Itachi Uchiha

Sasuke's older brother hunts tailed beasts for the Akatsuki while quietly steering events toward his brother's survival. Shippuden reveals that the Uchiha massacre was a mission forced on him to prevent civil war, and that he has been dying for years. He loses to Sasuke by design, later returns as a reanimated corpse, breaks free of Kabuto's control and helps end the Impure World Reincarnation.

Tall and lean with a composed, tired bearing, Itachi has long black hair tied at the nape and a fringe framing his face. Two pronounced creases run from the inner corners of his eyes down his cheeks, giving him a permanently weary look. His eyes are black until the Sharingan awakens, turning them red with three tomoe, or the Mangekyo pattern of three interlocking curves. He wears the Akatsuki uniform: a black cloak patterned with red clouds, a high collar, a slashed Konoha forehead protector and a ring on his right hand. Illness leaves him coughing blood and increasingly pale.

Outwardly Itachi is calm to the point of coldness, speaking in measured, unhurried sentences and rarely raising his voice even in battle. He presents himself to Sasuke as a remorseless fratricide who values only power, a performance he maintains for years. In truth he is a pacifist who despised killing, a careful strategist who weighed the survival of a village against the life of his own clan, and a man consumed by guilt. He values honesty about weakness, warns against the arrogance that comes with the Sharingan, and repeatedly tells his brother that strength built on isolation is hollow. His affection surfaces only in small gestures, most famously a light tap to the forehead.

Itachi was born into the Uchiha clan during wartime and was traumatised by the violence he witnessed as a small child. A prodigy, he graduated the Academy far ahead of his year, mastered the Sharingan early, made chunin while his classmates were still students and joined the ANBU soon after, becoming a captain shortly on. Caught between his clan's plan to overthrow Konoha and the village's determination to stop them, he agreed to act as a double agent. When negotiation failed, he accepted an order to destroy the Uchiha, sparing only his younger brother Sasuke and afterwards fleeing as a criminal. He joined the Akatsuki as a spy, all the while ensuring Konoha remained untouched by the organisation.

1. Kazekage Rescue and the search for Sasuke

   Itachi resurfaces as an Akatsuki operative, confronting Naruto and his companions with crow-based illusions and shadow clones. He gathers information about Naruto's growth and about Orochimaru's hold over Sasuke, all while carefully avoiding any action that would genuinely endanger Konoha's shinobi.

2. Itachi Pursuit

   With Sasuke openly hunting him, Itachi moves deliberately toward a final meeting. He tests Naruto directly, plants a contingency inside him with his crow, and speaks to Naruto about protecting Sasuke, revealing far more concern for his brother's future than his reputation as a killer would suggest.

3. Fated Battle Between Brothers

   At the Uchiha hideout Itachi fights Sasuke with Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and finally Susanoo, dismantling Orochimaru in the process. Fatally ill and fighting beyond his limits, he collapses at the moment of victory, touching Sasuke's forehead a last time before dying, having secretly transferred his own eye techniques to his brother.

4. Pain's Assault aftermath and revelations

   Through Tobi's account and Konoha's own records, the truth of the Uchiha massacre emerges: Itachi acted as a double agent and accepted the role of a villain so his brother would grow strong and the village would be spared civil war. The revelation reshapes Sasuke's motives entirely.

5. Fourth Shinobi World War

   Reanimated by Kabuto, Itachi breaks the summoner's control using a contingency stored in Naruto, then fights alongside Nagato before pursuing Kabuto with Sasuke. He traps Kabuto in Izanami, finally tells his brother the whole truth and apologises for everything, then departs as his soul is released.

Sasuke Uchiha

Younger brother

Everything Itachi does is arranged around Sasuke's survival and growth, including casting himself as the villain his brother would spend a life hunting. Their final conversation replaces a decade of hatred with grief and understanding.

Kisame Hoshigaki

Akatsuki partner

Kisame is the only member who works comfortably alongside him, deferring to his judgement in the field. Their partnership rests on mutual professionalism rather than friendship, though Kisame respects him deeply.

Naruto Uzumaki

Entrusted successor

Itachi sees in Naruto the person capable of saving Sasuke, and leaves him a hidden safeguard for exactly that purpose. He asks Naruto to keep protecting the village and his brother rather than seeking revenge.

Obito Uchiha (Tobi)

Co-conspirator and threat

Itachi allowed the masked man's help during the massacre but kept him in check by threatening exposure. He explicitly warns him away from Konoha, and his death removes that restraint entirely.

Shisui Uchiha

Closest friend

Shisui shared his hope of preventing a coup without bloodshed and entrusted him with one of his eyes before dying. His loss cemented Itachi's willingness to shoulder the tragedy alone.

• He defeats Sasuke at the Uchiha hideout only to collapse dead at the moment of triumph.
• His true role as Konoha's double agent is revealed, reframing every earlier appearance.
• He breaks free of Kabuto's reanimation control using a safeguard he had planted years earlier.
• He teams with Sasuke for the only time in the series to hunt down Kabuto.
• He forces Kabuto to confront his own identity with Izanami, ending the reanimation jutsu.

• The forehead tap he gives Sasuke becomes the character's most recognisable gesture.
• He was terminally ill throughout his appearances and used medication to stay standing.
• He held ANBU captain rank while still in his early teens.
• An anime arc adapts his childhood and ANBU years in detail.
• His Susanoo carries two legendary tools, one sealing and one absolutely defensive.

• Naruto Uzumaki
• Sasuke Uchiha
• Sakura Haruno
• Kakashi Hatake
• Sai
• Jiraiya

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