April 13, 2012
Akatsuki is a criminal organization comprised of nine S-class criminals from across the shinobi villages. The members travel in pairs, collecting jutsus and information for the organization. (The word akatsuki means dawn, or literally, "red moon.")
Akatsuki,
at any given point in time, is composed of no more than ten primary
members. There is no known criterion required for joining the
organization, though all known members have severed all ties with the
village they grew up in and are S-class criminals, the most wanted and
dangerous individuals in the series.
Two members, Itachi Uchiha and Sasori are known to have undertaken a challenging task around the time of their joining the organization: Itachi killed almost all the members of his family in a single night,though it is unclear what his true reasons for doing this were. Sasori, during the course of the battle in which he eventually meets his demise, comments that "[he] hadn't had this much difficulty since joining Akatsuki". In Deidara's case, however, he was forcibly recruited by other Akatsuki members as a result of his effective work as a terrorist.
Members of Akatsuki work in teams of two. Teams are built to complement each other's abilities and talents to create a formidable duo. For example, Kakuzu uses Hidan's immortality to his advantage by using large-scale attacks on those Hidan has pinned down; being immortal, Hidan survives what is normally fatal to his opponent. Zetsu is an exception to this, as he operates by himself at all times. Members whose partners have died also operate by themselves until a replacement can be found. At the very least, members maintain a functioning working relationship with their partner, with some form of loyalty to one another being present in most cases. In other instances a member will only work with their teammate so long as it furthers Akatsuki's goals, with all other matters being a source of dispute between the two. In general, Akatsuki members are unconcerned with the fate of their other comrades, their only point of interest concerning someone's death being who was strong enough to kill them.
Akatsuki is a widespread organization, with its members constantly traveling between countries and its agents operating out of various villages throughout the world. These agents work for specific members for varying purposes; Sasori has a number of agents under a form of mind control that he uses as spies, while Kakuzu has a group of people that take care of his finances. Because the various members are often so far apart, making a meeting in person impractical, they can communicate through a form of telepathy. If there is a need for the group to have more of an interaction with each other, members can use a form of astral projection to meet at one of Akatsuki's many secret lairs. When their entire group meets like this at the end of the first part of the series, one member notes that it had been seven years since they had all been together in such a fashion. Their meetings are much more frequent in the second part of the series due to their increased activity.
Uniform S-Class warriors
The standard Akatsuki outfit: oversized black cloak with the trademark red clouds on top. When keeping a low profile during their travels, they wear a straw hat with white strips of paper on the edges. The hat also has a bell attached, which makes an eerily peaceful ring when they move. The members also have neatly manicured fingers and toenails, painted in a shade of purple, and wear similar rings inscribed with their designated kanji, representing their Chinese god. Some of the members still wear their village's forehead protectors, but with a scratch through the symbol.
Each Akatsuki member wears a single, unique ring, and no two members wear a ring on the same finger. In total, there are ten rings, and each seems to have some special significance; Tobi believes that he can become a member after finding Sasori's ring,and although Zetsu claims it's not as easy as that, Tobi does indeed become a member. Deidara reinforces the significance of the rings after losing both his arms by expressing more concern for finding the arm with his ring, rather than finding the arm itself.Likewise, when Orochimaru leaves the organization he takes his ring with him, and in the ten years since then he has yet to be replaced. Each ring bears a unique symbol, the first kanji of its name.
The various rings are:
Two members, Itachi Uchiha and Sasori are known to have undertaken a challenging task around the time of their joining the organization: Itachi killed almost all the members of his family in a single night,though it is unclear what his true reasons for doing this were. Sasori, during the course of the battle in which he eventually meets his demise, comments that "[he] hadn't had this much difficulty since joining Akatsuki". In Deidara's case, however, he was forcibly recruited by other Akatsuki members as a result of his effective work as a terrorist.
Members of Akatsuki work in teams of two. Teams are built to complement each other's abilities and talents to create a formidable duo. For example, Kakuzu uses Hidan's immortality to his advantage by using large-scale attacks on those Hidan has pinned down; being immortal, Hidan survives what is normally fatal to his opponent. Zetsu is an exception to this, as he operates by himself at all times. Members whose partners have died also operate by themselves until a replacement can be found. At the very least, members maintain a functioning working relationship with their partner, with some form of loyalty to one another being present in most cases. In other instances a member will only work with their teammate so long as it furthers Akatsuki's goals, with all other matters being a source of dispute between the two. In general, Akatsuki members are unconcerned with the fate of their other comrades, their only point of interest concerning someone's death being who was strong enough to kill them.
Akatsuki is a widespread organization, with its members constantly traveling between countries and its agents operating out of various villages throughout the world. These agents work for specific members for varying purposes; Sasori has a number of agents under a form of mind control that he uses as spies, while Kakuzu has a group of people that take care of his finances. Because the various members are often so far apart, making a meeting in person impractical, they can communicate through a form of telepathy. If there is a need for the group to have more of an interaction with each other, members can use a form of astral projection to meet at one of Akatsuki's many secret lairs. When their entire group meets like this at the end of the first part of the series, one member notes that it had been seven years since they had all been together in such a fashion. Their meetings are much more frequent in the second part of the series due to their increased activity.
Uniform S-Class warriors
The standard Akatsuki outfit: oversized black cloak with the trademark red clouds on top. When keeping a low profile during their travels, they wear a straw hat with white strips of paper on the edges. The hat also has a bell attached, which makes an eerily peaceful ring when they move. The members also have neatly manicured fingers and toenails, painted in a shade of purple, and wear similar rings inscribed with their designated kanji, representing their Chinese god. Some of the members still wear their village's forehead protectors, but with a scratch through the symbol.
Each Akatsuki member wears a single, unique ring, and no two members wear a ring on the same finger. In total, there are ten rings, and each seems to have some special significance; Tobi believes that he can become a member after finding Sasori's ring,and although Zetsu claims it's not as easy as that, Tobi does indeed become a member. Deidara reinforces the significance of the rings after losing both his arms by expressing more concern for finding the arm with his ring, rather than finding the arm itself.Likewise, when Orochimaru leaves the organization he takes his ring with him, and in the ten years since then he has yet to be replaced. Each ring bears a unique symbol, the first kanji of its name.
The various rings are:
- Right thumb: rei, "zero"; worn by Pein.
- Right index finger: Seiryū, the Azure Dragon; worn by Deidara.
- Right middle finger: Byakko, the White Tiger; worn by Konan.
- Right ring finger: Suzaku, the Vermilion Bird; worn by Itachi Uchiha.
- Right little finger: Genbu, the Black Tortoise; worn by Zetsu.
- Left little finger: Kūchin, the Void; formerly worn by Orochimaru.
- Left ring finger: Nanju, Sagittarius (lit. Southern Star); worn by Kisame Hoshigaki.
- Left middle finger: Hokuto, the Big Dipper (lit. Northern Star); worn by Kakuzu.
- Left index finger: santai, "three levels"; worn by Hidan.
- Left thumb: gyokunyo, the Virgin; currently worn by Tobi, formerly worn by Sasori.
Uchiha Itachi
Atatsuki Members
Itachi Uchiha
- Age: 17-18 in Part I, 20 in Part II
- Ring: ("scarlet", "bloody", "crimson")
- Ring position: Right ring finger
- Partner: Kisame Hoshigaki
- Seiyu: Hideo Ishikawa
- Voice actor: Skip Stellrecht (Episodes 29-30), Crispin Freeman (Episodes 80+)
Although he is a member of Akatsuki, Itachi does not find great interest in fighting. He instead prefers to avoid battle or, if that is not possible, end it as quickly as possible while exerting as little effort as he can. When he does fight Itachi remains stationary, attacking only in defense and to otherwise avoid damage. He also studies an opponent's movements with his Sharingan eyes, using them to properly assess an opponent's actions and respond accordingly. His Sharingan is further enhanced when he activates his Mangekyo Sharingan, the strongest ability a member of the Uchiha clan can gain, which he acquired after he killed Shisui Uchiha.With the Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi is able to utilize attacks that can defeat even the strongest opponent, though it has been suggested that he is losing his eyesight as a result of repeated use. In addition to his Sharingan-based abilities, Itachi is very skilled with genjutsu. Itachi's skill with genjutsu is such that he can trap others within an illusion by merely pointing or looking at them, as well as turning their own genjutsu against them. Itachi is also noted to be very fast with his techniques and movements, extending to his hand signs and weaponry as well.
Kisame
Kisame Hoshigaki
- Age: 29 in Part I, save 31 in Part II
- Ring: ("south")
- Ring position: Left ring finger
- Partner: Itachi Uchiha
- Seiyu: Tomoyuki Dan
- Voice actor: Kirk Thornton
Kisame has a distinctive shark-like appearance, complete with pale blue skin, small white eyes, gill-like facial structures, and sharp triangular teeth. Even his name, Kisame , means "demon shark". His shark-like qualities carry over to the type of techniques he uses in battle, as he often shapes bodies of water into the forms of sharks that proceed to attack opponents. If there is no water source where he happens to be fighting, Kisame can use Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave (, Suiton: Bakusui Shōha) to create a lake's worth of water to be used for attacks.Kisame is also noted to have a particularly large amounts of chakra in his reserves; even when he fights at 30% power in one instance his chakra supply is compared to that of a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox-enhanced Naruto Uzumaki.
Konan
Pein
Konan
- Ring: ("white")
- Ring position: Right middle finger
- Partner: Pein
Konan has a natural talent for origami, as seen with the paper flower she keeps in her hair. This talent extends to her type of jutsu, as she can divide her body into countless numbers of paper sheets. These sheets can be controlled individually and formed into various shapes for a number of purposes, such as butterflies for scouting or generic weapons for attack. Konan can even form wings that mirror her title as "God's Angel" amongst the villagers of Amegakure, as she often carries out Pein's will. Her abilities are constrained while wet, as paper clings to itself and loses its stiffness.
Pein
- Ring: ("nothing", "zero")
- Ring position: Right thumb
- Partner: Konan
Jiraiya was killed by Pien in their battle.
Pein eventually began a civil war within Amegakure, which he subsequently ended by singlehandedly killing the village's leader, Hanzo. To make sure there were no sympathizers of Hanzo remaining in the village, Pein killed all of Hanzo's family, friends, and affiliates, elevating him to god-like status amongst the townspeople. He now uses the village as his base of operations for Akatsuki, where he is partnered with Konan. Although he directs the actions of the other members and maintains authority over them, Pein takes orders from Tobi.
Pein is shown to have six bodies in total that he is able to switch between.The bodies he is not currently using are kept in a type of machine, though it is unknown if the machine itself plays any role in the process. Of the two bodies he has been seen in, the only consistent physical characteristics are a large number of piercings and his Rinnegan eyes. He implies that each of the bodies have a specific purpose, as he switches to one body solely to kill an intruder.
During his time with Jiraiya, Pein was able to master every jutsu taught to him and became able to utilize all six of the different chakra elements. In later years he exhibits the ability to clone his subordinates with the Shapeshifting Technique (, Shōten no Jutsu), in which he uses human sacrifices to create a perfect copy of another person, controlled remotely by the original. The clones formed possess any unique genetic traits or weapons the original has, but its abilities are proportionate to the amount of chakra given to the clone. Pein can control rain and can detect the movements and chakra levels of people traveling within it. He also has a large array of different summons that he can quickly switch between, each of which possess a number of large piercings and Rinnegan-pattern eyes.
Tobi
zetsu
Tobi
- Ring: ("jewel", "ball"; "jade"; also the king in shogi)
- Ring position: Left thumb
- Partner: Formerly Deidara
- Seiyu: Wataru Takagi
Tobi's personality is at odds with the standard amongst Akatsuki members; while most are dedicated and serious, Tobi is more carefree and goofy. These personality traits tend to irritate Deidara, who often attacks Tobi in some way when Tobi unintentionally annoys him. Kisame Hoshigaki, on the other hand, appreciates Tobi's ability to brighten up their gloomy organization. Prior to revealing himself as Madara Uchiha, Tobi uses a very formal and correct manner of speech. Since then, his personality and speech have become completely different, as he speaks much less formally and is more serious and arrogant.
Tobi's actual appearance remains a complete mystery. He wears an odd mask that covers his entire face save for his right eye, which like other Uchiha has the Sharingan. He also has several bolts or pins present on the arms of his uniform, now obscured by his Akatsuki cloak. Furthermore, Tobi does not wear a visible headband, though Madara Uchiha is known to originate from Konohagakure. His fighting style is equally shrouded in mystery, as his only notable trait is the ability to recover from what are presumably debilitating or fatal blows without injury and in a matter of seconds.
some say that Tobi is Uchiha Madara
Zetsu
- Ring: 亥 ("boar")
- Ring position: Right little finger
- Partner: None
- Seiyu: Nobuo Tobita
Zetsu's head appears to be enveloped in a large venus flytrap, which can also envelop the rest of his body. To further enhance his venus flytrap characteristics, Zetsu is cannibalistic, and as such he is sent to devour the bodies Akatsuki does not want found This, in addition to his other roles, gives him the function as Akatsuki's hunter-nin, something that is further exercised when he is sent to retrieve the rings of dead Akatsuki members. The right side of Zetsu's body and face is black in color while his left side is white. To go with this, Zetsu seems to have a split personality, as the black half of his face speaks only in Katakana while the white side uses Kanji and Kana. The two halves also seem to converse with each other, and occasionally differ in opinion.
Deidara and Tobi
Kakuzu
orochimaru
sasuri
Hidan
Deidara
- Ring: ("blue", "green")
- Ring position: Right index finger
- Partner: Formerly Tobi, Sasori before that
- Seiyu: Katsuhiko Kawamoto
In battle, Deidara uses special mouths in the palm of each hand to create Exploding Clay (, Kibaku Nendo), chakra-infused clay that explodes on command. He commonly uses the command "detonate" to trigger it.The blast strength of his creations is determined by how much chakra he adds to them. His clay can take on any size or form, ranging from microscopic in size to copies of himself as tall as a skyscraper. Deidara refers to his creations as art, believing the most beautiful thing about them to be their detonation. His admiration for his art is such that he believes it can't be defeated, leading to overconfidence in battle. Depending on the complexity or potency of one of his works, Deidara applies it a designation from anywhere between "C1" to "C4", the former being the most basic and the latter being his strongest and most complex attack. For his final act, Deidara also has a mouth on his chest that, once provided with clay, turns him into a living bomb that destroys everything in a 10 kilometer radius. Deidara uses this as a last resort during his battle with Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother, in an effort to prove his art is supreme, though Sasuke is able to survive.
Hidan
- Ring: ("three")
- Ring position: Left index finger
- Partner: Formerly Kakuzu
During battle Hidan makes every attempt to acquire an opponent's blood where, upon consuming it, he draws a symbol on the ground that "links" him with his opponent. Once this link is created Hidan takes on a grim reaper-like appearance and becomes what is essentially a voodoo doll for his opponent; any damage that is done to Hidan is also done to them. Hidan first uses this ability to give himself nonfatal injuries that bring him pleasure due to the pain it causes to him and the opponent. Once he is done toying with opponents in this way he stabs himself in the heart, killing them. Links can be broken prematurely if Hidan is removed from the safety of his symbol, though it can easily be reestablished by simply reentering its borders. After Hidan uses this ability to kill Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara faces him in an attempt to gain revenge. Hidan is unable to form a link with Shikamaru and eventually falls into one of Shikamaru's traps. With Hidan captured, Shikamaru blows him up and buries the still-speaking remains under a pile of rubble. While his actual status is currently unknown, Akatsuki no longer considers him a member.
Kakuzu
- Ring: ("north")
- Ring position: Left middle finger
- Partner: Formerly Hidan
Kakuzu's body is composed of a great deal of thick black threads that he can use to detach his limbs for long-range assaults. The threads themselves are also capable of piercing flesh, which Kakuzu uses to remove the still-living organs from his enemies. Once he has done so, Kakuzu can integrate these younger, healthier organs into his body that, in theory, allow him to extend his life indefinitely. Kakuzu most prominently uses hearts in this way, keeping up to four extra hearts with him at any given time. He keeps these spare hearts stored within animal masks sewn to his back, and each of the masks can separate from his body and attack independently. Once removed from his body, the masks can shoot powerful elemental blasts at opponents. If the heart in Kakuzu's body is destroyed, one of the masks can remerge with him so that he can take use of its heart, causing the mask to crumble away. Kakuzu also has an earth-based defensive technique that makes him virtually immune to physical attacks. Kakuzu's masks are slowly destroyed at the hands of a group of Konohagakure ninja; Naruto Uzumaki is able to destroy two of his hearts simultaneously and bring a third to the brink of failure. Although Kakuzu survives Naruto's attack, he is left unable to move, allowing him to easily be finished off by Kakashi Hatake.
Orochimaru
Main article: Orochimaru- Ring: ("sky")
- Ring position: Left little finger
- Partner: Formerly Sasori
Sasori
- Ring: ("jewel", "ball", also the king in shogi)
- Ring position: Left thumb
- Partner: Formerly Deidara, Orochimaru before that
- Seiyu: Takahiro Sakurai, Yutaka Aoyama (Hiruko), Akiko Yajima (as a child)
Sasori specializes in creating puppets out of the dead bodies of humans, which is done by removing its entrails and preserving it to prevent decomposition. Sasori is commonly seen with Hiruko, a puppet he wears like a suit so often that many characters can only recognize him while he is wearing it. For battle purposes he favors the puppet of the Third Kazekage, the leader of Sunagakure whom he killed prior to his defection.Because the Third was once a living person, the Third's unique abilities remain intact and Sasori can utilize them at his leisure. His most versatile human puppet, however, is himself, as he has long since converted his body into one. In addition to giving him an unnaturally young appearance, Sasori's puppet body allows him to control hundreds of puppets at once. Since he needs part of his original body to control puppets Sasori has preserved his heart in a cylinder-shaped device that he wears upon his chest. Sasori is able to survive any kind of attack so long as his heart remains undamaged, and he can even use it to switch to new bodies by simply placing the cylinder onto a new puppet. Every weapon that his puppets wield is also laced with a poison of Sasori's own design; the poison instantly numbs the body and kills the target after three days. Despite his large arsenal of weapons, Sasori is defeated after a prolonged battle with his grandmother and Sakura Haruno. In his final moments, however, he is able to feel the love of his parents, their puppet counterparts having been used by Chiyo to stab him through the heart in the form of a hug.
Atatsuki Mission
Akatsuki initially operate in the shadows, carrying out assassinations and espionage that draw little attention. Some members use their time with Akatsuki to further their own goals; Kakuzu, for example, joined because it makes it easier for him to collect bounties. Soon after the start of the series, however, Akatsuki becomes increasingly more active as its members start to carry out the tasks needed to achieve their ultimate goal: domination over the Naruto world. The leader, Pein, has created a three-step process to work their way towards this goal. First, they plan to obtain a large amount of money to support their organization. Second, they plan to set up a mercenary group loyal only to Akatsuki. 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. Because there haven't been any wars in some time, the established shinobi villages can't afford to charge such low prices, leading the smaller countries to hire Akatsuki over the more expensive shinobi villages. By using the tailed beasts, Akatsuki can start wars and then immediately quell them, solidifying their reputation and convincing every country to depend on them. Without any business, the other shinobi villages would collapse due to a lack of funds. Finally, after Akatsuki is the only major shinobi force in existence, they could easily conquer the other countries. Despite the severity of this plan, members do not automatically learn of it upon joining; Hidan did not find out about it until asking.The tailed beasts, nine gigantic demons of immense power, are the focus of much of Akatsuki's effort and screen time within the series. Each Akatsuki member is assigned to capture alive one of the nine beasts or, in most cases, the person that beast has been sealed into. Akatsuki has so far obtained seven of the nine: the One-Tailed Shukaku, the Two-Tailed Demon Cat, the three-tailed beast, the four-tailed beast, and three others.
The Akatsuki members in their respective positions on the sealing statue
Once one of the demons has been captured it is taken to the nearest Akatsuki lair where the remaining members then assemble through astral projection. Pein summons a giant statue of a humanoid monster while the beast or its host is placed before it. The members then take their place on the finger of the statue that corresponds to their respective ring, and the group prepares to seal the beast into the statue. For the sealing, nine dragon-like effigies pour from the statue's mouth to surround the captured host, forcefully remove the tailed beast from them, and seal it into the statue. In the case of an unsealed tailed beast, the same thing happens to the beast itself. The sealing process takes three days to complete. Kisame Hoshigaki notes that the demons must be sealed in a specific order, as he states that sealing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox before the other eight beasts would destroy the statue. Tobi, the character shown giving Pein orders, hints that the tailed beasts have a purpose beyond global conquest, implying that acquiring all nine would allow his Sharingan to return to full power. Pein, however, has different plans on using the tailed beasts, wishing to use them to create a weapon of mass destruction that will force the world to learn the pointlessness of fighting.
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