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Akatsuki began as a peace movement in the Hidden Rain led by Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. It later became the criminal organization associated with Pain, recruited rogue ninja such as Itachi Uchiha, and pursued the tailed-beast hosts known as jinchuriki. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, the masked leader directing a Six Paths of Pain is revealed to be Obito Uchiha. Naruto’s official material presents this history through relative story milestones rather than in-universe calendar dates, so the most reliable timeline follows phases and named arcs instead of assigning years.
How to read Akatsuki’s timeline
Episode numbers identify the order in which Naruto episodes were released or cataloged, not the order of events inside the fictional world. The official summaries and retrospectives establish a sequence, but they do not provide exact calendar dates for Akatsuki’s founding, its leadership changes, or every recruitment. The timeline below therefore uses broad placements: the organization’s early years in the Hidden Rain, its later criminal period, its appearance during the Search for Tsunade arc, the continuing jinchuriki hunt, and the Fourth Great Ninja War.
This distinction matters because “Akatsuki” refers to two connected but different phases. The first is Yahiko’s idealistic movement. The second is the armed criminal organization seen by most of the main Naruto cast. Treating them as if they were founded with the same purpose erases the central tragedy of Akatsuki’s history.
The original Akatsuki: a peace movement in the Hidden Rain
Yahiko, Nagato and Konan establish the group
The official synopsis for Creeping Shadow identifies Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan as the founders of Akatsuki. Their stated dream was to bring peace to the Hidden Rain, a country repeatedly caught in conflicts involving larger ninja powers. The founding idea was therefore political and humanitarian rather than a plan to collect tailed beasts or wage a world war.
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The three founders were not presented as an already powerful institution. Akatsuki began small and gradually attracted recognition and support from other shinobi. Hanzo, a major authority in the Hidden Rain, is specifically included among those who recognized or supported the movement. That support shows that the early organization could be viewed as a legitimate local force before its later criminal reputation.
Obito’s warning belongs to this early period
The same official synopsis places an intervention by Obito, who was disguised as Madara Uchiha, during the period of the founders’ idealism. He warned Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan that their ideals would not be realized. This warning foreshadows the collapse of the original project, but the synopsis does not provide a complete, dated account of every decision or confrontation that transformed Akatsuki.
That limitation is important when explaining why Akatsuki changed. Canon clearly establishes the founding goal, the founders, the group’s growing support, and Obito’s warning. It does not supply a single official calendar date or one short summary that lists every intermediate step between the peace movement and the later criminal organization. A careful timeline should describe the transformation as a developing historical phase, not invent an exact anniversary or a missing sequence of events.
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The organization’s later identity
By the time Itachi Uchiha joins, official material explicitly calls Akatsuki a criminal organization. The group is associated with Pain’s leadership and operates through members who receive assignments. This is a fundamental change in function: Akatsuki is no longer described primarily as a local peace movement seeking recognition in the Hidden Rain, but as an underground organization recruiting dangerous ninja and carrying out missions.
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The sources do not state a precise date for this institutional change. They instead reveal it through the circumstances surrounding later members. The safest chronology is therefore “after the founding movement and before Itachi’s membership,” without assigning a year that the official material does not establish.
Itachi joins Akatsuki
The official summary for the episode The Darkness of the Akatsuki describes Itachi becoming a rogue ninja and joining the criminal organization. Pain and Orochimaru welcome him. In the story presented there, Itachi’s first partner is Juzo, and their initial mission takes place in the Land of Water.
This episode is a useful anchor because it shows Akatsuki as an operating organization rather than an abstract legend. It has senior figures who receive newcomers, established members who can be paired with them, and missions conducted outside the Hidden Rain. It also places Itachi’s membership in the later criminal phase, not in Yahiko’s founding period.
Itachi’s partnership with Kisame and the recruitment of Deidara
The following official synopsis says Itachi is partnered with Kisame and begins Akatsuki missions with him. The story also shows Akatsuki recruiting Deidara. Pain assigns Deidara and Sasori to pursue Orochimaru, demonstrating that the group uses specific pairs for objectives chosen by its leadership.
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These episodes provide selected examples of the organization’s structure, not a complete membership list or a full chronology for every recruit. They establish a pattern of paired operatives, a command structure connected to Pain, and missions that target powerful ninja. They should not be read as proof that every member joined in the same period or that the episodes enumerate Akatsuki’s entire history.
Akatsuki’s appearances in the main Naruto storyline
Arrival in the Hidden Leaf during the Search for Tsunade arc
The official Naruto 20th anniversary retrospective covering the Search for Tsunade arc places Itachi and Kisame’s arrival in the Hidden Leaf during that arc. It identifies both as Akatsuki members and recounts their encounter with Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi.
In relative chronology, this is the point at which Akatsuki becomes an immediate threat for the Hidden Leaf rather than a group discussed only through backstory. The appearance also confirms that the Itachi–Kisame partnership shown in the earlier history has become part of the organization’s active field operations. The retrospective does not attach an in-universe year to their arrival, so the arc name is the appropriate time marker.
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The jinchuriki hunt expands into the Land of Fire
A later official retrospective, focused on the Hidan and Kakuzu arc, says those members entered the Land of Fire as Akatsuki continued hunting jinchuriki. This places the hunt after the organization’s Hidden Leaf appearance in the broad story sequence.
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“Jinchuriki” means people who host one of the tailed beasts. The retrospective’s wording is significant because it presents the hunt as an ongoing Akatsuki objective rather than a one-off mission. It also shows the organization operating across national borders and bringing multiple pairs into the same larger campaign. The source does not provide a numerical schedule for the hunt or an exact date for each target, so individual captures should not be forced into a calendar timeline.
Akatsuki during the Fourth Great Ninja War
The masked leader and the Six Paths of Pain
The official retrospective for the Fourth Great Ninja War describes the masked man leading a Six Paths of Pain made from reanimated jinchuriki. This is a major wartime development in Akatsuki’s history: the organization’s methods and leadership are now tied directly to the war’s supernatural military strategy.
The masked man is later revealed to be Obito Uchiha. The retrospective then recounts the history shared by Obito and Madara, connecting the war-era leadership to the earlier manipulation surrounding Akatsuki’s founders. This revelation does not turn the original peace movement into a secret criminal enterprise from the beginning. Instead, it explains how figures connected to the movement’s collapse become central to the organization and the war that follows.
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Obito’s identity clarifies the continuity between Akatsuki’s idealistic origin and its later militarized form. His earlier warning to Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan belongs to the founding-era history; his later role as the masked wartime leader belongs to the criminal and war phases. The two facts should be kept separate in a timeline because they occur at different stages of Akatsuki’s development.
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The official retrospective establishes the revelation and the connection to Madara, but it still does not give an in-universe calendar year for the organization’s founding or for each leadership transition. “During the Fourth Great Ninja War” is the precise level of dating supported by the source.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Akatsuki timeline in relative story order
| Story placement | What happens | What the official material establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Early history in the Hidden Rain | Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan form Akatsuki to pursue peace. | The group starts small and gains recognition and support, including from Hanzo. |
| Founding-era intervention | Obito, disguised as Madara Uchiha, warns the founders that their ideals will not be realized. | The warning is placed in the early movement’s period; no exact date is supplied. |
| Later criminal-organization period | Akatsuki operates as a criminal group associated with Pain’s leadership. | The transition is established broadly, not through a complete dated sequence. |
| Itachi’s entry | Itachi becomes a rogue ninja, joins Akatsuki, and initially works with Juzo. | Pain and Orochimaru welcome him; the first mission is in the Land of Water. |
| Expanded missions | Itachi partners with Kisame; Deidara is recruited; Deidara and Sasori receive an assignment to pursue Orochimaru. | The episodes show paired operations and leadership-assigned missions. |
| Search for Tsunade arc | Itachi and Kisame reach the Hidden Leaf and encounter Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi. | This is the first broad main-story placement supplied by the anniversary retrospective. |
| Hidan and Kakuzu arc | Akatsuki continues hunting jinchuriki and Hidan and Kakuzu enter the Land of Fire. | The hunt is an ongoing campaign, not a single isolated assignment. |
| Fourth Great Ninja War | The masked man leads a Six Paths of Pain made from reanimated jinchuriki. | The masked man is revealed as Obito, whose history is linked with Madara. |
Why the original movement and later Akatsuki are not the same thing
The simplest way to understand Akatsuki is as a name that survives a change in purpose. Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan’s movement sought peace for the Hidden Rain and gained support as a local organization. The later group is described as criminal, answers to Pain’s leadership, recruits rogue ninja, assigns paired missions, and hunts jinchuriki. Those are not minor changes in membership; they are changes in mission, structure, and political role.
Canon supports the contrast, but it leaves some transitions at broad resolution. It is accurate to say that the original movement was transformed into the later criminal organization through the history involving its founders, Obito, Nagato, and the figures who eventually direct Akatsuki. It is not accurate to supply an unsupported year or claim that the official episode summaries list every stage in a neat sequence.
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A focused reading point for Itachi’s Akatsuki history
Readers who want the manga account of Itachi’s turn into a rogue shinobi can use Naruto Volume 16, Chapter 139 as a reference point. An official Itachi birthday column identifies that chapter in connection with his becoming a rogue ninja and joining Akatsuki. Editions and availability can vary, so verify the specific edition before purchasing or borrowing it.
Quick Recap
What the official timeline does—and does not—date
- Established: the founders, the Hidden Rain peace goal, support including Hanzo, Obito’s warning, Itachi’s later membership, the Itachi–Kisame partnership, Deidara’s recruitment, the Search for Tsunade appearance, the jinchuriki hunt, and Obito’s wartime reveal.
- Not established in the cited material: an exact in-universe founding year, exact dates for leadership changes, a complete recruitment roster in chronological order, or a dated schedule for every jinchuriki mission.
- Best practice: use named arcs and relative phases as the timeline markers, and treat episode numbers as catalog order rather than fictional calendar dates.
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