Itachi

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

• During the massacre: Carries a bloodied blade; his ANBU uniform is later torn, and blood marks his face 1 7.
• As an Akatsuki member: Wears a black robe patterned with red clouds and carries a conical bamboo hat 108 110.
• After punishment: Has empty, bleeding eye sockets following the confiscation of his Mangekyo 119.
• After reanimation: Bears visible Impure World Reincarnation cracks. His forehead protector hangs over one eye, and he again wears an Akatsuki cloak 216 217.

Personality

Itachi presents himself as someone willing to bear blame to preserve Konoha and keep Sasuke alive. He repeatedly argues that exterminating the Uchiha was necessary to prevent a coup, civil war, and attacks by other villages. Even after his crimes become public, he initially insists that he had no alternative 1 7 13 14.

His attachment to Sasuke is controlling. He intends to cultivate his brother’s hatred, dictate his growth, and arrange their eventual confrontation. Sasuke’s independent rise undermines this plan: Itachi becomes visibly distressed when he sees his brother commanding support, wielding the Mangekyo, and defeating the Raikage without him 2 109 110.

His composure deteriorates when victims, records, and public testimony challenge his justifications. He attempts to prevent the trial broadcast and repeatedly invokes his position as Sasuke’s older brother. After reanimation, he eventually admits that he called control “protection” and Sasuke’s suffering “growth,” acknowledging that he had no right to decide whom Sasuke should hate 114 117 219 222.

History

Exposure of the massacre

At thirteen, Itachi accepts Danzo’s plan to exterminate the Uchiha on the condition that Sasuke survive. Sasuke interrupts him immediately after a killing and broadcasts a recording of their agreement. Awakened clansmen discover the bodies, confront Itachi, and mobilize against him rather than allowing the operation to remain secret 1 13.

Itachi argues that the Uchiha coup would destroy Konoha, but neither Sasuke nor Fugaku accepts his justification. Fugaku publicly condemns him and transfers the clan head’s token to Sasuke. When the Third Hokage orders his arrest, Itachi escapes in smoke and leaves a demand for Sasuke to meet him alone at the village entrance 7.

At the gate, Sasuke arrives with witnesses and confronts him as a Missing-nin. Bereaved Uchiha name the relatives lost during the attack and reject his claim to have minimized casualties. Itachi attempts to kill himself, but Sasuke stops him. Before he discloses what he knows about the Snake-Patterned Door, a masked man extracts him through Space-Time Ninjutsu 13 14.

Akatsuki and the return to Konoha

Within Akatsuki, Itachi follows reports of Sasuke’s growing power and warns Obito not to touch him. Footage of Sasuke defeating the Raikage leaves him trembling and coughing blood. Seeing Fugaku and Konoha’s clans supporting Sasuke further destabilizes his belief that his brother needs his guidance 48 108 109.

Despite his worsening condition and warnings from Kisame and Obito, Itachi heads toward Konoha. He deliberately leaves crow feathers and chakra traces to lure Sasuke into a private confrontation. Sasuke instead prepares South Gate Square as a controlled arrest and public trial site, allowing Itachi and Kisame to enter the trap 110.

South Gate defeat and public trial

Itachi attacks Sasuke with Tsukuyomi, intending to force him back onto what he considers the right path. Sasuke breaks the illusion, turns its pressure against him, and seals his retreat with Amaterasu. Subsequent attacks fail: Sasuke redirects his black flames, while the Hyuga prevent a crow-clone escape and interfere with his chakra use 111 112 113.

After an unsuccessful attempt to hijack the Water Mirror broadcast, Itachi is beaten and disabled. The trial presents massacre footage and challenges his claims that slaughter was unavoidable or that his treatment of Sasuke constituted protection. His mental state collapses, and Sasuke orders medical personnel to keep him alive 114 116 117.

His Mangekyo is confiscated, and Neji cripples his limbs and chakra pathways. With Tsunade’s signature, he receives life imprisonment in the deepest level of Konoha’s Severe Psychiatric Hospital, with visits and Genjutsu treatment prohibited. Before being taken away, he warns Sasuke that he has left a contingency involving his eyes 119 120.

The sealed-eye contingency

An Amaterasu seal activates when Sasuke examines the confiscated eye. Sasuke contains the flames and extracts the memories hidden within its pupillary power. The resulting evidence reveals Itachi’s knowledge of Obito’s identity, his warning that Obito stay away from Sasuke, and records of Kamui 121.

During preparations for an Akatsuki attack, Sasuke moves Itachi to a sealed underground chamber and disguises the weakening eye-related seal to bait Obito. Obito’s objectives include Naruto and Itachi’s Mangekyo 150.

Reanimation and wartime exposure

Years later, Kabuto deploys the deceased Itachi through Impure World Reincarnation in Ryūchi Cave. Itachi resists his control but again clashes with Sasuke over the massacre and Sasuke’s methods. Sasuke broadcasts the encounter through the Allied Forces’ Water Mirrors, defeating his Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi while displaying secret orders and intelligence records 216 217.

The records identify the Third Hokage and Danzo as authorities behind the massacre and show Itachi supplying information to both Konoha and Akatsuki. His disclosures to Akatsuki include Konoha’s defense map and ANBU rotations. Sasuke publicly detains him as a suspect in war crimes, the clan massacre, military-information disclosure, and betrayal 219 221.

Itachi ultimately admits that he accepted the orders, manipulated Sasuke’s life, and preserved his freedom of action by serving both sides. As his reanimated body begins crumbling, another force interferes with Kabuto’s control seal 222.

Resistance to Kabuto and Madara

Itachi protects Sasuke from Kabuto’s summoned snake and later uses the Yata Mirror to intercept Black Receivers aimed at Sasuke’s back. He explains his resistance as a refusal to let Kabuto continue using him 217 223.

The outside force is eventually identified as Madara Uchiha, whose chakra tightens the bindings around Itachi’s reanimated body. After Madara emerges, Itachi and Sasuke attack him together, but Madara blocks their strikes with Susanoo and begins absorbing Ryūchi Cave’s natural energy 226.

Abilities & Skills

Mangekyo Sharingan and Genjutsu

Itachi uses ocular pressure and Mangekyo techniques to attack opponents’ minds 1 13.

• Attempts to overpower Sasuke through direct eye contact at the village gate; Sasuke’s One-Tomoe Sharingan resists the initial pull 13.
• Suffers bleeding, pain, and increasingly unreliable focus during his return to Konoha 110 112 114.
• Loses his living eyes through confiscation but uses Mangekyo techniques again after reanimation 119 216.

Tsukuyomi

Creates an illusion in which Itachi claims control over time, space, and pain 111.

• Uses crosses, restraints, blades, and massacre imagery to impose suffering and force Sasuke to listen 111 216 220.
• Plans to make Sasuke experience the clan’s slaughter for seventy-two hours during their first confrontation 1.
• Is repeatedly broken by Sasuke, who rejects the illusion’s imposed account of events and disrupts it with his own ocular power 112 216 217 220.

Amaterasu

Produces black flames through his Mangekyo Sharingan 113.

• Attacks Sasuke and his Susanoo with the flames 113.
• Is countered by Sasuke’s Kagutsuchi, which redirects the fire and turns it against Itachi 113 217.
• Can be stored as a triggered seal within pupillary power 120 121.

Susanoo

Manifests a skeletal chakra avatar for offense and defense 216 217.

• Uses its fists to attack and its structure to block incoming black flames 216 217.
• Yata Mirror: Deflects Sasuke’s sword and shields him from a barrage of Black Receivers 217 223.
• Totsuka Blade: Cuts down Kabuto’s summoned snake, severs black flames, and splits a stone coffin 217 223.
• Can be suppressed by outside control acting through his reanimated body 219.

Crow Techniques

Uses crows, feathers, and prepared talismans for communication and attempted escape 49 110 113.

• Sends blood-written letters to Konoha by crow 49.
• Leaves crow feathers as a trail intended to draw Sasuke out of the village 110.
• Attempts a crow clone using three Feather Talismans hidden in his sleeve; the Hyuga destroy their sealing points before it forms 113.
• Uses a surviving feather fragment in an unsuccessful attempt to interfere with the village-wide broadcast 113 114.

Izanami

Uses a repeating-memory illusion against Sasuke, who identifies inconsistencies and breaks the loop 221.

• Explains that the technique connects the caster’s perceptions with the target’s, forming a loop both participate in 223.
• Describes its intended effect as forcing the target to repeat what they least want to confront 223.

Intelligence Work

Maintains channels to both Konoha and Akatsuki 219 221.

• Passes Akatsuki intelligence to Konoha while providing Akatsuki with Konoha military information 219.
• Defends the disclosures as necessary to gain trust and monitor Akatsuki 219 221.
• Later admits that serving both sides also preserved his freedom to act 222.

Equipment & Items

• Sword and kunai — Used during the massacre and in later close-range attacks 1 113 217.
• Ninja Tool Pouch — Packed with shuriken, kunai, Soldier Pills, a crow scroll, and hemostatic medicine before his return to Konoha 110.
• Tsukuyomi Auxiliary Pills — Carried before the journey; discarded after their bottle spills into rainwater 110.
• Feather Talismans — Concealed in his sleeve for a crow-clone attempt 113.
• Sealed-eye contingency — Contains an Amaterasu trigger and hidden information later extracted by Sasuke 120 121.

Relationships

• Sasuke Uchiha — Younger brother and intended survivor of the massacre. Itachi tries to shape his life through hatred; Sasuke rejects that role, exposes his crimes, confiscates his eyes, and later confronts him again after reanimation 1 13 119 219 222.
• Fugaku Uchiha — Father and former clan head. Publicly condemns Itachi, supports Sasuke’s succession, and refuses to shield him from prosecution 7 113 117.
• Shimura Danzo — Collaborator and source of the extermination orders. Their recorded agreement becomes the initial evidence against Itachi 1 219.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Hokage whose approval appears in the massacre records. Orders Itachi’s arrest after the killings are exposed 7 216 222.
• Kisame Hoshigaki — Akatsuki companion. Warns Itachi about his failing health but accompanies him to Konoha and fights during the South Gate confrontation 110 113 114.
• Obito Uchiha — Masked associate whose identity Itachi knows. Rescues him from the village-gate confrontation, but clashes with him over Sasuke and his planned return to Konoha 14 110 121.
• Kabuto Yakushi — Reanimator who attempts to use Itachi against Sasuke. Itachi repeatedly resists and intervenes against Kabuto’s attacks 216 217 223.
• Madara Uchiha — Seizes the bindings controlling Itachi’s reanimated body; subsequently faces a joint attack from Itachi and Sasuke 226.

Notable Quotes

“As long as Sasuke lives, I'll carry it out.” 1

“Sasuke, hate me. Only hatred can keep you alive through the darkness ahead.” 13

“I called my choices a lack of choice, called my crimes protection, and called Sasuke's suffering growth.” 222

“But I have no right to explain on behalf of the dead, nor do I have the right to decide whom Sasuke should hate.” 222

Continuity Notes

• His parents’ deaths are presented inconsistently. At the village gate, Itachi explicitly states that he has not harmed either parent, and Fugaku remains alive throughout the public trial. Later projected records and Itachi’s admissions describe him killing both parents 13 117 219 222.
• His death is not depicted in the documented events. He is kept alive during sentencing, but later appears as a deceased shinobi summoned through Impure World Reincarnation 119 120 216 217.