Akatsuki

is a criminal organization of S-Class missing-nins and is the most wanted group in all of 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, have become the primary antagonists in Part II.

Akatsuki at any given time is composed of no more than ten primary members, all of whom were S-Class criminals of their own respective villages. Members always work in teams of two with the exception of Zetsu, who functions as the organization's spy, and make use of their unique skills to the team's advantage. Team members must function very well or at least to accomplish their task even though they have a mutual problems with each other. The organization 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 begin the sealing with the organization's apparent leader's astral projection for a three-day long jutsu.

Goal
Main Goal: Although some members joined Akatsuki to further their own goals, all are united in Akatsuki's ultimate goal of gaining world domination. Their leader 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 couldn'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 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 labor. Without any business, the other shinobi villages would 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. 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 focus of much of Akatsuki's efforts and screentime 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 so far obtained seven of the nine: the first through the seventh tailed beasts.

However, this plan may just be a ruse as Akatsuki's three most prominent members have separate goals in mind.

Madara's Goal: Madara plans on using Akatsuki to gain the tailed beasts for himself and use their power to restore the strength of his Mangekyo Sharingan. Since the early years of Konoha, he has showed great interest in destroying Konoha.

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 "weapons". Whichever side makes Pain use the technique first would wipe out the opposing country, which would scare them into never using their weapon again, and scare the other countries to never start a war or they would be wiped out too. Through the 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 are the only Akatsuki members aware of this.

Itachi's Goal: After the Uchiha 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 them (especially Sasuke) from the outside. During his time in the group, Itachi would delay his own attempts to capture the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, indirectly leaked information about the organization to Konoha, and attempted to kill Madara through Sasuke. Before his death, Itachi gave Naruto some of his "power", telling him to continue protecting Konoha and Sasuke, should the event occur that Sasuke would plan for their village's destruction. The "power" that Itachi gave to Naruto remains unknown.

Wardrobe
Akatsuki members have a similar way of dress, 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. All members, except Tobi (due to the fact that he's wearing gloves), wear nail polish of varying colors on their finger and toenails, and may wear a conical straw hat with small spike-like balls hanging down to cover their faces. The hats may be used to move around in the general population unnoticed, or for when the weather requires one. Most members tend to wear their village headband with a scar through the middle to show their defection.

Colors of fingers and toenails are:
 * Pain/Konan, Deidara; Black
 * Itachi Uchiha/Kisame Hoshigaki; Dark purple
 * Kakuzu/Hidan; Dark Green
 * Sasori; Teal
 * Zetsu; Light purple

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 ring's exact purpose have not been revealed.

The various rings are:
 * Right thumb: ; currently worn by Pain,
 * Right index finger: ; formerly worn by Deidara.
 * Right middle finger: ; currently worn by Konan.
 * Right ring finger: ; formerly worn by Itachi Uchiha.
 * Right little finger: ; currently worn by Zetsu,
 * Left little finger: ; formerly worn by Orochimaru.
 * Left ring finger: ; currently worn by Kisame Hoshigaki.
 * Left middle finger: ; formerly worn by Kakuzu.
 * Left index finger: ; formerly worn by Hidan.
 * Left thumb: ; currently worn by Tobi, formerly worn by Sasori.

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, Team Hawk aligns themselves with Akatsuki. They wear Akatsuki cloaks, but they seem to have hoods instead of high collars. None of them wear headbands, nail polishes, nor the rings, which signify them being unofficial members.

Members
Akatsuki members are S-Class criminals, therefore becoming missing-nin, who have fled from their village of origin for various reasons. It should be noted however that Akatsuki's recognized leader and his assistant are not missing-nin as they run their own village that is recognized by the shinobi world.

Active Members

 * Nagato/Pain (Akatsuki Co-Founder /Apparent Leader)
 * Madara Uchiha/Tobi (Akatsuki Co-Founder/Benefactor/True Leader)
 * Konan
 * Kisame Hoshigaki
 * Zetsu (Akatsuki Spy)

Inactive Members

 * Itachi Uchiha (Deceased, Unreplaced)
 * Kakuzu (Deceased, Unreplaced)
 * Hidan (Incapacitated, Presumed Deceased, Unreplaced)
 * Sasori (Deceased, Replaced by Tobi)
 * Deidara (Deceased, Unreplaced)
 * Orochimaru (Defected, Permanently Sealed, Presumed Deceased, Unreplaced)

Teams
Akatsuki teams are put together in teams of two to exploit combined strengths for the organization's goals to be met.

Active Teams
A team that so far, functions very well with each other, as evidenced by Konan's loyalty to Pain. Acting as the leader of Akatsuki, Pain directs the rest of the organization to their respective goals; his most direct interaction with the other members is using the Illusionary Dragon Nine Consuming Seals. In addition, Pain is the leader of Amegakure, and uses the village as a type of headquarters for Akatsuki, while Konan serves as the village's second-in-command.
 * Pain/Konan
 * Senior: Pain
 * Target(s): Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Currently Fighting)

When Akatsuki's ranks are thinned to five members, Madara enlists the aid of Team Hawk, who shares the desire for the destruction of Konoha. To complete their goals, Madara has ordered Team Hawk to hunt down the Eight-Tailed Giant Ox while Akatsuki (particularly Pain) hunts for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Technically, the members of Team Hawk are not full members of Akatsuki, as they do not possess the rings worn by each of the full members. However, they have been wearing Akatsuki cloaks, signifying their affiliation with the organization.
 * Team Hawk
 * Senior: Sasuke
 * Target(s): Eight-Tailed Giant Ox (Failed)

Not technically a team, but Zetsu has two personalities, effectively making it 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.
 * Zetsu
 * Function: Spy

Inactive Teams
A team that functioned very well together and was highly effective. The two completed almost every assignment Pain gave them with little trouble with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox being the only known exception. With Itachi working as a double agent, however, they may have 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.
 * Itachi/Kisame
 * Senior: Itachi
 * Target(s): Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Itachi, Failed), Four-Tailed Beast (Kisame, Sealed)

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 organization. Despite the eminent irritation, the two worked well together, as evidenced by Tobi planting Deidara's explosive clays underground during Deidara's last stand against Sasuke.
 * Deidara/Tobi
 * Senior: Deidara
 * Target(s): Three-Tailed Giant Turtle (Tobi, Sealed)

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. Kisame also referred to them as the because of their own methods of avoiding death.
 * Kakuzu/Hidan
 * Senior: Kakuzu
 * Target(s): Two-Tailed Monster Cat (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 blasphemous things and his greediness to be unbearable, not to mention that Kakuzu's job as a bounty hunter usually got on Hidan's nerve. As a result of their sideline in collecting bounties, this team was usually late in the line of work.

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 Exploding Clay. 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.
 * Sasori/Deidara
 * Senior: Sasori
 * Target(s): One-Tailed Shukaku (Deidara, 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

Affiliation
Each member of Akatsuki is known to be (or have been) affiliated with another group, except for Zetsu. Some fans believe that Zetsu comes from Kusagakure village because of his plant-like appearance. However, Zetsu's profile's "village of origin" section the data book is left blank and furthermore he doesn't wear a Grass headband.
 * Nagato/Pain: Amegakure village (leader, "God").
 * Madara Uchiha/Tobi: Uchiha clan (leader, former), Konohagakure village (co-founder), Kirigakure village (Mizukage, former).
 * Konan: Amegakure village (second-in-command, "Angel").
 * Itachi Uchiha: Uchiha Clan (former), Konohagakure village (secret).
 * Kisame Hoshigaki: Kirigakure village (former), Seven Swordsmen of the Mist (former).
 * Kakuzu: Takigakure village (former), bounty hunter.
 * Hidan: Yugakure village (former), Jashin religion.
 * Sasori: Sunagakure village (former).
 * Deidara: Iwagakure village (former), terrorist for hire.
 * Orochimaru: Konohagakure village (former), Legendary Sannin, Akatsuki (former), Otogakure village (founder, leader).
 * Team Hawk
 * Sasuke Uchiha: Uchiha clan, Konohagakure village (former), Team 7 (former), Otogakure village (former), Team Snake/Hawk (founder, leader).
 * Suigetsu Hozuki: Kirigakure village (status unknown), Seven Swordsman of the Mist (trainee), Otogakure village (experiment, former), Team Snake/Hawk.
 * Karin: Otogakure village (guard, former), Team Snake/Hawk.
 * Jugo: Otogakure village (experiment, former), Team Snake/Hawk.

Crimes that Led to Defection

 * Madara/Tobi:  attacked his village.
 * Itachi: murdered the entire Uchiha clan (under the secret orders of the Konoha elders).
 * Kisame: murdered a Daimyo and served in espionage.
 * Kakuzu: stole the Earth Grudge Fear technique, along with the hearts of every elder of his village.
 * Hidan: murdered his neighbors for their ways of peace.
 * Sasori: practiced on the inhumane desecration of corpses and murdered the Third Kazekage (village unaware of this act at the time).
 * Deidara: became a terrorist bomber for hire.
 * Orochimaru
 * (from Konohagakure): practiced inhumane forbidden techniques and abducted villagers for its experiments.
 * (from Akatsuki): attempted to steal Itachi's body (which ended in failure).
 * Sasuke
 * (from Konohagakure): left to seek Orochimaru for power.
 * (from Otogakure): left after absorbing Orochimaru.

Reason(s) Behind Recruitment

 * Nagato/Pain: wants "world peace", having "suffered enough" in his childhood, and wishes to stop war, ironically with more war, now that he has the power to do so.
 * Madara/Tobi: banished from and desires vengeance against Konoha, as well as wanting more power by restoring the strength of his Mangekyo Sharingan.
 * Konan: presumably due to her unwavering loyalty to Pain; According to Pain, her reason is "Love".
 * Itachi: feigned defection from Konoha (while secretly remaining loyal to it) by joining the most dangerous organization known to all five countries (after killing his clan under the secret orders of the village's elders) while secretly watching over his younger brother, Sasuke; Acording to Pain, his reason was "Ideology".
 * Zetsu: According to Pain, his reason is "Land".
 * Kisame: According to Pain, his reason is "Spite".
 * Kakuzu: presumably because of desiring more money; According to Pain, his reason was "Resources".
 * Hidan: presumably because of Akatsuki practicing religious-like activities (i.e. a ritual that concerned the sealing of the tailed-beasts) suited to his liking; According to Pain, his reason was "Religion".
 * Deidara: was forced into Akatsuki's service, due to Itachi's "insistence"; According to Pain, his reason was "Just Because".
 * Sasuke: desires vengeance against Konoha in retribution for his clan's near-extermination at the expense of his older brother, Itachi.

Immortality/Eternal Youth/Long Lifespan
Some members of Akatsuki have the ability to live longer (if not forever) and/or the ability to retain their youthful looks. Members who are (or were) capable of such feats are the following:


 * Madara Uchiha/Tobi: possesses the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, through which he has achieved immortality, as seen from his advanced age and ability to survive fatal strikes.
 * Kakuzu: used Earth Grudge Fear to pluck out the hearts of his opponents and integrate them into his own body to maintain his long lifespan.
 * Hidan: became the "successful experiment of the Jashin religion's secret jutsu", and can survive even decapitation.
 * Sasori: changed his own body into a human puppet, thus achieving eternal youth.
 * Orochimaru: used Living Corpse Reincarnation to switch into healthier bodies indefinitely roughly once every 3 years.

Associates

 * Amegakure no Sato (Village run by Pain)
 * Kabuto Yakushi (Former Sasori Underling) (Defected)
 * Yura (Sasori Underling) (Deceased)
 * Mukade (Sasori Underling) (Deceased)
 * Genji (Kakuzu's Banker) (Status Unknown)
 * Zangei (Bounty Collector) (Captured)

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. He also states that Akatsuki teams get two single rooms to sleep in.

Trivia

 * Itachi and Kisame are the first two members of Akatsuki that have been introduced in the series.
 * With the exception of Hidan, all members of Akatsuki who have died have either lost or removed their Akatsuki uniforms before dying.
 * Hidan mentions in Part II that he is new to the group. This is seemingly corroborated in Akatsuki's holographic meeting at the end of Part I. The figure of a tall, bulky individual can be seen (presumably Hidan's predecessor) who bears no resemblance to any known Akatsuki member. This is most-likely one of Kakuzu's previous partners as he is known for killing them when angry.
 * Hidan and Kakuzu were the only Akatsuki two-man team to have both members eliminated simultaneously.
 * Deidara was the only known member of Akatsuki who was forced to join the organization.