"Leader" has yet to reveal his identity. All we have been shown is the shadowy outline of his spiky hair, his unusual eyes, and the six dots that line his nose. However, we can conclude that he is the most powerful member of Akatsuki, as he is the leader and gives out orders to the other members, to which they obey without question.

Many theories have been discussed and beaten to death about Leader's identity. Many speculate he may be Uchiha Shisui, Yondaime Hokage, or even Uchiha Obito - all of whom are presumed to be dead. Others joke that he is none other than Shino's dad, because of the similar features XD; Or perhaps he is a new character? We'll just have to wait and find out.

"In order to reach the height of my capacity, I've lost all hope for this pathetic clan" (chapter 222).

Driven by his ambition to become greater, he achieved the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan by killing his best friend, Uchiha Shisui, and destroyed his clan to test his capacity. He left Sasuke alive, because he also had the potential to activate the Mangekyou, and may rival him in the future.

Itachi was a child prodigy, who graduated at the top of his academy class at the age of 7, mastered the Sharingan at 8, promoted to chuunin by 10, and became captain of the elite ANBU squad at 13. He had a loving family in one of the strongest clans of Konoha. However, he was growing restless within his clan, and felt that holding onto the clan name limited his capacity.

Years after the Uchiha massacre, Itachi mysteriously returns to Konoha as an Akatsuki member. He and his partner, Kisame, were given an order to abduct Naruto. However, they were unsuccessful, because of the many interruptions (Kakashi, Jiraiya, Sasuke, etc.). Having used the Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, they were forced to flee so he could rest his eyes.

After the timeskip, Itachi continues pursuing Naruto's kyuubi. However, he faces stiff competition against Sasori, who also gains an interest in acquiring the kyuubi.

Ironically, Itachi has a calm personality and is respectful towards his seniors. He is observative and calculating, and prefers not to cause more trouble than necessary.

Kisame was known as the monster of Kirigakure, and was a member of the elite Seven Swordsmen before turning into a daimyo killer and committing sabotage and destruction in the village. He also knew Zabuza, who he refers to as "the brat."

Known for his monstrous strength, he has impressed many with his chakra capability. Neji has remarked that he has not seen such chakra in a person since Naruto, and that was the Kisame clone fighting with 30% strength. Even the Leader acknowledged that among the members, he has a great amount of chakra.

He fights brashly and head-on with his blade, the Samehada. The Samehada doesn't slice its opponents, but rather shaves them with its scaly surface. It also eats up chakra, and answers to no one but Kisame, as seen when Gai unsuccessfully tried to use it.

Kisame has a close partnership with Itachi, whom he regards highly and calls "Itachi-san." He obeys Itachi's orders, and does most of the dirty work for him.

He is confident and sarcastic, but also polite to a degree (it must've rubbed off from Itachi). His jinchuuriki target is unknown, though judging from his chakra capability, it is suggested he may have already gotten his jinchuuriki.

He also holds grudges. His number one enemy at the moment is Gai-sensei. Back when Kisame first faced off against the jounins in Konoha, Gai came out of nowhere and landed a kick on him. After the timeskip, he gets his chance to pay him back for that kick. However, Gai can't seem to remember him, which Kisame can't forgive.

Zetsu seems to have a split personality, which fits his physical appearance. He talks to himself, with one side speaking in katakana and the other speaking normally.

With his ability to blend into plant surroundings (thanks to his venus fly trap appearance), the Leader has him on the lookout on numerous occasions. He was first seen spying on the Sasuke vs Naruto fight, and was also seen spying on Team Gai and Team Kakashi as they approached their cave. He is also a cannibal, which was revealed when the Leader asked him to get rid of a couple of bodies, and he proceeded to eat them.

He travels alone, unlike the other Akatsuki members who travel in pairs. This led many to believe that Orochimaru was his former partner. However, this is later proven wrong.

Sasori is known as Akasuna no Sasori (Scorpion of the Red Sand), the puppet army's genius model creator. He is the mastermind behind Kankurou's puppet collection, and easily defeated Kankurou in a fight.

When Deidara asked him which jinchuuriki he planned to go after, Sasori replied that anyone is his opponent, as long as he got the jinchuuriki. He later focuses on going after the kyuubi, much to Itachi's irritation.

Sasori has affirmed that he was originally partnered with Orochimaru in the organization, and admits they "did many things." One of those things was killing the Yondaime Kazekage. Though, Sasori claims he had nothing to do with it - it was all Orochimaru's doing.

Sasori is very passionate about his puppets, and believes that fine art is "something wonderful that's left long into the future... Eternal beauty." He creates puppets out of human beings, and plans to add Chiyo and Sakura to his puppet collection, which would bring his total to 300. He even turned his parents into puppets - they were his first puppets.

His prized puppet is the Sandaime Kazekage, who was thought to be the strongest Kazekage of Sunagakure. By mastering hitokugutsu, Sasori is able to use all the jutsus his victims were capable of, by turning them into puppets while they are still alive. To do this, he created a special poison that leaves his victims paralyzed for three days, and during this time period, he turns them into puppets.

Deidara is cocky and obsessed with his fine art. His attacks are based on exploding clay, and he is a firm believer that fine art is "the beauty of that single, fleeting moment of explosion." He boasts that his greatest artistic achievement was the exploding strength of "Specialty #18", which had his highest level of chakra, C3, put into it and used in his battle against Gaara. He has a mouth in the palm of his hand, which eats his special clay and spits out his exploding homing bird creation.

Deidara targets Gaara's ichibi, and is successful in single-handedly defeating Gaara.

Although he holds great respect for his partner Sasori, whom he calls "master" and "Sasori-danna," they get into lots of petty arguments about what is considered to be fine art, making the other wait, etc. It seems Deidara likes to push his buttons, and its quite entertaining to watch the two bicker.

He has a unique speech, which is to add "hnn?" (yeah?) at the end of every sentence. With his feminine appearance, many believed he was a girl early on. However, the anime has since caught up to the Akatsuki gathering scene, and it is made clear from the deep voice that said the characteristic hnn? that Deidara is indeed a male.

Hidan is the slick and cocky new member of Akatsuki, next to Tobi. He has an extremely bishounen-like appearance, and boldly wears his coat open with his bare chest peeking out, but he's actually quite a religious guy. He acknowledges that he is the least skilled member of Akatsuki, and that he also has the slowest attack speed in the organization. He joined for financial gains, and manages the organization's finances. He uses a scythe as his weapon of choice.

His target is the nibi, the two tailed female jinchuuriki.

Like Deidara, he also seems to have a characteristic speech pattern, using honto (really; seriously) at the end of his sentences.

Kakuzu is violent and obsessed with making money, and he has a sarcastic attitude about him. It is obvious that he is the "master" of the pair. Although he complains about Hidan's creepy and ridiculously long rituals, it is actually his side job of bounty-hunting that is slowing the pair down. Kakuzu claims that the nibi is the last one left, and is not pursuing her, so it can be that he may have already gotten his jinchuuriki.