The Akatsuki Organization

round this time the group became affiliated with a man claiming to be Uchiha Madara. The masked figure used his power and influence to secretly run the group and draw in new more deadly allies from throughout the world. Under this man, Akatsuki began to attract new S-Ranked criminals. Many of these are missing-nins who fled their villages after causing death and destruction. Over time most of the Akatsuki members were killed or neutralized in battle. There are currently only 2 active Akatsuki members: Tobi (Uchiha Obito) and Zetsu. Most members wear a forehead protector from their hidden village with a scratch through it, and all wear a ring identifying their position in the organization and a black cloak with red clouds. In the early years of the group, they acted as mercenaries for hire, offering their services to villages wary of taxing their own resources. While travelling about, the group members will work in groups of two collecting knowledge of new skills and jutsu.

     Akatsuki seeks to capture the Bijuu and their hosts the "Jinchuuriki," meaning the power of human sacrifice. These are the individuals possessing bijuu (tailed beasts) within their bodies. The demons are known by the number of tails their body possesses. When the Bijuu is removed from the Jinchuuriki's body, the host dies. All the captured hosts lost their lives save for Gaara, who was later resurrected with a tensei jutsu. The only remaining Bijuu are the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails within Naruto. Akatsuki's current base of operation is unknown, however they have multiple bases to which they can travel. These bases are used to summon the gigantic King of Hell statue known as Gedou Mazou. The statue's mouth is bound and his hands are cuffed. Each respective finger of the statue's hand represents the Akatsuki member. Each statue finger thus represents the kanji and ring finger of the member.