Akatsuki (Naruto)
- For other uses, see Akatsuki (disambiguation).
In the manga and anime series Naruto, the Akatsuki is a criminal organization, first introduced midway into the first arc, and gaining greater significance in the storyline in the second arc. All that is known thus far is that the Akatsuki consists 9 S-class criminal members, and that they show great interest in the powers of the Bijū (Tailed Beasts). Each member is given a partner with the exception of Zetsu.
Each Akatsuki member wears a ring, inscribed with the first kanji related to the nine mythical beasts in Japanese mythology, including the four Kyoto guardian gods. They are:
- 青龍- せいりゅう, Seiryū - Green/blue dragon
- 白虎- びゃっこ, Byakko - White Tiger
- 朱雀 - すざく, Suzaku - Phoenix (literally "Red Sparrow")
- 玄武 - げんぶ, Genbu - Tortoise (literally "Mysterious Warrior")
- 空陳 - くうちん, Kūchin - The Void
- 南斗 - なんじゅ, Nanjū - Southern Star
- 北斗 - ほくと, Hokuto - Northern Star
- 三台 - さんたい, Santai - The Three Levels
- 玉女 - ぎょくにょ, Gyokunyō - The Virgin
Akatsuki (暁) means "Dawn" in Japanese.
Members
The Akatsuki is comprised of nine members (minus former member Orochimaru who left and formed Otogakure) for an unknown reason (presumed to be due to Itachi's power, however they were never in Akatsuki together). Orochimaru's position was that of 空 (Kū, "Sky"). So far, the following members have been named:
Uchiha Itachi
Name: Uchiha Itachi, うちはイタチ
Age: 182
Height: 175,2 cm2
Weight: 57,1 kg2
Birthday: June 9
Blood Type: AB
Registration #: 012110
Ring: 朱 (Shu, scarlet/bloody)
Position: Right ring finger
Partner: Hoshigaki Kisame
Affiliation: Akatsuki, Uchiha clan, Nukenin (Missing-nin) from Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf)
Signature Ability: Sharingan, Mangekyō Sharingan, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique), Shadow Replication Technique (Kage Bunshin no Jutsu), Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion), Magen: Kyōten Chiten (Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change), Suiton: Suigadan (Water Release: Water Fang Bullet)
Noted within the Wanted Book, Uchiha Itachi is an S-Level criminal and a Konoha Missing-nin. He graduated top of his Academy class at age 7, had mastered the Sharingan by age 8, became a Chūnin at 10 and was previously a Black Ops (ANBU in the Japanese versions) captain at the age of only 13. Now 18, he is feared by even Orochimaru. He left Konoha some years ago, after killing his whole clan except for Uchiha Sasuke, his brother. He is currently associated with the organization Akatsuki though his whereabouts are unknown. Orochimaru had plans for Itachi wanting him to join him only to be another vessel for him, but seeing as Itachi is powerful to such a degree that even Orochimaru fears him, it's easy to see why Orochimaru decided to try his luck with Sasuke instead.
The reason Itachi killed his clan, the reason he left Sasuke alive only to physically and mentally abuse him, still remains a mystery. When asked by Sasuke, he replies "To see what I am capable of". He is the sole person who can use the Mangekyō Sharingan as revealed in the manga thus far, though apparently there is or was another person with this ability who has not yet been introduced (since Itachi tells Sasuke that if Sasuke were to achieve the Mangekyō Sharingan, the people able to use it will total at three). This is puzzling since it implies the existence of another living member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke having previously thought to be the only one to survive Itachi's massacre. One alternate theory is that he is referring to Uchiha Obito, who died before he achieved his potential and surrendered his left eye to Hatake Kakashi. Another is that Itachi is refering to the original Mangekyō user, from whose writings Itachi learnt how to awaken the Mangekō in himself; he has passed this knowledge on to Sasuke.
Trivia
- The name "Itachi" means "Weasel".
- While it is generally agreed on by fans that Uchiha Itachi became an Anbu captain and massacred his clan at age 13, quite a few of them seem to be confused about when he graduated from the academy, mastered the sharingan, and became a Chūnin. The events are often misinterpreted as having happened one or two years earlier than they did.
Hoshigaki Kisame
Name: Hoshigaki Kisame, 干柿鬼鮫
Age: 292
Height: 195 cm2
Weight: 83,1 kg2
Birthday: March 18
Blood Type: AB
Ring: 南 (Nan, south)
Position: Left ring finger
Partner: Uchiha Itachi
Affiliation: Akatsuki, Nukenin (Missing-nin) from Kirigakure (Hidden Mist)
Signature Ability: Samehada, Suiton: Bakusui Shōha (Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave), Suiton: Goshokuzame (Water Release: Five Eating Sharks), Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique), Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique), Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Doppelganger), Suirō no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)
Hoshigaki Kisame, along with Uchiha Itachi attempted to kidnap Uzumaki Naruto for Akatsuki purposes several years ago, but were effectively thwarted by Jiraiya, both in battle and by his mere presence. Kisame and his sword (Samehada, 鮫肌, "Shark skin") both have shark-like characteristics (pointy teeth and gills for Kisame, and a spiky sword similar to sharkskin or teeth.) The sword also has the ability to drain chakra upon striking an opponent.
Kisame comes from Kirigakure. He is known as the Mysterious Person of the Hidden Mist (霧隠れの怪人, Kirigakure no Kaijin). He is also part of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nanajin Shū (霧の忍刀七人衆, "Seven Swordsmen of the Mist"). Kisame's chakra is apparently considered very large, even by the Akatsuki's standards. Their leader even comments on his large amount of chakra.
Trivia
- Kisame (鬼鮫) means ogre shark, probably a reference to his tall height and appearance.
- Hoshigaki (干柿) means dried persimmon.
Sasori
Name: Akasuna no Sasori, 赤砂のサソリ, "Sasori of the Red Sand"
Age: ? (deceased)
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Ring: 玉 (Gyoku, jewel/ball)
Position: Left thumb
Partner: Deidara
Affiliation: Akatsuki, Nukenin (Missing-nin) from Sunagakure (Hidden Sand)
Signature Ability: Kugutsu no Jutsu (Puppet Technique) (Hiruko, Sandaime Kazekage, himself, etc.), Aka Higi: Hyakki no Sōen
(Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets), the Sandaime Kazekage's jutsu via the Sandaime Kazekage puppet
Deidara's partner and master, Sasori is a Nukenin (Missing-nin) from Sunagakure (Hidden Sand). In first appearance, he is a hideous hunchbacked figure with a poisoned scorpion-like puppet tail attached. He is known as Akasuna no Sasori (Sasori of the Red Sand), the creator of Kankurō's puppets and a genius puppeteer himself. His first appearance is during their mission to Sunagakure where Deidara is to capture Gaara. His first demonstration of mind control is when he uses it on Yūra, his former servant and a high-ranking Jounin in the village. After Gaara's capture, Kankurō attempts to stop the Akatsuki duo, but to no avail. Sasori battles the enraged brother, nearly killing him and destroying his puppets in the process with little to no effort. It is revealed that he left the village 20 years before, but the background on his crimes is unknown at this point. After hearing news of his return, Sasori's grandmother Chiyo, decides to join Team Kakashi in search of the duo and to rescue Gaara.
Sasori and Deidara have quite different views of what art is. Sasori believes art is something that should last, while Deidara believes art is fleeting. Although Deidara respects Sasori's view, Sasori doesn't seem to respect Deidara's.
During combat, and possibly all the time, Sasori "wears" his puppets and controls them from inside, thus eliminating the puppeteer's weakness of being an exposed target. His favorite puppet is named 'Hiruko' (ヒルコ), according to Chiyo. Hiruko has a mechanical tail extending from the mouth of what appears to be a mask on his back, the left arm is something that appears to be a large studded projectile capable of firing shrapnel, and the clearly artificial mouth opens to reveal a projectile-firing device. What makes him even more frightening, however, was the fact that Sasori makes his puppets out of human body parts (possibly bones), as he stated in the quote. So far, he utilized 298 body parts, as implied by the fact that if he successfully incorporate his grandmother's and Sakura's body into his puppet collection, there will be 300. And to show this, after he was forced to abandon Hiruko, he summoned a puppet that was made out of the body of Sandaime Kazekage. According to Chiyo, he made a puppet out of the living body of the Kazekage (a "hitokugutsu", 人傀儡, "person puppet"), and thus is able to retain some traits and jutsu of the Kazekage while he was alive. In a flashback in the manga, it is implied that Sasori also made hitokugutsu out of his parents.
The truly frightening aspect of Sasori, however, was that his real body is actually as young as he was, and bishonen too. The secret of his youth is revealed after Hiruko is destroyed: he had made himself into a puppet. While his head and (apparently) his legs are still organic, his stomach is now hollow, allowing a thick cable to be coiled and stored inside; the cable can act both as a stinger and a support for his body. On his back, a pair of arms, equipped with five large claws, is mounted, and on top of the spine is a scroll holder holding four scrolls, used to summon the puppets for his Aka Higi: Hyakki no Soen (Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets). Each of his hands now mounts a flamethrower nozzle. His right chest contains a hidden compartment, which can spin unknown numbers of chakra strings to control one hundred or more puppets. Over his heart is a large talisman that has the kanji 蠍 (Sasori, "Scorpion"). His puppet body can also be pieced back together after being splintered into multiple pieces; this is because the only part of him which is still "alive" (and thus able to control chakra) is his heart, located under the talisman. He can also easily transfer the talisman, and by extension himself, between puppets.
The talisman also proved to be his only weakness, as Chiyo used his mother's and father's puppets to stab him through this location in a manner similar to the hug that he desired. At the end of the battle, Chiyo, Sasori, and Sakura are all fatally wounded, but Chiyo sacrifices her life force to save Sakura's life, using a jutsu she originally developed for Sasori, "to give life to a lifeless puppet."
Sasori's previous partner was Orochimaru.
Deidara
Name: Deidara, デイダラ
Age: ?
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Ring: 青 (Sei, blue/green)
Position: Right index finger
Partner: Sasori
Affiliation: Akatsuki, Nukenin (Missing-nin) from Iwagakure
Signature Ability: Kibaku Nendo (Exploding Clay), Hand-mouths
A Missing-nin from Iwagakure, he is a part of the Akatsuki duo that comes to Sunagakure (Hidden Sand) to kidnap Gaara. A fancy and skillful fighter, with special mouths in the palm of each hand, he is able to manipulate clay into either a flight-capable clay bird that can support him, as well as a huge bomb that is capable to leveling a hidden village. He does this without any exploding tags. Deidara is teamed with Sasori, whom Deidara refers to as Sasori no Danna (サソリの旦那, "Master Sasori"). This is probably because Deidara has a lot of respect for his fellow artist and because Sasori is, as Deidara says himself, a lot stronger than him.
During the fight with Gaara, his left arm is mangled by Gaara's Sabaku Kyū (The Coffin of Crushing Sand), but he still manages to defeat him with ease.
Trivia
- He tends to end his sentences with "...un" (…うん).
- Like with Haku, there is a lot of confusion over Deidara's gender. Although Deidara has a somewhat feminine appearence and his name is similar to the female name 'Deirdre', his manner of speech, including the masculine pronouns oira (オイラ) and ore (オレ), suggests he's a man.
- Deidara makes his first anime appearance in episode 135. His voice in the anime is distinctly masculine, once again suggesting Deidara's a man. However this could also be because the anime crew wants to keep Deidara's voice secret until he makes his first fully visible appearance.
- Due to the Japanese language's sparse use of, especially third person, pronouns, translators have to use their own ideas of Deidara's gender to make well-flowing sentences. This has caused a lot of confusions, since both he and she are used to refer to Deidara.
Zetsu
Name: Zetsu, ゼツ
Age: ?
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Ring: 亥 (Kai, boar)
Position: Right little finger
Partner: None
Affiliation: Akatsuki, Nukenin (Missing-nin) from Kusagakure (Hidden Grass)
Signature Ability: Spying jutsu
Not much is known about this mysterious character at the moment, only that he is Akatsuki's spy. His head appears to be enveloped in a large Venus flytrap. The right side of his face, and likely his body, is black in color while his left side is white in color. His pupil-less eyes and superior vision suggest that he may harbor something similar to Byakugan. His first appearance was after the Naruto and Sasuke fight at the end of Part 1, which he observed in secret. He was also responsible for warning Akatsuki of the positions of the approaching Team Kakashi and Team Gai during their extraction of Gaara's bijū. He has the ability to merge with trees and other plants. He is a missing-nin from Kusagakure no Sato (Hidden Grass Village).
He seems to have a split personality, as the white half of his face speaks only in Katakana, which could indicate a robotic voice , while the black side uses both Kanji and Kana. He is also a cannibal (in Ch 261, he ate Kisame's body substitute), which fits his "venus flytrap" body
Trivia
- Each Akatsuki member wears a ring, inscribed with the first kanji related to the nine mythical beasts in Japanese mythology. However, Zetsu's ring doesn't fit in this list. Zetsu has the kanji 亥 (I/kai, boar) while the list suggests he should have the kanji 玄 (Gen, mysteriousness). The two kanji are somewhat similar in appearance though, which suggests an error by either the artist or the reader/translator.
Akatsuki Leader
Name: ?
Age: ?
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Birthday: ?
Blood Type: ?
Ring: 零 (Rei/zero, zero/nothing/overflow)
Position: Right thumb
Partner: None
Affiliation: Akatsuki
Signature Ability: Fūin Jutsu: Genryū Kyū Fūjin (Sealing Technique: Illusionary Dragon Nine Consuming Seals), Shōten no Jutsu (Shapeshifting Technique)
Not much is known about this Akatsuki member except that he acts like the leader of the Akatsuki.
Trivia
- There are many theories among the fans regarding the identity of the Akatsuki leader. Many theories claim that the leader is actually an already known, often dead, character like Uchiha Shisui, the Yondaime Hokage or Uchiha Obito. Many joke of a conspiracy theory involving Mizuki.
- Others have noticed that his silhouette looks extremely similar to Aburame Shibi, and that his eyes are extremely similar to Yūhi Kurenai's.
In addition to these named members, there are four more Akatsuki yet to be identified. The group has a jutsu similar to Orochimaru's Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Resurrection) named Shōten no Jutsu (Shapeshifting Technique) which allows them to replace the form of a dead body with their own likeness, traits including chakra level, and abilities.
There has been a brief mention in the manga about how each Akatsuki member seems to have been assigned one, and only one, bijū to hunt down and capture, and indeed there is (currently) one Akatsuki member for each bijū.