Summary

• Naruto's Akatsuki is a powerful and iconic group of anime villains, with who can take on elite ninjas and Tailed Beasts.
• Some , like Kie and Daibutsu, were weaker and easily defeated by stronger like Madara Uchiha.
• Stronger , like Kyusuke and Kisame Hoshigaki, possessed impressive abilities, but still couldn't compete with the likes of Tobi and the other elite criminals.

Naruto's Akatsuki are some of the most iconic anime villains ever, and their ranks among the strongest too. One of the most enduring villainous groups in the franchise, the Akatsuki were founded by ninja who abandoned their homelands with the group's motivations changing as the story progressed. Unfortunately for Naruto’s heroes, those goals generally involve mass death and destruction.

Formally a means to stop warring nations from decimating smaller communities, the Akatsuki became an antagonist force after its leader grew to believe that the only way to stop this destruction was by ruling over humanity. Even with its relatively small numbers, the Akatsuki is one of the strongest groups in Naruto history. Its can take on the most elite ninjas and even subdue the incredibly powerful Tailed Beasts.

20 Kie - One of the Akatsuki's Weakest

Killed By Madara

Kie was a member of the original Akatsuki, back when it was a guerilla organization trying to keep larger nations from destroying the Hidden Rain Village. However, he isn’t particularly powerful and it’s unknown what kind of abilities he possessed. Like many of the Akatsuki of the first generation, Madara Uchiha defeated him so that he could manipulate Nagato into collecting the Tailed Beasts with a stronger version of the organization. There is a chance that he could deserve to rank higher among the strongest Akatsuki , but considering what little screen time he had and how little he impacted the story, it’s more than likely that Kie was Akatsuki's weakest member.

19 Daibutsu - Tried to Prevent Akatsuki's Turn to Evil

Killed By Tobi

Daibutsu is another member of the first generation of Akatsuki and actually survived Madara Uchiha’s attack on the organization. He tried to defeat Tobi and Zetsu before they had a chance to manipulate Nagato into using the organization for their own benefit to no avail. Daibutsu uses his impressive size and strength to wield giant blunt weapons in the battle to weaken and tire opponents so he can detain them in his Water Prison Jutsu. However, even if he was one of the stronger of the original Akatsuki, he simply couldn't stand a chance against the other with his more basic techniques and limited ninja abilities.

18 Kyusuke - One of the Original Akatsuki's Strongest

Killed By Tobi

Kyusuke is one of the strongest of the original Akatsuki, as he possesses incredible speed, can utilize sword techniques to overwhelm opponents, and can use higher-level nature transformation techniques to surprise and petrify unsuspecting foes. Though he is unnamed and unexplored in the original manga, in the anime Kyusuke is shown to combine fire and earth elemental transformations to utilize extremely powerful Lava Release techniques. However, he still isn’t able to compete with the likes of Tobi and is easily bested by the masked ninja. In any other circumstance, Kyusuke would undoubtedly be one of the strongest ninja around, but against these super-elite criminals, he is simply not able to measure up.

17 Jūzō Biwa - Itachi's Ill-Fated Partner

Killed By Yagura

As the single anime-only member of the second generation of Akatsuki, Jūzō Biwa has some impressive abilities while not quite matching up to any of his canonical peers. He utilizes water techniques to surprise foes and then strikes them down with the iconic Kubikiribōchō blade. He also possesses enough physical strength to wield the giant sword with ease and is respected enough to partner up with Itachi Uchiha on a mission to take on the Fourth Mizukage. However, his skill set seems to make him little more than a discount Zabuza, and it seems like he’s quite a bit weaker than any of his contemporaries. All in all, he wasn’t much of a boost to the organization.

16 White Zetsu - Kaguya's Pawn

Killed By Sasuke

White Zetsu is an Akatsuki member with a unique genetic composition that grants him access to a variety of useful techniques and gives him a distinctive pale complexion with plant-like appendages. He can use every basic nature transformation to the fullest extent possible and can even use advanced Wood Release techniques.

However, White Zetsu is mostly used for surveillance and information-gathering missions as he doesn’t have much battle power and can move through solid surfaces freely with his Mayfly technique. Although he is a difficult foe for most ninjas to take on, most of the other Akatsuki could defeat White Zetsu with either their raw power or their own, and a more varied arsenal of bizarre techniques.

15 Yahiko - Akatsuki's Original Founder

Sacrificed Himself to Save Konan

The original founder of the Akatsuki, Yahiko is presumably an exceptionally talented and powerful ninja. Possessing fire, water, and wind nature affinities, Yahiko learned ninjutsu from the legendary Sannin Jiraiya and is strong enough to command an entire army of ninjas against the established Hidden Rain Village authorities. To do this, he would have to possess a level of power and charisma far above most ninja. Even if he didn’t play a very active role in the events of the series, he laid a lot of the groundwork for the Akatsuki becoming a major threat. Even if his good intentions were misused, it still took an incredible amount of power to build up the original Akatsuki. All this adds up to Yahiko being one of the strongest of the original Akatsuki.

14 Hidan - Literally Immortal

Buried Alive By Shikamaru

Hidan isn’t so much a powerful ninja, as he is a durable one. He really only has two tricks, his immortality and a technique that turns him into a voodoo doll that harms anyone who attacks him so long as he’s within a special symbol. This makes the cultist ninja a challenging opponent to defeat, but rather easy to incapacitate if an enemy knows about his two abilities. In fact, Shikamaru Nara is able to defeat Hidan rather easily by preventing him from drawing his damage transfer symbol and breaking up his limbs so he cannot attack. Sure, it might be difficult to defeat Hidan without proper research, but even a little bit of planning is enough to best this immortal ninja.

13 Sasori - Naruto's Greatest Puppet Master

Killed by Chiyo

Sasori is the greatest puppet master ninja in Naruto and is nearly immortal as well. He can summon an army of upwards of a hundred puppets made from humans that all retain their abilities, as well as numerous hidden weapons. Having transformed his own body into a puppet, Sasori is also immune to all manner of poisons and doesn’t take any actual damage from attacks that don’t strike his flesh core.

However, most of Sasori’s fierceness in battle comes from catching his opponents off guard with his many hidden attacks and abilities. If someone knows about his secret puppet body and puppet arsenal, he becomes much less of a threat and is easier to defeat with enough raw power or by exploiting the weaknesses of his puppets. Still, even one of the lower-ranked Akatsuki is still a powerhouse among any other group of ninjas.

12 Deidara - Undisputed Explosives Expert

Sacrificed Himself to Kill Sasuke

One of the flashiest of the Akatsuki, Deidara is an explosives expert who specializes in widespread destruction. Combining earth and lighting elements to use explosion techniques, Deidara uses the various mouths on his body to turn clay into moving explosives he controls with his chakra. This makes him one of the most versatile of the Akatsuki, and he is able to defeat anyone who doesn’t possess an absurd level of speed or defense. His only notable weaknesses are lighting attacks neutralizing his explosive clay and his own short-sightedness. He is one of the strongest ninjas in the entirety of Naruto and it took every bit of Sasuke's cunning and skill to defeat him when they fought.

11 Kisame Hoshigaki - Shark Swordmaster

Sacrificed Himself to Prevent Information About Akatsuki From Getting Out

With a somewhat monstrous appearance and the strength to back it up, Kisame Hoshigaki is one of the most capable of the Akatsuki. Already a threat with his wide assortment of water-based jutsu, Kisame’s strength is magnified further when he uses the living sword Samehada in battle. This weapon allows Kisame to negate any chakra attack, as the blade consumes the energy for sustenance. Moreover, he can even fuse with the sword to gain an even more shark-like appearance and recover from otherwise fatal injuries. With these incredible abilities and a fierce dedication to the Akatsuki, it’s no wonder that it took an entire team of ninjas to stop him. All of this adds up to Kisame earning a respectable middle rank among the Akatsuki's strongest.