Sasuke Uchiha

The last loyal survivor of the massacred Uchiha clan, Sasuke is a coldly gifted prodigy admired by classmates he ignores. Consumed by the need to avenge his family and kill his brother Itachi, he abandons the Leaf Village to seek power from Orochimaru. His bond with Naruto and Sakura repeatedly pulls against his hunger for revenge, making him the series' most conflicted figure.

Sasuke is a slender, pale boy with black eyes and dark blue-black hair that spikes upward at the back and falls in long bangs framing his face. He wears a navy high-collared shirt bearing the red and white Uchiha fan crest on the back, white arm warmers, and white shorts, with his Leaf forehead protector tied across his brow. His expression is habitually cool and unimpressed. When his Sharingan activates, his irises turn crimson with rotating black tomoe. Under the influence of Orochimaru's curse mark, black flame-like patterns spread across his skin and his hair lengthens and grays.

Cold, terse, and driven, Sasuke measures everything by whether it brings him closer to killing his brother. He dismisses friendship as a distraction and treats his own considerable talent as insufficient, which makes him bitterly sensitive to anyone who grows faster than he does. Beneath the aloofness he retains the instincts of a protector, throwing himself between danger and his teammates without hesitation and only afterward pretending it meant nothing. Praise embarrasses him and affection unnerves him. As Naruto closes the gap between them, Sasuke's controlled exterior cracks into jealousy and desperation, and he becomes willing to trade his humanity for power that can finally satisfy his vengeance.

Sasuke grew up in the prestigious Uchiha clan, the younger son of the police chief Fugaku and his wife Mikoto, perpetually overshadowed by his gifted older brother Itachi, whom he nonetheless adored. One night Itachi slaughtered the entire clan, leaving only Sasuke alive. Itachi tortured him with a genjutsu replay of the massacre and told him to hate, to grow strong, and to come for revenge when he had gained the same eyes. The survivor entered the Academy consumed by that goal, graduating at the top of his class as the village's celebrated rookie of the year. He lived alone in the emptied Uchiha district, courted by admirers he ignored entirely.

1. Land of Waves

   Paired with the boy he considers a loud nuisance, Sasuke begins to acknowledge Naruto's guts during the mission to protect Tazuna. Against Haku's mirror technique he awakens his Sharingan more fully, then shields Naruto from a lethal volley of needles, collapsing in what everyone assumes is death and revealing how much his teammates matter.

2. Chunin Exams

   In the Forest of Death, Sasuke is attacked by Orochimaru, who brands him with the cursed seal and tempts him with the promise of power. Sasuke fights through the preliminary rounds despite the seal, and Kakashi trains him privately for the finals, teaching him the Chidori and warning him where such hunger leads.

3. Konoha Crush

   His tournament match against Gaara showcases his new speed and his Chidori, which draws blood from the Sand jinchuriki for the first time. The invasion interrupts the fight, and Sasuke pursues Gaara into the forest, ultimately outmatched by the transformation and forced to watch Naruto finish what he started.

4. Search for Tsunade

   Itachi returns to the Leaf hunting Naruto. Sasuke confronts him, only to be casually overpowered and subjected to the massacre genjutsu once again. Left comatose until Tsunade heals him, he wakes with his sense of inadequacy sharpened and his resentment of Naruto's progress becoming impossible to conceal.

5. Sasuke Recovery Mission

   Provoked by Orochimaru's Sound Four and by his own fear of stagnation, Sasuke abandons the village. At the Valley of the End he battles Naruto with the cursed seal's second stage, defeats him, and deliberately spares him before walking away toward Orochimaru, severing his ties to the Leaf.

Itachi Uchiha

Older brother and target of revenge

Once his idol, Itachi became the architect of Sasuke's entire life by destroying their clan and ordering him to grow strong enough for revenge. Every choice Sasuke makes is measured against the gulf between them.

Naruto Uzumaki

Teammate and rival

Sasuke initially dismisses Naruto as talentless, then comes to regard him as the closest bond he has and, simultaneously, as the threat that proves he is standing still. That contradiction ultimately drives him out of the village.

Kakashi Hatake

Sensei

A fellow Sharingan user who recognizes Sasuke's path because he walked something similar. Kakashi trains him personally and tries to warn him that living for revenge leaves nothing behind, but the lesson fails to take hold.

Sakura Haruno

Teammate

Sasuke finds Sakura's adoration tiresome at first, yet protects her repeatedly and shows visible fury when she is harmed. On the night he leaves, he acknowledges her feelings in the only gentle gesture he offers anyone.

Orochimaru

Tempter and eventual master

The rogue Sannin marks Sasuke during the Chunin Exams and spends the rest of the series drawing him in with promises of strength. Sasuke accepts the bargain knowing full well that Orochimaru intends to take his body.

• He shields Naruto from Haku's needles on the bridge and speaks honestly about his brother for the first time.
• He is bitten and branded by Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, then awakens the seal and brutally maims a Sound ninja.
• He pierces Gaara's sand defense with the Chidori during the Chunin Exam finals.
• He is crushed effortlessly by Itachi at the inn and left catatonic by the massacre genjutsu.
• He defeats Naruto at the Valley of the End, scratches his forehead protector, and walks away from the Leaf.

• He graduated as rookie of the year, the exact opposite of Naruto's dead-last ranking.
• His favorite foods are tomatoes and rice balls with dried bonito, and he dislikes sweets.
• Ino and Sakura's friendship first fractured over their competing crushes on him.
• The fan crest on his back is the emblem of the Uchiha clan he is the last loyal member of.
• His name is written with characters associated with a Third Hokage-era figure in Konoha's history.

• Naruto Uzumaki
• Sakura Haruno
• Kakashi Hatake
• Itachi Uchiha
• Hinata Hyuga
• Shikamaru Nara

Back to the Naruto guide