As the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain was the major antagonist for the majority of Naruto: Shippuden. His Rinnegan gave him access to powers that were previously exclusive to the Sage of Six Paths, and with this unprecedented strength, Pain built and controlled the most dangerous team in the ninja world. These many abilities can be a bit difficult to keep track of, so here is Nagato Uzumaki's fearsome Jutsu, explained.
Nagato wasn't born with the Rinnegan, rather they were transplanted into his eyes shortly after birth by Madara Uchiha. Before his death, the ghost of the Uchiha had already made plans to be reanimated and identified Nagato as the prime candidate to which he could entrust with the eyes. Knowing how much chakra the Rinnegan absorbed passively, Madara chose to store them with an Uzumaki, a clan whose people had high chakra reserves and would not be overwhelmed by the eyes.
It's unlikely that Madara expected Nagato to use the Rinnegan to their full extent, but even he was in awe at what the young Uzumaki achieved with them. While studying under Jiraiya, Nagato quickly mastered all 6 nature transformations and every jutsu he was taught in record time. After his training, Nagato formed the Akatsuki with Yahiko and Konan, and the trio made it their mission to bring peace to the Hidden Rain Village.
Unfortunately, their noble endeavor attracted enemies from all corners of the map. In an attempt to destroy the Akatsuki, Hanzo of the Salamander and Danzo of the Hidden Leaf Village plotted an ambush for the three central Akatsuki members that resulted in Yahiko's death. The loss of his friend took a terrible toll on Nagato. He continued to chase his original goal of peace but was no longer as strongly bound to achieving it ethically as he previously was. He finally began to use the eyes' full potential and split the Rinnegan's most distinct powers, or paths, into six different carefully selected host bodies.
Deva Path
The Deva Path is the most recognizable path and the one most commonly associated with the name "Pain". Nagato created it from Yahiko's corpse and preferred to have this path handle all matters relating to the Akatsuki. It was the group's leader even until the end because Nagato felt that position was always one that would belong to his best friend.
The Deva Path had a devilishly simple jutsu. He could control both attracting and repelling forces, with a cool down time after he used either ability proportional to the power he had exerted. It doesn't sound like much in writing but the Deva path alone was able to immobilize several Leaf shinobi squads and defeat Hatake Kakashi, a leaf jonin in battle. He used this jutsu to its fullest extent when he destroyed the Leaf Village in one fell swoop with the Almighty Push.
Asura Path
Ever the dramatic one, Nagato chose a very interesting way to obtain the bodies of the other Pains. His former master, Jiraiya, had traveled the world in search of a prophesied student; one who was supposed to bring a great revolution to the world of ninja. Jiraiya encountered several shinobi in his travels, each with differing attitudes towards the war that ravaged their lands. He wasn't satisfied with the answers they gave him but chose to record them in the novels he wrote about his journeys. Nagato tracked down these individuals and turned their corpses into his puppets.
The Asura Path had the ability to freely manipulate its body. It could conjure up extra limbs, regenerate them or even create fully formed mechanical weaponry attached to itself. Fittingly, Nagato created it from the corpse of a mysterious puppet master ninja Jiraiya had met in his travels
Animal Path
This Path was created with the corpse of a ninja Jiraiya battled within his travels. He was an unnamed Fuma Clan member who was tasked with destroying a whole village since it was believed to have been infiltrated by enemy spies. Jiraiya encountered him shortly after he had completed his terrible mission and they exchanged blows. Quickly realizing that he was no match for the Toad Sage, he fled but not before promising Jiraiya that many more like him were on their way.
As a Pain, the Animal Path's ability was invaluable for disorienting enemies and quickly changing the course of battle. He could summon several different creatures, each nigh immortal and with different abilities. The Animal Path's summoning jutsu differed from that employed by regular ninja in its activation; no blood was required and he didn't have to sign a contract with the animals he summoned. The Animal Path was also able to summon the other Pains, meaning as long as he was present, the other 5 were never far behind. He fell in battle to Jiraiya and Pain was forced to transfer the Animal Path's abilities to a corpse belonging to an unnamed young girl from the Hidden Rain Village.
Naraka Path
Pain created the Naraka Path from the body of a priest that briefly piqued Jiraiya's interest during his travels. This priest believed the war and strife that plagued the ninja world were inevitable, and that all humans could do was pray to be spared from the death and destruction that would follow.
The Naraka Path's abilities were the most divine of all the Pains. He could freely control the King of Hell which made him the warden of life and death and could heal any injuries the other Pains received, no matter how deadly by placing them in the King of Hell's mouth. He was also impossible to lie to. During interrogations, he could summon the King of Hell to verify the truth of what his captor was telling him. If they lied, the King of Hell would snatch up their tongues and leave them for dead. The Naraka Path could also revive regular people from the dead but this particular ability wasn't one that could be used lightly or often.
Preta Path
In life, the Preta path was a jaded amateur farmer who'd been forced to enlist in the war. His efforts to till the land were unfruitful and he despaired in the face of the Great Nations' military might. As Jiraiya quickly realized, he was a defeated man who couldn't do much but complain about his lot in life.
The Preta Path had the ability to absorb all forms of chakra-based ninjutsu. He could also absorb raw chakra from any living thing as well upon direct physical contact. Unlike the Karma in Boruto, users of the Preta path aren't able to redirect the chakra they absorb but are able to integrate the properties of the stolen chakra into their own. It was through this ability that Madara absorbed Hashirama Senju's senjutsu, and also how Sasuke Uchiha absorbed Naruto Uzumaki's Nine-Tails chakra during their final fight.
Human Path
In his lifetime, the human path was a peace-loving ninja. He didn't seem to participate in battles himself but rather focused on teaching the younger generation skills that would help them survive the harsh times. The human path's ability was quite simple but very deadly. Like the Naraka path, it could aid in interrogation but he didn't even have to ask questions. He could rip a person's soul straight out of their body, and would immediately gain all the knowledge and experiences the soul had collected throughout its lifetime
