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Akatsuki
(暁, Akatsuki, literally meaning: Dawn or Daybreak)
Debut
Manga	Volume #16, Naruto Chapter #139
Anime	Naruto Episode #80
Novel	Akatsuki Hiden: Evil Flowers in Full Bloom
Movie	Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie
Game	Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2
OVA	Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival!
Appears in	Anime, Manga, Novel, Game, Movie
Team Info
Leaders	Yahiko Nagato Obito Uchiha Shin Uchiha
Team Jutsu Explosive Landmines Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals

Akatsuki (暁, literally meaning: «Dawn» or «Daybreak») was a group of shinobi that existed outside the usual system of hidden villages. Over the course of several decades, Akatsuki took different forms and was led by different individuals. Though each iteration is viewed as either subversives or criminals, all seek to make the world a better place through their own means. Each Akatsuki tended to have multiple lairs across the world, inaccessible either due to their remoteness or the various security measures that protected them.

History

Yahiko’s Akatsuki

The initial concept of Akatsuki was devised by Black Zetsu as part of its plan to revive its mother, though it pretended the idea came from Madara Uchiha, whom Black Zetsu tricked into thinking that it was a manifestation of his will.^[1] Akatsuki was originally founded by Yahiko during the Third Shinobi World War alongside his childhood friends, Nagato and Konan. As citizens of Amegakure who had been orphaned by the Second Shinobi World War, the three created Akatsuki as a way to bring peace to their home country, which too often got caught in the crossfire of the Five Great Shinobi Countries’ many conflicts.^[2] In time, the three were approached by Tobi, who introduced himself as Madara Uchiha.^[3] Tobi claimed Nagato was the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths and offered to teach him to control the power of his Rinnegan, though Yahiko distrusted him and prompted Nagato to turn down his offer.^[4] Nevertheless, Tobi would later claim that it was he who encouraged Yahiko to form Akatsuki, unbeknownst to Konan.^[5]

Akatsuki’s desire for an end to war attracted many fellow Ame ninja to their cause and, in time, word of their exploits began to travel beyond Amegakure’s borders. Akatsuki’s early fame was owed largely to Yahiko’s leadership and his natural charisma, which kept the group united and motivated them to persevere despite the difficulties of their goal. Yahiko, however, viewed himself as merely a facilitator for Nagato, who would ultimately be the actual source of world peace because of his Rinnegan. Ame’s leader, Hanzō, also became aware of Akatsuki and perceived them as a threat to his rule, a belief encouraged by Danzō Shimura in the anime. Hanzō approached Akatsuki offering to help them broker peace between Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure. When Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan arrived to meet with him, however, they were ambushed by Hanzō’s men and members of Danzō’s Root, who took Konan hostage and forced Yahiko to commit suicide in order to save her. Enraged by Yahiko’s death, Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and used it to slaughter their attackers, though Hanzō himself escaped.

In the anime, the other members of Akatsuki were tipped off to Hanzō’s plan and attempted to provide backup to Yahiko and the others. Tobi and Zetsu intercepted them and after a long battle, Tobi killed the remaining members of the group.

Members

Nagato’s Akatsuki

With Yahiko’s dying breath he entrusted the pursuit of peace to Nagato. Nagato, grieved by Yahiko’s death, came to believe that the world would never willingly consent to peace and that Akatsuki’s previously pacifist approaches were therefore futile. He concluded that the only way the world would turn away from its constant warfare would be to experience such catastrophic death and destruction that it could never again stomach the idea of conflict. Intending to be the one to show these horrors to the world, Nagato began using the alias «Pain» and formed the Six Paths of Pain, into which he integrated Yahiko’s corpse so that he could symbolically continue leading Akatsuki. Nagato sought out Obito, under the guise of Madara Uchiha, and accepted his earlier offer of support, which he provided in secret.

After the Third Shinobi World War, Akatsuki began recruiting S-rank missing-nin; mostly through strong-arming them and promising protection to carry out their respective goals. Orochimaru and Itachi joined for their own reasons, while Kisame and Zetsu joined to secretly ensure the Eye of the Moon Plan. Once Akatsuki recruited its target of ten members, Akatsuki began following a three-step process to achieve this stated objective:^[6]

1. Obtain enough money to support their organisation.
2. Provide mercenary services at well under the competitive rate, using the money gathered in the first step to offset costs. This will make countries increasingly dependent on Akatsuki’s services, corner the entire market for shinobi missions, and eventually put all of the shinobi villages out of business because they can’t compete with Akatsuki’s prices. By capturing and strategically deploying the tailed beasts, Akatsuki could quickly start and then quell wars, thereby speeding up the process.
3. Once all other major shinobi forces have dissolved, Akatsuki will be able to quickly conquer all the countries of the world.

The early years of Nagato’s Akatsuki were very successful, as the hidden villages increasingly hired Akatsuki to fight in wars and perform assassinations that the villages themselves were unwilling to get involved in during times of peace. The Fourth Raikage claims that only Kumogakure never hired Akatsuki, while the Third Tsuchikage in particular became a frequent employer. Despite being such a popular and successful group, Akatsuki was largely a mystery to those outside the organisation, with many (incorrectly) coming to believe they operated out of Kirigakure. Akatsuki experienced some turmoil amongst its members over the years: Kakuzu regularly killed his partners in fits of rage and stole their hearts for his Earth Grudge Fear;^[7] only being teamed with the immortal Hidan prevented him from continuing to do this. Orochimaru attempted to steal Itachi Uchiha’s body after the latter joined the organisation, and when that failed he was forced to defect. Despite this, Akatsuki was able to begin working towards capturing the tailed beasts.

Nagato’s actual objective behind acquiring the tailed beasts was to harness the tailed beasts’ chakra to create a powerful kinjutsu, using it to wipe out one side in a conflict and, from the display, frighten the other side and the world at large to stop the fighting. If and when the fears abated and conflicts renewed, the kinjutsu would be deployed again, creating small periods of peace in an endless chain of hatred.^[8] Because all but one of the tailed beasts were in the possession of the hidden villages, their capture risked antagonising many of Akatsuki’s former clients. Despite this, Deidara claims that the previous owners of the first two tailed beasts captured by Akatsuki (indicated in the anime to have been the Five-Tails and the Seven-Tails) were glad to be rid of them.

Akatsuki’s mission to capture the tailed beasts gradually elevates them from the shadows of the world and, in turn, prompts a growing resistance by the hidden villages. After Deidara captures the One-Tail, Sasori is killed in battle with the Suna and Konoha forces sent to rescue the One-Tail’s jinchūriki. Obito takes this open position as an opportunity to officially join Akatsuki as «Tobi», helping capture the Three-Tails. Around the same time, Hidan and Kakuzu capture the Two-Tails, but both are subsequently defeated in unrelated confrontations with Konoha’s Nijū Shōtai. Kisame Hoshigaki later acquires the Four-Tails, after which both Deidara and Itachi separately die in battle against Sasuke Uchiha.

Because of their shrinking numbers, Tobi pressures Nagato into taking a more active role in capturing the remaining tailed beasts. In the anime, he and Konan are first sent to capture the Six-Tails, which was captured at some earlier point in the manga. They are afterwards sent to Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails, and in the course of the resultant Pain’s Assault the village is destroyed. When he finally locates and meets with the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, Naruto Uzumaki, Nagato begins to doubt the direction he has taken Akatsuki in since Yahiko’s death. After Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain are defeated, Naruto convinces him that a bloodless peace is worth pursuing no matter how impossible it may seem. To make up for all the missteps he took, Nagato gives his life to revive the Konoha villagers that died during his attack, using his last breath to encourage Naruto to achieve the peace that he was never able to. With Yahiko and Nagato gone, Konan opts to leave Akatsuki.

Members

Tobi’s Akatsuki

Tobi approached Akatsuki in order to get close to Nagato, whose Rinnegan he needed to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan. Over the years, he remained in the shadows, allowing Nagato to stay as Akatsuki’s leader while Obito manipulated him towards his desired ends, specifically capturing all nine tailed beasts so that he can restore the Ten-Tails and use it to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the world, ending all conflict by trapping everyone in a dream. Obito follows the Eye of the Moon Plan under instructions of the real Madara Uchiha, whose identity Obito assumed after Madara’s death. Madara intended Obito to have Nagato revive him in the final stages of the plan, though Obito had no plans to uphold that end of the plan and intended to use Nagato to revive himself should anything happen to him. However, this subterfuge was rendered moot by Nagato betraying Obito and using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive everyone he killed during his invasion of Konoha.

Even before Nagato’s death, Obito takes a growing role in Akatsuki’s activities, due in large part to Itachi Uchiha’s death. He reveals himself to Kisame, who worked with him during their time in Kirigakure and is happy to collaborate with him yet again. He also convinces Sasuke Uchiha and his team, Taka, to join forces with Akatsuki, an alliance that Obito believes is worth the losses of all the other Akatsuki members. While Nagato goes after the Nine-Tails, Obito sends Taka after the Eight-Tails, the only other remaining tailed beast. Although Taka initially appears successful, they are discovered to have been tricked by the Eight-Tails’ jinchūriki, Killer B. When Zetsu shortly afterwards reports Nagato’s own death, Obito is deeply agitated by the setbacks, particularity Nagato’s betrayal, and increasingly irritated by Naruto’s constant thwarting of his plans.

With their ranks so diminished and with the Five Great Shinobi Countries finally starting to mobilise against Akatsuki, both because of the attack on Konoha and the botched capture of Killer B, Obito is forced to start taking drastic actions. He first sends Kisame to capture B and then sends Taka to attack the Five Kage Summit. Sasuke does not perform as well against the Five Kage as Obito wished, as he had hoped they would be weakened enough to be forced to negotiate. Instead, he must approach them diplomatically, asking that they help him complete his Eye of the Moon Plan by surrendering the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails. They refuse, prompting Obito to initiate the Fourth Shinobi World War.

While preparing for war, Obito is approached by Kabuto Yakushi, a former subordinate of Sasori and Orochimaru. Kabuto offers to bolster Akatsuki’s fighting strength with the Impure World Reincarnation, reviving Akatsuki’s past members and several other once-notable shinobi. Obito is reluctant until Kabuto blackmails him by reviving the real Madara Uchiha, on whose name Obito has been banking the credibility of his threats against the hidden villages. Obito is forced to agree. He then goes to Amegakure to take Nagato’s Rinnegan, killing Konan in the process. News eventually reaches them of Kisame’s death, but Kisame is at least able to send them intel that enables Kabuto to strengthen Obito’s White Zetsu Army.^[9]

In the two days of the war between Akatsuki and the Allied Shinobi Forces, both sides suffer heavy casualties, yet Naruto and Killer B elude capture. When most of the White Zetsu are defeated and Kabuto is made to end the Impure World Reincarnation, Obito, having no more options, prematurely revives the Ten-Tails. Madara, having escaped Kabuto’s influence, lends a degree of support, eventually leading Obito to become the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki. He is defeated by Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke (who has since sided against Akatsuki) before he can perform the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and as a result Obito stops pursuing the Eye of the Moon Plan.

With Obito’s surrender, Akatsuki’s schemes officially end. Following his defeat, Obito undergoes a change of heart, thanks to both Naruto and Kakashi’s influence, and Obito attempts to redeem himself by using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive everyone he killed during the war. However, his attempts are foiled by Black Zetsu, who latched itself onto Obito and forces him to indeed utilise the technique, but instead of reviving those killed during the war, Black Zetsu successfully forces Obito to fully revive Madara. Madara’s plans are momentarily set back, however, as his Rinnegan eyes start to crumble away (due to his original eyes being elsewhere; his left eye being in Obito’s possession, and his right eye being hidden away by Obito himself) as his reincarnated eyes were merely part of his reincarnated body.

Nevertheless, Madara quickly regains possession of his right eye, and successfully perseveres, sealing the Ten-Tails into his body. Afterwards, Madara engages in battle against Might Guy, who received a boost in power from opening the Eight Gates Released Formation, whom Madara barely manages to survive against. Madara subsequently battles against both Naruto and Sasuke, who gained Six Paths Senjutsu and Rinnegan, respectively, from Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, during which Madara regains possession of his left eye from Obito. With both eyes returned, Madara subsequently awakens the Rinne Sharingan and successfully launches the Infinite Tsukuyomi. However, he is afterwards betrayed by Black Zetsu, who has been scheming for centuries to revive Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, with first Madara, then Obito, and then Akatsuki itself being mere pawns used in pursuit of that goal.^[10] Kaguya is restored using Madara as a medium but, with Obito’s and Team 7’s efforts, she and Black Zetsu are defeated by Naruto and Sasuke, after which Madara succumbs to having the Tailed Beasts extracted, and the Infinite Tsukuyomi is ended by the combined efforts of Naruto and Sasuke.

Members

Shin’s Akatsuki

Despite the defeat of Akatsuki during the Fourth Shinobi World War and the death and destruction they caused, Akatsuki’s methods of peace remain attractive to certain individuals. Some, such as the Ryūha Armament Alliance and Gengo, carry on Akatsuki’s goals in spirit. About fifteen years after the end of the war, a former test subject of Orochimaru’s, Shin, develops a fascination with Itachi and adopts the Uchiha name while plotting to avenge Itachi by killing Sasuke. In addition, Shin goes so far as to adopt Akatsuki’s name, believing its former goal of endless warfare is the perfect evolutionary tool, weeding out the weak and promoting strength for all of humanity. He composes Akatsuki with numerous clones of himself and seeks to start moving forward with Akatsuki’s revival. Shin’s plans start facing complications as soon as the Seventh Hokage becomes aware of him following an encounter between Sasuke and a clone. Shin uses drastic measures to counter Naruto and Sasuke, such as sending his clones to unsuccessfully kidnap Sasuke’s daughter, Sarada Uchiha and forcefully take his wife, Sakura. Shin is soon afterwards betrayed and killed by his clones, who accordingly surrender and are dropped off at the Konoha Orphanage, ending his new Akatsuki before it ever truly begins.

Members

Wardrobe

Members of Nagato’s Akatsuki wear long, black cloaks with red clouds, a red interior, and a chin-high collar; Tobi and the members of Taka wear a similarly-marked hooded mantle. The red clouds represent the rain of blood that fell in Amegakure during its wars, and were viewed as a symbol of justice by its original members.^[2] The robes are very distinctive, allowing members of Akatsuki to be identified even from a distance. Though the robes are a standard feature throughout Nagato’s tenure (with Konan even continuing to wear it after leaving Akatsuki), the robe falls out of use under Obito’s leadership: Kisame stops wearing it owing to circumstances of faking his death, Obito does not replace his when it is destroyed by Konan, and Zetsu ceases using a robe once its two halves begin operating separately. During Shin’s attempt to revive the organisation, he is the only individual to wear the robe, as none of his clones wear it.

Another trend started with Nagato is for members to cross out the symbol on their forehead protectors to symbolise the severed ties with their former villages, though some opt not to wear a forehead protector at all. All members also wear nail polish on their fingers and toenails (colours vary in the anime). When travelling, members sometimes wear conical straw hats with small ornamental torques and tassels hanging down over their faces, possibly to go unnoticed by the general population as most are S-class criminals.^[11]

Rings

Under Nagato, each member of Akatsuki is given one of ten rings, to be worn on a specific finger. Other than apparently signifying one’s membership, the rings seem to have some role in sealing the tailed beasts into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, indicating which of the statue’s finger the members should stand on. The rings are apparently important and irreplaceable: when Orochimaru defects he takes his ring with him, and for that reason he is never officially replaced;^[12] when Deidara loses the arm that his ring is on, he has greater interest in recovering the ring than the arm itself; Zetsu and Tobi specifically seek out Sasori’s ring after his death, needing it for Tobi to replace him. When Tobi takes over, the rings are no longer important, as he simply discards it along with his damaged robe after battling Konan. Despite all this, the rings’ exact significance is never explained.

The various rings are:^[13]

• Right thumb: «zero» (零, rei); worn by Pain. Its colour is purplish-grey.
• Right index finger: «blue», «green» (青, ao, shō); worn by Deidara. Its colour is teal.
• Right middle finger: «white» (白, byaku, haku); worn by Konan. Its colour is white.
• Right ring finger: «vermilion», «scarlet» (朱, shu); worn by Itachi Uchiha. Its colour is red.
• Right little finger: «sign of the boar» (亥, gai); worn by Zetsu. Its colour is green.
• Left little finger: «sky», «void» (空, kū); worn by Orochimaru. Its colour is slate blue.
• Left ring finger: «south» (南, nan); worn by Jūzō Biwa^{(anime only)} and later by Kisame Hoshigaki. Its colour is yellow.
• Left middle finger: «north» (北, hoku); worn by Kakuzu. Its colour is dark green.
• Left index finger: «three» (三, san); worn by Kakuzu’s fourth partner and later by Hidan. Its colour is orange.
• Left thumb: «jewel», «ball», also the black king in shōgi (玉, gyoku); worn by Sasori and later by Tobi. Its colour is purple.

Eight of the ten kanji of the rings are taken from a kuji-in, a collection of nine hand postures used in meditation. Pain’s «rei» and Zetsu’s «gai» are not from this kuji-in. However, the only unused kuji-in kanji, 玄 (gen, «mysterious»), bears a strong resemblance to Zetsu’s «gai», suggesting an error. It would be a consistent error, however, since the «gai» kanji has been used in every instance the ring’s kanji has been shown.

Teams

Under Nagato, Akatsuki members are organised into teams of two, usually paired based on perceived similarities (such as Itachi or Kisame) or advantageous combinations (such as Hidan and Kakuzu). Although some pairs get along better than others, few seem to actually like each other; Sha no Sho notes that members always have separate rooms when staying at hotels. Hostilities tend to exist even between members who aren’t partners, though they so rarely meet that this is rarely an actual problem.^[14] Teams travel the world pursuing Akatsuki’s goals, only convening when summoned by Nagato, typically to seal a tailed beast.

Nagato & Konan

• Target(s): Six-Tails (Pain, Sealed, anime only), Nine-Tails (Pain, Failed)

As childhood friends and fellow members of the original Akatsuki, Nagato and Konan are the only members who consistently get along. Because Nagato is Akatsuki’s leader, Konan tends to defer to him, doing as he instructs even when she personally disagrees. In Nagato’s rule of Amegakure, Konan acts as the «angel» to his «god», communicating his will to Ame’s villagers. Nagato’s true identity is concealed from the rest of the organisation, and instead, the Deva Path is used as his representative.

Black Zetsu & White Zetsu

• Target(s): None

Black Zetsu and White Zetsu are allies of Tobi who helped him approach Nagato and officially joined Akatsuki seemingly long before Tobi. Although they exist as two separate identities, most of the time they are merged together and act as the singular Akatsuki member, Zetsu. The two sometimes argue, but it never interferes with their duties: spying, evidence disposal, and resource acquisition. Zetsu is often the only member of Akatsuki other than their partners that members meet in person. Zetsu typically helps transport a jinchūriki to one of Akatsuki’s hideouts for extracting the Tailed Beast.

Orochimaru & Sasori

• Target(s): Unknown

Orochimaru and Sasori were one of the earlier Akatsuki teams to be formed. Little is known of their deeds, but they apparently were quite effective together. They also got along well enough that Orochimaru knew how Sasori’s actual «body» looked beneath his typical Hiruko carapace, although their relationship eventually deteriorated to the point of both of them wanting to change partners. Sasori held a grudge against Orochimaru after he defected from Akatsuki and took a personal interest in his activities afterwards.

Jūzō & Itachi

Jūzō and Itachi worked very well with each other, being involved in at least three missions together, which involved assassination and sabotage. The two partners had an unique system of formations in order to better synchronise with each other. Formation A was used when both shinobi attacked individually using whichever ability they preferred, Formation B had Itachi open up with an attack involving genjutsu or shurikenjutsu while Jūzō killed the incapacitated shinobi with his sword, Formation C was a personal request by Jūzō to be killed by Itachi if he would be captured by Kirigakure and Formation D was to be proposed by Itachi but he refused to do so. Eventually, Jūzō was killed by the Fourth Mizukage during an assassination attempt of the two Akatsuki members against a Land of Water citizen and, after severely injuring Yagura, Itachi put the remains of Kubikiribōchō into his partner’s hands, showing respect to his fallen comrade.

Itachi & Kisame

• Target(s): Nine-Tails (Itachi, Failed), Four-Tails (Kisame, Sealed), Eight-Tails (Kisame, Failed)

Kisame thought their partnership was appropriate as both were notorious for killing their fellow countrymen. Despite conflicting personalities, Itachi and Kisame get along well: Kisame has a greater predisposition towards violence, but always follows Itachi’s instructions, even when it denies him an opportunity to kill someone. Kisame is sad after Itachi dies, and Itachi, once reincarnated, displays some regret on learning of Kisame’s own death.

Sasori & Deidara

• Target(s): One-Tail (Deidara, Sealed)

Deidara is forcibly recruited (with help from Itachi) to replace Orochimaru as Sasori’s partner. Each view themselves as an artist, though has little respect for the other’s preferred art form: Sasori believes art is eternal, as in a puppet, while Deidara believes art is fleeting, as in an explosion. Deidara pays some deference to Sasori since he’s more experienced, but is very disappointed by Sasori’s death.

Kakuzu & Hidan

• Target(s): Seven-Tails (Kakuzu, Sealed, anime only), Two-Tails (Hidan, Sealed)

After Kakuzu killed all of his previous partners in fits of rage, he was paired with Hidan, an immortal he couldn’t kill. Whereas other teams at least have moments of cooperation, Hidan and Kakuzu actively hate each other: Hidan believes Kakuzu’s obsession with money is sacrilegious and Kakuzu desperately wants to kill Hidan because his habits constantly waste Kakuzu’s time. Despite this, the two are arguably the most effective of Akatsuki’s teams, variously called the «Immortal Combo» (不死コンビ, Fushi Konbi)^[15] and the «Zombie Combo» (ゾンビコンビ, Zonbi Konbi).^[16] If Hidan is dismembered, Kakuzu can sew him back together. Kakuzu, meanwhile, can launch indiscriminate attacks without needing to worry about Hidan being killed in the crossfire. Shikamaru Nara believes they are unstoppable so long as they are together.

Deidara & Tobi

• Target(s): Three-Tails (Tobi, Sealed)

When Tobi replaces Sasori in Akatsuki he also becomes Deidara’s new partner. Per the persona he assumes, Tobi regularly annoys Deidara, either through open disrespect or out of apparent ignorance. Deidara attempts to kill Tobi several times out of irritation, but never manages to succeed, or at least follow through. Deidara, unaware of Tobi’s true identity, takes him on as a sort of disciple, instructing him on the ways of the world and how to succeed in Akatsuki. Deidara even displays a certain fondness for Tobi at the end of his life, instructing him to get to a safe distance from his C4 and then apologising for what he assumes will be Tobi’s death prior to using C0.

Associates

In addition to its core members, Akatsuki has several affiliates spread across multiple countries. Almost all of them associate only with specific members rather than the entire organisation.

• Amegakure — base of operations for Pain
• Kirigakure — previously controlled by Madara, and later Obito
• Yūra — Sasori’s underling
• Mukade — Sasori’s underling
• Funari — Kakuzu’s subordinate
• Ginji — Kakuzu’s banker
• Kyōya — Kakuzu’s accountant
• Zangei — Kakuzu’s bounty collector
• Taka — affiliated group
• Kabuto Yakushi — Sasori’s spy, later collaborator with Obito
• Madara Uchiha — collaborator with Obito
• Tobi — ally of Madara, Obito, White Zetsu, and Black Zetsu

Trivia

• Akatsuki (暁) if written as «Aka Tsuki» (赤月), translates to «red moon».
• In Sha no Sho, Masashi Kishimoto stated that he originally planned on making Akatsuki a group of monsters with almost no human characteristics, with Zetsu emphasising that specifically.
• In Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, the Akatsuki of the Genjutsu World is a well-known mercenary group.
• In the Naruto Collectible Card Game, Suigetsu Hōzuki, Karin, and Jūgo are incorrectly listed as Akatsuki members while in their Akatsuki robes.
• In the manga, the Three-Tails is sealed just before the Two-Tails.^[17] In the anime, the Three-Tails’ capture receives its own arc, causing it to be sealed after the Two-Tails.
• In the anime, after the sealing of the Two-Tails, Pain states there are four tailed beasts remaining. Later in the anime, after Taka joins forces with Akatsuki, Kisame states there are three tailed beasts remaining. This retcon was put in place to allow an arc featuring the Six-Tails.
• All three survivors of the Uchiha Clan Downfall eventually work with Akatsuki.
• In the anime, within Tsunade’s Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, the Akatsuki’s goal is different as they are not searching for tailed beasts for world domination. The man behind the scene is not Obito, but Sasori, and he takes over Akatsuki after Nagato’s defection. Sasori’s motives are also different than Obito’s.
• Despite a maximum of ten members being possible under Nagato’s leadership, that number is never reached before Part I; even when Orochimaru was part of the group, they only totalled nine. Only in the game film Formation of the Akatsuki is the roster fully complete.

References

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Akatsuki ( 暁 , Literally meaning: “Dawn” or “Daybreak”) was a group of shinobi that existed outside the usual system of hidden villages. Over the course of several decades, Akatsuki took different forms and was led by different individuals. Though each iteration is viewed as either subversives or criminals, all seek to make the world a better place through their own means. Each Akatsuki tended to have multiple lairs across the world, inaccessible either due to their remoteness or the various security measures that protected them.

History

Yahiko’s Akatsuki

The initial concept of Akatsuki was devised by Black Zetsu as part of its plan to revive its mother, though it pretended the idea came from Madara Uchiha, whom Black Zetsu tricked into thinking that it was a manifestation of his will. [1] Akatsuki was originally founded by Yahiko during the Third Shinobi World War alongside his childhood friends, Nagato and Konan. As citizens of Amegakure who had been orphaned by the Second Shinobi World War, the three created Akatsuki as a way to bring peace to their home country, which too often got caught in the crossfire of the Five Great Shinobi Countries’ many conflicts. [2] In time, the three were approached by Tobi, who introduced himself as Madara Uchiha. [3] Tobi claimed Nagato was the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths and offered to teach him to control the power of his Rinnegan, though Yahiko distrusted him and prompted Nagato to turn down his offer. [4] Nevertheless, Tobi would later claim that it was he who encouraged Yahiko to form Akatsuki, unbeknownst to Konan. [5]

Akatsuki’s desire for an end to war attracted many fellow Ame ninja to their cause and, in time, word of their exploits began to travel beyond Amegakure’s borders. Akatsuki’s early fame was owed largely to Yahiko’s leadership and his natural charisma, which kept the group united and motivated them to persevere despite the difficulties of their goal. Yahiko, however, viewed himself as merely a facilitator for Nagato, who would ultimately be the actual source of world peace because of his Rinnegan. Ame’s leader, Hanzō, also became aware of Akatsuki and perceived them as a threat to his rule, a belief encouraged by Danzō Shimura in the anime. Hanzō approached Akatsuki offering to help them broker peace between Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure. When Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan arrived to meet with him, however, they were ambushed by Hanzō’s men and members of Danzō’s Root, who took Konan hostage and forced Yahiko to commit suicide in order to save her. Enraged by Yahiko’s death, Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and used it to slaughter their attackers, though Hanzō himself escaped.

In the anime, the other members of Akatsuki were tipped off to Hanzō’s plan and attempted to provide backup to Yahiko and the others. Tobi and Zetsu intercepted them and after a long battle, Tobi killed the remaining members of the group.

Nagato’s Akatsuki

With Yahiko’s dying breath he entrusted the pursuit of peace to Nagato. Nagato, grieved by Yahiko’s death, came to believe that the world would never willingly consent to peace and that Akatsuki’s previously pacifist approaches were therefore futile. He concluded that the only way the world would turn away from its constant warfare would be to experience such catastrophic death and destruction that it could never again stomach the idea of conflict. Intending to be the one to show these horrors to the world, Nagato began using the alias “Pain” and formed the Six Paths of Pain, into which he integrated Yahiko’s corpse so that he could symbolically continue leading Akatsuki. Nagato sought out Obito, under the guise of Madara Uchiha, and accepted his earlier offer of support, which he provided in secret.

After the Third Shinobi World War, Akatsuki began recruiting S-rank missing-nin; mostly through strong-arming them and promising protection to carry out their respective goals. Orochimaru and Itachi joined for their own reasons, while Kisame and Zetsu joined to secretly ensure the Eye of the Moon Plan. Once Akatsuki recruited its target of ten members, Akatsuki began following a three-step process to achieve this stated objective: [6]

1. Obtain enough money to support their organisation.
2. Provide mercenary services at well under the competitive rate, using the money gathered in the first step to offset costs. This will make countries increasingly dependent on Akatsuki’s services, corner the entire market for shinobi missions, and eventually put all of the shinobi villages out of business because they can’t compete with Akatsuki’s prices. By capturing and strategically deploying the tailed beasts, Akatsuki could quickly start and then quell wars, thereby speeding up the process.
3. Once all other major shinobi forces have dissolved, Akatsuki will be able to quickly conquer all the countries of the world.

The early years of Nagato’s Akatsuki were very successful, as the hidden villages increasingly hired Akatsuki to fight in wars and perform assassinations that the villages themselves were unwilling to get involved in during times of peace. The Fourth Raikage claims that only Kumogakure never hired Akatsuki, while the Third Tsuchikage in particular became a frequent employer. Despite being such a popular and successful group, Akatsuki was largely a mystery to those outside the organisation, with many (incorrectly) coming to believe they operated out of Kirigakure. Akatsuki experienced some turmoil amongst its members over the years: Kakuzu regularly killed his partners in fits of rage and stole their hearts for his Earth Grudge Fear; [7] only being teamed with the immortal Hidan prevented him from continuing to do this. Orochimaru attempted to steal Itachi Uchiha’s body after the latter joined the organisation, and when that failed he was forced to defect. Despite this, Akatsuki was able to begin working towards capturing the tailed beasts.

Nagato’s actual objective behind acquiring the tailed beasts was to harness the tailed beasts’ chakra to create a powerful kinjutsu, using it to wipe out one side in a conflict and, from the display, frighten the other side and the world at large to stop the fighting. If and when the fears abated and conflicts renewed, the kinjutsu would be deployed again, creating small periods of peace in an endless chain of hatred. [8] Because all but one of the tailed beasts were in the possession of the hidden villages, their capture risked antagonising many of Akatsuki’s former clients. Despite this, Deidara claims that the previous owners of the first two tailed beasts captured by Akatsuki (indicated in the anime to have been the Five-Tails and the Seven-Tails) were glad to be rid of them.

The various members of Nagato’s Akatsuki.

Akatsuki’s mission to capture the tailed beasts gradually elevates them from the shadows of the world and, in turn, prompts a growing resistance by the hidden villages. After Deidara captures the One-Tail, Sasori is killed in battle with the Suna and Konoha forces sent to rescue the One-Tail’s jinchūriki. Obito takes this open position as an opportunity to officially join Akatsuki as “Tobi”, helping capture the Three-Tails. Around the same time, Hidan and Kakuzu capture the Two-Tails, but both are subsequently defeated in unrelated confrontations with Konoha’s Nijū Shōtai. Kisame Hoshigaki later acquires the Four-Tails, after which both Deidara and Itachi separately die in battle against Sasuke Uchiha.

Because of their shrinking numbers, Tobi pressures Nagato into taking a more active role in capturing the remaining tailed beasts. In the anime, he and Konan are first sent to capture the Six-Tails, which was captured at some earlier point in the manga. They are afterwards sent to Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails, and in the course of the resultant Pain’s Assault the village is destroyed. When he finally locates and meets with the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, Naruto Uzumaki, Nagato begins to doubt the direction he has taken Akatsuki in since Yahiko’s death. After Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain are defeated, Naruto convinces him that a bloodless peace is worth pursuing no matter how impossible it may seem. To make up for all the missteps he took, Nagato gives his life to revive the Konoha villagers that died during his attack, using his last breath to encourage Naruto to achieve the peace that he was never able to. With Yahiko and Nagato gone, Konan opts to leave Akatsuki.

Tobi’s Akatsuki

Tobi approached Akatsuki in order to get close to Nagato, whose Rinnegan he needed to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan. Over the years, he remained in the shadows, allowing Nagato to stay as Akatsuki’s leader while Obito manipulated him towards his desired ends, specifically capturing all nine tailed beasts so that he can restore the Ten-Tails and use it to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the world, ending all conflict by trapping everyone in a dream. Obito follows the Eye of the Moon Plan under instructions of the real Madara Uchiha, whose identity Obito assumed after Madara’s death. Madara intended Obito to have Nagato revive him in the final stages of the plan, though Obito had no plans to uphold that end of the plan and intended to use Nagato to revive himself should anything happen to him. However, this subterfuge was rendered moot by Nagato betraying Obito and using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive everyone he killed during his invasion of Konoha.

Even before Nagato’s death, Obito takes a growing role in Akatsuki’s activities, due in large part to Itachi Uchiha’s death. He reveals himself to Kisame, who worked with him during their time in Kirigakure and is happy to collaborate with him yet again. He also convinces Sasuke Uchiha and his team, Taka, to join forces with Akatsuki, an alliance that Obito believes is worth the losses of all the other Akatsuki members. While Nagato goes after the Nine-Tails, Obito sends Taka after the Eight-Tails, the only other remaining tailed beast. Although Taka initially appears successful, they are discovered to have been tricked by the Eight-Tails’ jinchūriki, Killer B. When Zetsu shortly afterwards reports Nagato’s own death, Obito is deeply agitated by the setbacks, particularity Nagato’s betrayal, and increasingly irritated by Naruto’s constant thwarting of his plans.

With their ranks so diminished and with the Five Great Shinobi Countries finally starting to mobilise against Akatsuki, both because of the attack on Konoha and the botched capture of Killer B, Obito is forced to start taking drastic actions. He first sends Kisame to capture B and then sends Taka to attack the Five Kage Summit. Sasuke does not perform as well against the Five Kage as Obito wished, as he had hoped they would be weakened enough to be forced to negotiate. Instead, he must approach them diplomatically, asking that they help him complete his Eye of the Moon Plan by surrendering the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails. They refuse, prompting Obito to initiate the Fourth Shinobi World War.

The reincarnated Akatsuki.

While preparing for war, Obito is approached by Kabuto Yakushi, a former subordinate of Sasori and Orochimaru. Kabuto offers to bolster Akatsuki’s fighting strength with the Impure World Reincarnation, reviving Akatsuki’s past members and several other once-notable shinobi. Obito is reluctant until Kabuto blackmails him by reviving the real Madara Uchiha, on whose name Obito has been banking the credibility of his threats against the hidden villages. Obito is forced to agree. He then goes to Amegakure to take Nagato’s Rinnegan, killing Konan in the process. News eventually reaches them of Kisame’s death, but Kisame is at least able to send them intel that enables Kabuto to strengthen Obito’s White Zetsu Army. [9]

In the two days of the war between Akatsuki and the Allied Shinobi Forces, both sides suffer heavy casualties, yet Naruto and Killer B elude capture. When most of the White Zetsu are defeated and Kabuto is made to end the Impure World Reincarnation, Obito, having no more options, prematurely revives the Ten-Tails. Madara, having escaped Kabuto’s influence, lends a degree of support, eventually leading Obito to become the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki. He is defeated by Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke (who has since sided against Akatsuki) before he can perform the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and as a result Obito stops pursuing the Eye of the Moon Plan.

With Obito’s surrender, Akatsuki’s schemes officially end. Following his defeat, Obito undergoes a change of heart, thanks to both Naruto and Kakashi’s influence, and Obito attempts to redeem himself by using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive everyone he killed during the war. However, his attempts are foiled by Black Zetsu, who latched itself onto Obito and forces him to indeed utilise the technique, but instead of reviving those killed during the war, Black Zetsu successfully forces Obito to fully revive Madara. Madara’s plans are momentarily set back, however, as his Rinnegan eyes start to crumble away (due to his original eyes being elsewhere; his left eye being in Obito’s possession, and his right eye being hidden away by Obito himself) as his reincarnated eyes were merely part of his reincarnated body.

Nevertheless, Madara quickly regains possession of his right eye, and successfully perseveres, sealing the Ten-Tails into his body. Afterwards, Madara engages in battle against Might Guy, who received a boost in power from opening the Eight Gates Released Formation, whom Madara barely manages to survive against. Madara subsequently battles against both Naruto and Sasuke, who gained Six Paths Senjutsu and Rinnegan, respectively, from Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, during which Madara regains possession of his left eye from Obito. With both eyes returned, Madara subsequently awakens the Rinne Sharingan and successfully launches the Infinite Tsukuyomi. However, he is afterwards betrayed by Black Zetsu, who has been scheming for centuries to revive Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, with first Madara, then Obito, and then Akatsuki itself being mere pawns used in pursuit of that goal. [10] Kaguya is restored using Madara as a medium but, with Obito’s and Team 7’s efforts, she and Black Zetsu are defeated by Naruto and Sasuke, after which Madara succumbs to having the Tailed Beasts extracted, and the Infinite Tsukuyomi is ended by the combined efforts of Naruto and Sasuke.

Shin’s Akatsuki

Despite the defeat of Akatsuki during the Fourth Shinobi World War and the death and destruction they caused, Akatsuki’s methods of peace remain attractive to certain individuals. Some, such as the Ryūha Armament Alliance and Gengo, carry on Akatsuki’s goals in spirit. About fifteen years after the end of the war, a former test subject of Orochimaru’s, Shin, develops a fascination with Itachi and adopts the Uchiha name while plotting to avenge Itachi by killing Sasuke. In addition, Shin goes so far as to adopt Akatsuki’s name, believing its former goal of endless warfare is the perfect evolutionary tool, weeding out the weak and promoting strength for all of humanity. He composes Akatsuki with numerous clones of himself and seeks to start moving forward with Akatsuki’s revival. Shin’s plans start facing complications as soon as the Seventh Hokage becomes aware of him following an encounter between Sasuke and a clone. Shin uses drastic measures to counter Naruto and Sasuke, such as sending his clones to unsuccessfully kidnap Sasuke’s daughter, Sarada Uchiha and forcefully take his wife, Sakura. Shin is soon afterwards betrayed and killed by his clones, who accordingly surrender and are dropped off at the Konoha Orphanage, ending his new Akatsuki before it ever truly begins.

Wardrobe

Members of Nagato’s Akatsuki wear long, black cloaks with red clouds, a red interior, and a chin-high collar; Tobi and the members of Taka wear a similarly-marked hooded mantle. The red clouds represent the rain of blood that fell in Amegakure during its wars, and were viewed as a symbol of justice by its original members. [2] The robes are very distinctive, allowing members of Akatsuki to be identified even from a distance. Though the robes are a standard feature throughout Nagato’s tenure (with Konan even continuing to wear it after leaving Akatsuki), the robe falls out of use under Obito’s leadership: Kisame stops wearing it owing to circumstances of faking his death, Obito does not replace his when it is destroyed by Konan, and Zetsu ceases using a robe once its two halves begin operating separately. During Shin’s attempt to revive the organisation, he is the only individual to wear the robe, as none of his clones wear it.

Another trend started with Nagato is for members to cross out the symbol on their forehead protectors to symbolise the severed ties with their former villages, though some opt not to wear a forehead protector at all. All members also wear nail polish on their fingers and toenails (colours vary in the anime). When travelling, members sometimes wear conical straw hats with small ornamental torques and tassels hanging down over their faces, possibly to go unnoticed by the general population as most are S-class criminals. [11]

Rings

The ring positions of the members.

Under Nagato, each member of Akatsuki is given one of ten rings, to be worn on a specific finger. Other than apparently signifying one’s membership, the rings seem to have some role in sealing the tailed beasts into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, indicating which of the statue’s finger the members should stand on. The rings are apparently important and irreplaceable: when Orochimaru defects he takes his ring with him, and for that reason he is never officially replaced; [12] when Deidara loses the arm that his ring is on, he has greater interest in recovering the ring than the arm itself; Zetsu and Tobi specifically seek out Sasori’s ring after his death, needing it for Tobi to replace him. When Tobi takes over, the rings are no longer important, as he simply discards it along with his damaged robe after battling Konan. Despite all this, the rings’ exact significance is never explained.

• Right thumb: “zero” ( 零 , rei); worn by Pain. Its colour is purplish-grey.
• Right index finger: “blue”, “green” ( 青 , ao, shō); worn by Deidara. Its colour is teal.
• Right middle finger: “white” ( 白 , byaku, haku); worn by Konan. Its colour is white.
• Right ring finger: “vermilion”, “scarlet” ( 朱 , shu); worn by Itachi Uchiha. Its colour is red.
• Right little finger: “sign of the boar” ( 亥 , gai); worn by Zetsu. Its colour is green.
• Left little finger: “sky”, “void” ( 空 , kū); worn by Orochimaru. Its colour is slate blue.
• Left ring finger: “south” ( 南 , nan); worn by Jūzō Biwa (anime only) and later by Kisame Hoshigaki. Its colour is yellow.
• Left middle finger: “north” ( 北 , hoku); worn by Kakuzu. Its colour is dark green.
• Left index finger: “three” ( 三 , san); worn by Kakuzu’s fourth partner and later by Hidan. Its colour is orange.
• Left thumb: “jewel”, “ball”, also the black king in shōgi ( 玉 , gyoku); worn by Sasori and later by Tobi. Its colour is purple.

Eight of the ten kanji of the rings are taken from a kuji-in, a collection of nine hand postures used in meditation. Pain’s “rei” and Zetsu’s “gai” are not from this kuji-in. However, the only unused kuji-in kanji, 玄 ( gen , “mysterious”), bears a strong resemblance to Zetsu’s “gai”, suggesting an error. It would be a consistent error, however, since the “gai” kanji has been used in every instance the ring’s kanji has been shown.

Teams

Under Nagato, Akatsuki members are organised into teams of two, usually paired based on perceived similarities (such as Itachi or Kisame) or advantageous combinations (such as Hidan and Kakuzu). Although some pairs get along better than others, few seem to actually like each other; Sha no Sho notes that members always have separate rooms when staying at hotels. Hostilities tend to exist even between members who aren’t partners, though they so rarely meet that this is rarely an actual problem. [14] Teams travel the world pursuing Akatsuki’s goals, only convening when summoned by Nagato, typically to seal a tailed beast.

Nagato & Konan

As childhood friends and fellow members of the original Akatsuki, Nagato and Konan are the only members who consistently get along. Because Nagato is Akatsuki’s leader, Konan tends to defer to him, doing as he instructs even when she personally disagrees. In Nagato’s rule of Amegakure, Konan acts as the “angel” to his “god”, communicating his will to Ame’s villagers. Nagato’s true identity is concealed from the rest of the organisation, and instead, the Deva Path is used as his representative.

Black Zetsu & White Zetsu

Zetsu is an associate of Tobi who helped him approach Nagato and officially joined Akatsuki seemingly long before Tobi does. Although typically acting as a single individual, Zetsu is made of two separate personalities: White Zetsu and Black Zetsu. The two sometimes argue, but it never interferes with their duties: spying, evidence disposal, and resource acquisition. Zetsu is often the only member of Akatsuki other than their partners that members meet in person. Zetsu typically helps transport a jinchūriki to one of Akatsuki’s hideouts for extracting the Tailed Beast.

Orochimaru & Sasori

Orochimaru and Sasori were one of the earlier Akatsuki teams to be formed. Little is known of their deeds, but they apparently were quite effective together. They also got along well enough that Orochimaru knew how Sasori’s actual “body” looked beneath his typical Hiruko carapace, although their relationship eventually deteriorated to the point of both of them wanting to change partners. Sasori held a grudge against Orochimaru after he defected from Akatsuki and took a personal interest in his activities afterwards.

Jūzō & Itachi

Jūzō and Itachi worked very well with each other, being involved in at least three missions together, which involved assassination and sabotage. The two partners had an unique system of formations in order to better synchronise with each other. Formation A was used when both shinobi attacked individually using whichever ability they preferred, Formation B had Itachi open up with an attack involving genjutsu or shurikenjutsu while Jūzō killed the incapacitated shinobi with his sword, Formation C was a personal request by Jūzō to be killed by Itachi if he would be captured by Kirigakure and Formation D was to be proposed by Itachi but he refused to do so. Eventually, Jūzō was killed by the Fourth Mizukage during an assassination attempt of the two Akatsuki members against a Land of Water citizen and, after severely injuring Yagura, Itachi put the remains of Kubikiribōchō into his partner’s hands, showing respect to his fallen comrade.

Itachi & Kisame

Kisame thought their partnership was appropriate as both were notorious for killing their fellow countrymen. Despite conflicting personalities, Itachi and Kisame get along well: Kisame has a greater predisposition towards violence, but always follows Itachi’s instructions, even when it denies him an opportunity to kill someone. Kisame is sad after Itachi dies, and Itachi, once reincarnated, displays some regret on learning of Kisame’s own death.

Sasori & Deidara

Deidara is forcibly recruited (with help from Itachi) to replace Orochimaru as Sasori’s partner. Each view themselves as an artist, though has little respect for the other’s preferred art form: Sasori believes art is eternal, as in a puppet, while Deidara believes art is fleeting, as in an explosion. Deidara pays some deference to Sasori since he’s more experienced, but is very disappointed by Sasori’s death.

Kakuzu & Hidan

After Kakuzu killed all of his previous partners in fits of rage, he was paired with Hidan, an immortal he couldn’t kill. Whereas other teams at least have moments of cooperation, Hidan and Kakuzu actively hate each other: Hidan believes Kakuzu’s obsession with money is sacrilegious and Kakuzu desperately wants to kill Hidan because his habits constantly waste Kakuzu’s time. Despite this, the two are arguably the most effective of Akatsuki’s teams, variously called the “Immortal Combo” ( 不死コンビ , Fushi Konbi) [15] and the “Zombie Combo” ( ゾンビコンビ , Zonbi Konbi). [16] If Hidan is dismembered, Kakuzu can sew him back together. Kakuzu, meanwhile, can launch indiscriminate attacks without needing to worry about Hidan being killed in the crossfire. Shikamaru Nara believes they are unstoppable so long as they are together.

Deidara & Tobi

When Tobi replaces Sasori in Akatsuki he also becomes Deidara’s new partner. Per the persona he assumes, Tobi regularly annoys Deidara, either through open disrespect or out of apparent ignorance. Deidara attempts to kill Tobi several times out of irritation, but never manages to succeed, or at least follow through. Deidara, unaware of Tobi’s true identity, takes him on as a sort of disciple, instructing him on the ways of the world and how to succeed in Akatsuki. Deidara even displays a certain fondness for Tobi at the end of his life, instructing him to get to a safe distance from his C4 and then apologising for what he assumes will be Tobi’s death prior to using C0.

Associates

In addition to its core members, Akatsuki has several affiliates spread across multiple countries. Almost all of them associate only with specific members rather than the entire organisation.

• Amegakure – base of operations for Pain
• Kirigakure – previously controlled by Madara, and later Obito
• Yūra – Sasori’s underling
• Mukade – Sasori’s underling
• Funari – Kakuzu’s subordinate
• Ginji – Kakuzu’s banker
• Kyōya – Kakuzu’s accountant
• Zangei – Kakuzu’s bounty collector
• Taka – affiliated group
• Kabuto Yakushi – Sasori’s spy, later collaborator with Obito
• Madara Uchiha – collaborator with Obito
• Tobi – ally of Madara and Obito

Источник статьи: http://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Akatsuki

Akatsuki: перевод, синонимы, произношение, примеры предложений, антонимы, транскрипция

Akatsuki (暁; ; Literally meaning «Dawn» or «Daybreak»; ) was initially an organisation created by Yahiko and his two comrades Konan and Nagato in an effort to fight against the tyranny and oppression that their home village Amegakure was facing during the Third Great Shinobi War, and the long-term goal of world peace. After Yahiko’s death and under the influence of Obito Uchiha, Akatsuki became a criminal organisation comprised of S-rank missing-nin and is the most wanted group in all of the shinobi world. Their main goal is to collect all of the tailed beasts for their plan of world domination. As such, Akatsuki, despite initially having a minor role during Part I, has become the primary antagonistic force in Part II.

Akatsuki at any given time is composed of no more than ten primary members, all of whom were S-rank criminals of their own respective villages — with the exception of Nagato and Konan. Members always work in teams of two with the exception of Zetsu, who functions as the organisation’s spy, and make use of their unique skills to the team’s advantage. Team members must function very well, or at least well enough to accomplish their tasks, even though some may have mutual problems with each other. The organisation is rarely fully assembled, as seen in the end of Part I, when one member said it was the first time in seven years when they were all together.^[1]

The organisation is widespread, spanning several countries with agents in various places. When one team finds a tailed beast and has to begin the job of sealing the beast, they have hidden hideouts with many traps ready, to do the three-day long technique.

History

Akatsuki was originally founded by Yahiko during the Third Shinobi World War and consisted of Amegakure ninja that wished to create peace for their home country, which acted as a battleground for three of the Five Great Shinobi Countries.^[2] Yahiko insisted that his and the rest of Akatsuki’s actions were meant only to aid Nagato in bringing world peace, though Konan claimed that it was Yahiko’s charisma that held the group together and spurred them on. Obito alleges that it was his encouragement which lead to Yahiko forming the organisation, and thus credits himself as the group’s creator.^[3] Though he only met Yahiko once, the youth wary of the masked man and not believing his claim to be Madara Uchiha, Obito left an impression on Nagato while promising to wait for him and his friend when they decide to seek his council.

In its early days, Akatsuki gained fame and recognition in Amegakure, drawing the attention of Hanzō of the Salamander — a world-renowned ninja and then leader of the country. Believing that the group was becoming a threat to his rule, approached the organisation and falsely claimed that he wanted to use them as the axis to negotiate peace between Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure. However, Hanzō betrayed Akatsuki and, working together with Danzō Shimura of Konohagakure’s ANBU, kidnapped Konan and orchestrated Yahiko’s death. After synchronising with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and attempting to exact revenge on Yahiko’s killers, using his friend’s corpse as a vessel and going by the name Pain, Nagato became the new leader of the Akatsuki and took control of Amegakure after the resulting civil war.

Following the Third Shinobi World War, Akatsuki became a mercenary group for hire and Nagato presumably began taking direction from Obito, who acted as the organisation’s collaborator and benefactor. In times of peace most of the ninja villages, rather than increasing their own armaments, employed Akatsuki to fight in wars, spy on enemies, or carry out assassinations. The Fourth Raikage claims that only Kumogakure has never used Akatsuki’s services, and during this time it became widely believed that Akatsuki was founded and based in Kirigakure, perhaps due to Tobi’s influence over the Fourth Mizukage. Eventually, Akatsuki would begin capturing the tailed beasts, in the process antagonising many of its former clients.

Events relating to Akatsuki before the start of Part II have only been given in fragments. Sasori and Orochimaru were partners for a time and were apparently very effective. Kakuzu had a number of partners that he killed in fits of rage. For this reason he was partnered with Hidan shortly before the start of Part II, Hidan’s immortality meaning there would not need to be constant replacements. Itachi Uchiha apparently joined before carrying out the Uchiha clan massacre for which he defected from Konohagakure, though his membership seems to have come with the stipulation that Akatsuki could make no direct movements against Konoha. When Itachi joined, Orochimaru attempted to steal his body in order to gain the Sharingan. This failed and he was forced to defect. Deidara was recruited to replace Orochimaru as Sasori’s partner, but because Orochimaru took his Akatsuki ring with him he could not also replace Orochimaru’s position. Akatsuki also captured two tailed beasts before Part II, which in the anime are indicated to have been the Five-Tails and the Seven-Tails.

Akatsuki becomes much more active in Part II, with Deidara and Sasori making their move to capture Gaara for the One-Tail. Though they succeed in the extraction, Sasori is killed. Taking advantage of the open membership, having created the identity of Tobi to pose an Akatsuki flunky, Obito replaces Sasori to oversee the group’s affairs. Next are the Two-Tails and Three-Tails, though Hidan and Kakuzu are lost during an unrelated scuffle with Konoha ninja. After obtaining the Four-Tails, Deidara dies during his fight with Sasuke Uchiha with Tobi managing to convince Sasuke to work with Akatsuki after Itachi’s death. Although five Akatsuki members are lost, Tobi claiming their sacrifices were worth winning Sasuke’s loyalty, the organisation takes more drastic measures to make up for diminished numbers.

In the anime, Nagato goes to capture the Six-Tails (the beast having been caught at some earlier point in the manga). He and Konan are then sent to Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails. Konoha is destroyed, but they fail in their assignment; Nagato dying and Konan leaving the organisation. At the same time, Sasuke and his team are tasked with capturing the Eight-Tails, but they too fail to complete their assignment. Akatsuki’s actions finally provoke a response from the ninja villages, who hold a Kage Summit to discuss what should be done. Tobi, wishing to accelerate his machinations, infiltrates the meeting and declares war against the Five Great Shinobi Countries and the Land of Iron, promising to use the seven tailed beasts Akatsuki has already captured as weapons. The villages and their associated countries form the Allied Shinobi Forces to combat Akatsuki, beginning the Fourth Shinobi World War.

In preparation for the war, Kisame Hoshigaki infiltrates Kumogakure to gather intelligence on the Shinobi Alliance, as well as to learn the location of the two remaining tailed beasts. He dies in the process, but not before sending what he has learned to Obito. Obito, meanwhile, goes to Amegakure to retrieve Nagato’s body and the Rinnegan, as well as to kill Konan for her defection. Kabuto Yakushi, a new ally of the organisation, then captures Yamato, allowing him to strengthen an army of 100,000 White Zetsu Obito amassed.^[4] After Kabuto utilises Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation to supplement Akatsuki’s forces with ninja famous during their lives, Akatsuki marches off for war.

Ikusa’s Newly Made Akatsuki

When Ikusa was reborn, and after he took Sigma under his wing. He then decided to bring back the Akatsuki. But this time their goal was different, instead when war sprung out two team members were sent to the field to attempt to stop the war. More to come on this

Goal

They wanted to have the Tailed Beasts from the Jinchuriki to help with their mission of peace.

Main Goal

The organisation’s initial goal — under Yahiko’s leadership — was aimed at bringing peace to Amegakure and the world on a larger scale, this would later be distorted by the influence of others.

Although some of the post-Yahiko members joined Akatsuki to further their own goals, all are united in Akatsuki’s ultimate goal of gaining world domination.^[5] Nagato has mentioned a three-step process to work their way towards this goal.^[6] First, they plan to obtain a large amount of money to support their organisation.^[6] Second, they plan to set up a mercenary group loyal only to Akatsuki.^[7] To build their reputation, they plan to accept any mission below the usual cost and operate off of the excess funds earned in the first part of their plan.^[7] Because there haven’t been any wars in some time, many of the more powerful and well known shinobi villages couldn’t afford to accomplish such missions as such low prices, leading the smaller countries to hire Akatsuki over the more expensive shinobi villages.^[7] By using the tailed beasts, Akatsuki would start wars and then immediately quell them, solidifying their reputation and convincing every country to depend on them, thus cornering the market in shinobi labour.^[8] Without any business, the other shinobi villages would collapse due to the lack of funds.^[8] Finally, after Akatsuki is the only major force of shinobi in existence, they can easily conquer the other countries.^[8] Members do not automatically learn of the plan upon joining; Hidan didn’t find out about it until he had been a member for quite some time.^[6]

The tailed beasts, nine gigantic demons of immense power, are the main focus of much of Akatsuki’s efforts and screen time within the series. Each member is assigned to capture one of the nine beasts alive or, in most cases, the person that beast has been sealed into.^[9] Akatsuki has sealed seven of the nine beasts before the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War.^[10]

Yahiko’s Goal

Under Yahiko’s leadership, the group was meant to put an end to the wars that would take place in Amegakure and bring about peace.^[2] When he was younger, Yahiko also noted that he disliked the fact that it always rained in his country, as if all the country did was weep and he wanted to change that. This may be where the name of the organization literally meaning «daybreak» comes from. He also noted that the organization was meant to act as a support unit for Nagato, whom he believed would bring peace to the world.

Obito’s Goal

Main article: Eye of the Moon Plan

After Rin Nohara’s death and Kakashi Hatake‘s inability to protect her, a grief-stricken Obito declared that he would create a world that she was in.^[11] With this goal in mind Obito returned to Madara Uchiha who had saved his life after the events of the Kannabi Bridge,^[12] and decided to partake in his plan to revive the Ten-Tails by gathering all the tailed beasts that had been created by the Sage of the Six Paths, and fusing them back into one, single beast with the goal of becoming its jinchūriki. After this he would cast an Infinite Tsukuyomi onto the moon and control humanity thereby bringing «world peace». Adopting the legend’s name after his death, Obito would take measured actions to bring the plan to fruition until Madara could be revived. Obito has also noted that everything he is doing is to rebuild the Uchiha clan‘s pride, and he would use Sasuke Uchiha to do so.^[13] Kisame Hoshigaki and Zetsu are the only two Akatsuki members who know of this plan.

Pain’s Goal

Pain later goes into further detail on the tailed beasts’ role in his plans. The beasts would be used to create a deadly Kinjutsu technique that could wipe out one of the five great nations in an instant, so if countries go to war and do not have ninja villages to fight for them, they would turn to Akatsuki and their «weapon». Whichever side has Pain use the technique first would wipe out the opposing country. After witnessing the mass destruction caused by the weapon, the other remaining countries would become too afraid to start wars for fear of being wiped out as well. Thus, through this mutual fear, war would cease to exist and the world would know peace, until the people forget that fear and use the weapon again. Thus the cycle would repeat, creating small periods of peace in an endless chain of hatred.^[14]

Apparently, Pain and Konan were the only Akatsuki members aware of this part of the plan. After Pain’s death and Konan’s defection, this goal has been ceased.

Itachi’s Goal

After the Uchiha clan massacre and leaving Konoha, Itachi, instead of using the tailed beasts for his own self-interest, continued to protect the village by joining Akatsuki and keeping an eye on the villagers, especially Sasuke, from the outside. During his time in the group, Itachi would delay his own attempts to capture the Nine-Tails, indirectly leaked information about the organisation to Konoha, and attempted to kill Tobi through Sasuke.

Wardrobe

File:Akatsuki Symbol.svg

Akatsuki members have a very distinctive wardrobe, which could give them away if a village is alerted of their presence. Members wear long, dark cloaks with red clouds, a red interior, and a chin-high collar. Tobi and the members of Taka wear a similarly marked hooded mantle. The red clouds represent the rain of blood that fell in Amegakure during its wars, and were seen as a symbol of justice by its original members.^[15] All members wear black nail polish on their fingers and toenails, although the colours vary in the anime, and may wear a conical straw hat with small ornamental torques and tassels hanging down over their faces. The hats may be used to move around in the general population unnoticed, or for when the weather requires one.^[16] Some members cross out the symbol on their forehead protectors to symbolise the broken ties with their former villages, a practice originating with Nagato and his rival faction in Amegakure’s civil war. Others members simply cease wearing them altogether, for several reasons. Everyone also wears a ring with a kanji on different fingers depending on who the member is.

Now that the original members of Akatsuki (Konan and Nagato) are dead, Tobi seems to have changed the garb to his own preference after revealing his new mask and outfit-which are robes without the red clouds.

Akatsuki Rings and Ring Positions

What seems to be most important, however, are their rings. In total, there are ten rings given to each of the ten main members of Akatsuki. The rings apparently signify one’s membership and ring position, since when Orochimaru defected, he took his ring with him^[17] and as such wasn’t replaced.^[18] The rings’ exact purpose have not been revealed.

The various rings are:^[19]

• Right thumb: «zero» (零, rei; ; ; ); worn by Pain. Its colour is purplish-grey.
• Right index finger: «blue,» «green» (青, ao, shō; ; ; ); worn by Deidara. Its colour is teal.
• Right middle finger: «white» (白, bya; ; ; ); worn by Konan. Its colour is white.
• Right ring finger: «vermilion,» «scarlet» (朱, shu; ; ; ); worn by Itachi Uchiha. Its colour is red.
• Right little finger: «sign of the boar» (亥, gai; ; ; ); worn by Zetsu. Its colour is green.
• Left little finger: «sky,» «void» (空, kū; ; ; ); worn by Orochimaru. Its colour is slate blue.
• Left ring finger: «south» (南, nan; ; ; ); worn by Kisame Hoshigaki. Its colour is yellow.
• Left middle finger: «north» (北, hoku; ; ; ); worn by Kakuzu. Its colour is dark green.
• Left index finger: «three» (三, san; ; ; ); worn by Hidan. Its colour is orange.
• Left thumb: «jewel,» «ball,» also the black king in shogi (玉, gyoku; ; ; ); worn by Sasori and later by Tobi. Its colour is purple.

Eight of the ten kanji of the rings are taken from a kuji-in (Nine Syllable Seals): a collection of nine hand postures used in meditation. These kuji-in have found their way into ninja folklore as a kind of magic spells.
Pain’s «rei» and Zetsu’s «gai» are not from this kuji-in. However, the only unused kuji-in kanji, 玄 (gen, «mysterious»; ; ; ) bears a strong resemblance to Zetsu’s «gai,» suggesting an error. It would be a consistent error, however, since the «gai» kanji has been used in every instance the ring’s kanji has been shown, both in the manga and the data books.

In Part II, Taka aligns themselves with Akatsuki. They wear hooded Akatsuki mantles over their usual clothing, but do not wear any other markers of the organisation, signifying that their alliance is only one of convenience. Sasuke claimed that he was only using Akatsuki, and attempted to sever connections with them when they thought Killer B was captured. In turn, Tobi threatened to kill them for any attempts of betrayal.

Members

Associates

• Amegakure (Village run by Pain, association ended following Pain’s death and Konan’s defection)
• Yūra (Sasori’s underling, deceased)
• Mukade (Sasori’s underling, deceased)
• Funari (Kakuzu’s subordinate, presumed deceased)
• Ginji (Kakuzu’s banker, status unknown)
• Kyōya (Kakuzu’s accountant, status unknown)
• Zangei (Bounty collector, captured)
• Taka (Affiliated group, disbanded)
• Kabuto Yakushi (Sasori’s spy, defected to Orochimaru; allied with Akatsuki; provides additional fighters to the organisation during the war, incapacitated)

Teams

Akatsuki teams are put together in teams of two to exploit combined strengths for the organisation’s goals to be met. The duos assembled usually share a distinct commonality, like Hidan’s and Kakuzu’s immortality, Deidara’s and Sasori’s artistic approach to ninjutsu and Itachi’s and Kisame’s killing comrades under orders.

Kakuzu & Hidan

• Target(s): Two-Tails (Sealed), Seven-Tails (Sealed), Nine-Tails (Failed)

An unruly, yet arguably the most effective team in the organisation, they seemed unstoppable when together, something that Shikamaru Nara commented on for the need to separate the duo. Pain decided to put these two together because of their unique abilities. Hidan could not be killed as a result of becoming the successful «Jashin experiment», even by decapitation, and Kakuzu could easily go into a rage and kill anyone around him, including his partner. Therefore, Kakuzu could go berserk and not worry about Hidan’s well-being. They refer to themselves as the «Immortal Combo» (不死コンビ, Fushi Konbi; ; ; ),^[20] because of their own methods of avoiding death. Kisame Hoshigaki jokingly referred to them as the «Zombie Combo» (ゾンビコンビ, Zonbi Konbi; ; ; ).^[21]

They have shown the most hostility towards each other due to a conflict of interest; Kakuzu saw the rituals and beliefs of Hidan’s religion to be a waste of time, while Hidan saw Kakuzu’s willingness to do blasphemous things and his greediness to be unbearable, not to mention that Kakuzu’s job as a bounty hunter usually got on Hidan’s nerves. As a result of their sideline in collecting bounties and conducting rituals, this team was usually late in the line of work. Despite this, they work flawlessly in battle by using Kakuzu’s reckless attack style in conjuncture with Hidan’s immortality.
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Pain & Konan

• Target(s): Six-Tails (Pain, Sealed), Nine-Tails (Failed)

A team that functioned very well with each other as Nagato and Konan were team in the past when their friend Yahiko was still alive. Acting as the leader of Akatsuki using Yahiko’s corpse as a medium to act through, Pain directed the rest of the organisation to their respective goals; his most direct interaction with the other members was using the Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals. In addition, Pain was the leader of Amegakure, and used the village as a base for Akatsuki matters, while Konan served as the village’s second-in-command. However, after Pain’s defeat and Nagato’s death, Konan left the organisation.
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Orochimaru & Sasori

Sasori claimed that he and Orochimaru worked well together during their partnership. However, when Orochimaru defected from Akatsuki after his failed attempt to steal Itachi‘s body, Sasori developed a grudge against his former partner.

Sasori & Deidara

• Target(s): One-Tail (Deidara, Sealed), Nine-Tails (Deidara, Failed)

Formed by the two artists of Akatsuki, Sasori and Deidara worked well for the most part but had conflicting ideas on art: Sasori believed in art forever preserved like his puppet while Deidara sees it to be intantaneous and gone in a flash like Explosive Clay. Ironically though, Sasori was impatient and liked to finish things quickly while Deidara liked to take his time. Sasori also had a network of spies that he manipulated (in the form of mind control) to aid Akatsuki in their affairs. Deidara was formerly a terrorist bomber for hire who was later recruited by Itachi. Interestingly, both members of this team made the conscious decision to die, Sasori by allowing himself to be impaled by the puppet replicas of his parents and Deidara blowing himself up, thus becoming art. The two were reunited when reincarnated during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
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Deidara & Tobi

• Target(s): Three-Tails (Tobi, Sealed)

After Sasori’s death, posing as a idiot at the time, Tobi was introduced as Deidara’s new partner. Despite Tobi’s eagerness to please his «senpai», his childish attitude was seen as an annoyance to Deidara’s expectations of the organisation. Despite the eminent irritation, the two worked well together, as evidenced by Tobi planting Deidara’s explosive clay mines underground during Deidara’s last stand against Sasuke. Deidara also tries to protect Tobi, although the latter usually annoys him with his playful personality. After Deidara’s death, Tobi revealed his true personality and began to actively work to his own goals.
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Itachi Uchiha & Kisame Hoshigaki

• Target(s): Nine-Tails (Itachi, Failed), Four-Tails (Kisame, Sealed), Eight-Tails (Kisame, Failed)

A team that, despite their first meeting, functioned very well together and was highly effective. The pair completed almost every assignment Pain gave them with little trouble with the Nine-Tails being the only known exception. With Itachi working as a double agent, however, Itachi failed this mission purposely. Unlike most Akatsuki teams, Itachi and Kisame got along pretty well; Kisame did as Itachi had asked him unquestioningly and they would often converse casually when not in combat. In his battle against Killer B, Kisame failed in his mission to capture the Eight-Tails. However, this was later shown to be a ploy designed by Tobi to infiltrate the Land of Lightning. Before that, however, Kisame was able to capture the Four-Tails.
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White Zetsu & Black Zetsu

• Function: Spy, Auxiliary

Although not exactly a «two-man team», the secondary Black Zetsu personality that Madara infused into White Zetsu made Zetsu effective as such despite occasional arguments. Furthermore, because of his nature as an artificial human, Zetsu’s personalities can split into two to act individually. Another unique feature of White Zetsu is his ability to create clones that are biologically produced compared to the regular clones manifested of chakra.^[4]
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Taka

• Target(s): Eight-Tails (Failed)

When Akatsuki’s ranks are thinned to five members, Tobi enlists the aid of renamed group Taka, whose leader Sasuke Uchiha shares the desire for the destruction of Konoha. To complete their goals, Tobi has ordered Taka to hunt down the Eight-Tails while Akatsuki (particularly Pain) hunts for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Technically, the members of Taka are not full members of Akatsuki, as they do not possess the rings worn by each of the primary members. However, they have been wearing Akatsuki cloaks (albeit not with high collars but with hoods), signifying their affiliation with the organisation. After catching what appeared to be Killer B, Sasuke claimed that Taka was no longer affiliated with Akatsuki. Out of all the members, however, only Sasuke chooses to remain affiliated with Tobi and Akatsuki after Taka’s disbandment, which has become quite fragile as Sasuke eventually killed White Zetsu for the sake of testing his new powers.
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Movies

Naruto 6: Road to Ninja

In Naruto 6: Road to Ninja, the alternate Akatsuki is a well known mercenary group. Their members are Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu, Konan, Sasori and Nagato, using his Deva Path. Itachi is presumed to be the leader of Akatsuki in the alternate world.

Creation and Conception

In the Naruto Hiden: Sha no Sho Character Official Data Book, Masashi Kishimoto stated that he had originally planned on making Akatsuki a group of monsters with almost no human characteristics, with Zetsu emphasising that specifically. He also states that Akatsuki teams get two single rooms to sleep in.

Trivia

• While they were never seen, it was mentioned Kakuzu had four previous partners before Hidan, and they were all ultimately killed by Kakuzu himself and their hearts stolen for his Earth Grudge Fear.^[22]
• In the Naruto Collectible Card Game, Karin, Jūgo and Suigetsu Hōzuki while in their Akatsuki robes are incorrectly listed as Akatsuki members, while they were never fully recognised members, and only working as hires for Tobi.
• Hidan and Kakuzu were the only Akatsuki two-man team to have both members eliminated simultaneously.
• Despite being known as a group comprised of missing-nin, Pain and Konan are the recognised leaders of Amegakure after their successful coup against Hanzō of the Salamander, and thus not missing-nin.
• In the manga, they sealed the Three-Tails just before the Two-Tails,^[23] while in the anime, due to the more detailed capture of the Three-Tails, they seal it just before the Four-Tails.
• In the anime, after the sealing of the Two-Tails, Pain stated there are four tailed beasts remaining. Later in the anime, after the Three-Tails and Four-Tails were sealed (making it two tailed beasts remaining) and Taka joined forces with Akatsuki, Kisame stated there were three tailed beasts remaining. This retcon was put in place to allow a filler arc, featuring the Six-Tails.
• The three remaining Uchiha after the Uchiha clan massacre all eventually joined Akatsuki: Obito, Itachi, and Sasuke.
• Both leaders of Akatsuki, Pain and Tobi wear their rings on their thumbs.
• Since Sasuke And Itachi were from the same clan Itachi was eventually killed by Sasuke

References

de:Akatsuki
he:אקאטסוקי
ka:აკაცუკი
ru:Акацуки

Akatsuki (暁; ; Literally meaning «Dawn» or «Daybreak»; ) was initially an organisation created by Yahiko and his two comrades Konan and Nagato in an effort to fight against the tyranny and oppression that their home village Amegakure was facing during the Third Great Shinobi War, and the long-term goal of world peace. After Yahiko’s death and under the influence of Obito Uchiha, Akatsuki became a criminal organisation comprised of S-rank missing-nin and is the most wanted group in all of the shinobi world. Their main goal is to collect all of the tailed beasts for their plan of world domination. As such, Akatsuki, despite initially having a minor role during Part I, has become the primary antagonistic force in Part II.

Akatsuki at any given time is composed of no more than ten primary members, all of whom were S-rank criminals of their own respective villages — with the exception of Nagato and Konan. Members always work in teams of two with the exception of Zetsu, who functions as the organisation’s spy, and make use of their unique skills to the team’s advantage. Team members must function very well, or at least well enough to accomplish their tasks, even though some may have mutual problems with each other. The organisation is rarely fully assembled, as seen in the end of Part I, when one member said it was the first time in seven years when they were all together.^[1]

The organisation is widespread, spanning several countries with agents in various places. When one team finds a tailed beast and has to begin the job of sealing the beast, they have hidden hideouts with many traps ready, to do the three-day long technique.

History

Akatsuki was originally founded by Yahiko during the Third Shinobi World War and consisted of Amegakure ninja that wished to create peace for their home country, which acted as a battleground for three of the Five Great Shinobi Countries.^[2] Yahiko insisted that his and the rest of Akatsuki’s actions were meant only to aid Nagato in bringing world peace, though Konan claimed that it was Yahiko’s charisma that held the group together and spurred them on. Obito alleges that it was his encouragement which lead to Yahiko forming the organisation, and thus credits himself as the group’s creator.^[3] Though he only met Yahiko once, the youth wary of the masked man and not believing his claim to be Madara Uchiha, Obito left an impression on Nagato while promising to wait for him and his friend when they decide to seek his council.

In its early days, Akatsuki gained fame and recognition in Amegakure, drawing the attention of Hanzō of the Salamander — a world-renowned ninja and then leader of the country. Believing that the group was becoming a threat to his rule, approached the organisation and falsely claimed that he wanted to use them as the axis to negotiate peace between Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure. However, Hanzō betrayed Akatsuki and, working together with Danzō Shimura of Konohagakure’s ANBU, kidnapped Konan and orchestrated Yahiko’s death. After synchronising with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and attempting to exact revenge on Yahiko’s killers, using his friend’s corpse as a vessel and going by the name Pain, Nagato became the new leader of the Akatsuki and took control of Amegakure after the resulting civil war.

Following the Third Shinobi World War, Akatsuki became a mercenary group for hire and Nagato presumably began taking direction from Obito, who acted as the organisation’s collaborator and benefactor. In times of peace most of the ninja villages, rather than increasing their own armaments, employed Akatsuki to fight in wars, spy on enemies, or carry out assassinations. The Fourth Raikage claims that only Kumogakure has never used Akatsuki’s services, and during this time it became widely believed that Akatsuki was founded and based in Kirigakure, perhaps due to Tobi’s influence over the Fourth Mizukage. Eventually, Akatsuki would begin capturing the tailed beasts, in the process antagonising many of its former clients.

Events relating to Akatsuki before the start of Part II have only been given in fragments. Sasori and Orochimaru were partners for a time and were apparently very effective. Kakuzu had a number of partners that he killed in fits of rage. For this reason he was partnered with Hidan shortly before the start of Part II, Hidan’s immortality meaning there would not need to be constant replacements. Itachi Uchiha apparently joined before carrying out the Uchiha clan massacre for which he defected from Konohagakure, though his membership seems to have come with the stipulation that Akatsuki could make no direct movements against Konoha. When Itachi joined, Orochimaru attempted to steal his body in order to gain the Sharingan. This failed and he was forced to defect. Deidara was recruited to replace Orochimaru as Sasori’s partner, but because Orochimaru took his Akatsuki ring with him he could not also replace Orochimaru’s position. Akatsuki also captured two tailed beasts before Part II, which in the anime are indicated to have been the Five-Tails and the Seven-Tails.

Akatsuki becomes much more active in Part II, with Deidara and Sasori making their move to capture Gaara for the One-Tail. Though they succeed in the extraction, Sasori is killed. Taking advantage of the open membership, having created the identity of Tobi to pose an Akatsuki flunky, Obito replaces Sasori to oversee the group’s affairs. Next are the Two-Tails and Three-Tails, though Hidan and Kakuzu are lost during an unrelated scuffle with Konoha ninja. After obtaining the Four-Tails, Deidara dies during his fight with Sasuke Uchiha with Tobi managing to convince Sasuke to work with Akatsuki after Itachi’s death. Although five Akatsuki members are lost, Tobi claiming their sacrifices were worth winning Sasuke’s loyalty, the organisation takes more drastic measures to make up for diminished numbers.

In the anime, Nagato goes to capture the Six-Tails (the beast having been caught at some earlier point in the manga). He and Konan are then sent to Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails. Konoha is destroyed, but they fail in their assignment; Nagato dying and Konan leaving the organisation. At the same time, Sasuke and his team are tasked with capturing the Eight-Tails, but they too fail to complete their assignment. Akatsuki’s actions finally provoke a response from the ninja villages, who hold a Kage Summit to discuss what should be done. Tobi, wishing to accelerate his machinations, infiltrates the meeting and declares war against the Five Great Shinobi Countries and the Land of Iron, promising to use the seven tailed beasts Akatsuki has already captured as weapons. The villages and their associated countries form the Allied Shinobi Forces to combat Akatsuki, beginning the Fourth Shinobi World War.

In preparation for the war, Kisame Hoshigaki infiltrates Kumogakure to gather intelligence on the Shinobi Alliance, as well as to learn the location of the two remaining tailed beasts. He dies in the process, but not before sending what he has learned to Obito. Obito, meanwhile, goes to Amegakure to retrieve Nagato’s body and the Rinnegan, as well as to kill Konan for her defection. Kabuto Yakushi, a new ally of the organisation, then captures Yamato, allowing him to strengthen an army of 100,000 White Zetsu Obito amassed.^[4] After Kabuto utilises Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation to supplement Akatsuki’s forces with ninja famous during their lives, Akatsuki marches off for war.

Ikusa’s Newly Made Akatsuki

When Ikusa was reborn, and after he took Sigma under his wing. He then decided to bring back the Akatsuki. But this time their goal was different, instead when war sprung out two team members were sent to the field to attempt to stop the war. More to come on this

Goal

They wanted to have the Tailed Beasts from the Jinchuriki to help with their mission of peace.

Main Goal

The organisation’s initial goal — under Yahiko’s leadership — was aimed at bringing peace to Amegakure and the world on a larger scale, this would later be distorted by the influence of others.

Although some of the post-Yahiko members joined Akatsuki to further their own goals, all are united in Akatsuki’s ultimate goal of gaining world domination.^[5] Nagato has mentioned a three-step process to work their way towards this goal.^[6] First, they plan to obtain a large amount of money to support their organisation.^[6] Second, they plan to set up a mercenary group loyal only to Akatsuki.^[7] To build their reputation, they plan to accept any mission below the usual cost and operate off of the excess funds earned in the first part of their plan.^[7] Because there haven’t been any wars in some time, many of the more powerful and well known shinobi villages couldn’t afford to accomplish such missions as such low prices, leading the smaller countries to hire Akatsuki over the more expensive shinobi villages.^[7] By using the tailed beasts, Akatsuki would start wars and then immediately quell them, solidifying their reputation and convincing every country to depend on them, thus cornering the market in shinobi labour.^[8] Without any business, the other shinobi villages would collapse due to the lack of funds.^[8] Finally, after Akatsuki is the only major force of shinobi in existence, they can easily conquer the other countries.^[8] Members do not automatically learn of the plan upon joining; Hidan didn’t find out about it until he had been a member for quite some time.^[6]

The tailed beasts, nine gigantic demons of immense power, are the main focus of much of Akatsuki’s efforts and screen time within the series. Each member is assigned to capture one of the nine beasts alive or, in most cases, the person that beast has been sealed into.^[9] Akatsuki has sealed seven of the nine beasts before the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War.^[10]

Yahiko’s Goal

Under Yahiko’s leadership, the group was meant to put an end to the wars that would take place in Amegakure and bring about peace.^[2] When he was younger, Yahiko also noted that he disliked the fact that it always rained in his country, as if all the country did was weep and he wanted to change that. This may be where the name of the organization literally meaning «daybreak» comes from. He also noted that the organization was meant to act as a support unit for Nagato, whom he believed would bring peace to the world.

Obito’s Goal

Main article: Eye of the Moon Plan

After Rin Nohara’s death and Kakashi Hatake‘s inability to protect her, a grief-stricken Obito declared that he would create a world that she was in.^[11] With this goal in mind Obito returned to Madara Uchiha who had saved his life after the events of the Kannabi Bridge,^[12] and decided to partake in his plan to revive the Ten-Tails by gathering all the tailed beasts that had been created by the Sage of the Six Paths, and fusing them back into one, single beast with the goal of becoming its jinchūriki. After this he would cast an Infinite Tsukuyomi onto the moon and control humanity thereby bringing «world peace». Adopting the legend’s name after his death, Obito would take measured actions to bring the plan to fruition until Madara could be revived. Obito has also noted that everything he is doing is to rebuild the Uchiha clan‘s pride, and he would use Sasuke Uchiha to do so.^[13] Kisame Hoshigaki and Zetsu are the only two Akatsuki members who know of this plan.

Pain’s Goal

Pain later goes into further detail on the tailed beasts’ role in his plans. The beasts would be used to create a deadly Kinjutsu technique that could wipe out one of the five great nations in an instant, so if countries go to war and do not have ninja villages to fight for them, they would turn to Akatsuki and their «weapon». Whichever side has Pain use the technique first would wipe out the opposing country. After witnessing the mass destruction caused by the weapon, the other remaining countries would become too afraid to start wars for fear of being wiped out as well. Thus, through this mutual fear, war would cease to exist and the world would know peace, until the people forget that fear and use the weapon again. Thus the cycle would repeat, creating small periods of peace in an endless chain of hatred.^[14]

Apparently, Pain and Konan were the only Akatsuki members aware of this part of the plan. After Pain’s death and Konan’s defection, this goal has been ceased.

Itachi’s Goal

After the Uchiha clan massacre and leaving Konoha, Itachi, instead of using the tailed beasts for his own self-interest, continued to protect the village by joining Akatsuki and keeping an eye on the villagers, especially Sasuke, from the outside. During his time in the group, Itachi would delay his own attempts to capture the Nine-Tails, indirectly leaked information about the organisation to Konoha, and attempted to kill Tobi through Sasuke.

Wardrobe

File:Akatsuki Symbol.svg

Akatsuki members have a very distinctive wardrobe, which could give them away if a village is alerted of their presence. Members wear long, dark cloaks with red clouds, a red interior, and a chin-high collar. Tobi and the members of Taka wear a similarly marked hooded mantle. The red clouds represent the rain of blood that fell in Amegakure during its wars, and were seen as a symbol of justice by its original members.^[15] All members wear black nail polish on their fingers and toenails, although the colours vary in the anime, and may wear a conical straw hat with small ornamental torques and tassels hanging down over their faces. The hats may be used to move around in the general population unnoticed, or for when the weather requires one.^[16] Some members cross out the symbol on their forehead protectors to symbolise the broken ties with their former villages, a practice originating with Nagato and his rival faction in Amegakure’s civil war. Others members simply cease wearing them altogether, for several reasons. Everyone also wears a ring with a kanji on different fingers depending on who the member is.

Now that the original members of Akatsuki (Konan and Nagato) are dead, Tobi seems to have changed the garb to his own preference after revealing his new mask and outfit-which are robes without the red clouds.

Akatsuki Rings and Ring Positions

What seems to be most important, however, are their rings. In total, there are ten rings given to each of the ten main members of Akatsuki. The rings apparently signify one’s membership and ring position, since when Orochimaru defected, he took his ring with him^[17] and as such wasn’t replaced.^[18] The rings’ exact purpose have not been revealed.

The various rings are:^[19]

• Right thumb: «zero» (零, rei; ; ; ); worn by Pain. Its colour is purplish-grey.
• Right index finger: «blue,» «green» (青, ao, shō; ; ; ); worn by Deidara. Its colour is teal.
• Right middle finger: «white» (白, bya; ; ; ); worn by Konan. Its colour is white.
• Right ring finger: «vermilion,» «scarlet» (朱, shu; ; ; ); worn by Itachi Uchiha. Its colour is red.
• Right little finger: «sign of the boar» (亥, gai; ; ; ); worn by Zetsu. Its colour is green.
• Left little finger: «sky,» «void» (空, kū; ; ; ); worn by Orochimaru. Its colour is slate blue.
• Left ring finger: «south» (南, nan; ; ; ); worn by Kisame Hoshigaki. Its colour is yellow.
• Left middle finger: «north» (北, hoku; ; ; ); worn by Kakuzu. Its colour is dark green.
• Left index finger: «three» (三, san; ; ; ); worn by Hidan. Its colour is orange.
• Left thumb: «jewel,» «ball,» also the black king in shogi (玉, gyoku; ; ; ); worn by Sasori and later by Tobi. Its colour is purple.

Eight of the ten kanji of the rings are taken from a kuji-in (Nine Syllable Seals): a collection of nine hand postures used in meditation. These kuji-in have found their way into ninja folklore as a kind of magic spells.
Pain’s «rei» and Zetsu’s «gai» are not from this kuji-in. However, the only unused kuji-in kanji, 玄 (gen, «mysterious»; ; ; ) bears a strong resemblance to Zetsu’s «gai,» suggesting an error. It would be a consistent error, however, since the «gai» kanji has been used in every instance the ring’s kanji has been shown, both in the manga and the data books.

In Part II, Taka aligns themselves with Akatsuki. They wear hooded Akatsuki mantles over their usual clothing, but do not wear any other markers of the organisation, signifying that their alliance is only one of convenience. Sasuke claimed that he was only using Akatsuki, and attempted to sever connections with them when they thought Killer B was captured. In turn, Tobi threatened to kill them for any attempts of betrayal.

Members

Associates

• Amegakure (Village run by Pain, association ended following Pain’s death and Konan’s defection)
• Yūra (Sasori’s underling, deceased)
• Mukade (Sasori’s underling, deceased)
• Funari (Kakuzu’s subordinate, presumed deceased)
• Ginji (Kakuzu’s banker, status unknown)
• Kyōya (Kakuzu’s accountant, status unknown)
• Zangei (Bounty collector, captured)
• Taka (Affiliated group, disbanded)
• Kabuto Yakushi (Sasori’s spy, defected to Orochimaru; allied with Akatsuki; provides additional fighters to the organisation during the war, incapacitated)

Teams

Akatsuki teams are put together in teams of two to exploit combined strengths for the organisation’s goals to be met. The duos assembled usually share a distinct commonality, like Hidan’s and Kakuzu’s immortality, Deidara’s and Sasori’s artistic approach to ninjutsu and Itachi’s and Kisame’s killing comrades under orders.

Kakuzu & Hidan

• Target(s): Two-Tails (Sealed), Seven-Tails (Sealed), Nine-Tails (Failed)

An unruly, yet arguably the most effective team in the organisation, they seemed unstoppable when together, something that Shikamaru Nara commented on for the need to separate the duo. Pain decided to put these two together because of their unique abilities. Hidan could not be killed as a result of becoming the successful «Jashin experiment», even by decapitation, and Kakuzu could easily go into a rage and kill anyone around him, including his partner. Therefore, Kakuzu could go berserk and not worry about Hidan’s well-being. They refer to themselves as the «Immortal Combo» (不死コンビ, Fushi Konbi; ; ; ),^[20] because of their own methods of avoiding death. Kisame Hoshigaki jokingly referred to them as the «Zombie Combo» (ゾンビコンビ, Zonbi Konbi; ; ; ).^[21]

They have shown the most hostility towards each other due to a conflict of interest; Kakuzu saw the rituals and beliefs of Hidan’s religion to be a waste of time, while Hidan saw Kakuzu’s willingness to do blasphemous things and his greediness to be unbearable, not to mention that Kakuzu’s job as a bounty hunter usually got on Hidan’s nerves. As a result of their sideline in collecting bounties and conducting rituals, this team was usually late in the line of work. Despite this, they work flawlessly in battle by using Kakuzu’s reckless attack style in conjuncture with Hidan’s immortality.
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Pain & Konan

• Target(s): Six-Tails (Pain, Sealed), Nine-Tails (Failed)

A team that functioned very well with each other as Nagato and Konan were team in the past when their friend Yahiko was still alive. Acting as the leader of Akatsuki using Yahiko’s corpse as a medium to act through, Pain directed the rest of the organisation to their respective goals; his most direct interaction with the other members was using the Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals. In addition, Pain was the leader of Amegakure, and used the village as a base for Akatsuki matters, while Konan served as the village’s second-in-command. However, after Pain’s defeat and Nagato’s death, Konan left the organisation.
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Orochimaru & Sasori

Sasori claimed that he and Orochimaru worked well together during their partnership. However, when Orochimaru defected from Akatsuki after his failed attempt to steal Itachi‘s body, Sasori developed a grudge against his former partner.

Sasori & Deidara

• Target(s): One-Tail (Deidara, Sealed), Nine-Tails (Deidara, Failed)

Formed by the two artists of Akatsuki, Sasori and Deidara worked well for the most part but had conflicting ideas on art: Sasori believed in art forever preserved like his puppet while Deidara sees it to be intantaneous and gone in a flash like Explosive Clay. Ironically though, Sasori was impatient and liked to finish things quickly while Deidara liked to take his time. Sasori also had a network of spies that he manipulated (in the form of mind control) to aid Akatsuki in their affairs. Deidara was formerly a terrorist bomber for hire who was later recruited by Itachi. Interestingly, both members of this team made the conscious decision to die, Sasori by allowing himself to be impaled by the puppet replicas of his parents and Deidara blowing himself up, thus becoming art. The two were reunited when reincarnated during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
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Deidara & Tobi

• Target(s): Three-Tails (Tobi, Sealed)

After Sasori’s death, posing as a idiot at the time, Tobi was introduced as Deidara’s new partner. Despite Tobi’s eagerness to please his «senpai», his childish attitude was seen as an annoyance to Deidara’s expectations of the organisation. Despite the eminent irritation, the two worked well together, as evidenced by Tobi planting Deidara’s explosive clay mines underground during Deidara’s last stand against Sasuke. Deidara also tries to protect Tobi, although the latter usually annoys him with his playful personality. After Deidara’s death, Tobi revealed his true personality and began to actively work to his own goals.
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Itachi Uchiha & Kisame Hoshigaki

• Target(s): Nine-Tails (Itachi, Failed), Four-Tails (Kisame, Sealed), Eight-Tails (Kisame, Failed)

A team that, despite their first meeting, functioned very well together and was highly effective. The pair completed almost every assignment Pain gave them with little trouble with the Nine-Tails being the only known exception. With Itachi working as a double agent, however, Itachi failed this mission purposely. Unlike most Akatsuki teams, Itachi and Kisame got along pretty well; Kisame did as Itachi had asked him unquestioningly and they would often converse casually when not in combat. In his battle against Killer B, Kisame failed in his mission to capture the Eight-Tails. However, this was later shown to be a ploy designed by Tobi to infiltrate the Land of Lightning. Before that, however, Kisame was able to capture the Four-Tails.
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White Zetsu & Black Zetsu

• Function: Spy, Auxiliary

Although not exactly a «two-man team», the secondary Black Zetsu personality that Madara infused into White Zetsu made Zetsu effective as such despite occasional arguments. Furthermore, because of his nature as an artificial human, Zetsu’s personalities can split into two to act individually. Another unique feature of White Zetsu is his ability to create clones that are biologically produced compared to the regular clones manifested of chakra.^[4]
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Taka

• Target(s): Eight-Tails (Failed)

When Akatsuki’s ranks are thinned to five members, Tobi enlists the aid of renamed group Taka, whose leader Sasuke Uchiha shares the desire for the destruction of Konoha. To complete their goals, Tobi has ordered Taka to hunt down the Eight-Tails while Akatsuki (particularly Pain) hunts for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Technically, the members of Taka are not full members of Akatsuki, as they do not possess the rings worn by each of the primary members. However, they have been wearing Akatsuki cloaks (albeit not with high collars but with hoods), signifying their affiliation with the organisation. After catching what appeared to be Killer B, Sasuke claimed that Taka was no longer affiliated with Akatsuki. Out of all the members, however, only Sasuke chooses to remain affiliated with Tobi and Akatsuki after Taka’s disbandment, which has become quite fragile as Sasuke eventually killed White Zetsu for the sake of testing his new powers.
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Movies

Naruto 6: Road to Ninja

In Naruto 6: Road to Ninja, the alternate Akatsuki is a well known mercenary group. Their members are Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu, Konan, Sasori and Nagato, using his Deva Path. Itachi is presumed to be the leader of Akatsuki in the alternate world.

Creation and Conception

In the Naruto Hiden: Sha no Sho Character Official Data Book, Masashi Kishimoto stated that he had originally planned on making Akatsuki a group of monsters with almost no human characteristics, with Zetsu emphasising that specifically. He also states that Akatsuki teams get two single rooms to sleep in.

Trivia

• While they were never seen, it was mentioned Kakuzu had four previous partners before Hidan, and they were all ultimately killed by Kakuzu himself and their hearts stolen for his Earth Grudge Fear.^[22]
• In the Naruto Collectible Card Game, Karin, Jūgo and Suigetsu Hōzuki while in their Akatsuki robes are incorrectly listed as Akatsuki members, while they were never fully recognised members, and only working as hires for Tobi.
• Hidan and Kakuzu were the only Akatsuki two-man team to have both members eliminated simultaneously.
• Despite being known as a group comprised of missing-nin, Pain and Konan are the recognised leaders of Amegakure after their successful coup against Hanzō of the Salamander, and thus not missing-nin.
• In the manga, they sealed the Three-Tails just before the Two-Tails,^[23] while in the anime, due to the more detailed capture of the Three-Tails, they seal it just before the Four-Tails.
• In the anime, after the sealing of the Two-Tails, Pain stated there are four tailed beasts remaining. Later in the anime, after the Three-Tails and Four-Tails were sealed (making it two tailed beasts remaining) and Taka joined forces with Akatsuki, Kisame stated there were three tailed beasts remaining. This retcon was put in place to allow a filler arc, featuring the Six-Tails.
• The three remaining Uchiha after the Uchiha clan massacre all eventually joined Akatsuki: Obito, Itachi, and Sasuke.
• Both leaders of Akatsuki, Pain and Tobi wear their rings on their thumbs.
• Since Sasuke And Itachi were from the same clan Itachi was eventually killed by Sasuke

References

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