Akatsuki: composition, rings, goal and history of the organization

Акацуки (暁, «Рассвет») - самая узнаваемая преступная организация вселенной Наруто: десять нукенинов ранга S в чёрных плащах с красными облаками, охотящихся на хвостатых зверей. Но за зловещим образом скрывается трагедия: всё начиналось как мирное движение трёх сирот, мечтавших остановить войны. Разберём, что такое Акацуки, как она появилась, кто в неё входил, что означают кольца на пальцах и какая судьба ждала каждого из её членов.

Акацуки (暁) - организация шиноби-отступников ранга S, созданная ради мира, но превращённая в орудие плана «Глаз Луны» по сбору всех хвостатых зверей.

What is Akatsuki

The kanji 暁 is read as "Akatsuki" and means "Dawn". You can recognize a member of the organization by their signature appearance:

• Black cloak with red clouds and a high collar. The red clouds symbolize the bloody rain over Amegakure that fell during the years of war; in the early version of the organization they were not there yet - the clouds were added after Yahiko's death.

• Conical straw hat with bells, hiding the face on the road.

• Crossed-out headband (hitai-ate) of the native village - a sign of severing all ties with it.

• Nail polish of one's own color for each member.

The organization operated secretly, in small groups, and remained a mystery to the five great villages for decades.

History: from a dream of peace to a threat

Akatsuki originated in Amegakure (the Village Hidden in the Rain), torn apart by other nations' wars. It was founded by three orphans - Yahiko, Nagato and Konan, who dreamed of ending the bloodshed. For a time, they were mentored by the legendary sannin Jiraiya, who taught the children for three whole years.

Secretly, still in his childhood, Uchiha Madara implanted his Rinnegan into Nagato - eyes that would later make him the center of a grand plan. When the young Akatsuki gained strength, the ruler of Rain **Hanzo** in collusion with the Leaf's advisor Danzo saw it as a threat and set a trap: captured Konan and forced Nagato to choose - kill Yahiko or lose Konan. Yahiko decided everything himself, deliberately impaling himself on the kunai in his friend's hand, and bequeathed to Nagato to bring true peace to the world.

Rebirth: Pain and the shadow leader

Yahiko's death broke Nagato's idealism. He concluded that the world would not abandon wars voluntarily, and decided to intimidate it with unprecedented destruction. Under the name Pain, Nagato reassembled Akatsuki from the strongest S-rank renegades, and preserved Yahiko's body as the main of the six controlled corpses - the Six Paths of Pain.

But behind Nagato stood the real puppeteer - Obito Uchiha. Believed dead, he acted under the mask of the simpleton Tobi, and later posed as Madara. Only a few knew the true goal of the organization.

Goal: the "Eye of the Moon" plan

The true mission of Akatsuki is not mercenary work nor a "lesson of pain", but the "Eye of the Moon" (Tsuki no Me) plan, bequeathed by Madara:

1. Gather all nine tailed beasts (bijuu) and seal them into the colossal statue Gedo Mazo.

2. Recreate the Ten-Tails (Juubi) - the original source of all chakra, once sealed by the Sage of Six Paths.

3. Having become its vessel, through Rinne-Sharingan activate Infinite Tsukuyomi - reflect the illusion from the Moon and plunge all of humanity into an eternal sleep, where each sees an ideal world, having lost their free will.

Composition: the core ten

Akatsuki worked in pairs with deliberately opposite personalities. The classic "core":

Orochimaru was also a former member: he used the organization for his own purposes and fled after a failed attempt to take over Itachi's body.

Akatsuki Rings

Each of the ten wore a ring with a unique character on a strictly defined finger. The finger determined the member's place on the hands of the Gedo Mazo statue during the tailed beast sealing ritual.

Hunting the Tailed Beasts

Akatsuki methodically hunted jinchuriki — people with tailed beasts sealed inside them.

By the start of the main events, several beasts had already been sealed, and it was the hunt for Gaara and Naruto that brought Akatsuki into open conflict with Konoha's young heroes.

How each member died