Itachi Uchiha

was Sasuke Uchiha's older brother. He was a missing-nin from Konohagakure, and a prominent member of Akatsuki, partnered with Kisame Hoshigaki.

Background
Itachi was born into the Uchiha clan and was praised by all as the best of his generation - a genius above all others. Even by the standards of the battle-adept Uchiha clan, Itachi's prowess far outshone them. However, not even his family, friends, or teachers could understand him. When he was only 4, Itachi had already witnessed countless lives lost due to the Third Great Shinobi World War, which emotionally traumatized him and turned him into a pacifist. At age 7, he graduated from the Ninja Academy at the top of his class after only one year, mastered the Sharingan at age 8, passed the Chūnin Exams at age 10, and became an ANBU Captain at age 13. According to Madara Uchiha, Itachi also had a lover, whom he killed during the Uchiha clan massacre.

He was praised highly by his father, who saw the family's future in Itachi, hence neglecting his other son - Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke. However, during this time Itachi showed great affection towards his little brother, Sasuke, and even encouraged his father to come to the Academy when Sasuke was enrolled, something their dad had otherwise forgotten, by saying that he would not go to an important mission that would establish Itachi a place in the ANBU ranks, otherwise.

When the Uchiha began planning to overthrow Konoha, Itachi, as an ANBU, was tasked with spying on the village. Knowing that a coup d'etat would only lead to another Ninja War, Itachi began spying on the Uchiha instead, passing on information to the Third Hokage and the other Konoha elders. After this he began to act strangely, not attending the clan meetings, speaking out against the clan, and becoming the prime suspect for the murder of his best friend, Shisui Uchiha. The clan lost hope in Itachi, and his father began shifting his focus to Sasuke instead. Meanwhile, the Third's attempts to negotiate a bloodless end to hostilities between the two parties were proving ineffective, so, against the Third's wishes, Danzō and the Konoha Council ordered Itachi to wipe out the Uchiha.

Before the fateful night arrived, Itachi discovered the existence of Madara Uchiha, who was attempting to rekindle the flames of war in Konoha. In return for not attacking Konoha, Itachi offered to help Madara claim vengeance against the Uchiha for turning their backs on him decades earlier. Madara agreed. Itachi slaughtered his entire clan overnight, sparing only Sasuke. Sasuke's life was worth more than the village to Itachi, and he could not follow through with the orders to kill him as well. Instead, he made himself out as a villain, who had killed their innocent family only to test his abilities. By doing so, he wanted Sasuke to take vengeance on him and become a hero to Konoha, thus redeeming the Uchiha name. He tortured Sasuke with his Mangekyō Sharingan, and encouraged him to become strong enough to kill him and avenge their family. Hoping that his beloved little brother would someday be powerful enough to kill him, Itachi left the village as a traitor.

Knowing that Konoha would still want to eliminate Sasuke, Itachi pleaded with the Third Hokage to keep Sasuke safe. He also threatened Danzō to not harm Sasuke or risk him revealing everything he knew about Konoha's secrets to enemy countries. Sasuke's safety was therefore secured, and Itachi returned to his original plan of becoming infamous for his slaughter of the Uchiha.

Itachi joined Akatsuki in order to keep an eye on the organization, along with Madara Uchiha, in case either ever acted against Konoha, all the while planning for his death at Sasuke's hands. While a member of Akatsuki, Itachi was approached by Orochimaru, who tried to steal his body to gain the Sharingan. Itachi trapped him in a genjutsu and severed his left hand as punishment, forcing Orochimaru to flee the organization. Sometime after joining Akatsuki, Itachi later helped recruit Deidara, Orochimaru's replacement, by beating him in battle, after which Deidara swore vengeance against Itachi.

At some time, Itachi contracted a fatal illness, to which he kept himself alive through the intake of various medicines, in the hopes of living long enough to die by Sasuke's hands.

Personality
Ever since his first appearance, Itachi had always been mysterious, and had acted as though he was hiding his true self. While flashbacks to his past showed that he was a compassionate brother and person, his later acts and claims made it seem that this was mostly just an act. But, surprisingly, he genuinely was the compassionate brother he had once claimed to be, although he hid this from the rest of the Akatsuki to protect Sasuke.

As a member of Akatsuki, he possessed incredible self-control of his emotions. He constantly displayed an emotionless personality. He only showed surprise when opponents proved more powerful or skilled than he had expected, and even then he didn't lose his composure. He did not possess any arrogance, and fully justified any statements he made about his power, even complimenting his opponents at times on their abilities.

In addition to being an extremely powerful ninja, Itachi had equally impressive intelligence, and was shown to be very wise. He was exceedingly sharp and observant to any situation at hand, as he was rarely surprised or caught off guard. He also displayed great intuition, as he was almost never deceived and even then almost instantly realized the truth. Despite his status as a wanted criminal, and having murdered a significant portion of his family, Itachi took no enjoyment in violence or combat, instead preferring to avoid battle or, if this was not possible, end it as quickly as he could.

Itachi's only initial interest was in Akatsuki's goals, and his only loyalties appeared to be to the organization and its members, seeming to put the organization's success and secrecy before everything else. As such, Itachi got along with his partner, Kisame, much better than most other Akatsuki members did with their own partners. Kisame appeared to have a deep loyalty to Itachi, immediately doing as he instructed and constantly looking out for his well-being. Itachi treated all of his fellow Akatsuki members to this same, more respectful personality, although his courtesy was rarely returned by the other members.

However, when he was in a genjutsu duel during his fight with Sasuke, he cruelly claimed he had only let Sasuke live so that he could take Sasuke's eyes and obtain his own Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, after which he then claimed the Uchiha clan had been nothing but tainted and evil, since many members would kill their friends to gain the Mangekyō Sharingan, and would take another Uchiha's eyes to make its power permanent. Once the genjutsu was released, he called it his true self, implying his calm, emotionless personality was also a facade. This persona was later revealed to be only an act to ensure that he would die by Sasuke's hands, his love for his younger brother being the fundamental aspect of his personality.

In the end, Itachi put all of his faith in Naruto, who he notes as the person most determined to save and protect Sasuke. After hearing Naruto's answer to keep protecting Sasuke and everyone in Konoha, Itachi gave him some of his power. He was very grateful towards Naruto's determination to save Sasuke, and was smiling after hearing Naruto's response. Itachi even trusted him enough to bring Sasuke back to the light.

Appearance
Despite his status as an infamous shinobi, his appearance was not the most intimidating, apart from the intensity of his eyes. While living in Konoha, he would regularly have a gentle and caring look in his eyes, especially directed towards his younger brother. After joining Akatsuki, he would regularly have a stern look to them. He was a fairly tall shinobi, whose basic appearance was very much like the rest of his clan.

He, like all members of his clan, possessed dark grey eyes, and also had black hair that hung near his cheeks to frame his face. He also had the addition of a long ponytail in the back of his hair (which he obscured with his Akatsuki cloak after joining the organization). Being brothers, Itachi and Sasuke had a similar appearance, but with subtle differences. Itachi's hair color appeared slightly duller and with a softer flow to it, without the spiky style at the back. His skin was also slightly darker. Itachi's most distinguishing characteristics were the long pronounced creases under his eyes.

When he lived in Konoha, his casual clothes would consist of a black shirt with a large Uchiha clan symbol on the back of it, and black pants with a weapons pouch strapped to them. When on duty, he would wear the traditional ANBU uniform, although he was never shown wearing a mask. As a member of Akatsuki, he wore the traditional Akatsuki cloak, and usually kept the center of it buttoned down. After his cloak was incinerated by Sasuke's Kirin during their fight in Part II, it was revealed that he still wore his casual clothes underneath it. Like almost all members of Akatsuki, he wore the headband of his home village, Konoha, with a line gouged through it, to symbolize his broken ties with the village (although, secretly, he was actually still loyal to his village). On his right ring finger is his Akatsuki ring, which bears the kanji for.

Abilities
Since a young age, Itachi's intellect and talent showed their brilliance in everything he did, as even his teachers said his progress hardly required any help. In the few battles he had been seen in since the start of the series, Itachi was shown to be an incredibly powerful ninja, as demonstrated by his ability to easily defeat the likes of Deidara, Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and Orochimaru. Despite his pride in his abilities, Kisame Hoshigaki, Itachi's partner in Akatsuki, acknowledged Itachi as the stronger of the two. Even Madara said that Itachi never ceased to amaze him.

Being a pacifist due to his traumatic experiences from the Third Great Shinobi World War, Itachi did not actively take part in battle, typically only acting in self-defense and trying to incapacitate his enemies instead of killing them if possible. It can also be said that in every one of his battles, Itachi's true strength is never displayed, either because of his nonviolent nature, or the terminal illness that plagued him.

Jutsu
Itachi was a master of all the Uchiha clan's techniques, along with the Sharingan, and had great prowess with all of the three main types of jutsu. When battling against Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma, Kakashi commented that Itachi wasn't fighting with even half of his strength.

Itachi was also noted to be very fast, particularly with his hand movements. This extended to weaving hand seals and throwing weapons, as he was able to reveal a set of shuriken with one hand and then suddenly attack the opponent with a form of Ninjutsu. In terms of mobility, he is able to close considerable distances fast enough to appear like teleporting. His speed was such that neither Sasuke nor Kakashi, who are both very adept at using the Sharingan, could follow his movements in either case. Itachi's techniques also often involved usage of crows, both in ninjutsu and genjutsu. This is seen amongst others with his creation of a clone that dissolves into crows and using crows to hide shuriken in them.

As traditional to the Uchiha clan, Itachi could use Fire Release techniques. He was also shown to use Water Release techniques.

Despite his extensive use of genjutsu, Itachi appeared to be quite skilled in taijutsu as well, as demonstrated when he easily dispatched three fellow Uchiha and when he stopped Sasuke's Chidori with one hand and brutally beat the latter during their reunion in Konoha despite Sasuke's extensive taijutsu training for the Chūnin Exam. He was also very proficient wielding a sword, in the same way as throwing shuriken and kunai.

Sharingan
Being of the Uchiha Clan, and as noted by Kakashi, Itachi was a true successor of the Sharingan Eye. From a stationary position, he would study an opponent's movements with his Sharingan and respond accordingly, often with a genjutsu. He could cast a genjutsu by merely pointing at or looking at someone, and could similarly turn an opponent's genjutsu against them with Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change. Itachi had trained so much with his eyes that he had reached the stage where he could have his Sharingan activated all the time, with minimal drain on his chakra levels.

Mangekyō Sharingan
Itachi possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, which increased his already great power, and enabled him to use his most powerful techniques. With his left eye, he could use Tsukuyomi, a genjutsu that traps an opponent's mind in an illusory world, torturing them for what seems like days in a matter of seconds. With his right eye he could use Amaterasu, a ninjutsu which allowed him to create a black flame that he could direct by moving his eye to burn through seemingly anything in its path, including fire itself. His final technique was Susanoo, a technique that uses both eyes to manifest itself as a spectral being, labeled as the "Raging God of Battle" in the databook. It wielded the Totsuka Sword, an ethereal sword with the ability to seal anything it pierces into the gourd that serves as its hilt, and Yata's Mirror, a shield that can reflect any attack. Zetsu, a fellow Akatsuki member, stated that Itachi's mastery of the Sharingan, combined with the legendary weapons of Susanoo, made him invincible.

Despite his mastery of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi suffered greatly from its side effects. Each of the techniques bestowed by the Mangekyō Sharingan requires vast amounts of chakra to perform, and they leave Itachi fatigued afterwards, to the point of requiring to deactivating his Sharingan altogether, something that he did not usually need. The other side effect is that his eyesight would worsen as time passed since the awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the degradation would only increase after every time he used it, which would lead him to eventually go blind from its power, with his Sharingan forever sealed away. By the time Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan during his final fight with Sasuke, Itachi's eyesight is so badly damaged, that Sasuke appeared to be only a messy blur. Itachi was so close to blindness that, by the time he activated Susanoo in his final fight, both Sharingan had lost the Mangekyō design in them, with only the red iris remaining ( which moments earlier happened to his right eye because of his extensive use of Amaterasu on Sasuke ), with the stress leading to his demise. However, he was still able to perform his own Fūinjutsu in his last moments.

Search for Tsunade arc
After the Invasion of Konoha and the death of the Third Hokage, Itachi and Kisame infiltrated the village to find Naruto Uzumaki, the container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Before searching for Naruto, the two quickly stopped for tea due to a suggestion from Kisame. While there, however, their uncommon clothes drew the attention of Kakashi Hatake, who had Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi follow Itachi and Kisame. Itachi and Kisame nearly managed to escape Konoha, although Asuma and Kurenai managed to catch up with them in time.

After the two revealed their identities, Itachi and Kisame were quick to battle Asuma and Kurenai after they refused to leave. Despite their high ranks of Jōnin, Asuma and Kurenai stood little chance against the two Akatsuki members. However, the arrival of Kakashi managed to keep Asuma and Kurenai from receiving any major injuries. After a short skirmish with Kakashi, Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, and used Tsukuyomi to attack Kakashi's mind and spirit, which afterwards left the latter confined to bed for a few days. After Kakashi revealed he had knowledge of Akatsuki, Itachi ordered Kisame to kidnap Kakashi and to kill Asuma and Kurenai. However, Might Guy then showed up, revealing that he had already told the ANBU about the two Akatsuki members' presence. Itachi and Kisame retreated, saying that they didn't want to start a war.

Itachi and Kisame tracked Naruto to a hotel where he was staying with Jiraiya at the time. Uninterested in provoking a Sannin, Itachi used a genjutsu on a pretty woman to draw Jiraiya away from Naruto. Taking the chance, Itachi and Kisame confronted Naruto, although, at the very same moment, Sasuke arrived to defend Naruto and to seek revenge on his brother. Itachi handled his brother with ease while Kisame and Naruto watched, although Jiraiya arrived in time to save the two boys, having not fallen for the hypnotized woman's charm, since he knew that pretty women did not usually show interest in him.

Jiraiya immediately asked Itachi and Kisame if their real goal was kidnapping Naruto. They confirmed this, and Itachi understood that Jiraiya was the one who had told Kakashi about Akatsuki. Although Jiraiya wished to fight them himself and prevent others from getting hurt, he honored Sasuke's feelings, and allowed him to fight Itachi instead. Itachi, however, only proved Jiraiya wrong in letting Sasuke fight by using his Mangekyō Sharingan on his younger brother, thus reaffirming his need to get stronger. Jiraiya saved Sasuke in time by using the Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind, which transformed the entire hotel hallway into a toad's belly to trap Itachi and Kisame. Despite Jiraiya's claim that no-one had fled this technique before, the two Akatsuki partners managed to escape using Itachi's Amaterasu, which left him exhausted.

Although he was actually supposed to capture Naruto, Itachi's only reason for returning to Konoha after the death of the Third Hokage was to remind Danzō and the other two village elders that he was still alive, and not to harm his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha.

Rescue Gaara arc
While Akatsuki was sealing the One-Tailed Shukaku, they discovered that Naruto and Team 7 were enroute to their location. Itachi volunteered to distract them, so Pain used the Shapeshifting Technique on Yura to create a body-double for Itachi. The lookalike, under Itachi's control, engaged the Konoha ninja. He was impressed by Naruto and Kakashi's improvements in strength but, because the clone had only a portion of his ordinary strength, it was killed by Naruto's Great Ball Rasengan. Nevertheless, he had bought enough time.

Hunt for Itachi arc
As Sasuke was defeating Orochimaru, Itachi sensed something odd. Kisame asked him what was wrong, to which Itachi replied, "No, it's nothing." Following Kisame's capture of the Four-Tailed Monkey, Itachi and Kisame met with the rest of Akatsuki. There, they discovered that Sasuke, after being trained by Orochimaru for two and a half years, had killed his teacher. Sometime after the Four Tails was sealed, Zetsu informed them that Sasuke had been killed by Deidara's C0. Kisame asked Itachi if he was upset that Sasuke's death had left him as the only Uchiha because in the rain he looked as if he were crying. However, Itachi remarked that Sasuke wasn't dead, and alluded to the fact that there was still another Uchiha regardless.

Knowing that his end was near, one of Itachi's shadow clones confronted Naruto, who was looking for Sasuke. Although he claimed he wished only to talk, Itachi was forced to defend himself against Naruto's attacks. After fending off Naruto, Itachi asked why he showed so much interest in Sasuke, a traitor to Konoha. Naruto replied that he was more of a brother to Sasuke than Itachi had ever been, and that he would do whatever it took to bring Sasuke home. Itachi followed up by asking if he would always feel that way, even if Sasuke threatened Konoha. Naruto replied only that, if that happened, he would bring Sasuke home and protect the village. Content with this answer, Itachi gave some of his power to Naruto, and hoped he would never have to use it.

After his business with Naruto was done, another of Itachi's shadow clones went to meet with Sasuke. Sasuke displayed a dramatic improvement in his abilities during their confrontation, so Itachi agreed to have their final battle at the former Abandoned Uchiha Stronghold. He waited there for Sasuke's arrival, instructing Kisame to not let the other members of Sasuke's team, Hebi, interfere with their battle. Itachi and Sasuke met face-to-face and, while exchanging genjutsu, had a conversation about the Uchiha, Madara, and Itachi's "true" motives of wanting to take Sasuke's eyes. When Sasuke managed to escape Itachi's Tsukuyomi, the genjutsu battle ended and the ninjutsu battle began.

Itachi used Amaterasu, but Sasuke shielded himself by shedding his skin, a technique he was able to use because of Orochimaru being sealed within him. Using the shed skin as a decoy Sasuke went below and fired several Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique at Iatchi above although he only managed to burn away one of Itachi's sleeves. Out of chakra tells he Itachi about his final jutsu that like Amaterasu is impossible to avoid. Sasuke then used his trump card, Kirin, on Itachi, who had his Akatsuki cloak burned off as a result.

However, Itachi managed to survive by using Susanoo to defend himself. With Kirin having expended all of Sasuke's chakra, Orochimaru was able to break free and violently appears through his Eight Branches Technique. However Itachi is easily able to cut of the many snake heads, leaving only one behind who's mouth Orochimaru appears out of and thanks Itachi for pushing Sasuke so far thus setting him free and allowing him to take control of Sasuke's body. Itachi, however, stabs Orochimaru with the Totsuka sword to seal him away with Susanoo, and removed the cursed seal from Sasuke's body.

Itachi began to weaken thus weakening Susanoo and giving Sasuke an opportunity to strike, but in vain as Susanoo was still able to protect Itachi. His last option gone, Sasuke was pushed against a wall and left helpless as Itachi walked up close to him and seemed to be reaching for Sasuke's eyes. However, he instead poked Sasuke's forehead and smiling said, "Sorry, Sasuke ... this is it," a reference to Itachi constantly poking Sasuke on the head when they were kids. Then Itachi finally gives in to his fatal illness, which he had been using medication and willpower to fend off, and dies.

Legacy
Madara collected Sasuke, tended to his wounds, and tried to befriend him when he woke up. When he removed his mask while doing the latter, Sasuke cast an Amaterasu on him. After quelling the flames, Madara explained that the Amaterasu had been inserted in Sasuke by Itachi, intended to protect him from Madara and whatever he might say. Sasuke was perplexed, so Madara went onto detail the history of the Uchiha clan, and the truth behind Itachi's life. Towards the end of his story, he explained that Itachi had been dying of disease, but had kept himself going with medicine so that he could die by Sasuke's hands, stating that if Itachi had battled with all his strength they wouldn't be having that conversation. He also stated that Itachi had pushed Sasuke to his limits during their battle to draw out Orochimaru, so that he could remove the latter's influence from his beloved little brother.

Sasuke was unwilling to believe the story. Madara persisted, saying that Itachi had entrusted the Uchiha name to Sasuke, hoping he would rebuild the clan on a new foundation of honor and nobility. For the sake of Konoha, and for Sasuke, he had been willing to die as a traitor and criminal. He had traded honor for disgrace and Sasuke's love for his hatred, and even then he had died smiling. Finally accepting the truth, Sasuke was crushed to find that the brother he had hated had actually been looking out for him all along. Upon realizing the truth, he resolved to take vengeance against Konoha for the massacre of his clan and the fate they placed on his brother, regardless of Itachi's attachment to the village. He also agreed to start working with Madara and, as a result, is classified as an international criminal, something Itachi had tried to prevent.

Trivia

 * can be translated as "weasel".
 * According to Pain, Itachi's reason for joining the Akatsuki was "ideology".
 * Itachi ranked highly in the Shonen Jump popularity polls for the series, continuously placing in the top ten and reaching sixth place once.
 * He and Kisame were the first active Akatsuki members to appear.
 * Itachi and Kisame made a brief cameo appearance in the Konoha Sports Festival OVA, where they were standing in line to use the bathroom, along with many other random characters.
 * According to the Third Naruto Databook:
 * Itachi's hobby was visiting traditional Japanese cafes.
 * Itachi's favorite foods were cabbage and onigiri with seaweed in it, while his least favorite was steak.
 * Itachi had completed 340 official missions in total: 53 D-rank, 152 C-rank, 134 B-rank, 0 A-rank, 1 S-rank.
 * Itachi's favorite word was.
 * Itachi had always poked his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha in the forehead when they were younger, saying "Forgive me, Sasuke. Maybe some other time". This is referred to very poignantly with Itachi's last words, as he pokes his brother's forehead again and says, "Sorry, Sasuke; this is it."

Quotes

 * (To Younger Sasuke) "I'm sorry, Sasuke. Some other time, okay?"
 * (To Sasuke) "You and I are flesh and blood. I'm always going to be there for you, even if it's only as an obstacle for you to overcome. Even if you do hate me. That's what big brothers are for."
 * (To Uchiha Clansmen) "I've had enough, there's no hope left for this pathetic clan."
 * "The people of this clan are all the same. You focus on the trivial, and lose sight of what's most important. Change is impossible, in this fog of ignorance. How can we evolve when regulation is all we know?"
 * (To Sasuke) "Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me. And yet survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life."
 * (To Sasuke) "People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's how they define "reality". But what does it mean to be "correct" or "true"? Merely vague concepts ... their "reality" may all be a mirage. Can we consider them to simply be living in their own world, shaped by their beliefs?"
 * (Last words, to Sasuke) "Sorry, Sasuke ... this is it."