This article contains spoilers from the Naruto series.

Summary

Kishimoto created the Akatsuki in Naruto to provide stronger foes and drive character growth.
The Akatsuki members had a business-like relationship, focused on completing their job.
Akatsuki, led by Pain, evolved in the story from a peace-seeking to world-ending organization.

The Naruto series features an incredible cast of villains and fans know the Akatsuki to feature some of the most special ones by far. The Akatsuki, a villain organization, was introduced by Kishimoto towards the end of the first part of the Naruto series.

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In the second part of the Naruto series, the Akatsuki took up a more prominent role in the story and fans got to see each member of the organization fleshed out properly. This organization shaped the world of Naruto in many ways, and Kishimoto specifically intended them to serve one big purpose in Naruto.

Why Kishimoto Created The Akatsuki In Naruto

Stronger Foes Were Needed
A Reason For The Main Characters To Grow Stronger Was Required

Masashi Kishimoto created the concept of Akatsuki in late Part 1 of Naruto, but he knew that an organization such as the Akatsuki was absolutely necessary for the story to move forward efficiently. The main reason for the introduction of the Akatsuki was simply to add a powerful group to the villain cast of Naruto. By introducing the Akatsuki, the intensity of the manga would rise through the roof, and above all, it would also give Kishimoto a reason to make everyone stronger.

Those who do not understand true pain can never understand true peace. — Pain To Naruto

In fact, one of the biggest reasons for the timeskip in Naruto was that Kishimoto wanted Naruto Uzumaki and all the others to raise their power so that they would be able to combat the threat of the Akatsuki, who, according to him, were all Jonin level. The Akatsuki allowed Kishimoto to create a perfect opportunity to stop the story, recollect ideas, and have the main characters return older and stronger than ever before.

The Dynamics Of The Akatsuki Were Easy To Figure Out

Kishimoto Suggests A More Business-Like Relationship Among The Akatsuki Members

When Kishimoto was asked about the Akatsuki and their day-to-day life, along with how they interact with each other, Kishimoto gave a rather simple answer. According to Kishimoto, the author of the series, the Akatsuki is not a normal organization, but even then, they're modeled after some real-life organizations. According to him, some organizations in real life are extremely professional and have people come together to do their job and that's it. Kishimoto wanted to seemingly draw a parallel to such a professional setting where camaraderie isn't a big factor and all that matters is fulfilling the job.

Those who cannot acknowledge their true identity will eventually fail. — Itachi Uchiha

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Still, Kishimoto made sure to include Pain in the story, because to him, Pain was the guy who would keep everyone else in check and lead from the front. Even though the Akatsuki were essentially a bunch of individuals, Pain made them whole and gave them a bigger purpose.

How The Akatsuki Fared In Naruto

The Organization Set The World Alight in the Story

Over the years, the organization known as the Akatsuki has shown great growth and change. Although initially led by Yahiko, the organization strayed from its original goals greatly. Under Pain, and then Obito, the Akatsuki went from being a peace-seeking organization to one that declared war on the whole world. All the developments that led to this were extremely exciting in the story, and the fact is that Kishimoto wrote incredibly compelling characters to drive the story forward within the Akatsuki. The group might've been evil to some extent, but fans know that as villains, they were written to perfection.