Akatsuki Overview

Akatsuki, at any given point in time, is composed of no more than ten primary members. There is no known criterion required for joining the organization, though all known members have severed all ties with the village they grew up in and are S-class criminals, the most wanted and dangerous individuals in the series.1

Two members, Itachi Uchiha and Sasori are known to have undertaken a challenging task around the time of their joining the organization: Itachi killed almost all the members of his family in a single night,2 though it is unclear what his true reasons for doing this were. Sasori, during the course of the battle in which he eventually meets his demise, comments that "he hadn't had this much difficulty since joining Akatsuki". In Deidara's case, however, he was forcibly recruited by other Akatsuki members as a result of his effective work as a terrorist.3

Members of Akatsuki 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 his advantage by using large-scale attacks on those Hidan has pinned down; being immortal, Hidan survives what is normally fatal to his opponent. Zetsu is an exception to this, as he operates by himself at all times. Members whose partners have died also operate by themselves until a replacement can be found. At the very least, members maintain a functioning working relationship with their partner, with some form of loyalty to one another being present in most cases. In other instances a member will only work with their teammate so long as it furthers Akatsuki's goals, with all other matters being a source of dispute between the two. In general, Akatsuki members are unconcerned with the fate of their other comrades, their only point of interest concerning someone's death being who was strong enough to kill them.4

Akatsuki is a widespread organization, with its members constantly traveling between countries and its agents operating out of various villages throughout the world. These agents work for specific members for varying purposes; Sasori has a number of agents under a form of mind control that he uses as spies,5 while Kakuzu has a group of people that take care of his finances.6 Because the various members are often so far apart, making a meeting in person impractical, they can communicate through a form of telepathy. If there is a need for the group to have more of an interaction with each other, members can use a form of astral projection to meet at one of Akatsuki's many secret lairs. When their entire group meets like this at the end of the first part of the series, one member notes that it had been seven years since they had all been together in such a fashion.7 Their meetings are much more frequent in the second part of the series due to their increased activity.