Which of Naruto's Akatsuki members can be considered the most powerful? In one sense or another, each main antagonist in Naruto is connected to the Akatsuki. Founded by Nagato and his friends, the Akatsuki began with noble intentions, but their cause was soon corrupted from the shadows by Madara Uchiha, who was in turn being manipulated by the will of Kaguya Otsutsuki. Over time, the Akatsuki added all manner of rogue ninja to their ranks, each with own unique skills and reasons for causing trouble. Throughout Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, the Akatsuki's goal is to acquire the nine Tailed Beasts, combine them into the original Ten Tails, and cast a genjutsu over the entire world.
The Akatsuki provide many of the Naruto franchise's best fights, from the climactic battle against Pain, to Shikamaru's vengeful clash against Hidan. But with so many diverse powers in the group, and several characters hiding their true strength, figuring out which of the Akatsuki is strongest isn't so straightforward. Looking at every figure to ever don the iconic black and red cloak (only during the period they were an active Akatsuki member), which baddie comes out best?
If Madara Uchiha can be considered a true part of the Akatsuki, he's undoubtedly the strongest of the bunch. Madara is only bested by Kaguya in Naruto's final act, and his legendary strength (enhanced by the Ten Tails and cells from the First Hokage) puts him head and shoulders above any other human villain in the series. With that said, Madara is never an official member of the Akatsuki. He steers them in secret and their Tailed Beast plan derives from him, but the Akatsuki is merely a tool for Madara, who remains hidden until the very end.
Omitting Madara, the next strongest in the Akatsuki would be Obito. Although he initially masquerades as the hapless Tobi, Obito Uchiha is a naturally gifted ninja who wields both the space-time Mangekyō Sharingan, and the Rinnegan received from Madara. Like his Uchiha mentor, Obito's body is merged with cells from Hashirama Senju, and these powers allow him to fight evenly against the likes of the Fourth Hokage, even before obtaining the awesome power of the Ten Tails by becoming its Jinchuriki. Next in the pecking order would be the Akatsuki's leader Pain, otherwise known as Nagato. Trained by Jiraiya, Pain was already a formidable ninja, but obtaining the Rinnegan elevated him to otherwise unattainable levels, and these borrowed eye powers resulted in the utter destruction of Konoha Village. Defeated by Naruto (who then didn't even have access to Nine Tails Chakra Mode), Pain can't match up to the likes of Obito and Madara, but his power still justifies being considered the Akatsuki's leader.
After the aforementioned "big three," Itachi Uchiha and Orochimaru are the only other candidates worthy of note from the Akatsuki's sign-up sheet. The pair had a brief scuffle while partnered up together, and Sasuke's brother easily defeated his slithering opponent, leaving no question of his superiority. Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan and supreme genjutsu place him above almost all of his Akatsuki comrades, but without access to the fabled Rinnegan, he can't be considered on the same level as Pain, Obito and Madara.
The rest of the Akatsuki - the likes of Deidara, Kisame and Sasori - are all mingling somewhere around the lower echelons of villain power levels. Most of these were defeated by various combinations of Chūnin and Jōnin such as Sakura and Might Guy, and therefore fall short of the God-like tier their superiors occupy. One interesting wrinkle in the Akatsuki power rankings, however, is Hidan. In strength terms, the scythe-wielding zealot is nothing to shout about, but an immortal body allowed him to outlast even the best of Naruto's Akatsuki, which surely counts for something.