, each with their Rinnegan and their respective abilities, which I think might be too difficult for Itachi to overwhelm.

Though Itachi has been gifted with his Sharingan, which later gets evolved into Mangakeyo Sharingan, his Amaterasu, and fabulous defenses like the Susanoo, Pain is someone not to be underestimated.

Pain being a bijuu, has a vast chakra reserve, which gives him the ability to control all six bodies. Itachi’s degrading health and falling short of chakra give him the biggest setbacks despite extensive skills. 

The Preta path, which consumes chakra, can be a lethal weapon against Itachi.

The battle between the two will surely not be an easy-going one. It would be quite a close call, but in the end, I see Pain as the winner.

Is Itachi Stronger than pain?

No, certainly not. Keeping all the dynamics in view, Itachi is not stronger than Pain. Here, we are considering Pain in his Six Paths, not Nagato as an individual.

Though the powers of Itachi are of a supreme level, the six bodies of Pain might be too overwhelming for Itachi to handle alone.

The article is written by keeping in view that they are well aware of each other’s strengths. 

Itachi’s lack of stamina due to his degrading health will be his major setback in the battle. But, let’s consider that he is healthy. Still, there is no chance of winning. 

The King of Hell summoning by the Preta path can be a trouble for Itachi, as it refurbishes the damaged bodies anew. Though some abilities of Itachi may sound stronger against Pain, in the end, the Six Paths would win, with a close margin, though.

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Itachi vs Pain ( Six Paths)| Comparison

• 1) Based on Speed –

Based on speed, Itachi would have the upper hand in the battle. The Six Paths of Pain, though, maybe fast, Itachi’s speed is quite outstanding. 

However, his lack of stamina may become a hurdle. Moreover, Pain uses his Six Paths to fight, which can overwhelm Itachi at a point. 

But personally, I think Itachi would live up to the fight and would match up to Pain’s speed for some time in the battle. Itachi is well known for his speed.

• 2) Based on Strength –

Going by physical strength solely, comparison between the two would be quite a tough job. However, in this domain, The Six Paths of Pain would have the upper hand.

The sole reason being Itachi is a single individual against the six bodies. The Asura Path, made solely for battle purposes, will be a hindrance for Hitachi to win the battle.

•  3) Based on Durability –

Well, neither Itachi nor Nagato were at the prime of their health. But due to Nagato’s immense reserve of Chakra, it might overwhelm Itachi’s.

Itachi’s attacks are quite a chakra and stamina consuming, and his physical state wouldn’t allow him to last long on the battlefield.

Despite both of their attacks taking a toll on their health, Nagato would eventually emerge victoriously.

• 4) Based on Abilities –

Both the participants of the battle are top of the world shinobis. Their attacks are far superior to the others, and comparing them would not be an easy task.

Each person possesses the ability to counter the other. However, Pain’s abilities of chakra absorption, The King of Hell, and Shinra Tensei may be able to gain the upper hand.

Itachi vs Pain (Six Paths)| Who would win?

Despite Itachi being immensely strong, The Six Paths of Pain will have the upper hand in the battle.

Itachi would try to overwhelm the Six Paths with his speed, but the Rinnegan using Six Bodies would give a tough fight. 

Itachi suffering from his terminal illness would fail to keep up with speed and will eventually tire up.

Tsukoyami, the ultimate Genjutsu, may prove effective against one Path, but using it twice consumes an immense portion of Chakra. 

Also, it might affect the other five Paths as well as they share the same vision. 

But the Preta Path could break through it, as it had done during the fight with Jiraiya. This would lead Itachi to run completely out of his chakra and stamina to pull through any damaging attacks.

Itachi’s Amaterasu, which can consume anything, may be a hindrance for Pain, but the Deva Path would have an advantage over this. Amaterasu could be pushed away by Shinra Tensei or get absorbed by the Preta Path if it was of chakra.

Controlling all the Six Paths simultaneously would be a too chakra draining move by Pain. 

This short corridor could be used by Itachi as an opportunity and exchange a few blows. Itachi might pull out his trump card, his Susanoo.

Pain still has attacks of the Animal Path and the Preta Path up his sleeve. The animal summoning could deal with the Susanoo, while the Preta Path could absorb it, as it is made out of chakra. 

However, the Preta Path can only weaken the Susanoo, as absorbing excess chakra may result in it turning into stone.

Itachi’s most powerful weapons, the Yata Mirror, The Sword of Totsuka, and the Yasaka Magatama, could be one of the toughest relics against Pain. 

They could bring down a considerable amount of damage on the Six Paths. 

The summoning could be sealed, but they can be re-summoned, as we have seen in the anime during the fight with Naruto.

The fight between the two would not be just a mere piece of cake. Their deteriorating health conditions coupled with such intense attacks would bring considerable damage to both sides, but eventually, Pain would emerge as the winner by quite a thin margin.

Here, we conclude our article on “Can Itachi beat Pain?” We hope you like the comparison. We will be back with another post. Till then, stay tuned with us and read the articles below.

Frequently Asked Questions-

1) Who is more powerful Itachi or Pain?

Ans. The Six Paths of Pain are more powerful than Itachi.

2) Did Kishimoto state that Itachi can beat Madara?

Ans. No, Kishimoto never stated that Itachi could beat Madara.

3) Could healthy Itachi beat Pain?

Ans. No, even a healthy Itachi would stand no chance against Pain.

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Sahil Das

A zoology student turned writer. From hating anime to being an ardent anime lover, my journey has quite a sheen to it. While Parasyte served to be the stepping stone into this fantabulous world of animation, the foundation grew stronger with each series. If not engaging myself with anime content, you can always find me going through some Bengali classics or filling the air with some soulful Tabla beats. An artist, trying to throw some colours to my blank canvas of life.