What Itachi and Gang wants is to manipulate Naruto in order for him to join them.
Itachi said to Jiraiya that the orders were to capture Naruto.
And also when Oro saw that Naruto was able to do the Rasengan
he thought he could become a hassle if he crossed the Akatsuki
The 4th by beating the Kyubi proved not only that you could seal anybody no matter who, but also that you could transfer the Kyubi towards another person.
I think it's the goal of the Akatsuki, what they really want in Naruto, to steal the Kyubi to obtain absolute power.
If all they wanted was the Kyubi then why did Oro didn't finished Naruto
in the chunnin exam but only after seeing that he wasn't such a failure by
performing the rasengan is that he recognized that if Naruto meets the Akatsuki
he could become a problem.
If all they wanted was kyubi it should not care about Naruto ability since he would
die anyway.
