How often does an organization or collective, driven by powerful ideals, morph into a twisted version of itself, under the crushing weight of cruel reality? With its various incarnations having pursued peace through means that changed from moderate to extreme, the Akatsuki had a vital role to play in the commencement of the Fourth Shinobi World War in Naruto.

This represented a radical departure from how the group was first founded to protect the village of Amegakure from being a battleground for the Five Great Shinobi Countries in Naruto, with the final goal of eventually bringing about an end to all war. Such a disparity between its original and eventual purpose is the product of a tragic series of events, which saw it turn into a disturbingly warped caricature of the organization stood for, eventually becoming another cog in the same cycle of violence it sought to eliminate.

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Yahiko's Dream

Born from the collective desire of the three Amegakure orphans trained by Jiraiya, the initial version of the Akatsuki was an organization that settled disputes through negotiation. Led by Yahiko, who relied on his childhood friends Nagato and Konan as his trusted lieutenants, this version of the Akatsuki aimed to usher in an era of peace to their homeland, which had been the unfortunate site of numerous battles during each Great Ninja War. In fact, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko had all lost their families in the Second Shinobi World War, when their village became a battlefield for larger nations.

The group's reputation grew at an alarming pace due to Yahiko's charisma and leadership, which was crucial to the Akatsuki's unity and progress in the face of the incredibly difficult goal they had set for themselves. However, Yahiko thought himself to be a mere facilitator for Nagato's rise, as he believed that his Rinnegan would be the key to ensuring peace. The Akatsuki's growing profile attracted the attention of Hanzo of the Salamander, the ruler of Amegakure, who fell into egoism and a fear of losing his power in his later years.

As a result, Hanzo began to view them as a threat, and was encouraged to do so by Konoha's Shinobi of Darkness, Danzo Shimura, in the anime. Hanzo proceeded to arrange a meeting with the Akatsuki, under the pretext of enlisting their aid to broker a peace between Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konohagakure. Unfortunately, this was merely a ruse ambush the group alongside Danzo's Root division, to kidnap Konan and use her as a bargaining chip against Yahiko.

Hanzo demanded that Nagato take Yahiko's life in exchange for Konan's, which prompted the former to impale himself on Nagato's kunai, to save his beloved. This event caused Nagato to lose control and go on a rampage, as he summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and donated his own life force to wipe out Hanzo's soldiers and the Root members, losing the use of his legs in the process due to Hanzo's attacks.

The Death Of Nagato's Hope

Seeing his best friend die in his arms was not an ordeal that Nagato recovered from, and it led him to discard the idealism of the early Akatsuki. Believing that the shinobi world would never accept peace, Nagato's grief, disillusionment, and cynicism gave birth to the second iteration of the Akatsuki, whose singular purpose was to accrue power and wealth by capturing the tailed beasts. In the process, the group turned into something more akin to a band of mercenaries composed of powerful rogue ninja from across the world.

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Nagato's aim in capturing the tailed beasts was to create a kinjutsu weapon capable of destroying entire nations, that would act as a deterrent against conflict. By demonstrating the weapon's power, he believed that the shinobi world would experience such immense death and devastation that they would never be able to entertain the thought of waging war again. Hence, he sought to bring about peace through fear rather than diplomacy, ending the cycle of hatred between nations through overwhelming force.

Taking on the identity of "Pain," Nagato used black receivers to create the Six Paths of Pain, using Yahiko's corpse as the Deva Path, which would symbolically allow him to remain the face of the organization. He also enlisted the aid of Obito Uchiha who was posing as Madara, whose assistance had earlier been refused by Yahiko. Obito later joined the organization under the alias of Tobi, as he subtly manipulated Nagato from the shadows. While this version of the Akatsuki did have a fair degree of success in recruiting strong ninja and capturing the tailed beasts, the group's growing notoriety prompted the intervention of the hidden villages.

Subsequently, the organization began to collapse as its members were defeated or chose to leave on their own terms. The final nail in the coffin came when Nagato as Pain was pressured into taking a more active role by Obito, and chose to invade Konohagakure to capture the Nine-Tails. In the ensuing battle, Pain destroyed the entire village but was defeated by Naruto Uzumaki, who made him realize the error of his ways, prompting him to sacrifice his own life to revive the villagers he had killed. With this, Nagato entrusted his mission to Naruto.

An Embodiment Of Obito's Despair

Now that Nagato had left the Akatsuki, Konan was left with little reason to continue her role in the organization, and attempted to defect. After a hard fought battle where she nearly killed Obito to prevent him from stealing Nagato's Rinnegan, Konan was also defeated, bringing an end to the organization's founders. Now, as the sole leader of the Akatsuki, Obito set out to enact the Eye of the Moon Plan entrusted to him by the real Madara, who had died years prior.

Obito recruited a grieving Sasuke who had learned the truth about Itachi's sacrifice, and swore revenge against the shinobi world. With few of its original members remaining, Obito was forced to take more drastic measures to capture the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, resulting in the attack on the Five Kage Summit and the declaration of the Fourth Shinobi World War. All this stemmed from Obito's own desire to end all war by casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi, as he mourned the loss of his childhood love Rin Nohara, and gave in to his despair.

The resulting conflict, which saw Kabuto Yakushi ally with Obito and revive countless shinobi with the Edo Tensei, including Madara Uchiha himself, resulted in the revival of the Ten-Tails, casting of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and the return of Kaguya Otsutsuki. Fortunately, Team 7 led by Naruto and Sasuke were able to defeat Kaguya, seal her, redeem Obito, and undo the Infinite Tsukuyomi, bringing about the very peace that Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had desired.

Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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