Akatsuki Information

Akatsuki (meaning "Dawn," or "Daybreak") is a criminal organization in Naruto. They were first introduced in episode 80 of the Naruto anime and chapter 139 of the Naruto manga when Akatsuki members Itachi and Kisame entered the Hidden Leaf Village in pursuit of Naruto and the the Nine-Tailed Fox within him. Currently, Akatsuki consists of nine elite S-class criminals. The exact criteria for admission to Akatsuki are unknown, but extraordinary fighting ability and deadly ruthlessness seem to be prerequisites as members of Akatsuki have cause death and destruction in their villages in their past. Members of Akatsuki wear rings as well as their respective village headbands with a line stuck through the village symbol on. In addition to those they wear a black cloak with red clouds on it and have their nails painted. The significance of the painted nails and cloak are unknown, but it is a belief they are just for fashion. The purpose of the ring is not 100% clear either, but based on the manga it seems they use it to extract demons (called Bijuu) from their host (referred to as a Jinchuuriki). For the village headband, it is believed the line threw the village headband signifies a broken connection between the individual and the village (scroll to the bottom of the page for pictures of the accessories). The ultimate goal of Akatsuki is unknown, but most people believe that the organization is called Akatsuki, which means dawn, because they are working for the dawn of a new world order. This may explain their need for powerful demons such as the Nine-tailed fox in Naruto and Shukaku the One-Tailed Tanuki in Gaara. Akatsuki Members

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Paine

First Manga Appearance: 238

First Anime Appearance: 135

Ring: Rei (Zero) on right thumb

Originally From: Hidden Rain Village

Miscellaneous Information: Paine is the assigned leader of Akatsuki, although he reports to some other being who we do not know about (as seen in chapter 363 of the manga). He was told by the unknown figure to capture Naruto, and that because he is the leader, he cannot fail. Nothing much is known about him except that he is able to perform high level jutsu, he has brown-red hair (based on the official colored picture), blue eyes (based on the Shippuuden anime), and that he is originally from the Hidden Rain Village.

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Itachi Uchiha

First Manga Appearance: 139

First Anime Appearance: 80

Ring: Shu (Scarlet) on right ring finger

Originally From: Hidden Leaf Village

Miscellaneous Information: Killed everyone in his clan except for his little brother Sasuke. Sasuke believes that Itachi felt bad for killing his clan and left him alive so that he could punish Itachi for his misdeeds. In Akatsuki, he is partnered with Kisame and is responsible for catching the 9-tail fox which resides in Naruto.

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Kisame Hoshigaki

First Manga Appearance: 139

First Anime Appearance: 80

Ring: Minami (South) on left ring finger

Originally From: Hidden Mist Village

Miscellaneous Information: Kisame is one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, seven powerful ninja who utilize large and unique swords. Zabuza and Raiga were also members. Like everyone seen from the Hidden Mist Village, Kisame uses water element jutsu in combination with his powerful physical attacks. He is partnered with Itachi and they are responsible for catching the 9-tail fox which resides in Naruto.

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Zetsu

First Manga Appearance: 234

First Anime Appearance: 134

Ring: Kai (Boar) on right pinky finger

Originally From: Hidden Grass Village

Miscellaneous Information: The right side of his face, and likely his body, is black in color while his left side is white in color. He also has the ability to merge the ground, trees, and other plants.

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konan

First Manga Appearance: 238

First Anime Appearance: 135

Ring: Byakko (White Tiger) on right middle finger

Originally From: Unknown

Miscellaneous Information: This is the only female member of Akatsuki. In chapter 363 it seems as if she is paired up with Paine, and based on the only official colored picture we have seen, she has blue hair with a white flower in it. Aside from that, nothing else is known.

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Tobi-(madara uchiha)

First Manga Appearance: 280

First Anime Appearance: Has not appeared yet

Ring: Gyoku (Jewel/Jade) on left thumb

Originally From: Unknown

Miscellaneous Information: Tobi was Zetsu's subordinate. He has a very formal and correct manner of speech and wanted to fill in Sasori's position in Akatsuki after he had died. To his luck he was eventually let in Akatsuki as we see in chapter 317 that Deidara tells him how a member of Akatsuki is supposed to act.It is also believed Obito and Tobi are the same person because the apparent mechanization of parts of Tobi's body correspond to the injuries Obito suffered when last seen. In particular, Tobi wears a mask that directs attention to his one working eye. it is said in the manga that he gives pain orders and that means that he is higher in rank than pain.And futher on in the manga it is found out that his real name is (madara uchiha), itachi says himself said that that madara was his teacher and that he helped erradicate the uchiha clan.he also said that he founded the organazation called akatsuki. and with tobi being the leader, and he being itachi's mentor, it is without a question that madara is the leader of akatsuki and also the one named tobi

Info by:nimlasher

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Former Members Orochimaru

First Manga Appearance: 45

First Anime Appearance: 27

Ring: Kai (Boar) on right pinky finger

Originally From: Hidden Leaf Village

Miscellaneous Information: Orochimaru not being picked to be the Fourth Hokage,l ed to him fleeing from the Hidden Leaf Village. He became an Akatsuki member afterwards, but fled because of his fear of Itachi's power. Upon leaving, he kept his Akatsuki ring, which is currently still on the hand of his original body. The apparent special nature of his ring, his knowledge of their plans, and his fleeing of Akatsuki without informing the leader have led to bad blood between Orochimaru and Akatsuki. He found the Hidden Sound Village and took Sasuke as his subordinate with plans to transfer himself into Sasuke so that he could have the power of the Sharingan. Unfortunately for him, his plan never fully materialized as Sasuke killed Orochimaru before he could lay his hands on him.

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Sasori of the Red Sand

First Manga Appearance: 247

First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden 02

Ring: Gyoku (Jewel/Jade) on left thumb

Originally From: Hidden Sand Village

Miscellaneous Information: Flashbacks seem to indicate that his descent into darkness started when his parents died. Sasori is a very skilled a puppet master and controls puppets in combat. He can even turn the living into puppets and than use their jutsus. After killing Gaara with the help of his former partner Deidara, he fought with Sakura and his grandmother, Chiyo. They had a fierce battle, and in the end Sasori was killed.

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Deidara

First Manga Appearance: 247

First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden 02

Ring: Sei (Blue-Green) on right index finger

Originally From: Hidden Rock Village

Miscellaneous Information: A fancy and skillful fighter, with special mouths in the palm of each hand, he is able to manipulate clay into either a flight-capable clay bird that can support him or a a huge bomb that is capable of leveling a village without the use of exploding tags. After Sasori's death Deidara was partnered with the newest member of Akatsuki, Tobi. The partnership didn't last long as Deidara blew himself up as his final work of art to try and kill Sasuke.

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Hidan

First Manga Appearance: 312

First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden 10

Ring: San (Three) on left index finger

Originally From: Seems to be from the Hidden Rain Village

Miscellaneous Information: Hidan is first shown with a three-bladed scythe and says that he is the slowest attacker in Akatsuki.. He was a very religious individual and prays to his chain of prayer beads before a fight, wishing for nothing less than a kill. He believed in the Jashin (wicked heart) religion where killing is encouraged and anything less than that is considered a sin. He put his religon into practice by killing Asuma. Unfortunately for him, Shikamaru could never forgive him for that and killed Hidan using explosive tags.

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Kakuzu

First Manga Appearance: 238

First Anime Appearance: 135

Ring: Kita (North) on left middle finger

Originally From: Hidden Waterfall Village

Miscellaneous Information: Kakuzu is the tallest member of Akatsuki. He is obsessed about money, and will do anything to get it. He also dislikes Hidan's religion as he believes that the rituals Hidan performs are a waste of time. He gets in frequent arguments with Hidan because they have two distinct personalities - Hidan is a religious type of guy, while Kakuzu is a money man. The only reason Kakuzu puts up with it all because be believes in the end it can bring him money. Kakuzu was killed by Naruto using the Fuuton Rasenshuriken.

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Subordinates of Akatsuki Kabuto Yakushi

Kabuto is a spy who was originally working for the Akatsuki member Sasori. Although it's currently unknown where Kabuto's true loyalty lies, he is currently working for Orochimaru. Deidara mentions that one of Sasori's spies has become a traitor. In a recent chapter of the manga, however, it appears that Kabuto is that traitor. At this point though, Kabuto appears loyal to Orochimaru, who had freed him from Sasori's hypnosis. He serves as Orochimaru's top assistant, taking care of him in his weakened state. His complex nature and tendency to do good things such as healing Hinata during the Chunnin exam (when he was disguised as an ANBU) have made him possibly the most mysterious character in the series.

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Yuura

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Unnamed Subordinate

His name is unknown but he was the subordinate of the puppet master Sasori. He was a replacement used in a shapeshifting jutsu and took on the shape of Kisame as a diversion to hold off Gai, Rock Lee, Tenten, and Neji from entering into Akatsuki's Lair while they extracted the Bijuu out of of Gaara. He was eventually killed by Gai when he was in the form of Kisame.