Nagato begins to call himself Pain in Naruto Shippuden as he falls deeper into madness and truly begins observing what his goals are. He takes on the name Pain because it’s reflective of his philosophy. In his mind, pain is the only way to bring forth a peaceful world.
By causing pain to others, he forces them to acknowledge and understand the suffering humanity inflicts upon each other every day. He believes that, through doom and gloom, society will become kinder and less volatile. Most of his quotes revolve around pain and its power to bring forth societal reform.
Updated on May 4th, 2022 by Sarah Martin: Pain is one of Naruto’s most fascinating characters. Although his methods were quite twisted, many of his quotes are actually helpful pieces of advice people can carry throughout our day-to-day lives. We’ve updated this list with a few more of Pain’s best quotes.
15 “All The Pain Forced Me To Grow Up”
When Jiraiya asked Pain what happened to him, Jiraiya referred to how much change Pain underwent after ditching the name “Nagato” to take on this new persona. Pain responded, “Nothing happened. Nothing except for the war. Too many people died in this land. All the pain forced me to grow up.”
The reality of war and turmoil will often force people to grow up and become far different from how people remember. In Pain’s case, the war in Konoha broke his psyche and forced him to realize the harsh realities of conflict.
14 “Even The Most Ignorant, Innocent Child Will Eventually Grow Up”
It’s a cruel reality that, while everyone starts out innocent, the world will eventually steal that innocence away. Although some people remain optimistic, people such as Pain will become cynics. Pain understands the harsh realities of growing up and that sometimes, children are forced to grow up and mature way too soon.
Pain states, “Even the most ignorant, innocent child will eventually grow up as they learn what true pain is. It affects what they say, what they think…and they become real people.”
13 “Embrace The Fear”
Even though many of Pain’s actions are reprehensible, a few of the things he’s said regarding suffering are pretty insightful and can be helpful in real life. Without facing one’s fears, one will never be able to cope with them — much less overcome them.
Most people fear pain in some capacity. Fear and pain tend to go hand-in-hand, whether it’s experiencing physical pain or emotional distress. People will actively avoid getting injured, just as they’ll avoid putting themselves in situations that will probably end in heartbreak. Pain says, “Learn to embrace feeling what knowing true pain is like.”
12 “How Can You Say That You’ll Never Change?”
People change. It’s a natural phenomenon in life. Who people were ten years ago isn’t the same person they are today. Who people were five minutes ago may not even be the same person they are now. Pain understands this idea of perpetual change. He questions people who claim they’ll never change because that means that they’ll evolve or grow.
Pain questions, “How can you say that you’ll never change? That you won’t change, regardless of the pain you face? Can you continue believing in yourself forever? Can you guarantee it? Can you have such faith in yourself?”
11 “This Hatred Binds Us Together”
More often than not, people’s idea of justice is just a way to make them feel more exceptional than the rest. During peacetime, such individuals will put themselves on a pedestal and take credit for ending the war — even if they committed the most atrocities. Pain, however, isn’t afraid to call these things out.
He states, “You think you’re the only ones who matter. You think you can avoid death. But that peace made you foolish and thoughtless. If you kill someone, someone else will kill you. This hatred binds us together.”
10 “Sometimes, You Must Hurt In Order To Know”
One of Pain’s main goals is to force humanity to stumble and embrace their fear, suffering, and inner darkness. Only by doing that can humanity evolve. While he certainly has questionable methods of bringing about such evolution, this is a bit of solid advice. Nobody can learn from always being correct, nor can they understand the meaning of loss if they’re consistently winning.
Pain stated, “Sometimes, you must hurt to know, fall to grow, and lose in order to gain. Life’s greatest lessons are learned through the pain.” Ultimately, Pain conveys the idea that for one to grow past their suffering, one must sit with it for a while and learn from it.
9 “No Matter How Pathetic The Reason, It’s Enough To Start A War.”
It wouldn’t be fair to call Pain a nihilist. Ultimately, he has a goal to reform society because he sees the potential within it — no matter how twisted his methods may seem. Instead, it makes more sense to call Pain a cynic. Most of his contempt for humanity stems from the disappointment he feels regarding humanity’s never-ending transgressions.
Pain states, “Religion, ideology, resources, land, spite, love, or just because… No matter how pathetic the reason, it’s enough to start a war. War will never cease to exist.”
8 “Just By Living, People Hurt Others Without Even Realizing It.”
Pain often ponders heavy topics, and it’s not surprising he’s not afraid to tread on dark subject matters. Pain believes humanity is inherently evil, often claiming humans are only good for hurting each other. He also believes cooperation and peace will never exist between people of different social classes and backgrounds. In the end, humanity is bound to head back to the battlefield once again.
Pain states, “Just by living, people hurt others without even realizing it. So long as humanity exists, hate will also exist. There is no peace in this accursed world. War is just a crime paid for by the pain of the defeated.”
In Naruto, each character has baggage to carry. Many have endured trauma and carry around these burdens. Sometimes they open up and share these issues with others, but many choose to keep their feelings bottled up and locked away within their psyche.
One of Naruto’s main character arcs came when he had to learn that it’s okay not to be okay. It’s not healthy to keep so much emotional turmoil bottled up. Pain had a quote relevant to this context. He stated, “If you don’t share someone’s pain, you can never understand them.”
6 “If You Want To Know Pain, You Must Understand Pain.”
In Pain’s mind, the only solution for war, death, and hatred is to inflict as much widespread suffering as possible. By doing this, everybody will understand the true meaning of pain. When people suffer, that’s the only time they can come to a collective understanding of each other.
If everyone has to live with the understanding of each other’s pain, that might make them less likely to cause each other pain. It’s a twisted mentality, but it explains how Pain intends to prey on people’s psyche by tapping into their empathy. He states, “Pain is the only way to teach. Pain is the only solution for peace. If you want to know pain, you must understand pain.”
5 “Love Breeds Sacrifice, Which In Turn Breeds Hatred. Then You Can Know Pain.”
When one person makes a sacrifice, another person may take it for granted. This breeds resentment between the two. Pain takes a cynical view of love. While most view the ability to love and form meaningful bonds as a strength, Pain feels these things hold humanity back.
These days, it seems like there are more toxic relationships than healthy ones — and Pain recognizes this. He claims such connections only create jealousy, resulting in a loss. Pain states, “Love breeds sacrifice, which in turn breeds hatred. Then, you can know pain.”
4 “When I Had Nothing And No One, I Always Had Pain.”
Loving others and having connections to others can certainly lead to pain. Pain believes attachments to others will only result in negative emotions, whether it comes through loss or jealousy. On the other hand, when someone doesn’t have anybody around them, that person becomes incredibly lonely — another painful experience.
Pain’s willingness to explore such a dichotomy is one of the most interesting concepts introduced in the series, especially considering that Naruto understands the pain of ostracization and loneliness. Pain states, “When I had nothing and no one, I always had pain.”
3 “We Are Just Ordinary People Driven To Revenge In The Name Of Justice.”
Pain has made some rather astute observations about the nature of vengeance — especially considering that he seeks to avenge humanity as a whole by causing widespread unrest and death. Pain is quite insightful about the nature of society. In particular, he criticizes humanity’s hypocrisy in declaring their pursuit to avenge their loved ones and force the “bad guys” to take accountability.
Pain states, “We are just ordinary people driven to revenge in the name of justice. But if revenge is called justice, then justice would only breed even more revenge and become a chain of hatred.”
2 “Those Who Do Not Understand True Pain Can Never Understand True Peace.”
The crux of Pain’s entire endgame is the idea of harboring peace through suffering. He believes people cause each other harm because they don’t comprehend the consequences of their actions. If they’ve never truly felt pain themselves, then they wouldn’t understand.
People can claim to be empaths, but it’s just an empty word when they don’t truly put themselves in another person’s shoes. Pain claims such inconsiderate behavior results in constant wars and fighting. He states, “Those who do not understand true pain can never understand true peace.”
1 “I Want You To Feel Pain, To Think About Pain, To Accept Pain, To Know Pain.”
If Pain ditched his career choice to become a villain and instead chose to be a religious leader or life coach, he’d certainly gain a following with his philosophies. Pain has an enlightened way of thinking about the world in many ways. However, he became a fanatic and eventually went mad.
Despite this, Pain’s ultimatum is to force humanity to experience immense physical and emotional pain, to understand it, and come to embrace it as part of their life. He states, “I want you to feel pain. To think about pain. To accept pain. To know pain.”
