Akatsuki

Akatsuki ( ? , Akatsuki ? meaning "Dawn" or "Daybreak") is a fictional criminal organization in the anime and manga series Naruto . It is first introduced midway into the first part of the series, and its members gain significance as the main antagonists during the second part. The organization is composed of some of the most powerful criminals in the Naruto universe.

[ edit ] Overview

Akatsuki is a small organization by most standards; at any given point, the group has at most ten members and an uncertain number of agents. Though they seem to have a decent network of agents in various villages, these individuals are usually under some form of mind-control. A notable exception is Tobi , who acted as subordinate to Zetsu before being promoted. The members of Akatsuki are all S-class criminals, the most wanted and dangerous individuals in the Naruto universe.

The exact criteria for admission into the group are unknown, but extraordinary fighting ability and ruthlessness seem to be prerequisites. Unique traits (genetic or otherwise) also seem to be a common factor among its members. Two of the more prominent members so far, Itachi Uchiha and Sasori , both undertook some sort of challenging task at the time of their entering the group. Sasori mentions during his fight with Chiyo and Sakura Haruno that "[he] hadn't had this much difficulty since joining Akatsuki." Itachi was responsible for murdering his whole clan (with the exception of his little brother, Sasuke ) around the time he is believed to have entered, but it is not certain that the two events are linked. At least in Deidara 's case, the leader seems to locate potential candidates for membership and has them forcibly recruited by the current members. [1]

[ edit ] Organization

Akatsuki doesn't seem to have any strict organizational structure, though its members do maintain several unique practices. They rarely seem to meet in person, instead communicating through telepathy and astral projection when necessary. When their entire group is introduced at the end of the first part of the series, meeting in an unspecified location through astral projection, 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. The members of Akatsuki seem to have little consistency in their individual goals. They only group together because Akatsuki's overall goal in some way benefits the individual goals of its members. Akatsuki members don't particularly value the lives of their comrades, either; a member's death in itself will not bother the other members, but rather the fact that someone was able to kill that member.

[ edit ] Goal

Akatsuki's overall goal is domination over the Naruto world. [2] To achieve that goal, the leader has set up a three-step process to work their way to it. First, they plan to obtain a large amount of money to support their organization. [3] Second, they plan to set up a mercenary group loyal only to Akatsuki. [4] To build their reputation, they plan to accept any mission below the usual cost, which is covered by the excess amount of 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, thus cornering the market in shinobi labor. [5] Without any business, the other shinobi villages will collapse due to a lack of funds. Finally, after Akatsuki is the only major force of shinobi in existence, they can easily conquer the other countries.

As a large part of their plan, they actively hunt the tailed beasts and their hosts. Once a tailed beast or its host is captured, they seal them in a large statue for use at a later time. Akatsuki possesses seven tailed beasts: the one-tailed Shukaku , the two-tailed demon cat , the three-tailed demon , the four-tailed demon , and three other unknown demons. [6]

However, Tobi , the mastermind behind Akatsuki, has hinted at an ulterior motive behind all this involving the Sharingan regaining its true power. [7]

[ edit ] Teams

Akatsuki members usually 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 their advantage by using large-scale attacks on those Hidan has pinned down; being immortal, Hidan survives what is normally fatal to his opponent. Due to Orochimaru's defection their numbers became uneven, and as such Zetsu began functioning without a teammate. Tobi has since lost his partner in battle, resulting in an even number of members once again, though he has yet to be paired with another member. Each member thus far has shown at least a working loyalty to each other and their leader, and they have excellent working relationships. On a personal level, however, some of the team members exhibit outright animosity towards one another, though they do not let it get in the way of their missions.

[ edit ] Tailed beast extraction

.. The sealing statue, and the members performing the sealing ritual

Whenever an Akatsuki member captures a tailed beast or its host, it is taken to their lair . Once there, Pein summons a giant statue of a humanoid monster. Pein doesn't need to be present to summon the statue, nor do Akatsuki members need to be physically present for the statue to activate. Any Akatsuki members unable to reach the statue can use astral projection to appear at the statue. The statue itself seems to symbolize restriction or sealing; the creature's hands are handcuffed, its eyes are blindfolded, and a bit is in its mouth, which falls out when the Akatsuki members are sealing a tailed beast. On the creature's blindfold are nine closed eyes (eight eyes in two rows of four with the larger ninth eye in the center), each corresponding to one of the nine tailed beasts. The eyes don't appear to be in any specific order, as the eye representing the one-tailed Shukaku is the second on the upper row [8] while the eye representing the three-tailed beast is the third on the lower row, [9] and the four-tailed beast is the fourth on the lower row. [10]

After the summoning, the host or tailed beast (depending on if it is sealed in a person or not) is placed in front of the statue while each Akatsuki member stands on the finger that corresponds to their specific ring. The members then perform Sealing Technique: Illusionary Dragon Nine Consuming Seals ( ???·????? , F,,in Jutsu: Genry,, Ky,, F,,jin ? ) to draw the spirit of the beast (or the beast itself) into the statue. Nine dragon-like effigies then pour from the statue's mouth, surround the captured host, and forcefully remove the tailed beast from them. In the case of an unsealed tailed beast, the same thing happens to the beast itself. Once the beast is sealed, all the eyes open, and the pupil of the eye that corresponds to the beast appears, indicating that it has been successfully sealed. The jutsu takes three days to complete. Kisame Hoshigaki commented that the jutsu takes longer without Orochimaru present, though whether this means that Orochimaru created the jutsu, or that the presence of all ten Akatsuki members is necessary for the greatest efficiency is unknown.

Because of the large amount of time it takes to complete a sealing, Akatsuki members use Five Seal Barrier ( ???? , Gof,, Kekkai ? ) to prevent interruption. The seal consists of placing five other seals: one to prevent entry to the lair, and four others to prevent the first from being removed. The five seals are spread across a wide area and must all be removed simultaneously, requiring an average team to split up to bring down the barrier. Once the seals are removed clones of those that removed them are created, capable of using all attacks in the original's arsenal and weapons in the original's possession.

It's unknown if the statue serves any other purpose than to contain the captured tailed beasts. The statue apparently requires that the power sealed within it be balanced, as Kisame notes that sealing the nine-tailed fox before sealing the other eight tailed beasts would destroy the statue. [11]

[ edit ] Rings

.. Itachi's ring.

Each Akatsuki member wears a single, unique ring, and no two members wear a ring on the same finger. Each member wears their ring on the same finger as the spot they occupy on the giant statue. In total, there are ten rings, but Akatsuki only possesses seven; Orochimaru kept his after defecting, and those worn by Hidan and Kakuzu have yet to be retrieved. The rings seem to have some special significance; Tobi believed that he could 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. Each ring bears a unique symbol, the first kanji of its name.

.. A diagram showing every member's ring position

The various rings are: [12]

? rei, "zero": worn by Pein . ?? Seiry,,, the Azure Dragon : worn by Deidara .?? Byakko, the White Tiger : worn by the Unnamed member . ?? Suzaku, the Vermilion Bird : worn by Itachi Uchiha . ?? Genbu, the Black Tortoise : worn by Zetsu . Zetsu's ring actually has the kanji ? (kai, boar) instead of ? (gen, mysteriousness). The two kanji are somewhat similar in appearance, which suggests an error by either the artist or the translator.?? K,,chin, the Void : formerly worn by Orochimaru . ?? Nanju, Sagittarius (lit. Southern Star): worn by Kisame .?? Hokuto, the Big Dipper (lit. Northern Star): worn by Kakuzu . ?? santai, "three levels": worn by Hidan .?? gyokunyo, the Virgin : currently worn by Tobi , formerly worn by Sasori .

[ edit ] Clothing and appearance

.. Common Akatsuki clothing

Akatsuki members dress in similar clothing: a long, dark cloak bearing red clouds and a red interior with a chin-high collar another notable feature included is a hood which was seen to be worn by Tobi. All members also wear purple or black nail polish on their fingernails and toenails. Large conical straw hats with small spike-like bells hanging from them also seem to be part of their outfit, but they discard them after being discovered. This seems to be an optional piece of the Akatsuki outfit, likely to further disguise their identities.

[ edit ] Forehead protectors

The members of Akatsuki continue to wear forehead protectors from their former home villages, but scratch a line across the symbol of their village. This is done to indicate that their ties to the village have been severed and they no longer give allegiance to their former homes. Currently, Tobi, Zetsu, and the unnamed member have not been shown wearing forehead protectors, so it is unknown where they are originally from, although Tobi, being part of the Uchiha clan, can be assumed to be from Konohagakure. Additionally, Hidan's forehead protector, while clearly visible, features a symbol not corresponding with any known village, so his place of origin is a mystery, as well.

Current members

Itachi Uchiha

Main article: Itachi Uchiha

Membership status: ActiveRing: ? ("scarlet", "bloody") Ring position: Right ring finger Partner: Kisame Hoshigaki Defining characteristics: Mastery of the Sharingan and Mangekyo Sharingan , mastery of genjutsu , mastery of Uchiha fire-based jutsu
Itachi Uchiha ( ??? ??? , Uchiha Itachi ? ) is a missing-nin from Konohagakure and is partnered with Kisame Hoshigaki . During his time in Konoha, Itachi's prodigious talents and rapid development into a skilled ninja earned great attention from his family, the Uchiha clan . [20] His skills were such that his family focused all of its attention on him, ignoring Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha , in the process. Over time Itachi began to distance himself from the village and his family, eventually becoming a prime suspect in his best friend, Shisui Uchiha's , death. Before the death could be properly investigated, Itachi killed all the members of the Uchiha clan in a single night so that he could "test [his] ability". [21] Itachi decided to spare Sasuke, however, stating that he was not worth killing; instead, prior to leaving, Itachi told Sasuke to live hating him and to grow strong enough to avenge the clan. At some point in time Itachi joined Akatsuki. While it stands to reason that he joined after massacring the Uchiha clan, the timeline that has been given throughout the series coupled with his age suggests that he joined the organization prior to killing his clan.
Despite his status as a wanted criminal and murderer, Itachi does not display any open enjoyment of violence or combat. Itachi 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. [22] 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. [23] With it, Itachi is able to utilize attacks such as Tsukuyomi ( ?? , literally "Moon Reader" ? ) , a genjutsu that can torture an opponent for what seems like days in a matter of moments. Although these abilities are capable of defeating even the strongest opponents, it has been suggested that he is losing his eyesight as a result of repeated use. [24] Itachi is also very adept with standard genjutsu, and can trap others within an illusion by merely pointing or looking at them, [25] as well as turning their own genjutsu against them. He is also noted to be extremely fast with his techniques and movements, extending to his hand signs and weaponry as well. [26]
Kisame HoshigakiAge: 29 in Part I [27] , 31 in Part II Ring: ? ("south") Ring position: Left ring fingerPartner: Itachi Uchiha Seiyu: Tomoyuki Dan Voice actor: Kirk Thornton

Kisame Hoshigaki ( ???? , Hoshigaki Kisame ? ) is a missing-nin from Kirigakure and is partnered with Itachi Uchiha . He gets along considerably better with Itachi than most Akatsuki members do with their own partners, immediately doing as Itachi asks of him and always looking out for Itachi's well-being. His former country, the Land of Water , now seeks him out for plotting to overthrow its government and being involved in numerous assassinations. [28] When he was still loyal to Kirigakure, he was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist ( ??????? , Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Sh,, ? ) , a group of ninja that wield particularly large weapons in battle. [29] Kisame's weapon is called Samehada (??, "shark skin"), a scale-covered sword that shaves off skin instead of cutting and is capable of absorbing untold amounts of chakra. Samehada only allows Kisame to wield it; if anyone else tries to pick it up, spikes protrude from its handle and it returns to Kisame's side. [30] Like other characters who have trained to be one of the Seven Swordsmen, Kisame enjoys mutilating his opponents, as seen when he suggests cutting off Naruto Uzumaki 's legs to make him easier to carry. [31]

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. [32] [33] If there is no water source where he happens to be fighting, Kisame can use Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave ( ??·???? , Suiton: Bakusui Sh,,ha ? ) to create a lake's worth of water to be used for attacks. [34] 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. [35]

Konan

Ring: ? ("white") Ring position: Right middle finger Partner: Pein

Konan ( ?? , Konan ? ) is the only female ninja in Akatsuki. She is also the only member to call her partner and the Akatsuki leader, Pein , by his name. When she was younger, Konan, Pein , and Yahiko were left orphaned by one of Amegakure's many wars, forcing them to fend for themselves. The three eventually encountered Jiraiya , who looked after them and taught them basic ninjutsu . Jiraiya had believed Konan to have died with Nagato and Yahiko some time later.

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. [36] Her abilities are constrained while wet, as paper clings to itself and loses its stiffness. [37]

Pein

Ring: ? ("nothing", "zero") Ring position: Right thumbPartner: Konan

Pein ( ??? , Pein ? ) is the leader of Akatsuki. When he was younger, Pein, then known as Nagato (??), Konan , and Yahiko were left orphaned by one of Amegakure's many wars, forcing them to fend for themselves. The three eventually encountered Jiraiya , who looked after them and taught them basic ninjutsu . Sometime after Jiraiya left the three, Pein began to believe that his childhood traumas had enlightened him and started to view himself as a god destined to teach the world the meaninglessness of fighting. [38] As such, he 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. [39] 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 . [40]

During his time with Jiraiya, Pein awakened his Rinnegan ( ??? , Rinnegan ? literally " Samsara Eye") eyes, characterized by a number of concentric circles around the pupil. The eyes, first possessed by the founder of the ninja world and the creator of the first jutsu, give Pein access to all six types of elemental chakra. [41] In later years he exhibits the ability to clone his subordinates with his Shapeshifting Technique ( ???? , Sh,,ten 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. [42]

Pein is shown to have six bodies in total that he is able to switch between. [43] 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 four bodies he has been seen in, the only common characteristics are the same orange hair color, a number of piercings that differ between bodies, and the Rinnegan. Each body has different unique abilities, allowing Pein to switch between them to fit the situation. The body with a large ponytail is able to summon a large array of different creatures, while a second, fatter body is able to absorb ninjutsu as a form of defense. [44] Pein can summon bodies he is not currently using and remotely control them in battle, sharing what they see to protect one another from attack.

Tobi

Ring: ? ("jewel", "ball"; "jade"; also the king in shogi)Ring position: Left thumb Partner: Formerly Deidara Seiyu: Wataru Takagi

Tobi ( ?? , Tobi ? ) is a former subordinate of Zetsu . After Sasori's death, Tobi takes his ring, position, and partner ( Deidara ) in Akatsuki, thereby becoming a full member. 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 a comical fashion whenever Tobi unintentionally annoys him. [45] Kisame Hoshigaki , on the other hand, appreciates Tobi's ability to brighten up their "gloomy organization". [46]

After Deidara's suicidal blast, which Zetsu speculates to have killed Tobi as well, [47] Tobi is shown to be alive and giving orders to Pein , the leader of Akatsuki. During their conversation, he refers to himself as Madara Uchiha . Since then, Tobi's personality and speech have become completely different, as he speaks much less formally and is more serious and arrogant, having discarded the very formal and correct manner of speech he had used prior, as well as his childlike facade.

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. [48]

Zetsu

Ring: ? ("boar") Ring position: Right little finger Partner: None Seiyu: Nobuo Tobita

Zetsu ( ?? , Zetsu ? ) functions as a spy for Akatsuki, a role made easier by his ability to merge with anything and instantly travel to a new location. [49] He has been shown able to move his body and take part in the tailed beast sealing ritual simultaneously which, in addition to being unique to him, allows him to act as a lookout while the sealing takes place. [15] Because of the role he plays, Zetsu is the only member of Akatsuki to act without a partner on a regular basis. Despite this, Zetsu serves as a sort of superior to other members, as they often report directly to him instead of the actual leader, Pein .

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. [50] 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. [51] 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.