Itachi Uchiha, Konoha's runaway ninja!

Who is Itachi Uchiha?

Itachi Uchiha is the son of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, and the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha. His father, Fugaku, is the head of the Uchiha clan, which was once considered the most powerful clan in Konoha, or even the ninja world. Itachi is recognizable by the strands of hair in front of his eyes. When his Sharingan is not activated, he has black eyes and his face displays a severe expression, characteristic of his clan.

Itachi Uchiha is an extremely gifted ninja, notably because he mastered the Sharingan at a very young age, which made him his father Fugaku's pride. He is also highly respected by the entire village of Konoha for his precociousness and talent. Thus, he became a genin at only seven years old, mastered the Sharingan at eight, became a chûnin at ten, and finally a captain in the Anbu special sections at thirteen.

What are the origins of the Uchiha clan?

This clan is at the origin of the founding of the village of Konoha, with the help of the Senju clan. The Uchiha clan has the particularity of possessing pupils that contain great power, as well as very strong spiritual energy. Indeed, the creation of this clan dates back to a distant past, as it descends from Indra Ōtsutsuki, the eldest son of Rikudô Sennin.

The latter believed that force was necessary to achieve peace in the ninja world. But, his father chose his younger brother, Asura, who believed that love was necessary to achieve peace, two completely opposing views. Asura possessed the sage's body and physical energy, which is why he was chosen over his brother. Indra did not accept this decision, unleashing a cycle of hatred between the two brothers who clashed repeatedly. According to Madara Uchiha, this hatred is at the root of the rivalry between the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan.

Why did Itachi kill the Uchiha clan?

Despite all these exploits, Itachi is best known for his tragic fate: that of having eradicated his own clan during the event of the Uchiha clan massacre. This made him an S-rank ninja, which forced him to desert the village of Konoha. Following the Kyubi's attack on the village, Konoha's leaders began to suspect the Uchiha clan of orchestrating this event, as the Uchiha have the power to control Kyubi using the Sharingan technique.

Without real proof to incriminate them, the village leaders decided to set up a surveillance of the Uchiha clan, in order to control all its actions and have better visibility on the activities of its members. Little by little, the Uchiha clan was pushed away from the village's nerve center and its political affairs. This exclusion from the outskirts of Konoha was the cause of the Uchiha's resentment towards the government, which they judged to be too influenced by the ideals of the Senju clan. The Uchiha clan then decided to organize a coup d'état, which aimed to give power to Fugaku Uchiha, Itachi's father and clan leader.

To organize this seizure of power, the Uchiha placed some of their members in strategic positions in the village as spies. For his part, Itachi joined the Anbu, a special group responsible for the protection of Konoha and the Hokage. Thus, he did not share his clan's vision because for him, this uprising would inevitably lead to war. He therefore revealed his clan's plans to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who asked him to become a double agent: he was to inform the Konoha Council of the progress of the Uchiha's plan.

Wishing to avoid any conflict, Hiruzen proposed a negotiation to the Uchiha clan, but this was without counting on Danzo Shimura, the Anbu leader, who did not approve of his friend's overly gentle methods. Instead, he proposed eliminating the entire Uchiha clan, a radical solution that he believed would spare the greatest number.

Within the Uchiha clan, suspicions began to arise following Itachi's change in behavior. The clan ordered Shisui Uchiha, Itachi's best friend, to spy on him. However, Shisui fully agreed with Itachi. He therefore suggested using his Mangekyo Sharingan and his most powerful attack on Fugaku to stop the revolt. This powerful technique can only be used once a decade, so Danzō found it wiser to appropriate Shisui's eye before the latter used it.

Not wanting to see his second eye fall into the wrong hands, Shisui entrusted it to Itachi and threw himself off the cliff to commit suicide. This is how the Uchiha, in charge of the Konoha Police Department, found Shisui's suicide letter and body at the bottom of the cliff. They immediately accused Itachi of having murdered his friend who had allegedly spied on him.

Little by little, Itachi rebelled against his clan, criticizing its lack of open-mindedness and its actions. Taking advantage of this moment of weakness, Danzo gave Itachi an ultimatum: either he let the Uchiha carry out their coup, which would lead to a war killing many innocents, including Sasuke, Itachi's brother, or he himself would kill the clan with the possibility of sparing Sasuke. Out of love for his younger brother, Itachi therefore decided to eliminate his clan.

Before the massacre began, Itachi met Tobi on the outskirts of the village. He thought at the time that it was the real Madara Uchiha. Itachi proposed to Tobi that he carry out his revenge in exchange for his help, on the condition that he spare the village of Konoha and only attack the Uchiha clan, which Tobi accepted. He therefore helped Itachi eliminate his entire clan.

Why did Itachi join the Akatsuki?

The Akatsuki is a clandestine shinobi group independent of hidden villages. It is the most active and wanted criminal organization in the Naruto anime. Each member has a heavy criminal past, but all seek a common goal: to make the world a better place according to their own vision. They therefore seek to dominate the world by capturing the various Tailed Beasts, in order to bring Jūbi back to life with the goal of establishing lasting "peace."

Following the massacre committed by Itachi, he joined the Akatsuki to monitor the criminal organization from within and in the interest of once again protecting Konoha. During his time within this group, Itachi did everything possible to delay the capture of Naruto, the hero of the anime who is the vessel of Kyūbi, as much as possible. He also ensured that Konoha gathered information about the group.

During his last encounter with Naruto, Itachi entrusted some of his power to him to help him protect Konoha and also to protect Sasuke. Itachi had indeed foreseen the possibility that Sasuke would turn against Konoha, having accumulated immense hatred towards the village since the massacre of his clan, of which he was the sole survivor.

Finally, Itachi's last plan was to try to eliminate Tobi by triggering Sasuke's Sharingan, but without success. In the end, Tobi, under the identity of Madara Uchiha, revealed the truth to Sasuke about the massacre of his clan.

Itachi's techniques and powers

Itachi is one of the rare ninjas to be so skilled and versatile: he perfectly masters taijutsu, ninjutsu, seals, and genjutsu. He also excels in shuriken throwing. His movement speed is very fast and his executions are invisible to the naked eye, so quick is he. However, his chakra reserve is quite limited, he does not possess great physical strength and therefore tires quickly if the fight prolongs, especially if he had used the Mangekyo Sharingan during the fight, as this requires a lot of energy.

Ninjutsu

Since he is an Uchiha, Itachi is naturally gifted with the fire chakra nature. He therefore masters a large number of Katon techniques. The Uchiha clan's unique technique is Katon - Great Fireball Technique, which he began to master at seven years old. He also knows how to use the Katon - Balsam technique, which allows him to throw numerous small fireballs and also to combine this technique with shuriken throwing. Later, Itachi will learn to master certain Suiton techniques, and he can, for example, create a water clone capable of exploding when it is near the opponent.

Shurikenjutsu

Itachi also excelled in weapon throwing. In the Naruto anime, we often see flashbacks between Sasuke and his older brother, where Sasuke asks Itachi to teach him his shuriken throwing technique.

Indeed, his younger brother Sasuke repeatedly asked him for help with his training because "even a child like him notices that Itachi is better than their father at throwing shurikens." He was also able to counter all of Sasuke's shurikens and create clones at the same time, which was a real feat.

The Sharingan

Itachi's Sharingan activated when he was only eight years old, which made him an excellent ninja and gave him plenty of time to learn to master it over the years. With his Sharingan, Itachi is capable of casting a genjutsu spell, allowing him to show a past event without leading to madness. He can also look inside a person to see their hidden powers.

The Mangekyo Sharingan

Since the death of Shisui Uchiha, his best friend, Itachi gained the power to access the higher stage of the Sharingan, a technique called "Mangekyo Sharingan." Thanks to the eye he inherited from his deceased friend, Itachi can use three formidable techniques: first, Amaterasu ("Heavenly Illumination" in English) which creates toxic black flames that devour everything in their path and automatically deactivate once the target is completely consumed.

Next, Tsukuyomi, known as the Lunar Arcana, which gives Itachi the power to control his opponents' five senses for a given period, but which is perceived as an eternity by the opponent. This is notably the case during a fight against Kakashi, where Itachi persecutes him for what would seem like three days in Kakashi's mind, yet the technique actually lasted only one second.

Itachi also has the great power to summon and control Susanoo, an enormous spectral monster used for attack and defense in battles. Thanks to this, he has offensive properties such as the magical projectiles of Yasaka as well as two other techniques called Izanagi. The latter's purpose is to make its user invincible for 60 seconds, at the cost of one of his Sharingans. It is moreover this technique that allowed Tobi to become intangible for 5 minutes, because he combined this technique with the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. However, Itachi knows that he must not abuse it, because by using the technique and damaging his eye he can become blind.

Genjutsu

In addition to the illusion linked to the Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi also masters a wide range of illusion techniques that often take the form of crows. When an opponent thought they had defeated him, Itachi would transform into cawing crows that flew in all directions, making his rival understand that he was in an illusion. Finally, Itachi can also cast a genjutsu spell to make his opponents talk.

How did Itachi Uchiha die?

Itachi Uchiha met his end in a final battle against his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha. While Sasuke had also deserted Konoha with the sole objective of killing his brother and avenging the clan, the two brothers eventually found themselves in a tumultuous battle. Sasuke was in a position to deliver a fatal blow to his older brother, but before that, he wanted to ask Itachi some questions. The latter made him understand that Sasuke was actually attacking an illusion.

But, already aware of this and having anticipated it, Sasuke had previously attacked the illusion with another illusion. He found himself in front of the real Itachi and once again insisted that he answer his questions. Sasuke then asked who had helped Itachi eliminate the clan, as he knew full well that Itachi could not have done it alone. Itachi finally revealed to Sasuke that he had been helped by Madara Uchiha, one of Konoha's long-lost founding fathers. Sasuke didn't believe a word of it, but Itachi reminded him that it's easy to be mistaken, and that he had successfully deceived his little brother about his true nature all these years. Thus, Itachi began to tell his little brother who Madara was.

After these revelations, the fight between the two brothers resumed with renewed intensity. As Sasuke found himself cornered, on the verge of being defeated by his older brother, he attempted an attack with his Kusanagi Sword, but it was no use and Sasuke internally prepared to be defeated and die. Against all expectations, instead of stealing his younger brother's eyes, Itachi tapped him on the forehead, an affectionate gesture they shared when they were children.

Following this last symbolic gesture, Itachi collapsed, exhausted by the use of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Susanoo, and his illness. Before leaving this world, Itachi sealed Amaterasu in Sasuke's left eye, then he bid farewell to his brother, a smile on his face, proud to have successfully deceived him about his true nature until his death. He entrusted the future of the Uchiha clan to Sasuke. Unconscious after this violent battle, Sasuke was recovered by Tobi, who was observing the scene. According to Tobi, Itachi had wanted to protect Sasuke and prevent Tobi from revealing the truth about the Uchiha clan massacre.