Uchiha Itachi

Uchiha Itachi (うちはイタチ) was a prodigy of Konohagakure's Uchiha clan. He became an international criminal after murdering his entire family, sparing only his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke. He then joined the Akatsuki where he comes into frequent conflict with Konoha, and its ninja. Which includes Sasuke, who seeks to avenge their family. Sasuke eventually succeeds in killing him, but in doing so discovers Itachi's motivations were more complicated than they seemed, and that his actions were only ever in the interest of his brother and village, therefore by remaining a loyal shinobi of Konohagakure to the very end.

Background
Itachi was born into the Uchiha clan as the eldest son of Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, and was praised by all as the best of his generation and a genius above all others. Even by the standards of the battle-adept Uchiha clan, Itachi's prowess far outshone their own. However, only a few could understand him.

When he was only four, Itachi had already witnessed countless lives lost due to the Third Shinobi War, which emotionally traumatized him and consequently turned him into a pacifist. After the war was over, Itachi encounter Orchimaru after the funeral of the victims that were kill during the war and question him on what it means to be alive. But Orchimaru told him that life without eternity was meaningless, which shock Itachi. This also made Itachi greatly consider how to carry out his life. Whenever he wasn't with his father, Itachi would train by himself. Such as using two kunai to break his fall during a high risk free drop fall from a huge cliff. At the same time, he developed kinship with crows.

Itachi spent much of his time researching the history of the village from the writings their ancestors left behind. Because no other child his age cared about the ancestors of the village, Itachi grew up isolated from his peers to the point he didn't even care about being liked or even making friends. Itachi would even protect himself from bullies who dislike him because of his prodigy skills, and by the fact that he would tell the bullies that he had to train with his father. It was during this time that Itachi met Izumi.

When he learned that his mother was pregnant, Itachi asked her if she was sick. But he was surprised when his mother told him that he was going to be a big brother. When Itachi told his mother that his little sibling would be a boy, Mikoto assumed that Itachi's little sibling would be a girl. When Sasuke was born as a boy, Itachi touched Sasuke's cheeks. But Itachi became depress when his father lifted Sasuke in the air, since Fugaku use to do it to Itachi when he was a toddler.

A few months after Sasuke's birth before Kurama attacked the village. Itachi was eating dinner at his house, and asked his mother if Minato was having a child of his own. To which Mikoto happily confirmed him that Minato and Kushina are having a child. Itachi was then informed by his mother that she was going out, and to look after Sasuke since Fugaku was at a meeting. During the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha, Itachi did told care of his infant brother, Uchiha Sasuke and promised to protect him no matter what. When Kurama found its way to the Uchiha district, Itachi ran with Sasuke, determined to keep him safe from harm. While trying to find survivors, Itachi rescued Izumi. Once Itachi found his father, he was told to go to the evacuation shelter. He evacuated with his brother and Izumi by getting to the shelter safety with Sasuke and Izumi. After Kurama's attack, Itachi was present mourning the victims that were kill during the attack. Then he and his mother went to the Konoha Hospital to visit the newborn Uzumaki Naruto who he found out was Uzumaki Kushina's son.

When Izumi thanked him for saving her life, he told her it wasn't no problem. Once Izumi asked him if she can hold Sasuke, Itachi told her no because Sasuke would cry, which turned out to be true. Itachi then learned that he and clan were force to live on a corner of the village. Itachi asks Fugaku to see the new Uchiha training grounds, and asks him to teach him a new jutsu. Itachi effortlessly learns the Great Fireball Technique, and masters the technique on his first try. Itachi then notices Fugaku's discomfort with the neighboring buildings around the new Uchiha clan settlements.

Upon entering the Ninja Academy, Itachi couldn't stop staring at Izumi. Itachi skills excelled too great that three of his male classmates became jealous of him, and he asks Fugaku to teach him more jutsu. Since he deems the ones taught in the Ninja Academy are just too easy. Ultimately, much to his annoyance he became very popular amongst his female peers. While walking in the hallway, the three boys from Itachi's class run into an older student, who takes issue with their attitude. The boys cower behind Itachi, who beats the older student when he attacks. The boys' jealousy turns into admiration, much to Itachi's discomfort when they became his body guard. Once class began, Itachi wonders about what it means to be a shinobi, and about the village.

Once Itachi's report card came, his father was impress with his grades. While trying to master the Shurikenjutsu, it was during this time that Itachi met Shisui who helped him master the Shurikenjutsu and shared the same goals with Itachi. During this time Itachi would protect his three classmates from bullies, by using a shadow clone to fight the bullies. Once his shadow clone disappear, Itachi told Shisui that he had to go back to class and reminded Shisui that he wasn't ditching.

Upon learning that his teacher saw him use a shadow clone, Itachi informed his parents that he will graduate sooner than expected. At age 7, Itachi graduated from the Ninja Academy at the top of his class after only one year. In the anime, he subsequently joins Team 2. After becoming a genin, Itachi sees his father after returning from a mission. They talk about how the Uchiha were relocated after Kurama's attack. Itachi points out Fugaku is still the face of the Uchiha, since many of their clan members greet them as they walk, and that he is proud to walk with him. Itachi and Fugaku go get dumplings, but the store is sold out. However he runs into Izumi, who is holding a big paper bag. She and Itachi go to a lake, where Izumi apologizes for not giving him anything for his promotion. Itachi tells her not to worry, but she insists on sharing her dumplings with him. Once they get comfortable eating more sweet dumplings, and talking to each other. Tenma arrives and informs Itachi they have a mission.

He and his team visits Nekobaa, who has tasked them with finding a ninja cat. The team splits up to look for the cat. When he and Yuki find the cat, Itachi goes to tell his teammates. However Itachi eavesdrops on his teammates conversation to which he learns that Tenma is jealous of him. So Itachi opens the door by telling Tenma and Shinko that the cat is found. At the location Yuki approaches the cat, but he scratches him. Itachi's team-mates are also incapacitated. So Itachi manages to catch the cat, and save Tenma from falling after he acquire the cat's whiskers. When reporting back to Nekobaa, Itachi lies by telling her that the ninja cats missing whiskers got blow away by the wind after he accidentally cutted it off with a kunai. Nekobaa accepts the apology and tells Itachi that she is looking forward to having him on more of her missions. Itachi then thanks Nekobaa before he and his team leave.

On their way back to Konoha, Itachi thinks that Tenma is just like his clan when thinking about his clan and not about their village. When Tenma asks him if he was thinking about how he saved him earlier, Itachi tells him that he wasn't thinking about that at all. Shinko scolds Tenma for not thanking Itachi. But when Itachi tells Shinko that Tenma is not his friend, she elbows him in the stomach by scolding Itachi for just acting as if they were only on a mission. She then tells him that they are friends, but Itachi becomes surprise when Tenma tells him that he owes him for saving his life. Itachi then agrees that Tenma is his friend.

Being considered a elite genin team, they were tasked with guarding the Fire Daimyo during his annual visit to Konoha. During the mission, the convoy was attacked by Obito, who killed Tenma right in front of him, which caused Itachi to finally awaken his Sharingan. That night while plays with Sasuke on the front porch, Itachi shows his Sharingan to Sasuke, which his little brother happily notices. Itachi then wonders if one day Sasuke will also awaken the Sharingan. At age 8, he mastered the Sharingan.

While talking with his father about the Sharingan, Itachi is angry that Fugaku doesn't care that Tenma died, but hides it. Itachi then tells his father that he will continue to be diligent and leaves. Before heading out, Sasuke wants to play with Itachi but he tells him that he has a mission. Shisui tells Sasuke he has to borrow Itachi. Itachi accompanies Shisui in a three-part training exercise. The two track a fugitive during the day, noticing decoys left along the way. At night, the two eat and talk. Tenma's death continues to weight on Itachi. He tells Shisui he awakened the Sharingan. However Shisui tells him that he notice Itachi showed hatred to his father at his house, which surprised Itachi. The two hear a fight and arrive to find Root members attacking a Konoha Anbu for a scroll containing information about a traitor. The attacked Anbu, revealing to be a water clone, dissolves.

The Root members remain unconcerned, having poisoned the real one. Itachi sets up a trap for the Root but is injured when his Sharingan fails to respond quickly. He released the trap, while telling his opponent that her tricks won't work on him. Shisui defeats the other two Root members, who retreat with the other one that Itachi defeated. Shisui receives a signal that his exercise is over. While talking to the injured Anbu, Itachi tells Shisui that they should save from his injury. But the injured Anbu wants to keep the incident a secret. Shisui's superiors are glad that no one got hurt, despite the fight not being a part of the exercise. Shisui tends to a small injury of Itachi's, who still needs to get used to delay between his Sharingan's perception and his reaction time. Shisui takes Itachi back to the Uchiha compound, and the two talk about the events of the day. He tells Itachi that he thinks of his as a little brother, including that he doesn't know if leaving the injured Anbu was a right or wrong choice. He tells Itachi to rest and lastly no matter what he will never betray him. At age 10, he passed the Chunin Exams without being on a squad team.

When he was 11 years old, Itachi was also under orders from his father to enroll in the Anbu half a year later. Itachi was praised highly by Fugaku, who spent most of his time grooming Itachi to inherit the title of leader of the Uchiha, and hence inadvertently neglected his younger son. However, Itachi showed great affection towards his little brother and even encouraged his father to come to the Ninja Academy enrollment ceremony for Sasuke, something their father had otherwise forgotten, caught up an important mission that would establish Itachi a place in the Anbu ranks. Itachi would hang out with Sasuke as well by trying not to train Sasuke, such as coming up with excuses by saying that he has a mission. His isolation seemed to extend to even his own family as he rarely had dinner with them and his own father Fugaku, couldn't figure him out.

In the anime, Itachi was assigned to Team Ro under the command of Hatake Kakashi. While other members questioned the wisdom of letting one so young join Anbu, Kakashi quickly recognized Itachi's talents. For his first mission, he joined Kakashi in a two-man team to observe a potential alliance between Konoha and the Land of Woods, but was instructed to kill the shinobi of the Prajna Group if they betrayed Konoha for their scroll a peace offering. Quickly, the group revealed their treachery, to which Kakashi and Itachi swiftly killed them. Afterwards, Kakashi congratulated the latter for his exceptional work. As Itachi commented on Kakashi's borrowed Sharingan, Kakashi merely said he sees it as a gift and a means to protect his friends. Later, Itachi found inside the Naka Shrine during a secret clan meeting a stone monument, reading shocking information through his Sharingan.

At some point in time in their childhood, Sasuke helped Itachi on one of his missions to capture a giant boar. Itachi told Sasuke to avoid his vital points. He then threw kunai with explosive tags around the boar, to confuse it and to give Sasuke an opportunity to shoot the boar. Sasuke, however, missed completely. After Sasuke apologised, Itachi told him he needs to train more.

During the next few years, Itachi continued to serve in the Anbu (under the guidance of Kakashi in the anime). Eventually, at age 13, he was promoted to the rank of Anbu captain. When the Uchiha clan began planning to overthrow Konoha, Itachi was tasked with exploiting his position to spy on the village. Knowing that a coup d'etat would only trigger the beginning of another Shinobi war, Itachi became a double agent, feigning loyalty to the Uchiha while secretly passing on information of their plans to the Third Hokage and the Konoha elders. Itachi's best friend and Surrogate Older Brother, Uchiha Shisui, opposed the coup d'état as well, but after having his right eye stolen by Danzo for its powerful Mangekyo ability, Shisui realized that it was beyond his power to stop the Uchiha clan's impending doom. Meeting Itachi in secret on a cliff overlooking the Naka River, he entrusted his left eye to him, requesting that Itachi protect the clan's good name before proceeding to "erase his existence". (In the anime, Shisui cast himself off the cliff and presumably drowned in the river below). The grief of losing his closest friend ultimately led Itachi to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan.

When the following day came three 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. Itachi then braced himself for combat but Sasuke pleaded for Itachi to stop. Not wanting Sasuke to witness such a scene or wanting him to know the truth, Itachi bowed and "apologized" for his actions. However Itachi feigns regret, looking at Sasuke with his Mangekyo Sharingan, hoping Sasuke will realize how shallow the clan is. He reports to Danzo, who places subordinates under him. Danzo tasks him with an assassination. Upon returning from his mission, Danzo asks Itachi his opinion on the Uchiha, and Itachi shares their growing resentment of the village can no longer be ignored.

A week after Itachi was suspected of Shisui's murder, Sasuke told Itachi that he was going to go train and asked him to help him. But Itachi told him that he was too tired, however Sasuke told Itachi that he is never too tire. While leaving Itachi told Sasuke that he would have to train him some other time.

After another clan meeting about the coup de'tat, Fugaku called Itachi to speak with him privately. When Fugaku asked him if he knew of their clan meeting, Itachi told him no. Fugaku told Itachi that the next clan meeting is in three days, however Itachi told him that he has a mission. While walking away, Itachi was told by Fugaku not to run away from his Uchiha destiny, and told to meet him after their clan meeting. While at the Naka Shrine, Fugaku revealed to Itachi that the stone tablet within the Naka Shrine held secrets to a better world for all, but required an evolved Mangekyo Sharingan to read it at all instead of the Sharingan. Itachi suspects that his father wants him to read it, but Fugaku tells him no. This shocked Itachi since Fugaku showed him that he too has a Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi learned about his father's plan, on how he would control the village by using Itachi's Anbu position as a means to allow him to subjugate the village as the Hokage. A plan of which Itachi was not proud of, in which he asked Fugaku if this was a way to protect the village as the Hokage.

Knowing of his son's hesitance for bloodshed and reluctance to attack the village, Fugaku placed Itachi under a genjutsu by showing Itachi what would happen if he controlled Kurama. In his father's genjutsu, Itachi saw that his father wanted to capture Naruto, by extracting Kurama out of him, and using it against Konoha. After Itachi saw the genjutsu with horror on his face, his father expressed his desire for this revolution to end without any deaths. Fugaku insisted that with Itachi's help, they can achieve that goal. Fugaku then asked Itachi to help save the clan. However Itachi didn't want to help his father with either of these goals. Upon returning back to his subordinates, Itachi didn't speak to them at all.

As the escalating turmoil between the Uchiha clan and the village continued, Sarutobi Hiruzen ultimately decided to reason with the Uchiha in order to dissuade them from their actions. However, the prospects for a bloodless end to hostilities between the two parties at that point were slim to none. Against Hiruzen's wishes, Danzo and the Konoha Council ordered Itachi to wipe out the Uchiha clan, Danzo pressuring Itachi by inveigling him into choosing the lives of his clansmen or that of his little brother. To which Itachi chose to save his brother. While trying to figure out what to do with his clan by saving it or not, Itachi witnessed Naruto's rivalry with Sasuke while spying on them from a far away distance.

After receiving the final order to massacre his clan, Itachi made contact with Uchiha Obito (under the guise of Uchiha Madara), who was infiltrating the village and attempting to rekindle the flames of war in Konoha. In return for not attacking Konoha or harming Sasuke, Itachi offered to help him claim vengeance against the Uchiha for turning their backs on him decades earlier, to which Obito agreed. On that fateful night Itachi and Obito slaughtered his entire clan. Whith Itachi murdering the clan members at the compound, whereas Obito murders the clan members at the Military Police Force building. While killing some of the clan members Itachi met up with his father's shadow clone. As he spoke with his father's shadow clone, both expressed their true goals in life, not only for themselves but for their clan and the village. After speaking with his father's shadow clone, Itachi went to confront his parents. At first he hesitated to open the door to the room that his parents were in, but was surprised on not only were they not kill yet but when his father told him that he didn't place any traps in the room.

Despite his betrayal, which trying to explain himself. His parents showed no hatred to him and stated that they were still proud of him, including that he take care of Sasuke. Itachi agreed while killing his parents as Sasuke returned home from the Ninja Academy. In the end only Sasuke's life was spared, out of Itachi's immense love for him. However, he was forced to lie to his brother, making himself out as a villain who had killed their unsuspecting family only to test his capacity, and callously dismissing his kind, caring personality as an empty facade. Itachi also revealed to Sasuke the secret meeting place of the Uchiha, where he could learn the true history and purpose of the Sharingan. Lastly, he told him that in order to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke had to kill the person closest to him, and that when they met again, they should have the same eyes.

Despite the trauma he had endured, Sasuke managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan, and pursue Itachi. Upon reaching him, Sasuke managed to knock off his forehead protector. Itachi silently picked it up and fastened it around his head, shedding a tear as he took a final look at Sasuke before the latter finally fainted. Knowing that Konoha would still want to eliminate Sasuke, Itachi also sent a crow clone deguise as a Root member to warn Danzo not to harm Sasuke, by threatening him that if he does harm Sasuke. He will reveal all he knew of Konoha's secrets to enemy nations if he broke his word. After speaking with Danzo, his clone disappeared. After getting his memories back from his clone, Itachi now knows that Danzo cannot be trusted anymore. Right after killing his clan, Itachi stranded on the rooftops and told Obito that he had to speak to someone before he leaves the village. Obito took his leave as Itachi bent down his legs after completing his assignment.

Before deserting the village, Itachi went to Hiruzen, and asked him to protect Sasuke. He secretly told Hiruzen that he will have a new mission: to infiltrate Obito's organisation, the Akatsuki, and keep it from moving against Konoha. Hoping that his little brother would someday be powerful enough to kill him, Itachi left the village as a traitor to which he was fine with. As he was leaving the village, he was confronted by the two Anbu ninja that he was assigned too. As he fought his former comrades, he placed them into a genjutsu making them kill each other. Itachi admitted that he never trusted them from the start, and had them under a genjutsu when he first met them. Itachi then took his leave after killing the two Anbu members.

While meeting some of the other Akatsuki members, Itachi was surprised that Orchimaru was one of the members. Itachi then scratched his forehead protector as it was task for being in the Akatsuki. He was then given the nickname Itachi of the Akatsuki as proof for finally joking the group. He was partnered with and Biwa Juzo. While growing accustomed to his new setting and working well with his partner, Itachi learned that Maito Gai's father had made the seven swordsman mist ninja being split into four after Juzo had fought the former. Juzo then told Itachi he doesn't care about his own reasons for joining the group. However the former knows that Itachi goes by many nicknames now since his clans massacre. When Juzo asked Itachi what he is skilled at, Itachi told him that he is skilled at the main three basic skills. They had main assignments being involved in at least three missions together, which involved assassination and sabotage.

He and his partner had an unique system of formations in order to better synchronize with each other. Formation A was used when both shinobi attacked individually using whichever ability they preferred, Formation B had Itachi open up with an attack involving genjutsu or shurikenjutsu while Jūzō killed the incapacitated shinobi with his sword, Formation C was a personal request by Jūzō to be killed by Itachi if he would be captured by Kirigakure and Formation D was to be proposed by Itachi but he refused to do so.

When they were resting at a bond fire, Pain had summoned them back to headquarters. Before he got his assignment, Itachi was annoy that Orchimaru and Kazuzu wanted him as their partner. He and Juzo was eventually given a mission in the Land of Water. After completing it, they were ambushed by a Hunter-nin squad led by the Fourth Mizukage Yagura. While initially pressed by the perfect Jinchūriki, Itachi was able to defeat him with Amaterasu. He then told Juzo that Yagura isn't dead, and knowing that Juzo is dying. Itachi asked his partner if he had any last words. Juzo then told him no since he is dying in the village that he was born in, and passed away. After Juzo died, Itachi put the remains of Kubikiribocho into his partner's hands, showing respect to his fallen comrade. When he reported back to headquarters, Itachi told the group of Juzo's death. However when Orchimaru told Kazuzu if he wanted to be Itachi's partner since he killed his partner on purpose. Itachi told Kazuzu that he'll never work with him due to whatever mood he is in.

At some point after joining Akatsuki, Orochimaru tried to steal Itachi's body in order to gain the Sharingan, but Itachi easily deflected him and severed his left hand, before he can kill the former. Kabuto arrives and retreats with Orchimaru forcing him to leave the organization. After Orchimaru's defection from the group, Pain told Itachi to work solo for a while since he has a new partner in mind for him that would very well with him. While sitting on a bridge as he waits for his new partner. Itachi eventually mets his current partner, Hoshigaki Kisame, 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. Itachi even noticed what abilities Hidan had. After recruiting Hidan, Itachi learned that Orchimaru used the reanimation jutsu to battle Sasori. He then told Sasori that the reanimation jutsu is the Second Hokage's technique. After completing different missions with Kisame, Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki heard about Orchimaru's failed invasion to destroy Konoha while allying with Sunagakure. He also heard about Hiruzen's death, while led for Itachi to wonder if Sasuke is alright. Itachi then decided to go back to Konoha while bringing Kisame with him by having to pretend to capture Naruto, but to see if Sasuke have re awaken his Sharingan again.

Itachi at some point contracted an incurable 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.

Personality
From a young age, Itachi was quiet and insightful. 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. He would think about shinobi and origins of the village and its future. For this reason he never had the 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 aspirations. However, he maintained some quite sexist views when it came to women becoming kunoichi, viewing them that they should retire. When his former teammate retired from being a shinobi after Tenma Izumo was killed, he more than approved and even insisted Izumi Uchiha to do the same, which upset her, much to his confusion. To that end, when it came to killing her, he gave her the fantasy of her retiring from shinobi duties and marrying him.

In the anime, Itachi had a very strong bond with Shisui, so much that he had an off feeling during his mission when Shisui was in danger and rushed back to investigate.

Despite being a pacifist by nature, Itachi felt his own needs were secondary to the greater good's; 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. 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 Massacre; 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. As the inevitability of the massacre became more apparent, Itachi's 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 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 Danzo on a personal level, he knew Danzo only had the village's best interests at heart. But Itachi – partly out of the necessity of his assignment to join the Akatsuki – was greatly changed after the massacre, rarely if ever showing emotion. Even to the point of showing no emotional reaction upon finding out Konoha was nearly destroyed by Orochimaru, even though his first thought was if Sasuke was safe.

He became more prone to displays of force and permitted certain violent habits of his partner, Hoshigaki Kisame, under the pretence that it furthered Akatsuki's goals. Itachi could not and would not fully shake his pacifist ways, and would run from confrontation or rein in Kisame if the likelihood of collateral damage became too high for themselves or others. While Kisame would sometimes protest, he considered Itachi a good friend and would listen to his instructions. Itachi also had a decent partnership with Juzo as Itachi seemed to respect him and after his death, he placed the remains of Kubikiribōchō in Juzo's hand out of respect.

Konoha's protection was always forefront in Itachi's mind, but it was his dedication to his brother, 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 began to become 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. Sasuke, wishing to be just like his older brother, 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.

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 Mangekyo Sharingan. His actions in the 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.

After he died and was reincarnated, Itachi discovers that his plans largely failed; Sasuke is not a hero but n international criminal and he did find out the truth about what Itachi did. Uzumaki Naruto points out to Itachi the flaw in his plans: he had been trying to manipulate Sasuke rather than be honest with him and trust in his own strength. Acknowledging the mistake, Itachi is free to be himself instead of the persona he fabricated, being openly kind to others and displaying a dry sense of humor even in stressful situations. Itachi also thanks Naruto for being there for Sasuke after the clan's massacre by telling Naruto, that Sasuke is lucky to have a wonderful friend who cares about him. He then leaves Sasuke's safety to Naruto, by telling the boy that he is the only one to protect Sasuke for now on.

Itachi finally opens up with Sasuke when they meet again, admitting what he did and even sharing information Sasuke did not already know. He apologize 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 tells Sasuke he does not need forgiveness and that he will always love him no matter what.

In the anime, when he joined Anbu at the age of 11, Itachi showed great wisdom, giving Kakashi the benefit of the doubt when they were partnered together. Even other Anbu "warned" Itachi that Kakashi will even kill a comrade for the sake of a mission. After just one mission together, Itachi's willingness to give Kakashi a chance enabled him to learn the truth about Kakashi's nickname as "Friend-Killer Kakashi".

Appearance
Despite his status as an infamous shinobi, Itachi's appearance was not the most intimidating, apart from the intensity of his gaze. While living in Konoha, he would regularly have a gentle look in his eyes, especially directed towards his younger brother. After joining Akatsuki, they would regularly have a stern look to them.

Itachi was a young man with onyx eyes, and jet-black hair that was pulled back with a red elastic in a low ponytail which extended to his shoulder blades. The ponytail was, however, later obscured by the high collar of the Akatsuki cloak he wore after joining the organisation. He also had centre-parted bangs that framed his face, extending to his chin. When grown up, Itachi's most distinguishing feature were the long, pronounced tear-troughs under his eyes. Itachi and Sasuke also bear similarities to one another in terms of their appearance as Naruto nearly mistook Itachi for Sasuke when they first met, while Obito and Kisame commented upon their resemblance when they first encountered Sasuke. In Part II, Itachi's appearance remained mostly unchanged, with the exception of being slightly taller, along with his hair growing a little longer.

When he lived in Konoha, his casual clothes consisted of a black shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back with bandages around his ankles and black sandals. He also wore tan pants with a weapons pouch strapped to his back. While his hair was still worn in a ponytail, his bangs were considerably shorter; accentuating his forehead in a manner similar to Kabuto Yakushi's hairstyle in Part I and for a majority of Part II. 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 dark, triangular marking on top. As a member of Akatsuki, he wore a slashed Konoha forehead protector and the standard Akatsuki cloak. Sometimes, he would unbutton his cloak to mid-chest and rest his left arm there, rather than in the sleeve. After his cloak was incinerated by Sasuke's Kirin during their fight in Part II, it was revealed that he wore similar clothes to that of the rest of Akatsuki. His attire consisted of mesh armour with navy accents under an identical T-shirt with a simple white belt around the waist, and dark blue pants. Like most members of Akatsuki, he wore the forehead protector of his home village with a horizontal line gouged through it to symbolise his broken ties with the village. On his right ring finger was his Akatsuki ring, which was red and bore the kanji for "vermilion" (朱, shu). He also wore purple nail polish on his fingers and toes and a necklace which had three silver rings with red gems inside them.

After being reincarnated, Itachi's eyes appear to have black sclerae like the other shinobi that Kabuto reincarnated, and was clad in a dark-red cloak. After Kabuto strengthened the technique's power on Itachi, he developed various minor cracking about his being.

Abilities
Even within the Uchiha clan, Itachi was a ninja of prodigious talent, consistently showing prowess well-beyond his years and rising rapidly through the ninja ranks. He was highly proficient in all three main ninja skill sets and gained praise from allies and foes alike; Orochimaru, openly admitted Itachi was stronger than he was. Even Sasuke, despite greatly improving his skills under Orochimaru's tutelage, was unable to truly defeat Itachi, who instead succumbed to his terminal illness. A pacifist at heart, Itachi did not actually like fighting and would avoid it when he could. When he couldn't, he would end the fight as quickly as possible, all the while holding himself back. Even when restrained in this way, multiple jōnin were still pushed to their limits against Itachi. In the anime, he could defeat a perfect jinchuriki Kage in Yagura with Juzo's aid.

Chakra
As an Uchiha, Itachi's chakra was naturally strong, but his reserves were actually very low, exacerbated by his terminal illness. This prevented him from participating in prolonged battles and limited his use of Mangekyo Sharingan techniques to three times a day in Part I before he needed significant rest, at which point even his Sharingan deactivated. Even performing one Mangekyo technique required 30% of his total chakra. Compensating for this limitation somewhat, Itachi had very refined chakra control, able to perform his techniques with one-handed seals.

Genjutsu
Consistent with his pacifist nature, Itachi specialised in genjutsu typically performed with his Sharingan. His illusions, which often involved crows, could be initiated after only the briefest moment of eye contact. His illusions were so seamless that even targets that knew to expect genjutsu might not immediately realise that they'd fallen prey to him. If opponents tried to avoid eye contact with him, Itachi could instead cast genjutsu by merely pointing at them. In addition to basic illusions, Itachi could use genjutsu to share information or psychologically disable opponents, allowing him to end fights before they even began. According to Ao, he was the only person who could use his genjutsu to take control of other individuals outside the range of even the Sensor Division. Against other genjutsu users, he could turn their genjutsu against them.

Taijutsu
Although rarely involving himself in such combat, Itachi was very skilled with taijutsu – enough to easily defeat three members of the Konoha Military Police Force. He had impressive speed and reflexes, particularly with his hand movements. This extended to both throwing weapons and hand seals, making it appear as if he could perform his techniques without seals; even skilled Sharingan users had difficulty keeping track of him. His speed allowed him to attack first in a battle, then immediately move to the location his opponent retreated to before they even realized he was gone, giving them no chance to initiate a counter-attack.

Ninjutsu
Itachi's most identifiable techniques were those involving the use of crows. He was able to summon a large flock of them which he utilised in his ninjutsu and genjutsu. This is seen primarily with his creations of clones which dissolve into crows, and crows that would dissolve into shuriken for surprise attacks.

He was also able to create shadow clones and from them create explosive clones. As an ANBU, Itachi was also able to pass through the Sensing System Technique barrier without setting it off. Itachi also had high skill with fuinjutsu as seen when he performed Transcription Seal: Amaterasu on Sasuke, just moments before his death. Itachi, while never seen using Kotoamatsukami himself, could program another Mangekyō Sharingan able to use it to active the effects under a specific situation and give a particular programming on the target.

Natural Transformation
Traditional to the Uchiha clan, Itachi could use Fire Release techniques, including the clan's giant fireballs the intensity of which was enough to bother even Samehada, and he could combine his proficient weapon skills with his fire attacks. He was also proficient with Water Release, able to perform them without an already existing water source. Itachi could catch his opponents off guard with drilling masses of pressurised water, and large water dragons.

Kenjutsu
As a fully-trained Konoha Anbu, Itachi was skilled with a sword, which was his primary weapon during the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Like many Uchiha, he specialised and was very advanced with shurikenjutsu. Even in his early childhood, 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. He could even effortlessly deflect a barrage of enemy projectiles by ricocheting one of his own off them from with little preparation. His throwing speed was unprecedented, enough to keep up with and therefore negate the advantages of the Summoning: Lightning Flash Blade Creation. He was as equally comfortable with kunai, able to use kunai to spar with opponents wielding swords.

Shuriken Technique
Even in his youth, Itachi could perfectly hit an intricate set of nine targets, one of which was hidden in a blind-spot, by accurately deflecting one kunai off another to ensure they struck their mark. Itachi was so skilled with shuriken, that Sasuke stated that Itachi was best with such tools, even more so than their own father. He was able to throw shuriken so fast to keep up with Sasuke, who could throw his shuriken at an increased pace. He could also infuse shuriken with fire for a devastating two-fold attack.

He also showed equal skill with kunai predominantly seen during his fight against the controlled Nagato, where he was able to blind Nagato's summons, attacking them from blind spots despite the shared field of vision granted by the multiple Rinnegan. Another attribute of his skill in shurikenjutsu was his accuracy against skilled kenjutsu users, keeping up with Kisame's Samehada and Sasuke's Sword of Kusanagi, with just a kunai in individual battles.

Sharingan
Itachi awakened the Sharingan upon witnessing his teammate, Izumo Tenma get kill by Obito. When first awakening his Sharingan it had two Tomoes on both of his eyes. A year later he mastered the Sharingan at the age of eight, demonstrating skill and power superior to most members of his clan. By then his Sharingan finally had three Tomoes on both eyes. He keeps his Sharingan active near-constantly with minimal drain on his chakra levels. The Sharingan allowed him to see chakra and predict movements, as well as facilitate his use of genjutsu. With the Sharingan he could perform Izanami, a counterpart to the more dangerous Izanagi.

Mangekyo Sharingan
Itachi awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan after seeing Shisui committed suicide. Its design was three spiralling curves around the pupil. With his left eye, he could use Tsukuyomi, a genjutsu that trapped opponents' minds in an illusory world, altering their perception of time to make seconds of torture seem like days. With his right eye he could use Amaterasu, igniting whatever he looked at with black flames that would burn anything, including fire itself. He had the ability to extinguish Amaterasu, but never displayed the sort of shape transformation that Sasuke later would.

Having awakened the Mangekyo 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 all damage, even jutsu as powerful as Kirin. 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 vast amounts of chakra to perform and left Itachi so fatigued afterwards that he had to deactivate his Sharingan altogether. Every time he used his Mangekyo Sharingan his eyesight deteriorated, a process that would progressively worsen on each occasion. Early uses of the Mangekyo would only cause his eyes to bleed, but by the end of his life he reached the point where he was nearly blind, most things looking to him like mere blurs. He does not suffer these shortcomings after his reincarnation and can use all his Mangekyo techniques without no problems.

Intelligence
Itachi was a highly intelligent individual. Next to Namikaze Minato, Itachi had the highest scores in the history of the Ninja Academy. He was solemn 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. If an opponent exceeded his expectations or posed a legitimate challenge to him or his allies, Itachi would freely admit it.

Even at a young age, his studies of history gave him remarkable foresight and a cost-benefit understanding on par with the Hokage; he took several precautions for Sasuke and against Obito that he planned would activate after his death. Even Obito admitted if he didn't keep some secrets from Itachi, he might have been killed by Itachi's trap. Itachi was even able to prematurely attempt to "capture" Naruto to warn Konoha of Akatsuki's goals without arousing suspicions from either side.

Search for Tsunade arc
After the Invasion of Konoha and the death of Hiruzen, Itachi infiltrated Konoha with Kisame to use his presence to remind everyone in the village that he was still alive. Itachi used the Akatsuki's goal of capturing Naruto to disguise his true intentions in order to keep his cover intact. While Itachi stops for tea after Kisame suggested it, they attract the attention of Hatake Kakashi, who was speaking with Sasuke. While Sasuke was speaking with Kakashi, Itachi noted how much Sasuke has grown. Before Sasuke can spot him, Itachi left the restaurant while having Asuma and Kurenai following them. Making it out of Konoha with Asuma and Kurenai still in pursuit and seeing no more need to conceal their identities, Itachi and Kisame proceed to overpower them and Kakashi. After a short skirmish while learning that Kakashi is aware of them, Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and used Tsukuyomi on him before instructing Kisame to silence the Konoha ninja. Maito Gai arrived in time and deflected Kisame's attack.

Learning that the ANBU have been informed of their presence, Itachi tells Kisame to fall back to avoid further confrontation as dealing with four jonin-level shinobi would be problematic enough. They then track Uzumaki Naruto down to a hotel where he was staying with Jiraiya at the time. To ensure the Sannin did not get involved, Itachi uses a genjutsu on an attractive woman to draw Jiraiya away from Naruto. As he and Kisame confronted Naruto, Itachi is then confronted by Sasuke before Jiraiya arrives. Sasuke tries to attack him with Chidori, but Itachi easily deflects it and then breaks Sasuke's wrist. It was during this time that Itachi realize that Sasuke re awoken his Sharingan, and realizing that Kakashi taught him the Chidori.

As Jiraiya arrives to save Naruto, Itachi learns that the Toad Sage told Kakashi about the Akatsuki. As Itachi keeps Sasuke to the wall, and beats him up as he tries to get up. Itachi begs Sasuke to forgive him. While being allowed to fight his brother, Itachi taunts Sasuke's weakness, incapacitates him with Tsukuyomi, and then decides to make his escape. Jiraiya takes over the fight from there, using the Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind technique to trap the Akatsuki members. However Itachi risked his health by using Amaterasu to allow himself and Kisame to escape. As he and Kisame are running, Itachi comments that despite Hiruzen's death, Sasuke still has his friends to protect him.

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

Sasuke Retrieval arc
At the end of Part I, Itachi made a cameo appearance as a silhouette during an Akatsuki gathering where they discussed Orochimaru's taking of Uchiha Sasuke as well as both capture of Kurama for the furthering of their plans.

Kazekage Rescue arc
While sealing the One-Tail, the 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 team-mates. Itachi, his body-double not having his full power, is eventually defeated by Naruto's Big Ball Rasengan. He nevertheless succeeds in buying enough time to complete the One-Tail's sealing.

Hidan and Kakuzu arc
Itachi was present during the sealing of the Two-Tails.

Itachi Pursuit arc
After Kisame captures the Four-Tails, the 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 Obito's survival as well.

Knowing that his end was near, Itachi sent one of his shadow clones to meet Uzumaki Naruto, who was looking for Sasuke. Although he only wanted to talk, Itachi is forced into defending himself as he asks why Naruto cares so much about a traitor like Sasuke. Upon hearing Naruto say that he is Sasuke's brother – a better brother than Itachi is including his intent to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, However Itachi tells Naruto that he is a child, and that violence is apart of being a shinobi. But Naruto admits to Itachi that someone told him the same thing. Once Itachi asks Naruto how he will bring Sasuke back, even if he has to kill him. Naruto tells Itachi that he will find a way to stop Sasuke without killing him if he ever attack their village. Upon hearing this Itachi smiles, and is content with the youth's resolve. He 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 Mangekyo 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, the plan is for the crow to reestablish Sasuke's loyalties to the village after Itachi is dead.)

After his business with Naruto was done, another of Itachi's shadow clones went to meet with Sasuke. Sasuke exhibited an improvement in his abilities during their confrontation, so Itachi agreed to have their final battle at the Uchiha Hideout. He waited there for Sasuke's arrival, instructing Kisame to not let the other members of Sasuke's team interfere with the fight.

When Sasuke arrives they start by trading genjutsu. At Sasuke's request Itachi tells him about Obito, who also goes by Madara, as well as the mysteries of the Mangekyo Sharingan and the even more powerful Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi expresses his disappointment that Sasuke has not gained his own Mangekyo, but says he can use Sasuke's eyes to gain an Eternal Mangekyo 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 labors near and Itachi starts coughing up blood. 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 in a similar manner, unable to maintain his disguise he genuinely smiles to Sasuke and apologizes to Sasuke and says this is the end before succumbing to his disease and falling dead with a smile on his face.

Konoha History arc
In the anime, some time before Sasuke's defection from Konoha, Nekobaa mentioned about Itachi, but was stopped by Sasuke from talking about him. Nekobaa tells Naruto and Sakura how close Itachi and Sasuke used to be, including how Sasuke used to throw tantrums when Itachi had to leave for a mission and Itachi kept his little brother occupied by coming up with a game on collecting cat's paw prints. After Sasuke defeated Nekomata, he told Sasuke that Itachi had defeated him in the past along with his ninja cats and asked Nekomata to fight Sasuke with all his might when he got older.

Later, Sadai, an assailant who entered the Land of Fire to capture Naho, spoke poorly to Sasuke about Itachi, the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and even about Sasuke being weak, which led Sasuke to defeat and punch him repeatedly.

Adventures at Sea arc
In an attempt to both impede Obito and convince him into joining forces during their initial encounter. Kabuto demonstrated his capabilities by reincarnating many of the late members of the Akatsuki, including Itachi, using Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation.

Chikara arc
In the anime, a reincarnated Itachi was summoned by Kabuto to battle Team Kakashi, who were investigating the massacre that he brought about in the Tonika Village to gain access to The Hole. Quickly after being summoned, Itachi's coffin vanished with Kabuto questioning if the Impure World Reincarnation was still incomplete.

Fourth Shinobi War arc
When the Fourth Shinobi War against the Allied Shinobi Forces commenced, Itachi was mobilized alongside Kakuzu and Nagato — who due to being crippled was being carried by Nagato. Later supporting the latter as they walked, the now isolated pair continued throughout the night, conversing about the Akatsuki. Itachi remarked that their two dojutsu together could achieve anything which was likely why their summoner would wait for the opportune moment to use their abilities. After pausing at a shrine and discussing Kabuto's influence on Obito's plan, they marched onwards until they encountered Uzumaki Naruto and Killer B.

Surprised by Naruto's growth and the fact that he had subjugated the Nine-Tails, Itachi attempted to ask him something, but he instead attacked the pair involuntarily with his Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. He discerned Kisame's death from B's possession of Samehada, and while exchanging both dialogue and blows with Naruto, was shocked and disappointed to learn of his brother joining with the Akatsuki and of Sasuke's decision to destroy Konoha to avenge him, and Obito's awareness of the truth behind the Uchiha clan massacre. Imploring Naruto to keep the truth a secret for the sake of his clan's honor, he then entrusted dealing with Sasuke to him. As Itachi confronted B, he caught him in a genjutsu after using his Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson technique to attack him. However, fending off several attacks, he retreated atop Nagato's summon and activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. Much to Naruto's shock, the crow Itachi had placed inside him during their last encounter emerged.

As Itachi and the crow's eyes met, Itachi readied Amaterasu. However, instead of hitting Naruto, it had hit Nagato's other summon. Freed from Kabuto's control, Itachi turned to Nagato and engulfed him in black flames, before leaping towards Naruto. Itachi explained how he had implanted Shisui's eye into the crow, rigged it to use Kotoamatsukami with the command "protect Konoha" on whoever used his dojutsu. This was originally meant for Sasuke in case he attacked Konoha with the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, overrode Kabuto's control over himself instead. Asked by B why he didn't just use Kotoamatsukami on Sasuke from the beginning, Itachi revealed that he had other intentions and that excluding augmentations, such as Hashirama's DNA, Shisui's Mangekyo would take a decade to regenerate after using Kotoamatsukami. Itachi, along with Naruto and B, was then assaulted by a regenerated Nagato.

As Naruto and B fought Nagato directly, Itachi blinded both the King of Hell and the chameleon summon with a barrage of kunai. This allowed him to move undetected and free both jinchuriki from danger with his incomplete Susanoo. In response, Nagato used Chibaku Tensei in an attempt to lift and crush them with gravity. After careful analysis, Itachi surmised that attacking the sphere at the centre of the technique would effectively dispel it, so he proposed that they take advantage of Chibaku Tensei's attraction force to gravitate their strongest long-range techniques directly towards it. Using Yasaka Magatama in combination with the others' attacks, they confirmed his assumption and the sphere was broken. Before the dust settles, Itachi impaled Nagato with his Sword of Totsuka and asked Nagato to impart any final words before the sword sealed him.

After Nagato was sealed, Itachi stated that he would deal with the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique as he had already formulated a plan, allaying Killer B's concerns by reiterating that every technique had a weakness. However, when Naruto decided to stop the war on his own, Itachi told him that despite becoming stronger, Naruto was forgetting all those who he wanted acknowledgement from and that with those egotistical thoughts, he would become like Obito. Reminding him that his father became Hokage because of Kushina and those around him, he stated that if Naruto had the same dream, he should not forget his friends. Itachi then incinerated his crow with Amaterasu, stating that the eye could not be reactivated for another decade and so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. He also says that since Naruto, having inherited Shisui's will, could stop Sasuke without it. Realizing that he tried to do everything on his own and still failed, Itachi refused to see Sasuke and resolved to leave Sasuke to his friends instead. He then entrusts Sasuke's reform to Naruto. After asking B to look after Naruto, Itachi departed from the scene.

On his way to stop Kabuto's technique, Itachi encountered Sasuke but pressed on. This caused Sasuke to chase him down and attempt to catch him with a hand of his Susanoo, but Itachi deflected this with one of his own. Bombarded by a flurry of questions from Sasuke, Itachi said he spared Sasuke at the massacre because of Sasuke's childhood innocence and his own desire to eventually be judged for his actions by a fellow Uchiha. Expressing his regret about the path Sasuke had chosen and partially blaming himself, he resolved to talk no further, which led Sasuke to retort that Itachi was still running away from him even in death. Itachi broke his silence to refute this, stating that he was not running away but going to stop the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique. Itachi attempted to prevent Sasuke from following by using a flock of summoned crows to obscure Sasuke's vision. Upon arriving to Kabuto's location, he answered Kabuto's intrigue of how found him, stating that he could feel the source of Kabuto's chakra while under his control. However, Kabuto advised Itachi to not kill him if he sought to stop the technique. Detecting Sasuke behind him, Itachi noted that things were not proceeding as intended.

Kabuto tried to persuade Sasuke to his side, but failed and caused Sasuke to attack. Itachi deflected Sasuke's shurikens, informing his little brother that the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique couldn't be stopped if Kabuto die. When Sasuke joined forces with Itachi, Itachi promised his brother that he would speak to him once Kabuto was defeated. Kabuto obscured his vision to prevent being caught in genjutsu, and sent his snakes out to attack, but the brothers used their Susanoo to intercept and sever their heads. However, Kabuto eluded their attack and concealed his location by scattering his chakra. Then to Itachi's surprise, Kabuto revealed that he had found the Ryūchi Cave and attacked with his Sage Art: White Rage Technique.

As Itachi rushed to Sasuke's side, he was both deafened and blinded by Kabuto's technique, but still managed to protect Sasuke from Kabuto's advance. When Kabuto questioned whether Itachi could sense his chakra, Itachi replied stating that he possessed no such ability as he had made Kabuto think, but merely predicted Kabuto's intent instead. Kabuto then used Itachi's deceit to implant doubt and mistrust amongst the brothers, but Itachi retorted by asking if Sasuke remembered the time they dealt with a giant boar, with the two immediately taking action after Sasuke affirmed that he did. Itachi launched his Yasaka Magatama at the area surrounding Kabuto to prevent his escape, providing Sasuke with an opportunity to pin his snake tail to the ceiling. As Kabuto — now dangling from the cave's roof — seemingly attempted to use Sasuke's sword to sever his navel-snake, Itachi intercepted the swing but found himself impaled in the process. However, his body dispersed into a flock of crows, which allowed the real Itachi to commandeer the blade and sever one of Kabuto's horns.

Kabuto once again attempted to inveigle Sasuke's loyalty, but Itachi told his brother to not heed Kabuto's words, as Kabuto was an even more convincing liar than he was. He then explained that while their village does have its dark side and inconsistencies, he still remained loyal to it as Konoha's Uchiha Itachi (木ノ葉のうちはイタチ). Despite his admitted fault for Sasuke's current state and as such, not being in any position to criticise him, he still desired to tell Sasuke something after Kabuto's defeat. In response to Kabuto's later claims of invincibility, Itachi declared that Kabuto wasn't aware of the true power of the Uchiha and that the ultimate eye technique which would decide his destiny was already prepared.

Anticipating Kabuto's next attack, Itachi used his Susanoo to protect Sasuke, but was himself incapacitated. As Kabuto moved to rewrite the talisman in Itachi's head, Sasuke encircled them both with a ring of Amaterasu, cancelling out Kabuto's technique through the flames intense heat. After his recovery, Itachi apologised to his brother, and then turned his attention to Kabuto and told him that though Kabuto was very different from himself, he could sympathise because in the past, he too couldn't appreciate his true self nor his limitations. He then went on to declare that comrades were there to do what you couldn't and that those who weren't able to acknowledge their own selves were bound to fail.

Itachi asserted that he had failed in the past and that the "Uchiha" name alone was nothing more than a display of his roots. Imploring Sasuke to not kill Kabuto but instead wait until his preparations were complete, the siblings came under attack once more, as a copy of Sakon — which emerged from the base of Kabuto's naval snake — transformed into Jirōbō and breached the protective circle of flames. Without pause, the brothers simultaneously used Amaterasu to incinerate the approaching, uncuttable web created by a copy of Kidomaru. Trapped between more webbing and numerous invasive bones created by a Kimimaro copy, the two separated — with Itachi focusing on destroying the latter — and used their Susanoo to eliminate the threats. The siblings then retreated further into the cave, but this evasion was short-lived as Kabuto produced a copy of Tayuya to use an auditory genjutsu, which paralysed them both. As Kabuto produced a copy of Orochimaru's true form, Itachi chastised his belief that a person's reason to exist could be found through the imitation of someone they respected.

Telling Sasuke to look into his eyes, he cast Tsukuyomi as Sasuke used his Sharingan genjutsu, effectively allowing them to enter each other’s minds and counteract Kabuto's technique in time to stop the copy of Orochimaru's true form from attacking them. After declaring that he would now use Izanami, Itachi was suddenly bisected by Kabuto who launched a surprise attack by emerging from the mouth of the subdued Orochimaru copy.

After being told the seals, Itachi has Kabuto perform them while his brother states he still could not forgive Konoha for what they had done to Itachi. But he will continue to conspire against the villages despite Itachi's wishes. Itachi listens without response.

Before the Impure World Reincarnation was cancelled, Itachi moved towards Sasuke with his hand outstretched to seemingly poke him as he always did in their youth, and stated that he could still make it. Before his consciousness faded completely, Itachi used his Sharingan and shared with Sasuke his memories and the truth of what had happened, leading up to the coup d'etat their clan had planned. While showing him this, Itachi told Sasuke that he no longer wanted to lie to Sasuke and contemplated whether things would have turned out differently had he told Sasuke the truth of what was happening at the time. As he reaches his little brother, Itachi gives Sasuke a head bump, symbolising he no longer saw Sasuke as a child, but an equal. Itachi told his little brother that he didn't have to forgive him, but no matter what happened to him from that point onwards, he would always love him, resting his forehead on his little brother's as he imparted his final words to him, and then disappeared. His spirit went to the afterlife, leaving the corpse of an unknown Konoha shinobi behind.
 * Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi Dream

In Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, the Uchiha Clan Massacre also never happened. So Itachi never defected the village, and Sasuke never grew to hate him. During Sasuke's childhood, Sasuke looked forward spending time with Itachi. But Itachi was summoned by Minato, so he suggests Sasuke spend time with their father who compares him unfavorably to Itachi when he tries the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique for the first time. Years later Itachi saw Minato accompanying the Third to a meeting with the Uchiha, to ensure their continued allegiance. The next day while at the front door at his house, he happily greeted Naruto who was coming to pick up Sasuke. He told Naruto that he is happy for him being his kid brother's friend, since Sasuke is always unfriendly.

When Sasuke returned from a mission. Fugaku berates Sasuke for failing to stop his team-mates from breaking the rules. Itachi arrives to deliver a report to Fugaku, so Sasuke leaves. Itachi and Sasuke discuss their father, and the recent negotiations between the Uchiha and the village. Itachi learns from Minato he intends to keep his promises to the Uchiha clan. Including that Itachi and Minato also wonder if Naruto could be the Child of Prophecy. But Itachi also watches Sasuke learn the Chidori from Kakashi. Later when Sasuke came home from learning the chidori, Fugaku thought that Itachi was with him upon seeing Sasuke by himself.

Later that night after Sasuke is home, thinking about the Chidori. He considers asking Fugaku for advice, so he asks Fugaku if he can speak with him but he tells him he's busy. But Itachi invites Sasuke to participate in a discussion with their father. Fugaku questions Itachi, who reports he believes Minato's efforts in changing the way the Uchiha are treated as sincere. Itachi adds that for it to happen, the Uchiha must change as well, meeting them in the middle. Sasuke is appalled by Itachi's comment but is cut off by Fugaku, who tells him that Itachi is the one talking along with being certain Itachi came to that conclusion after careful consideration, and considers finding common ground a good decision. Which makes Sasuke resents Fugaku for always siding with Itachi. Itachi reveals the Uchiha have been chosen for a long term mission that would keep some of them away. Fugaku agrees with this mission and gives Itachi full support. Unknown to him that this made Sasuke more angry at his father even more.

Two years later after returning from his mission with his clans men, Itachi welcomed Sasuke's home. But Itachi noticed how cold his little brother had become due to Sasuke ignoring him by walking away from him. Later Itachi discussed with Minato and Hiruzen about Sasuke's unit group escalating violence in their duties, agreeing they must treated carefully. Then when Sasuke's unit gets arrested for threatening Kushina at her house telling her, that they will arrest her while the unit is looking for Naruto. Itachi tells Minato how sorry he is about his clan, and also tells Minato that his father will handle Sasuke with desperate measures.

Later upon learning from Minato that Sasuke left the village to go to Orchimaru, Itachi leaves the village to go after his little brother before it is too late. Upon getting to his little brother's location, as he is in a deadly fight with Naruto. Itachi gets implanted through the chest by Sasuke's stage two Chidori that was meant for Naruto, this shocks Naruto and Sasuke overall. Itachi reveals that he heard everything, and had made it too late to help bring Sasuke back home. As his final moments are near; he turns to Naruto (who is in his version three Nine Tail Chakra cloak) telling him not to give up on being friends with his little brother, he then turns back to Sasuke by poking his little brother's forehead one final time. Itachi then happily smiles while departing into the afterlife. Due to Itachi's sudden death, it made Naruto and Sakue's attacks collided with each other. Then Naruto went unconscious after he scratched Sasuke's headband, whereas for Sasuke; he left an unconscious Naruto on the ground so he can continue to follow Orchimaru on foot while remembering all the wonderful times he had with Itachi.

Right after Sasuke joined the Akatsuki, Sasuke is shocked when he sees Itachi appear in front of him. Itachi says he actually survived from his injuries and he came back to make Sasuke realize the wrong path he was following before disappearing. While fighting against Sasori and his human puppet army, Sasuke tries to fight alone but Itachi arrives and saves Sasuke from the Mizukage's Lava Release, while berating him for not working with his comrades. The brothers both use their respective Susanoo and defeat the Kage puppets. Naruto tells Sasori that all he needs is his comrades before finishing him off with a combination of Rasenshuriken and Sasuke's Kagutsuchi. With the battle over, Itachi heads back to Konoha to take a group photo with Sasuke's friends and Team Jiraiya.

Naruto Shippuuden movie 6
In the alternate world, Itachi appears as the leader of Akatsuki in the alternate universe Naruto and Sakura end up at. Working for Konoha, they help Naruto in the battle against Menma's pawns as Itachi rescues a captured Sakura.

Legacy
By his own design, Itachi had a profound influence on Sasuke's life. His instructions on the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre for Sasuke to gain power at any cost caused Sasuke to isolate himself from other people and avoid companionship. When he realized that he was getting attached to the members of Team Kakashi, 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 start to fail due to the interference of Obito: Obito 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, wiping his prejudices clean and allowing him to start deciding things for himself.

Upon learning the entire truth about Itachi, Sasuke reverts to the great admiration he had for him when they were children and follows in his brother's footsteps. He does not want to see Konoha, the village Itachi sacrificed so much for, destroyed and therefore works against Tobi and Madara to end 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 is concluded to become the world's darkness, using his power to force peace and unapologetically kill any that threaten it.

Though this is again a great divergence from Itachi's plans, another of Itachi's plans redeems him: Uzumaki Naruto, at Itachi's insistence, eventually convinces Sasuke of the errors he has made without killing him after their final battle. In the war's aftermath, Sasuke adopts Itachi's habit of poking others' foreheads as a sign of affection, in particular his wife, Haruno Sakura, and their daughter, Sarada. He also had a habit of neglecting his daughter in favor of his duties of protecting the village, and her. Although he realizes this mistake later on and chose to spend time with his family before continuing his mission. Sasuke would continue to protect the village for many years to come — ultimately causing Itachi's wishes for his brother to finally be realized.

Itachi's influence would extend beyond Sasuke: Danzo, despite his difference of opinions with Itachi, believed him 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 savior for ending the Impure World Reincarnation; Kabuto remembered who he truly was as a result of Itachi's Izanami and, inspired by him, resuscitated Sasuke when he was on the verge of death. Years after the Fourth Shinobi War, a man named Shin becomes so fixated on Itachi that he tries to kill Sasuke in order to avenge Itachi's "murder".

In the anime, Hiruzen realized kind-hearted people should never be in the Anbu because of the nature of their missions. After the Uchiha Clan Massacre, Hiruzen was determined not to do the same with Kakashi and chose to retire him as an Anbu and made him commandeer a team of genin in hopes it would help restore his light and kindness and eliminate his darkness. Also, in the final moments of his reincarnation, Itachi used his Sharingan to transfer to Sasuke all his memories, knowledge, and personal feelings to let his dear brother understand why he chose the path he took.

Video Games
Uchiha Itachi is a playable character in the following video games:
 * Naruto RPG 2 Chidori vs Rasengan
 * Naruto Shippuuden Clash of Ninja Revolution 3
 * Naruto Shippuuden Gekito Ninja Taisen! EX
 * Naruto Shippuuden Gekito Ninja Taisen! EX 2
 * Naruto Shippuuden Gekito Ninja Taisen! EX 3
 * Naruto Shippuuden Gekito Ninja Taisen! Special
 * Naruto Shippuuden Kizuna Drive
 * Naruto Shippuuden Legends Akatsuki Rising
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ninja Council 4
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ninja Destiny 2
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ninja Destiny 3
 * Naruto Shippuuden Shinobi Rumble
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja 4
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja 5
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja Impact
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations
 * Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution
 * Naruto Clash of Ninja Revolution
 * Naruto Clash of Ninja Revolution 2
 * Naruto Gekitō Ninja Taisen! 3
 * Naruto Gekitō Ninja Taisen! 4
 * Naruto Ninja Council 3
 * Naruto Ninja Destiny
 * Naruto Path of the Ninja 2
 * Naruto The Broken Bond
 * Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2
 * Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3
 * Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes
 * Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 The Phantom Fortress
 * Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm
 * Naruto Uzumaki Chronicles 2

Uchiha Mikoto
Prior to the massacre, Itachi was close to his mother, Uchiha Mikoto. As a child, Itachi would always ask her where his father was. Mikoto would always tell him that his father is at a meeting. But Mikoto would always warn Itachi not to eavesdrop on his father's meetings. Once Itachi enter the Ninja Academy, Mikoto would always be on point when Itachi had to do his homework. She even tells Itachi that he and Sasuke can't play to together until his homework is finish. Once when Itachi was at the age of thirteen, he stop eating dinner with his family completely which made Mikoto sad. Since she would always ask him to come eat dinner with the family once in a while, but she would also leave Itachi's dinner trade at the front door of his bedroom, to which Itachi would thank her for. When he decided to go through with killing the Uchiha Clan, Itachi took the responsibility of killing his mother, who accepted his decision to side with the village over the clan and told him that she alway knew from the start. Itachi hesitated to kill his mother while he was shaking and crying as he promised that he would take care of Sasuke as he successfully killed Mikoto.

Uchiha Fugaku
Prior to the massacre, Itachi was close to his father, Uchiha Fugaku. As a child, Itachi would always happily ask for his father to train him. But he would learn from his mother that his father is at a meeting. However Mikoto would always warn Itachi not to eavesdrop on his father's meetings. Itachi eavesdropped any way and learn that the clan showed hatred for Minato being pick as the Fourth Hokage instead of Fugaku. When Itachi was four, his father took him to see dead corpses of war victims in order for Itachi to learn the hardships of being a shinobi but it made Itachi become a pacifist. Once Itachi enter the Ninja Academy, Fugaku would always be on point when Itachi had got good grades. When Itachi was seven, Fugaku taught him the Great Fireball Technique. But he was surprised that Itachi was able to master the technique on his first try. He would even be happy to learn from Sasuke that Itachi is learning new techniques such as the substituting technique. Once Itachi was at the age of thirteen, he stop eating dinner with his family completely which made Fugaku wonder if he'll ever understand his son.

Even though Itachi was favored by his father for being a prodigy, he disapproved of his father neglecting Sasuke. Even telling Fugaku to hold off on the clan meeting so he can accompany Sasuke to his Ninja Academy entrance ceremony; since the meeting was on the same day. Since Itachi didn't come to any of the clan meetings, Fugaku would ask him where he was. But Itachi would tell him that he was on a top secret mission and he would tell Fugaku that Sasuke is eavesdropping on their conversation which shocked Fugaku. Once Itachi was suspected to be Shisui's murder, Fugaku would defend his son, and would make sure that his clan members wouldn't put Itachi in jail.

After another clan meeting about the coup de'tat, Fugaku called Itachi to speak with him privately. He revealed that the stone tablet within the Naka Shrine held secrets to a better world for all, but required an evolved Sharingan to read it at all. revealing the truth about his Mangekyo Sharingan instead of the Sharingan. Itachi suspects that his father wants him to read it, but Fugaku tells him no. He was shock he saw that his father has a Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi learned about his father's plan, on how he would control the village by using Itachi's Anbu position as a means to allow him to subjugate the village as the Hokage. A plan of which Itachi was not proud of, in which he asked Fugaku if this was a way to protect the village as the Hokage.

Knowing of his son's hesitance for bloodshed and reluctance to attack the village, Itachi was placed under a genjutsu by his father to which Fugaku showed Itachi what would happen if he controlled Kurama. In his father's genjutsu, Itachi saw that his father wanted to capture Naruto, by extracting Kurama out of him, and using it against Konoha. After Itachi saw the genjutsu with horror on his face, Fugaku expressed his desire for this revolution to end without any deaths, insisting that with Itachi's help, they can achieve that goal. A task that Itachi would not help him with.

When he decided to go through with killing the Uchiha Clan, Itachi took the responsibility of killing his parents. While killing some of the clan members Itachi met up with his father's shadow clone. As he spoke with his father's shadow clone, both expressed their true goals in life, not only for themselves but for their clan and the village. Before his father's shadow clone disappeared, Fugaku realized that Itachi was murdering the clan to save Sasuke and Naruto's life. After speaking with his father's shadow clone, Itachi went to confront his parents.

At first he hesitated to open the door to the room that his parents were in, but was surprised on not only were they not kill yet but when his father told him that he didn't place any traps in the room. Fugaku accepted his decision to side with the village over the clan and didn't hesitate to fight for his life. Fugaku then asked Itachi to take care of Sasuke as his last request and telling him not to hold back on his emotions, to which Itachi agreed for both terms. Itachi hesitated to kill his father while he was shaking and crying as he promised them that he would take care of Sasuke when he successfully killed Fugaku.

Uchiha Sasuke
Uchiha Sasuke is Itachi's younger brother, by four years. From the time Sasuke was born, Itachi felt a deep attachment to his brother and vowed to always protect him, to which he first did during the Nine Tails' attack on the village and Itachi was left alone to care for him. During their childhood, Itachi and Sasuke had a close relationship and were openly kind and affectionate to each other. Sasuke idolized his older brother and was prone to throw tantrums when Itachi was too busy with missions. Itachi tried to appease his brother by keeping him occupied with made-up games and often poked him on the forehead with the words "Sorry, maybe next time."

By the time Sasuke was in the Ninja Academy and Itachi was promoted to captain in the ANBU, Itachi found out about the Uchiha Clan's plan to revolt against the village. Knowing this would only result in another war and lead to the death of innocent people, including Sasuke, Itachi acted as a spy on his clan for the village, with the sole purpose of protecting Sasuke from getting involved. After Shisui's suicide, Itachi started rebelling against the clan and acted cold towards his clan members, which worried Sasuke about his relationship with his brother. Despite this, Itachi still did what he could to comfort Sasuke and was crucial in helping Sasuke bond with their father, who often favored Itachi over Sasuke.

On the night of the massacre, Itachi pretended to hate his little brother and tortured him with the words that he murdered their family simply to test his powers. But he only spared Sasuke for being too weak, and told him to get stronger if he wants to kill him and avenge their family. Although it pained him to do this to his little brother, Itachi knew this was necessary to not only save Sasuke from harm since Danzo, Homura and Koharu still wanted to eliminate the boy. But he truly felt that Sasuke was the only one entitled to punish him for his sins.

After his death during their battle, Sasuke was deeply saddened when Obito told him the truth about Itachi and how his brother always loved him. Sasuke while being guilt-ridden for killing his brother, mourned Itachi. Although aware that Itachi's wish was for Sasuke to return to Konoha and protect it, Sasuke was unwilling to obligue due to the grief of losing Itachi and the rage for the villagers being ignorant of this, and felt Itachi's life was more precious than the village. Upon being reincarnated, Itachi was deeply shocked when he learned from Naruto that Sasuke had turned against the village, and had joined the Akatsuki. But Itachi never gave up on hope that Sasuke could still be saved from darkness.

Upon being reunited Sasuke demanded for Itachi to tell him the entire truth about the village and his mission, but was ignored. While facing against Kabuto, the two brothers joined forces, on the condition that Itachi tell Sasuke the whole truth. In their final moment together, Itachi spoke to Sasuke that he was proud to have protected Konoha one last time and he has no regrets, despite whatever darkness and contradictions lie within the village. This enraged Sasuke, who said he can forgive Itachi but not the village, and he still can't accept Itachi's wish for him. Instead of naturally being angry at his little brother, Itachi said to Sasuke that he didn't need forgiveness and he would always love Sasuke no matter what path he took before his soul returned to the afterlife.

When he was alive and when he was dead, Itachi's most important goal was to protect Sasuke and he harbored nothing but unconditional love for his brother, whom many people deemed to be the person Itachi loved the most. Although Itachi's actions steem from doing what he felt were in Sasuke's best interest, he was naïve of the damage it could cause Sasuke over the next several years. Which left Itachi feeling guilty and blaming himself for how Sasuke turned out. Despite this, Itachi never stopped loving his brother and always worried for his well-being, and his final words to Sasuke were able to make Sasuke second-guess his decision to destroy Konoha and ultimately convinced him to follow in Itachi's footsteps in protecting the village from the shadows.

Haruno Sakura
Even though Itachi never met Haruno Sakura, who was Sasuke's childhood classmate and teammate before she became his wife. In Part II she found out that Itachi killed the Uchiha clan and was responsible for Sasuke's pain, to which she vowed to hate him. However, she never learns the truth about Itachi due to Naruto respecting Itachi's request to keep it a secret, although she suspects there is more to the original story of him killing the clan in cold blood. But in the end Sakura also learns to forgive Itachi overall. When she learns Sasuke forgave him, Sakura decide to respect Itachi's memory for Sasuke's sake.

Uchiha Sarada
Sarada is Itachi's niece and Sasuke's daughter. Sarada hears stories about her uncle from her parents, often from her father, and Sasuke tells her that Itachi would have been the best uncle in the world and he would have loved Sarada dearly. Sarada doesn't know that Sasuke named her after Itachi.

Uzumaki Naruto
Itachi first met Uzumaki Naruto when the boy was an infant, while being in the hospital the day after Kurama's attack on the village. Itachi saw Naruto for the first time, and curiosity looked at Mikoto who felt bad that the boy was an orphan. During his time in the Anbu, Itachi witnessed Naruto's rivalry with Sasuke as he spied on them from a far away distance. It turns out that Itachi also cared about Naruto's welling as he didn't want his father or clan to take Kurama out of Naruto. Since he not only knew of Naruto's horrible childhood, he also didn't want his father to control Kurama. Which would have caused Naruto's death, luckily it was a task that Itachi prevented from happening since he kill his whole clan, which in the end saved Naruto's life.

Twelve years later, Itachi met Naruto again when he and Kisame snuck into Konoha to kidnap the boy. Itachi knew that Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage. Upon learning the truth about the Uchiha clan massacre and why Sasuke wanted to kill Itachi, Naruto felt sympathy for his friend by showing resentment at Itachi for Sasuke's pain and suffering.

The two had more interactions during Part II; while searching for Itachi to bring him back to Konoha as bait to lure Sasuke, Itachi asked Naruto why he was obsessed with Sasuke and adamant on saving him after betraying him. Naruto replied that, to him, Sasuke is his best friend and like a brother. This convinced Itachi that Naruto was the only one capable to saving Sasuke from darkness and trusted him enough to pass on Shisui's left eye to Naruto.

When Naruto learned the truth about Itachi from Obito, he initially didn't believe it because there was no proof of what Obito was telling him. He also partially blamed Itachi for how Sasuke turned out and creating such a mess with Sasuke's mental state. When they met again after Itachi had been reanimated, Naruto was surprised to see Itachi, who was equally surprised to see that Naruto gained control of the Nine-Tails' chakra. Itachi was forced to fight Naruto while under Kabuto's control and each took the opportunity to ask questions; Itachi wanting to know where Sasuke was and Naruto wanting to know if Obito's words were true. Itachi confirmed it was all true and Naruto said he understood what Itachi did for Sasuke but felt Itachi carried some blame for Sasuke's actions, which Itachi agreed with. Rather than expressing anger, Naruto convinced Itachi of his error in manipulating Sasuke rather than being honest with him. Naruto even told Itachi that he can make up with Sasuke now that he isn't controlled by Kabuto. But Itachi refused saying that he rather let his comrades handle things.

Despite not being friendly, Itachi always had faith in Naruto and was always appreciated that Naruto had always looked out for Sasuke. Itachi also noted that Sasuke never realized how lucky he was to have a friend like Naruto, who cared so much about him. Before parting ways forever, Itachi lectured Naruto on the true meaning of being a ninja and to never let power cloud his judgment, including not to forget your friends and to never become arrogant. Itachi then entrusted Sasuke's safety to Naruto for good.

Namikaze Minato
Itachi never officially met the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, but mourned his death after sacrificing his life when the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha. Itachi has great respect for Minato and considers him to be an honorable hero of the village for choosing to give his life up for the village.

Uzumaki Kushina
Itachi never officially met Minato's wife, Uzumaki Kushina, despite her being friends with his mother. However, he and his mother mourned Kushina's death the day after the Nine-Tails' attacked the village and went to the hospital to see her newborn son, Naruto.

Uchiha Shisui
Uchiha Shisui was Itachi's best friend, and surrogate older brother. From their childhood, the two became fast friends due to their devotion to the clan and their desire to protect the village. Itachi idolized Shisui for his impressive abilities and trained under him. However, when news of the clan's plan to revolt against the village got to them, both became spies for the village to make sure their clan doesn't bring chaos and endanger the lives of their family and the villagers.

On the day Shisui died, his right eye had already been stolen by Danzo befor ehe could use his Sharingan genjutsu abilities to protect the village and spoke to Itachi about this. While being worried that Danzo would come back for his left eye, Shisui entrusted it to Itachi, since he is his best friend including that he had wrote suicide note that he had left at the bottom of the cliff. Shisui then asked him to protect the Uchiha's good name, which Itachi vowed to do. He then committed suicide by throwing himself off a cliff, and into a river. Witnessing the death of his best friend had awakened Itachi's Magekyo Sharingan.

The clan suspected Itachi had murdered Shisui to gain the Magekyo but could never find proof of his guilt due to never being able to find his body. Itachi continued to follow his firend's last wish by protecting the village at all costs, and keeping the Uchiha's name in honor. Even if it meant eliminating the entire clan for the sake of protecting the village, and keeping the clan's plan to revolt a secret so that Uchiha's name wouldn't be tarnished. Itachi also credits Shisui for teaching him the true meaning of being a shinobi: self-sacrifice, moving in the shadows while caring about and protecting the village.

Uchiha Izumi
Itachi and Izumi met when they are five-years-old on the day of their Ninja Academy entrance ceremony in the novel. But in the anime, they met sometime before entering in the Ninja Academy when Itachi was being bullied for ignoring kids his own age that wanted to play with him when he told them that he had to go train with his father. From their first meeting, Izumi became infatuated with itachi, rooted from him good looks and prodigal abilities. However, Itachi didn't have any interest in her, since he preferred to train alone.

After entering in the Ninja academy, Itachi and Izumi became closer. Even when Itachi would still get bullied by other children, Izumi always defended him. After their graduation and moving on to their shinobi careers, they started to fall in love. But rumors of their relationship embarrassed them, as they were teased as being called lovers. Despite his devotion to his little brother Sasuke and being busy with his ANBU missions. Itachi always thought of Izumi, evening trying to spend as much time with her as he could, and he genuinely loved her.

On the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, the first person Itachi truly killed was Izumi. Before doing so, he explained his decision and his reasons for it to her. Rather than begging and fighting for her life, Izumi accepted it all and didn't hesitate to save herself. In their final moment together, Itachi used Tsukuyomi on Izumi to show her what their life would have been like: excelling in their shinobi careers, happily married, raising their children, and living until the age of eighty. Before he killed her, Itachi thanked Izumi for always loving him. However in the anime, it was Obito who killed Izumi as she begged for Itachi to come save her as she was restrained by Obito before getting kill.

Uchiha Obito
Itachi first encountered Uchiha Obito right before the massacre took place. Obito, however, told Itachi that he was Madara Uchiha, which Itachi found suspicious but never questioned him. Obito knew about Itachi given the choice to kill the clan to protect his brother and the village, or die with the clan as it revolts against the village. Obito offered to help Itachi wipe out the clan as part of getting revenge on it for betraying him. Despite his suspicions for the man, Itachi agreed but warned him to not harm Sasuke. He then took Obito's offer to join the Akatsuki right after the clan was murder, to which Itachi had told Hiruzen before leaving the village.

Years later, a reanimated Itachi learns from Naruto that Obito told Sasuke the truth about the massacre, and felt anger at the man for turning Sasuke further against the village.

Hatake Kakashi
Hatake Kakashi is Itachi's former ANBU partner. Although they worked together for a short time, they got along well. When Kakashi learned that Itachi murdered the Uchiha clan, he defended Itachi by saying that Itachi would never to such a thing. Kakashi was deeply saddened when Itachi committed the massacre and defected from the village. Kakashi even felt that he never understood Itachi. They would battle each other years later when Itachi and Kisame snuck into Konoha to kidnap Naruto. When he learned the truth about the massacre from Obito, Kakashi thought he was lying but told Naruto and Yamato (who also heard it) to keep quiet to prevent more chaos.

Maito Gai
Itachi first met Guy when he and Kisame sneaked into Konoha to kidnap Naruto. Itachi found him unusual and unworthy of his attention.

Sarutobi Asuma
Itachi first met Asuma when he and Kisame sneaked into Konoha to kidnap Naruto. Having heard of Itachi's past and crimes, Asuma was cautious as he fought Itachi.

Yuhi Kurenai
Itachi first met Kurenai when he and Kisame sneaked into Konoha to kidnap Naruto. Having heard of Itachi's past and crimes, Kurenai was cautious as she fought Itachi.

Sarutobi Hiruzen
Itachi always had the most respect for the Third Hokage, who was proud of Itachi as a prodigy and a firm believer in the Will of Fire. Hiruzen always wanted to reach a peaceful resolution with the Uchiha clan, but when that failed, he accepted Itachi to act as a double spy in order to keep tabs on the clan. Hiruzen was the only village elder who was against eliminating the clan and criticized the other elders for saying such words in front of Itachi.

Hiruzen was deeply saddened upon learning Itachi had killed his clan but didn't blame him for it. Accepting Itachi's choice to also leave the village and join the Akatsuki to make sure it doesn't come after the village. Hiruzen told Itachi he was always allowed to enter the village to check on Sasuke whenever he wanted to, and would use any means to protect Itachi's whereabouts from shinobi who wanted him dead.

Hiruzen always had nothing but good things to say about Itachi and credits Itachi for preventing another war from breaking out by killing his clan. Because of what happened to itachi, Hiruzen decided that children no longer belonged into the ANBU and, up until his death, he stayed true to his promise to Itachi that he would look after Sasuke.

Hoshigaki Kisame
Kisame is Itachi's partner from when he was in the Akatsuki. Despite their opposing personalities (Itachi being pacifist and calm while Kisame being violent and blood-thirsty), they got along well due to that they both killed members of their clan.

While they oppose each other's fighting ways, they have respect for the other and look out for each other. Kisame often follows Itachi's orders, such as holding back his urge to kill his opponents. When Itachi died, Kisame expressed brief sadness for his death. Whereas Itachi did the same upon learning that Kisame was dead when he saw the formers weapon being attach to Killer Bee.

Nagato
Although both were members of the Akatsuki, they apparently had no interactions until they were reanimated during the war. Both spent some time wandering around, while trying to figure out what to do, and asking each other what the other knew about the organization. Both said they knew little about it, and admitted they were simply used by the organization for their powers.

They were forced to fight Naruto and Killer B while under Kabuto's control and offered the two jinchurikis ways to avoid their attacks. When Nagato was unable to resist Kabuto's control, he didn't hesitate to let Itachi burn him with Amatersau to kill him. However, Nagato became completely controlled, and Itachi had no choice but to seal him away, to which Nagato was grateful for.

Killer B
Itachi first met Killer B when he and Nagato encountered B and Naruto during the war. After beign forced to fight the two against his will and giving them ideas on how to dodge being injured, Itachi saved B and Naruto many times when Nagato fell under Kabuto's complete control. Afterwards, Itachi asked B to look after Naruto for him, which B agreed to do.

Orchimaru
Itachi met Orochimaru when he was four-years-old, when they attended a memorial service for the victims of the Third Shinobi War. When Itachi asked what was the meaning of living, and Orochimaru replied living without immortality was pointless, which made Itachi questions the meaning of life and death more than before.

After joining the Akatsuki around the same time Orochimaru did, Itachi became targeted by the Sannin, who desired to take his Sharingan to achieve the power needed to gain immortality. Orochimaru tried to take Itachi's body by ambushing him in a battle, but Itachi proved himself as a threat against Orochimaru, who abruptly abandoned his goal to take Itachi's body.

Despite their brief time together, Itachi despises Orochimaru and is disgusted with the latter's use of collecting bodies and experimenting on them to pursue immortality. When Sasuke joined with Orochimaru, Itachi was worried for his brother but chose to believe that Sasuke would develop the strength to defeat Orochimaru, which he did.

Uchiha Yashiro
Itachi and Yashiro used to be friends. When Itachi was suspected of murdering Shisui and lashed out at the clan for caring less about the village, Yashiro came to hate Itachi.

Uchiha Tekka
Itachi and Tekka used to be friends. When Itachi was suspected of murdering Shisui and lashed out at the clan for caring less about the village, Tekka came to hate Itachi.

Uchiha Inabi
Itachi and Inabi used to be friends. when Itachi was suspected of murdering Shisui and lashed out at the clan for caring less about the village, Inabi came to hate Itachi.

Shimura Danzo
Danzo was the Konoha elder who felt killing the Uchiha lan was necessary for protecting the village and he gave Itachi two choices: die witht the clan in the revolt or kill his clan and protect the village. Itachi chose the latter, despite the pain and guilt he felt for killing his parents and forcing Sasuke to grow up as an orphan. Upon learning Itachi's mission was a success, Danzo considered Itachi a hero for protecting the village but was condemned by Hiruzen for what he made Itachi do.

Itachi never trusted Danzo and correctly suspected the elder still planned to kill Sasuke sometime in the future, and before leaving the village, he warned Danzo to never harm Sasuke or he will tell the village's secrets to its' enemies. Although he never trusted him and disapproved of the elder's methods of protecting the village, Itachi still felt Danzo was doing what he felt was best for the village.

Mitokado Homura
Despite Itachi's devotion to the village and willing to do anything to protect it, Homura never liked Itachi and spoke poorly about the Uchiha clan in front of him. Even after Itachi kills the entire clan, Homura considers him a criminal and feels no gratitude that Itachi prevented a war between the village and Uchiha clan.

Utatane Koharu
Despite Itachi's devotion to the village and willing to do anything to protect it, Koharu never liked Itachi and spoke poorly of the Uchiha clan in front of him. Even after Itachi kills the entire clan, Koharu condiers him a criminal and feels no gratitude that Itachi prevented a war between the village and Uchiha clan.

Deidara
Soemtime after joining the Akatsuki, Itachi was sent to collect Deidara and ask him to join the organization. when Deidara refused, he and Itachi fought following a bet that Deidara would join if Itachi defeated him. Itachi easily accomplished this but destroyed many of Deidara's artworks. As a result of this humiliation, Deidara harbored intense hatred for Itachi and dreamed of getting revenge on him.

Itachi, however, never took his desire for revenge seriously and preferred to ignore him. To get back at Itachi, Deidara eagerly fought Sasuke with the idea that killing him would entice Itachi to seek revenge on him and get him into fighting him. However, Deidara ends up getting killed by Sasuke in their fight.

Knownable Relatives

 * Uchiha Mikoto (Mother/dead)
 * Uchiha Fugaku (Father/dead)
 * Uchiha Sasuke (Younger Brother)
 * Haruno Sakura (Sister in law)
 * Uchiha Sarada (Niece)
 * Uzumaki Naruto (Friend & Ally)
 * Uchiha Izumi (Girlfriend/dead)
 * Uchiha Shisui (Best Friend & Surrogate Older Brother/dead)

Trivia
According to the databook(s): There are several differences between his character in the current timeline and in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream:
 * The name "Itachi" (鼬) can be translated as "weasel", while his family name "Uchiha" is another way of pronouncing "uchiwa" (団扇), 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 ranked highly in the Shonen Jump popularity polls for the series, continuously placing in the top ten and reaching sixth place once.
 * In the seventh popularity poll, he rose to fifth place, where he remains in the latest poll.
 * He and Kisame were the first active Akatsuki members to appear.
 * 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.
 * His birthday was June 9, and his bloodtype was AB.
 * Itachi's hobby was visiting traditional Japanese cafés.
 * Itachi wished to fight Sasuke.
 * Itachi's favorite foods were cabbage and onigiri with seaweed in it, while his least favorite was steak.
 * Itachi's favorite sweets are dango.
 * 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 favorite word was "peace" (平和).
 * Itachi had always poked his younger brother, 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)
 * Itachi is tied with Jiraiya for having the highest stat total in the databooks.
 * Studio Pierrot's Settei sheets of Itachi show that he was 130 cm as a genin, 148 cm when he joined the Anbu and 170 cm around the time of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
 * Fittingly, the shinobi that was sacrificed for his reincarnation was a Konohagakure shinobi, indicating his affiliation with the village.
 * Amaterasu, the Shinto goddess of the sun, had a three-legged crow named Yatagarasu. In addition to having a technique named Amaterasu (which he used against Pain’s Giant Drill-Beaked Bird, which also had three legs), Itachi uses crows in his techniques.
 * According to Shinto mythology, Yatagarasu's appearance was regarded as an omen for either something really good or bad. His permanent appearance was through the Koto Amatsukami, namely Takagi no Kami and Amaterasu who sent Yatagarasu as a saviour to end Emperor Jimmu's war. This closely resembles Itachi's role, where he is freed through Koto-Amatsukami and becomes an important asset in the Alliance's efforts to end the shinobi war.
 * He and his mother, Uchiha Mikoto are the only two Uchiha Clan members that knew the identities of Naruto's parents.
 * Ironically Obito is shown killing Izumi in Naruto Shippuuden episode 455, contradicting his statement to Sasuke in Naruto Shippuuden episode 141 that Itachi killed her. However, in the book version that the episode is adapted from Itachi does kills Izumi by himself.
 * Itachi's nickname "…of the Sharingan" (写輪眼の) is also held by Kakashi.
 * In the current timeline, Itachi met Naruto when he was an infant. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, he met Naruto when the boy was at the age of 12.
 * In the current timeline, Minato's right hand man in the ANBU was Kakashi. However Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, it is Itachi who is Minato's right hand man in the ANBU.
 * In the current timeline, Itachi would have meetings with his father privately. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, he would have his meetings with his father by including Sasuke to join in on the conversation.
 * In the current timeline, Itachi would talk to Sasuke about rivalry and brotherhood. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, he would speak to Sasuke about the relationship between their clan and Konoha.
 * In the current timeline, Itachi realize that Sasuke would become cold after the clans massacre. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, Itachi sees how cold Sasuke became when he welcome him home from his three year training with the clans police force.
 * In the current timeline, it was Kakashi who fail to stop Sasuke and Naruto's final fight before Sasuke went even further to Orchimaru's location. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, it is Itachi who fail to stop Sasuke and Naruto's final fight before Sasuke went even further to Orchimaru's location.
 * In the current timeline, Itachi never knew that Naruto had a strained friendship with Sasuke. But he felt grateful that Naruto cared about Sasuke even after the Uchiha Clan Massacre. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, Itachi knows about Naruto's strained friendship with Sasuke. He also supports Naruto trying his hardest to be friends with Sasuke, even telling Naruto not to give up on being Sasuke's friend.
 * In the current timeline, Itachi dies while stumbling to an unknown illness that he had. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, he accidentally dies while getting implanted by Sasuke's stage two Chidori that was meant for Naruto. But it turns out that Itachi survived and went into hiding to heal.
 * In the current timeline, Itachi lectured Naruto on becoming arrogant by wanting to end the war on his own without his comrades help. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, Itachi was angry at Sasuke's choice to destroy Konoha and not working with his comrades.
 * In the current timeline, it was Kabuto who Sasuke and Itachi fought against. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, it was Sasori's Raikage, Mizukage, and Tsuchikage puppets that Sasuke and Itachi fought against.
 * In the current timeline, Itachi was dead before he was reincarnated to fight against Kabuto. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, he remains alive to fight Sasori and returns home with his reformed little brother. To which he takes a group photo with Naruto's family, the Konoha 11, Team Jiraiya and Gaara.

Voice Actresses & Actors

 * Japanese voice actress : Yuka Terasaki (Young)
 * Japanese : Hideo Ishikawa


 * English : Crispin Freeman

all information on Uchiha Itachi is from http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Itachi_Uchiha