Akatsuki

is 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 they have a 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.

Akatsuki 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. At that time, it consisted of Amegakure ninja who wished to bring peace to their home country, which had been used as a battleground for three bordering countries during the Second Shinobi World War. 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. Tobi alleges that it was his encouragement that lead Yahiko to form the organization, and thus credits himself as the group's creator.

In its early days, Akatsuki gained fame and recognition in Amegakure, drawing the attention of Hanzō, a world-renowned ninja and leader of country. Hanzō, fearing that the group would become a threat to his rule, approached the members of Akatsuki and claimed that he wanted to use them as an axis to negotiate peace between Konohagakure, Iwagakure and Sunagakure. However, Hanzō betrayed Akatsuki and, along with Danzō Shimura of Konohagakure's ANBU, kidnapped Konan and orchestrated Yahiko's death. After summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and attempting to exact revenge, Nagato inherited leadership of the organization and prompted a civil war in Amegakure. Hanzō was eventually killed, and Nagato gained control over the entire country.

Following the Third Shinobi World War, Akatsuki transformed into a mercinary group. Nagato presumably began taking direction from Tobi, who acted as the group's collaborator and benefactor. In times of peace some ninja villages would, rather than increasing their own armaments, hire Akatsuki to fight their wars, spy on their enemies, or carry out assassinations. The Fourth Raikage claimed that Kumogakure had never made use of Akatsuki's services. It was widely believed that Akatsuki was founded and based in Kirigakure, perhaps due to Tobi's influence over the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. In time, Akatsuki would begin their ploy to capture the tailed beasts.

Events relating to Akatsuki before the beginning of Part II of the series have only been given in fragments. Sasori and Orochimaru were partners for a time. Kakuzu had a number of other partners whom he killed; he was joined with Hidan as a result. Hidan's immortality meant that he would no longer require 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 Itachi's village. When he joined, Orochimaru attempted to steal his body in order to gain control of the Sharingan. His failure influenced his desertion of Akatsuki. The group also captured two of the nine tailed-beasts before Part II, which are indicated in the anime to have been the Five-Tails and the Seven-Tails.

Akatsuki became much more active in Part II. In the beginning they sent two members, Deidara and Sasori, to Sunagakure to capture the One-Tail. Sasori was killed during a confrontation with Sakura Haruno and Chiyo. Next, partners Hidan and Kakuzu defeated the Two-Tails Jinchūriki. They were shortly killed in an unrelated fight with Konoha ninja, while Deidara died in his clash with Sasuke Uchiha before the sealing of the Four-Tails. Sasuke caused Itachi's death not long after. Tobi, under the name Madara Uchiha, then convinced Sasuke to join Akatsuki. Although the group had lost five members already, Tobi claimed that they needed Sasuke's loyalty.

In the anime, Nagato was shown capturing the Six-Tails. He and Konan then traveled to Konoha to retrieve the Nine-Tails from Naruto Uzumaki. Konoha was left in a demolished state, but both Akatsuki members failed to complete their assignment. Nagato died, while Konan left the organization she had helped build once and for all. Meanwhile, Sasuke was sent to Kumogakure to capture the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki. He too was bested in his mission, and managed only to bring back a small part of the beast. The Fourth Raikage, believing his younger brother kidnapped, was provoked to issue a Kage Summit to discuss the threat with his fellow leaders. Tobi, wishing to accelerate his machinations, infiltrated the meeting and declared war against the Five Great Shinobi Nations and the Land of Iron, promishing to use the seven tailed-beasts Akatsuki had already captured as weapons. The villagers and their associated countries proceeded to form the Allied Shinobi Forces, deciding to face Akatsuki head-on in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

In preparation for the war, Kisame Hoshigaki infiltrated Kumogakure to gather intelligence on the Shinobi Alliance, and to learn the location of the two remaining 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 Jinchūriki. He died in the process, but first was able to send intelligence to Tobi. Meanwhile, Tobi went to Amegakure to retrieve Nagato's corpse and the Rinnegan. He murdered Konan in the process. Kabuto Yakushi, a new ally of Akatsuki, then kidnapped Yamato, allowing him to strengthen his army of White Zetsu. Kabuto then used Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation to supplement Akatsuki's forces with an army of deceased shinobi, and Akatsuki marched off to war.

Main Goal
Although some members joined Akatsuki to further their own goals, all are united in Akatsuki's ultimate goal of gaining world domination. Nagato has mentioned a three-step process to work their way towards this goal. First, they plan to obtain a large amount of money to support their organisation. 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, 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. 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. Without any business, the other shinobi villages would collapse due to the lack of funds. Finally, after Akatsuki is the only major force of shinobi in existence, they can easily conquer the other countries. 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.

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. Akatsuki has sealed seven of the nine beasts before the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Obito's Goal
After Rin'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. With this goal in mind Obito returned to Madara Uchiha who had saved his life after the events of the Kannabi Bridge, 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. Tobi 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.

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.

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
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. 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. 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 and as such wasn't replaced. The rings' exact purpose have not been revealed.

The various rings are:
 * Right thumb: ; worn by Pain. Its colour is purplish-grey.
 * Right index finger: ; worn by Deidara. Its colour is teal.
 * Right middle finger: ; worn by Konan. Its colour is white.
 * Right ring finger: ; worn by Itachi Uchiha. Its colour is red.
 * Right little finger: ; worn by Zetsu. Its colour is green.
 * Left little finger: ; worn by Orochimaru. Its colour is slate blue.
 * Left ring finger: ; worn by Kisame Hoshigaki. Its colour is yellow.
 * Left middle finger: ; worn by Kakuzu. Its colour is dark green.
 * Left index finger: ; worn by Hidan. Its colour is orange.
 * Left thumb: ; 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, 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.

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, only Sasuke still loosely associated with Akatsuki)
 * Kabuto Yakushi (Sasori's underling, 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.

An unruly yet arguably the most effective team; a team that seemed unstoppable when together, something that Shikamaru 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, because of their own methods of avoiding death. Kisame jokingly referred to them as the.
 * Kakuzu & Hidan
 * Target(s): Two-Tails (Sealed), Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Failed)

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 blasphaemous 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.

A team that functioned very well with each other, as evidenced by Konan's loyalty towards Pain. Acting as the leader of Akatsuki, 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 type of headquarter for Akatsuki, while Konan served as the village's second-in-command.
 * Pain & Konan
 * Target(s): Six-Tails (Pain, Sealed), Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Failed)

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.
 * Orochimaru & Sasori

Formed by the two artists of Akatsuki, Sasori and Deidara worked well for the most part but had conflicting ideas on art. Sasori believed all art was to be kept permanent, such as his puppets, while Deidara thought art was to be instantaneous, then gone forever, such as his 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.
 * Sasori & Deidara
 * Target(s): One-Tailed Shukaku (Deidara, Sealed), Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Deidara, Failed)

Formed after Sasori's death, Tobi was introduced as his easily found replacement. 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 himself to be "Madara Uchiha", although in reality he was none other than Obito Uchiha.
 * Deidara & Tobi
 * Target(s): Three-Tails (Tobi, Sealed)

A team that 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.
 * Itachi Uchiha & Kisame Hoshigaki
 * Target(s): Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Itachi, Failed), Four-Tails (Kisame, Sealed), Eight-Tails (Kisame, Failed)

Although not exactly a two-man team, Zetsu has two personalities, which effectively makes him a team of two. Since each side has a level of individuality, they frequently argue with each other over which battles to watch, among other things. The two sides can also split apart, allowing each personality to act individually. Both of his sides seem to have an awareness of what the other is doing or thinking, making them a very effective team, although the white half has been shown to have a tendency to ask the black half questions that would be unnecessary if they completely shared their thoughts.
 * Zetsu
 * Function: Spy, army

Another unique feature of Zetsu is his ability to create clones. Those clones are described by Kisame as living beings comparing with the regular clones made of chakra.

When Akatsuki's ranks are thinned to five members, Tobi enlists the aid of Taka, who 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.
 * Taka
 * Target(s): Eight-Tails (Failed)

Naruto 6: Road to Ninja
In Naruto 6: Road to Ninja, the alternate Akatsuki is a known famous organisation, in which the members are heroic ninja instead of villains. It is led by Itachi Uchiha, and their headquarters is in Konohagakure.

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

 * 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 sucessful coup against Hanzō of the Salamander, and thus not missing-nin.
 * In the manga, they sealed the Three-Tails just before the Two-Tails, 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.