Akatsuki (meaning "Dawn," or "Daybreak") is a criminal organization in Naruto. They were first introduced in episode 80 of the Naruto anime and chapter 139 of the Naruto manga when Akatsuki members Itachi and Kisame entered the Hidden Leaf Village in pursuit of Naruto and the the Nine-Tailed Fox within him. Currently, Akatsuki consists of six elite S-class criminals. The exact criteria for admission to Akatsuki are unknown, but extraordinary fighting ability and deadly ruthlessness seem to be prerequisites as members of Akatsuki have cause death and destruction in their villages in their past.
The organization was created by Madara Uchiha, initially to hide himself from the world and carry out killings without drawing much attention. After the midway point in the Naruto series, however, Akatsuki's goal seems to change as it becomes increasingly more active with it's presence felt as its members start to carry out the tasks needed to achieve the ultimate goal - world domination. To achieve this goal, a three-step process has been put into place. Step 1 is to attain lots of money to support the organization. Step 2 is to set up a mercenary group loyal only to Akatsuki so that they can carry out missions and build their reputation. The key here is that they will charge less money than the established shinobi villages so people will go to Akatsuki instead of the established nations for help. Then, by using the tailed beasts, Akatsuki can start wars and then immediately put a stop to them, solidifying their reputation as the best and convincing every country to depend on them. With Akatsuki getting all the businesses, the established shinobi villages would collapse because they wouldn't have the money to operate. This would leave Akatsuki as the only major shinobi force in existence and they could easily conquer the other countries (step 3).
Akatsuki is inching closer and closer to their goal with the acquisitions of the tailed demons (also known as Bijuu). Currently, Akatsuki has seven of the nine bijuu including the One-Tailed Shukaku, the Two-Tailed Demon Cat, Three-Tailed Turtle, and the Four-Tail (the type of demon was not revealed). They are currently in pursuit of Naruto and the Nine-Tailed Fox and need another unrevealed numbered Bijuu as well.
As with Gaara and the One-Tail, the demons are taken to the Akatsuki hideout
to be extracted from the host (referred to as the Jinchuuriki). The members who
captured the demon are physically present, while the rest are there in spirit.
Pain in summons a giant statue of a monster while the Jinchuuriki or Bijuu. The members
take their stance on the finger of the monster statue which corresponds to the
finger they wear, and the Bijuu is extracted into the statue. For each Akatsuki
member, a Dragon-like aura comes out statue's mouth and surrounds the
Jinchuuriki, removing the Bijuu, and sealing it into the statue. The sealing process takes three days to
complete, and according to Kisame must be done in a specific order. The Nine-Tailed
Fox needs to be sealed last, otherwise the statue would collapse.
Akatsuki Accessories
Members of Akatsuki wear rings as well as their respective village headbands
with a line stuck through the village symbol on. In addition to those, they wear
a black cloak with red clouds on it and have their nails painted. The significance of the
painted nails and cloak are
unknown, but it is a belief they are just for fashion. The purpose of the ring
is not 100% clear either, but it seems they use it to extract the trailed
demons (Bijuu) from their host (Jinchuuriki). For the
village headband, it is believed the line threw the village headband signifies a
broken connection between the individual and the village.
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Current Members
| Tobi / Madara Uchiha |
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 First Manga Appearance: 280First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden 32 Ring: Gyoku (Jewel/Jade) on left thumb Originally From: Hidden Leaf Village Birthday: December 24 Age: ?? Height: 175.0 cm Weight: 55.9 kg Blood type: ? Personality: Warlike, ambitious (Madara) / Luck-pusher (Tobi) Favorite food: Inari sushi Least Favorite Food: Shirako Person he likes to fight the most: Any upper class Leaf ninja Favorite Word: Insta-kill, secret Hobby: Falconry (Madara) / Accompanying Deidara (Tobi) Miscellaneous Information: Tobi was formally Zetsu's subordinate. He has a very formal and correct manner of speech and wanted to fill in Sasori's position in Akatsuki after he had died. To his luck, he was eventually let in Akatsuki. In chapter 362 Deidara blew himself up and it was believed Tobi died as well. In chapter 363, however, a surprising turn of events takes place - Tobi is seen giving orders to Pain! It is revealed that he is Madara Uchiha, the real leader of Akatsuki, and one of the founders of the Hidden Leaf Village. Madara created Akatsuki as a means to hide himself from the world, using their activities to disguise his own plans. As Madara, Tobi's personality and speech become completely different, with a much less formal speech and a more typically villainous sway. Tobi's only known abilities are that he can let attacks pass through him easily, and that he has the power of the Sharingan. When Tobi revealed himself to Kisame, he was recognized as Madara as well as the leader of the Hidden Mist Village - the Mizukage! |
| Pain / Nagato |
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 First Manga Appearance: 238First Anime Appearance: 135 Ring: Rei (Zero) on right thumb Originally From: Hidden Rain Village Birthday: September 19 Age: ? Height: ? Weight: ? Blood type: A Personality: Timid Favorite food: Grilled fish, stew Least Favorite Food: Nothing in particular Person he likes to fight the most: Anybody that threatens his friends Favorite Phrase: Growing up Hobby: Training in ninjutsu Miscellaneous Information: Pain is the assigned leader of Akatsuki, and is partners with Konan. He was told by Tobi/Madara to capture Naruto, and that because he is the leader, he cannot fail. Pain has shown us that he has as six different bodies which share the same mind, and are known collectively as The Six Paths of Pain. These bodies all have brown/orange hair color, piercing, and the Rinnegan doujutsu (which allows the user to perform any jutsu and manipulate all six types of chakra-nature manipulation). All six bodies are, in a sense, connected since they can share visual information seamlessly, giving Pain the ability to coordinate offense and defense of all six bodies as if they were a single entity. Each of the six entities that are Pain were ninja that Jiraiya encountered as he wandered the world. Some of the abilities we've seen Pain's bodies perform are detecting the movements and chakra levels of people traveling within the rain (that he has created), the summoning jutsu, ability to absorb ninjutsu as a form of defense and the ability to fire his left arm like a missile. Pain's real name is Nagato, and he was left orphaned by one of the Hidden Rain Village's many wars in his childhood along with Konan (who is also a Akatsuki member), and a boy named Yahiko (who is presumed dead). After one of the wars, Jiraiya met the three kids, and became their teacher for a short time. Sometime after Jiraiya left, Nagato started to view himself as a god destined to teach the world the meaninglessness of fighting. Eventually 'Pain' came into existence and single-handedly killed the Hidden Rain Village's former leader, Hanzo and those affiliated with him, and became somebody the village's people worship. Pain continued on and destroyed the Hidden Leaf Village, in part reason, because it was Leaf ninja who killed his parents. Naruto eventually got rid of the bodies of Pain and is currently face-to-face with a very weak Nagato. |
| Konan |
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 First Manga Appearance: 238First Anime Appearance: 135 Ring: Byakko (White Tiger) on right middle finger Originally From: Hidden Rain Village Birthday: February 20 Age: ? Height: 169.4 cm Weight: 45.3 kg Blood type: O Personality: Level, calm, and kind Favorite food: Flame broiled fish Least Favorite Food: Karaage Person he likes to fight the most: People that oppose god Favorite Word: Order Hobby: Origami Miscellaneous Information: This is the only female member of Akatsuki. In chapter 363 we finds out that she is Pain's partner. Konan has blue hair with a white flower in it. When she was younger, Konan and her teammates (Nagato, and Yahiko) were left orphaned by one of the Rain Village's many wars, forcing them to fend for themselves. One day, they met Jiraiya, who stayed with them for a short while and taught them the art of being a ninja. Konan has a unique ability where she can divide her body into a countless pieces of paper. This paper can be controlled individually and formed into various shapes for a number of purposes, such as butterflies for scouting or random weapons for attack. Her weakness is water, as when she uses her paper abilities, the paper clings to itself and loses its stiffness. |
| Kisame Hoshigaki |
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 First Manga Appearance: 139First Anime Appearance: 80 Ring: Minami (South) on left ring finger Originally From: Hidden Mist Village Birthday: March 18 Age: 32 Height: 195.0 cm Weight: 83.1 kg Blood type: AB Personality: Belligerent Favorite food: ? Least Favorite Food: ? Person he likes to fight the most: ? Favorite Word: ? Hobby: ? Miscellaneous Information: Kisame has a distinctive shark-like appearance, as he has pale blue skin, small white eyes, gill-like facial structures, and sharp triangular teeth. He is one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, seven powerful ninja who utilize large and unique swords. He has unimaginable amounts of chakra and wields a sword called Samehada, which is a scale-covered sword that shaves things, instead of cutting them. It also has the ability to absorb chakra and prevent anybody other than Kisame to use it. Unlike most members of Akatsuki who fight with their partners, Kisame got along well with his - which was Itachi (who is now dead). He listened to what Itachi says and looks out for him, indicating he had a human heart. Like others from the Hidden Mist Village, Kisame uses water element jutsu in combination with his powerful physical attacks. Even if there is no water source where he is fighting, Kisame can use a Water Release Jutsu to create a lake's worth of water to aid him in battle. When Tobi reveals to Kisame who he is, Kisame instantly recognizes him as the Mizukage and tells him that he is happy to know that he is the one pulling the strings in Akatsuki. |
| Zetsu |
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 First Manga Appearance: 234First Anime Appearance: 134 Ring: Kai (Boar) on right pinky finger Originally From: Hidden Grass Village Birthday: November 08 Age: ? Height: 177.0 cm Weight: ? Blood type: B Personality: ? Favorite food: ? Least Favorite Food: ? Person he likes to fight the most: ? Favorite Word: ? Hobby: ? Miscellaneous Information: Zetsu seems to have a split personality, as half of him is black and the other is white. The black half of his face speaks in a deep voice while the white side in a lighter voice. The two halves are often seem to talk to one another other and occasionally differ in opinion. This split personality might be the reason Zetsu does not have a partner. Along with having a "two-face," Zetsu's head is surrounded by what looks like a venus flytrap.Zetsu has the ability to merge the ground, trees, and other plants, which helps him immensely in his functions as a spy for Akatsuki. He also eats the bodies of people Akatsuki does not want found, such as spies and Akatsuki members who have been killed. |
Former Members (now deceased)
| Deidara |
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 First Manga Appearance: 247First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden 02 Ring: Sei (Blue-Green) on right index finger Originally From: Hidden Rock Village Birthday: May 19 Age: 19 Height: 166.0 cm Weight: 50.8 kg Blood Type: AB Personality: Prideful, belligerent/warlike Favorite food: Boiled eggs wrapped in imitation fish meat (i.e. fish cake). Least Favorite Food: Mixed Rice Person he likes to fight the most: Itachi Uchiha Favorite phrase: Art is a bang. Hobbies: Creating things and then blowing them up. Miscellaneous Information: A fancy and skillful fighter, with special mouths in the palm of each hand, he is able to manipulate clay into either a flight-capable clay bird that can support him or a a huge bomb that is capable of leveling a village without the use of exploding tags. After Sasori's death Deidara was partnered with the newest member of Akatsuki, Tobi. The partnership didn't last long as Deidara blew himself up as his final work of art to try and kill Sasuke. |
| Hidan |
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 First Manga Appearance: 312First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden 10 Ring: San (Three) on left index finger Originally From: Hidden Rain Village Ring: San (Three) on left index finger Originally From: Hidden Rain Village Birthday: April 02 Age: 22 Height: 177.1cm Weight: 56.8 kg Blood type: B Personality: Religious, selfish Favorite food: Ribs Least Favorite Food: Vegetables Person he likes to fight the most: Pagans Favorite Word: Slaughter Hobby: Praying Miscellaneous Information: Hidan is first shown with a three-bladed scythe and says that he is the slowest attacker in Akatsuki.. He was a very religious individual and prays to his chain of prayer beads before a fight, wishing for nothing less than a kill. He believed in the Jashin (wicked heart) religion where killing is encouraged and anything less than that is considered a sin. He put his religion into practice by killing Asuma. Unfortunately for him, Shikamaru could never forgive him for that and killed Hidan (or he actually buried his head in the ground) using explosive tags. |
| Itachi Uchiha |
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 First Manga Appearance: 139First Anime Appearance: 80 Ring: Shu (Scarlet) on right ring finger Originally From: Hidden Leaf Village Birthday: June 09 Age: 21 Height: 178.0 cm Weight: 58.0 kg Blood type: AB Personality: Caring, Self-sacrificing Favorite food: Omusubi, Cabbage Least Favorite Food: Steak Person he likes to fight the most: Sasuke Uchiha Favorite Word: Peace Hobby: Visiting shops where you can eat sweets Miscellaneous Information: Killed everyone in his clan except for his little brother, Sasuke. Initially, Itachi murdered his best friend, Shisui Uchiha, to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, but went on to massacre the rest of the clan, leaving only Sasuke. Seven or eight years after the Uchiha massacre, Itachi reveals to Sasuke that he had the help of Madara Uchiha, and the only reason he left Sasuke alive was to steal his eyes. The Mangekyo Sharingan brings upon blindness to the user, and the only way to prevent going blind was to take the eyes of one's sibling. With that goal in mind Sasuke was left alive to live hating Itachi, and one day possibly awaken the Mangenkyo Sharingan. Later on Madara revealed that everything Itachi told Sasuke was a lie. Everything Itachi had done was for the Leaf Village, including sacrificing himself, so that Sasuke would not fall into Madara's hands. At some point in time Itachi joined Akatsuki. The timeline that has been given throughout the series coupled with his age suggests that he joined the organization prior to killing his clan. Itachi is a genjutsu specialist, and can trap opponents within an illusion by merely pointing or looking at them. He also relies heavily on his Sharingan in battle, and uses them to reads an opponent's movements and respond accordingly. With his Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi uses the attack Tsukuyomi to take his opponent's mind into an alternate dimension and torture them. A matter of seconds in the real world is equivalent to hours to the person under control of Itachi's Tsukuyomi. The Mangekyo Sharingan is more than just genjutsu, however. There is a physical attack associated with it - Amaterasu - a ninjutsu, which emits a black flame several times hotter than the sun's heat. Both the Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu take up an incredible amount of chakra, so Itachi tries to wrap up his battles as fast as possible. Itachi died in battle with Sasuke because of his excessive use of the Mangekyo Sharingan attacks. |
| Kakuzu |
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 First Manga Appearance: 238First Anime Appearance: 135 Ring: Kita (North) on left middle finger Originally From: Hidden Waterfall Village Birthday: August 15 Age: 91 Height: 185.0 cm Weight: 63.2 kg Blood type: A Personality: Impatient, Scrupulous Favorite food: Raw meat Least Favorite Food: Kurikinton (Sweet potato mixed with cooked chestnuts) Person he likes to fight the most: Anybody with a huge bounty Favorite Word: ?? Hobby: Reading Miscellaneous Information: Kakuzu is the tallest member of Akatsuki. He is obsessed about money, and will do anything to get it. He also dislikes Hidan's religion as he believes that the rituals Hidan performs are a waste of time. He gets in frequent arguments with Hidan because they have two distinct personalities - Hidan is a religious type of guy, while Kakuzu is a money man. The only reason Kakuzu puts up with it all because be believes in the end it can bring him money. Kakuzu was heavily wounded by Naruto using the Fuuton Rasenshuriken and then killed by Kakashi. |
| Orochimaru |
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 First Manga Appearance: 45First Anime Appearance: 27 Ring: Kai (Boar) on right pinky finger Originally From: Hidden Leaf Village Birthday: October 27 Age: 54 Height: 172.0 cm Weight: 57.3 kg Blood type: B Personality: Ambitious, cruel, egomaniacal Favorite food: ? Least Favorite Food: ? Person he likes to fight the most: Anybody strong enough to satisfy him Favorite Word: Destruction, chaos Hobby: Developing new jutsu Miscellaneous Information: Orochimaru not being picked to be the Fourth Hokage, led to him fleeing from the Hidden Leaf Village. He became an Akatsuki member afterwards, but fled because of his fear of Itachi's power. Upon leaving, he kept his Akatsuki ring, which is currently still on the hand of his original body. The apparent special nature of his ring, his knowledge of their plans, and his fleeing of Akatsuki without informing the leader have led to bad blood between Orochimaru and Akatsuki. He found the Hidden Sound Village and took Sasuke as his subordinate with plans to transfer himself into Sasuke so that he could have the power of the Sharingan. Unfortunately for him, his plan never fully materialized as Sasuke absorbed Orochimaru before he could lay his hands on him and then Itachi killed Orochimaru when Sasuke could no longer control him. |
| Sasori |
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 First Manga Appearance: 247First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden 02 Ring: Gyoku (Jewel/Jade) on left thumb Originally From: Hidden Sand Village Birthday: November 08 Age: 35 Height: 164.1 cm Weight: 47.3 kg Blood type: AB Personality: ? Favorite food: ? Least Favorite Food: ? Person he likes to fight the most: ? Favorite Word: ? Hobby: Working on puppets Miscellaneous Information: Flashbacks seem to indicate that his descent into darkness started when his parents died. Sasori is a very skilled a puppet master and controls puppets in combat. He can even turn the living into puppets and than use their jutsus. After killing Gaara with the help of his former partner Deidara, he fought with Sakura and his grandmother, Chiyo. They had a fierce battle, and in the end Sasori was killed. |
Subordinates of Akatsuki
| Kabuto Yakushi |
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Kabuto is a spy who was originally working for the Akatsuki member Sasori. Although it's currently unknown where Kabuto's true loyalty lies, he was working for Orochimaru as his top assistant until Sasuke was able to take over Orochimaru. Even though Sasuke was in control of Orochimaru, somehow Kabuto was able to take a partial form of him. Kabuto's nature and tendency to do good things such as healing Hinata during the Chunnin exam (when he was disguised as an ANBU) have made him possibly the most mysterious character in the series. Along with the fact that Orochimaru is now, but Kabuto some how possess Orochimaru's DNA makes him even more mysterious. |
| Yura |
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Yura served as a trusted member of the Kazekage advisory council of the Hidden Sand Village for four years. In reality, he was a sleeper agent for Akatsuki and a subordinate of Sasori. He was used as a replacement in a shapeshifting jutsu, taking on the shape of Itachi Uchiha to hold off Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and Chiyo from entering into Akatsuki's Lair while they extracted the Bijuu out of of Gaara. He was eventually killed by Naruto's Rasengan when in the form of Itachi. |
| Mukade |
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Mukade was the subordinate of the puppet master Sasori. He was a replacement used in a shapeshifting jutsu and took on the shape of Kisame as a diversion to hold off Gai, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji from entering into Akatsuki's Lair while they extracted the Bijuu out of of Gaara. He was eventually killed by Gai when he was in the form of Kisame. |
