Aluto

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Lyric Michi (to you all)

Daitai itsumo doori ni

Sono kado wo magareba

Hitonami ni magire komi

Dokete kieite iku

Boku wa michi wo nakushi

Kotoba sura nakushite shimau

Dakedo hitotsu dake wa

Nokotteta, nokotteta

Kimi no koe ga

Warau kao mo, okoro kao mo subete

Boku wo arukaseru

Kumo ga kireta saki wo

Mitara kitto

Nee, wakaru deshou?

Nee, wakaru deshou?

Aimai ni ikiteite mo

Kokoro ga mijyuku demo

Sore de ii hora soko ni wa

Daiji na hito ga iru

Kimi ga mayou no nara

Boku ga michishirube ni narou

Ato ha shinjireba ii

Tasikameru sube wa motta

Osore nai de

Hikari atsume sora ni hanatte iru

Kimi ni wakaru you ni

Sohsite ayumu michi wo

Motto tera sou

Doko made mo...

Doko made mo...

Doko made mo...

Doko made mo...

Kami koe kuchi yubisaki he todoke

Ima dake demo ii

Ima dake demo ii

Kyubi

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (九尾の妖狐 Kyūbi no Yōkō?, English TV "The Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit") is the most powerful of the tailed beasts. Its power is such that it is regarded as an age-old natural disaster, as a single swipe of one of its nine tails is enough to raise tsunamis and flatten mountains. The demon fox's attacks were seemingly random, the only apparent reason for its appearances being its attraction to places of human malice. The nine tails of the demon fox is a reference to the belief that a fox may possess as many as nine tails. Generally, an older and more powerful fox will possess a greater number of tails, and some sources say that a fox will only grow additional tails after they have lived for a thousand years. After that period of time, the number increases based on age and wisdom.

The demon fox attacked Konohagakure twelve years before the start of the series. None of the ninja of the village were able to defeat it until the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, arrived to deal with it. Minato sacrificed his life to seal the fox into the body of his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki, with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Rather than completely seal off the fox's great power, however, Minato only sealed away a portion of it, giving Naruto access to the rest for unknown reasons. Prior to performing the seal Minato gave a key to Jiraiya to either strengthen or weaken the seal should the need arise. The seal naturally becomes weaker as the years pass, and in the event that it is broken the demon fox will be released.

Jiraiya suspects that the fox's attack on the village was not a random occurrence and that it was instead summoned by Madara Uchiha. Although the idea that the fox could be summoned by a single person is regarded as impossible, the fox seems to know Madara; during its encounter with Sasuke Uchiha in Part II, it states that Sasuke's chakra, like Madara's, is more sinister than its own. It also seems to be familiar with the Uchiha clan, though its relationship with the family is unclear.

The only initial indication that Naruto is the fox's host are the whiskers present on his face and the seal on his stomach. He is also able to heal from injuries and fatigue in very short periods of time, though he never finds this as odd. It is not until he learns of the fox within him that Naruto begins to make more use of it. On numerous occasions throughout the series Naruto calls upon the fox's immense chakra supplies in battle to allow him to perform jutsu that would be impossible for ninja of his age and rank. Naruto can access its chakra in two ways: he can succumb to rage, allowing the fox's personality to influence his own and making him more bloodthirsty. Alternatively, he can enter his own subconscious and converse with the fox to ask for a donation of its strength. In these instances the fox is shown to have a loathing respect for both Naruto and Minato. While the fox initially complies to Naruto's requests out of curiosity, it later does so in an attempt to further its influence over Naruto. It also acts in order to preserve its own well-being, as Naruto's death would subsequently result in its own.

As Naruto draws upon additional amounts of the fox's chakra, the fox begins to manifest itself in the form of tails. Naruto can only currently maintain control over his mind for the first three tails; at the fourth, he loses all sense of self and readily attacks anyone nearby. In these instances, the fox can only be stopped by suppressing its influence, either with Yamato's Mokuton abilities or with a special seal created by Jiraiya that is directly applied to Naruto's body.

Akatsuki originally assigns Itachi Uchiha to capture the demon fox, but this task is later given to the organization leader, Pein.

Shukaku

Shukaku is said to be the corrupted spirit of a Sand monk turned demon. He was originally sealed inside a teakettle and then placed inside his first host, similar to the tale of Bunbuku Chagama. He was sealed inside Gaara by Chiyo on the orders of Gaara's father, the Fourth Kazekage, using Gaara's mother as the sacrifice. Shukaku had two other hosts before Gaara, both of whom died when Shukaku was extracted from them. Shukaku is intelligent but also incoherent, giving him the demeanor of a drunkard, this fits well with the typical depictions of tanuki in Japanese folklore. Shukaku itself can translate to "drunk" in Japanese. Like other tailed beasts, its innate rage and bloodlust influence its behavior, and it relishes in the opportunity to kill anyone in sight.

As a host of Shukaku, Gaara has the ability to move and levitate sand at will, and is protected at all times by the Shield of Sand, regardless of his will (even self-inflicted injuries are prevented by the sand). He also suffers from lifelong insomnia, a side effect of being Shukaku's host. Should he fall asleep, Shukaku would eat away his personality making him more of a monster.

When angry or particularly bloodthirsty, Gaara begins to transform into a human-sized version of the Shukaku by layering sand over his body. The sand takes on the appearance of the Shukaku, and enhances his abilities greatly. While in this form, Gaara gains immense strength, endurance, and the ability to use Sand Shuriken. The weak point of this transformation is at the base of its tail, where any strong enough blow (such as an exploding note) will cause severe damage to it. He can also stretch his sand limbs as he does with his regular sand, the primary difference being that his limbs remain just as strong as when they are retracted. This transformation seems to occur very slowly, as Gaara attempted to assume this form twice and was foiled both times. In the first instance, Sasuke injured him during an attempted transformation in the Chunin exam. The latter, which Gaara nearly completes, is ruined by Naruto during their battle in the forest. Gaara has only been able to reach a point at which all but his legs have been covered in sand.

In dire situations, Gaara can create a life-sized replica of Shukaku from sand. Unlike his human-sized version, this replica can be created almost instantly. Gaara controls the replica from within, remaining safe from enemy attacks. Despite being made of sand, Gaara seems to be unable to regenerate any damage caused to the replica. While in this form, Gaara can also release Shukaku's spirit, allowing the demon to use his full power. To do this, Gaara must emerge from within the replica, settling on the top of its head, and force sleep upon himself. Once released, Shukaku can inhale deeply, distending its own stomach, and punch his stomach to use Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet (風遁・練空弾, Fūton: Renkūdan?), shooting a large ball of compressed air and chakra at an opponent that destroys all in its path. Because Gaara protrudes from the top of Shukaku's head, he can be awoken, thus suppressing Shukaku's spirit once more.

In Part II, Deidara of Akatsuki is assigned to capture Shukaku. After defeating Gaara in combat and taking him to Akatsuki's lair, Shukaku is forcefully extracted from Gaara, thus killing him. Gaara is resurrected through a combination of Chiyo's life-transferring technique and Naruto's chakra. Gaara's ability to control sand still appears to be intact, though to what degree remains unclear.

Tailed Beast (Biju)

The tailed beasts are giant demons, each of comparable size to Gamabunta, who is over 100 meters tall. The tailed beasts each have a different number of tails, (one being the weakest, nine being the strongest) and each is a different type of creature. Compared to humans, tailed beasts possess a massive amount of chakra, described in the series as the "ultimate chakra". Shukaku seems to possess a chakra level several times that of any human, while the nine-tailed fox's chakra is practically limitless. Despite their unrivaled strength and power, not all of the tailed beasts are able to use it as effectively. The three-tailed beast, for instance, did not possess the intellect to control its own strength, making it weaker.

Those within whom a tailed beast has been sealed within are called jinchūriki (人柱力, lit. Power of Human Sacrifice, English "Spiritualist Medium"), or simply hosts, and exhibit extraordinary powers. In some instances, they are actually stronger than the tailed beast they possess. This is because they have the knowledge to control the tailed beast's strength effectively, whereas an unsealed tailed beast may lack the necessary intelligence to do so. The host also tends to have some sort of physical characteristic akin to the tailed beast sealed within them (Naruto's whisker-marks, the rings around Gaara's eyes, and Yugito's slanted eyes). Naruto takes the word jinchūriki offensively, regarding it as a dehumanizing term. According to Akatsuki members, those who host such creatures are typically lonely people who loathe humanity, and so far this has proven to be true (at least at first). When the first two were captured, no one from their villages cared that they were taken or lifted a finger to help; in fact, they were thankful to be rid of them. It is known that the death of a host will result in the death of the tailed beast within, and the hosts seen thus far sometimes exhibit involuntary defensive powers. Likewise, the removal of the tailed beast results in the death of its host.

During the Great Shinobi Wars, each country's Hidden Village tried to make use of the tailed beasts for military purposes, and competed for them. However, no one was ever able to truly bring the tailed beasts under control, with the jinchūriki being only a marginal success.

Akatsuki is currently collecting the tailed beasts. They capture the hosts and take them to a secret location where a three day long jutsu is performed to draw out the tailed beast from the host. They possess seven tailed beasts: the Shukaku, the two-tailed demon cat, the three-tailed beast, the four-tailed beast, and three other unknown beasts. All of the seven tailed beasts have been extracted and sealed.

Sasori

Sasori (サソリ, Sasori?), 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]

In battle, Sasori almost exclusively uses puppets, his favorite being Hiruko (ヒルコ, Hiruko?) 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.

Kakuzu

Kakuzu (角都, Kakuzu^?) 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] 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

Hidan

Hidan (飛段, Hidan^?) is the foul-mouthed partner of Kakuzu and the second-newest member of Akatsuki.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14]

Hidan is apparently immortal, having been fatally wounded a number of times and even surviving decapitations while still retaining the ability to speak.^[15][16] Although he can survive dismemberment, Hidan needs to be connected to his body in order to control it.^[17] 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.^[18] 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. 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).^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21]

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.

Deidara

Deidara (デイダラ, Deidara^?) 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. 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!"^[11]

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.

Zetsu

Zetsu (ゼツ, Zetsu^?) 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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.

Tobi

Tobi (トビ, Tobi?), 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. 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, Tobi was someone who was easy to aquire in terms of strength, 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. Kisame, on the other hand, somewhat appreciated Tobi's ability to brighten up a gloomy organization such as theirs. Tobi unintentionally irritates Deidara frequently, which usually results in Deidara attacking Tobi in a comedic fashion.

Pein

Pein (ペイン, Pein?) 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.

Hosigaki Kisame

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.

Uchiha Itachi

Itachi Uchiha (うちは イタチ, Uchiha Itachi?) is a fictional character and major antagonist in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is a member of Akatsuki and the partner of Kisame Hoshigaki.
Itachi means "weasel", which are considered bad luck in Japan. His surname, Uchiha, is another way of pronouncing uchiwa, or a paper fan, which is actually the Uchiha clan symbol. An uchiwa can be used to fan flames, making the flame hotter — referring to the fact that the Uchiha is a clan of fire-jutsu users.

Background

Itachi has been considered a genius since a young age, graduating at the top of his Academy class at age 7, attaining initial activation of the Sharingan by age 8, and becoming a Chunin at age 10. These accomplishments led the members of the Uchiha clan to think of Itachi as the clan's strongest member and, in turn, the clan's future. Itachi's father, Fugaku Uchiha, was the biggest proponent of this idea and focused much of his effort into bettering Itachi's career and status within Konohagakure. Because of his focused attention on Itachi, Fugaku paid little attention to his other son, Sasuke Uchiha. As a result of this neglect, Sasuke attempted to win his father's attention by somehow outdoing Itachi. Itachi would often offer to help Sasuke train to accomplish this goal, though he never lived up to his promises. To compensate for this, Itachi tried to force their father to spend time with Sasuke by refusing to carry out his other tasks unless his father complied. While Fugaku did so, much of the time he spent with Sasuke was still focused around Itachi, and Sasuke continued to desire his father's attention.
At the age of 13, Itachi became a squadron leader of the ANBU. After joining the ANBU, however, Itachi began to ignore his assignments and at the same time became a prime suspect in the death of Shisui Uchiha. While Shisui had been a good friend of Itachi and had appeared to commit suicide, the clan began to suspect the suicide was faked and that Itachi killed Shisui. As this lack of faith began to spread Itachi began to distance himself from the clan, attacking its members and voicing his opinion that the clan itself was hopeless. As a result, the relationship between Fugaku and Itachi became estranged, and Fugaku started spending his time training Sasuke in an attempt to steer him away from following in Itachi's footsteps. Just as Sasuke began to receive the attention he so yearned for, he returned home one day to find that Itachi had killed every member of the clan. When questioned why he murdered their entire family, Itachi replied that it was "to test [his] ability", though he felt that Sasuke was not worth killing. Before leaving he encouraged Sasuke to live a life of hate and get strong enough to defeat him and avenge the clan. To help in this regard, Itachi told Sasuke of how to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan: one must simply kill his or her closest friend, just as he had done to Shisui.
At some point in time Itachi joined Akatsuki. While it stands to reason that he joined after massacring the Uchiha clan, the timeline that has been given throughout the series (coupled with his age) suggests that he joined the organization prior to killing his clan. As a result, the exact time at which Itachi joined is as of yet uncertain. After joining Akatsuki, Itachi was confronted by Orochimaru who attempted to steal his body for his own use. With his Sharingan, Itachi was able to negate Orochimaru's efforts and sever his left hand, forcing him to flee the organization. He later proves instrumental in recruiting Deidara to Akatsuki, forcing him to join by defeating him in battle.

Personality

Itachi is a relatively emotionless character, rarely becoming troubled by anything and finding the goings on in the world around him to be of little significance. When put into a battle situation he dislikes wasting time or making the fight more complicated than necessary, instead finishing it or accomplishing his business as soon as possible. During the battle itself he finds little interest in his opponent, instead regarding them as a mere inconvenience. Itachi's only noticeable interest is in Akatsuki's goals, putting the organization's success and secrecy before everything else. As such, Itachi gets along with his partner, Kisame, much better than most other Akatsuki members do with their own partners. Kisame, in fact, has a deep loyalty to Itachi, immediately doing as he instructs and constantly looking out for his well-being. Itachi treats all of his fellow Akatsuki members to this same, more sociable, personality, though his courtesy is rarely returned by the other members.

Abilities

In the few battles he has been seen in, Itachi has done little in terms of fighting, primarily remaining stationary and only attacking in defense. This tactic is made particularly easy with his Sharingan, which allows him to properly assess an opponent's actions and respond accordingly. When faced with a genjutsu, Itachi can use his Sharingan to perform "Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change" (魔幻・鏡天地転, Magen: Kyō Tenchi-ten?) and turn the genjutsu against its user. His prowess with genjutsu is one of his few recurring abilities, and he can catch someone in an illusion by merely pointing at them.
Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan enables him to use some of the Uchiha clan's most powerful techniques. With Tsukuyomi, he can trap an opponent in an illusionary world where he can seem to torture them for days on end in only a matter of seconds. Amaterasu allows him to create a black flame that is capable of burning through the strongest of materials. Despite his mastery of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi seems to be falling prey to its side effects. In addition to being left fatigued after each usage, it has been suggested that his eyesight is getting increasingly worse as well, though this has never been addressed in full.
In terms of standard ninjutsu, Itachi can create shadow clones to carry out the close-combat that he seems to avoid. These clones can also be commanded to explode with "Clone Great Explosion" (分身大爆破, Bunshin Daibakuha?), which is easily capable of killing those caught in the blast. As a member of the Uchiha clan he can perform "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique" to catch opponents in a blast of fire, and in the anime can breathe multiple fireballs with Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique (火遁・鳳仙火の術, Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu?). With "Water Release: Water Fang Bullet" (水遁・水牙弾, Suiton: Suigadan?) he can also catch unwary targets in a circle of crushing water. Itachi is also noted to be very fast with his techniques and movements, as Kakashi Hatake experienced during their first confrontation in Part I.

Plot Preview

In Akatsuki's goal of acquiring all of the tailed beasts, Itachi is assigned to capture the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within Naruto Uzumaki. After going to Konoha with Kisame in search of Naruto, Itachi is forced into battle with the village's elite ninja, whose numbers grow as the fight continues. Uninterested in starting a war, Itachi orders Kisame to retreat. When they later find Naruto and try to kidnap him, Sasuke shows up in an attempt to kill Itachi. Uninterested in their brotherly quarrel, Itachi quickly defeats him by breaking his wrist, and is disappointed to see that Sasuke still isn't strong enough to defeat him. After Jiraiya arrives, Itachi and Kisame are driven off. After this event Itachi makes very few appearances, only being seen during Akatsuki's meetings and for short periods of time before and afterwards. After news of Orochimaru's defeat by Sasuke reaches his ears, Itachi is put on alert by Pein, the Akatsuki leader, in case Sasuke uses this opportunity to try and kill him.

Akatsuki

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

Overview

Akatsuki is a small organization by most standards; at any given point, the group has at most ten members and an uncertain number of agents. Though they seem to have a decent network of agents in various villages, these individuals are usually under some form of mind-control. A notable exception is Tobi, who acted as subordinate to Zetsu before being promoted. The members of Akatsuki are all S-class criminals, the most wanted and dangerous individuals in the Naruto universe.
The exact criteria for admission into the group are unknown, but extraordinary fighting ability and ruthlessness seem to be prerequisites. Unique traits (genetic or otherwise) also seem to be a common factor among its members. Two of the more prominent members so far, Itachi Uchiha and Sasori, both undertook some sort of challenging task at the time of their entering the group. Sasori mentions during his fight with Chiyo and Sakura Haruno that "[he] hadn't had this much difficulty since joining Akatsuki." Itachi was responsible for murdering his whole clan (save for his little brother, Sasuke) around the time he is believed to have entered, but it is not certain that the two events are linked. At least in Deidara's case, the leader seems to locate potential candidates for membership and has them forcibly recruited by the current members.

Organization

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

Goal

Akatsuki's overall goal is domination over the Naruto world.[2] To achieve that goal, the leader has set up a three-step process to work their way to it. First, they plan to obtain a large amount of money to support their organization.[3] Second, they plan to set up a mercenary group loyal only to Akatsuki.[4] To build their reputation, they plan to accept any mission below the usual cost, which is covered by the excess amount of funds earned in the first part of their plan. Because there haven't been any wars in some time, the established shinobi villages can't afford to charge such low prices, leading the smaller countries to hire Akatsuki over the more expensive shinobi villages. By using the tailed beasts, Akatsuki can start wars and then immediately quell them, solidifying their reputation and convincing every country to depend on them, thus cornering the market in shinobi labor.[5] Without any business, the other shinobi villages will collapse due to a lack of funds. Finally, after Akatsuki is the only major force of shinobi in existence, they can easily conquer the other countries.
As a large part of their plan, they actively hunt the tailed beasts and their hosts. Once a tailed beast or its host is captured, they seal them in a large statue for use at a later time. Akatsuki possesses seven tailed beasts: the one-tailed Shukaku, the two-tailed demon cat, the three-tailed demon, the four-tailed demon, and three other unknown demons.

Team

Akatsuki members usually work in teams of two. Teams are built to complement each other's abilities and talents to create a formidable duo. For example, Kakuzu uses Hidan's immortality to their advantage by using large-scale attacks on those Hidan has pinned down; being immortal, Hidan survives what is normally fatal to his opponent. Due to Orochimaru's defection, their numbers are now uneven, so one or more members appear to be working alone. Each member thus far has shown at least a working loyalty to each other and their mysterious leader, and they have excellent working relationships. On a personal level, however, some of the team members exhibit outright animosity towards one another, though they do not let it get in the way of their missions. Currently, the only members who do not have a partner are Zetsu and Tobi.

Tail Beast Extraction

Whenever an Akatsuki member captures a tailed beast or its host, it is taken to their lair. Once there, Pein summons a giant statue of a humanoid monster. Pein doesn't need to be present to summon the statue, nor do Akatsuki members need to be physically present for the statue to activate. Any Akatsuki members unable to reach the statue can use astral projection to appear at the statue. The statue itself seems to symbolize restriction or sealing; the creature's hands are handcuffed, its eyes are blindfolded, and a bit is in its mouth, which falls out when the Akatsuki members are sealing a tailed beast. On the creature's blindfold are nine closed eyes (eight eyes in two rows of four with the larger ninth eye in the center), each corresponding to one of the nine tailed beasts. The eyes don't appear to be in any specific order, as the eye representing the one-tailed Shukaku is the second on the upper row[7] while the eye representing the three-tailed beast is the third on the lower row,[8] and the four-tailed beast is the fourth on the lower row.[9]
After the summoning, the host or tailed beast (depending on if it is sealed in a person or not) is placed in front of the statue while each Akatsuki member stands on the finger that corresponds to their specific ring. The members then perform Sealing Technique: Illusionary Dragon Nine Consuming Seals (封印術・幻龍九封尽, Fūin Jutsu: Genryū Kyū Fūjin?) to draw the spirit of the beast (or the beast itself) into the statue. Nine dragon-like effigies then pour from the statue's mouth, surround the captured host, and forcefully remove the tailed beast from them. In the case of an unsealed tailed beast, the same thing happens to the beast itself. Once the beast is sealed, all the eyes open, and the pupil of the eye that corresponds to the beast appears, indicating that it has been successfully sealed. The jutsu takes three days to complete. Kisame Hoshigaki commented that the jutsu takes longer without Orochimaru present, though whether this means that Orochimaru created the jutsu, or that the presence of all ten Akatsuki members is necessary for the greatest efficiency is unknown.
Because of the large amount of time it takes to complete a sealing, Akatsuki members use Five Seal Barrier (五封結界, Gofū Kekkai?) to prevent interruption. The seal consists of placing five other seals: one to prevent entry to the lair, and four others to prevent the first from being removed. The five seals are spread across a wide area and must all be removed simultaneously, requiring an average team to split up to bring down the barrier. Once the seals are removed clones of those that removed them are created, capable of using all attacks in the original's arsenal and weapons in the original's possession. The clones don't seem to be as strong as the original, as all are defeated quickly with little damage to their counterpart.
It's unknown if the statue serves any other purpose than to contain the captured tailed beasts. The statue apparently requires that the power sealed within it be balanced, as Kisame notes that sealing the nine-tailed fox before sealing the other eight tailed beasts would destroy the statue.

Rings

Each Akatsuki member wears a single, unique ring, and no two members wear a ring on the same finger. Each member wears their ring on the same finger as the spot they occupy on the giant statue. In total, there are ten rings, but Akatsuki only possesses seven; Orochimaru kept his after defecting, and those worn by Hidan and Kakuzu have yet to be retrieved. The rings seem to have some special significance; Tobi believed that he could become a member after finding Sasori's ring, and although Zetsu claims it's not as easy as that, Tobi does indeed become a member. Deidara reinforces the significance of the rings after losing both his arms by expressing more concern for finding the arm with his ring, rather than finding the arm itself. Each ring bears a unique symbol, the first kanji of its name.

A diagram showing every member's ring position

The various rings are:

零 rei, "zero": worn by Pein.
青龍 Seiryū, the Azure Dragon: worn by Deidara.
白虎 Byakko, the White Tiger: worn by the Unnamed member.
朱雀 Suzaku, the Vermilion Bird: worn by Itachi Uchiha.
玄武 Genbu, the Black Tortoise: worn by Zetsu. Zetsu's ring actually has the kanji 亥 (kai, boar) instead of 玄 (gen, mysteriousness). The two kanji are somewhat similar in appearance, which suggests an error by either the artist or the translator.
空陳 Kūchin, the Void: formerly worn by Orochimaru and still in his possession.
南斗 Nanju, Sagittarius (lit. Southern Star): worn by Kisame.
北斗 Hokuto, the Big Dipper (lit. Northern Star): formerly worn by Kakuzu.
三台 santai, "three levels": worn by Hidan.
玉女 gyokunyo, the Virgin: currently worn by Tobi, formerly worn by Sasori.

Clothing And Appearence

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

Forehead Protectors

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

Members

Akatsuki originally had ten members, but they are currently at six following the defection of Orochimaru and the deaths of three members - Sasori, Deidara, and Kakuzu. Hidan is still alive, but permanently incapacitated and is considered dead in the eyes of the leader. Tobi, a former subordinate of the group, has taken Sasori's place, although it is possible he has died. Orochimaru, however, has yet to be replaced, despite having left the group several years before its initial introduction; this is likely because Orochimaru took his Akatsuki ring with him when he left.
Though all of the members have been shown to some degree, one has yet to be named. She has had little dialogue and is attributed to being Pein's partner, but other than that, her identity remains a mystery.