Itachi Uchiha

**Itachi Uchiha** (うちはイタチ, *Uchiha Itachi*) is a shinobi of Konohagakure's Uchiha clan who served as an Anbu Captain. He later became an international criminal after murdering his entire clan, sparing only his younger brother, Sasuke. He afterwards joined the international criminal organisation known as Akatsuki, whose activity brought him into frequent conflict with Konoha and its ninja — including Sasuke who sought to avenge their clan by killing Itachi. Following his former death, Itachi's motives were revealed to be more complicated than they seemed and that his actions were only ever in the interest of his brother and village, making him remain a loyal shinobi of Konohagakure to the very end.

## Background

Itachi was the first child born to Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha. His early childhood was marked with violence: when he was four years old, the Third Shinobi World War waged and he witnessed first-hand many of the war's casualties. The death and destruction he experienced at such a young age traumatised Itachi and made him a pacifist, leading to him training non-stop to achieve his dream of becoming a ninja among ninja in order to erase fighting from the world. At age 5, after becoming a big brother to Sasuke, Itachi was approached by Shisui, who offered to train together. Soon, the two became best friends, forming a brother-like bond as they continued to teach the other new tricks. During the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, he was home alone looking after Sasuke, followed by Itachi rescuing Mikoto from falling debris, and in the anime seeking shelter with Izumi. The Nine-Tails' attack had soured relations between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha, the former believing the latter to be responsible. The Uchiha were relocated to the edge of the village, isolating them from the rest of the village and making it easier to monitor them.

At age 6, Itachi enrolled into the Academy, where he consistently scored the highest in each subject and quickly learned any skill taught to him, resulting in him being praised as the best of his generation. After four months, his teachers unanimously agreed let him take the graduation exam early due to Itachi being more than advanced enough for genin-level, which he passed later that month. During this time, he began seriously studying the history of the world, gaining a great appreciation for it. On the day he graduated as the youngest post-war graduate, he was approached by Danzō Shimura, who assessed Itachi's thinking.

Joining Team 2, Itachi went on to honing his skills to chūnin level, leading to him drawing the attention of Konoha's leaders. Meeting the criteria, Fugaku allowed him to sit in on clan meetings in the Naka Shrine basement. Nearly a year since graduating, Itachi had mastered ninjutsu to the extent his missions went too easy, though Yūki Minazuki didn't recommend him for the Chūnin Exams. After turning eight, as Team 2's genin had distinguished themselves the most during the year, they were tasked with guarding the Fire Daimyō during his annual trip to Konoha. During the mission, the convoy was attacked by a masked individual, who killed Tenma Izumo before Itachi, resulting in him awakening his Sharingan, which he mastered at the same age. In the anime, Itachi accompanied his friend Shisui on a three-part training exercise, only to interrupt a battle between the Third Hokage's Anbu and Root. After having driven out the Root ninja, Itachi learned from Shisui about having his own sense of morals from various viewpoints instead of one. At age 10, Konoha allowed Itachi to compete in the Chūnin Exams alone, which he passed and became a chūnin.

At age 11, Itachi joined the Anbu as its youngest member. In the anime, Itachi is assigned to Team Ro, working alongside Tenzo and with Kakashi Hatake as his captain. During his mentorship, Itachi became acquainted with Kakashi and showed interest in the Sharingan he possessed despite not being an Uchiha. At one point, they both worked together in a two-man squad following an exchange between Konohagakure and the Prajñā Group of the Land of Woods; killing the latter party after an attempted betrayal. They would work together for two years until Itachi is promoted to a new Anbu team under Danzō's authority.

Itachi's accomplishments were a source of great pride for his family, his father viewing him as proof of the Uchiha's future prosperity and his brother viewing him as a model to live up to. Itachi spent a great deal of time with Sasuke, training with him (though rarely actually training him) and giving him the recognition their father did not. However, for all the attention he received, few truly understood Itachi, believing his isolation to be a result of the gap between his abilities and theirs and not his dissatisfaction with the shinobi's life of conflict. Eventually, the Uchiha's disdain for their unfair treatment led them to plan a coup d'état. Fugaku, head of the Uchiha and the coup's chief conspirator, encouraged Itachi's advancement into the Anbu's ranks as a means of spying on the village. Itachi, however, knew an Uchiha coup would lead to intervention from other villages and ultimately start another World War, something he could not support. He instead became a double agent, reporting the Uchiha's actions to the Third Hokage and the Konoha Council in the hopes it would help them find a peaceful resolution.

Itachi shared the burden of betraying his clan with Shisui. But as time went on it became increasingly clear that peace could not be achieved. Shisui intended to use his Kotoamatsukami on the Uchiha's leaders to compel them to negotiate, but his right eye was stolen by Danzō before he had a chance. His own options exhausted, Shisui entrusted his remaining eye to Itachi and begged him to protect the village and their family name before drowning himself in the Naka River. Itachi was anguished by Shisui's death, enough to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan. When the following day some Uchiha, already suspicious of Itachi, accused him of murdering Shisui and staging a suicide, Itachi lost his composure and attacked them, defeating them easily. A rift was created between Itachi and his family, and his warnings to them to reconsider what they were doing fell on deaf ears. At age 12, he was promoted to Anbu Captain, with his publicly disclosed promotion age being 13 due to Danzō's request and Hiruzen's acceptance. In the anime, Itachi was also given command of his own three-man squad. At one point, Itachi would confront his father in the Naka Shrine basement, who revealed to have had his own Mangekyō Sharingan since the Third Shinobi World War. Having read the Stone Tablet with it and knowing the truth of its power, Fugaku calls for Itachi's aid in a bloodless revolution by restraining the higher-ups in lieu of controlling the Nine-Tailed Fox much of the clan's favour of bloodshed. Instead, Itachi would return back to the Konoha Council to report the clan's imminent revolt.

Although the Third Hokage still wished to negotiate with the Uchiha, Danzō Shimura recognised that there was no longer an outcome that could see the Uchiha clan's survival. He explained this to Itachi and left him a choice: support the Uchiha's coup and have the whole clan, including Sasuke, killed in the ensuing conflict, or accept the assignment to wipe out the clan before the coup started and be allowed to spare Sasuke. Itachi chose his brother. Despite having made his choice, Itachi was tormented by guilt, especially with the knowledge that Shisui would most likely not forgive his choice to destroy the clan. However, remembering the words of his father to not let other's decide things for his life, he resolved to continue his path. While making final preparations, Itachi discovered a masked man sneaking around Konoha. From observing him, he came to believe the man was truly Madara Uchiha bent on provoking some new conflict. Itachi approached him with an offer: he would assist "Madara" with wiping out the Uchiha, taking vengeance against them for abandoning him decades earlier, if Madara would spare the village, to which he agreed.

In one night Itachi and Tobi slaughtered the entire clan. Itachi took it upon himself to personally execute his parents. Despite his betrayal, they bore him no ill-will, instead telling him in the moments before they were killed that they were proud of him and requesting that he take care of Sasuke. Racked by grief for his actions, Itachi saw in Sasuke the only person suitable to punish him for his crimes. In order to set Sasuke on this road he cast himself as the villain, done by allowing Sasuke to find him standing over their parents' bodies and using Tsukuyomi to torment him with visions of their murders. Sasuke fled, fearing his own death, but Itachi chased him down to divulge the lie he had concocted: he killed their family to test his mettle and now wanted to test himself against the only remaining challenge to him, the little brother he had never loved. He encouraged Sasuke to become strong enough to kill him and take revenge, and to that end suggested he acquire a Mangekyō Sharingan of his own. Itachi left, but was surprised to find Sasuke already pursuing him with a newly-awakened Sharingan. Sasuke's attempt at vengeance failed and he passed out, but not before seeing Itachi cry with remorse.

Afterwards, he disguised a crow clone as a member of Root to threaten Danzō he would leak Konoha's secrets to enemy villages if he touched Sasuke, having realised Danzō could not be trusted to keep his promises. For his final business in the village, Itachi visited the Third Hokage and reported his mission completed, much to the Third's surprise and disappointment. Itachi requested that the Third look after Sasuke, which the Third vowed to do. Itachi left the village publicly a traitor but secretly with a new mission: to infiltrate Tobi's organisation, Akatsuki, and keep it from moving against Konoha. In the anime, Itachi was ambushed by his former Anbu squad under orders from Danzō, only to trick them into killing each other using genjutsu. At some point after joining Akatsuki, he was initially partnered up with Jūzō Biwa. While growing accustomed to his new setting and working well with his partner, the duo was eventually given a mission in the Land of Water. After completing it, they were ambushed by a hunter-nin squad led by Yagura. While initially pressed by the perfect jinchūriki, Itachi was able to defeat him with Amaterasu, but not before Jūzō was slain.

Sometime later, Orochimaru tried to steal Itachi's body in order to gain the Sharingan, but Itachi easily overpowered him, trapping him inside a paralysis genjutsu and severing his left hand to prevent him from dispelling it. In the anime, Itachi expressed his disgust at Orochimaru for his inhumane experiments and was about to kill him when Kabuto saved Orochimaru but they were both forced to leave Akatsuki. Later, Itachi was partnered with Kisame Hoshigaki, with whom he bonded over their shared notoriety for killing their own countrymen. To find a replacement for Orochimaru, Itachi helped recruit Deidara, whose art he defeated with his Sharingan's genjutsu; Deidara would forever after swear vengeance for the humiliating defeat. In the anime, Itachi also aided in the recruitment of Hidan. Pain eventually caught wind of Orochimaru's attempt to destroy Konoha and requested a team to investigate, which Itachi immediately volunteered for out of concern for Sasuke's safety.

At some point, Itachi contracted a terminal illness. He kept himself alive through the years with medicine and sheer willpower so that he could live long enough to die by Sasuke's hand. Itachi died from the disease while battling Sasuke. But was revived by a mysterious force years later.

## Personality

From a young age, Itachi was calm and insightful, showing noticeable maturity for his age and knowledge on how to deal with every situation. For all his accomplishments, talent, and fame, Itachi was a rather humble man. Never arrogant about his own abilities nor underestimating others, most things he said would be unbiased and accurate. If an opponent exceeded his expectations or posed a legitimate challenge to him or his allies, Itachi would freely admit it. As a seven-year-old, his reasoning was on par with a Hokage. Having studied history, not just of his clan or his village but of the world, he gained a broader appreciation of what was important. Learning so much enabled him to understand how events of the past came to happen and, when he applied that same understanding into the future, he became concerned for where things were going. At the same time, Itachi was still fairly naïve as a child in many real-world scenarios and as such was willing to learn from his peers on how to differentiate situations. He lived at a distance, observing individuals and ideas without getting directly involved so that he could fully understand them.

Although this approach prevented him from becoming close with many people, it enabled him to think and act without prejudice or preconceptions, instead evaluating things strictly on their own merits. In the anime, Itachi unintentionally gained many friends and admirers for his genuine concern for others despite his passive nature. He would think about shinobi and origins of the village and its future. For this reason, he never became arrogant about his own abilities or accomplishments; to which, most views or statements he made were usually well-based, seeing the situation for what it was. From this he had no self-righteous loyalty to his clan that was so common among the Uchiha; though he loved his family and wanted the best for them, he knew there were more important things than the Uchiha's personal aspirations. Itachi's dream was to become Hokage, though he kept it hidden from others.  Itachi was also one of the few villagers of Konoha to hold no grudge against Naruto Uzumaki, believing Naruto to be the greatest victim of the Nine-Tails attack and showed him kindness whenever they met by chance.

A pacifist at heart, Itachi did not actually like fighting and would avoid it when he could. As such, he preferred to rely on Genjutsu as a first option, ending fights with as little damage as possible. When he couldn't avoid actual combat, he would end the fight as quickly as he could, all the while holding back as much as possible. Despite this, Itachi felt his own needs were secondary to the greater good's and to that end he became a shinobi. He trained tirelessly to improve himself as quickly as he could and subjected himself to all of the shinobi life's inconveniences without complaint for the simple motivation of being useful to others. His commitment borderlined recklessness, due to training privately using extremely deadly methods such as dodging a barrage of kunai in the anime.

Being so accomplished as a ninja enabled Itachi to approach problems less violently than others would, satisfying his peace-loving nature. These two extremes of his personality came into conflict as events moved toward the Uchiha Clan Downfall; he did not want to harm his family and sought a peaceful resolution, but knew that the path with the least bloodshed would be the clan's extermination. When the Uchiha Clan refused to deter from their plans, Itachi was pushed over the edge and his normally polite attitude to his clansmen became more violent, criticising them openly and lashing out at them for the choices that sealed their fates and his own. Despite this, at his heart, Itachi truly hated what he had to do for sake of preserving peace, trembling with hesitation as he prepared to kill his parents and crying upon doing it. With Izumi, valuing her companionship, and aware of her feelings for him, Itachi opted to put Izumi under a powerful Tsukuyomi to allow her to live the life she'd always dreamed with him, allowing her death to be quick and peaceful.

Despite his natural pacifism and kindness, Itachi was possessed of a wrathful and merciless side when those he loved were hurt or threatened. In revenge for Yashiro Uchiha's cowardly manipulations of his father from the shadows and helping to provoke war against Konohagakure while keeping free of responsibility himself, Itachi used his Tsukuyomi to force him to experience days of torture in an instant after making him realise how weak he was in comparison to Itachi himself. Itachi would later use Tsukuyomi, followed by Amaterasu to execute the helpless Root member Sugaru in revenge for Sugaru poisoning Shisui.

Despite the traumas he endured from killing his own family, Itachi did not blame those among Konoha's leadership who gave him the mission; though he did not trust Danzō on a personal level, he knew Danzō only had the village's best interests at heart. But Itachi – partly out of the necessity of his assignment to join Akatsuki – was greatly changed after the massacre, rarely if ever showing emotion. He became more prone to displays of force and permitted certain violent habits of his partner, Kisame, under the pretence that it furthered Akatsuki's goals. After learning from Hiruzen everything that Itachi endured, Hashirama considered him a greater shinobi than himself. Itachi could not and would not fully shake his pacifistic ways, and would run from confrontation or rein in Kisame if the likelihood of collateral damage became too high for themselves or others. In addition, Itachi would continue to show his morality at times, as he expressed disgust at Orochimaru's lack of care for human life. While Kisame would sometimes protest, he considered Itachi a good friend and would listen to his instructions. Itachi also had a decent partnership with his previous partner Jūzō, showing respect to him and after his death, placing the remains of Kubikiribōchō in Jūzō's hand.

Konoha's peace and protection was always forefront in Itachi's mind, but it was his dedication to his brother, Sasuke, that took priority in every situation. From the time of Sasuke's infancy, Itachi tasked himself with looking after him. In the anime, Itachi even correctly guessed Sasuke's gender before his younger brother's birth. They'd spend whole days together in the woods around Konoha having adventures and accomplishing self-appointed missions. When Itachi became an accomplished ninja and took much of their father's attention, Itachi would make special time to fill their father's shoes for Sasuke's benefit, at times even refusing his father's wishes in order to make Sasuke happy. In turn Sasuke wished to be just like his older brother and would often ask Itachi to train him in the ninja arts. Itachi would almost never do so, poking his forehead and promising to train him some other time. Unfortunately, none of these promises were ever kept.

It was Sasuke's safety that ultimately convinced Itachi to go through with killing the rest of the Uchiha, believing his own damnation was worth it if it ensured Sasuke's survival. Even though he did it for Sasuke, Itachi wanted to be punished for his crimes and selected Sasuke as the one to take vengeance against him. To push Sasuke in this direction, Itachi withheld the true reason for his actions and instead took on the persona of a man who had no love for his younger brother. Per the persona, Itachi cared about Sasuke only because of the eyes that he could take to gain Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. His actions in Akatsuki were meant to reinforce this persona, and whenever he met Sasuke over the years he would taunt his weakness and encourage him to get strong enough to kill him. His plan was that, once he had been killed, Sasuke would be hailed as a hero. Itachi never wanted Sasuke to learn the truth surrounding the Uchiha's massacre, and if he did he hoped the memory of a hateful older brother would cause him to not believe it. Itachi's constant pursuit of peace, coupled with the paramount secrecy of his missions and his capacity to care about those around him, led Itachi to take on every burden himself, believing he needed no help from comrades.

## Quotes

**\*Fanmade\***