Itachi

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

• Childhood: Retains traces of childhood in his face as he grows, but develops a noticeably mature expression 277.
• Eyes: Displays the Three-Tomoe Sharingan during his return to Konoha; awakens the Mangekyō Sharingan after Shisui’s apparent suicide 295 338.
• Rogue-ninja attire: Wears a slashed Konoha forehead protector and a bamboo hat when encountered by Kurenai and Asuma 338.
• Akatsuki attire: Appears alongside Kisame in Akatsuki robes 436.

Personality

Itachi is contemplative from childhood. Witnessing the battlefield leads him to question why strangers kill one another and to ask Anyo about the meaning of life. After nearly losing Mikoto during the Sand Ninja attack, he finds a tentative answer in protecting his family and village from war 144 157 193.

His composure is unusually strong. He calmly thanks Kushina after she saves him from a lethal attack, then withdraws without protest because his depleted chakra would make him a burden. Praise likewise does not distract him from recognizing the skills he still needs to learn 157 192.

His restraint has limits. Grieving Shisui’s death, he lashes out when clan police repeatedly imply that he murdered his friend. He rejects fixation on organizations, clan identity, fame, and profit as constraints on a person’s potential 296.

Itachi’s devotion to peace and Sasuke becomes inseparable from self-sacrifice. He accepts responsibility for the massacre, plans to use his own death to further Sasuke’s growth, and ultimately refuses Anyo’s attempt to bring him home. He regards dying as the fitting end for someone who slaughtered his comrades, despite knowing that his mother still lives 298 343 436.

Abilities & Skills

Sharingan and Mangekyō Sharingan

Itachi’s ocular abilities support both combat and analysis 192 410.

• Fights alongside Mikoto against Sand Ninja using his awakened Sharingan 192.
• Recognizes the genjutsu embedded in Anyo’s swordsmanship and explains how it disrupted Kisame’s senses 410.
• Cannot track Anyo’s fastest sword attacks even with the Sharingan; compensates by defending likely killing points 410.
• Possesses Tsukuyomi in his left eye and Amaterasu in his right eye 468.

Kotoamatsukami

Itachi accesses Kotoamatsukami through Shisui’s entrusted left eye, carried by a summoned crow—not through his own Mangekyō 295 436 437.

• Subtly guides Sasori into accepting a crow clone as the real Itachi 437.
• Preserves the appearance of cooperation: the supposed Itachi agrees to accompany Sasori, preventing him from questioning the substitution 437.
• According to Anyo, a direct command contradicting Sasori’s intentions would have exposed the genjutsu; its success depends on how the suggestion is framed 437.

Swordsmanship

Anyo teaches Itachi swordsmanship during childhood, and Itachi continues practicing it throughout his years away 157 410.

• Uses Hidden Swordsmanship to guard his throat and heart simultaneously 410.
• Applies Anyo’s lesson that decisive swordsmanship should exploit an opening and kill in one strike 410.
• Successfully meets Anyo’s blade defensively, but cannot stop its penetrating force from passing through his Shapeshifting Technique vessel 410.

Fire Release and Ninja Tools

• Great Fireball Technique: Produces an adult-sized fireball while still a young child 157.
• Kunai combat: Draws and kills a wounded Iwagakure ninja when the man attempts to attack him 144.
• Shuriken instruction: Teaches Sasuke shuriken techniques that the younger boy practices independently 297.
• Body Flicker Technique: Uses rapid movement to engage and defeat three members of the Konoha Military Police Force 296.

Clone and Proxy Techniques

• Crow clone: Sends a substitute to Kirigakure while remaining elsewhere; it disperses into a flock of crows after speaking with Anyo 436 437.
• Shapeshifting Technique: Fights Anyo through a sacrificial vessel possessing thirty percent of his chakra, along with his combat skills, experience, weapons, and ninja tools 409 410.
• Vessel limitation: The Shapeshifting body cannot withstand Anyo’s sword force even after Itachi blocks the blade itself 410.

Intelligence and Espionage

Itachi’s judgment makes him useful to both the village and his clan, but also places him between their competing demands 294.

• Serves as a double agent, reporting on the Uchiha to Konoha while the clan seeks information about village leadership through him 294.
• Defeats Orochimaru when Orochimaru attacks him to obtain his Sharingan 309.
• Deduces Anyo’s Uchiha ancestry from Fugaku’s acceptance of him as godfather, the absence of his name from the genealogy, and Kisame’s account of a Uchiha swordsman in Kirigakure 342 343.
• Immediately recognizes that Anyo must have saved and cooperated with Orochimaru upon seeing them together after his reincarnation 468.

Equipment / Items

• Ninja blade: Carries it on his back before beginning the Uchiha massacre 298.
• Thin Blade: Wields it against Anyo during their swordsmanship duel 410.
• Shisui’s left Sharingan: Entrusted to him before Shisui’s fall; kept in a crow and eventually passed to Anyo 295 436.
• Slashed Konoha forehead protector: Identifies his public status as a missing-nin 338.

History

Childhood and Anyo’s Godson

Fugaku and Mikoto first bring Itachi to visit Anyo when he has only recently learned to walk. Anyo briefly considers harming him because of his foreknowledge of the massacre, but abandons the thought because Itachi is Mikoto’s child and the future can still change. At Mikoto’s suggestion, and with Fugaku’s agreement, Itachi formally acknowledges Anyo as his godfather 116 117.

On the Iwagakure battlefield, Itachi offers water to a wounded enemy, only to kill him when he attacks. Fugaku explains that war turns strangers into enemies and tells him to remember what he has witnessed. Itachi later seeks answers from Anyo, who instead redirects him toward ninjutsu and patient swordsmanship practice 144 157.

During the Sand Ninja assault on Konoha, Itachi helps Mikoto defend the clan grounds. Kushina saves him from an Earth Spear aimed at his throat, and Anyo’s clone subsequently protects the survivors. Believing for a moment that his mother might die gives Itachi a clearer desire to protect both family and village 192 193.

When Sasuke is born, Itachi gently touches his brother’s cheek and privately vows to protect him 278.

Anbu Service and Shisui’s Loss

Hiruzen recruits Itachi into the Anbu as an attempted bridge between Konoha and the Uchiha. Instead, worsening relations make him a double agent caught between village surveillance and clan expectations. He discusses peace and justice with Shisui, his closest friend and regular sparring partner 260 294.

After Danzo steals Shisui’s right eye, Shisui entrusts his remaining eye and his wish to protect the village and the Uchiha name to Itachi. He then falls backward from a cliff despite Itachi’s attempt to stop him, triggering Itachi’s Mangekyō awakening 295.

Clan members subsequently suspect Itachi of murdering Shisui. When three police officers confront and mock him, he defeats them before Fugaku intervenes 296.

Uchiha Massacre

Itachi agrees to shoulder the massacre and become a rogue ninja after receiving Hiruzen’s promise to protect Sasuke. He also reaches an arrangement with Obito, who offers to keep the Military Police from interfering 298.

He kills clan members throughout the compound before confronting his parents. Fugaku and Mikoto accept their fate and ask him to care for Sasuke. As Itachi prepares to strike, Anyo secretly uses Kotoamatsukami to alter his perception, leaving him convinced that he has killed them both. Anyo rescues Mikoto and retrieves Fugaku’s Mangekyō from his corpse 298.

Akatsuki and Renewed Contact with Anyo

As Kisame’s partner, Itachi returns to Konoha and fights Kurenai and Asuma until Anyo’s concealed blade forces the pair to retreat. Their later confrontation with Kakashi ends after Might Guy arrives 338 343.

Anyo then enters Itachi’s soul space and confronts him about his intentions: gathering intelligence on Akatsuki and cultivating Sasuke’s hatred so that his own death will awaken Sasuke’s Mangekyō. Itachi initially condemns Anyo’s apparent inaction, but Anyo hints that someone who loves him remains alive. Reassured, Itachi abandons the immediate attempt to capture Naruto and persuades Kisame to leave 343 344.

He continues operating within Akatsuki, receiving orders to hunt the missing Three-Tails and later using the Shapeshifting Technique to delay Anyo during the One-Tail sealing 405 409 410.

Final Choice and Death

Anyo plans to retrieve Itachi, seal his Mangekyō, and nurse him back to health. Itachi evades the intervention by using Kotoamatsukami to make Sasori escort a crow clone to Kirigakure instead 435 436 437.

Through that clone, Itachi confirms that Mikoto is alive, thanks Anyo, and entrusts Sasuke to him. He sends Shisui’s eye to Anyo before the clone disperses. His real body subsequently dies following his battle with Sasuke, his final gesture a familiar tap on his brother’s forehead 436 438.

After learning that Itachi’s body has been destroyed, Anyo trades the Three-Tails to Obito for his Mangekyō eyes 446.

Reincarnation and Farewell

At Anyo’s request, Orochimaru extracts cells from Itachi’s eyes and uses a Sand Ninja sacrifice to reincarnate him. Anyo explains that news of his death could dangerously destabilize Mikoto’s sealed Mangekyō, and Itachi agrees to see her 468.

After their reunion, Itachi declares that he has no lingering attachments. He entrusts Mikoto and Sasuke to Anyo, asks that his eyes be left to his mother, and voluntarily breaks Impure World Reincarnation’s hold on his soul. He departs after one final look at Mikoto 469.

Relationships

• Uchiha Anyo — Godfather and swordsmanship teacher. Their affection is strained by the massacre, but Anyo secretly saves Mikoto, attempts to prevent Itachi’s death, and arranges his final reunion with her 117 157 343 435 468.
• Uchiha Mikoto — Mother. Itachi believes he killed her until Anyo confirms her survival. He ultimately leaves his eyes to her 298 436 469.
• Uchiha Fugaku — Father and clan head. Introduces him to the realities of war, believes in his potential, and asks him to protect Sasuke during their final confrontation 144 298.
• Uchiha Sasuke — Younger brother. Itachi vows to protect him from birth, teaches him ninja skills, and later makes himself the object of Sasuke’s revenge to drive his growth 278 297 343.
• Uchiha Shisui — Closest friend, childhood playmate, and sparring partner. Entrusts his left eye and ideals to Itachi; his fall triggers Itachi’s Mangekyō awakening 141 294 295.
• Kisame Hoshigaki — Akatsuki partner. Heeds Itachi’s assessments of dangerous opponents and opposes Sasori taking him away by force 342 343 436.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Hokage who recruits him into Anbu and promises to protect Sasuke after the massacre 294 298.
• Kushina Uzumaki — Mikoto’s close friend; saves the young Itachi from a lethal Sand Ninja attack 192.

Notable Quotes

“Godfather, what do you think the meaning of life is?” 157

“You’d be better off not judging someone solely by appearances or subjective impressions.” 296

“Godfather, I no longer have any lingering attachments in this world. I entrust Sasuke and Mother to you. Also, I’d like to leave my eyes to Mother.” 469

Trivia

• Itachi loves sweets from childhood. After his final departure, Mikoto mournfully contrasts that preference with the bitterness of his life 157 469.