Akatsuki (暁, literally meaning: "Dawn" or "Daybreak") was a group of shinobi that existed outside the usual system of the hidden villages. Over the course of several decades, Akatsuki took different forms and was led by different individuals. Though each iteration is viewed as either subversives... The Akatsuki was one of the most villainous threats in the Naruto and Shippuden, but which Akutsuki member was the most powerful of all? Most members of the Akatsuki organization died in the present day, but a founding member died years before Naruto 's story in a tragic event that forever reshaped the survivors.