The Akatsuki, a name that echoes with menace and intrigue throughout the ninja world, was initially conceived with noble intentions. Founded by Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan in the war-torn Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village), their aim was to bring peace to the ravaged land without resorting to the destructive power of the great nations. However, the machinations of Obito Uchiha, under the guise of Madara Uchiha, twisted their ideals, transforming the Akatsuki into a notorious organization of rogue ninjas with the sinister goal of capturing all nine Tailed Beasts.
Each member of the Akatsuki was a formidable shinobi, possessing unique and often terrifying abilities that set them apart as some of the most powerful individuals in the Naruto universe. Dressed in distinctive black cloaks adorned with red clouds, they operated in pairs, striking fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned ninja.
Here is a closer look at the members listed, their skills, estimated power levels, and a potential ranking based on their demonstrated abilities:
Deidara
Skills: An explosives expert from Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village), Deidara possessed the unique Kekkei Genkai of Explosion Release. He could mold special clay with his chakra-infused mouths located on his palms and chest, creating a variety of explosive creatures and projectiles. His art was his ultimate weapon, ranging from small, agile bombs to massive, village-leveling detonations. He was also a capable aerial fighter, often riding on clay birds.
Power Level: High Jonin/Low Kage level. His destructive potential was immense, capable of overwhelming many opponents. However, his overconfidence and weakness to Lightning Release ninjutsu proved to be his downfall against Sasuke Uchiha.
Ranking: Around 7th or 8th. His offensive power was significant, but his susceptibility to certain elements and tactical vulnerabilities placed him lower than some of the more versatile and defensively strong members.
Itachi Uchiha
Skills: A prodigy of the Uchiha clan from Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village), Itachi was a master of Genjutsu (illusionary techniques), Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu (hand-to-hand combat). His Sharingan granted him exceptional perceptive abilities, and his Mangekyo Sharingan unlocked powerful techniques like Amaterasu (unextinguishable black flames) and Tsukuyomi (an inescapable illusion). He also possessed the Susanoo, a spectral warrior offering immense defense and wielding the Sword of Totsuka and the Yata Mirror, legendary weapons with sealing and absolute defense capabilities, respectively.
Power Level: High Kage level, bordering on God-tier due to his Mangekyo Sharingan abilities and tactical brilliance. Despite battling a terminal illness, he consistently outmaneuvered and defeated powerful foes.
Ranking: 1st or 2nd. His immense skill, coupled with his strategic mind and the overwhelming power of his Mangekyo Sharingan, made him one of the most dangerous Akatsuki members.
Konan
Skills: Konan, from Amegakure, was Nagato’s long-time comrade and possessed the unique ability to manipulate paper. She could create paper clones, wings for flight, sharp paper weapons, and even transform her entire body and the environment into countless sheets of paper. She could also infuse her paper with explosive tags for devastating attacks.
Power Level: High Jonin/Low Kage level. Her strategic mind and the sheer scale of her paper techniques made her a formidable opponent, as demonstrated in her near-fatal battle against Obito. However, her reliance on paper made her vulnerable to certain elements like oil.
Ranking: Around 6th or 7th. Her unique abilities provided both offensive and defensive capabilities, but her limitations against specific counters kept her from the top tier.
Hidan
Skills: Hidan, a rogue ninja from Yugakure (Hidden Hot Springs Village), was an immortal zealot devoted to the god Jashin. His unique ritual involved ingesting his opponent’s blood, drawing a Jashin symbol on the ground, and then linking his pain to his opponent’s. Any damage he inflicted upon himself would be mirrored on his victim, making him a terrifying and unpredictable foe. He wielded a three-bladed scythe as his primary weapon.
Power Level: Jonin level. While his immortality made him incredibly difficult to defeat, his actual ninjutsu prowess was relatively low. His strength lay entirely in his ritual and his relentless, pain-ignoring attacks.
Ranking: Last. Despite his immortality, his lack of versatile skills and reliance on a specific, time-consuming ritual made him the least powerful in terms of overall combat ability.
Sasori
Skills: A master puppeteer from Sunagakure (Hidden Sand Village), Sasori was renowned as “Sasori of the Red Sand.” He could control hundreds of puppets with incredible precision using his chakra threads. His arsenal included poisoned weapons, hidden mechanisms, and even human puppets, the most powerful of which retained the original user’s chakra and abilities. His ultimate puppet was his own reanimated body, equipped with powerful offensive and defensive capabilities, including the “Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets.”
Power Level: High Jonin/Kage level. His mastery of puppetry and vast arsenal of deadly puppets made him a dangerous opponent capable of taking on entire nations.
Ranking: Around 4th or 5th. His versatility and the sheer number of his puppets provided a significant advantage in many situations.
Zetsu
Skills: Zetsu was a unique being, a manifestation of Kaguya Otsutsuki’s will. He was composed of two halves, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, who could act independently or merge. His primary abilities were infiltration, information gathering, and manipulation. White Zetsu could create clones and merge with the environment, while Black Zetsu was a master manipulator, able to influence events from the shadows and even possess others.
Power Level: Difficult to quantify in direct combat. White Zetsu’s individual combat ability was relatively low, while Black Zetsu excelled in deception and support rather than direct fighting. However, Black Zetsu’s role in manipulating the entire ninja world and his ability to briefly control powerful individuals make him a significant threat.
Ranking: Difficult to rank directly due to his non-combat focus. In terms of direct fighting, he would likely be near the bottom. However, his influence on the story places him in a unique category. For a combat-focused ranking, he would be near the bottom, perhaps above Hidan due to his versatility in infiltration and manipulation.
Kakuzu
Skills: An incredibly long-lived ninja from Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village), Kakuzu possessed the unique ability to steal the hearts of others, granting him their elemental affinities and extending his lifespan. He could control up to five hearts simultaneously, each capable of using different elemental ninjutsu (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning). These hearts could manifest as independent, powerful entities. His body was also composed of resilient fibers, allowing him to manipulate his limbs and withstand significant damage.
Power Level: High Jonin/Kage level. His multiple hearts and diverse elemental attacks made him a versatile and durable opponent. He was also highly experienced due to his long life.
Ranking: Around 5th or 6th. His versatility and resilience made him a tough opponent, but his individual heart-beings could be targeted and destroyed.
Orochimaru
Skills: One of the Legendary Sannin from Konohagakure, Orochimaru was a brilliant but morally corrupt scientist obsessed with achieving immortality. His vast knowledge of forbidden jutsu allowed him to perform gruesome experiments and develop powerful techniques, including Reanimation Jutsu (Edo Tensei), which could bring the dead back to life as powerful, controllable fighters. He could also summon giant snakes, shed his skin to avoid damage, and transfer his consciousness to new bodies.
Power Level: Kage level. His extensive knowledge, forbidden techniques, and resilience made him a significant threat. He was one of the few Akatsuki members to leave the organization on his own terms.
Ranking: Around 3rd or 4th. His intelligence, versatility, and powerful jutsu placed him among the top tiers, though his arrogance sometimes proved to be a weakness.
Kisame Hoshigaki
Skills: Known as the “Monster of the Hidden Mist,” Kisame was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and wielded Samehada, a sentient sword that could absorb chakra. He possessed immense physical strength and vast chakra reserves, often compared to that of a Tailed Beast (“Tailed Beast without a Tail”). He was a master of Water Release ninjutsu, capable of creating massive water dragons, sharks, and even an entire underwater battlefield. He could also fuse with Samehada to become a powerful shark-like being.
Power Level: High Kage level. His immense chakra, physical prowess, and powerful Water Release techniques, combined with the chakra-draining ability of Samehada, made him a formidable opponent, especially in aquatic environments.
Ranking: Around 3rd or 4th. His raw power and specialized abilities made him a dangerous matchup for many.
Nagato
Skills: The true leader of the Akatsuki (though he operated through the alias “Pain”), Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, a legendary eye technique granting him a vast array of abilities known as the Six Paths Technique. He could control multiple bodies (the Six Paths of Pain), each with unique powers such as gravitational manipulation, chakra absorption, summoning, and soul extraction. His most devastating technique was the Shinra Tensei, a powerful repulsive force capable of destroying entire villages.
Power Level: God-tier. The power of the Rinnegan in Nagato’s hands was immense, allowing him to single-handedly defeat powerful ninja and even destroy Konohagakure.
Ranking: 1st or 2nd. His mastery of the Rinnegan and the devastating power of his techniques made him arguably the strongest member during his active leadership.
Obito Uchiha/Tobi
Skills: Initially operating under the guise of the goofy “Tobi,” Obito was a master manipulator and possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, granting him the unique Kamui ability. Kamui allowed him to become intangible by teleporting parts of his body to another dimension and to teleport himself and others across vast distances. He later acquired the Rinnegan, further enhancing his abilities, and eventually became the Ten-Tails’ Jinchuriki, granting him immense power and access to Truth-Seeking Balls and other God-level techniques.
Power Level: Kage level (as Tobi with Sharingan), God-tier (with Rinnegan and as Ten-Tails Jinchuriki). His power grew exponentially throughout the series.
Ranking: 2nd or 3rd in his early Akatsuki days as “Tobi,” but would rank 1st in his later forms. For the sake of this list reflecting their Akatsuki membership, his earlier form places him around the middle.
Yahiko
Skills: One of the founders of the original Akatsuki, Yahiko was a charismatic leader with a strong sense of justice. While alive, his primary known ninjutsu was Water Release: Wild Water Wave. He was also skilled in swordsmanship. After his death, Nagato used his body as the Deva Path of Pain, granting it the power to manipulate attractive and repulsive forces (Shinra Tensei and Bansho Ten’in) and create the Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation).
Power Level: Jonin level (alive), God-tier (as Deva Path of Pain). His power as the Deva Path was immense.
Ranking: While alive, he would be lower on the list. As the Deva Path of Pain, he would be at the very top, sharing the spot with Nagato.
Juzo Biwa
Skills: A former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Juzo wielded the Kubikiribocho (Executioner’s Blade), a massive sword that could regenerate by absorbing iron from the blood of its victims. He was a skilled swordsman and proficient in Water Release ninjutsu.
Power Level: Jonin level. As a former member of the Seven Swordsmen, he was undoubtedly a skilled fighter, but his feats within the Akatsuki were limited as he died relatively early.
Ranking: Towards the bottom, likely above Hidan but below most other members due to his limited portrayal.
Pain
Skills: Skills: “Pain” was the collective name for Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain, each a reanimated corpse with a specific Rinnegan ability. This included the Deva Path (Yahiko’s body with gravitational manipulation), the Animal Path (summoning powerful creatures), the Preta Path (chakra absorption), the Naraka Path (summoning the King of Hell for judgment and revival), the Human Path (soul extraction), and the Asura Path (augmented weaponry and mechanical enhancements).
Power Level: God-tier (as the collective Six Paths controlled by Nagato).
Ranking: Representing Nagato’s full control over the Six Paths, “Pain” would be ranked at the very top, synonymous with Nagato himself.
Ranking the Akatsuki (Based on Overall Demonstrated Power and Versatility):
01. Nagato (as Pain/controlling the Six Paths)
02. Itachi Uchiha
03. Obito Uchiha (pre-Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, but with Rinnegan)
04. Kisame Hoshigaki
05. Orochimaru
06. Sasori
07. Konan
08. Deidara
09. Kakuzu
10. Juzo Biwa
11. Hidan
12. Zetsu (ranked based on direct combat ability)
Conclusion
This ranking is subjective and can be debated based on specific matchups and interpretations of their abilities. However, it provides a general overview of the Akatsuki members’ power levels as demonstrated throughout the Naruto series. Their collective strength posed a significant threat to the entire ninja world, leaving an indelible mark on the course of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
