Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsObito Uchiha, Nagato/Pain, and Itachi Uchiha are the strongest Akatsuki members in a defensible top tier. A practical order is Obito first, Pain second, and Itachi third, but that is an editorial judgment rather than an official Naruto ranking. The result changes with the version of each character, the information available before a fight, and whether you value battlefield destruction, survivability, or assassination ability.
This ranking compares each member’s strongest demonstrated form while associated with Akatsuki, without special battlefield preparation. It treats Pain as both the Six Paths bodies and the controlling Nagato, and it separates direct combat strength from espionage and support utility.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Naruto Box Set 1: Volumes 1-27 with Premium | $138.90 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Naruto Box Set 3: Volumes 49-72 with Premium | $137.09 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Naruto Box Set 2: Volumes 28-48 with Premium | $131.24 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Naruto 3-in-1 Omnibus Complete Collection (24 Books) Manga Series Set, by Masashi Kishimoto (24... | $329.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Naruto, Vol. 1: Uzumaki Naruto | $9.59 | Buy on Amazon |
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The short answer: the top three
| Rank | Member and version considered | Why this placement is defensible | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Obito Uchiha, using his Akatsuki-era Kamui and Uchiha abilities | Space-time intangibility makes him exceptionally difficult to hit, while Kamui can remove an opponent from the fight. | Obito’s capabilities change substantially across story stages, so a later form should not be silently mixed with his earlier Akatsuki incarnation. |
| 2 | Nagato/Pain, represented by the Six Paths of Pain and Nagato’s control | The Rinnegan-based Six Paths provide multiple bodies, shared vision and complementary abilities; Almighty Push famously leveled the Hidden Leaf Village. | The bodies are a remote system with recovery intervals and a vulnerable controller, not a single limitless fighter. |
| 3 | Itachi Uchiha, during his Akatsuki membership | Mangekyo Sharingan techniques such as Tsukuyomi can end a confrontation before ordinary attacks matter. | Illness, limited stamina and the cost of repeated Mangekyo techniques restrict how long he can sustain peak performance. |
GamesRadar+ has published this same broad order—Obito, Pain, then Itachi—but it is a secondary list, not a canon table. The official Naruto material establishes abilities and feats, not a complete strongest-to-weakest roster.
How to judge “strongest” fairly
Akatsuki members are specialists, so a single number would be misleading. The comparison here uses seven practical axes:
#1 Best Overall
- Naruto box set 1: volumes 1-27 with premium (naruto box sets)
- brand: VIZ Media LLC
- manufacturer: Viz LLC
- Offensive scale: Can the member threaten one target, a squad or an entire settlement?
- Defensive survivability: Can conventional attacks be avoided, absorbed or recovered from?
- Versatility and range: How many situations can the member handle without changing plans?
- Defense-bypassing abilities: Do genjutsu, sealing, space-time movement or other techniques ignore normal durability?
- Stamina and limitations: How long can the strongest techniques be maintained, and what do they cost?
- Preparation and information: Does the member become dramatically stronger after studying an opponent?
- Version and story stage: Which form is actually being ranked?
The baseline is a no-preparation encounter using the strongest form clearly demonstrated during the character’s Akatsuki association. That avoids awarding Obito abilities from an unrelated later stage or treating a hypothetical, fully prepared battlefield as an ordinary fight. It also means the placements below the top three are estimates, not measured facts.
1. Obito Uchiha: the most difficult Akatsuki opponent to hit
Obito’s case rests less on the size of a single explosion than on how badly Kamui disrupts the rules of a fight. His space-time technique can make attacks pass through him and can transport a target away, creating both defense and instant fight-ending potential. An enemy must determine when Obito is tangible, survive his close-range timing and prevent him from controlling the engagement.
That combination is why Obito is a reasonable first choice in a duel-focused ranking. Raw destructive power is not the only route to victory; if an opponent cannot land a reliable hit, a smaller but unavoidable counter can decide the match. His Uchiha toolkit adds visual perception, fire-style capability and tactical deception, while his long-term infiltration experience gives him unusually strong information and positioning advantages.
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallThe qualification is essential: “Obito” is not one fixed combat profile. His abilities and available resources differ across his time as Tobi, his open confrontation with the Allied Shinobi Forces and later transformations. This article ranks the strongest version clearly tied to his Akatsuki period, not every later enhancement. A reader who instead permits all end-of-series forms can reach a different conclusion, but that is no longer an Akatsuki-membership comparison.
2. Nagato/Pain: overwhelming scale through six linked bodies
Pain is both a title and a combat system. Nagato controls six bodies, each functioning as one part of a coordinated Rinnegan network. The official retrospective describes them as six versions of Pain, all wielding the Rinnegan. Their shared vision and specialized roles let the group attack, defend, summon, interrogate and revive within one coordinated plan.
Rank #2
The clearest scale feat is Pain’s Almighty Push. The NARUTO OFFICIAL SITE describes Pain as Akatsuki’s leader and states: “A familiar face to all Naruto fans, Pain famously leveled the Hidden Leaf Village with his devastating Almighty Push.” That is concrete evidence for placing Pain in the top tier rather than merely calling him powerful.
Nagato/Pain can therefore outrank almost anyone in an open battlefield or a fight where the opponent does not understand the six-body arrangement. The system distributes damage, forces an enemy to solve several different threats and can punish a rescue attempt with coordinated attacks. It is also less dependent on one body remaining in melee range than most Akatsuki techniques.
Pain is not invincible. The bodies operate through Nagato, and the most powerful techniques have recovery intervals and substantial physical cost. Once an opponent identifies the controller, isolates paths, or exploits those intervals, the apparent six-on-one advantage narrows. That vulnerability is why a matchup-specific analysis can put Obito ahead even though Pain has the more spectacular public destruction feat.
3. Itachi Uchiha: the most dangerous fight-ending specialist
Itachi’s strength is concentrated in precision. The official Naruto retrospective recounts him using Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu to trap Kakashi in Tsukuyomi, and the official episode synopsis confirms his membership in Akatsuki. Tsukuyomi can incapacitate a target through a brief visual exchange, making conventional armor, strength and numbers irrelevant if the opponent cannot avoid his gaze.
Itachi also combines elite shurikenjutsu, tactical reading and additional Mangekyo techniques. He rarely needs to reveal every option: forcing an opponent to defend against genjutsu can create the opening for a physical or visual attack. Against an uninformed enemy, that compressed decision window is his greatest advantage.
Rank #3
His third-place position is not a claim that Itachi loses every direct duel to Pain or Obito. It reflects sustainability. Itachi’s illness and limited stamina affect how long he can maintain his highest-cost techniques. A ranking that rewards a short assassination encounter may place him first; a prolonged battle against multiple bodies favors healthier fighters with larger reserves.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
How the top three compare by situation
| Situation | Most favorable top-tier candidate | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Single-target duel with little warning | Obito or Itachi | Kamui can deny contact, while Tsukuyomi can end the fight after a single visual mistake. |
| Open battlefield and mass destruction | Pain | Almighty Push and the coordinated Six Paths threaten a wide area and multiple opponents. |
| Long engagement with repeated exchanges | Obito or Pain | Both can avoid relying on one short, stamina-intensive Mangekyo sequence, although each still has exploitable limits. |
| Opponent who has complete prior intelligence | No automatic winner | Information removes the surprise that makes Kamui, the Six Paths’ shared vision and Tsukuyomi so dangerous. |
These are decision rules, not canon outcomes. The available official material does not publish head-to-head results for all three, so an exact order should always be presented as an interpretation.
The strongest members outside the top three
The remaining roster is much harder to order. Their abilities are highly matchup-dependent, and the consulted official sources do not provide enough comparative evidence for a definitive fourth-through-tenth list. The following grouping communicates relative threat without pretending that every placement is settled.
Kakuzu: exceptional longevity and five-nature versatility
Kakuzu has one of the clearest source-backed cases outside the top tier. The NARUTO OFFICIAL SITE states: “Kakuzu prolonged his life for nearly 100 years by stealing the hearts of others via the forbidden jutsu, Jiongu.” Those stolen hearts give him redundant vital organs and access to all five chakra natures. He can continue fighting after damage that would end a normal shinobi and attack with several elemental options.
That makes Kakuzu a strong upper-second-tier candidate in a conventional battle. His limitations are tactical rather than merely physical: the hearts can be targeted, his large body is easier to read than Obito’s space-time movement, and durability alone does not guarantee a way through Pain’s or Itachi’s special defenses.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Kisame Hoshigaki: the chakra-draining powerhouse
Kisame’s physical strength, enormous chakra reserves and partnership with Itachi make him one of Akatsuki’s premier direct combatants. The official merchandise feature describes Samehada as a blade known for consuming flesh and chakra. That property gives Kisame a natural answer to chakra-heavy opponents and rewards him in prolonged engagements.
His ranking depends heavily on the opponent. A fighter who relies on large chakra techniques can feed his advantage, while a precise genjutsu or space-time technique may bypass the contest of endurance. Kisame is therefore a credible upper-second-tier member, but not an automatic fourth-place choice.
Deidara, Sasori and Konan: lethal specialists with preparation-sensitive ceilings
Deidara’s aerial explosives provide range and force an enemy to divide attention between movement and detection. Sasori’s puppet arsenal and poison-based threat make a single mistake costly, particularly when he can attack through multiple bodies. Konan’s paper techniques offer concealment, mobility and a broad attack surface, and her effectiveness rises sharply when she can prepare the terrain.
These three can defeat stronger-looking opponents under the right conditions, but their exact order is impossible to establish from the official comparative material. Preparation, terrain, distance and whether the opponent understands the technique matter more for them than for a simple durability contest. They belong in a matchup-dependent upper-middle group rather than a falsely precise numbered ranking.
Hidan: extraordinary survivability, narrower offense
Hidan’s defining advantage is that ordinary fatal injury does not stop him. The official retrospective recounts him surviving decapitation, after which Kakuzu sewed his head back onto his body. That is extreme survivability, but it should not be confused with broad offensive versatility.
Best Value
- Viz Media
- The world’s most popular ninja comic
- Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief.
Hidan must complete the conditions for his ritual and then maintain the connection that transfers damage. An opponent who understands the setup, separates him from his weapon or uses containment rather than a killing blow can reduce his threat. His place below the more versatile members reflects that dependency, not a claim that he is easy to defeat.
Zetsu: information and infiltration rather than an ordinary duel
Zetsu is difficult to rank on a combat-only list because his greatest value is reconnaissance, concealment and manipulation. Black and White Zetsu serve different strategic functions, and the organization benefits from information that no straightforward damage statistic captures. In a surprise attack or intelligence campaign, Zetsu can be more valuable than a stronger-looking fighter; in a clean arena duel, the comparison becomes less favorable.
Orochimaru: former member, separate scope
Orochimaru should not be silently omitted when someone asks for “all” Akatsuki members. He is a former member, and his strength varies dramatically depending on the body, experiments and story period being allowed. The official retrospective confirms that Orochimaru introduced Itachi into the organization alongside Pain, but the available material does not establish his full comparative standing.
Recommended Free Tools
For that reason, this article’s principal ranking concerns the central active Shippuden roster. If former members and versions outside their Akatsuki tenure are included, Orochimaru requires a separate version rule; otherwise the list mixes incompatible forms.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the official material does—and does not—prove
The official Naruto site is the primary source for the selected retrospectives and character descriptions, but its pages can include machine-translated text and note that information may vary by region. Its descriptions support specific feats: Pain’s village-leveling Almighty Push, Kakuzu’s nearly century of life through stolen hearts, Itachi’s Tsukuyomi use against Kakashi and the Six Paths’ Rinnegan connection.
They do not create a complete strength table. A 2025 NARUTO OFFICIAL SITE feature says the BANPRESTO Akatsuki project contains 10 characters and 11 variations, with releases listed for May, June and July 2025. That is a merchandise-line count, not a statistic about combat power. Likewise, a Pain figure or any other collectible confirms popularity and product scope, not superiority in battle.
GamesRadar+’s Obito–Pain–Itachi order is useful as a clearly labeled secondary opinion. It should not be rewritten as an official verdict, and it cannot settle versions or matchups that the source itself does not test.
Final ranking framework
- Use the top tier first: Obito, Nagato/Pain and Itachi have the strongest overall cases.
- State the version: Do not combine an Akatsuki-era character with later transformations or unrelated power-ups.
- Separate battlefield scale from duel reliability: Pain’s village-leveling feat and Itachi’s Tsukuyomi answer different questions.
- Account for limitations: Itachi’s stamina, Pain’s controller and intervals, and Obito’s timing are part of the evidence.
- Treat the rest as matchup-dependent: Kakuzu and Kisame have especially strong durability or chakra cases, while Deidara, Sasori, Konan, Hidan and Zetsu rise or fall with conditions.
- Handle Orochimaru explicitly: Include him only under a stated former-member and version rule.
Under the stated assumptions, Obito is the best all-around duel candidate, Pain has the clearest large-scale destructive showing, and Itachi is the most dangerous short-fight specialist. That is the most defensible answer to who is strongest—not a claim that Naruto canon publishes a universal ranking.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
