Konan Naruto Guide

• About
• Latest Posts

Stefan Stevanovic

Stefan has been reading manga from a very young age, identifying that this was the best way to keep up with the latest antics of his fictional heroes. He's a huge fan of MHA, Naruto and is always open to trying a hidden gem if nudged in the right direction. As for his private life, Stefan loves yoga and swimming. If he isn’t working, you will likely see him in a studio doing Mountain pose. He also plays guitar, likes to learn foreign languages, and reads fantasy books.

Latest posts by Stefan Stevanovic (see all)

• Tenten Naruto Guide - June 15, 2022
• Yamato Naruto Guide - June 9, 2022
• Konan Naruto Guide - June 9, 2022

Konan is one of the founding members of Akatsuki. After suffering a childhood trauma, she would form a group with Yahiko and Nagato. Although portrayed as antagonists in the anime, their initial attentions were rather altruistic. They saw war as a means to an end to preventing future wars.

When both Yahiko and Nagato died, Konan took control of the Hidden Rain Village. She can control earth, wind, water, and Yang. Konan is a very intuitive warrior and often serves as the main tactician for the group. The thing that separates this ninja from others is the fact she can turn her body into paper and command it at will.

In this Konan Naruto guide, I will talk more about the ninja, her backstory, and how she was portrayed in the anime.

Key Info Up Front

Konan is a powerful antagonist in Naruto anime and manga. She can turn her body into paper and possesses numerous other powers. Konan is the founding member of Akatsuki and would, later on, rule the Hidden Rain Village.

Konan’s Personal Info: Konan’s Backstory

Konan and her allies have one of the best and saddest stories in the anime. Like many other children, Konan has become an orphan during the Second Shinobi World War. She had to make do with what she had and struggle to survive in a barren land.

One day, she met Yahiko, and the duo became very close. During one of her usual walks, Konan encountered Nagato, who was on the brink of death. She carried him to their hideout and helped him recuperate. One day, they encountered Sanin from the Hidden Leaf Village, who gave the trio some food. As a sign of gratitude, Konan made origami for the ninjas.

Orochimaru, who was one of the group members, suggested they should kill the children, so they don’t suffer anymore. Jiraya, the other member, was firmly against this barbaric decision and decided to stay with the kids.

The Kids and Jiraya

Jiraya showed Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato how to survive during harsh weather and stave off threats. He helped build protection for the hideout from wooden planks. He went on to color planks in white on one side and red on the other side.

The colors bore a special significance. If one of the planks is turned to its red side, this will signify that a person was captured. One-color would signify that one of the kids is taken hostage and that there is an imposter instead of it. On top of that, they also created an emergency room and a secret tunnel leading out of the hideout.

After impairing all this knowledge in the young minds, Jiraya went back to Konoha. Before doing so, he would make a perverted remark, in Jiraya’s fashion, telling Konan that she is very pretty and that she should visit him when she turns eighteen.

Formation of Akatsuki

In time, the three of them grew strong and independent. They would eventually create Akatsuki. Over time, they gained a reputation for their effectiveness and power. So much so that the word of their exploits reached Hidden Leaf Village. Eventually, the faction grew too big for their current hideout, forcing them to relocate.

Just as they were setting to leave, their hideout was raided by two ninjas. By using the escape route, the three of them managed to escape. All three members became close, but this was especially true for Konan and Yahiko. During the Third Shinobi War, Konan was approached by a man called Tobi. He offered an alliance, but Konan firmly refused, thinking that the shady person only wanted to use their power for his own gain.

The Death of Yahiko

The death of Yahiko was the turning point for the group. Akatsuki progressively increased in number, posing a threat to some of the surrounding nations. Hanzo was especially worried about the young ninjas, and he tried to offer them an alliance as a way of subduing them. However, this was only a ruse to gain their trust.

During the following day, Konan was captured by Hanzo’s man. She was taken to an undisclosed location, and Yahiko and Nagato would soon find her. Hanzo told Nagato that the only way he would let Konan live was if he murdered Yahiko. Konan started crying, pleading two of them to escape leaving her to destiny.

As he didn’t see any other way out, Yahiko surprised others by stabbing himself. After seeing his comrade fall, Nagato went berserk, killing all the Anbu members present and thus, saving Konan.

Pact with Tobi

These events made Konan reconsider Tobi’s offer. Realizing that the faction was still not strong enough, they started recruiting outlaw ninjas, offering protection and services to other villages. All of this helped them grow in power, as they now had enough money for sustained growth.

After a while, Nagato, now referred to as Pain, started a civil war within the Hidden Rain Village. Konan spread Pain’s message ensuring the villagers that he would bring a new era of sustained peace to the land. The war ended with Pain killing Hanzo. Konan disguised herself as the former leader so that everyone thought that things were in order. Somewhere during this time, Konan recruited Hidan to the organization.

Konan’s Character

Konan is a perfect leader type. She is very calm even during dangerous situations. This is something that she and Nagato have in common.

Like many other female characters in the show, Konan shows strong motherly instincts, often acting as a big sister to Yahiko and Nagato. Furthermore, she was the brightest, the most jovial one of the trio, helping the team relax even when the times were tough.

However, like Nagato, she has taken a turn for the worse after Yahiko’s death. The event traumatized both of them, and she became a closed person. During the group meetings, she never spoke or showed any emotions, making her look like a puppet or a machine during the initial episodes.

Konan was very protective and had no problem sacrificing for Yahiko or Nagato. During the few episodes depicting their early days, you could see that Konan and Yahiko had romantic feelings for each other.

“God’s Angel”

While very cold and reserved, Konan seems less destructive than the other Akatsuki members. She also showed more empathy towards teammates and would act sad when reminiscing about the past. Whenever Pain gave her an order, Konan would never object and would proceed to execute it immediately. Her faith in Pain and the cause are unshakable.

While ruling Hidden Rain Village, Konan was an emissary between Ame and Pain. As a result, the villagers gave her the honorable nickname of “God’s Angel,” as her paper wings looked like those of an angel.

Konan could understand Pain without a word. She could read into his emotions and mood, making them a formidable pairing. When Nagato died, Konan saw Naruto as the new savior of the ninja world and had no problem working in his interest.

Konan’s Appearance

The ninja has short blue hair with a bun on the top. She has beautiful green eyes and diagonal eyelashes. Since the first episodes, she had a blue flower in her bun. In the earlier episodes, her facial expression was commonly neutral or jovial, turning neutral and reserved after Yahiko’s death.

Konan had a few outfits throughout the show. During the early days, she had rugged, musty clothes similar to that of her comrades. She had a skirt and karate top, as well as a pouch where she held all the paper. When they formed Akatsuki, she would change into a black mantle, with characteristic red clouds and purple stockings beneath. She also had a few piercings on her body.

Konan’s Appearances in Manga and Anime

Although an important part of Akatsuki, and as such, woven into the storyline, Konan doesn’t have many appearances. She is most heavily featured during the Pain’s Assault Arc but would also play a part in later episodes, in particular, the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Sasuke Recovery Mission

Konan was first featured during the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc. She is one of the shadowy Akatsuki figures discussing capturing of Sasuke Uchiha, as well as the future plans for the organization.

In Naruto’s Footsteps: The Friends’ Paths

Two years have passed since Akatsuki’s last meeting. Kakashi went to Hidden Rain Village to invite Hazo and his ninjas to annul chunin exam meant to be held in Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Leaf Village. At that time, he didn’t know that Hanzo was dead, giving the invitation to Konan.

After receiving the letter, she consulted with Pain as to what to do next. After shortly deliberating, Pain instructed Konan to send a few genin to Konoha so they could keep their cover a bit longer. She told the ninjas to try their best during the exams and behave as if nothing was happening in Hidden Rain Village.

Furthermore, the event should be used for gathering valuable information regarding the state of Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Leaf Village. In particular, the ninjas were to find all rookies with high chakra focusing on jinchurikis.

Unfortunately, the exams had to be cut short due to unexpected issues. Not to waste the event, the elders decided to send the performance report to their respective villages so they could make the decision as to which ninjas deserve the title of chunins.

Satisfied with the results of the mission, Konan gave promotions to all the chunin, after which she assigned them to an even more dangerous S-level mission.

Kazekage Rescue Mission

Konan was briefly shown in the Kazekage Rescue Mission arc. The whole set of episodes revolves around One-tail jinchuriki. Deidara managed to apprehend Gaara, who was the monster’s host. They extracted the beast from within him, with Konan performing the ritual. Gaara managed to survive the ordeal with the assistance of his allies, but the tailed beast was lost to Akatsuki.

Akatsuki Suppresion Mission

Akatsuki continued capturing tailed-beast hosts in the following episodes. Hidan took Yugito from Hidden Cloud Village and took her to Akatsuki’s lair. This is where Konan removed Two-tails from the ninja, resulting in her death.

Itachi Pursuit Mission

Prior to this arc, Kakuzu and Hidan die at the hands of Hidden Leaf Ninja. Pain gathers the troops and informs them about their passing. Like always, Konan is present during this meeting. Pain then told Akatsuki that Sasuke had managed to best Orochimaru.

After sealing of Four-tails, Zetsu reports to base, telling his allies that Sasuke killed Tobi and Deidara. Pain is rather indifferent when it comes to Tobi’s death, but he mourns Deidara, who was perceived as a valuable member of Akatsuki.

However, it turns out that Tobi wasn’t dead after all. Konan told Pain that Tobi had just arrived to headquarter. Nagato and the ninja have a short meeting, after which Pain is visibly upset.

Tale of Jiraya the Galant

At the start of the arc, Jiraya decides to infiltrate Hidden Rain Village. There were a lot of ominous signs, and the mission was regarded as extremely hard, but he decided to proceed nevertheless, without anyone’s assistance.

Once Jiraya reached the village, Pain stopped the continuous rain, thus giving Konan enough time to scour the area by splitting her body into paper butterflies. She would eventually find the reckless ninja promptly informing Pain. The Akatsuki’s leader then instructed Konan to take care of Jiraya if possible.

She engaged Jiraya immediately but could get the upper hand. However, tables quickly turned once Pain arrived at the scene. Konan attacked Sanin with a paper spear, but Sanin easily defended the attack with his Flame Bullet. He instantly went on the offense, simultaneously complimenting Konan for her beauty. In a common Jiraya fashion, he said that Konan became an incredible woman.

Jiraya’s Downfall

Konan wouldn’t be caught off-guard by Jiraya’s unorthodox approach. She used the Paper Drizzle technique to overcome his fire abilities. Sanin reacted in time by using Toad Oil Bullet. Not only did he prevent Konan from using her abilities, but he then used his long hair to capture the Akatsuki member.

Pain easily removed the oil from Konan. He summoned several versions of himself, which proceeded to attack and wound Jiraya. Ultimately, Nagato managed to beat his old master. When the deed was done, he told Konan to leave the scene and wait for him at the headquarters.

Six-tails Unleashed

Here is another arc where Konan has a brief but important role. Like in a few previous arcs, she was crucial for extracting a tailed beast from the target. To be precise, Konan and other members of the faction removed Six-tails from Utakata, thus killing jinchuriki.

Pain’s Assault

Finally, Akatsuki decided to attack Hidden Leaf Village head-on. Throughout the arc, Konan fought side by side with Pain. Akatsuki quickly decimated the Hidden Leaf patrol, after which Pain told Konan to kill everyone they encountered. At the very start, Konan was trying to extract information regarding Naruto’s whereabouts.

One of Konan’s more notable battles during this arc was again Shino and his clan. Four Aburame members attacked Konan by sending insects at her.

Shino opened the battle by sending bugs forth but quickly discovered that he was dealing with paper clones. In fact, there were several clones around the Aburame team, which started blowing up due to explosive tags attached to them.

Luckily, Aburame clansmen managed to dodge this vicious attack. Konan was also close to the fire but didn’t have any trouble moving around because she had previously doused herself in water. Realizing they’re going against a strong opponent, Shino’s father warned his son to be careful.

Pain’s Secret Technique

After some back and forth, Konan was ordered back to Pain. When she reached his position, the female ninja immediately realized that her companion was preparing to utilize his most devastating ability. Concerned about the devastation it might cause, both to the environment and Pain, she begged him to stop but to no avail.

Not being able to persuade him, Konan left the scene. She went back to real Nagato and would stay with him for the rest of the arc, continuously warning the ninja to be careful. Although Pain caused immense devastation to the village, most of the civilians managed to save themselves but fled the scene in advance.

Later on, Naruto would go to Nagato’s and Konan’s hiding spots. At first, Konan wanted to persuade the Hidden Leaf ninja that her comrade was not there. But, the charade ended abruptly when Nagato emerged from the shadows telling Konan to step aside.

Nagato and Naruto

Naruto and Nagato would go on to have a very profound conversation regarding the state of the ninja world, with Konan standing on the sidelines. During all this time, the female ninja has shown concern for her exhausted ally. Naruto’s willpower had a profound impact on Pain. He saw the Hidden Leaf ninja as someone who could become his successor.

In a last attempt to make things right and wrong from his mistakes, Pain decided to revive fallen Konoha villagers by using his life force. Knowing that she can’t do anything to stop him and realizing that this technique would cost Nagato his life, Konan had no choice but to remain silent and watch as her friend perishes.

After reviving all the Hidden Leaf ninjas, Konan realized Pain’s wisdom. She understood that Naruto was the one true savior of the ninja world and that she needed to put her trust in him. Konan wrapped her friend’s body and took it to Hidden Rain Village.

Naruto then asked Konan whether she intended to go back to Akatsuki. She told the young ninja that there was no point; her only true friends were dead, and the only thing worth fighting for was world peace through Naruto’s will. Konan gave Naruto paper flowers as a symbol of peace between Konoha and Hidden Rain Village.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown

At the start of the war, Tobi tried to slip into the Hidden Rain Village unnoticed. Konan, who has absolute control over the area, instantly confronts the intruder. Tobi came back to Amegakure so he would take Nagato’s Rinnegan. He didn’t even try to hide this fact by asking Konan directly where he could find the former leader’s corpse.

Konan doesn’t allow the desecration of the friend’s body and decides to stop Tobi. The ninja was curious as to why Konan would betray the very organization she built, to which she replied that the light of Akatsuki had vanished with Nagato.

Konan and Tobi

Konan opens her attack with the Paper Shuriken technique, but the matter simply passes through the ninja’s body. For her next attack, Konan envelops his body in a paper, which was combined with exploding tags, a technique that would take both of their lives.

Tobi managed to save both of them by extracting the explosive component from the paper. However, this came at a cost, as the ninja had to sacrifice his arm and a part of his mask. Tobi was thrilled with Konan’s determination. She responds that it’s her solemn duty to destroy Tobi as a bringer of darkness.

Then, Konan pulled her ultimate move. She split the lake, causing Tobi to fall to its bottom. There was an abyss of paper beneath it. She attached billions and billions of explosive tags to the paper, which would cause explosions potentially lasting for ten minutes. Given that Tobi can remain intangible for just five minutes, this would have surely killed him.

The Aftermath

Exhausted, Konan fell to the ground, no longer being able to control her body due to massive chakra loss. While all of this was happening, paper flowers adorning Yahiko’s and Nagato’s shrines started whittling away. Suddenly, Tobi appeared behind Konan, stabbing her in the back with a pipe. Although alive, the ninja had to sacrifice an eye to survive this devastating attack.

Konan removed the pipe, and despite the wound, she gathered the strength to launch the next attack. Suddenly, the endless rain over the village suddenly stopped surprising both combatants. Konan saw this as a sign, as divine guidance showing her that she needed to upkeep Nagato’s will.

Tobi had no problem embracing the darkness within his, as Konan proclaimed. He took the Hidden Rain ninja by her throat, instantly stopping an attack she had previously prepared for him. After that, he placed Konan under an illusion spell revealing the location of the deceased Nagato. After that, Tobi told Konan that her life would cease to exist when genjutsu ended.

In her final scene, Konan floats on the water. One of her papers, now covered in blood, started floating towards the old Ame’s hideout. It would eventually land on the “Hop-in” card, thus finalizing the promise three orphans gave to each other that one day, they would return to the place.

Konan’s Abilities and Skills

Despite being portrayed as Pain’s massager, for the majority of the show, Konan’s powers are not to be underestimated. She is every bit as potent as her Akatsuki teammates.

Furthermore, even Pain and Jiraya recognize her skills as very potent. In fact, she almost ended the Fourth Shinobi World War when she almost killed Obito. The only reason why he survived is because of his Izanagi trump card.

Ninjutsu

As mentioned at the beginning of the guide, Konan has several elemental affinities, including earth, water, and wind control. Furthermore, she can also utilize the Yang element. On top of that, Konan has an immense sensory ability.

Paper Control

Since the first episodes, Konan has been shown as a person who loves origami. So, it isn’t surprising that she would eventually develop techniques that involve paper.

Dance of Shikigami is the ninja’s main technique that she uses throughout the anime. She can turn her entire body, as well as clothing, into small pieces of paper. While this might seem like an innate genetic ability, Konan actually managed to develop this skill.

Not only does Konan control every piece of the paper, but she can also change their colors. For example, she utilizes paper pieces for scouting but also defense and offense. Konan can reinforce the paper by infusing it with chakra. Having in mind that paper can change forms, she can create various offensive weapons.

Paper’s Versatility

The ninja can utilize paper for all sorts of stuff. For example, she can strangle opponents with them or protect herself from incoming attacks.

Like many other elemental users, she can use the paper for clones, and during the fight with Shino, Konan tagged these clones with explosive tags to surprise the opponents. Several times during the show, she used paper as wings.

Given that these techniques use chakra, Konan can utilize the paper to overpower other elemental attacks. This is best seen when Jiraya used his Flaming Bullet to attack his former student. What’s really interesting is that paper cannot be soaked in water. This is very important for Konan, who lives in Hidden Rain Village.

In a few scenes, she used it as a cover. Konan can create trees and other objects, thus hiding her presence. In the wildest show of power, Konan managed to create an artificial lake, which was entirely made of paper.

Intelligence

Konan is an analytical type, which you can notice rather quickly in the story. In combat, she often takes a backseat and slowly studies the enemy in front of her. Her analytical prowess is best seen during the battle with Tobi, and if it weren’t for his hidden technique, Konan would probably have beaten him.

Konan Trivia

A Different Kind of Akatsuki

Unlike other Akatsuki members, Nagato and Konan were never betrayers of defectors. Instead, they became notorious by subduing the whole country and turning it into a small criminal organization. That also gave them some political protection, as attacking Konan and Nagato straight on would’ve meant declaring war on the whole country.

Konan’s Stats

According to the official Naruto database, Konan has finished 30 S-rank missions, 85 A-rank missions, 161 B-rank missions, and 65 C-rank missions. Some of these missions were probably done when Pain came into power, so some of them might be regarded as illegal missions in the traditional sense.

In other words, it is hard to determine whether Konan’s track record refers to her time as a Hidden Rain ninja or when she became a part of the notorious Akatsuki.

Perfect Match

In a way, Konan and Yahiko were a perfect match, and it is really tragic that the show’s creators decided to kill off the latter. The two of them have the same blood type and birthday, which makes them much more similar than you would initially have thought.

Konan is Rather Old

Although she looks rather young, Konan is a 35-year-old woman. This makes sense if you consider the timeline and the fact that Jiraya and Orochimaru were part of the same team when Jiraya decided to help the kids.

At 35, Konan is actually regarded as one of the older ninjas in the Naruto world, where most protagonists die at a relatively young age.

Konan’s Innate Power

Although you might think that Konan’s ability to turn into paper is a genetic, inherited power, it actually isn’t. Instead, her innate ability is the sensory power. She is very similar to Hinata and Neji, who are able to “feel” chakra flowing through a person. Unfortunately, the show’s creators didn’t explore this power during the anime.

The Only Female Akatsuki

From the get-go, the creators wanted Konan to be the only female member of Akatsuki. Unfortunately, like many other female characters in the show, Konan is portrayed more as a support than an actual combatant, which is best noticed through her role as Pain’s messenger.

FAQs

Konan Naruto Guide: Conclusion

Konan is a powerful ninja that has mastered several different elements. The ninja’s ability to turn her body into paper makes her very versatile on the battlefield but can also be used as a scouting and utility tool.

Konan was the founding member of Akatsuki alongside Nagato and Yahiko. Despite wreaking havoc all over the ninja world, the group didn’t manage to achieve its goal, which is world peace. Instead, the group would eventually entrust this task to fiery Naruto.