Among the many villains that have featured in Naruto throughout its run, it's easy to see why Pain stands out the most. As the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain not only possessed tremendous strength, but also an element of surprise about him that made him seem more menacing than any other villain.
Of course, that certainly doesn't mean that he's the strongest to ever appear in the series. After Pain's Konoha invasion, we saw a plethora of characters, both new and old, who proved to be stronger than the leader of the Akatsuki.
Updated on November 6th, 2020 by Josh Davison: Pain was one of the most startling and dangerous villains of Naruto upon his arrival. The audience had seen the immense power of the Akatsuki, and it was hinted at that even more danger was waiting in the shadows. However, no one could have imagined what was actually on the way. Pain really started the exponential growth of power that exists in the shinobi world, but it was still hard to imagine that anyone could be more powerful than Pain. The initial ten entries of the list showed some of the characters that could actually overtake Pain in a fight. However, we here at CBR decided to dive back into the world of Naruto to find another five shinobi that could bring down even the mighty Pain and his deadly Rinnegan.
15 Kaguya Ōtsutsuki
This one shouldn't surprise anyone, but Kaguya is easily among the most powerful beings to have ever existed in the world of Naruto. She is virtually a god and has a powerful fusion of the Rinnegan and Sharingan at her disposal, and it took the combined efforts of Team 7 to seal away Kaguya once again. Pain, for all of his power, would find himself easily overwhelmed by Kaguya. She is a power without equal. Pain may have six bodies at his disposal, but they would all be taken apart by Kaguya--who would then move onto Nagato himself.
14 Killer Bee
A Jinchūriki second only Naruto himself in terms of power, Killer Bee is among the most powerful shinobi in the world and an incredibly powerful swordsman. While the Rinnegan grants Pain vast amounts of power, Killer Bee is in perfect synchronicity with his Tailed-Beast Bijuu. The Eight-Tailed Ox and Killer Bee share motivation, personality, and goals. This allows Killer Bee to draw upon vast amounts of chakra and power. Furthermore, Killer Bee is notoriously deceptive and clever, which would potentially give him another edge over Pain.
13 Tobirama Senju
Tobirama Senju was the Second Hokage and the father of most of the modern ninjutsu. He had access to all five elemental releases and even time-space ninjutsu that allow him to move vast distances in an instance. The fact is that he would likely be too fast and versatile for even Pain. He may even be able to discern Nagato's true location and sidestep the entire conflict with an easy win.
12 Kakashi Hatake
This claim might be a tad controversial considering what happened Kakashi Hatake during Pain's invasion of Konohagakure. However, Kakashi grew even more powerful in the time since the Pain invasion and even received a second Mangekyo Sharingan eye from his former ally, Obito Uchiha. With the dual Mangekyo Sharingan, Kakashi would be able to overwhelm even Pain. Between the space-time ninjutsu that allows, the full Susano'o at Kakashi's disposal, and the Copy Ninja's notorious intellect and strategy ability, Kakashi would likely be able to conquer Pain with relative ease.
11 Orochimaru
This would likely be a close one, but it would be interesting to watch the two shinobi notorious for stealing bodies to take one another on. Orochimaru's only true weakness is genjutsu, as he has been shown to be otherwise virtually immortal. That is to say that Orochimaru's ability to regenerate might be enough for him to wear down even the vastly powerful Pain. That's to say nothing of the other powers that Orochimaru still has at his disposal. Kabuto learned everything he knew from Orochimaru, and he achieved Sage Mode and accomplished the Edo Tensei on a vast scale. In the end, Orochimaru might just be able to eke out a victory over Pain.
10 Minato Namikaze
Minato Namikaze was renowned throughout the world as the Yellow Flash, primarily due to his incredible speed. His speed aside, he was an excellent fighter and one who was extremely capable as Jiraiya deemed him to be a shinobi like no other.
Minato possessed enough power to battle the Nine-Tails and Obito Uchiha in succession and still emerge victories. What's more, during the war, he gained access to the Yin half of Kurama, making him far stronger than Pain could ever be.
9 Naruto Uzumaki
Minato's son, Naruto Uzumaki is the guy who stood in Pain's path and defeated him during the Pain arc of the Naruto series. After having learned the Sage Mode of Mount Myoboku, Naruto was on a completely different level when compared to the Akatsuki leader. Unsurprisingly, that certainly wasn't all that Naruto was capable of.
Over the years, he has grown exceptionally in terms of both strength and maturity and become the strongest known shinobi in history. Naruto is strong enough to fight the Gods of the verse and the only shinobi who can be considered an equal to him is Sasuke Uchiha.
8 Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke is the Yin to Naruto's Yang and it's easy to see why he makes the list as well. Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, has made it easy to see that both Naruto and Sasuke progress together and when one gets stronger, the other does as well.
Just like Naruto, Sasuke has grown dramatically over the years and can now be considered the strongest there is. His skill with the Rinnegan is impeccable, as is everything else about him. There's no doubt that he's far stronger than Pain.
7 Kabuto Yakushi
One of Orochimaru's subordinates, Kabuto sought power after the death of his master and gained it in the form of the Sage Mode of Ryuchi Cave.
Furthermore, he absorbed the powers of the Sound Five, along with Orochimaru himself in his body to gain strength that was unmatched at the time. Kabuto certainly proved to be an exceptionally strong fighter as he was able to hold his own against both Sasuke and Itachi in a fight.
6 Hashirama Senju
The First Hokage of Konohagakure, Hashirama Senju was known to be the strongest shinobi of his era. He stood at the top of the Warring States Era and was the person responsible for bringing peace to the world, more or less. When it comes to strength, there's no doubt that Hashirama was in a league of his own.
Few shinobi have managed to surpass him and Pain certainly isn't one of them. His strength was enough to take on both Madara Uchiha and the Nine-tails at once and that's something that we doubt Pain can ever achieve.
5 Madara Uchiha
Madara Uchiha was the leader of the Uchiha clan and the reincarnation of Indra Otsutsuki. He was once considered to be the rival of Hashirama Senju, although it was pretty clear that he was slightly inferior to him.
Nonetheless, Madara's ambition saw to it that he surpassed Hashirama Senju by acquiring the powers of the Six Paths. By awakening the Rinnegan and becoming the Ten-tails Jinchūriki, Madara reached a level that only a handful of shinobi has ever managed to achieve. Pain, unfortunately, pales in comparison to the Uchiha legend.
4 Might Guy
One of the most impressive shinobi to ever exist, Guy showed a glimpse of what he was truly capable of during the 4th Great Ninja War when he took on Juubi Madara Uchiha in a fight. Thanks to his years of training, Guy was able to open the Eighth Gate of Death, which made his powers spike dramatically.
Despite not having any Six Paths powers, Guy was capable of fighting against the Ten-tails Jinchūriki, Madara Uchiha, and overwhelm him in battle. Perhaps Pain was lucky that Guy wasn't in Konoha when he invaded.
3 Obito Uchiha
Like Madara Uchiha, Obito attained the powers of the Rinnegan and the Ten-tails to make himself akin to a God. His powers far surpassed the likes of the Five Kage, and even the old Hokage combined.
Obito was truly an incredibly powerful fighter with few being strong enough to hold their own against him. He was far stronger than Pain and his ambition was likely much greater as well.
2 Hiruzen Sarutobi
One of the strongest, yet most underrated shinobi in the entire Naruto series, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Third Hokage of Konoha. Just like Hashirama Senju, he was given the title of 'The God of Shinobi', which speaks volumes about his strength.
In his old age, Hiruzen was capable of defeating prime Orochimaru, along with a weakened First and Second Hokage, which is an incredible feat, no matter how you look at it. It is said that in his prime, Hiruzen was stronger than all the Hokage who came before him, so Pain would've needed to watch his back had Hiruzen been alive and young when he attacked the village.
1 Itachi Uchiha
One of Pain's underlings, Itachi Uchiha was, surprisingly, stronger than he was. Itachi was a user of the Mangekyo Sharingan and had two of the most hax Jutsu at his disposal in Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. His Susanoo was considered to be unbeatable due to him wielding two ethereal weapons.
During his fight against Sasuke, not only was Itachi nearly blind, but he was also holding back tremendously. When reanimated, he was able to hold his own against two perfect Jinchūriki in Naruto Uzumaki, and Killer Bee. He defeated Nagato without much trouble and even undid the Edo Tensei by defeating Kabuto Yakushi. Itachi might not have been on the level of Madara and Sasuke, but he was certainly stronger than Pain.