Itachi Uchiha

Sharingan:

* Chakra vision
* Genjutsu
* Superhuman reflexes
* Izanami at the cost of losing the function of an eye
* Ability to copy any movement and jutsu within own capability
* Precognition of enemy moves in combat
* Mangekyō Sharingan:
* Tsukuyomi
* Susanoo
* Totsuka Blade
* Yata Mirror

### Goals

* Protect Konoha and his younger brother Sasuke by any means necessary, even if it involves massacring his clan and joining the Akatsuki (succeeded until death).
* Remove Orochimaru's curse mark and influence from Sasuke once and for all.
* Fuel Sasuke's desire for revenge to make him stronger, then die fighting him (both succeeded).
* Make his brother a hero of Konoha. Prevent Tobi from recruiting Sasuke (both posthumously succeeded).
* Prevent Sasuke from learning the truth about him (failed).
* Stop Kabuto Yakushi and the reanimation jutsu during the during the Fourth Shinobi War (succeeded).

### Crimes

Genocide
Mass murder
Parricide
Vigilantism
Espionage
Extortion
Treason
Torture
Psychological abuse
Assault and battery

### Type of Villain

Anti-Villainous Ninja

**Itachi Uchiha** (うちはイタチ, *Uchiha Itachi*) was 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 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.

**Itachi Uchiha** (うちはイタチ|**Uchiha Itachi**) is one of the supporting characters and an anti-villain in the *Naruto* franchise. He is an ANBU Captain and a prodigy from Konohagakure's famed Uchiha clan, the son of Fugaku Uchiha, the clan's chief, and Mikoto Uchiha, and the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha. He is also the brother-in-law of Sakura Haruno, and the paternal uncle of Sarada Uchiha.

He became an S-rank missing-nin as he participated in the murder of his entire clan, defected from the village, then joined the criminal organization Akatsuki. This causes Sasuke to desire revenge at any cost and later turn to Orochimaru while seeking the power to kill his older brother, making Itachi indirectly responsible for Sasuke's turn to villainy. Because of the Uchiha clan massacre, Itachi was vilified and served as a supporting antagonist for a large part of the series (until his death). However, after Itachi died out of sickness during the fight against Sasuke, it is revealed that Itachi was actually a double-spy that killed his clan on orders from higher-ups. No one in the Hidden Leaf village apart from a few important people knew that the Uchiha clan was plotting an insurrection primarily concerned with themselves, so Itachi killed them all primarily concerned with protecting the Hidden Leaf Village and his younger brother.

Although Itachi fulfills his wish to die in battle against Sasuke (who had been misguided into hating Itachi like everyone else), his plan to make his younger brother a hero of Konoha fails when Sasuke learns the truth from Obito Uchiha. The truth makes Sasuke feel great grief and sympathy for his older brother, then he decides that the Hidden Leaf Village needs to be destroyed in vengeance for ruining Itachi's life. Itachi is later resurrected by Kabuto during the Fourth Great Ninja war. With Sasuke's help, Itachi heroically stops Kabuto and uses the mind-altering Izami Genjutsu to redeem Kabuto and undo the resurrection technique, getting rid of the undead army of powerful shinobi. Despite knowing that he had failed his little brother, Itachi passed on again with the faith that Naruto would redeem Sasuke, which turned out to be true.

He is voiced by Hideo Ishikawa (who also voiced Zhou Tai from the *Dynasty Warriors* series, Yugo Ogami in the *Bloody Roar* series, and Motonari Mōri and Hideyoshi Toyotomi from the *Samurai Warriors* series.) in the Japanese version of the anime, and by Crispin Freeman in the English version of the anime, who voiced Mark Copeland from *Days Gone*.

**Itachi Uchiha** (in Japanese: うちはイタチ, *Uchiha Itachi*) is a major antagonist and anti-villain in the manga and anime series *Naruto*, and the older brother of the series' deuteragonist, Sasuke Uchiha. He was portrayed as a major antagonist for the biggest part of the story with his agenda revealed after his death, redeeming himself.

Before his true motives were revealed, he acted as a villain. He was also the main responsible to lead his brother Sasuke to defect to Orochimaru and Naruto to be away for two and half years of training under to Jiraiya.

He was voiced by Hideo Ishikawa in Japanese and Crispin Freeman in English, who voiced Helis in *Horizon Zero Dawn* and Helios in *God of War III*.

## Appearance

Itachi was a fairly tall man of fair complexion. He had black eyes, under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and his face was framed with centre-parted bangs that extended to his chin; the ponytail and bangs grew longer over the years. His overall appearance was very similar to Sasuke's. Even more, like his brother, he was considered very handsome as many girls became infatuated with him. When he lived in Konoha, his casual clothes consisted of a black shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back, bandages around his ankles, and black sandals. He wore tan pants with a weapons pouch strapped to his back. When on duty, he would wear the standard Anbu uniform complete with arm guards, a flak jacket, and a porcelain mask which was fashioned to resemble a weasel with a red, triangular marking on top.

As a member of Akatsuki, he wore the standard Akatsuki cloak and a slashed Konoha forehead protector to symbolise his broken ties with the village. The cloak's high collar would obscure his ponytail. He would sometimes unbutton his cloak to mid-chest and rest his left arm there, rather than in the sleeve. Under his cloak he wore clothes similar to the rest of Akatsuki: mesh armour with navy accents under an identical T-shirt with a simple white belt around the waist and dark blue pants. On his right ring finger was his Akatsuki ring, which was red and bore the kanji for "vermilion" (朱, *shu*). He wore light blue nail polish on his fingers and toes and a necklace that had three silver rings with red gems inside them.

After being reincarnated by Kabuto with the Impure World Reincarnation technique, he was seen wearing a maroon long sleeved cloak like the other reincarnated ninjas and retained his dark blue pants and black open-toed sandals. His skin became pale white with linings on his face, his hair became dark grey and had soulless onyx eyes minus the irides.

## 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.

While at heart still a pacifist, in the wake of slaughtering his own clan, Itachi displayed a wrathful and merciless side, particularly to those who wronged or attempted to the people he cared for. 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 Yashiro realise how weak he was. 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 everything that Itachi endured, Hashirama openly considered Itachi 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.

After he died and was reincarnated, Itachi discovered that his plans largely failed; Sasuke is not a hero, he did find out the truth about what Itachi did, and now he aimed to destroy Konoha for its role in Itachi and the Uchiha clan's suffering. He then began to see the flaw in his original plans: he had been trying to manipulate Sasuke rather than be honest with him and trust in his own strength. Acknowledging the mistakes, Itachi was free to be himself instead of the persona he fabricated, being openly kind to others and displaying a dry sense of humour even in stressful situations. He put his trust in Naruto Uzumaki to stop Sasuke from proceeding further down the path of darkness, and after Naruto proclaimed that he will stop the war himself, warned Naruto against forgetting the value of his friends like he himself and "Madara" did, reminding him how those he loved helped him come so far. Itachi later even showed empathy to his enemy Kabuto Yakushi, likening Kabuto's arrogance and belief in nothing being beyond him to Itachi's own living self, telling him that such a path can only lead to failure, at the same time seeing finally acknowledging his true self for who he is and forgiving himself for his mistakes. Itachi further displayed a reflective side, refusing Sasuke's claims that he was perfect and telling him that perfection can never be obtained by one individual. Itachi came to believe sometimes two people of completely opposite personalities are two sides of the same coin; that when they learn to work together, they can succeed in things they are unable to accomplish alone, a possible reference to how he and Kisame were complete opposites but were capable of compensating for each other's weaknesses. He was also finally open and honest with Sasuke during their final meeting, admitting what he did and even sharing information Sasuke did not already know. He apologised to Sasuke for failing in his responsibilities as an older brother, wondering if being up front with Sasuke from the beginning might have allowed them to avoid the Uchiha's destruction. In their final moments together, Itachi told Sasuke he did not need forgiveness and that he will always love him no matter what.

## 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 began honing his skills to chūnin level, 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 their 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, disdain for the villages unfair treatment of the Uchiha clan 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, awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan. 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. Itachi would confront his father in the Naka Shrine basement, who revealed that he had awoken his own Mangekyō Sharingan during the Third Shinobi World War. Having read the Stone Tablet and learned the truth of the Mangekyō Sharingan's power, Fugaku calls for Itachi's aid in restraining the higher-ups in a bloodless coup; resisting the clan's more popular favour of controlling the Nine-Tailed Fox. 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 believed 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. Having made his choice, Itachi was tormented by guilt, emphasized by the belief 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 following his actions, Itachi saw Sasuke as the only person suitable to punish him. 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 for his life, 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 Sasuke was harmed, 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.

## Abilities

Even within the famed and battle-adept Uchiha clan, Itachi was a genius of such talent, never before seen in the history of the academy. Well-known for consistently showing prowess far beyond his years, he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the strongest shinobi Konoha ever produced. Itachi had the fastest time for completing the Forest of Death in his Chūnin Exams, in 5 hours and 37 minutes, while 9 years old and competing solo. Despite his still young age, he was highly proficient in all three main ninja skill sets, effortlessly learning new techniques from simple observation, and gained praise from allies and foes alike; Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, openly admitted Itachi was stronger than him, and Shisui, well-regarded as the strongest Uchiha of their time, viewed Itachi as stronger. Despite being weakened from illness, while Sasuke had trained under and absorbed Orochimaru's power, Itachi could have killed Sasuke during their final battle if he wanted to. Even when restraining himself, Itachi still pushed a 3-man team of elite jōnin to their limits. A child whose genius manifested at a young age, Itachi's teachers at the Academy noted that his progress hardly required any help, having been quickly promoted through the ninja ranks while still a child, further showing his remarkable capacities and ultimately gaining great prowess with all of the three main types of techniques. In his battles, Itachi was shown to be an immensely powerful ninja and gained praise from allies and foes alike. During his battle against Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yūhi, and Asuma Sarutobi, Kakashi commented that Itachi was not fighting with even half his strength despite clearly pressuring his enemies. Orochimaru, reputed as one of the three legendary Sannin, openly admitted Itachi was stronger than he was. Tobi has also stated that Itachi never ceased to amaze him. Despite his own impressive abilities, Itachi never underestimated his opponents, given his praise of Jiraiya, in which he noted to Kisame that, provided he had the latter's help, if he fought Jiraiya, they would either kill each other or Itachi himself would lose. Even on the verge of death, Itachi was still too strong for Sasuke to defeat in their final battle and though he was pressured by his brother repeatedly, he eventually turned the tides while still holding back and could have killed him had he actually wanted to. A talented and highly powerful ninja, Itachi was a prodigy, his intellect and ability blooming even at a young age. He had already graduated and became a Jonin at the age of twelve and gained the Sharingan at age seven. He swiftly rose to the rank of Anbu and even became a captain of an Anbu squad. Itachi's prowess was acknowledged by Orochimaru to be superior, with Itachi effortlessly overwhelming the Sannin. He also was fully capable of killing Sasuke had he wanted to despite his illness, with Sasuke still failing to best Itachi despite Itachi holding back.

### Chakra and Physical Prowess

As an Uchiha, his chakra was naturally strong. Even from his youth, Itachi showed very advanced chakra control, able to channel chakra to enhance his strikes, even shattering a boulder large enough to crush several people. However, his actual reserves were affected by his terminal illness. During the Uchiha Massacre, Itachi was able to use his Mangekyō Sharingan five times without suffering much exhaustion. In the years following, just three uses of his Mangekyō Sharingan in a single day rendered him unable to even use the Sharingan, and then require significant rest to regain his strength. This also prevented him from participating in prolonged battles. Itachi was very skilled with taijutsu, easily defeating three members of the Konoha Military Police Force at the age of 11. He had exceptional speed and reflexes, able to compete with Shisui and Naruto while clad with the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, two shinobi well-famed for their speed. His quickness was particularly noted with his hand movements, able to make hand seals too fast to be perceived normally; even skilled Sharingan-users had difficulty following him. Similar to Shisui, his usage of the Body Flicker Technique could move great distances in an instant as if by displacing himself, giving his opponent little chance to react or initiate a counter-attack. Itachi also had remarkable fortitude. Despite spending years afflicted with a crippling disease, he was able to maintain his composure at all times and still battle at near-perfect form. As an Uchiha, Itachi's chakra was naturally strong, but his actual reserves were greatly diminished due to his terminal illness. Under normal circumstances, just three uses of his Mangekyō Sharingan in a single day made him unable to use his Sharingan and he would require significant bed rest afterwards to regain his strength. This prevented him from participating in prolonged battles and limited his usage of powerful techniques a day before needing significant rest and it was over-exerting himself in his battle with Sasuke purposefully that led to his death. Itachi had very refined chakra control, however, which compensated for this, even able to perform his techniques with one-handed seals. Although not his preferred method of combat, Itachi was extremely skilled with taijutsu – enough to easily defeat three members of the Konoha Military Police Force at the age of Eleven. He also effortlessly countered Sasuke's attacks and brutally beat him in their first fight despite Sasuke's taijutsu skills at the time rivaling Rock Lee and could still outmatch Sasuke in close combat unarmed even when Sasuke was using his sword and having greatly improved. He had exceptional speed and reflexes, rivalling Shisui's own renowned speed. His quickness was particularly noted with his hand movements, able to make hand seals too fast to be perceived normally; even skilled Sharingan-users had difficulty keeping track of him. His speed allowed him to immediately move great distances in an instant as if by displacing himself, giving his opponent little chance to react or initiate a counter-attack. His physical strength is also noteworthy, able to casually backhand Sasuke and make him badly bleed and knock him out with a few punches as well as crush his hand with ease and could even clash with Kisame wielding Samehada and Sasuke's sword evenly.

### Ninjutsu

Itachi could summon crows, which he would typically call forth in flocks to swarm opponents and distract them. He even integrated crows into clones of himself to draw opponents' attention. He likewise could create shadow clones and from which detonate them for large explosions. Itachi was also well-versed in fūinjutsu, able to particularly those that would activate in the presence of a specific person's Sharingan. From his time in Anbu, Itachi became proficient in stealth, infiltration, and assassination.

#### Bukijutsu

As a fully-trained Konoha Anbu, Itachi was skilled with a sword, which was his primary weapon during the Uchiha Clan Downfall. He used Sasuke's sword rather adequately when fighting Kabuto, deflecting his attacks, before returning the weapon to Sasuke. Like many Uchiha, he specialized and was advanced in shurikenjutsu and to a different level. Even as a child, Itachi could perfectly hit an intricate set of eight targets, one of which was hidden in a blind spot, by accurately deflecting his projectile off another one to redirect both projectiles' path in mid-air. His throwing speed was imperceptible and superior to Sasuke and was able to keep up with even his brother's Summoning: Lightning Flash Blade Creation. He was equally comfortable with kunai, able to use them to spar with opponents wielding swords. In the anime, he learned advanced sleight-of-hand from Shisui to give his opponents even less time to react.

#### Nature Transformation

Itachi's nature transformations included Fire, Water, Wind, Yin, and Yang Release. As an Uchiha, he had a natural affinity for Fire Release, mastering the clan's Great Fireball Technique at a very young age. He could coat shuriken with fire to increase their offensive capacities. With Water Release, Itachi could perform the Water Dragon Bullet Technique without an external water source, as well as shape existing water into tendrils to strike his opponents from all directions.

### Genjutsu

Having pacifist ideals, Itachi specialised in genjutsu, which often involved crows. Itachi could use genjutsu to share information or psychologically disable opponents, letting him end the fight instantly. Regarded as one of Konohagakure's best users, rivalling Shisui himself, as even without the aid of his Sharingan, his illusions had remarkable potency and were able to seamlessly affect his targets without them realising it - despite the target being on guard. He could also perform them by merely pointing at his target. Ao noted that Itachi had such a high aptitude with long-range genjutsu that he could control multiple individuals outside the range of an entire Sensor Division. Consistent with his pacifist nature, Itachi specialized in genjutsu, where the illusions would typically involve crows. Regarded as one of Konohagakure's best users, even without the aid of his Sharingan, his illusions have remarkable potency, able to seamlessly affect his targets without them realizing it, while on guard, and also perform them by merely pointing at his target. He is noted by Ao to have such high prowess that he could use genjutsu to control other individuals outside the range of even the Sensor Division. Itachi could also use genjutsu to share information or psychologically disable opponents, letting him end the fight instantly.

### Dōjutsu

#### Sharingan

Itachi awakened the Sharingan at age 8, after witnessing his team-mate Tenma Izumo's death, manifesting two tomoe in each eye. Soon after, he fully matured and mastered his dōjutsu. From a young age, he demonstrated skill and power superior to most members of his clan. In the anime, his prowess and exploits with it earned him great fame as "**Itachi of the Sharingan**" (写輪眼のイタチ, *Sharingan no Itachi*). He tended to keep his Sharingan active near-constantly with minimal drain on his chakra levels. The Sharingan allowed Itachi to see the flow of chakra, predict movements, as well as facilitate his use of genjutsu. Against other genjutsu users, he could turn their genjutsu against them. Also with the Sharingan, he could perform Izanami, a counterpart to the more dangerous Izanagi. Itachi was quickly able to master the Sharingan from a young age and became the Clan's foremost expert of the eye, rivaling even Shisui. the infamous kekkei genkai exclusive to the Uchiha clan and can only be obtained through some emotional stress. The Sharingan is a dojutsu (eye technique) instantly recognizable upon activation as an Uchiha's normally black eye color becomes a blood-red, accompanied by a varying number of tomoe circling 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 that they see at least once and then emulate it perfectly. It also allows them to clearly see chakra flows, which is effective against most ninja. Itachi has only used the Sharingan for its latter ability, as he has never displayed any use of copying his opponent's moves. Due to his mastery of the Sharingan, Itachi can maintain it near constantly without any drain. By killing his best friend, Itachi was able to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, the second level of Sharingan and a fearsome power. When activated, the tomoe in Itachi's eyes undergo a dramatic transformation.

#### Mangekyō Sharingan

Itachi awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan after witnessing Shisui's suicide. Its design was three spiralling curves around the pupil. With his right eye he could use Amaterasu, igniting whatever he looked at with black flames that would burn anything, including fire itself, and at will extinguish Amaterasu. With either eye, he could use Tsukuyomi, a genjutsu that trapped opponents' minds in an illusory world of his own design — capable of altering their perception of matter, space, gravity, and even time. Itachi could cast sophisticated and elaborate illusions, forcing the target to experience an entire lifetime in an instant. Likewise, while genjutsu normally cannot kill, Tsukuyomi could cause enough mental damage to kill the victim, should Itachi provide enough chakra. Even survivors have shown to be hospitalized for extended periods of time. Having awakened the Mangekyō in both his eyes, Itachi could also use Susanoo. With its simplest manifestations, he could produce extra arms or bones to improve his options in a fight. When used in full, Itachi was surrounded by a spectral warrior that would protect him from damage. In addition to the chakra swords and Yasaka Magatama common to all Susanoo, Itachi's Susanoo wielded the Sword of Totsuka – an ethereal sword with the ability to seal any person it pierced into its gourd—hilt – and the Yata Mirror – a shield that was said to reflect any attack by changing its chakra nature to counterbalance an attack. The simultaneous use of both weapons made Itachi's Susanoo essentially invincible. Using any of these techniques required large amounts of chakra, as used too often would deactivate his Sharingan altogether. The longer Itachi used his Mangekyō Sharingan, the more his eyesight deteriorated. Early uses of the Mangekyō would only cause his eyes to bleed, but by the end of his life he reached the point where he was nearly blind, only able to see mere blurs. He did not suffer these shortcomings after his reincarnation and could use all his Mangekyō techniques as often as he desired unhindered. Unlike the normal Sharingan, the shape of the Mangekyou is unique for every user, as his takes on a three-bladed shuriken. With the Mangekyou, Itachi obtains the use of three extremely powerful techniques: Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo. Amaterasu takes on the form of guided black flames, a powerful stage of fire, that usually completely consumes everything in its path and destroying it, the only exception being Gaara's Shield of Sand, which Amaterasu failed to burn through or into, and is usually unavoidable as they are guided by the user's eyesight. Only A, the Fourth Raikage, has ever been able to dodge Amaterasu and his brother, Killer B, the Eight-Tails' host, also has that capability. It burns for seven days and nights and cannot be extinguished by normal means. Itachi only uses this technique in the most dire of situations, especially if his opponent is powerful. Tsukuyomi is a time-dilation genjutsu (illusion) that traps the opponent in an alternate, warped dimension that Itachi has complete control over. A favorite of Itachi's, he can ensnare his opponent in a nightmarish realm to induce realistic pain that mentally devastates the target. Though the genjutsu lasts for three days in that realm, it only takes place in the real world in the span of seconds due to Itachi's mastery of the technique. According to Itachi, only someone with both a Sharingan and kekkei genkai can break this technique, however, a Tailed Beast host with a partnership with their Tailed Beast is invincible even to this since their Tailed Beast will break it for them, seen in the case of Killer B. Susanoo is the last ninjutsu Itachi ever uses. Unlike the previous two, Susanoo manifests itself as a creature rather than a primal force. It first appears as a skeletal creature engulfed in flames along with its user (though the user feels nothing). Like the Sharingan itself, Susanoo has to develop. As Itachi's techniques were fully developed, Susanoo assumed a full form, the appearance of that form differing with each user. Regardless of the form, Susanoo itself wielded a sword (sometimes a bow and arrow) that was able to both hypnotize and permanently seal away anything it struck, an unfortunate event that Orochimaru witnessed first hand, though it ultimately proved ineffective against him as he was not really sealed at all.

### Intelligence

Itachi was a highly intelligent individual, having the second highest scores in the history of the Chūnin Exams written test behind Minato Namikaze. Composed and observant; he thought very quickly and remained calm in a fight, enabling him to respond with maximum efficiency and with the smallest likelihood of misjudging circumstances. Even at a young age, he was always calculating and methodical in his approach to the situation at hand, leaving little room for error. He took several precautions for Sasuke and against Tobi that he planned would activate after his death. Even Tobi admitted if he didn't keep some secrets from Itachi, he would have been killed by Itachi's trap. During his infiltration of Konoha, Itachi was also able to subtly leak Akatsuki's goals to Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Jiraiya without arousing Kisame's suspicions.

## Part I

### Search for Tsunade

Main article: Search for Tsunade

After the Konoha Crush and the death of the Third Hokage, Itachi and Kisame use Itachi's prior experience as an Anbu to infiltrate the village undetected. They are nevertheless noticed by Kakashi Hatake, who sends Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yūhi after them to determine their identities and purpose. Itachi and Kisame lead them to an isolated location and reveal themselves. Asuma and Kurenai engage them but pose little challenge and it is only due to the timely arrival of Kakashi that they are saved. Itachi and Kakashi duel with their Sharingan but Itachi quickly proves to be the superior and uses Tsukuyomi to render Kakashi helpless, but is surprised that Kakashi not only remains standing afterwards but that he knows they and Akatsuki are seeking the Nine-Tails. Itachi instructs Kisame to capture Kakashi to find out what else he knows and kill the others, but Kisame is parried by Might Guy. With things escalating, Itachi and Kisame decide to withdraw.

After confirming Sasuke's safety, Itachi pretended to pursue Naruto to covertly let Konoha know about Akatsuki's goals. Itachi and Kisame track the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Naruto Uzumaki, to Shukuba Town. Because Naruto is under the protection of Jiraiya, Itachi uses a genjutsu on an attractive woman to draw Jiraiya away. They confront Naruto and contemplate how to apprehend him. Before they can make a decision they are interrupted by Sasuke, who heard about Itachi's return and attacks him with Chidori. Itachi easily deflects it and then breaks Sasuke's wrist, but Jiraiya returns before things can go further. Not wishing to get drawn into a fight with Jiraiya but confronted by his younger brother's overwhelming desire for revenge, Itachi effortlessly overpowers Sasuke, taunts Sasuke's weakness, incapacitates him with Tsukuyomi, and then makes to escape. Jiraiya attempts to stop them with Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind, but Itachi uses Amaterasu so he and Kisame can break through.

Despite his seeming intentions to capture Naruto, Itachi's only real reasons for returning to Konoha were to, in the wake of the Third's death, remind Danzō Shimura and the rest of the Konoha Council that he was still out there and that they should not do anything to harm Sasuke.

### Sasuke Recovery Mission

Main article: Sasuke Recovery MissionItachi and the rest of Akatsuki assemble to discuss the progress of their plans as well as Sasuke's recent alliance with Orochimaru.

## Part II

### Kazekage Rescue Mission

Main article: Kazekage Rescue Mission

While sealing the One-Tail, Akatsuki learns that Konoha ninja are converging on their location. Just as Kisame volunteers to delay Team Guy, Itachi volunteers to delay Team 7. Nagato uses his Shapeshifting Technique to make a body-double of Itachi that he controls remotely, which he uses to intercept Team 7. Team 7 coordinates against him and Itachi is impressed by Naruto's growth, but he still manages to catch him in a genjutsu. He torments Naruto for his failures to protect his friends, specifically Sasuke, until the genjutsu is broken by Naruto's teammates. Itachi, his body-double running out of his chakra, is eventually defeated by Naruto's Big Ball Rasengan. He nevertheless succeeds in buying enough time to complete the One-Tail's sealing.

### Itachi Pursuit Mission

Main article: Itachi Pursuit MissionAfter Kisame captures the Four-Tails, Akatsuki convenes to seal it. Before the sealing gets underway they are informed that Sasuke has killed Orochimaru after two-and-a-half years of training with him and is now coming after Itachi. Deidara and Tobi go after Sasuke following the Four-Tails' sealing, and Akatsuki later receives reports that all three have been killed. Kisame consoles Itachi afterwards for now being the last Uchiha, but he replies that Sasuke is still alive. Even had he died, he says there is still another Uchiha, alluding to Tobi's survival as well.

### Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant

Main article: Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant

Knowing that his end is near, Itachi sends a shadow clone to find and meet with Naruto. When Naruto attacks him, Itachi insists he only wants to talk. He asks Naruto what Sasuke means to him and what he will do if ever Sasuke moves against Konoha. Naruto replies that he is Sasuke's brother – a better brother than Itachi is – and that if Sasuke ever attacks the village he will defend it without killing Sasuke. Itachi is happy with this answer and gives Naruto some assistance for this purpose: a special crow that he stores within Naruto's body. (He does not tell Naruto the crow's purpose, but the crow, implanted with Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, will react to seeing Itachi's eyes and compel whoever has the eyes to protect Konoha. Since he expects Sasuke will take his eyes at some point if he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and by extension learned the truth, the plan is for the crow to reestablish Sasuke's loyalties to the village after Itachi is dead.) Having business elsewhere, the shadow clone disperses.

Another shadow clone allows Sasuke to track him to one of Akatsuki's lairs. Sasuke attacks him, displaying the new abilities he's learned, and in doing so convinces Itachi that he has gotten strong enough. The shadow clone arranges to meet with Sasuke at the Uchiha Hideout before it disappears. While Itachi waits for Sasuke, he has Kisame patrol the hideout's perimeter and permit nobody but Sasuke to enter.

### Fated Battle Between Brothers

Main article: Fated Battle Between Brothers

When Sasuke arrives they start by trading genjutsu. At Sasuke's request Itachi tells him about Tobi, who also goes by Madara, as well as the mysteries of the Mangekyō Sharingan and the even more powerful Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Itachi expresses his disappointment that Sasuke has not gained his own Mangekyō, but says he can use Sasuke's eyes to gain an Eternal Mangekyō all the same. The genjutsu exchange ends when Sasuke breaks free of Itachi's Tsukuyomi, thus beginning the real fight. The volleys of ninjutsu quickly spill outside, where Sasuke and Itachi compare their Great Fireballs. When Sasuke's starts to pull ahead, Itachi uses Amaterasu. While trying to hit Sasuke he ends up igniting the surrounding forest, but does finally manage to catch Sasuke. Sasuke sheds his skin to escape the flames and performs multiple Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Techniques while Itachi is off-guard. Itachi avoids them, but Sasuke informs him that Itachi wasn't his target.

After Sasuke's attack, storm clouds gather and lightning brews, allowing Sasuke to attack Itachi with Kirin. Although the hideout is destroyed, Itachi survives thanks to his Susanoo. With his Susanoo active, Itachi approaches Sasuke. Having used all his chakra to perform Kirin, Sasuke activates his Cursed Seal of Heaven and out of desperation to defeat Itachi unleashes Orochimaru. Orochimaru springs from Sasuke's body using the Eight Branches Technique and states his intentions to take finally take Sasuke's body for his own. Itachi, having prolonged the battle in order to draw Orochimaru out, pierces him with Susanoo's Sword of Totsuka, sealing Orochimaru away and removing Sasuke's cursed seal.

Itachi resumes his approach, telling Sasuke his resolution to now take his eyes, and Sasuke makes futile attempts to keep him away. Susanoo continues to protect Itachi, but it degrades as he labours near and Itachi starts coughing up blood. Itachi began approaching Sasuke, claiming he wanted Sasuke's eyes. When he finally reaches Sasuke, Itachi appears to grab for his eyes but instead only pokes his forehead. (The poke seals Amaterasu in Sasuke's eyes, set to activate against Tobi's Sharingan in order to protect Sasuke from him.) In a similar manner to how he described death to Kisame, Itachi died unable to maintain his disguise of wanting Sasuke's eyes, he genuinely smiles to Sasuke and apologises to Sasuke and says this is the end before succumbing to his disease and falling dead with a smile on his face.

### Power

Main article: PowerIn the anime, Kabuto Yakushi reincarnates Itachi to be used against Team 7. The summon fails almost immediately afterwards, causing Kabuto to wonder if the Impure World Reincarnation was still incomplete.

### Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: CountdownWhen the Fourth Shinobi World War looms, Kabuto approaches Tobi – who survived the implanted Amaterasu – offering to join forces. To that end he reincarnates Itachi and four other dead members of Akatsuki as offerings for Tobi's war plans.

### Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation

When the Fourth Shinobi World War begins, Itachi is mobilised with the rest of Kabuto's collection of reincarnated ninja. Itachi is paired with Nagato, who he carries because of Nagato's damaged legs. They discuss Akatsuki and how little they, particularly Nagato, actually knew about the organisation; both were only pawns kept by Tobi because of their dōjutsu, and now they've been revived so Kabuto can use them for the same reason.

Itachi and Nagato are found by Naruto and Killer B. Itachi learns several things as Kabuto forces him to fight them: Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode indicates he's finally gained control of the Nine-Tails; B's use of Samehada is proof Kisame is dead; Naruto tells him that Sasuke now works with Akatsuki to destroy Konoha due to having been told the truth of the Uchiha Clan Downfall by Tobi, much to Itachi's horror and dismay. Itachi and Nagato continue attacking but give advice to Naruto and B about how to evade them. When he has an opening, Itachi calls out the crow he planted in Naruto before his death and allows it to use its genjutsu on him, overriding Kabuto's control with its pre-programmed mission to protect Konoha.

Now free to do as he wishes, Itachi joins Naruto and B against Nagato, using Amaterasu on him and his summons. Itachi continues to eliminate Nagato's summons and also saves B and Naruto from being killed by Nagato himself. Nagato uses Chibaku Tensei to try and restrain them, but the three join forces to destroy it. Itachi stabs Nagato with the Sword of Totsuka before the dust settles, sealing him away and ending the battle. Itachi then decides to personally take care of Kabuto in order to end the Impure World Reincarnation. Before leaving, he destroys the crow and Shisui's eye with Amaterasu so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands and entrusts Sasuke's reform to Naruto.

### Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax

Nagato had been able to locate Kabuto's location while they were together, and Itachi now moves on a direct course there. He inadvertently crosses paths with Sasuke along the way. Feeling he is unworthy of Sasuke, Itachi tries to avoid him and his questions. When Sasuke persists, Itachi admits that he made a mistake manipulating Sasuke along a path that he wanted, which has put Sasuke in a worse position than he ever intended. As they near Kabuto's lair Itachi tries one last time to shake him, only to be disappointed when Sasuke joins him shortly after he confronts Kabuto. Sasuke moves to kill Kabuto, but is blocked by Itachi, who explains that Kabuto must be kept alive if the Impure World Reincarnation is to be broken. Sasuke offers to help on the condition that Itachi will finally talk to him afterwards. Itachi agrees.

Kabuto obscures his vision to prevent being caught in a genjutsu and attacks. Itachi and Sasuke block with their Susanoo, only to find that they have lost track of Kabuto. Itachi realises that Kabuto has achieved Sage Mode and quickly defends Sasuke before he can come to harm in Kabuto's sneak attack. Itachi reminds Sasuke of a mission they went on as children to hunt a boar, which they reenact with their Susanoo against Kabuto. Kabuto avoids them and commandeers Sasuke's sword, which he uses to attack Itachi. Itachi takes the sword back from him and uses it to cut off the tip of one of Kabuto's horns.

Kabuto tries to turn Sasuke against Itachi, pointing out all the lies and distrust Itachi has been showing Sasuke for years. Itachi admits his faults, but promises to tell Sasuke something after he's performed his Izanami. Kabuto is confident that he cannot be defeated since they can't kill him and because of the precautions he's taken to avoid genjutsu. He manipulates the cave to confine them and uses DNA to perform a variety of other ninja's long-range jutsu, trying to create an opportunity to access Itachi's head and regain control of him. Sasuke becomes increasingly earnest to kill Kabuto, but Itachi pleads for him to wait until Izanami is ready.

While Itachi and Sasuke deal with Kabuto's recreation of Orochimaru, Kabuto bisects Itachi. Itachi's reincarnated body regenerates and he uses Sasuke's sword to cut off even more of the same horn as before. This creates a sensory loop independent of vision that traps Kabuto in eternal battle; that is Izanami. Kabuto has the chance of escaping Izanami by accepting the fate he now tries to fight by taking on others' powers, Itachi's gift to him because of their perceived similarities. He raises the brille that cover Kabuto's eyes and uses a genjutsu to make Kabuto perform the hand seals that will end the Impure World Reincarnation.

While Kabuto performs the hand seals, Sasuke tells Itachi that he won't forgive Konoha for coercing Itachi the way that he was and that he will continue to conspire against the villages despite Itachi's wishes. Itachi listens without response. When he is engulfed in light and the Impure World Reincarnation begins to break, he faces Sasuke and admits to everything Sasuke has been told about him, even imparting some of his own memories to Sasuke to fully dispel the lies he's told. He reaches for Sasuke, seemingly meaning to poke his forehead again, but instead gives Sasuke a head bump, symbolising he no longer saw Sasuke as a child, but an equal. He tells Sasuke that he wants no forgiveness and promises that he will love Sasuke no matter what he decides to do. His reincarnated body dissolves and his soul returns to the afterlife.

## Legacy

Itachi had a profound influence on Sasuke's life. His instructions on the night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall for Sasuke to gain power at any cost caused Sasuke to isolate himself from others and avoid companionship. When he realized he was getting attached to his Team 7 comrades, Sasuke concluded this made him weak and he opted to defect from Konoha and train under Orochimaru, propelling him along the path towards Itachi's death. Following the brothers' battle, Itachi's plans start to fail due to Tobi's interference; Tobi refocuses Sasuke's hatred that Itachi engineered for himself to be used against Konoha, turning Sasuke into an international criminal against Itachi's intentions. Itachi is able to make amends with Sasuke upon his reincarnation, wiping his prejudices clean and allowing him to start making his own decisions rather than let others manipulate him.

Upon learning the truth about Itachi, Sasuke reverts to 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 he doesn't want to see Konoha, the village Itachi sacrificed so much for, destroyed and joins forces with the Allied Shinobi Forces to stop Tobi and Madara in the Fourth Shinobi World War. He also sees the reason in Itachi's decision to make difficult choices and be hated for them, and for that reason, gives himself the task after the war ends to become the world's darkness, using his power to force peace and kill any threats. Though this is a great divergence from Itachi's plans, Itachi's decision to trust Naruto in redeeming Sasuke proved accurate; at Itachi's insistence, Naruto eventually convinces Sasuke the errors he has made without having to kill him in their final battle. In the war's aftermath, Sasuke adopts Itachi's gesture of poking on the forehead, which is a gesture of expressing affection to someone dear to him. Sasuke does this for the first time with his teammate and eventual wife, Sakura, when she asks him if she can accompany him on his travels. Later on, he and Sakura use this gesture on their daughter, Sarada. Fulfilling Itachi's wishes, Sasuke would continue protecting the village for the rest of his life.

Itachi's influence would extend beyond Sasuke: despite ordering Itachi to slaughter his clan, Danzo believed him to be an unsung hero of Konoha who worked selflessly for the village's good; the five Kage, despite not knowing about Itachi's involvement, hailed him as the world's hero for ending the Impure World Reincarnation; Kabuto remembered who he truly was as a result of Itachi's Izanami and, inspired by him, saved Sasuke when he was on the verge of dying. Years after the war, a test subject of Orochimaru's named Shin becomes fixated on Itachi so much so that he tries to kill Sasuke and use Sarada against him in order to avenge Itachi's "murder". The Third Hokage remembers Itachi as a keen and thoughtful child who possessed the mind of a Hokage at a young age and, although he was devastated of what Itachi had to go through to protect the village by sacrificing his clan, he credits Itachi for preventing a war breaking out between Konoha and the Uchiha clan.

## In Other Media

### OVAs

#### Sunny Side Battle!

Main article: Sunny Side Battle!Itachi Uchiha heads downstairs into the kitchen of his former house at the Uchiha Compound in Konohagakure and proceeds to put on his Akatsuki outfit, along with an Akatsuki-themed apron. After putting a tea kettle to boil and setting bread in a toaster, he grabs a carton of eggs from the fridge and attempts to cook one sunny-side up, only to find his first attempt foiled by an errant piece of eggshell on the egg. Further attempts yield the same results, with various things going wrong with the eggs, such as the yolk breaking, Itachi's sweat getting onto the eggs, and so on. Itachi even resorts to making a plate of scrambled eggs, although after a moment of thought he dismisses the idea and starts again.

### Movies

#### Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie

Main article: Road to Ninja: Naruto the MovieIn the alternate world, the Akatsuki are hired by Konoha to assist Naruto in the battle against Menma. Itachi rescues a captured Sakura during the fight.

## Creation and Conception

In *Jin no Sho*, Kishimoto revealed that Itachi was originally conceived (before the series began) as the leader of Konoha's Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, dubbed the Itachi Squad (イタチ隊, *Itachi-tai*), which would have been a 70-man group divided into four teams, specialising in assassination and other illicit operations. In Kishimoto's original rough sketch, Itachi wore a bandana-style forehead protector, a skin-tight t-shirt, gloves, a coat tied around his waist, and had several scars including an x-shaped scar on his chin. Elements of this concept were later incorporated into Danzō Shimura and the Anbu.

## Quotes

* (To an infant Sasuke) "*Don't cry, Sasuke. Your big brother is here to protect you, no matter what happens.*"
* (To Yashiro, Tekka, and Inabi) "*You hold onto the organisation and your clan name. These things limit us and limit our capacities… These things deserve to be shunned. It is foolish to fear what we've yet to see and know!*"
* (To Sasuke) "*There is no value in killing the likes of you… My foolish brother… If you want to kill me… curse me! Hate me! And live a long and unsightly life… Run away… run away… and cling to your pitiful life. And then some day, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me.*" (「貴様など…殺す価値も無い。…愚かなる弟よ……。このオレを殺したくば、恨め!憎め!そして みにくく生きのびるがいい………。…逃げて逃げて…生にしがみつくがいい。そして何時か、俺と同じ目を持って、俺の前に来い!”」, *"Kisama nado… Korosu kachi mo nai. …Orokanaru otōto yo…… Kono ore o koroshitakuba, urame! Nikume! Soshite, minikuku ikinobiru ga ii……… …Nigete nigete… Sei ni shigamitsuku ga ii. Soshite itsuka, Ore to onaji me wo motte… Ore no mae ni koi!"*)
* (To Sasuke) *"...People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true… that is how they define reality. But what does it mean to be correct or true? Merely vague concepts… their reality may all be an illusion."*
* (To Kisame) *"Those who kill their own comrades are sure to die a terrible death."*
* (To Kisame) *"We don't know what kind of people we truly are until the moment before our deaths. As death comes to embrace you, you will realise what you are. That's what death is, don't you think?"*
* (To Naruto) "*You don't become the Hokage to be acknowledged by everyone. The one who is acknowledged by everyone becomes the Hokage."*
* (About Konoha) "*The village does have its dark side and its inconsistencies, but I'm still Konoha's Itachi Uchiha.*"
* (Last words to Sasuke after reincarnation) "*If I had been open with you from the start… and looked you straight in the eyes and told you the truth, then I wouldn't have had to stand before you, from above, as a failure, telling you all of this. So this time, I want to impart this truth to you… You don't ever have to forgive me. And no matter what you do from here on out, know this… I will love you always.*"

## His Good Ranking

### What Makes Him Admirable?

* He is very loyal and protective to not only his brother and his parents, but also everyone in the Leaf Village.
* He didn't get corrupted by evil when he saw the war at four years old, when his friend Tenma died and Shisui awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan.
* Itachi never truly wanted to commit the Uchiha Clan Massacre, only getting coerced by it on Danzo's pressure. He also bargained with him to spare Sasuke.
* When he saw his brother awaken the one tomoe Sharingan after killing his clan, he started to cry.
* He sacrificed himself to make Sasuke stronger and show his real potential.
* With Sasuke he was acting that he killed his clan for testing his skills to motivate him to be stronger than him.
* Helps restrain Nagato when he was possessed by Kabuto Yakushi and broke his influence while he was getting sealed.
* When he was resurrected, he allies with Sasuke to defeat Kabuto and tell the entire truth to his brother.
* Makes Kabuto undo the Edo Tensei in order to give all the dead people closure and to stop them fighting their loved ones.
* He said that no matter what Sasuke will have done, he would still love him more than any other people.

### What Makes Him Inconsistent?

* Itachi killed several innocent Uchihas during the Clan Massacre, including his girlfriend.
* When he was acting by saying that he killed his clan to test his skills, he traumatized his brother and made so his brother hated him, opening him up for further corruption from Orochimaru and Tobi.
* In the anime, he burned Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage along with his older partner Juzo Biwa.
* Tortured Kakashi for 72 hours in his reality with his Tsukuyomi ability and same with Sasuke but he keeps showing him when he kills his clan.
* Tried to kidnap Naruto alongside Kisame, agreeing with the latter when Kisame suggested to cut off Naruto's limbs.
* Participated in Akatsuki's efforts to capture the Tailed Beasts, assisting in the deaths of several Jinchurikis.
* Tries to kill Tobi to hide his true nature to Sasuke, despite Tobi being his ally.

## His Evil Ranking

### What Makes Him Heinous?

* Itachi followed Danzo's orders to go along with the Uchiha Clan massacre.
* The night of the massacre, Itachi allied with Tobi to kill members of his own clan including his own parents, and girlfriend.
* The result of the Uchiha Clan massacre horrified people around and outside of the village.
* In the light novel, Itachi used the Tsukuyomi to put Yashiro Uchiha, one of the conspirators in the Uchiha Coup, to put him through several days of torture, then cutting off his head. He would then use the Amaterasu on Yōji Aburame, a ninja who'd poisoned Shisui, turning his body to ash. While his rage may have been justified given both of their actions, the lengths he went to punish them were far too vengeful and violent.
* As a result of the massacre, Sasuke was left without any parents and succumbed to his own despair and loneliness.
* Itachi and Kisame infiltrated the Hidden Leaf Village to retrieve Naruto. While infiltrating the village, Itachi and Kisame fought Asuma and Kurenai. During his battle with Kakashi, Itachi placed Kakashi under his illusion technique called Tsukyomi where it bent Kakashi's perception of time. Itachi had Kakashi experience three days of getting stabbed all over his body multiple times. At the same time, it was revealed that Kakashi was only under the technique for three seconds. Because of the severity of the technique, it left Kakashi in a coma.
* Itachi and Kisame found Naruto at a hotel. However, when Sasuke tried to fight Itachi, Itachi gave Sasuke a vicious beatdown while mocking him as a weakling. While beating down Sasuke, Itachi encouraged Sasuke to embrace his hatred. He then placed Sasuke in a torturous illusion where he had to relive the night of Uchiha Clan massacre and his parents' murder over again for an entire day. The result of the technique left Sasuke in a coma. This humiliation and additional trauma led to Sasuke becoming even more enraged and unbalanced, culminating in him growing desperate enough to leave the village in order to gain greater power given to him by Orochimaru.
* When he first fights Naruto, Itachi puts him in a genjutsu where he exploits all of Naruto's insecurities and his failures, such as not being able to save Sasuke, failing to keep the promise he made to Sakura, and his inability to rescue Gaara.
* Itachi assisted the Akatsuki in sealing away the Tailed Beasts inside of the Demonic Statue, causing the deaths of the Tailed Beasts hosts.
* Itachi puppeteered one of the Akatsuki's guards and fought Naruto and Sakura, only failing due to their teamwork, and the puppets having a lower power than the original.
* Tortured Sasuke using Tsukoyomi to rile Sasuke up during their final battle.
* Tried to kill "Madara" by using Sasuke so that the latter never knows about the truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, failing due to him using Izanagi.

### What Makes Him Inconsistent?

* He initially did not want to go through with the massacre. He made a deal with Danzo to spare Sasuke's life. When he was about to kill his parents, he was absolutely torn about having to go through with killing his parents, and he cried uncontrollably before killing them both.
* Out of all of the pairings in the Akatsuki, he had the best relationship with his respective partner, Kisame Hoshigaki, despite their differences. While they didn't agree on everything, they pretty much always got along and had a lot of respect for each other, to the extent they had what can be considered a genuine friendship.
* Even while he was with the Akatsuki, he never fully abandoned his deep-rooted pacifistic ways and would both avoid conflicts and rein in Kisame if he considered the likelihood of collateral damage too high. He would also let his deep-rooted sense of morality show from time to time, like expressing disgust at Orochimaru's lack of regard for human life.
* In the anime, he regretted beating up and torturing Sasuke with the Tsukuyomi.
* Itachi saved Sasuke from Orochimaru in their battle when Orochimaru tried to take over Sasuke's body. As a result, he was able to get rid of the curse mark that Orochimaru gave Sasuke.
* Even when Sasuke was vengeful, Itachi allowed himself to be defeated by him due to hating himself for committing the Uchiha Clan Massacre and to boost Sasuke and the Uchiha Clan's reputation, only to be failed by Tobi's manipulations until the climax of the Fourth Shinobi World War.
* Since his revival in the war, Itachi liberated himself with the crow he gave Naruto and saved Naruto and Killer B from a possessed Nagato during battle.
* He gives Naruto some important wisdom, reminding him not to do everything himself and remember the people who helped him grow, telling him that being Hokage does not mean being acknowledged by the villagers, but rather that the one who becomes Hokage is someone who is already acknowledged by the villagers, which Naruto takes to heart.
* He and Sasuke fought against Kabuto Yakushi. During the battle, Itachi placed Kabuto in the Izanami illusion to help him overcome his insecurities. He also helped the Shinobi Alliance and a portion of revived, by having all the people Kabuto revived return to the afterlife.
* Itachi had a touching closure with Sasuke, forgiving him for all his terrible deeds and vouching his unconditional support.
* He is ultimately an anti-villain who, despite his heinous actions, wanted to protect the Hidden Leaf Village and its civilians at all costs, and everything he did was a means to achieve that.

## Trivia

* The name "Itachi" means "weasel" (鼬), while his family name "Uchiha" is another way of pronouncing "uchiwa" (団扇, *paper fan*), which is actually the Uchiha clan's symbol. Uchiwa can be used to fan flames, making the flame hotter — referring to the fact that the Uchiha is a clan of Fire Release users.
* Itachi consistently ranks highly in the *Shōnen Jump* popularity polls for the series, his highest to-date position being fifth most popular character.
* Itachi and Kisame made a brief cameo appearance in the *Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival!*, where they were standing in line to use the bathroom, along with many other random characters.
* Itachi's nickname "**…of the Sharingan**" (写輪眼の…, *Sharingan no…*) is also held by Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha.
* Studio Pierrot's Settei sheets of Itachi show that he was 125 cm as an Academy student, 130 cm as a genin, 148 cm when he became an Anbu, and 170 cm around the time of the Uchiha Clan Downfall.
* Itachi noted that his specialties in ninja skills are genjutsu, Fire Release, and shurikenjutsu.
* According to the databook(s):
	+ Itachi's hobby was visiting traditional Japanese cafés.
	+ Itachi wished to fight Sasuke.
	+ Itachi's favourite foods were cabbage and onigiri with seaweed in it, while his least favourite was steak. Itachi was also very fond of sweets, dango being his favourite.
	+ Itachi had completed 340 official missions in total: 53 D-rank, 152 C-rank, 134 B-rank, 0 A-rank and 1 S-rank.
	+ Itachi's favourite word was "peace" (平和, *heiwa*) (shared with Dan Katō).
* Itachi had always poked his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha, in the forehead when they were younger, saying *"Forgive me Sasuke… Again, next time"* (「許せサスケ…また今度だ」, *"Yuruse Sasuke… Mata kondo da"*). This is referred to very poignantly with Itachi's last words, as he pokes his brother's forehead again and says, *"Forgive me Sasuke… …It ends with this"* (「許せサスケ……これで最後だ」, *"Yuruse Sasuke… …Kore de saigo da"*)
* Itachi is tied with Jiraiya for having the highest stat total in the databooks.

## External Links

* Itachi Uchiha on the Heroes Wiki
* Itachi Uchiha on the Villains Wiki
* Itachi Uchiha on the *Naruto* Wiki
* Itachi Uchiha on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
* Itachi Uchiha on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki