
At the time of Pain's arrival, Naruto was training with the Sage Toad in Mount Myoboku.

"Pain's Assault Arc" was covered in Chapters 413-453 in the manga and spanned across Episodes 152-169, as well as 172-175 in the anime. They also share the Uzumaki Clan bloodline in common, meaning that in they are related by blood, but distantly. Their interpretation of Jiraiya's shinobi way, however, was very different, as Nagato chose to the path of Pain to cleanse the world, and Naruto followed the path of peace. The fact that they studied under the same master and shared Jiraiya's morals and viewpoint made them sibling students. Though similar in appearance, they were not direct siblings. Many have wondered if Nagato and Naruto were related, especially after Pain referred to Naruto as his sibling student. Madara Uchiha approach steered the Akatsuki on a wicked course of corruption. It changed the course of the Akatsuki's goal for peace, which would be achieved through pain. He launched an attack against them that resulted in Yahiko's death and severe damage to Nagato's legs. The trio formed a group called the Akatsuki, and they made a name for themselves throughout the Village Hidden in the Rain, but village leader Hanzo felt threatened. It featured a brave shinobi named Naruto who vowed to end the cycle of hate in the world, inspiring Minato Namikaze, another one of Jiraiya's students, to name his son after the character. He left them to their own devices, but not before having one final conversation with Nagato, during which he was inspired to write his first novel, Tales of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja. Once they were able to defeat their master's shadow clone, he decided they were strong enough to take care of themselves. He trained them for three years, and Nagato took to it easily because of his Rinnegan. This was the first time Jiraiya saw the Rinnegan, which changed his mind about training them. Jiraiya refused to teach them ninjutsu until the kids were attacked by a Hidden Stone Village ninja and Nagato killed him with the Rinnegan. RELATED: What Does Minato's Kunai Say in Naruto? Orochimaru offered to kill them and end their suffering, but Jiraiya's own remorse for having participated in the war led him to take the orphans under his wing and teach them to survive. After glimpsing the three Legendary Sannin of the Hidden Leaf, the trio followed and approached, asking for training.

The war orphans shared a dream of growing up to become powerful ninjas who could use their influence to stop war once and for all, but first they needed to find a teacher.
