Naruto - Akatsuki Guide

Introduction
The Akatsuki kanji translates to daybreak. By most standards, it's a small organization. They have 7-10 members at the most and they are all S-class criminals who have left their village after causing death and destruction (also known as missing-nins). The requirements to join akatsuki are unknown; however strong abilities and slaying seem to be prerequisites. In contrast, Deidaras case tells us that some members are forcibly recruited.

Akatsuki members are usually seen in teams of two. The teams are each built to compliment each others abilities. However, in some cases, team members display animosity towards one another, but do not let it interfere with the task at hand.

We rarely see the Akatsuki meeting in person, instead, we see them using telepathy or some form of astral projection when needed. We were introduced to the group as a whole near the end of the first part of the series in the form of astral projection. One member even stated that it had been 7 years since they had regrouped in such a fashion. The Akatsuki only group together because they have have a common goal with each other.

Appearance & Apparel
Members wear a bamboo hat(traditional style) to hide their appearance when traveling. The hat can be taken off when entering battle. Each member of Akatsuki wears a forehead protector from their former villages. It has a scratch across the symbol of their village. This means that they are no longer in alliance with that village. All members of akatsuki appear to wear a long, dark cloak. The interior is red in color and matches the red clouds that are displayed on the exterior of the cloak. The members of Akatsuki have light colored finger nails and toe nails.

The ring placement on the finger represents their position on the summoned statue. Each member has their own unique ring placed on a different finger. The members appear to value the rings as Deidara was looking desperately for his, and Orochimaru took his with him when he left the group, allowing him to be un replaced. When Sasori passed, Tobi was anxious to take Sasori's ring, but needed to get through the a few test first.

Rings worn by Members
Rei Zero (Tobi), Seiryu Azure Dragon (Deidara), Byakko White Tiger Unnamed Member, Suzaku Vermilion Bird Itachi Uchiha, Genbu Black Tortoise Zetsu, Kuchin Void Formerly worn by Orochimaru, and still in his possession. Nanju Sagittarius Kisame, Hokuto Big Dipper Kakuzu, Santai Three Levels Hidan, Gyokunyo Virgin Tobi, and formerly worn by Sasori.

Goal
The goal of Akatsuki is to control the world. To achieve this goal, the leader has broken the process into three steps:

1. The group must collect money. With a lot of money, they plan to support their organization. 2. They plan to form their own mercenary group. Once they do this, they will build reputation and start accepting missions for less than the usual price. The excess is covered by the funds obtained in step 1. It's been a while since there have been wars, so the shinobi villages would be unable to charge such low prices. In effect, this would lead smaller countries to hire Akatsuki over the more expensive shinobi villages. Using the Bijuu (tailed beasts), they can create new wars and battles to dominate the market. From this, they plan to control all the wars and even take down the shinobi villages of the larger countries, forcing them to rely on Akatsuki as well. Without any money from business, the shinobi villages will eventually fall due to lack of funds. This will make Akatsuki the only major force, allowing them to proceed to step 3. 3. If step 2 is achieved, then the goal of Akatsuki is complete: to control the world.

The Members

Deidara
Hidden Village: Rock
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 247
First Anime Appearance: Shippuden Ep. 2

Deidara is a missing-nin from Iwagakure. Deidara's palms have mouths that are able to create exploding clay. By combining the clay with chakra and molding it, he is able to create live explosives that are mobile. Deidaras clay can even create

explosives that range from a microscopic level, to a gigantic size. Deidara is also able to use the clay for less-violent creations as he can be seen using the clay to create birds for transportation.

Deidara wears a scope on his left eye for long-ranged observation. He lost both of his arms in battle. One was ripped off by Kakashi, and the other was crushed by Gaara. He later had his arm reattached by Kakuzu. He was formerly teamed with sasori, but after his slain, Tobi took his spot.

Uchiha Itachi
Hidden Village: Leaf
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 139
First Anime Appearance: Ep. 80

Itachi Uchiha is a missing-nin from konohagakure as well as the first member of Akatsuki to be introduced to us. Itachi and his brother are the only remaining survivors of the Uchiha Clan. In the past, Itachi killed every member of his family, and shortly joined Akatsuki. He has complete mastery of the Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingnan. He is also a master of ninjutsu and genjutsu. Kisame is his partner.

Kisame Hoshigaki
Hidden Village: Mist
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 139
First Anime Appearance: Ep. 80

Kisame is a missing-nin from Kirigakure. Unlike some of the Akatsuki members, Kisame and his partner, Itachi, seem to get along pretty well. Kisame has a shark-like appearance, with blue skin and small white eyes. He has gill-like facial structures, and edgy sharp teeth. His name, Kisame, translates to "Demon Shark".

Despite his grungy and edgy look, Kisame speaks in a calm and civil manner compared to most of his fellow org members. But do not be fooled by this. In the past, Kisame was also one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. From that, he adapted the name Scourage of the Hidden Mist. He enjoys fighting and the idea of ripping ones body apart.

Tobi
Untitled-1Hidden Village: Unknown
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 280
First Anime Appearance: Shippuden Ep. 32

Tobi is the former subordinate of Zetsu. After Sasori's death, Tobi takes his ring, position, and partner. While many of the other members in Akatsuki appear to be more serious, Tobi seems to be much more comical and carefree. After Deidara's final attack against Sasuke, Pain is shown reporting orders to Tobi who them claims to possess the Sharingan and be Uchiha Madara himself. When 'claiming' to be Madari, Tobi's carefree personality turns more serious and he appears much more sinister. His exact abilities are yet unknown other than the fact that physical and usually fatal blows are ablve to pass right through him.

Zetsu
Hidden Village: Grass
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 234
First Anime Appearance: Episode 134

Zetsu is also a missing-nin. Not much is known about him, but from what we have seen he functions as a spy for Akatsuki. His eyes are yellow and pupil-less, and his body seems to be divided into two halves. The two halves, one colored white and the other colored black, can communicate with each other. Both surrounded by a structure similar to a Venus flytrap. Very little of zetsu has been seen, but each time, he is seen alone.

Orochimaru (Former Member, Un replaced)
Hidden Village: Sound
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 49
First Anime Appearance: Ep. 27

Orochimaru was a former member of Akatsuki where he worked as Sasori's partner. After he was not chosen to be the Fourth hokage, Orochimaru began to practice forbidden jutsu. He then fled the leaf village where he joined Akatsuki. Six years prior to the series started, Orochimaru attempted to use his Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu to steal Itachi's body. Unfortunately, Orochimaru failed and as a result, Itachi responded by effortlessly paralyzing him.

Shortly after this incident, Orochimaru left Akatsuki and took the ring with him. This made him un replaceable in the organization. Such acts has made Orochimaru the target of several Akatsuki plots. Orochimaru holds a very strong grudge towards Akatsuki and has plans of eliminating them, however, he us currently presumed to be dead.

Kakuzu
Hidden Village: Waterfall
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 312
First Anime Appearance: Ep. 135

Kakuzu is a missing-nin from Takigakure. Kakuzu is seen as a greedy person who prioritizes things in terms of how much they are worth, finding money to be the only thing he can depend on. So much, most of his money comes from completed bounty mission rewards.

Kakuzu's body structure is very unique. It consists largely of black threads(veins?) running throughout his body. They allow him to detach parts of his body for long-ranged attacks. The threads or veins themselves can also be used for attacking, allowing him to pierce bodies and some surfaces with ease. The threads appear to be limitless as they can be used to change his physical form also. He is able to merge foreign organs into his system, allowing him to extend his life by taking the healthier parts of others. This has been used many times to increase his life span. In addition to merging foreign organs, he is also able to use the abilities of his opponents. With his own natural water abilities, he also has access to Wind, Fire, Earth, and lightning abilities.

Hidan
Hidden Village: Unknown
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 312
First Anime Appearance: Ep. 135

Hidan is a missing-nin from an unknown village and he's the second-newest member of akatsuki (Tobi being the newest). He has a large rope scythe and even himself stated that he's the slowest attacker of the group. He practices Jashin, which is a evil god cult religion. This religion loves chaos and death, and Hidan, who survived after being decapitated, considers himself near immortal.

Sasori
Hidden Village: Sand
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 247
First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden Ep. 2

Sasori is a missing-nin from the Sunagakure. He is a powerful ninja puppeteer. His name means Scorpion, and travels with Deidara. Sasori converted portions of his body into puppet parts, retaining the flesh and blood portion of his original self in a chest container. He even had a jutsu, Hitokugutsu, which was used to turn living people into puppets. This allowed him to use their jutsu long after death.

Pain
Hidden Village: Unknown
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 238
First Anime Appearance: 135

Pain is the leader of Akatsuki, but both he and Konan secretly report to Tobi. Pain exists through six different beings which share the same mind and vision known as the Six Paths of Pain. The common physical similarities amongst them are their hair color, numerous peircings, and the highly noticeable Rinnegan which gives the user access to all six types of elemntal chakra. All the members in the org respect him highly except for Hidan. He is also the one directing their actions as well as the jutsu that forcibly brings the Bijuu out of it's host. Using his human sacrifices, he is also able to use a Shape shifting Technique for creating exact replica's. When it is necessary to speak with his subordinates, he can communicate with them all via telepathy from very long distances.

Konan
Hidden Village: Unknown
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 238
First Anime Appearance: 135

Konan is the only female ninja in Akatsuki. When Konan was younger, Yahiko, Nagato and herself were orphaned by one of Amegakure's many wars, leaving them to support themselves alone. The trio eventually ran into Jiraiya, who took care of them for a short period and taught them basic ninjutsu. From what we have seen, Konan has a strong association with paper due to her strong natural talent for origami. She is able to divide her body into smaller, countless pieces of paper. Some of the sheets of paper can be manipulated and controlled individually for specific purposes such as scouting or as weapons.