Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-38812954-20190921011108/@comment-43403813-20191007194149

I don't think pain should be compared. Both these characters went through a lot, and to downplay either side isn't fair.

Itachi's pain involved losing more people, as he had to murder the Uchiha clan in order to stop a war from breaking out, including his parents. He's an introverted character, so he was definitely the kind of person who bottled up his pain and didn't have anyone to console with, and at the end of the day, he couldn't tell his own brother that he loved him, and had to pursue that whole crazed maniacal brother persona. Despite Itachi's tragic past, he still grew up with a frame of reference for peace. He had a father that was tremendously proud of him, an affectionate younger brother and girlfriend, and he grew up in the relatively safe Hidden leaf village.

Nagato grew up in a full-blown war and in complete poverty, he had no frame of reference for peace. His parents were murdered infront of him when he was only 7 years old, compared to Itachi's age of 13 when he murdered his clan. Nagato's pain was a lot more physical than Itachi's, in the sense that he had to endure the elements, weaponry and explosions from the war etc. but Nagato still endured mental turmoil as well. Nagato at first managed his pain in a healthy way by creating a group with Yahiko dedicated to peace, and followed Jiraiya's teachings. But if you saw the group you spent over a decade of your life developing for the sake of peace reduced to nothing by Hidden Leaf ninja, the same ninja who murdered your parents, you'd experience deep pain as well. Nagato's hatred for the Leaf is not unwarranted.