Every Akatsuki Member, Ranked (Naruto)
After the Hashira ranking and the Upper Moons covered the two sides of Demon Slayer's power conflict, this post does the same for Naruto's central villain faction: the Akatsuki. The organisation that defined the threat level of Naruto Shippuden from its first episode to the Fourth Shinobi War.
This is the ranked roster of every canonical Akatsuki member — all ten — with each entry covering their signature technique, their assigned partner in the organisation, and the fight that finally took them down. Ranked by combat power and overall threat level to the shinobi world.
How the Akatsuki actually works
The Akatsuki was founded by Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato (Pain) as a peace organisation in Amegakure — a small village caught between the major powers during the Third Shinobi War. After Yahiko's death, Nagato took over and Obito Uchiha co-opted the organisation for his Eye of the Moon Plan, feeding Nagato a false ideology about achieving peace through mass trauma.
The operational structure is a two-man cell system. Every Akatsuki member is paired with a partner, and the partnership shapes how they operate in the field. The classic pairings are Pain/Konan (the inner circle), Itachi/Kisame, Sasori/Deidara, Hidan/Kakuzu, and Zetsu (who operated alone or alongside Tobi). This cell structure means the organisation's total combat output is roughly ten S-rank shinobi working in coordinated pairs, each capable of capturing or destroying a Tailed Beast.
Their stated goal was collecting all nine Tailed Beasts for the Gedo Mazo statue, which Nagato and later Obito intended to use for the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The civilian cover — that they were after money and bounties — held until Shippuden's second half revealed the actual scope of the plan.
Tier 1: The masterminds
These two are ranked above every other member not just in raw power but in the scope of their impact on the world. Both manipulated the entire organisation for their own goals, and both required the narrative's most significant fights to take down.
Nagato — Pain (Six Paths of Pain)
Nagato — Pain
Akatsuki's public leader and the most powerful member by canonical feat: sole survivor of his generation of Ame orphans, Sage of Six Paths reincarnate-tier, wielder of the Rinnegan — the highest ocular jutsu in the series. Pain's signature technique is the Six Paths of Pain system: six corpses (former shinobi) each channelling a distinct path of the Rinnegan (Deva, Asura, Animal, Human, Hungry Ghost, Naraka). Each path has a separate body and a separate ability set. The Deva Path's Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation) are the signature moves; Pain used them to level Konoha entirely in the span of a single fight. His partner was Konan (the only member to share Nagato's original founding ideology). Defeated by Naruto in his Six Tails and Nine Tails sage states — Pain was the first opponent in the series to require Naruto's full power output at that point in the story. Nagato subsequently used the Rinne Tensei to revive everyone killed during the Konoha destruction, which consumed his remaining life force.
Obito Uchiha — Tobi / Madara
Obito Uchiha — Tobi
The actual architect of the Akatsuki's plan and the most dangerous member when his full power is accounted for. Obito introduced himself as "Tobi" — a comic relief character in early Shippuden — which remained one of the series' longest-running misdirects before the reveal in the war arc. His Mangekyo Sharingan technique is Kamui: a space-time ninjutsu that makes his body intangible by teleporting it into a pocket dimension, making him physically immune to virtually all direct attacks. He also possessed the Rinnegan (via Nagato's eyes), could summon the Gedo Mazo statue, and in his final form wore the Ten-Tails as a jinchuriki. His partner was Zetsu, who served as his spy network and information system across the entire Naruto world. Defeated by Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Gai in the war arc — ultimately sacrificing himself to save Kakashi, having partially returned to his original self.
Tier 2: The elite field agents
Two members who were independently capable of defeating any individual shinobi short of the series' top tier, operating as the organisation's most feared active agents throughout Shippuden.
Itachi Uchiha
Itachi Uchiha
The most technically skilled shinobi in the organisation and the one whose Mangekyo Sharingan techniques remain among the most powerful ocular jutsu shown in the entire series. Itachi's signature techniques: Amaterasu (black fire that cannot be extinguished by any method and burns until the target is ash), Tsukuyomi (a genjutsu that traps the victim in a subjective reality where Itachi controls time — capable of inflicting what feels like 72 hours of torture in real-world seconds), and Susanoo (his full armament, wielding the Yata Mirror for defense and the Totsuka Sword, a genjutsu-sealing weapon that traps whatever it pierces in an eternal dream). His partner was Kisame Hoshigaki. Itachi's death is the most recontextualised fight in Naruto: he threw the fight against Sasuke, having been terminally ill the entire time, and died having planned to take his secrets to the grave. He was later reanimated by Kabuto in the war arc, where his full unrestrained capability was shown for the first time — including breaking the Edo Tensei binding itself through pure willpower.
Kisame Hoshigaki
Kisame Hoshigaki
Titled "Monster of the Hidden Mist" and formerly one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Kisame is the Akatsuki's pure brute-force threat: where Itachi's power is technique and precision, Kisame's is raw output and stamina — his chakra reserves were described as on par with a Tailed Beast's, making him effectively inexhaustible in extended fights. His signature tool is Samehada, a living sword that absorbs chakra on contact and can fuse with Kisame to give him a half-shark hybrid form with enhanced speed and regeneration. His Water Release techniques (Water Prison Jutsu, Water Shark Bomb Jutsu) could create large-scale aquatic battlefields regardless of local water supply. His partner was Itachi. Kisame's final fight is against Might Guy — who opens the Eighth Inner Gate to fight him, and even then the fight requires Guy's full output. Kisame ultimately took his own life to prevent interrogation, destroying his memory through a self-summoned water shark while in a Konoha prison, denying them the information they needed.
Tier 3: The specialists
Two members whose power ceiling was contested by fandom throughout Shippuden — both genuinely formidable in their domain, but reliant on specific conditions or tools that capped their ceiling relative to Tier 2.
Sasori of the Red Sand
Sasori of the Red Sand
Suna's most accomplished puppet master and the member whose combination of technique and psychological coldness made him genuinely terrifying in context. Sasori converted his own body into a puppet core — the only soft tissue remaining was a small mechanism over his heart that functioned as his real body. This made him immune to conventional physical damage while his true body remained protected inside a third puppet. His signature techniques: the Iron Sand puppet techniques (derived from the Third Kazekage he converted into a puppet), the army of 100 puppets stored in his Hiruko shell, and the universal puppet poison that paralyses in seconds and kills within three days with no known antidote. His partner was Deidara — the two disagreed philosophically on the nature of art throughout their partnership. Defeated by Chiyo and Sakura in a fight that required both Chiyo's counter-puppet mastery (she built the ten puppets that countered Sasori's techniques) and Sakura's poison-immunity via Tsunade's medical training. Sasori's death is one of the most discussed in the series: he allowed it to happen, offering his position to Chiyo's puppets deliberately.
Deidara
Deidara
Former Iwagakure missing-nin who stole the forbidden art of Explosion Release and combined it with his natural Earth Release and a unique Kekkei Genkai: mouths on his palms (and later his chest) that chew chakra into explosive clay capable of detonation on command. Deidara's art philosophy — that true art is a fleeting moment of beauty, an explosion — drove his combat approach entirely. Signature techniques: C1 through C4 clay explosives (C4: Karura, an invisible-to-the-naked-eye microsized clay explosion that detonates inside the target's body; C0: the last resort suicide technique that converts his own body into an explosion with a blast radius capable of destroying a country). His partner was first Sasori (deceased), then Tobi. Defeated by Sasuke in a long pursuit fight where Sasuke's Sharingan negated Deidara's advantage of aerial bombardment — he couldn't target what Sasuke's Sharingan could see coming. He triggered C0 as a last resort; Sasuke survived by retreating into Manda's body via Reverse Summoning.
Tier 4: The immortals
Two members who partnered explicitly because their abilities were complementary: one unkillable through immortality, one unkillable through the ability to buy more life. Combined, they were arguably harder to stop than Tier 3 in practical terms — the problem was killing them, not matching their raw output.
Hidan
Hidan
Jashin cult devotee and the only immortal Akatsuki member who achieved that status through religious ritual rather than forbidden jutsu. Hidan cannot die from physical damage — decapitation does not kill him, dismemberment does not kill him, and his separated body parts remain active. His signature technique is the Jashin ritual: after ingesting the target's blood, he draws a Jashin symbol on the ground and enters a link state where any injury inflicted on his own body is mirrored on the target. This makes him effectively a walking voodoo doll — the standard counter of "hit the guy before he hits you" does not work because hurting Hidan hurts his linked opponent simultaneously. His partner was Kakuzu. Defeated by Shikamaru in one of Naruto's best-written one-on-one fights — Shikamaru exploited the immortality by separating Hidan's head, using shadow techniques to manipulate his severed limbs, triggering his own Jashin curse against himself, and then burying his pieces under a collapsed forest. Still technically alive, but unable to escape.
Kakuzu
Kakuzu
The oldest Akatsuki member and a bounty hunter who had extended his life across centuries by ripping out and storing the hearts of strong opponents. Kakuzu possessed five hearts simultaneously, requiring five separate kills to die — each heart could be destroyed individually but it took sustained effort from multiple opponents working in concert. His body was threaded with black organic tendrils (Earth Grudge Fear) that could extend, bind, repair, and function independently. Each of his four additional hearts was stored in a masked entity that he could detach and fight with as a proxy. All five hearts allowed him to use all five nature releases in combination, including the rarely-seen Wind and Lightning combination attack. His partner was Hidan — Kakuzu was willing to work with Hidan specifically because Hidan's immortality meant he wouldn't accidentally kill his partner in a rage (he had done so to every previous partner). Defeated by Naruto's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken — the first time Naruto used the technique in combat — which destroyed two hearts simultaneously and left Kakuzu vulnerable to the team finishing him off.
Tier 5: Support and intelligence
Two members whose placement reflects their non-combat role in the organisation's infrastructure rather than a power deficit. Both were essential to the Akatsuki's ability to operate as a global intelligence network — without them, the information flow that let the organisation track jinchuriki and infiltrate villages would not have existed.
Konan
Konan
Co-founder of the original Akatsuki alongside Yahiko and Nagato, and the only female member. Konan stayed as the organisation's administrator and Nagato's partner while the ideology shifted from their original peace mission to Obito's Eye of the Moon Plan — she participated out of loyalty to Nagato, not conviction in the revised goal. Her signature technique is Paper Ninjutsu: she could convert her entire body into sheets of paper, make herself intangible in paper form, and create paper constructs ranging from weapons to wings to a city-wide explosive trap. Her defining fight is against Obito after Nagato's death: she deployed 600 billion paper bomb sheets (six hundred billion, each set to detonate on contact) in a sustained 10-minute trap designed specifically to kill him. Obito survived only by retreating into Kamui for the duration of the explosion. She was ultimately killed when Obito used the Izanagi — sacrificing one eye's sight permanently — to rewrite reality and reverse the outcome of their fight. Konan's power ceiling in pure raw output was higher than her tier placement suggests; her fight is one of the most technically impressive in the war arc buildup.
Zetsu (White and Black)
Zetsu — White and Black
The Akatsuki's intelligence and surveillance operative — a dual-consciousness entity made up of White Zetsu (a clone mass created from the chakra of people trapped in Kaguya's Infinite Tsukuyomi generations ago) and Black Zetsu (a physical manifestation of Kaguya's will, which had been manipulating shinobi history for centuries before the series begins). White Zetsu could merge with the ground to travel undetected anywhere, create copies of other people, and served as the Akatsuki's spy network across the Five Nations. Black Zetsu was the genuine mastermind above even Obito — it had written the Uchiha tablet's prophecy, guided Madara's research, and manipulated every event in the Fourth Shinobi War to engineer Kaguya's revival. In direct combat neither half of Zetsu was a front-line threat — they operated through information and manipulation rather than technique. Black Zetsu was ultimately pulled into Kaguya's body by Naruto and sealed with her in the Chibaku Tensei.
Honourable mentions
Orochimaru was a founding Akatsuki member who departed before Shippuden begins, having been caught stealing Itachi's body during his trial period. His absence from the active roster is the reason Sasori and Deidara had to accommodate a new partner structure. His defection and the organisation's inability to recapture him is one of the few failures on record for the Akatsuki's internal enforcement.
Kabuto Yakushi was never an Akatsuki member but became arguably the most dangerous threat during the war arc through his use of Edo Tensei — reanimating an entire generation of dead S-rank shinobi including every past Akatsuki member. The Edo Tensei army he fielded in the Fourth Shinobi War was directly enabled by Akatsuki's history of casualties.
Madara Uchiha is the reason the Akatsuki's plan existed. Obito was his student and carried out his instructions, though Madara's actual involvement was posthumous until his Edo Tensei reanimation in the war arc — he was never an operational Akatsuki member, but he was the ideological origin of everything they did.
Akatsuki merchandise: cloaks, figures, and what the UK collector market looks like
The Akatsuki cloak — black with red clouds — is one of the most recognisable pieces of iconography in anime, period. It's been thirty years since Naruto launched and the cloak design still shows up at every anime convention in the UK.
Figures with the most consistent collector demand: Itachi's Anbu and Akatsuki editions (both regularly appreciated on the aftermarket), Pain's Six Paths of Pain sets (the full set of all six paths is the grail item for Naruto collectors), and Kisame with Samehada. Deidara's C3 and C4 form figures from the Sasuke fight are rarer and command significant premiums when they surface.
Wanted posters and art prints tend to follow the popularity split: Itachi and Pain are the top sellers by distance, Kisame and Deidara run well as a pair, and Sasori's puppet master aesthetic makes his prints visually distinct from every other member. Hidan and Kakuzu are the underrated ones — both have visually striking designs and the Hidan vs Shikamaru fight remains one of the best-written sequences in Shippuden.
Cloak replicas are the highest-volume Naruto item in the UK collector market. Quality varies significantly — the difference between a well-made Akatsuki cloak with accurate cloud embroidery and a mass-market screen print is immediate in person.
If you're looking for Naruto collector items from the Akatsuki tier, check the AnimeVault listings for current availability. The Itachi and Pain items move quickly when they come in stock.
TL;DR: Akatsuki power ranking
| Rank | Member | Signature technique | Partner | How they fell | |------|--------|---------------------|---------|---------------| | 1 | Nagato (Pain) | Six Paths of Pain — Shinra Tensei, Chibaku Tensei | Konan | Defeated by Naruto; revived Konoha via Rinne Tensei, consuming his life | | 2 | Obito Uchiha (Tobi) | Kamui (intangibility), Rinnegan, Ten-Tails jinchuriki | Zetsu | Sacrificed himself to save Kakashi in the war arc | | 3 | Itachi Uchiha | Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo | Kisame | Threw the fight against Sasuke; died of terminal illness | | 4 | Kisame Hoshigaki | Samehada, chakra absorption, Water Release | Itachi | Self-destructed via summoned water shark to prevent interrogation | | 5 | Sasori | Puppet army, Iron Sand, universal poison | Deidara | Defeated by Chiyo and Sakura; appeared to allow it | | 6 | Deidara | Explosion Release clay, C1–C4 | Sasori → Tobi | Triggered C0 against Sasuke; Sasuke survived via Reverse Summoning | | 7 | Hidan | Jashin immortality, curse ritual | Kakuzu | Dismembered and buried by Shikamaru; still technically alive underground | | 8 | Kakuzu | Five hearts (Earth Grudge Fear), all five natures | Hidan | Killed by Naruto's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken | | 9 | Konan | Paper Ninjutsu, 600 billion paper bombs | Pain/Nagato | Killed by Obito using Izanagi to reverse the outcome of their fight | | 10 | Zetsu | Espionage, ground travel, shapeshifting | None / Tobi | Black Zetsu sealed with Kaguya; White Zetsu destroyed in war |
The debate worth having: Konan vs Deidara for the Tier 3 position. Konan's 600 billion paper bomb trap has a stronger singular feat than anything Deidara did in a single fight. The counter is that Deidara's ceiling (C0) is higher in raw destructive potential and he was operationally more effective across multiple fights. Forum thread incoming.
More from the blog
Get new anime collector posts in your inbox.
Reviews, guides, and hobby news — delivered directly.
By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy.