Itachi Uchiha / Uchiha Itachi

This is the article on the character. For the manga chapter, head to Itachi Uchiha!!



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,[6] leading to him training non-stop to achieve his dream of becoming a ninja among ninja in order to erase fighting from the world.[7] 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,[8] and in the anime seeking shelter with Izumi.[9] 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.

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.[39]

Legacy

By his own design, Itachi had a profound influence on Sasuke’s life. His instructions on the night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall for Sasuke to gain the power necessary to defeat him caused Sasuke to isolate himself from other people and avoid companionship. When Sasuke realised that he was getting attached to the members of Team 7 and, from his perspective, failing to get stronger because of them, he defected from Konoha and left to train under Orochimaru — propelling him along the path towards Itachi's death. Following the brothers' battle, Itachi's plans started to fail due to the interference of Tobi, who refocuses Sasuke's hatred that Itachi had engineered for himself, to be used against Konoha, turning Sasuke into a criminal against Itachi's intentions. Itachi is able to make amends with Sasuke upon his reincarnation, using his Sharingan to convey his memories to his little brother so that he could understand why Itachi chose the path he did. He also wiped Sasuke's prejudices clean and encouraged him to start deciding things for himself.