Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-43403813-20200102180859/@comment-43403813-20200128214610

@Ninja

Fair assessment for Itachi. I agree with what you have said in regards to him. Like I said, his ways of getting around certain techs aren't as clear-cut as Nagato's.

Preta Path would help reduce the potency of such Wood Release attacks, and whilst it may not completely stop the attacks, it is not the only measure Nagato can take to avoid it. Shinra Tensei would disperse the attacks easily. Nagato has a plethora of summonings to take the hits, including a Panda summoning who is pretty much designed to block tangible attacks. Nagato also has mastered all 5 releases, including Fire release, which could be a counter-attack etc. And this is all happening whilst Nagato has shared vision through his summonings and clones.

I wouldn't say that Shadow Clones are out-of-character for Nagato. A chunk of Nagato's life was him being emaciated, so if he used clones, they would just turn out exactly the same as him: crippled and emaciated. Hence, the Paths of Pain were had much better utility. In the time of the Original Akatsuki, Nagato was shown to use Shadow Clones in his single-body form, and the only other time we've seen a single-body Nagato fight was when he was unwilling to fight, and under the complete control of Kabuto.

Heck, Nagato as Pain has showcased so many strange yet shockingly powerful derivatives of clone techniques. He created the tag outside the Akatsuki hideout that manifested the doppelgangers that fought Team Guy. He has the ability to create shapeshifting clones, as shown when he created copies of Kisame and Itachi. He applied a technique to his dog summoning that allowed it to create multiple clones of itself upon receiving physical damage. He manifested illusion clones through his eyes so all the members of the Akatsuki could communicate with one another. Lol, Pain's whole identity is essentially six clones of himself with shared vision. He has always relied on the utility of pressure and outnumbering his opponents.

From that I'd definitely say that Nagato is 100% capable of using a clone of whatever type he pleases in his fighting style. If people can argue that Kid Obito has the power of the full 9-tails after having it in a genjutsu for 20 minutes, I can argue this for sure. Agree to disagree though, your way of thinking is just as reasonable.