Itachi Uchiha

I tachi Uchiha is a major anti-hero of the manga and anime Naruto, and the older brother of the second protagonist of the license Sasuke Uchiha. 👦🏻 Initially, he was presented as a major antagonist for much of the story and then was seen as a hero when his true motivations were revealed after his death.

Before his true motives were revealed, he played the role of one of two secondary antagonists in the Search for Tsunade arc, one of two secondary antagonists in the Kazekage Rescue Mission arc and the main antagonist in the arc opposing him to Sasuke.

This blog article will retrace the history of this flagship manga character, you will find:

• Itachi's story summary
• His entry into Akatsuki
• His real motivations

Let’s find out together! 👇🏻

Itachi Uchiha's childhood

Itachi was born on June 9, the son of Fugaku Uchiha, the head of Konoha's military police, and Mikoto Uchiha, members of the Uchiha clan who founded the Hidden Leaf Village alongside the Senju clan several years ago. generations. 🍃 Growing up in the village of Konoha , Itachi proved to be a very gifted ninja, even at a young age he was considered a prodigy and rose above most of his peers. Thanks to his talents, Itachi was sent into battle as a child shinobi during the Third Great Ninja War, where he suffered the horrors of that war. Since that day, Itachi has changed with the desire to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

After witnessing the Kyubi 's attack on Konoha while caring for his little brother Sasuke, Itachi learns that his clan was secretly blamed for the demon fox's attack and the clan was shipped off to an ancient section of the village. There, while bonding with Sasuke who wants to be like his brother, Itachi finds himself sent to infiltrate the ANBU as a spy for the Uchiha who have decided to revolt.

The Uchiha Clan Massacre

However, Itachi instead informs Konoha's senior officials, as he and Hiruzen Saurtobi, the Third Hokage, attempt to settle things otherwise. But Danzō Shimura 's actions resulted in Itachi taking credit for the death of Shisui Uchiha, a member of the Uchiha clan against the revolt, distancing himself from his family. He became estranged from those close to him, including his own family, although his father knew he did not commit the act.

However, Itachi took a dark turn when Danzō ordered Itachi to massacre his entire clan while promising to spare the life of his little brother Sasuke Uchiha. Having no other recourse, meeting Tobi who was helping him, Itachi proceeded to assassinate his entire clan. Only his parents were left and they accepted their fate, as Itachi reluctantly killed them on their orders. When Sasuke arrives, wanting to do penance for his crime, Itachi uses his genjutsu to make Sasuke see a version of the massacre that places his brother as a heartless murderer with a desire to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan . With the image implanted, Itachi tells Sasuke to live in hatred and become strong for the day they fight to the death. 💀

Although Sasuke attempted to kill him when his Sharingan activated, Itachi places his brother in a temporary coma before seeing Hiruzen and the other higher-ups. While asking Hiruzen to ensure his brother's safety, Itachi threatens Danzō to honor his promise or he would expose the conspiracy before letting Konoha escape . However, still loyal to his village, Itachi joins Akatsuki to keep an eye on the organization and the threat it poses. Unfortunately, aside from the progressive blindness side effect of his Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi contracted a deadly illness which he managed to contain so Sasuke could kill him before she did.

Despite the trauma he suffered from killing his own family, Itachi did not blame those among Konoha's leaders who entrusted him with this mission. Although he did not trust Danzō on a personal level, he knew that Danzō only had the village's best interests at heart. But Itachi, partly due to the necessity of his mission to join Akatsuki changed greatly after the massacre, rarely, if ever, showing emotion. He became more prone to displays of force and enabled certain violent habits of his partner, Kisame, under the guise that it furthered Akatsuki's goals. 🦈 Itachi couldn't and wouldn't completely change his pacifist ways, and he would run away from confrontation or rein in Kisame if the likelihood of collateral damage became too high for him or others. Although Kisame sometimes protested, he considered Itachi a good friend and listened to his instructions. Itachi also had a decent partnership with his former partner Jūzō, showing him respect and, after his death, putting Kubikiribōchō's remains into Jūzō's hand.

Konoha Infiltration Arc

When news of Hiruzen's death reached him, Itachi feared that Danzō would take advantage of it. Itachi used a mission with his partner Kisame Hoshigaki to capture the Kyubi's current Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki, as an excuse to show that he is still alive and still poses a threat to Danzō. Itachi is confronted by Kurenai and Asuma alongside Kisame and Kurenai engages in combat, but Itachi quickly proves himself to be the best Genjutsu user and effortlessly fends off the Konoha ninja's illusion. Even when Kakashi arrived, Itachi proved superior and crushed all three of them without fighting at full strength and ultimately left Kakashi helpless against Tsukuyomi.👀

However, Itachi's apparition reached Sasuke as he ran towards Naruto's location and confronted Itachi as he was about to capture Naruto. Seeing that Sasuke was still not strong enough despite his Chidori, Itachi effortlessly beats him and brutally pins him to the wall. He motivates him to return to the path he set him on before knocking him out with Tsukiyomi. Shortly after, Kisame and Itachi were forced to leave because Jiraiya arrived . Itachi later reaches the Akatsuki meeting following Sasuke's departure from Konoha.

Capturing Shukaku

During Shukaku's capture, Itachi is tasked with delaying Team Kakashi from finding their lair, and uses one of Sasori 's spies to fight them from a distance. He subjects Naruto to a genjutsu by raising his finger, though he eventually breaks out of it and kills the sleeper agent with his new giant rasengan. 🌌

When the news of Sasuke's victory over Orochimaru reaches him after helping Kisame 🦈 capture the jinchuriki of the four-tailed demon Roshi, fearing his brother's impulse, Itachi decides to put his plan into action because the disease is starting to win. By sending one of his clones to Naruto while he was searching for Sasuke, Itachi questions the boy's resolve, even with the possible threat Sasuke would pose to Konoha. Impressed by Naruto's response, Itachi has a raven with Shisui's eye implanted into the boy's body before leaving.

Itachi vs Sasuke

At that moment, another clone of Itachi appears before Sasuke to tell him that their final battle will take place in the Uchiha Hideout. Asking Kisame not to intervene, Itachi waits for Sasuke to arrive. After a genjutsu exchange and a conversation about Madara Uchiha , Itachi reveals his failing eyesight and the only way to restore it is to take Sasuke's eyes to obtain an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan . Once the conflict becomes more physical, using several of the abilities he gained from absorbing Orochimaru, Sasuke manages to use his Kirin ability to inflict significant damage on his brother.

However, with only his Akatsuki cape having been burned, Itachi reveals his true secret weapon, the ultimate ability of the Mangekyo Sharingan: the Susanoo . At this point, Sasuke has lost much of his chakra as Orochimaru reappears through his Secret Eight-Headed Serpent Jutsu and attempts to steal Sasuke's body. However, Itachi has his Susanoo decapitate the snake's seven heads before impaling the last one from which Orochimaru emerged.🐍 From there, Itachi has Orochimaru seal it with his Susanoo, removing the cursed seal from Sasuke's body.

How did Itachi die?

However, the fight took a long time for Itachi, as the now helpless Sasuke found himself against a wall as he approached him, seeming to want to reach Sasuke's eyes. But instead, he touched Sasuke's forehead and smiled at him before saying, " Sorry, Sasuke...but it's over " before submitting to his illness and dying. Despite his good intentions, Itachi's hopes for Sasuke were dashed when Tobi later told Sasuke the truth about why Itachi betrayed the Uchiha clan. However, the raven that Itachi placed in Naruto would counter this event the moment Sasuke obtained the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

The Fourth Great Ninja War

Itachi was revived during the Fourth Great Shinobi War by Kabuto who used the forbidden soul reincarnation jutsu to convince Tobi to join in the war he declared. After separating from Kakuzu, Itachi carries Nagato as they discuss how they were brought for their eyes and are nothing more than weapons. The latter two come across Naruto and Killer B. 🐙 Itachi is surprised that the former can now use Kurama's power. While forced to fight against his will, Itachi is horrified when he learns of Sasuke's actions after his death while begging Naruto not to reveal the truth behind the massacre of the Uchiha clan for the honor of his clan .

When Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, he brought out the raven he had placed inside Naruto and implanted the Konoha Protection Command to override Kabuto's control over him. Itachi helps Naruto and Killer bee defeat Nagato before destroying the crow, so that Shisui's eye does not fall into the enemy's hands. Telling Naruto that he is entrusting Sasuke to him, Itachi tracks down Kabuto to force him to release the Reanimation Jutsu. However, Itachi finds himself joined by Sasuke and ends up promising to tell him the whole truth before they fight Kabuto together.

Itachi and Sasuke vs Kabuto

Both brothers are vastly outmatched until Itachi uses Izanami to trap Kabuto in his own mind. With their enemy willing, despite Sasuke's objections, Itachi explains that he has nothing left, while stating that it was an honor to protect their home one last time. After using his genjutsu to force Kabuto to release the Reanimation Jutsu, seeing his brother still adamant about the destruction of Konoha, Itachi uses his sharingan to show Sasuke all of his memories. Explaining to Sasuke that things would have been different if he had never lied to him, Itachi tells him that he does not need to be forgiven but that he will always love Sasuke, no matter what path he takes. will choose. After an emotional speech, Itachi says his goodbyes and returns to the afterlife. 👼🏻

Rock Lee: the adventures of a budding ninja

Itachi appeared in Rock Lee's chibi spin-off : Adventures of a Budding Ninja in episode 38, with Kisame, arriving at the hideout. When Lee and Tenten saw it, they realized that the group they encountered was none other than Akatsuki itself, despite their stupidity. Itachi, upon seeing him, asked his other teammates who told him that Lee is a newbie recruited by Zetsu. Like Kisame 🦈 he also doesn't trust Lee, so he uses his Sharingan and places Lee under a genjutsu , which is undone by Tenten so he can continue disguising himself. Once freed from the genjutsu, Lee then saw Itachi covered in crow droppings all over his body. Later, after Deidara unintentionally starts a fight within the group, Itachi, unlike everyone else, tries to stop them from fighting, but completely fails. Later, after Tobi admitted the truth, Itachi and the rest of Akatsuki beat Deidara for not saying Lee was a spy.

Itachi makes an appearance in episode 46, where Jiraiya classifies him as an occasional pervert, alongside Sasuke and Yamato. In episode 51, Itachi is briefly mentioned by his brother, Sasuke, who teams up with Akatsuki to destroy Konoha. 💥 It could be hinted that Itachi might be dead before the episode .

Appearance of Itachi Uchiha

Itachi is a tall young man of 21 with long black hair tied in a ponytail that was usually hidden by the high collar of his black Akatsuki cloak, onyx eyes, and pale skin. 👦🏻 One of his most identifiable features are the lines running from his eyes to his cheeks and his almost constantly active Sharingan.

Itachi's motivations

After he massacred his clan, Itachi became virtually emotionless and unsympathetic. A man who had complete control over his emotions, Itachi only expressed surprise during battle if his opponent was stronger or took him by surprise, and even this could be interpreted as a deliberate act to deceive his ally Kisame . Unlike most of the other Akatsuki members, Itachi did not display the more typical aspects of a villain like arrogance. He treated his fellow Akatsuki members with the same respect. In fact, he goes so far as to respect and compliment his opponents for their skills and abilities.💪🏻 He is able to back up his claims because he has the power to do so, not because he is the result of 'an ego.

He does not like combat sports and does not engage in violent bloodshed, preferring to rush to end his fights as quickly as possible. Even in such a state, Itachi can still display vestiges of his goodness, expressing disgust at Orochimaru's actions . All of his supposedly nefarious acts were ruses to encourage Sasuke to kill him when he cared deeply for his younger brother. Facing Naruto, he sees hope in the young ninja and entrusts him with the task of pulling his brother from the vengeful darkness he has embraced all these years. Indeed, Itachi (although emotionless from the outside) was unhappy, sad, discouraged and suffering from the inside.

Itachi: a ninja prodigy

A talented and very powerful ninja, Itachi was a prodigy, his intelligence and abilities blossoming from a young age. He had already graduated and become a Jonin at the age of twelve and obtained the Sharingan at the age of seven. He quickly rose to the rank of Anbu and even became captain of an Anbu squad . Itachi's prowess was recognized by Orochimaru as superior, with Itachi effortlessly crushing the Sannin. He was also perfectly capable of killing Sasuke if he wanted to despite his illness, Sasuke still failing to beat Itachi despite the latter's resistance.

Itachi's Chakra and Power

As an Uchiha, Itachi's chakra was naturally strong, but his chakra reserves became very low, exacerbated by his illness. This prevented him from participating in lengthy encounters and limited his use of Mangekyo Sharingan techniques to three times per day before he needed a significant rest, at which point even his Sharingan deactivated. To somewhat compensate for this limitation, Itachi had very refined chakra control, able to perform his techniques with one-handed seals.🖐🏻

Although rarely involved in such fights, Itachi was very skilled in taijutsu, enough to easily defeat three members of the Konoha Military Police at the age of eleven. He had impressive speed and reflexes, especially with his hand movements. He felt like he could perform his techniques without seals, even skilled Sharingan users had difficulty keeping up with him. His speed allowed him to attack first in a fight and then immediately move to where his opponent was retreating before he even realized he was gone, giving him no chance to launch a counter. attack.

Itachi's Sharingan

Itachi quickly managed to master the Sharingan at a young age and became the clan's greatest eye expert, rivaling even Shisui. The famous kekkai genkai exclusive to the Uchiha clan and can only be obtained after experiencing trauma, emotional stress. 😨 The Sharingan is an instantly recognizable dojutsu (eye technique) upon activation, as the color of an Uchiha's normally black eyes turns blood red, accompanied by a varying number of tomoe encircling the pupil. As Itachi's Sharingan has been fully developed, he has a maximum of three tomoe.

It allows the user to copy any type of jutsu they see at least once and then imitate it perfectly. It also allows them to clearly see chakra flows, which is effective against most ninjas.🐱‍👤 Itachi only used the Sharingan for the latter ability, as he never showed any utility in copying the movements of his opponent. Thanks to his mastery of the Sharingan, Itachi can maintain it almost constantly without any chakra draining. By killing his best friend, Itachi was able to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan , the second level of Sharingan and a fearsome power. When activated, the tomoe in Itachi's eyes undergoes a dramatic transformation.

Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan

Unlike the normal Sharingan, the Mangekyo's form is unique to each user, as it takes the form of a three-bladed shuriken. With Mangekyo, Itachi gains the use of three extremely powerful techniques: Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo .

Amaterasu

Amaterasu takes the form of guided black flames that never go out, which generally completely consume everything in its path and destroy it, the only exception being Gaara's Sand Shield, which Amaterasu failed to pass through or into. which it burned, and which is generally unavoidable because it is guided by the user's view. Only A, the fourth Raikage, managed to dodge Amaterasu and his brother, Killer B, the host of the 8-tailed demon 🐙, also survived this ability. It burns for seven days and nights and cannot be extinguished by normal means. Itachi only uses this technique in the most terrible situations, especially if his opponent is powerful.

Tsukuyomi

Tsukuyomi is a time dilation genjutsu (illusion) that traps the opponent in a distorted alternate dimension over which Itachi has complete control. A favorite of Itachi, it can trap his opponent in a nightmare realm to induce realistic pain that mentally devastates the target.🎯 Although the genjutsu lasts three days in this realm, it only takes place in the real world in seconds thanks to Itachi's mastery of the technique. According to Itachi, only a person possessing both a Sharingan and a second kekkei genkai can break this technique, however, a jinchuriki who knows how to control the chakra of his tailed demon is immune to this technique because his biju can break the illusion for him. as in the case of Killer Bee.

Susanoo

Susanoo was the last ninjutsu Itachi used . Unlike the previous two, Susanoo manifests as a creature rather than a primal force. 👹 It first appears as a skeletal creature engulfed in flames along with its user (although the user feels nothing). Like the Sharingan itself, Susanoo must develop. As Itachi's techniques were fully developed, Susanoo took on a full form, with the appearance of this form differing depending on the user. Regardless of form, Susanoo himself wielded a sword (sometimes a bow and arrow as with Sasuke) that could both hypnotize and permanently seal anything he struck, an unfortunate event that Orochimaru was the victim of. direct witness, although it ultimately proved ineffective against him because it was not truly sealed.

Genjutsu and Taijutsu

Aside from his mastery of the Sharingan , Itachi has displayed exceptional prowess in all forms of jutsu and has shown that he is indeed very intelligent. 🧠 He is capable of performing genjutsu and ninjutsu almost instantly, making hand signs at an unreadable speed. He can spawn clones while using kunai and shuriken and can quickly mount a powerful counter attack. He is also able to easily counter any physical attack attempted against him, as almost no one in Naruto's universe has been able to land a physical blow against him. His intelligence allows him to easily read, predict, and counter his opponent's attacks with little effort.

Legacy of Itachi Uchiha

Itachi had a profound influence on Sasuke's life. His instructions on the night of the fall of the Uchiha clan, for Sasuke to gain power at all costs, caused Sasuke to isolate himself from others and avoid camaraderie. When he realized he was becoming attached to his Team 7 comrades, Sasuke concluded that this made him weak and he chose to defect from Konoha and train under Orochimaru, propelling him on the path of Itachi's death. 💀 Following the two brothers' battle, Itachi's plans begin to fail due to Tobi's interference. Tobi refocuses the hatred of Sasuke that Itachi conceived for himself to use against Konoha, transforming Sasuke into an international criminal against Itachi's intentions. Itachi was able to make amends with Sasuke during his reincarnation , erasing his prejudices and allowing him to begin making his own decisions rather than letting others manipulate him.

The truth about Itachi

Upon learning the truth about Itachi, Sasuke regains the great admiration he had for his brother when they were younger and follows in his footsteps to protect the village at all costs. Sasuke reveals that he does not want to see Konoha, the village that Itachi sacrificed so much for, destroyed and joins forces with the Allied Ninja Forces to stop Tobi and Madara during the Fourth Shinobi World War. He also sees reason in Itachi's decision to make difficult choices and be hated for them, and for this reason, gives himself the task, after the war ends, of becoming the darkness of the world, using its power to force peace and kill any threat. 👮🏻‍♂️

Although a big departure from Itachi's plans, the latter's decision to trust Naruto to redeem Sasuke proved correct; at Itachi's insistence, Naruto eventually convinces Sasuke of the mistakes he made without having to kill him in their final battle. In the aftermath of the war, Sasuke adopts Itachi's gesture, which consists of punching him on the forehead to express his affection to someone dear to him. Sasuke first does this with his teammate and future wife, Sakura, when she asks him if she can accompany him on his travels.🌸 Subsequently, he and Sakura make this move on their daughter, Sarada. Fulfilling Itachi's wishes, Sasuke will continue to protect the village for the rest of his life.

Itachi: a hero recognized by all

Itachi's influence would extend beyond Sasuke : Although he ordered Itachi to massacre his clan, Danzo considered him an unsung hero of Konoha who worked selflessly for the good of the village; the five Kage, although unaware of Itachi's involvement, hailed him as the hero of the world for ending the reincarnation of souls; Kabuto remembered who he really was thanks to Itachi's Izanami and, inspired by it, saved Sasuke when he was about to die.

Years after the war, a test subject of Orochimaru's named Shin becomes so fixated on Itachi that he attempts to kill Sasuke and use Sarada against him in order to avenge Itachi's "murder". The Third Hokage remembers Itachi as a lively and thoughtful child who possessed the spirit of a Hokage from a young age and, although he was devastated by what Itachi had to endure to protect the village by sacrificing his clan, he credits Itachi with preventing a war from breaking out between Konoha and the Uchiha clan.