He isn't trying to destroy the world; he is trying to fix it with a nuclear deterrent. The "Eye of the Moon" plan was ridiculous, but Pain’s "fear of God" philosophy (giving everyone a shared enemy via a massive Tailed Beast bomb) felt chillingly plausible. One of the most brilliant moves Kishimoto made was denying us the catharsis of Naruto saving the village in real-time.
As Nagato says before his final sacrifice: "When you grow up, you'll understand. The pain of losing something... is the same for everyone." naruto pain arc
It has been well over a decade since the airwaves first crackled with the sound of a metallic chime and a quiet, godlike voice declaring, "Shinra Tensei." Yet, in the pantheon of anime history, few arcs have aged as gracefully—or hit as hard—as the Pain's Assault arc (often simply called the Pain Arc) in Naruto Shippuden. He isn't trying to destroy the world; he
Naruto holds up Jiraiya’s book, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. He acknowledges that he has no answer to Nagato’s suffering. He admits that if he were in Nagato’s shoes, he might have become Pain himself. He offers no solution except to break the cycle by choosing not to hate. As Nagato says before his final sacrifice: "When
This is where "Talk no Jutsu" gets its bad rap, but honestly? If you watch it without memes, it is devastating.
We are introduced to Pain through the tragic lens of Jiraiya’s memories. We see a kind, red-haired boy trying to survive the hellscape of the Hidden Rain. We see his best friend, Yahiko, die to create a false peace. By the time Pain sits atop the toad statue and explains his plan to Naruto, the viewer is conflicted.