Ten years following the defeat of the very first manifestation of the Akatsuki Clan, a new force emerged from its ashes under the guise the notorious missing ninja had so skillfully created. While very little was known about the original Akatsuki's true objectives and results, this new manifestation had clearly taken a rather lengthy, well-founded page from their book.

While even less was known about the new enigma disturbing the landscape, from the Land of Fire to the Lands of Rain and Mist, the results of their efforts were uncanny— within mere months having wrought havoc unlike anything Konoha had seen since the battle against the Kyuubi. Manipulating everything from entire villages to small factions of vagrants and criminals, this new Akatsuki brought the fight to the doorstep of the Leaf Village which resulted in undescribable destruction and the eventual death of the Fifth Hokage Tsunade. Shortly after, the group of ninjas faded back into their veil, all but disappearing for the next fifteen years.

The menace has since only appeared in a handful of colorful, unreliable accounts, citing their black and red coats with the infamous cloud strewn into its design. Their intents are vague, as unclear as its members, who over the last one hundred years since seem both ageless and uneffected by any natural sense of mortality.

Theories stand that this new force is a far cry from the original Akatsuki, with no more than some artificial means of preserving their lives over the last several generations. Others believe that this faction is a calamity unlike any other, using the Akatsuki name to better conceal their actions from prying eyes, biding their time to make their next major step.