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This is a list of members of Akatsuki, a fictional organization plotting to dominate the Naruto world, in the anime and manga series Naruto.

Current members

Itachi Uchiha

Main article: Itachi Uchiha

Itachi Uchiha, a missing-nin from Konohagakure, is the partner of Kisame Hoshigaki and the first Akatsuki member to be introduced. Itachi is one of the last remaining members of the Uchiha Clan, the other his brother Sasuke Uchiha. He is responsible for many events in the series, such as the Uchiha Clan massacre and Orochimaru's defection of Akatsuki. Itachi has complete mastery of the Sharingan and Mangekyo Sharingan, and also a master of ninjutsu and genjutsu. Itachi's targeted tailed beast is the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Kisame Hoshigaki

File:HoshigakiKisame.JPG
Kisame Hoshigaki
  • Age: 29 in Part I[1], 31 in Part II
  • Membership status: Active
  • Height: 195 cm[1]
  • Weight: 83.1 kg[1]
  • Birthday: March 18[1]
  • Blood type: AB[1]
  • Ring: 南 ("south")
  • Ring position: Left ring finger
  • Partner: Itachi Uchiha
  • First appearance: Chapter 139; Naruto Episode 80
  • Defining characteristics: Shark-like appearance, expert in water-based jutsu, exceptionally large chakra supply, high physical strength and speed, Samehada (sentient, chakra-absorbing sword).
  • Seiyu: Tomoyuki Dan
  • Voice actor: Kirk Thornton

Kisame Hoshigaki (干柿鬼鮫, Hoshigaki Kisame) is a missing-nin from Kirigakure and is partnered with Itachi Uchiha. Unlike most other two-man teams of Akatsuki, Kisame gets along well with his partner. While Itachi is assigned to Naruto Uzumaki, Kisame's target is the host of the four-tailed beast, an elderly man whom Kisame defeats with some effort.[2] 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 (鬼鮫), means "Demon Shark". Despite his rather brutish appearance and his apparent love for battle, Kisame speaks in a calm and polite manner compared to most of the other members of Akatsuki.

Kisame was also one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist (霧の忍刀七人衆, Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū) and is known as the Scourge (怪人, kaijin) of the Hidden Mist. Zabuza Momochi and Raiga Kurosuki were also members. Like the other two members, he is somewhat overconfident in battle. He also clearly enjoys fighting and possibly mutilating his opponents; for example, he entertains the idea of removing Naruto's legs to keep him from running instead of the much simpler method of knocking Naruto unconscious. During his battle with Asuma Sarutobi, Kisame also took great pleasure in shredding his shoulder with Samehada.

Kisame's main weapon is Samehada (鮫肌, "Shark skin"), a large unique sword of comparable size to Zabuza Momochi's zanbatō. Unlike a regular sword, Samehada is covered in large scales that shave instead of cut, much like a shark's skin (hence the name). It also has the ability to absorb any chakra around it, allowing Kisame to literally cut through his opponent's chakra. The amount that it can absorb is unclear, but it can even consume the demon fox's chakra with no ill effects. Samehada is also a sentient weapon and only allows Kisame to wield it.[3] When Might Guy attempted to hold Samehada and use it against Kisame, it responded with a flurry of spikes from its handle and found its way back to Kisame.[4]

The amount of chakra Kisame possesses is apparently very large, even by Akatsuki's standards. Their leader commented on this; a Kisame body-double at thirty-percent power – made with the leader's Shapeshifting Technique – had as much chakra as Naruto while drawing on demon fox's chakra when he fought Neji during the Chunin exams, an observation made by Neji Hyuga when he observed Kisame's body-double with his Byakugan.[5]

Kisame has displayed astonishing speed and incredible physical strength. He uses water-based jutsu in combination with his powerful physical attacks. He has also demonstrated the ability to use Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave (水遁・爆水衝波, Suiton: Bakusui Shōha), allowing him to create water from nothing[6] and turn any potential battleground into a lake for his other water-based attacks. In addition to using the more generic of water-based jutsu, Kisame also uses a number of shark-themed jutsu, such as using Water Release: Water Shark Missile Technique (水遁・水鮫弾の術, Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu, English TV "Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu") to attack opponents with a burst of water in the form of a shark. When an opponent is knocked into a body of water, Kisame can use Water Release: Five Eating Sharks (水遁・五食鮫, Suiton: Goshokuzame) to create five shark to attack them with.

Pein

File:WikiAL.jpg
Pein
  • Membership status: Active leader
  • Ring: 零 ("nothing", "zero")
  • Ring position: Right thumb
  • Partner: Unnamed member
  • First cameo: Chapter 238; Naruto Episode 135
  • First appearance: Chapter 363
  • Defining characteristics: Spiked, auburn hair, unusual eyes, and numerous piercings.

Pein (ペイン) is leader of Akatsuki and a missing-nin from Amegakure. None of the other Akatsuki members aside from the unnamed member refer to him by name, instead simply calling him "leader," and his face is rarely shown. He has the respect of most of his subordinates (Hidan is an exception) and is the one directing their actions. He is also the one to initiate and supervise the jutsu that forcibly brings a tailed beast out of its host. He can also use the Shapeshifting Technique (象転の術, Shōten no Jutsu) to clone his subordinates using human sacrifices, allowing them to engage the enemy without risking themselves. The clones formed are a perfect copy of the target, even possessing the kekkei genkai and unique weapons of the original. Their abilities are proportionate to the amount of chakra given to the clone (in its debut, he requested thirty percent). When it becomes necessary to gather his subordinates, he can communicate with them over long distances through some form of telepathy.

Though Pein seems to be in a position of authority over the other Akatsuki members, he also reports to someone else above him. After Deidara's death, this person assigns him to capture Naruto directly, unwilling to accept any more failures. The identity of this person or his role within Akatsuki is as of yet undetermined.

While Pein has remained mostly anonymous, the cover of chapter 317 depicts him with auburn hair. He is seen sitting on an odd statue with many tubes winding through it, commenting that Hidan and Kakuzu are always causing trouble. The statue is located in a city much more modern than is common for the series, and has tubes similar to those in the statue winding through its various buildings. He also has unusual eyes, with several increasingly lighter gray circles around the pupil and a pink outline on the corners of his eyes.

Pein has displayed at least a cursory knowledge of the various villages, as well as the underlying political and economic conditions in the country at large. When Hidan referred to the Konoha-nin as "godless heathens," he gave a short description of Konoha's "Will of Fire," then proceeded to note that all countries have some similar practice to justify their battles.[7]

Tobi

File:Tobi2.jpg
Tobi
  • Membership status: Unconfirmed, presumed dead by other members
  • Ring: 玉 ("jewel", "ball"; "jade"; also the king in shogi)
  • Ring position: Left thumb
  • Partner: Formerly Deidara
  • First appearance: Chapter 280
  • Defining characteristics: Orange mask with single eye-hole covered in a swirl pattern concentrated towards the right eye

Tobi (トビ), formerly Zetsu's subordinate, became a full Akatsuki member after Sasori's death. He now wears the same ring as Sasori, having recovered it after Sasori's death, and took his place as Deidara's partner. During Deidara's battle with Sasuke, Tobi is caught in Deidara's self-sacrificing explosion. Zetsu, being nearby, assumes Tobi to have died. Unlike the majority of ninja thus far, Tobi has not been shown wearing a visible forehead protector, so his place of origin is unknown. He wears an odd mask that covers his entire face save for his right eye. Furthermore, Tobi has several bolts or pins present on the arms of his uniform, now obscured by his Akatsuki cloak.

Tobi's area of expertise remains unclear, as he has never been shown fighting. He and Deidara have defeated the three-tailed beast, but Tobi is never shown doing anything but running from it. After the battle, which goes largely unwitnessed, Tobi claims to have knocked it out with a single attack. Deidara disagrees with the assessment, claiming that it was his "artistic contribution" (exploding clay) that allowed them to win. During his fight with Sasuke, Tobi shows the ability to recover from what are presumably debilitating or fatal blows. After being slashed across the midsection by Sasuke's sword, Tobi collapses, only to stand up again a few seconds later and complain about the speed of the attack. Aside from this, Tobi has yet to demonstrate any techniques. According to Pein, anyone like Tobi could be acquired if necessary, while he describes Deidara as unique, implying that Tobi is one of Akatsuki's weakest members.[8]

Tobi has a very formal and correct manner of speech. While his physical appearance remains a mystery, Zetsu has implied that he is relatively young when one side of him referred to Tobi as a "good boy." He respects Deidara, referring to him as Deidara-senpai. Tobi's personality is rather odd in comparison with other Akatsuki members. While most of the members are dedicated and serious, though somewhat argumentative or even hostile towards each other when not fighting, Tobi is more carefree and goofy, much like Naruto. His personality does not please Deidara, who believes that all Akatsuki members should be serious and calm. Tobi unintentionally irritates Deidara frequently, which usually results in Deidara attacking Tobi in a comedic fashion. Kisame, on the other hand, somewhat appreciates Tobi's ability to brighten up a gloomy organization such as theirs.[9]

Unnamed member

File:Female akatsuki.JPG
The unnamed member
  • Membership status: Active
  • Ring: 白 ("white")
  • Ring position: Right middle finger
  • Partner: Pein
  • First cameo: Chapter 238, Naruto Episode 135
  • First appearance: Chapter 363
  • Defining characteristics: Flower-like accessory in hair

This unnamed member is the only female member of the Akatsuki. She has blue hair with a flower accessory in it, but beyond that this member remains a mystery. She has yet to play a part in the actual storyline as anything other than a sealing ritual and recently standing with Pein.

Zetsu

File:Zetsu anime.jpg
Zetsu
  • Membership status: Active
  • Ring: 亥 ("boar")
  • Ring position: Right little finger
  • Partner: None
  • First appearance: Chapter 234; Naruto Episode 134
  • Defining characteristics: Venus-flytrap like extensions around body, dual personality, body split into white and black halves, cannibal.
  • Seiyu: Nobuo Tobita

Zetsu (ゼツ) is a mysterious missing-nin. Not much is known about him, other than his allegiance to Akatsuki and his function as a spy. His head appears to be enveloped in a large venus flytrap, which can also envelop the rest of his body. The right side of his face and body is black in color while his left side is white in color. 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, such as whether to allow Tobi to fill Sasori's place in Akatsuki. His eyes are yellow and pupil-less.

Zetsu frequently uses Leech All Creation: Attack Prevention Technique (蛭万象・防火の術, Hiru Banshō: Bōka no Jutsu), allowing him to merge with the ground, trees, and other plants to travel long distances fairly quickly.[10] He has also shown the ability to move his body during the sealing ritual, which no other Akatsuki member is capable of. As such, he serves as a lookout during the ritual. To help with this task, Zetsu has increased vision that allows him to see further than most other characters. In addition to his role as a spy, Zetsu appears to function as Akatsuki's hunter-nin. He is sent to dispose of the corpses of those used for the leader's Shapeshifting Technique, as well as recover the rings of Sasori and Deidara. He performs the former function by devouring the corpses, which fits with his "venus flytrap" theme.[11]

Zetsu's only known subordinate is Tobi, who later took Sasori's position in Akatsuki after Sasori's death. Akatsuki members have so far generally seemed to report to Zetsu as if he was a superior, though perhaps only because he is often acting directly on the instructions of Pein.

Former members

Deidara

File:Deidaraanime.jpg
Deidara
  • Membership status: Deceased; unreplaced
  • Ring: 青 ("blue", "green")
  • Ring position: Right index finger
  • Partner: Formerly Tobi, Sasori before that
  • First cameo: Chapter 238; Naruto Episode 135
  • First appearance: Chapter 247; Shippūden Episode 2
  • Defining characteristics: Specialist in explosive-based jutsu using clay, clay manipulation with mouths in palms of hands and chest, scope on left eye, left eye trained to counter Sharingan genjutsu
  • Seiyu: Katsuhiko Kawamoto

Deidara (デイダラ) is a missing-nin from Iwagakure and the partner of Tobi. Deidara refers to his ninjutsu as art, believing each bomb he makes to be such works. He refers to style as superflat (the word itself used to refer to certain types of manga), and claims pop is dead. One of Deidara's catchphrases, "Art is a blast" (or variations therein), was originally coined by famous Japanese abstract artist Tarō Okamoto. Deidara is very proud of his art, to the point that he is simply unwilling to accept that anything could defeat it, leading to frequent overconfidence in battle. Deidara also has a habit of ending his sentences with a mumble/grunt, usually transcribed as un or mmm, in the same way Naruto ends most of his sentences with -ttebayo. Deidara has become the most popular member of Akatsuki among fans in Japan. In the most recent character popularity poll, Deidara ranked in third place, even higher than Naruto Uzumaki.

File:DEIDARA HAND.jpg
One of Deidara's palm-mouths.

In battle, Deidara uses special mouths in the palm of each hand to create Exploding Clay (起爆粘土, Kibaku Nendo). As the name suggests he can make the clay explode using the command "detonate" (喝, Katsu). To give the clay its explosive properties, Deidara must infuse his chakra with it; the more chakra he adds the stronger the blast. Deidara can shape this clay into a number of forms for a variety of purposes, be it creatures that can be used for flight or sneak attacks, copies of himself to be used as a distraction, or weapon variants such as mines. Some clay forms even receive a ranking system from Deidara much like that of C-4. Many of the clay creations he makes he refers to as "C1", and their explosive power is roughly equivalent to that of a hand grenade. "C2" is his title for a large clay dragon that uses the clay from its tail to shoot smaller explosives at opponent. His "C3", while never actually seen formed, is an immobile clay statue that is used like a bomb, and upon making contact with the ground has the potential to decimate an entire village. His final and strongest, "C4", is created by eating clay with his mouth and then spitting out a large copy of itself. Once the clone detonates it release a number of microscopic bombs over a large area that enter an opponent's body through their nasal passages and, upon detonating, cause the target to dissolve into dust. As a last resort Deidara has an additional, unranked, mouth on his chest that, once being unsealed and provided with clay, turns himself into a living bomb that destroys everything in a 10 kilometer radius at the cost of his life. In addition to his explosive clay, Deidara wears a scope on his left eye for long-range observation, and he has trained the eye itself to dispel genjutsu.

Before joining Akatsuki, Deidara was a terrorist bomber for hire, seeing it as an opportunity to use his "art" on a regular basis. He was involuntarily recruited by Itachi under the orders of the leader. While he becomes accustomed to Akatsuki, he continually holds a grudge Itachi and longs to defeat him to prove himself. After joining, Deidara is partnered with Sasori, who he refers to as Master Sasori (サソリの旦那, Sasori no Danna). This is probably because Deidara greatly respects him as a fellow artist. He also admits that Sasori was a lot stronger. Despite that, Deidara still argued with Sasori about what art is and directly disobeyed his command in spite of a threat to be killed. Deidara held that art is transient, departing quickly. Sasori believed that fine art is something wonderful that's left long into the future. This reflects their individual natures (Deidara makes clay sculptures that explode, Sasori makes long-lasting puppets out of humans). Deidara outwardly seems to respect Sasori's beliefs, but couldn't resist getting a final jab in after Sasori's death: "Like anything that is left for the future as a thing of eternal beauty... He got killed straight off!"[12]

Deidara is assigned to capture the one-tailed beast, which requires capturing Gaara. While he succeeds in this task, Gaara is able to crush one of his arms before being defeated. After the beast is extracted from Gaara's body and a rescue team attempts to retrieve him, Deidara has his second arm severed in a battle with Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki, though he makes sure to find it after he manages to escape. Both of his arms are repaired by Kakuzu, allowing him to return to battle-readiness. After Sasori's death, Tobi is assigned as Deidara's new partner. Deidara gets impatient with Tobi fairly easily, since Tobi rarely pays attention to what he is saying. Tobi also tends to take credit for their work, despite whatever Deidara did. After they capture the three-tailed beast, Deidara lectures Tobi about being too overconfident. He becomes greatly annoyed when he discovers that Tobi has fallen asleep and proceeds to "wake him" by blasting Tobi with his exploding clay. Despite this hostile relationship he has with Tobi, Deidara has formed a student-teacher connection with him; Tobi even refers to him as "senpai". Once in battle the two prove able to work well together, with Tobi doing Deidara's bidding and Deidara using caution when his exploding clay gets too close to Tobi. Prior to blowing himself up, he apologizes to Tobi for what he is about to do.

After hearing of Orochimaru's death at the hands of Sasuke Uchiha, Deidara, angry that someone other than himself killed Orochimaru, sets out with Tobi to seek revenge against Sasuke. Upon finding Sasuke Deidara quickly starts to fight him, though Sasuke's abilities and Sharingan allow him to avoid the worst of Deidara's clay explosions. Enraged that Sasuke, like Itachi many years earlier, is using his Sharingan to defeat him, Deidara attempts to use his C4 explosives to kill him and prove that his art is better than that of the Sharingan's. Sasuke once again avoids the blasts, and Deidara is left out of chakra and thus unable to create more explosives. In a last ditch effort to kill Sasuke, Deidara uses the mouth in his chest to turn himself into a bomb in the hopes that he can take Sasuke with him. His effort proves unsuccessful, and Akatsuki mourns his loss.

Hidan

File:Hidancoloured.jpg
Hidan
  • Membership status: Neutralized, unreplaced
  • Ring: 三 ("three")
  • Ring position: Left index finger
  • Partner: Formerly Kakuzu
  • First Cameo: Chapter 238, Naruto Episode 135
  • First Appearance: Chapter 312
  • Defining characteristics: Immortal, wields large three-bladed scythe

Hidan (飛段) is the foul-mouthed partner of Kakuzu and the second-newest member of Akatsuki.[13] The first kanji in Hidan's name (飛) stands for hisha, the rook in shogi. Hidan belongs to the Jashin religion, a religion that worships a deity named Jashin and where anything less than utter destruction is considered a sin.[14] As a part of his religion, Hidan owns a charm with an upside-down triangle inscribed inside a circle that he carries on a chain of beads. Before a battle starts he prays to this charm, asking for nothing short of a kill or, in the event that a target must be captured alive, for forgiveness. Once a battle has begun, Hidan dislikes being interrupted or being forced to stop the fight, and it takes a great deal of persuasion to get him to comply. After battles, should he have time, Hidan performs a thirty-minute ritual in accordance with his religion, which seems to culminate by stabbing himself in the chest and lying upon the ground.[15]

Hidan is apparently immortal, having been fatally wounded a number of times and even surviving decapitations while still retaining the ability to speak.[16][17] Although he can survive dismemberment, Hidan needs to be connected to his body in order to control it.[18] Despite the fact that he cannot die, Hidan openly states before battle that he wishes his opponents will be able to kill him. In battle, Hidan wields a three-bladed scythe that he uses as a projectile while controlling it with a rope wrapped around his wrist. Although he is capable of striking even the most talented of ninja with it, Hidan claims that the scythe makes him the slowest-attacking member of Akatsuki.[19] The three blades on his scythe are not meant to increase the damage of his attacks, but rather to increase his chances of drawing his opponent's blood.

File:HidanBody1.jpg
Hidan after transforming

After acquiring some of an opponent's blood and consuming it, Hidan uses his own blood to draw the symbol on his charm on the ground. Once done, Hidan enters the symbol and undergoes a transformation, turning most of his skin black and creating white lines in roughly the same locations as his bones. Combined with his scythe, this transformation gives him the appearance of a Grim Reaper. Once his transformation is complete, Hidan and his opponent are "linked", and any damage done to Hidan is also done to the opponent (akin to a voodoo doll).[20] While within the symbol, Hidan uses a pike instead of his scythe to do more precise damage to his own body, causing extreme pain to both him and his opponent. Because of his immortality, Hidan is uninhibited by the damage of his attacks and even seems to find pleasure in the pain. After toying with his opponent by giving himself nonlethal injuries, Hidan stabs himself in the chest, fatally injuring the opponent and causing his transformation to reverse. While being a useful technique, Hidan needs to remain within the symbol for the voodoo-like effects to work.[21] If he does leave, the link still exists and his transformation remains, leaving him to only need to return to the symbol to resume the technique.

Although he is a member of Akatsuki, Hidan dislikes many of the formalities required for the allegiance, particularly being partnered with Kakuzu. Most specifically, he dislikes the fact that Kakuzu fights solely for money. Kakuzu also dislikes their partnership, and has little patience for Hidan's time-consuming battle style and rituals. However, because of Kakuzu's habit of killing all of his former partners and Hidan's immortality, the two remains paired together, as Kakuzu can attack Hidan without needing to get a new partner. This also allows for a combination of efforts between the two, as Hidan can distract enemies while Kakuzu attacks them from a distance without worrying about Hidan's safety. Kakuzu's partnership also serves as a way for Hidan to be repaired in battle, as Kakuzu's threads can sew any part of Hidan's body back into place, allowing the wounds to heal with time. Hidan also doesn't seem to like Pein and openly disrespects him in front of others.[22]

As Hidan and Kakuzu travel through he Land of Fire, Hidan is forced into battle with Asuma Sarutobi. After forming a link with Asuma and preparing to kill him, Hidan is stopped by Shikamaru Nara. Although Shikamaru is able to break the link and allow Asuma to decapitate Hidan, Hidan is soon able to rejoin his body with Kakuzu's help, reform the link, and kill Asuma. Before Hidan can turn his attention to Shikamaru and the rest of his team, he and Kakuzu are called away by the Akatsuki leader. Once their business is finished, Hidan and Kakuzu set out for Konoha to finish their battle, though along the way they are captured by Shikamaru, who had been waiting for them. Although Kakuzu is able to escape, Shikamaru is able to use his shadow to force Hidan to attack him, although he eventually decides to lead Hidan away so the rest of his team can deal with Kakuzu. Upon reaching his destination, Shikamaru restrains Hidan, covers him in exploding tags, and causes a pit beneath Hidan to break away. Finally having a chance to avenge Asuma's death, Shikamaru lights a cigarette and tosses it at Hidan, causing the exploding tags to detonate. As his remains fall into the pit Hidan promises to kill Shikamaru in any way possible, to which Shikamaru responds by causing the pit to cave in, trapping Hidan beneath the rubble. While his actual status is currently unknown, Akatsuki no longer considers him a member.[23]

Kakuzu

File:AkatsukiKakuzu.png
Kakuzu
  • Membership status: Deceased, unreplaced
  • Ring: 北 ("north")
  • Ring position: Left middle finger
  • Partner: Formerly Hidan
  • First Cameo: Chapter 238, Naruto Episode 135
  • First Appearance: Chapter 312
  • Defining characteristics: Able to extend life indefinitely through extraction and incorporation of foreign human hearts, can possess five human hearts at once, able to use all five chakra elements, body contains many threads for attack and body manipulation

Kakuzu (角都) is a missing-nin from Takigakure and Hidan's partner, a partnership neither is very fond of. The first kanji in Kakuzu's name (角) stands for kakugyō, a bishop in shogi. Kakuzu is a greedy individual, prioritizing things in terms of how much they are worth and finding money to be the only thing that he can depend on.[24] Kakuzu's favorite source of income is collecting bounties while carrying out other missions, even putting up with Hidan's religion since it allows him to collect bounties faster. His history as a bounty hunter seems to be extensive, as he is on friendly terms with a bounty collector and even seems to have memorized the information and worth of some of the more dangerous bounties. This view of money has caused Kakuzu to refer to himself as the "Treasurer of Akatsuki", though it is unknown if this is an actual position.[24] Kakuzu also has his own personal banker and accountant.[25] Despite his attachment to money, he places the orders of Pein before any opportunity to make a profit.[26]

File:Kakuzumasks.jpg
The masks sewn onto Kakuzu's back

Kakuzu has a unique body structure that consists largely of thick black threads running throughout his body, which he can use to detach parts of his body for long range assaults. The threads themselves can also be used for attack, being able to pierce the bodies of others with relative ease. These threads are apparently limitless, as Kakuzu can use them to change his appearance and visually increase his size several times over as a result.[27] Kakuzu's threads also allow him to integrate foreign organs into his system, allowing him to extend his life indefinitely by taking the healthier organs of others.[28] He has used this ability to lengthen his lifespan by a great deal, as he claims to have fought the First Hokage at some point in his life.[28] Kakuzu most prominently uses hearts in this way, keeping up to four extra hearts with him at any given time.[29] He keeps his spare hearts stored within animal masks sewn to his back, and each of the masks can separate from his body and attack independently.[30]

Once removed from his body, the masks can utilize powerful blasts of elemental chakra, with each blast being given its own name: Fire Release: Intense Pain (火遁・頭刻苦, Katon: Zukokku),[31] Wind Release: Pressure Damage (風遁・圧害, Fūton: Atsugai),[32] and Lightning Release: False Darkness (雷遁・偽暗, Raiton: Gian).[33] These masks can also combine to increase the potency of their attacks, with one element gaining strength as a result of a second. If the heart in Kakuzu's body is destroyed, one of the masks can quickly remerge with him so that he can take use of its heart, causing the mask to crumble away. In the event that he loses one of his hearts, Kakuzu seems to prefer taking the heart of the opponent responsible, prolonging his life from the strength of his enemy. Kakuzu also has an earth-based defensive jutsu referred to as Iron Body (鉄ボディ, Kurogane Karada), which increases his strength and makes him virtually immune to physical attacks.[34] It is not clear if this ability is a result of his fifth heart, or if it is that of his fourth mask.

Kakuzu greatly dislikes the fact that he needs a teammate as a member of Akatsuki, due in part to his habit of killing anyone near him (partners included) when enraged. Having killed all of his previous partners as a result of this, Kakuzu was partnered with Hidan.[35] Neither Kakuzu nor Hidan are fond of their partnership, Kakuzu having little patience for Hidan's time-consuming battle style and rituals and Hidan, in turn, detesting how Kakuzu fights solely for money. Still, because Hidan is immortal, Kakuzu can attack him without worrying about finding a new partner.[36][37] Kakuzu's threads also prove particularly useful in his partnership with Hidan, as Hidan's immortality allows him to survive any form of dismemberment and Kakuzu only needs to sew him back together to return to fighting readiness.[38][39]

As Kakuzu and Hidan make their way to Konohagakure to finish an earlier battle, the two are met by a group of four Konoha ninja. Soon after the battle starts, Kakashi Hatake is able to pierce Kakuzu with his Lightning Blade, destroying one of his masks. His current heart being unscathed, Kakuzu brings out his other three masks with which to attack the Konoha ninja. While he is able to gain the upperhand, Shikamaru Nara is able to trick Hidan into using his voodoo-like ability on Kakuzu, causing him to lose one of his hearts. After taking the heart from one of his masks Kakuzu prepares to finish off the group, though the arrival of reinforcements stops his attack. Naruto Uzumaki, the host of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, does battle with Kakuzu and is in time able to strike him with his Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken, striking Kakuzu at a cellular level and severing all of his nerves. Losing his two spare hearts and leaving his other heart on the verge of failure as a result of the attack, Kakuzu is left defeated and unable to move. With the last of his strength he attempts to figure out how he could be defeated by some "kids", which Kakashi attributes to the natural progression of things before finishing him off.

Orochimaru

Main article: Orochimaru
  • Membership status: Defected, unreplaced
  • Ring: 空 ("sky")
  • Ring position: Left little finger
  • Partner: Formerly Sasori
  • Defining characteristics: Snake-like appearance, able to extend life via transferring soul into new bodies, mastery of snake-based jutsu, able to extend body parts to great lengths

Orochimaru was formerly a member of Akatsuki, where he worked as Sasori's partner. He eventually attempted to use his Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu to steal the body of Itachi Uchiha, a fellow member, six years before the start of the series. Itachi responded, effortlessly paralyzing him and severing his left hand. After this incident, Orochimaru left Akatsuki. 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 bad blood have led to him being the target of a number of Akatsuki plots, one of which involved a member of his retinue being a (eventually double) sleeper agent. Orochimaru intended to eliminate Akatsuki, as well; however, he is currently presumed to be dead.

Whatever their remaining connections were, Orochimaru and Akatsuki also seemed to have been working off similar timetables, as the three years it takes Orochimaru to prepare to take over Sasuke's body seem to coincide with Akatsuki's plans for capturing more tailed beasts.

Sasori

File:Sasori31.jpg
Sasori
  • Membership status: Deceased, replaced (by Tobi)
  • Ring: 玉 ("jewel", "ball", also the king in shogi)
  • Ring position: Left thumb
  • Partner: Formerly Deidara, Orochimaru before that
  • First Cameo: Chapter 238, Naruto Episode 135
  • First Appearance: Chapter 247, Shippuden Episode 2
  • Defining characteristics: Puppet master, puppet body, poison specialist
  • Seiyu: Takahiro Sakurai, Yutaka Aoyama (Hiruko)

Sasori (サソリ), also known as Sasori of the Red Sand (赤砂のサソリ, Akasuna no Sasori), is a missing-nin from Sunagakure. "Sasori" (蠍) also means scorpion. After the death of his parents, Sasori was left in the care of his grandmother, Chiyo, who taught him all she knew about puppetry. After proving adept with the ability, Sasori used his newfound knowledge to turn the bodies of his parents into puppets in an attempt to feel loved by them. Because they were only emotionless puppets, this effort failed, and he eventually abandoned Sunagakure twenty years prior to his introduction. Sometime after leaving the village, Sasori joined Akatsuki and was eventually paired with Orochimaru. After Orochimaru left Akatsuki, Sasori was teamed up with Deidara, though he always carried a grudge against his former partner.

In his partnership with Deidara, the two argue quite frequently, specifically due to their conflicting views of art. Deidara holds that art is something transient that departs quickly, where as Sasori believes that fine art is something wonderful that is left long into the future. This reflects their individual natures (Deidara makes clay sculptures that explode, Sasori makes long-lasting puppets out of humans). Deidara outwardly seems to respect Sasori's beliefs, though Sasori doesn't respect Deidara's. He also hates waiting and making people wait, as seen after Deidara captures Gaara. As a member of Akatsuki, Sasori is assigned to capture one of the tailed beasts, though a short dialogue between himself and Deidara suggests that he does not even know what beast he has been assigned to target.[40]

File:Hiruko.JPG
Sasori inside Hiruko

In battle, Sasori almost exclusively uses puppets, his favorite being Hiruko (ヒルコ) which he controls from the inside to protect himself from damage. Because Sasori wears Hiruko so often, even adorning it with the Akatsuki outfit, many can only recognize him while he is wearing it. If Hiruko proves ineffective Sasori can use himself in battle, having long since converted his body into a puppet. In addition to giving him an unnaturally young appearance, Sasori's puppet body allows him to control hundreds of puppets at once through a mechanism on his chest that can spin numerous chakra strings. Because puppets cannot control chakra, Sasori has preserved his heart in a cylinder-shaped device which enables him to use puppets in combat. Because his heart is the only living part of himself, his puppet body is virtually indestructible as he can pull himself back together when smashed apart.[41] Additionally, he can transfer his heart to other puppets, allowing him to abandon a body should it be damaged beyond repair or otherwise incapacitated.

The majority of Sasori's puppets are made from the bodies of humans. Once the entrails are removed, the blood has been drawn out, and the body is preserved so that it no longer decomposes, it can be used as a Human Puppet (人傀儡, Hitokugutsu). Because these puppets were once human they are capable of using chakra and performing jutsu, giving them a drastic advantage over the average puppet. He says that he has 298 of these puppets. His favorite human puppet is that of the Third Kazekage, who he kidnapped and killed before leaving Sunagakure, and through which he can use the Third's unique Iron Sand ability. With the Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets (赤秘技・百機の操演, Aka Higi: Hyakki no Sōen), Sasori can summon one hundred human puppets to be used as an army, each of which was once an opponent he has since defeated. To add some potency to his puppets' attack, Sasori adds a poison of his own creation to everything in his arsenal. The poison takes effect instantly and, should a highly talented medical ninja not be found to create an antidote, kills the target after three days of suffering.

Sasori has a number of spies spread throughout the Naruto world that he has brought into his service with a form of mind control. Once such spy is Yura, who Sasori uses to give Deidara an easier time in capturing Gaara. Once Deidara succeeds in his task and the One-Tailed Shukaku is extracted from Gaara by Akatsuki, a search party arrives to retrieve Gaara. As the group splits up to fight Deidara and Sasori, Sasori is forced into battle with Chiyo and Sakura Haruno. By controlling Sakura as a puppet Chiyo is able to help her destroy Hiruko and the Third Kazekage in turn. In an attempt to claim victory Sasori uses his puppet army to defeat the duo, though Chiyo's own puppets are able to defeat them. After his puppet body is immobilized, Sasori transfers to a new body to try a sneak attack on Chiyo, though Sakura blocks the attack. Using this opportunity to her advantage, Chiyo calls forth the puppets of Sasori's parents, which she had kept since his departure from Sunagakure, to stab him through the heart in the form of a hug. As a reward to Sakura for defeating him, Sasori informs her of the spy, Kabuto Yakushi, that he has within Orochimaru's ranks, and tells her of when and where she can meet him.

Former agents

Kabuto Yakushi

Main article: Kabuto Yakushi
  • Status: Defected

Kabuto Yakushi was a former spy for Sasori, forced into the position through a form of mind control. Kabuto was used by Sasori to infiltrate Orochimaru's group, but Orochimaru removed the mind control on Kabuto shortly after he joined. Kabuto then betrayed Sasori and Akatsuki in favor of Orochimaru.

Yura

Yura (由良, Yūra), whose name means "beginning" in Japanese, served as a trusted member of the Kazekage advisory council of Sunagakure for four years. In reality, he was a sleeper agent for Akatsuki and a subordinate of Sasori. He was used in the Akatsuki leader's Shapeshifting Technique, which made him take on the shape of Itachi Uchiha and allowed Itachi to take control of his body. Naruto killed him with his Great Ball Rasengan while in this form.

Sources

  • First Official Data Book (秘伝・臨の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Rin no Sho Character Official Data Book)
  • Second Official Data Book (秘伝・闘の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book)
  • Jump's 2nd Great Hero Book's Mini Data Book (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
  • Naruto anime and manga Guidebook (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
  • Taken directly from the Naruto manga chapters and anime episodes.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book, page 150
  2. ^ Naruto chapter 353, page 3
  3. ^ Naruto chapter 258, page 2
  4. ^ Naruto chapter 257, page 17
  5. ^ Naruto chapter 256, page 2
  6. ^ Naruto chapter 256, page 3
  7. ^ Naruto chapter 329, page 8-9
  8. ^ Naruto manga chapter 363, page 8
  9. ^ Naruto manga chapter 363, page 8
  10. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 255, page 10
  11. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 261, page 11
  12. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 277, page 14
  13. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 329, page 11
  14. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 314, page 7
  15. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 313, page 15-16
  16. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 323, page 1
  17. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 325, page 16
  18. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 326, page 3
  19. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 312, page 15
  20. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 323, page 16
  21. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 325, page 2
  22. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 329, page 10
  23. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 353, page 9
  24. ^ a b Naruto manga; chapter 314, page 3
  25. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 355, page 11
  26. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 328, page 1
  27. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 341, page 6-8
  28. ^ a b Naruto manga; chapter 336, page 4
  29. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 335, page 6
  30. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 334, page 6-7
  31. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 335, page 1
  32. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 334, page 12
  33. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 334, page 15
  34. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 333, page 15
  35. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 322, page 5
  36. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 336, page 5
  37. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 334, page 13
  38. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 326, page 5
  39. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 326, page 6
  40. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 251, page 19
  41. ^ Naruto manga; chapter 272, page 8
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