The Akatsuki was a criminal organization made up almost entirely of S-rank rogue ninjas with Kage-level strength. They were the primary villainous force in the second half of Naruto, and their goal was to take over the world after gathering all the Tailed Beasts. Each Akatsuki member had some memorable fights and at least one major accomplishment to be proud of.
Given how strong most of the Akatsuki were, it’s not surprising that many of their greatest accomplishments surrounded defeating other powerful ninjas. One Akatsuki member even earned praise for surviving a battle with a ninja god. Most of these accomplishments occurred while these ninjas were officially part of the Akatsuki, while others happened before they joined the organization or after they left it.
Konan Almost Defeated Obito in One-On-One Combat
Konan was one of the Akatsuki’s founding members and the organization’s only female member. She turned her love of origami into a special type of ninjutsu that allowed her to transform her body into paper. She served as Nagato’s bodyguard and was considered the strongest ninja in the Hidden Rain Village after his death.
Konan fought Jiraiya when he infiltrated the Rain Village and evenly matched him, even though she used paper while he used empowered flames. Her greatest accomplishment came when she fought and almost killed Obito, whom she believed was Madara Uchiha. She placed millions of paper bombs to counter Obito’s intangibility, and it would have killed him if it were not for Izanagi’s reality-defying genjutsu. The fact she pushed Obito that far is proof she was a Kage-level ninja.
Kakuzu Survived An Encounter With Hashirama Senju, The First Hokage
Kakuzu was the Akatsuki’s most experienced ninja and was in charge of the organization’s finances. When he defected from the Hidden Waterfall Village, Kakuzu stole the Earth Grudge Fear forbidden technique, which gave him his signature black tendrils. He stole the hearts of other ninjas and used them to create monsters to fight alongside him. This also granted him a form of immortality.
Prior to leaving the village, Kakuzu was ordered to assassinate Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. Hashirama was a ninja god who could defeat Tailed Beasts single-handedly, so it wasn’t surprising that Kakuzu failed his mission. Kakuzu never accomplished anything of note on screen, unless injuring Asuma counts. For that reason, surviving a battle with Hashirama, who was the most powerful ninja in the world at the time, is his greatest accomplishment.
Hidan Defeated Yugito, the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails, With His Curse
Hidan was the Akatsuki’s most sadistic member because he was a devout follower of Jashin, a religion that emphasized death and destruction. He learned to use a forbidden curse technique that turned him into a human voodoo doll, and he gained a form of immortality through painful experiments. This curse was the key to his greatest accomplishment.
Hidan and Kakuzu were tasked with capturing Yugito Nii, the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails, and they succeeded because of Hidan. The finishing blow was never shown, but the end result was clear. Hidan managed to cut Yugito as a fully transformed Two-Tails and critically impaled her by targeting himself. Killing Asuma was a great feat, but taking Yugito down was far more impressive.
Kisame Personally Defeated Roshi, the Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails
Prior to joining the Akatsuki, Kisame was a member of the Hidden Mist Village’s legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen. He wielded Samehada, a sentient broadsword that drained the chakra of whoever it cut. This made Kisame the perfect person to fight a Jinchuriki one-on-one, and this is how he defeated Roshi of the Hidden Stone Village.
The battle happened off-screen, but it ended with Roshi incapacitated atop Samehada. Roshi had been the Four-Tails’ Jinchuriki for decades and could perform Lava Release and a Tailed Beast transformation. This means he was strong enough to destroy a village if given the chance. If Samehada had not betrayed Kisame during his fight with Killer B, that would have been Kisame’s greatest accomplishment, but defeating Roshi was also an impressive feat.
Deidara Defeated Gaara, Who Was a Jinchuriki and Kazekage at the Time
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Image via Studio Pierrot
Deidara was the Akatsuki’s youngest member and served as the organization’s explosives expert. He possessed the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai, which gave his chakra explosive qualities. Deidara infused this chakra into clay creations, which could be detonated at any time. Some of his bombs were powerful enough to destroy a ninja village.
Deidara fought Gaara over the Hidden Sand Village in the first episodes of Naruto: Shippuden. Not only was Gaara the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail, but he was the Fifth Kazekage, meaning he was the village’s most powerful ninja at the time. Deidara might have lost an arm during the fight, but he bypassed Gaara’s near-impenetrable sand defenses while Gaara was protecting the village from Deidara’s bomb. Not only was Gaara defeated, but the Akatsuki successfully extracted the One-Tail.
Sasori Defeated the Hidden Sand Village’s Third Kazekage
Sasori might have been the first Akatsuki member to die, but that does not mean he was weak. The argument can be made that he is the strongest puppet master that the Hidden Sand Village has produced. He can control up to 100 puppets simultaneously and once used his puppet army to take down a small nation single-handedly.
Defeating a nation is quite an accomplishment, but Sasori’s greatest accomplishment was killing the Third Kazekage and turning him into a human puppet. The Third Kazekage is still regarded as the strongest Kazekage in history, meaning he could take on a small nation as well. It was never revealed how Sasori defeated him, but those details are irrelevant; the only thing that matters is that he succeeded.
Pain Defeated Jiraiya, One of the Leaf Village’s Legendary Sannin
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Image via Studio Pierrot -
Image via Studio Pierrot
Pain was the leader of the Akatsuki, meaning he was the organization’s most powerful member. He wielded the Rinnegan, which gave him access to several God-tier abilities, including chakra absorption and control over the forces of repulsion and attraction. Pain single-handedly destroyed the Hidden Leaf Village, which proves he is one of the few Naruto characters who can wipe out a country.
The Leaf’s destruction would have been Pain’s greatest achievement if it had been permanent. He resurrected everyone who died during the assault, and the village was rebuilt very quickly. Pain’s greatest achievement was killing Jiraiya, his former master and a member of the Leaf’s Legendary Sannin. Jiraiya was one of the strongest ninjas in history, and according to Pain himself, he would have lost if Jiraiya had learned the truth of the Six Paths of Pain sooner.
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Itachi Ended Kabuto’s Reanimation Jutsu and Became a Hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War
Itachi may have been a double agent for the Hidden Leaf Village, but he was still one of the Akatsuki’s strongest members. He mastered the base Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingan when he was just a teenager, which is why he was able to stop Kabuto during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Kabuto produced and controlled most of the reanimated ninjas that fought in the war.
Itachi was one of these ninjas, but he used Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami to negate Kabuto’s control. He fought Kabuto with Sasuke and forced him to undo the Reanimation Jutsu with the Izanami genjutsu. Undoing the jutsu saved many lives during the war and allowed the Allied Shinobi Forces to regroup against the Ten-Tails. Through his actions, Itachi went from being a despised criminal to being recognized as a war hero.
Obito Successfully Became the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails
While he was with the Akatsuki, Obito pretended to be a silly comic relief ninja named Tobi, but that was just a fake persona to hide the fact that he was pretending to be Madara Uchiha. He helped create Nagato’s Akatsuki because Nagato and the organization were integral parts of the Eye of the Moon plan. Obito might have been tricked by the real Madara, but for a short time, he became one of the most powerful beings alive.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Obito absorbed the Ten-Tails and became the Tailed Beast’s Jinchuriki. In doing so, he gained god-like power similar to the legendary Sage of Six Paths. He could disintegrate anything with Truth Seeking Orbs and overpower multiple Kage at once. At first, Obito’s mind was fractured because of the Ten-Tail’s immense power, but he was able to retake control of his body, demonstrating an unyielding resolve.
Black Zetsu Successfully Resurrected Kaguya During the Fourth Great Ninja War
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Image via Studio Pierrot -
Image via Studio Pierrot
The being known as Zetsu primarily acted as the Akatsuki’s top spy, scout, and intelligence gatherer. White Zetsu saved Sasuke’s life during the Five Kage Summit, but Black Zetsu had the biggest impact on the series. It was the physical manifestation of Kaguya Otsutsuki’s will, and its entire purpose was to resurrect her. Kaguya gave chakra to the Ninja World and is considered one of the strongest shonen anime gods.
Black Zetsu betrayed Madara Uchiha right when he was about to finish off Naruto and Sasuke. It drove its arm through Madara’s chest while he was fused with the God Tree, and in doing so, Kaguya’s will took over Madara’s body. It took centuries for Black Zetsu to bring Kaguya back, and during that time, he caused many of the Ninja World’s most influential conflicts.
- Release Date
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October 2, 2002
- Network
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Adult Swim
