Kakuzu

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Kakuzu (角都)
Alias(es)	“Kakuzi,” used by Uchiha Genba 10 20
Gender	Male 1
Affiliation	Akatsuki 1
Occupation/Role	Mercenary and bounty hunter; a major contributor to Akatsuki’s finances 13 30 39
Partner	Uchiha Genba, also called Xuan Yu; their partnership is later ended 12 112
Status	Alive following Obito’s attack on Akatsuki 145
First Appearance	Chapter 1 1

Background / History

Kakuzu is a veteran mercenary with nearly seventy years of working experience. He previously clashed with the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and invokes that encounter when describing how desperately he pursued Genba 4 6 13.

Within Akatsuki, Kakuzu has a notorious record of partners dying in supposed mission accidents. His own thoughts confirm that he deliberately killed previous teammates while presenting their deaths as failures of coordination. Konan and Nagato possess accurate information about his conduct but generally avoid pursuing it too deeply because he rarely leaves evidence and contributes substantially to the organization 4 12 30.

Appearance

• Pale or emerald-green eyes, repeatedly emphasized during his pursuit of and confrontations with Genba 1 6.
• A face mask, which conceals his smile while he plots to exhaust and kill his new partner 29.
• Mask-bearing Earth Grudge Fear creatures attached to or emerging from his body 1 5.
• After more than a month of sleepless missions, he becomes visibly withered, with bloodshot eyes, deep dark circles, and trembling limbs; Genba must support him when they return to Amegakure 37.

Personality

Money dominates Kakuzu’s priorities. He celebrates the opportunity to collect bounties on both an enemy and his own partner, then becomes furious when Genba steals the bodies. His repeated demand to recover his losses “with interest” turns a financial grievance into a prolonged vendetta 1 4 7.

Kakuzu is ruthless but not recklessly committed to losing battles. He initially assumes Genba can be killed if forced into a direct confrontation, yet retreats after discovering that Genba’s speed and taijutsu exceed his expectations. He subsequently proposes recruitment as an alternative to a coordinated assassination 6 7.

He protects his reputation through excuses, selective reporting, and calculated praise. When questioned about Genba’s growth, he realizes that praising the younger ninja can both curry favor and make his own defeats less embarrassing 4 12.

Despite his reputation as a workhorse, Kakuzu values balancing work and rest. His attempt to weaponize endurance against Genba backfires so badly that he repeatedly asks for a different partner 14 29 39 59.

Abilities & Skills

Earth Grudge Fear

Kakuzu has mastered the Earth Grudge Fear secret technique, which allows him to possess five hearts simultaneously and deploy mask-bearing creatures 1 6 29.

• Rotating heart activity: He can keep one heart working while the remaining four rest, giving him an endurance advantage he intends to exploit during prolonged missions 29.
• Mask-based attacks: A mask creature releases his large-scale fire attack; multiple masks can prepare to strike together 1 5.
• Operational limitation: His mask creatures cannot divide up independent bounty missions as effectively as Genba’s Chakra Clones 31.
• Endurance limit: Even five hearts cannot sustain Genba’s eventual pace of continuous, sleepless work 37 39.

Fire Style: Searing Migraine

Kakuzu channels chakra through an Earth Grudge Fear mask creature to unleash a wide-area sea of orange-red flames 1.

• Burns both his bounty target and his partner into charred corpses during their close-quarters fight 1.
• Allows him to attack the entire engagement rather than distinguish between ally and enemy 1.

Earth Style: Earth Spear Technique

Kakuzu reinforces his fist with Earth Spear before attempting to punch through Genba’s chest 6.

• Supports powerful close-range strikes 6.
• Fails to connect when Genba evades with superior speed 6.

Body Flicker and Combat Reactions

Kakuzu uses Body Flicker for pursuit, sudden attacks, and retreat 1 5 7.

• Reacts quickly enough to evade a massive boulder thrown at him during Genba’s ambush 1.
• Cannot catch Genba even while pushing his movement speed to its limit 1 4.
• Is unable to react to Genba’s rapid movement upon their arrival in Amegakure 10.

Bounty Hunting and Mission Planning

Kakuzu’s long career gives him extensive knowledge of black markets and considerable influence with Bounty Exchanges 15 16 30.

• Prioritizes nearby, high-value targets, particularly those worth more than ten million ryo 30.
• Plans a manor assault around a frontal distraction and a covert decapitation strike, offering to take either position 17.
• Secures large batches of mission requests from multiple exchanges 29 30.
• Gathers intelligence on Genba through the Black Market before recommending how Akatsuki should handle him 7.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Kunai — Uses one against a Phantom Body Flicker image of Genba, but it passes through the image and strikes the wall 14.
• Mission scrolls and request forms — Collects and sorts bounty assignments from multiple Black Market exchanges 16 30.

Relationships

• Uchiha Genba / Xuan Yu — Bounty thief turned reluctant teammate. Kakuzu repeatedly plots to kill him, while Genba exploits Kakuzu’s experience and mission access to increase his own earnings. Their relationship eventually shifts from hostility to Kakuzu’s recognition that Genba has surpassed him 1 12 29 145.
• Konan — Supervises his work, questions his partners’ deaths, and approves his recruitment proposal. She later expresses concern about the damage Genba’s workload is doing to him 4 7 39.
• Nagato / Heavenly Path Pain — Assigns Genba as his partner and retains the pairing despite Kakuzu’s protests, prioritizing Akatsuki’s development 12 39.
• Unnamed former partner — Deliberately killed alongside a bounty target; Kakuzu intends to collect the partner’s twenty-million-ryo bounty 1 4.
• Ninja Cat clan — Provides Genba with surveillance of Kakuzu. The cats unite against him after he attacks one of their companions 5 9.
• Sasori — Fellow Akatsuki member. After Genba repairs Sasori’s puppet body, Kakuzu places the core canister he is holding back inside its chest 145.
• Uchiha Obito — Attacks Akatsuki and overwhelms Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear along with the other members’ techniques 143.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Stolen Bounties and Recruitment

Kakuzu enters the story by killing a bounty target and his own partner with Searing Migraine. The two bodies are worth thirty million ryo, but Genba steals them before Kakuzu can collect payment—the third such theft that month 1.

After shifting blame for the mission’s losses onto Genba, Kakuzu receives Konan’s approval to eliminate him. His direct attack fails when Genba’s enhanced Leaf Whirlwind sweeps him through the forest. Kakuzu withdraws and proposes either a group assassination or recruitment; Konan chooses recruitment 4 6 7.

Kakuzu initially offers organizational protection, which Genba rejects. The promise of access to ninjutsu draws Genba into negotiations, and Kakuzu escorts him to Amegakure when his proposed outside-operative arrangement exceeds Kakuzu’s authority. Pain ultimately hires Genba and pairs him with Kakuzu 9 10 12.

Partnership and Mission-Grinding

Their first missions remain contentious: Genba steals the targets Kakuzu kills, although he later delivers Kakuzu’s agreed share of the proceeds, including a twenty-million-ryo payment 18 20.

Kakuzu then attempts to exhaust Genba through relentless work, hoping to kill him afterward and recover his earlier losses. Instead, Genba’s clones complete assignments independently while his main body handles Kakuzu’s bounty transport. The pair’s campaign exhausts mission supplies across several countries and leaves Kakuzu physically depleted 29 30 31 37.

When Kakuzu demands reassignment, Pain keeps them together for an alliance mission. Genba carries him away to begin the next assignment despite his objections 39.

Land of Snow Alliance

Kakuzu rejects Dotō Kazahana’s proposed missions because the Tailed Beast commission conflicts with Akatsuki’s objectives. Genba subsequently pursues the opportunity separately through a clone 33 34.

On their later visit, Kakuzu questions the sudden replacement of Dotō by Koyuki Kazahana. With Genba remaining silent, Kakuzu personally concludes the alliance treaty with the Land of Snow on Akatsuki’s behalf 60.

Reassignment and Obito’s Assault

Kakuzu enjoys a rare period of peace while traveling alone during Genba’s absence. Later, Pain approves Genba’s request to work with Itachi, granting Kakuzu a reprieve from their partnership 79 112.

When Obito attacks Amegakure, Kakuzu joins the other available Akatsuki members in defending the base. Their combined attacks fail against Obito’s dual Kamui abilities. Kakuzu survives and witnesses Genba heal the group’s wounds and restore their stamina, acknowledging that his former bounty-stealing rival has become someone he must look up to 143 145.

Notable Quotes

“Damn it! It's you again, you little brat! Put down my thirty million ryo! Or I'll rip your heart out!!” 1

“This person deliberately concealed his strength, defected from Konoha, and has been operating in the Black Market, double-crossing others and snatching bounty targets from other mercenaries. In my opinion, Akatsuki needs this kind of talent!” 7

“I'm not going! I demand a new partner!” 39

Trivia

• Genba’s Pay-to-Win System repeatedly uses Kakuzu as a benchmark for strength, speed, and stamina; one later assessment calls Genba’s endurance the “Five Kakuzi Power” 9 13 64.
• Bounty Exchange receptionists speculate that Genba might be Kakuzu’s disciple after seeing the newcomer obtain duplicate mission forms through Kakuzu’s influence 16.