While she was often upstaged by her partner-in-crime, Pain, Konan was one of the many powerful shinobi who made up the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki was an organization of criminals in Naruto who all had a great degree of depth to them aside from the sadistic albeit one-note Hidan. Even as the years go on, they are considered one of the best criminal organizations in shounen.

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Within the Akatsuki, Konan took on a smaller secondary role, similar to Zetsu, but she still had her fair share of cool moments including her all-important battle with Obito. Unfortunately, there was also a fair bit about the paper-manipulating ninja that didn't make a whole lot of sense.

10 Accepting Obito's Aid

Tobi in forest

Considering how Nagato and Konan were all about honoring what Yahiko built and represented, it's odd that they'd accept Obito's aid with the Akatsuki. Yahiko declined the first time it was offered, saying Obito would probably use them for his own means. This proved to be correct on Yahiko's end. Once Yahiko died, however, Obito was sought out by Nagato and Konan who accepted his help. It might have been a case of being too blinded by rage at Hanzo, but it was still an odd decision.

9 Assuming Hanzo's Form

Hanzo The Salamander in Naruto

On one hand, it makes sense that the Akatsuki wouldn't want the rest of the world to know that Pain had assumed control of the nation. It'd draw many suspicious eyes and drag Konoha into the mix, considering how Danzo helped Hanzo in the past. On the other hand, it could lure out the man they intend to kill while also sending a message to the rest of the world. There are pros and cons to both, but given Nagato and Konan's end goal for Akatsuki, one would assume they'd want to spread fear over the land.

8 Reliance On Paper

konan paper jutsu

Konan's ability to manipulate paper is a unique feat that made her quite the combatant. She held her own against both Jiraiya and Obito, even dealing with a few members of Shino's clan during a filler fight.

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Still, she possesses so much more in her arsenal, able to use water, wind, and earth releases. Yet, she was only ever shown to use her paper techniques. One could just imagine how much stronger she'd be if she worked some of those elements into her paper-based ninjutsu.

7 Her Paper Is Resistant To Fire & Water

Konan's paper attack in rain and water in Naruto.

Naruto had always done a good job of making its elements have checks and balances. One would always have a weakness and an advantage over another. That started to go out the window by Shippuden and truly jumped the shark when Konan's paper managed to shield her from Jiraiya's Flame Bullet. It was also resistant to the constant rain in Amegakure. That instance can at least be explained by her water affinity, though.

6 Ability To Read Pain's Emotions

Konan akatsuki villain naruto

It's one thing to know what Nagato is thinking, considering they were closer than any other partnership in the Akatsuki. They'd known each other since they were little after all. What's odd is that she could read his emotions through the seemingly unexpressive Pain visage he showed others, able to read facial queues that no one else could. This was shown when she could feel the sadness he had over being ordered to retrieve Naruto. It's strange, considering how Yahiko was used as the deva path and had long since been dead.

5 Knowing Obito's Weakness

Obito using the Kamui in Naruto.

Figuring out the weakness of Kamui isn't something that is beyond a character as intelligent as Konan. Even as a young girl, Konan was incredibly smart, understanding Jiraiya's plank system before either of the boys did.

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What's hard to grasp isn't her smarts, it's how she managed to do it. How was she able to watch Obito in action enough to know how his Kamui worked? For as big of a well-traveled manipulator as he was, it's hard to imagine her being able to continually watch him from afar.

4 Ability To Hover Without Her Wings

Konan using Shinigami Paper Dance Technique in Naruto Shippuden.

Her ability to fly with her massive angel-like wings of paper made sense and fit into the character she'd built among Amegakure's people. She was like the angel and voice of god to them. What didn't make sense, however, was that she was able to hover in the air without them as if the wings were just an aesthetic choice. It's one of many things that were confusing about her ability, right along with her masking paper bombs as water or how it's categorized as ordinary ninjutsu instead of kekkei genkai.

3 Never Wearing A Forehead Protector

deva path of pain

Interestingly enough, her fellow Amegakure compatriot, Nagato, made sure all Six Paths of Pain had their headbands on. So why did Konan forego it? It couldn't be something symbolic as they'd long since taken over the village from Hanzo's tyranny. It is also unlikely to be an act of rebellion as she's seen wearing it during the initial days of Akatsuki's rise. A Naruto databook reveals that it was tied to her hip instead of over her forehead, which is an odd choice of placement.

2 Never Getting Her Moment To Shine

Tobi tries to get Konan to reveal the location of Nagato's body in Naruto.

She's one of the only members of the Akatsuki who didn't get an opportunity to truly show off what she was capable of in an extended fight. The closest she got was her battle with Obito, where she admittedly showed off some impressive techniques, but it was a fairly short battle after he used Izanagi to trump her attempt to counter Kamui. It's a shame, considering how unique her abilities were, but every opportunity for battle was ceded to Pain instead.

1 Using Murder As The Path To Peace

konan behind obito

Their ultimate goal for peace was sound in theory. Fear of a superweapon would certainly cause nations to stop their incessant wars, but it lacked any sort of empathy. Nagato and Konan were both mad at the world for what they went through, wanting no one to suffer through wars as they did. What made them think they could achieve peace by becoming exactly what they hated? They became no different than Hanzo was, willing to toss away human lives just to achieve their goals. It made them interesting villains, but their goals and actions differed so much.

NEXT: Naruto: 5 Reasons Why Pain Is Naruto's Greatest Enemy (& 5 Reasons Why It's Obito)