How did Nagato choose the paths of Pain?


**Potential Spoilers for the events Season 6-8 of Naruto Shippuden**  

In the Jiraiya vs Pain fight we get the following information.

> Konan is a former student of Jiraiya, who is also the Angel of Amegkure and
> Pain who has the Rinnegan is the leader who defeated Hanzo. During the fight
> we learn of the six Paths of Pain, each who uses a different unique
> abilities while sharing their field of vision. Jiraiya was confused how
> could six people have the Rinnegan when only Nagato had it.

This is the setup for the sequence of the events leading into the next season.

> Jiraiya recognises Yahiko, and then the body of pain that he pulls into the
> toad. He then decides to go back out and realises that **ALL the paths of
> pain are Ninjas he'd seen/met before**. And then the realization **"The real
> one is not among them."** This confuses me since we know Nagato can make any
> dead person a path of pain (the new Animal Path), Why would he chose those
> particular individuals that Jiraiya knows? Infact how did he know Jiraiya
> knows them?

And thus the question, **How/Why did Nagato choose the "Paths" of Pain?**

**Additional Info** : He chooses the following paths of pain

> the 5 shinobi that Jiraiya encountered during his journey: The Puppeteer,
> The Waterfall shinobi, The Fuma clan shinobi, The Grass Shinobi, The Priest.
> The sixth path i.e. Yahiko seems obvious due to their connection. But again
> using the other 5 seems very coincidental.




**It's only a theory, because even the wiki (or any SBS) gave no explanation
why he chose these specific people, except that Jiraiya knew them. So I will
try to make some connections between what we know for these characters (very
few) and their path's meaning.**

So, except from Yahiko, here is what I think for the other 5 paths:

  * [Nakara Path](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Naraka_Path): The man that wields it was [a priest](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Naraka_Path_\(character\)), so it only makes sense because of that that he would bring people back to life or take their life. This also comes from the religion perception:

> Yama is the lord of Justice, the King of Hell, he puts living beings after
> death for appropriate punishment, for example, in boiling oil, if you lie to
> him, he will rip out your tongue. After the period of punishment is
> complete, they are reborn on earth in human or animal bodies.

  * [Preta Path](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Preta_Path): [This person](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Preta_Path_\(character\)) had failed to cultivate the land for his family due to his participation in war. And as it is mentioned below in the wiki:

> In Buddhism, the Preta realm (also known as the Hungry Ghost realm) is a
> reincarnation based on strong possessiveness and desire which were
> cultivated in a previous life or lives.

So it only makes sense for him to be that path.

  * [Human path](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Human_Path): [This shinobi](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Human_Path_\(character\)) believed that all he could do to try and achieve peace was to teach the next generation to survive the battles with other ninja until it came.

> In Buddhism, the Human realm it is widely believed that is the form of
> rebirth most likely to attain enlightenment, due to both the availability of
> information and teachers, and the ability to reason without falling victim
> to the obsessive aggression or carnal delights inherited by the higher
> planes.

So that's how it makes sense, because he wanted to teach.

  * [Animal Path](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Animal_Path): The [first](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/First_Animal_Path_\(character\)), I think, was one of the Six Paths of Pain because he fought Jiraiya at some point. Also, there is only one connection to this path:

> Buddhists believe that animals inhabit a different dimension separated from
> humans not spatially but mentally; an unhappy plane of rebirth which
> revolves around fear, instinct and **survival of the fittest** , suffered by
> those animals that work for humans and, above all, by those ignorant to what
> is happening to them.

But I don't know if it counts. [The second Animal
Path](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Ajisai) was after Jiraiya's death and she
didn't meet him.

  * [Asura Path](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Asura_Path): Last but not least, this [man](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Asura_Path_\(character\)) is the only one that I cannot make even one connection. He was shown to be a wandering puppeteer with insight to the world and

> In Buddhism, the Asura realm is the plane of semi-divine warring demons
> which people are reincarnated in due to actions based on jealousy, struggle,
> combat or rationalisation in a previous life, and though powerful, live in
> constant violence and conflict to which there is no resolution nor peace.
> Following a common depiction of Asura, this ability allows the user to
> possess six arms and three faces, each of which display a different emotion.
> They are featured in Hinduism as the lowest tier of divine beings, and are
> known to live a life pursuing power, while indulgent and representative of
> materialistic and carnal pleasures.

Maybe there is a connection through rationalisation.

Hope it helps!

Note: if someone wants to edit and put more, feel free to do so!

