the akatsuki

Click image to view alternate bodies First Manga Appearance: Ch. 363 First Anime Teaser Appearance: Ep. 135 Hidden Village: Rain Ring: Rei (Zero) Finger Position: Right Thumb Info: Pain acts as the leader of the group, though he and Konan secretly report to Tobi. He has been adamant that the group can fulfill their desires if they finally possess the bijuu. He also was responsible for summoning the huge statue which holds the spirits of bijuu withdrawn from Jinchuuriki. Pain is also calm and tries to bring order to the group. It is said he's never lost a battle.
Deidara (Former Member - Deceased)
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 247 First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden Ep. 2 Hidden Village: Rock Ring: Sei (Blue-Green) Finger Position: Right Index Info: Deidara is from Hidden Rock and he utilizes mouths on his palms to create exploding art. He left his village behind to work as a terrorist for anti-nationalists. He was then invited into Akatsuki. He and his partner Sasori were responsible for capturing the One-Tail Jinchuuriki Gaara. Though he lost both arms in battle, both were reattached. After Sasori was killed, Tobi became his partner. Deidara later squared off against Uchiha Sasuke. Unfortunately Sasuke's Sharingan and his Lightning Element attacks got the better of Deidara's Earth based Exploding Clay. In anger, Deidara chose to self-detonate himself to show the true beauty of his art.
Konan
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 363 First Anime Teaser Appearance: Ep. 135 Hidden Village: Rain Ring: Byaku/Haku (White) Finger Position: Right Middle Info: Konan is the lone female member of the group. She works alongside Pain. This duo secretly reports to Tobi, and seem to be the only ones who know about his true nature. Konan possesses the ability to disperse her body into paper, which can then fold itself into butterfies for tracking purposes. When she was younger, she, Pain and another orphan were trained by Jiraiya for a short period. He helped them become stronger and able to fend for themselves in the war torn Rain Country.
Uchiha Itachi (Former Member - Deceased)
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 139 First Anime Appearance: Ep. 80 Hidden Village: Leaf Ring: Shu (Scarlet) Finger Position: Right Ring Info: After murdering everyone in his clan, Uchiha Itachi fled his village and joined Akatsuki. Itachi was partnered with Hoshigaki Kisame. They were assigned to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki Naruto. They attempted to capture Naruto once, but fled when confronted by Jiraiya. Itachi finally faced his brother Sasuke in battle and died. After the battle, Uchiha Madara revealed that Itachi had did everything for Konoha's well being, even sacrificing himself to help keep Sasuke out of Madara's hands.
Zetsu
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 234 First Anime Appearance: Ep. 134 Hidden Village: Grass Ring: Kai (Boar) Finger Position: Right Little Info: Zetsu appears venus-fly trap-like in appearance. His main body is split into two halfs, both light and dark. He appeared to be traveling alone when he spied on Naruto and Sasuke's battle at the Valley of the End. For a period he was teamed with non-Akatsuki member Tobi. Once Tobi was admitted into the group, it appears Zetsu once again works alone.
Orochimaru (Former Member - Neutralized)
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 49 First Anime Appearance: Ep. 27 Hidden Village: Sound Ring: Sora (Sky) Finger Position: Left Little Info: After being passed over for Fourth Hokage, Orochimaru began to study forbidden jutsu. He then fled Leaf and joined Akatsuki. He was partnered with Sasori during this period. Orochimaru coveted Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan. He moved to take Itachi's body but Itachi bound Orochimaru with Genjutsu and cut off his arm. Orochimaru fled and took his ring with him. He would later form Hidden Sound and train Itachi's brother Sasuke. When he moved to insert his spirit into Sasuke, the young man bound Orochimaru in Genjutsu and suppressed him. Orochimaru's underling Kabuto also inserted some of Orochimaru's flesh into his body, which soon exerted its will by gradually taking over his body.
Hoshigaki Kisame
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 139 First Anime Appearance: Ep. 80 Hidden Village: Mist Ring: Minami (South) Finger Position: Left Ring Info: Kisame engaged in murder and rebellion in his home country, fleeing Mist he joined Akatsuki. Kisame is partnered with Uchiha Itachi. They have been assigned to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki Naruto. They have attempted to capture Naruto once, and are likely waiting for the right moment to try again.
Kakuzu (Former Member - Deceased)
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 312 First Anime Teaser Appearance: Ep. 135 Hidden Village: Waterfall Ring: Hoku (North) Finger Position: Left Middle Info: Kakuzu is a missing-nin from Hidden Waterfall. He and his partner Hidan were responsible for acquiring the Two-Tailed Jinchuuriki. He was a bounty hunter who often got sidetracked on bounty hunts. His body was stitched together by strange tendrils which he used to rip out the hearts of his opponents and then insert into his own body. This granted him their elemental affinities in the form of masked tendril entities. Along with his own Water affinity, he had access to Wind, Fire, Earth and Lightning attacks. Kakashi destroyed the Earth Heart, Hidan accidentally destroyed Water and Naruto destroyed Wind and Fire. Kakuzu was then finished off by Kakashi.
Hidan (Former Member - Neutralized)
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 312 First Anime Teaser: Ep. 135 Hidden Village: Hot Springs Ring: San (Three) Finger Position: Left Index Info: Hidan bears a large rope scythe and he admits that he is the slowest attacker of the group. He hails from Hot Springs village. He and his partner Kakuzu were responsible for acquiring the Two-Tailed Jinchuuriki. Hidan practices an evil god cult religion named Jashin. This religion loves chaos and death, and Hidan himself is near immortal due to the Kinjutsu used on him by Jashin. On one of Kakuzu's side bounty trips, he killed Sarutobi Asuma in battle using his Jashin Kinjutsu. He was eventually blown up and buried deep underground by Shikamaru. Because the Kinjutsu allows him to live only as long as he kills and performs his rituals, his burial underground may eventually cause his death.
Akasuna no Sasori (Former Member - Deceased)
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 247 First Anime Appearance: Shippuuden Ep. 2 Hidden Village: Sand Ring: Tama (Sphere) Finger Position: Left Thumb Current Status: Deceased Info: Sasori (meaning scorpion) traveled with Deidara from Hidden Rock. He was a legendary puppet master from Hidden Sand who left his village approximately 20 years before the start of the series. Sasori converted portions of his body into puppet parts, retaining a flesh and blood portion of his original self in a chest container. He used the "hitokugutsu" method to turn people into puppets while still alive, allowing him to use their jutsu even after their "death." He fell in battle to Chiyo and Sakura, hesitating to not avoid the lethal strike of his parents who had been made into puppets.
Tobi / Uchiha Madara
First Manga Appearance: Ch. 280 First Anime Teaser Appearance: Shippuuden Ep. 32 Hidden Village: Leaf Ring: Tama (Sphere) Finger Position: Left Thumb Info: Tobi was initially seen as an associate of Zetsu. He appeared clumsy and was very polite in his speech. After Sasori was killed in battle, Tobi was eager to replace Sasori as a new member of Akatsuki. He eventually succeeded and took over Sasori's position in the group. He was then partnered with Deidara. After Deidara's death, it was revealed Tobi gave direction to Pain as leader. He was also revealed to possess the Sharingan and claimed to be Uchiha Madara. When Tobi revealed his true nature to Kisame, the man recognized him both as Madara and as his village's Mizukage. The full nature of Tobi and Madara's full identity is unknown.
The Groups
Deidara and Sasori
	Deidara and Sasori were known for being artists. Deidara uses clay to model his explosive animals and Sasori was a master puppet maker. Deidara acted as the junior in their partnership, deferring to Sasori as the stronger ninja. This did not stop them from getting into spats about the nature of art though. After Sasori's death, Tobi assumed his position and role as Deidara's partner. Deidara was assigned to capture the Ichibi and Tobi the Sanbi. Sasori did not know where his Jinchuuriki was. It is unknown if this was the Sanbi or some other individual.
Deidara and Tobi
	Deidara and Tobi share a very strained relationship. Always eager to impress his new teammates, Tobi is prone to excitement. This often annoys Deidara who tries to do his best to show Tobi what it means to be an Akatsuki member. Tobi was assigned to capture the Sanbi. Though he boasts that he took out the beast himself, he was helped in his assignment by Deidara.
Hidan and Kakuzu
	Hidan and Kakuzu work together and share a somewhat testy relationship. Hidan follows a very strict religion, which annoys Kakuzu with its long rituals. Hidan is very defensive of the religion, causing Kakuzu to often get tired of his partner's diatribes. Kakuzu on the other hand often makes side-trips to collect bounties, which annoys Hidan. Hidan was assigned to capture the Nibi. It is unknown what tailed beast Kakuzu was assigned.
Itachi and Kisame
	Itachi and Kisame work together and form a rather strong partnership. Both men seem to respect each other and Kisame seems to act as the junior in the group, deferring to Itachi's decisions. Itachi was assigned to capture the Kyuubi and Kisame was assigned the Yonbi.
Pain and Konan
	Pain and Konan work together, carrying out a partnership that has lasted since their youth in the Rain Country. Both report to Uchiha Madara, who operates in the guise of Tobi.