The Teams

Posted by : Unknown Thursday, May 2, 2013

Teams

Akatsuki teams are put together in teams of two to exploit combined strengths for the organisation's goals to be met. The duos assembled usually share a distinct commonality, like Hidan's and Kakuzu's immortality, Deidara's and Sasori's artistic approach to ninjutsu and Itachi's and Kisame’s killing comrades under orders.

Sasori & Deidara

Target(s): One-Tailed Shukaku (Deidara, Sealed), Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Deidara, Failed)

Deidara and Sasori.

Formed by the two artists of Akatsuki, Sasori and Deidara worked well for the most part but had conflicting ideas on art. Sasori believed all art was to be kept permanent, such as his puppets, while Deidara thought art was to be instantaneous, then gone forever, such as his Explosive Clay. Ironically though, Sasori was impatient and liked to finish things quickly while Deidara liked to take his time. Sasori also had a network of spies that he manipulated (in the form of mind control) to aid Akatsuki in their affairs. Deidara was formerly a terrorist bomber for hire who was later recruited by Itachi. Interestingly, both members of this team made the conscious decision to die, Sasori by allowing himself to be impaled by the puppet replicas of his parents and Deidara blowing himself up, thus becoming art.

Deidara & Tobi

Target(s): Three-Tails (Tobi, Sealed)

Deidara and Tobi hunting the Three-Tails.

Formed after Sasori's death, Tobi was introduced as his easily found replacement. Despite Tobi's eagerness to please his "senpai", his childish attitude was seen as an annoyance to Deidara's expectations of the organisation. Despite the eminent irritation, the two worked well together, as evidenced by Tobi planting Deidara's explosive clay mines underground during Deidara's last stand against Sasuke. Deidara also tries to protect Tobi, although the latter usually annoys him with his playful personality. After Deidara's death, Tobi revealed his true personality and began to actively work to his own goals.

Kakuzu & Hidan

Target(s): Two-Tails (Sealed), Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Failed)

Hidan and Kakuzu.

An unruly, yet arguably the most effective team in the organisation, they seemed unstoppable when together, something that Shikamaru Naracommented on for the need to separate the duo. Pain decided to put these two together because of their unique abilities. Hidan could not be killed as a result of becoming the successful "Jashin experiment", even by decapitation, and Kakuzu could easily go into a rage and kill anyone around him, including his partner. Therefore, Kakuzu could go berserk and not worry about Hidan's well-being. They refer to themselves as the "Immortal Combo" (不死コンビ, Fushi Konbi),[20] because of their own methods of avoiding death. Kisame Hoshigaki jokingly referred to them as the "Zombie Combo" (ゾンビコンビ, Zonbi Konbi).[21]

They have shown the most hostility towards each other due to a conflict of interest; Kakuzu saw the rituals and beliefs of Hidan's religion to be a waste of time, while Hidan saw Kakuzu's willingness to do blasphemous things and his greediness to be unbearable, not to mention that Kakuzu's job as a bounty hunter usually got on Hidan's nerves. As a result of their sideline in collecting bounties and conducting rituals, this team was usually late in the line of work. Despite this, they work flawlessly in battle by using Kakuzu's reckless attack style in conjuncture with Hidan's immortality.

Itachi Uchiha & Kisame Hoshigaki

Target(s): Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Itachi, Failed), Four-Tails (Kisame, Sealed), Eight-Tails (Kisame, Failed)

Itachi and Kisame's début.

A team that functioned very well together and was highly effective. The pair completed almost every assignment Pain gave them with little trouble with the Nine-Tails being the only known exception. With Itachi working as a double agent, however, Itachi failed this mission purposely. Unlike most Akatsuki teams, Itachi and Kisame got along pretty well; Kisame did as Itachi had asked him unquestioningly and they would often converse casually when not in combat. In his battle against Killer B, Kisame failed in his mission to capture the Eight-Tails. However, this was later shown to be a ploy designed by Tobi to infiltrate the Land of Lightning. Before that, however, Kisame was able to capture the Four-Tails.

Pain & Konan

Target(s): Six-Tails (Pain, Sealed), Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (Failed)

The Six Paths Of Pain and Konan.

A team that functioned very well with each other, as evidenced by Konan's loyalty towards Pain. Acting as the leader of Akatsuki, Pain directed the rest of the organisation to their respective goals; his most direct interaction with the other members was using the Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals. In addition, Pain was the leader of Amegakure, and used the village as a type of headquarter for Akatsuki, while Konan served as the village's second-in-command.

White Zetsu & Black Zetsu

Function: Spy, Auxiliary

\Both halves of the individual known as Zetsu; an enigmatic member with two personalities.

Although not exactly a "two-man team", Zetsu has two personalities, which effectively makes him a team of two. Since each side has a level of individuality, they frequently argue with each other over which battles to watch, among other things. The two sides can also split apart, allowing each personality to act individually. Both of his sides seem to have an awareness of what the other is doing or thinking, making them a very effective team, although the white half has been shown to have a tendency to ask the black half questions that would be unnecessary if they completely shared their thoughts.

Another unique feature of Zetsu is his ability to create clones. Those clones are described by Kisame Hoshigaki as living beings comparing with the regular clones made of chakra.[4]

The members of Taka as part of Akatsuki.

Orochimaru & Sasori

Sasori claimed that he and Orochimaru worked well together during their partnership. However, when Orochimaru defected from Akatsuki after his failed attempt to steal Itachi's body, Sasori developed a grudge against his former partner.

Taka

Target(s): Eight-Tails (Failed)

When Akatsuki's ranks are thinned to five members, Tobi enlists the aid of Taka, who shares the desire for the destruction of Konoha. To complete their goals, Tobi has ordered Taka to hunt down the Eight-Tails while Akatsuki (particularly Pain) hunts for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Technically, the members of Taka are not full members of Akatsuki, as they do not possess the rings worn by each of the primary members. However, they have been wearing Akatsuki cloaks (albeit not with high collars but with hoods), signifying their affiliation with the organisation. After catching what appeared to be Killer B, Sasuke claimed that Taka was no longer affiliated with Akatsuki. Out of all the members, however, only Sasuke chooses to remain affiliated with Tobi and Akatsuki after Taka's disbandment, which has become quite fragile as Sasuke eventually killed White Zetsu for the sake of testing his new powers.