naruto shippuden

Akatsuki (暁, Akatsuki? meaning "Dawn" or "Daybreak") is a fictional criminal organization in the anime and manga series Naruto. It is first introduced midway into the first part of the series, and its members gain significance as the main antagonists during the second part. The organization is composed of some of the most powerful criminals in the Naruto universe.

Overview

Akatsuki is a small organization by most standards; at any given point, the group has at most ten members and an uncertain number of agents. Though they seem to have a decent network of agents in various villages, these individuals are usually under some form of mind-control. A notable exception is Tobi, who acts as subordinate to Zetsu before being promoted. The members of Akatsuki are all S-class criminals, the most wanted and dangerous men in the Naruto universe.

The exact criteria for admission into the group are unknown, but extraordinary fighting ability and ruthlessness seem to be prerequisites. Unique traits (genetic or otherwise) also seem to be a common factor among its members. Two of the more prominent members so far, Itachi and Sasori, both undertook some sort of challenging task at the time of their entering the group. Sasori mentions during his fight with Chiyo and Sakura Haruno that "[he] hadn't had this much difficulty since joining Akatsuki." Itachi was responsible for murdering his whole clan (save for his little brother, Sasuke) around the time he is believed to have entered, but it can't be said for certain that the two events were linked.

Organization

Akatsuki doesn't seem to have any strict organizational structure, though its members do maintain several unique practices. They rarely seem to meet in person, instead communicating through telepathy and astral projection when necessary. When their entire group is introduced at the end of the first part of the series, meeting in an unspecified location through astral projection, one member notes that it had been seven years since they had all been together in such a fashion. Their meetings are much more frequent in the second part of the series due to their increased activity. The members of Akatsuki seem to have little consistency in their individual goals. They only group together because Akatsuki's overall goal in some way benefits the individual goals of its members. Akatsuki members don't particularly value the lives of their comrades, either; a member's death in itself will not bother the other members, but rather the fact that someone was able to kill that member.

source: www.wikipedia.org