Naruto Shippuden

Naruto Shippuden (Literally meaning "Naruto Hurricane Chronicles") is the ongoing anime adaptation of Part II of the Naruto manga, set two-and-a-half years after Sasuke Uchiha's defection, when Naruto Uzumaki finishes his training with Jiraiya and finally returns to Konoha village.

The series is still being shown in Japan on TV-Tokyo. Viz distributes a subtitled version of the series on its website every Thursday. The English dub episodes 1-97 aired on American television on Disney XD from Wednesday, October 28, 2009 to Saturday, October 8, 2011. The dubbed episodes aired on Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m before moving to Saturdays at 11:00 p.m.

The English Dub episodes now stream uncut on Neon Alley via Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Uncut dubbed episodes are released on iTunes and Amazon Video on demand. Viz Media has also released uncut DVDs of Naruto: Shippuden containing the original uncut English dub and Japanese version, on their online store.

Starting on January 4, 2014, the series began airing on Adult Swim's Toonami block.

Plot
The series picks up two-and-a-half years after Sasuke Uchiha's defection, when Naruto Uzumaki finishes his training with Jiraiya and finally returns to Konoha village. Upon his return, Naruto finds out that everyone in his age group has surpassed him in rank, and he's fallen behind. With only six months left to rescue Sasuke, however, Naruto must face even more dangerous enemies. As Akatsuki's plan unfolds, and Naruto slowly loses himself to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, it becomes clear that more dangers await Naruto than ever before.

Konohagakure Ninja
Naruto Uzumaki — Naruto is the primary protagonist of the series. Naruto has ambitions of becoming Hokage, the leader of the village hidden in the leaves (Konoha), but because he is the host of Kurama, the nine-tailed fox that attacked Konoha, he is ostracized by the other villagers. He compensates for this with his cheerful and boisterous personality, and over the course of the series, manages to befriend many foreign and Konoha ninja. He develops an especially close relationship with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, two of his fellow ninja in Squad 7.

Sakura Haruno — Sakura is the sole female member of Squad 7. As a child, Sakura was taunted by other children because of her large forehead and was comforted by Ino Yamanaka making them close friends. As the two continued to grow, however, they became increasingly distant due to their shared affection for Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura is in love with Sasuke and depises Naruto, but after Sasuke leaves the village, Naruto makes a lifelong promise to her to bring him back. After his 1st attempt is delayed by the Sound Ninja 4, she resolves to become stronger by training with Tsunade. When Sakura and Naruto are 16, she displays highly developed skills from her training giving her the brutal power and strength of about 10 men.

Sai — Sai is a ninja who joins Team Kakashi in Part II as Sasuke's replacement. Having been a member of "Root" since he was a child, Sai has been trained to not possess or desire any type of emotion or camaraderie. Had his adoptive brother Shin not died from a disease, they would have been pitted at each other's throat during Root's fight-to-the-death training. After spending time with Naruto, however, he begins to crave bonds with other people, which has since become his primary role in the series. Sai's attempts to form bonds turn can be humorous as he tries giving pet names to others; however, he often says what he actually thinks of a person, resulting with him choosing names such as "fatso" and "ugly". He eventually learns from his mistakes and attempts the opposite approach, for instance, calling Ino Yamanaka "beautiful". When not making an attempt to bond with others, Sai spends his time painting and drawing, and has produced thousands of works. His artistic talents extend to his choice of attacks in battles: he can infuse chakra with his inking brush to make his drawings come to life.

Kakashi Hatake — Kakashi is the leader of Squad 7 and the sensei of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Kakashi treats his leadership position with a detached manner, and is consistently late to meetings as a result. In a gaiden on Kakashi's past, this is shown to be the result of an incident in which he witnessed the death of one of his teammates, Obito Uchiha, who gave Kakashi his Sharingan eye and imparted many of his habits, including his tardiness. With Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi has amassed a reputation as a skilled and powerful ninja, earning the moniker "Copy Ninja Kakashi". Although he mentors all three members of Squad 7 early in the series, he concentrates on training Sasuke as the series continues, teaching him his Chidori technique; however, he is unable to prevent Sasuke from leaving the village to seek Orochimaru for greater power.

Yamato — Yamato is introduced during Part II of the series as an ANBU member and a temporary replacement for Kakashi Hatake as the leader of Team Kakashi. After Kakashi's return, he stays on the team in an additional leadership position. "Yamato" is not his real name, but rather a codename assigned to him for the purposes of joining Team Kakashi. Unlike Kakashi, who places his teammates before the mission, Yamato will leave them behind if they become a hindrance, citing that as ninja they should be able to look after themselves. During his childhood, Yamato was abducted by Orochimaru and experimented upon in an attempt to replicate the First Hokage's unique abilities. Orochimaru was forced to flee Konoha before he could complete his testing, and thus never knew that Yamato had successfully obtained Hashirama's Mokuton techniques. When using Mokuton techniques, Yamato can form anything out of wood at will. It also allows him to suppress a tailed beast's influence over its host. This is the primary reason he is assigned to Team Kakashi, as he can stop Naruto Uzumaki if Kurama takes control of his host.

Kiba Inuzuka — Kiba is a member of Squad 8, characterized by a number of dog-like traits such as being very protective of his teammates and extremely keen senses such as smell. Most apparent of his connection to dogs is the constant presence of his ninja dog, Akamaru. Kiba is fiercely loyal to Akamaru, unwilling to abandon him and putting himself in harm's way for Akamaru's sake. In exchange for Kiba's devotion, Akamaru fights with him in battle; he uses his heightened senses to Kiba's advantage, and helps to double-team opponents with volleys of physical attacks. Since Akamaru is naturally better equipped for combat, Kiba usually modifies his own abilities at the start of a battle, growing claws and traveling on all four limbs to increase his speed. He can also drastically increase his sense of smell.

Shino Aburame — Shino is one of the members of Squad 8 and is fascinated with insects; he spends his free time capturing and studying insects and often uses them as analogies during conversation. A deep connection with insects runs in Shino's family, as each person born in to the Aburame clan is infused with a special breed of insects known as "destruction bugs" during birth. In exchange for using Shino as a hive and feeding on his chakra, the bugs do as he commands. During a battle, Shino directs his bugs towards an opponent, boxing them in without their knowledge and absorbing their chakra once they have been surrounded. Shino's merciless tendencies, in regards to opponents as well as his attachment to insects, have caused other characters to label him as "creepy." Nevertheless, Shino cares deeply for his teammates, being acutely aware of their inner workings and always regretting when he is unable to help them.

Hinata Hyuga — Hinata is a member of Squad 8 who suffers from a lack of self-confidence throughout the series. She is always reluctant to speak her mind or to do something that might antagonize another character, causing her difficulties whenever she is on a mission. Hinata's inability to stand up for herself caused her father to disown her at a young age, leaving her in the care of her teacher, Kurenai Yuhi. Soon after her introduction, Hinata begins training to become stronger, both to overcome her own weaknesses and to prove her worth to her father. Though Hinata's training has in large part been to prove herself, she also trains to try to win the attention of the series protagonist Naruto Uzumaki. Inspired by Naruto's confidence and determination, Hinata becomes infatuated with Naruto to the extent that she immediately blushes upon seeing him. However, as the series progresses, she goes out of her way to help him. While Hinata is hesitant to openly admit her feelings for him, most characters are aware of her feelings.

Kurenai Yuhi — Kurenai is the leader of Squad 8. Of all her students, Kurenai is closest with Hinata, acting as a surrogate parent in the absence of Hinata's father and helping Hinata overcome her weaknesses. Whenever Kurenai appears in the series, she is usually accompanied by Asuma Sarutobi. Because of this, many other characters assume them to be a couple, though they both deny this. In battle she specializes in casting genjutsu, and is shown to be particularly skilled with illusions involving plants.

Shikamaru Nara — Shikamaru is one of the members of Team 10. Shikamaru has an easygoing, almost lazy, nature despite being a genius. Shikamaru's intelligence is such that Asuma Sarutobi, Team 10's leader, has never been able to defeat Shikamaru at games such as shogi or go, and he can devise complex strategies even in the heat of battle. However, his laziness frequently prevents him from effectively utilizing his intelligence. Shikamaru is a longtime friend of Choji Akimichi, his fellow Squad 10 member, as he chooses to look upon Choji as a person rather than only considering his large girth. In battle, Shikamaru can manipulate his shadow, and by extending it into another person's shadow he can force the target to mimic his movements.

Choji Akimichi — Choji is a member of Squad 10 who is typified by his deep love for food to the extent that he always has a snack with him during the series. Though his habit of always eating gives him a relatively large appearance, Choji insists he is not fat, instead using explanations like being "big-boned". If someone refers to him as fat, Choji instantly becomes hostile and increases his resolve to battle. Shikamaru Nara has never found an issue with Choji's weight, instead choosing to look upon Choji's inner strength. Because of this, Choji regards him as his best friend, stating he would willingly give his life to defend Shikamaru. In battle, Choji can increase the size of his body to improve the amount of damage his strikes deal upon impact.

Ino Yamanaka — Ino is the only female member of Squad 10. She is a childhood friend of Sakura Haruno, helping her to develop her own identity. When they discovered that they both liked Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura ended their friendship so they could properly compete for his affection. The two eventually make amends and rekindle their friendship, but still maintain a competitive attitude towards each other. In terms of combat abilities, Ino specializes in mind-altering techniques. To use these techniques, Ino transfers her consciousness to her target's mind, gaining control over their body which she can then use to attack others.

Asuma Sarutobi — Asuma is the leader of Squad 10 and son of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had a falling out with his father when he was younger, and briefly left Konoha in protest. The two had not completely reconciled by the time of Hiruzen's death. Asuma is usually seen smoking a cigarette, but will temporarily drop the habit when something is bothering him, such as when his father died. Among all his students, Asuma shares a particularly close relationship with Shikamaru Nara, and the two often play shogi or go together. Asuma frequently appears alongside Kurenai Yuhi, leading many characters to assume the two are a couple. Both deny this and promptly try to change the subject whenever it is brought up. In battle, Asuma wields trench knives that can be infused with chakra. When infused with his wind-based chakra, Asuma can extend the blades' length and easily pierce through rock.

Neji Hyuga — Neji is a member of Team Guy and a child prodigy of the Hyuga clan, as well as being Hinata's cousin. Though a member of the branch house, Neji displayed his title as a prodigy of the Hyuga throughout the series as a master of his clan's Gentle Fist style of combat that he taught to himself. At the start of the series, Neji openly hated the main house because his father was killed in the place of the main house's leader, his uncle and Hinata's father. Originally, Neji believed in a fatalistic philosophy: that one's destiny is inescapable and that a weak person will always be weak. After being defeated in the Chunin Exams by Naruto Uzumaki, who defied his own "fate" by getting stronger, Neji had a change of heart once Hiashi revealed the full story of his twin brother's death as an act of self-sacrifice. Since then, Neji abandoned the idea of a predetermined fate and resolved to get strong enough to never lose a battle. As the series progressed, Neji refined his Gentle Fist and devised original variations that either increase their potency or to fix an inherent flaw such as a blindspot in his Byakugan. Neji also remedied the estranged relations between himself and the members of the main house, resulting in his training with Hiashi and Hinata.

Rock Lee — Rock is a member of Team Guy and the favorite student of team leader Might Guy. In the ninja academy, Rock Lee was unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu techniques, but his persistence impressed Guy. Guy spends much of his free time training with Lee to help him accomplish his dream of becoming a respected ninja by using only taijutsu. Lee has adopted several of Guy's habits because of this, such as his wardrobe and his perseverance. Guy has taught him a number of powerful, even forbidden, techniques. Because some of these techniques, such as the ability to open the eight chakra gates, can pose a severe risk to Lee's body, he is only permitted to use them to protect something or someone dear to him.

Tenten — Tenten is the only female member of Team Guy, and longs to prove that a female ninja can be just as skilled as a male ninja. Of all the Naruto protagonists, Tenten receives the least amount of screen time in the series, such that her only fight in Part I of the manga is almost entirely skipped; the battle's start and her eventual defeat are the only portions shown. In battle, Tenten specializes in weaponry, ranging from projectiles to close-combat weapons and even explosives. During a fight she uses the hundreds of weapons kept stored in scrolls she carries with her to bombard opponents with pinpoint accuracy. Tenten uses this expertise to help Neji Hyuga train his defensive techniques, and she holds him in high regard since he can always block her attacks.

Might Guy — Guy is the leader of Team Guy, and dedicates most of his time to only one of his students, Rock Lee. Because of Guy's dedication to him, Lee has modeled himself in his master's image, mimicking Guy's distinctive green jumpsuit and shiny bowl haircut. Lee has also adopted many of Guy's mannerisms, including his "My Rules" philosophy, which involves setting tough self-imposed penalties for failure in the belief that the punishment will make him stronger. In battle, Guy specializes in physical attacks, which he constantly tries to teach to Lee. While Lee is forced to concentrate on physical attacks due to his inability to use other types of techniques, Guy deliberately chooses not to use techniques other than physical attacks. When not teaching Lee a new ability, Guy is usually found in competition with his self-proclaimed rival, Kakashi. Throughout the series, Kakashi has never displayed a particular interest in their rivalry, which only further motivates Guy to defeat Kakashi and his "coolness".

Tsunade — Tsunade, as well as her former teammates Jiraiya and Orochimaru, is a former student of Hiruzen. Despite looking like a buxom woman in her twenties, Tsunade is actually an old woman who can maintain her youthful appearance through a special jutsu. Tsunade is also the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki, and Tobirama's grandniece, with many referring to her by the Japanese honorific "hime" (princess). Despite her connections to the three first Hokage, Tsunade hates the position when she is first introduced. After her boyfriend Dan and brother Nawaki died in pursuit of their dreams to become Hokage, she lost faith in the title and the concept of dreams. She regains her faith in both after meeting Naruto Uzumaki, who consistently overcomes any obstacle in his own dreams of being Hokage. As a result, Tsunade accepts the position of Fifth Hokage to protect Konoha Village on behalf of everyone she has loved. Despite the importance of her position, Tsunade tends to avoid her everyday duties, instead leaving them for her assistants. Tsunade is a compulsive gambler with terrible luck with a rare winning streak perceived by her as a bad omen. Despite her odd personality, Tsunade is a talented medical ninja with superhuman strength that allows her to reduce buildings to rubble, and can heal injuries that most others would consider incurable. Utilizing her Senju bloodline, Tsunade devised a method of mitotic regeneration for herself that makes her nearly invincible yet greatly shortens her overall lifespan.

Jiraiya — Jiraiya was a Konoha ninja, being not only Naruto's teacher but also his god-father. As a child, Jiraiya was under the tutelage of Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with his teammates, Tsunade and Orochimaru. Jiraiya is known throughout the Naruto world as the "Toad Sage" due to his toad-related jutsu and learning Sage Jutsu. Prior to Naruto, due to a prophecy he heard that his pupil would be a great man, Jiraiya also trained a few others like Minato and Nagato. Although still affiliated with Konoha, Jiraiya spends much of his time traveling to watch over potential threats to his home. Jiraiya's personality is openly lecherous, he proudly describes himself as a "super pervert" while authoring a series of best-selling adult romance novels. He also wrote the epic "Tale of the Gutsy Ninja", with Naruto named after its protagonist.

Shizune — Shizune is a Konoha ninja and Tsunade's assistant. She left Konoha with Tsunade after the death of her uncle, and over the years, Tsunade taught her medical techniques. Despite her medicinal affinity, many of the attacks she uses in the series are poison-based, including using concealed poisoned needles or emitting toxic gas from her mouth. Shizune is one of the few characters that Tsunade trusts with absolute certainty, as she identifies details that Tsunade tends to overlook.

Konohamaru Sarutobi — Konohamaru, named after Konoha Village, is the grandson of the Third Hokage. He strives to replace his grandfather as Hokage so the villagers of Konoha will recognize him by name, not as the Hokage's grandson. He looks to Naruto Uzumaki as a mentor in this quest, emulating his work ethic, determination, and signature jutsu such as the Sexy Jutsu the Rasengan, and a variety of other techniques. Konohamaru insists, however, that he will only become Hokage after Naruto has been Hokage first.

Iruka Umino — Iruka is a Konoha ninja and instructor at the Ninja Academy, a school for prospective ninja. When Iruka was a child, his parents were killed by Kurama, the nine-tailed fox, which was sealed into Naruto Uzumaki. He bears no ill will towards Naruto, instead being one of the few people at the start of the series to recognize Naruto as a person and not just a container for Kurama. Naruto thinks of Iruka as a father-figure because of this, and Iruka in turn has immense faith in Naruto's potential to be a great ninja.

Sunagakure Ninja
Gaara — Gaara is the youngest of the three siblings, made into a weapon by his father when he became the Jinchuriki of the tailed beast Shukaku the One-Tail, before he was born. This act caused the death of his mother during labor and Gaara was placed in the care of his mother's brother. Like Naruto, because of his sand unconsciously attacking those around him, Gaara was tormented by his fellow villagers. After his uncle tried to kill him, Gaara developed a sadistic and withdrawn personality, killing others to affirm the value of his existence. He was created as a foil to Naruto Uzumaki, with a similar background yet a highly divergent personality. His battle with Naruto during the invasion of Konoha changes this mentality; as a result, Gaara's outlook changes as he resolves to help others and he succeeds his deceased father as Sunagakure's Fifth Kazekage.

Kankuro — Kankuro is the second oldest of the three siblings. For the first half of the series, he is frequently at odds with Gaara, though he tends to hold his tongue for fear of being killed. In Part II, once Gaara begins to reveal his dreams and motivations to Kankuro, Kankuro becomes very protective of Gaara; he lashes out at anyone who speaks poorly of Gaara and when Gaara is kidnapped, he readily risks his life to save him. Kankuro is a talented puppeteer, normally using his bladed attack puppet Crow and trapping puppet Black Ant in combination attacks. He also possesses the large puppet Salamander that provides him with combination defense and offense.

Temari — Temari is the oldest of the three siblings. Unlike her more combat-loving brothers, Temari values peace, as she questions her village's justifications for going to war with Konoha. In battle, Temari wields a giant iron fan that can create powerful gusts of wind capable of leveling the surrounding landscape. As she is skilled at deducing an opponent's strategies and weaknesses soon after a battle begins, she typically uses her winds to remove parts of the battlefield that might be advantageous to the enemy.

Chiyo — Chiyo is an elder advisor to Sunagakure who is introduced at the start of Part II, initially mistrustful of other ninja villages due to the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars. During those wars, she played a role in formal treaties while strengthening Sunagakure's military might with her knowledge of poisons despite her efforts nullified by Tsunade's antidotes. As a skilled puppeteer, Chiyo took her grandson Sasori after his parents died at the hands of Kakashi Hatake's father, Sakumo, and taught him everything she knew before he left the village. Chiyo played a role in Gaara becoming a Jinchuriki, however she regretted this choice and took to solitude alongside her brother.

Third Kazekage — The Third Kazekage is the former leader of Sunagakure. The Third possessed the kekkei genkai Magnet Release which allowed him to convert his chakra into strong magnetic forces, enabling him to manipulate magnetic objects. Combined with his research of Shukaku's powers, he crafted his own version of "sand-manipulation", the Iron Sand, by combining his magnetic force control with iron powder; this was the main reason why he was considered the strongest Kazekage there was. His magnetic control also granted him immunity from all metallic weapons At some point, Sasori kidnapped and killed the Third Kazekage in order to turn him into a human puppet.

Fourth Kazekage — The Fourth Kazekage is the previous leader of Sunagakure and father of Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. Befitting his status and responsibility as leader, the Fourth Kazekage cared deeply about the well-being of his village, so much so that he was willing to ally with Orochimaru to destroy Konohagakure to bring Sunagakure's resources back up, despite knowing Orochimaru is a highly dangerous criminal. This turned out to be a fatal mistake on the Kazekage's behalf, as he and his bodyguards were betrayed and assassinated by Orochimaru. The Fourth Kazekage was renowned for his possession of the kekkei genkai Magnet Release. He utilised this ability to manipulate quantities of Gold Dust, being capable of summoning vast amounts of these particles as necessary seemingly from the immediate vicinity around him, over relatively short spans of time.

Kumogakure Ninja
A — A is the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure. A is the son of the Third Raikage. At some point in the past, a group of young children were gathered in order to determine who would be A's tag-partner in keeping with a long-standing Kumogakure tradition of the Raikage having a tag-team partner. Only one child was able to successfully match A's power and use the Double Lariat on a training dummy. As a result, that child was given the name "B", and A stated that they would be brothers from that day on. B was later made the next jinchūriki. A is very caring and protective towards his adopted younger brother, despite Killer B's status as a jinchūriki. A's signature fighting style is a combination of taijutsu and ninjutsu to form the powerful nintaijutsu, which circumvented time-consuming hand seals, while also utilizing his inhuman speed and physical strength. On top of his physical capabilities, A is also skilled in lightning-based techniques, including the Lightning Release Armor, that further augments his already renowned physical prowess.

Killer B — Killer B, or simply B, is a ninja from the village of Kumogakure. He is introduced during Part II as one of the two Jinchuriki that have yet to be captured by the criminal organization Akatsuki, the other being series protagonist Naruto Uzumaki. The host of the ushi-oni-like eight-tailed beast Gyuki, Killer B has complete control over the beast sealed within him. In battle he uses its great strength to increase the lethality of his professional wrestling-styled attacks. Killer B is the adoptive brother of A, the current Raikage of Kumogakure, and as such is expected to be the guardian of the village.

Darui — Darui is a jōnin-level shinobi from Kumogakure, and the right-hand-man of the Fourth Raikage. Darui is an easy-going and mellow individual with a lazy and languid way of speaking, often times referring to things or events as being "dull". Darui was once a student of the Third Raikage. During his training, Darui learned, among other things, the Raikage's unique black lightning technique. He is also able to combine two separate natures (Water and Lightning) to create the kekkei genkai known as Storm Release which creates beams of light that flow like water and can be freely guided like missiles.

C — C is a jōnin-level shinobi from Kumogakure. In contrast to his easy-going partner Darui, C is portrayed as a very serious and mature individual normally seen with a self-assured or confident look on his face. C is a sensor-type shinobi, allowing him to sense the chakra of others even from extended distances. Additionally he is a medical-nin which gives him an even greater support role on the battlefield. He also appears to be very analytical, and knowledgeable on foreign shinobi techniques. C is also a skilled genjutsu user, witnessed from his use of the Lightning Illusion Flash of Lightning Pillar technique which makes use of his Lightning Release to emanate light from his entire body to blind his opponents.

Samui — Samui is a kunoichi from Kumogakure, and the leader of Team Samui. As opposed to her two talkative team-mates and hot-headed brother, Samui is mature, calm, and generally silent, only speaking when needed. She is also shown to be very knowledgeable. Like her team-mates, Samui fights using kenjutsu (sword techniques) and in battle, she wields a tantō (short sword).

Omoi — Omoi is a shinobi of Kumogakure, and a member of Team Samui. Omoi is a very cautious person and likes to think things through before acting, and as a result, gets lost in his thoughts quite often. He is more level-headed than his team-mate Karui, but has a habit of exaggerating the end result of minor things. Omoi is highly proficient in kenjutsu, he also has good teamwork skills with his team-mate Karui despite their constant bickering. Besides physical combat, Omoi has noted that he can use Lightning Release to a certain extent, such as to infuse his sword with lightning.

Karui — Karui is a kunoichi of Kumogakure, and a member of Team Samui. Karui is quite outspoken, stubborn, irritable and impulsive, allowing her emotions to come out. Karui can be considered a very skilled kunoichi as she was trained by Killer B. She has also shown to have great teamwork skills with Omoi as she was able to coordinate attacks with him without having to communicate with each other. She is also very skilled in taijutsu and seems to possess some level of physical strength.

Third Raikage — The Third Raikage was the former leader of Kumogakure, and is reputed to be the greatest Raikage the village has ever had. In his later years, he faced an opposing force of ten thousand shinobi single-handedly for three consecutive days and nights, in order to allow his comrades to escape to safety. He eventually died as a result of this encounter and with his death, the position of Raikage was passed onto his son, A. Like his son, the Third Raikage battled mainly with taijutsu, utilizing his inhuman speed and physical strength. The Third was a very powerful Lightning Release user, known for using his unique Black Lightning. Like his son he is also capable of using the Lightning Release Armor, further augmenting his already renowned physical prowess.

Kirigakure Ninja
Mei Terumi — Mei is the Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure. She became Mizukage in recent years, after the dreadful reign of Yagura ended, and has worked tirelessly to recreate diplomatic relations with other villages, as well as reform internal policies. Mei is a cheerful person, and will smile even when swearing to kill Ao after she mishears him. She is usually kind and peaceful, speaking well of others and attempting to avoid conflict. Mei seems to be somewhat sensitive when it comes to her love life, as shown when she misheard Ao say that she was "past marriageable age", and threatened to kill him for such an "insult". Mei is capable of using the earth, fire, and water natures, and has two kekkei genkai. She is particularly skilled in Water Release techniques. Her first kekkei genkai, by simultaneously using the earth and fire Releases, allows Mei to use Lava Release ninjutsu, such as spitting out lava that can melt almost anything in its path. Her second kekkei genkai, by simultaneously using the water and fire Releases, allows her to use Boil Release ninjutsu, such as releasing a corrosive mist that can burn away almost anything it touches.

Ao — Ao is a shinobi from Kirigakure, and a member of the ANBU Hunter-nin Corps. Ao was an experienced veteran, having been raised under the feared regime of the Bloody Mist and having fought in wars. Ao is a calm, prideful, stern and masculine individual and believes that men should be tough and decisive. He has clashed several times with Konoha shinobi. At one point he defeated an unknown Hyūga, taking one of the Hyūga's Byakugan and implanting it into his own right eye socket. He is also a highly skilled sensor shinobi.

Chōjūrō — Chōjūrō is a shinobi from Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist who wields the twin sword: Hiramekarei. Despite his membership in the elite Seven Swordsmen group, he is a shy individual and seems to lack confidence in his abilities. As a sword user, Chōjūrō wields a dual-handled sword called Hiramekarei, that is linked together at the handles by a chain. When released from its bandages, it releases chakra that can be shaped into weapons.

Second Mizukage — The Second Mizukage was the leader of Kirigakure and a member of the Hōzuki clan. During his lifetime, he had a mutual enmity with the Second Tsuchikage: Mū which ended in both men killing each other in what would be their final confrontation. The Second is typically laid back, jovial, and has a somewhat carefree attitude at times. He has identified himself as a Yin Release genjutsu user and displayed the use of these in collaboration with the mist exuded by his summon: the Giant Clam, to create mirages that appear so real, that his opponents have great difficulty in finding his actual location or that of his giant clam summon. As a member of the Hōzuki clan, the Mizukage is skilled in Water Release techniques and can transform his body into a liquid state and then back into a solid form at will. He can also use his index fingers to fire bullets of water. The Second Mizukage was also able to use the substance within his body to perform a very powerful technique with which he creates a chibi-like clone of himself comprised of water surrounded by a thin outer layer of oil. As the clone moves around, the oil heats up, causing the water inside to evaporate and the clone to expand in size with it until the built-up pressure of steam inside causes the clone to violently explode. The water vapour is then blown high into the air where it cools down and creates hail, which in turn cools down and reforms the clone, allowing the process to start all over again. It is known as the Second's infinite explosion ninjutsu for the simple reason that this is an never-ending process and series of explosions unless the clone is somehow immobilised and kept cool at the same time.

Iwagakure Ninja
Ōnoki — Ōnoki, renowned as "Ōnoki of Both Scales", is the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. As a young man, Ōnoki was a student to the Second Tsuchikage, Mū who passed down to him the secrets of Dust Release techniques, and eventually, the title of Tsuchikage. At some time in the past, Ōnoki fought with Madara Uchiha, and is the only living Kage to do so. Later in life, he himself would become a teacher to Deidara, though he often implied that Deidara's ideologies and fighting style annoyed him, he was still proud of him. He hired Akatsuki many times for their services in the past, which he rationalised by his concern over Kumogakure's unwavering militarization. Ōnoki is a very proud, headstrong, and boastful individual. Because of his age, he is also somewhat frail, with constant complaints about hip and back pains. He refuses to retire and choose a successor as Tsuchikage despite being up in age, insisting that he is still strong enough to continue to rule the village. Like his predecessors, Ōnoki displayed the ability to fly. This ability is transferable to others through physical contact. His genjutsu dispelling abilities are great enough to break others out of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan cast genjutsu. Ōnoki also possesses the ability to use the kekkei tōta known as Dust Release, by simultaneously using three natures: earth, wind, and fire. He is the second shinobi in existence with this ability after his predecessor, the Second Tsuchikage, Mū.

Akatsuchi — Akatsuchi is an Iwagakure shinobi. Akatsuchi is a very jovial individual who always seems to have a cheerful disposition. During battles, he tends to act very level-headed and efficient as the Tsuchikage's bodyguard. As his size belies, he is quite fast, capable of moving at high speeds. He has also shown a fair amount of strength as well as stamina, being able to effortlessly carry the Tsuchikage, his luggage, and his own for an extended period of time. Akatsuchi has also displayed proficiency in using Earth Release techniques. He can mould and expel a large rock golem from his mouth, which is capable of both attack and defense.

Kitsuchi — Kitsuchi is a jōnin-level shinobi from Iwagakure and the father of Kurotsuchi. Kitsuchi seems like a serious, disciplined, adaptive and level-headed individual. He is calm under pressure, decisive when acting and assertive, making him a good leader. Kitsuchi is highly proficient in the use of Earth Release techniques. He is able to cover his fist, and possibly other parts of his body, in extremely hard rock. Kitsuchi specialises in the use of the Earth Release: Sandwich Technique, which allows him to create gargantuan rock formations, even larger than the colossal Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, to crush his foes — a technique which he claims to be the most powerful one in his arsenal. He is also capable of creating shelters and giant walls out of earth. Kitsuchi has also demonstrated the ability to manipulate the earth's terrain, lowering or raising it at will.

Kurotsuchi — Kurotsuchi is a kunoichi from Iwagakure, the daughter of Kitsuchi and granddaughter of Ōnoki. Kurotsuchi is generally calm and easy-going. She has displayed a powerful loyalty to her village, as she was more interested in killing the jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails than actually protecting them. She decided this was the best plan so Iwa could become stronger than Konoha and Kumo. It is shown that she does care for her comrades, as she was prepared to fight to avenge Akatsuchi after he was injured despite their constant arguments. Like her grandfather, Ōnoki, she is very audacious. She often sarcastically implies that because the Tsuchikage suffers from back pain he should be replaced by someone younger. Kurotsuchi can combine the basic Releases she can manipulate to create an advanced one. Combining Fire Release and Earth Release to create Lava Release, which in her case, creates quicklime. She can use Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique to cause corrosive damage, and combine it with Water Release: Water Trumpet to increase its range and cause it to harden and trap the opponent.

Mū — Mū was the Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. Mū's entire body was covered by intricately wrapped bandages, with only his violet-coloured eyes and nose being visible, giving him an overall mummy-like appearance. Mū has demonstrated that he first and foremost prioritises the prosperity of his own village regardless of the manner in which this affluence is achieved. Mū was a skilled sensor-type shinobi displaying the ability to sense chakra over a distance of several kilometres, as well as to discern the similarity between the chakra belonging to close relatives such as Gaara and his father, and distinguish chakra from different populations. Furthermore, when these detection capabilities are employed in conjunction with his quick reflexes, he can avoid techniques that even other Kage find difficult to evade. Mū has displayed a mastery in the ninjutsu field, demonstrating the capability to levitate and fly, as well as being able to split himself into two duplicates to help escape a lethal blow, but at the cost of reducing his power by half. He was also physically strong enough to lift massive rocks off of his body, even with only half of his power. Mū was one of the few people capable of using a kekkei tōta, an advanced and extremely powerful form of kekkei genkai. In particular, he possesses the Dust Release, which allows him to combine the fire, earth and wind natures to reduce his opponents to nothing more than mere dust, destroying them down to even a molecular level.

jinchūriki
Yugito Nii — Yugito Nii is a jōnin-level kunoichi from Kumogakure, and the jinchūriki of Matatabi, the Two-Tails. Yugito was made the Two-Tails' jinchūriki at the age of two and, at the end of a detestable training that was imposed on her, she was able to control her transformation into her tailed beast at will. For close-ranged combat, Yugito can make her finger and toe nails grow to become long claws. Coupled with her natural taijutsu skills, Yugito could clash even with sword users. She has been shown as being quite skilled in taijutsu, attacking first with her clawed hands to force her enemies to block with both arms, and then attacking them with her clawed feet. Yugito has the ability to transform fully into the Two-Tails, giving her an upgrade in her abilities, such as strength and the ability to breathe fire.

Yagura — Yagura is the jinchūriki of Isobu, the Three-Tails and the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure. During his reign as Mizukage, the village reinforced its nickname as "Village of the Bloody Mist" by the barbaric ritual where Academy students would be forced to kill each other in order to graduate. He wields what resembles a large, hook-ended staff with one end being larger than the other. A green flower is also located on the larger end. By incorporating this tool into his Water Release ninjutsu, Yagura is able to create mirrors that can reflect enemy attacks. As the Three-Tails' jinchūriki, Yagura is granted a significant amount of chakra and stamina from the beast. He was also one of the few jinchūriki able to have achieved full control over their respective beast.

Rōshi — Rōshi is the jinchūriki of Son Gokū, the Four-Tails, who hailed from Iwagakure. Rōshi became the jinchūriki of Son Gokū over forty years before the Fourth Shinobi World War at a young age. He left his home town of Iwagakure at some point to better understand and control the power of the beast within him. By borrowing Son Gokū's power, Rōshi was able to use its Lava Release ninjutsu, created through simultaneous use of fire and earth-based chakra, to create a torrent of lava that can melt almost anything. He could also create an armour made of lava that not only has defensive purposes but adds lava to his taijutsu attacks increasing their potential damage. As Son Gokū's jinchūriki, Rōshi is granted a significant amount of its chakra and stamina. The full extent of his control is unknown, but he could transform into Tailed-Beast mode.

Han — Han is a shinobi from Iwagakure and the jinchūriki of Kokuō, the Five-Tails. Han's fighting style seems to revolve around taijutsu which he compliments using his steam-based ninjutsu. His body is covered in a special armour with a furnace on his back, which produces large amounts of steam. By regulating the amount and pressure of the steam, Han can severely magnify his physical strength and the force behind his taijutsu attacks. The power behind his steam-enhanced strength is enough to send opponents flying away with a single attack. When his normal attacks are not strong enough, he uses the steam to bolster them, taking his opponents by surprise. As Kokuō's jinchūriki, Han is granted a significant amount of chakra and stamina from the beast. The full extent of his control is unknown, but he could transform into Tailed-Beast mode.

Utakata — Utakata was a missing-nin from Kirigakure and the jinchūriki of Saiken, the Six-Tails. After killing his sensei and with only fragmented memories of the incident and the impression of betrayal, Utakata grew disillusioned and sceptical of the relationship between a master and student. He became a wanderer, constantly fighting off people who were after him, particularly the hunter-nin sent from Kirigakure to retrieve him. Utakata fights using soap bubble Water Release ninjutsu. He primarily relies on Bubble-line style, performed by combining his Water Release with a unique kind of bubble-blowing relic. He also showed proficient skill and knowledge in its normal application of Water Release techniques. When Utakata loses his temper, he taps into Saiken's power, enabling him to discharge a burst of Saiken's chakra and enter a form similar to the one initially assumed by Naruto Uzumaki. Although he is not one of the four mentioned to be able to fully control their tailed beast, Utakata is able to use the power of each level of Saiken's chakra up to the full Six-Tails form, like Yugito Nii.

Fū — Fū was a kunoichi from Takigakure and the jinchūriki of Chōmei, the Seven-Tails. Fū appears to be rather cheerful with a happy-go-lucky and somewhat carefree disposition. She also uses 'ssu' at the end of her sentences — which is more commonly used by boys giving her somewhat of a tomboyish demeanour. Fū can exhale a sparkling substance from her mouth that shines so brightly that it blinds her targets, creating an opening for herself, or her allies to attack. As Chōmei's jinchūriki, Fū is granted a significant amount of chakra and stamina from the beast. The full extent of her control is unknown, but she could form at least two of the beast's tails, which Fū used as wings to fly.

Taka/Hebi
Sasuke Uchiha — Sasuke is a former member of Squad 7. He is one of the few remaining members of the Uchiha clan along with his brother, Itachi Uchiha, who killed the rest of their clan. Due to this, Sasuke's sole desire is to kill his brother, and he develops a cold and withdrawn personality. After an encounter with his brother, in which Sasuke is easily beaten, Sasuke leaves the village to seek more power from the criminal Orochimaru becoming a missing-nin. After learning under Orochimaru, Sasuke became increasingly confident in his newfound abilities, almost becoming overconfident. Sasuke is one of select members of the Uchiha clan to possess its famous kekkei genkai, the Sharingan. Sasuke is also quite proficient in both Fire Release and Lightning Release techniques. During his training with Orochimaru, Sasuke became a skilled user of kenjutsu and acquired a chokutō, both of which become a major part of his fighting style. Sasuke is also able to adapt his swordsmanship with equal proficiency into his element-related techniques, including a makeshift Chidori blade. During his training under Orochimaru, Sasuke learned many of the Sannin's snake-oriented techniques including the summoning technique.

Suigetsu Hōzuki — Suigetsu, reputed as the Second Coming of the Demon, is a shinobi from Kirigakure's Hōzuki clan. He was held in one of Orochimaru's labs where he was experimented on for some time. After being freed by Sasuke Uchiha, he became the first member to join his group Taka, which was initially called "Hebi" at the time of its creation. Suigetsu's ambition is to retrieve all seven original blades that have been passed down by the Seven Swordsmen, so that he can rebuild the group and become its leader. As a member of the Hōzuki clan, Suigetsu is well versed in the clan's secret techniques. Suigetsu is able to transform his body into a liquid form, and to return to his solid bodily form at will. This ability also allows him to change his body shape, giving him the ability to increase the size of his limbs, thus proportionally increasing his strength if necessary. It also makes striking him somewhat difficult. Suigetsu is seen carrying water bottles with him, as he frequently needs to consume water in order to stay hydrated.

Jugo — Jūgo is a shinobi from an unknown clan, who was being held at Orochimaru's Northern Hideout which was also where most of Orochimaru's secret human research was conducted. Jūgo was said to have gone to Orochimaru of his own free will, hoping that Orochimaru would cure him from his rages. He was later recruited as a member of Sasuke Uchiha's group Taka, which was initially called "Hebi" at the time of its creation. While Jūgo initially appeared quite bloodthirsty, Karin noted that this was only common behaviour when he was enraged; Jūgo himself didn't want to kill anyone and in reality he is a very gentle person. His fits of rage are random, and thus are the reason why he willingly remains confined. The only reason he agreed to go with Sasuke is because he views Sasuke as the only person capable of preventing him from killing people while enraged. Jūgo is able to understand and communicate with animals, such as birds, and is able to request them to help him accomplish tasks, such as acting as scouts or gathering information they have already witnessed. Like other members of his clan, Jūgo possesses the ability known as Sage Transformation which allows him to use the natural energy he absorbs to transform his body at will. He can change what form he takes almost instantly and can isolate the transformation to specific parts of his body.

Karin — Karin is a former subordinate of Orochimaru, presumably a former kunoichi of Kusagakure, and a member of the Uzumaki clan. She assisted Orochimaru in his experiments, and was left in charge of his Southern Hideout while he was away. She was later recruited into Sasuke Uchiha's group Taka, which was initially called "Hebi" at the time of its creation, as the sensor of the group. Karin has a fluctuating personality; she will appear tough and in control at times, to the point of being violent and critical, and at other times will appear highly flirtatious. Karin possesses a unique sensory ability known as the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, which allows her to track any targets through their chakra signature. She can, similarly, conceal her own chakra from others. However, doing so will render her unable to use chakra, thus disabling her sensing technique. As a direct descendant of the Uzumaki clan, Karin has a remarkably powerful life force. This grants her immense potential longevity as well as equally strong vitality. As noted by Kabuto, Karin also possesses a unique healing ability which seemingly stems from this powerful life-force. With this power, she not only has incredible healing capabilities, but can also heal others by letting them bite her and absorb her chakra.

Other
Orochimaru — Orochimaru is a criminal who was previously a ninja of Konoha and a student of the Third Hokage. During his time in the village, he distinguished himself as one of the village's most powerful ninja along with his teammates, Jiraiya and Tsunade. His desire to obtain immortality led him to conduct experiments on other Konoha ninja, and he eventually fled the village and joined the criminal organization Akatsuki. After attacking fellow Akatsuki member Itachi Uchiha, who defeats him, he leaves Akatsuki and establishes his own ninja village, The Village Hidden in The Sound, in the hopes of destroying his former home. Wishing to obtain all of the techniques in the world, Orochimaru has a vast arsenal of techniques at his disposal, ranging from simple offensive ones, which nonetheless become deadly when performed by him, to higher ranking, more complicated ones.

Kabuto Yakushi — Kabuto is a spy working for Orochimaru initially introduced as an experienced Konoha genin that takes Team 7 under his wing during the chunin exam. As a child with no memory of his past, he was found on a battlefield by a nun from Konoha who raised him as a son before he was recruited by Danzo as a covert spy for the village to infiltrate numerous countries and organizations. However, after Root declared him too great a security risk to be kept alive, Kabuto left with Orochimaru after being promised an identity he can call his own. Using his former affiliations, and infiltrating the Akatsuki, Kabuto gathers intelligence on Orochimaru's behalf; for instance, he participates in the bi-annual chunin exams as a villager of Konoha so as to gather information on his fellow participants. Kabuto is highly proficient with medical techniques, being likened in ability to Tsunade: he can regenerate from wounds by reactivating dead cells in order to grow new ones and can form a scalpel with chakra to deal surgical strikes to his opponents using his knowledge of human anatomy. After his death, Kabuto absorbed Orochimaru's remains enabling him to use most of Orochimaru's techniques. At some point after he absorbed Orochimaru's remains, Kabuto travelled the world and ultimately discovered the Ryūchi Cave. Under the sacred White Snake Sage's tutelage, Kabuto learned senjutsu and was able to activate Sage Mode — something which even Orochimaru himself couldn't accomplish.

Akatsuki
Akatsuki is an organization of criminal ninja that serves as the primary antagonistic force of the series. It was founded by Yahiko, Nagato and Konan under instruction from Obito Uchiha. After Yahiko's death it was led by Obito with Nagato as the figurehead leader, the Akatsuki's goal is world domination by using the power of the nine tailed beasts. The members of Akatsuki are ninja who have abandoned their villages, and are considered by their former homes to be S-class criminals, the most powerful and wanted ninja in the Naruto universe. At any given time, Akatsuki is composed of ten members, who operate in two-man teams; it was later reduced to nine after Orochimaru's departure. They share similar clothing, most notably a long, dark cloak bearing red clouds and a chin-high collar. Each member also possesses a stone-embedded ring, all of which are worn in their positions they occupy on the fingers of Gedo Mazo fingers. These rings are meant to link with the Gedo Mazo. Hence Orochimaru leaving with his ring left no option for Akatsuki to replace him.

Itachi Uchiha — Itachi was a former ninja of Konohagakure and the partner of Kisame Hoshigaki in Akatsuki. Though having spent his early youth as the child prodigy of the Uchiha clan, Itachi was treated as a villain for much of the series. He is initially portrayed as being solely responsible for the killing of his entire clan and family, sparing only his brother, Sasuke Uchiha, with the explanation that he was testing his abilities. Around the time of his death his villainous role is downplayed; not only is he revealed to have had help from Obito Uchiha in killing the clan, but he performed the massacre under the orders of Konoha's leadership so as to prevent an Uchiha coup d'état.

Kisame Hoshigaki — Kisame was a former ninja of Kirigakure and the partner of Itachi Uchiha in Akatsuki. He has a unique appearance with pale blue skin, a gill-like facial structure, and sharp triangular teeth. While he was still loyal to Kirigakure, Kisame was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, a group of violent ninja that use particularly large swords in battle. His sword, Samehada, is a living weapon covered in scales that can absorb untold amounts of an opponent's chakra. Only allowing those it sees as worthy to wield it, Samehada can provide the user with the chakra it holds, ensuring him an infinite amount of stamina. Kisame himself has massive amounts of chakra, comparable to a tailed beast, enough so that a clone created by the Akatsuki that held only 30% of his power contained an amount of chakra comparable to Naruto when using the Nine-Tails' chakra. By fusing Samehada into him, Kisame can assume a more shark-like form that increases his abilities. In battle, he frequently shapes water into the forms of sharks to damage opponents.

Deidara — Deidara was a former ninja of Iwagakure, having previously left the village after bombing it. He was a terrorist bomber-for-hire before Itachi Uchiha forced him to join Akatsuki. Though he came to embrace the organization, Deidara still holds a grudge against Itachi and all other Uchiha's throughout the series, as he feels their Sharingan eyes look down on his art work. Upon joining the Akatsuki, he is partnered with Sasori, and Sasori is replaced by Tobi after his death. Each of Deidara's hands have mouths on them that, by infusing clay or other fine-grained minerals with chakra, create "sculptures" that are actually bombs that explode with varying intensities. Deidara's bombs can take any form he chooses, and from the time of their creation to their detonation, he can animate and control them remotely.

Sasori — Sasori was a former ninja of Sunagakure and known as "Sasori of the Red Sand". His parents were killed by Sakumo Hatake, also known as the White Fang of Konoha. This left him in the care of his grandmother, Chiyo who taught Sasori the art of puppetry, which he refined to fit his needs over the years. In due time he secretly devised a way to convert the corpses of humans into puppets, allowing him to use any of the ninja abilities they possessed during their life for himself. Lacking the love of parents, Sasori left Sunagakure when he got older and joined Akatsuki where he is initially partnered with Orochimaru. After Orochimaru's defection, Sasori teamed with Deidara, who looks up to him and his artistic knowledge with reverence. In time he even converted his own body into a puppet, which essentially gives him eternal life and allows him to control hundreds of puppets at once.

Hidan — Hidan is the immortal, foul-mouthed, and sadomasochistic partner of Kakuzu and a former ninja of Yugakure, the Village Hidden in Boiling Water. He is a member of the Jashin religion, a religion that worships a deity of the same name and where wreaking anything less than death and utter destruction in battle is considered a sin. His religion's experimentations have led to the creation of his unique abilities; by consuming an opponent's blood and then drawing Jashin's triangular-design on the ground, Hidan can create a voodoo doll-like link with his opponent. Once this link is created, any damage done to Hidan's body is reflected on his opponent, allowing him to kill them by giving himself fatal injuries. Because he is immortal, Hidan is not impaired while doing this, instead finding pleasure in the pain it causes him.

Kakuzu — Kakuzu is the partner of Hidan and a former ninja of Takigakure, the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls. Kakuzu was motivated by greed and joins the Akatsuki to seek out valuable bounties. However, his extreme temperament led Kakuzu to dislike having a partner and eventually killed whomever he was partnered with in a fit of rage, being paired up with the immortal Hidan as a result. Kakuzu's body is composed of large amounts of black threads, allowing him to reattach any bodypart, his or anothers, back onto its owner. The threads are also capable of piercing flesh, which Kakuzu uses to remove the still-beating hearts of his opponents for his personal use while executing a jutsu called Jiongu to integrate their hearts into his body to cheat death and extend his life indefinitely. Kakuzu can store up to four spare hearts in animal masks that are sewn to his back. The masks can be detached during combat situations to shoot elemental blasts at his opponents, and can quickly be recalled to his body if he needs a replacement heart.

Zetsu — Zetsu is the only member of Akatsuki to regularly act without a partner, he is also the only nonhuman member. One half of Zetsu, White Zetsu, was created by Madara among his clone brothers from the DNA of Hashirama blended with plants through the power of the Gedo Statue. Near death, Madara infused part of his mind into Zetsu, causing his right side to turn black with a second personality named Black Zetsu manifesting. The two personalities differ with Zetsu tending to talk and argue with himself. Through Hashirama's blood, Zetsu can merge into the ground or vegetation to quickly travel to a new location. This makes him not only of use to Akatsuki as a spy, but also to devour bodies of deceased Akatsuki members or those the organization does not want found. Zetsu can also split his personas in two separate bodies with White Zetsu able to create perfect clones of himself or whoever he touches along with using spores in his attacks.

Nagato — Nagato, primarily known as Painm was the figurehead leader of Akatsuki and a ninja from Amegakure, partnered to Konan, with Obito Uchiha acting as his benefactor. He was one of the few known surviving members of the Uzumaki clan, which gifted him with long lifespan and special chakra; thus he is related to Naruto Uzumaki. He was also the principal figure in the tailed beast sealing ceremony. The "Pain" that is normally seen in the series and uses the Deva Path abilities is actually Nagato's deceased friend, Yahiko, who has been turned into one of six animated corpses collectively known as The Six Paths of Pain that are all controlled by Nagato and each use one sixth of his full power. At a young age, Nagato was secretly visited by Madara Uchiha who implanted his Rinnegan eyes into the child's body, giving him the ability to use powerful abilities based on the six Buddhist paths of reincarnation.

Orphaned from the war-torn country of Amegakure, Nagato met fellow orphans Konan and Yahiko before they are all trained by Jiraiya. Nagato desired peace for the world, aiding Yahiko to create Akatsuki to achieve that shared dream. However, a trap laid by Amegakure's dictator Hanzo led to Yahiko's death, causing Nagato to take over as the new leader of the organization. Though the encounter crippled Nagato, the experience of having his best friend die caused Nagato to come to the realization that peace could only be attained by teaching the world the pain caused by war. To that end he adopted the alias "Pain" to conquer Amegakure and invented the Six Paths of Pain to overcome his handicap and kill Hanzo, becoming a "god" in the eyes of Amegakure's citizens. Having made cosmetic alterations to the other Paths by dyeing their hair to match Yahiko's, the Paths are all outfitted with a number of body piercings that serve as a means for Nagato to control them. Through Nagato's Rinnegan, they can also share visual information and coordinate attacks.

Konan — Konan is the only female ninja in Akatsuki. Being a partner of Nagato, Konan was also a pupil under Jiraiya after she was orphaned as a child by one of Amegakure's many wars and forced to fend for herself. Because she serves under Nagato, she is referred to by villagers of Amegakure as "God's angel". While under Jiraiya, Konan learned to take advantage of her natural talent with origami, using it as a key component in her battle style. Konan can divide her body into countless sheets of paper, which she controls and reshapes remotely to scout out an area, form weapons for attack, or create wings that mirror her title. While Konan's abilities are restricted when the paper is wet; since paper will cling to itself and lose its stiffness, she is able to use this weakness to her advantage as she implements explosive tags into her paper clones.