Sasuke Uchiha

is a main character in Naruto and is a major dynamic character in the series, being both the protagonist and the antagonist as the story progresses.

Background
Being the youngest son of Konoha Military Police captain and Uchiha clan head Fugaku Uchiha, Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi. Itachi was an acknowledged prodigy who was viewed by the Uchiha clan as a genius, and whose work would further strengthen the bonds between the village and the clan. Sasuke's father in particular took an active interest in Itachi. Itachi, on the other hand, was rather ambivalent and full of oddly conflicting undercurrents, acknowledging Sasuke by taking interest in his progress as a ninja when even their father did not, but spending little quality time with Sasuke. Even after Sasuke enrolled in the Ninja Academy, he was still unable to escape Itachi's shadow. Despite consistently scoring at the top of every class, Sasuke failed to receive any recognition from his father, who defined Sasuke's success only in terms of his older brother. Itachi acknowledged the rivalry Sasuke felt, telling him, "We are brothers. I am the wall you must climb over, so you and I will continue to exist together."

Itachi's relationship with his father deteriorated further after Itachi was questioned by other members of the Uchiha clan regarding the apparent suicide of his best friend, Shisui. As Itachi's behavior became increasingly bizarre, Sasuke's father began spending more time with Sasuke, and began teaching him the Great Fireball Technique, a common family jutsu seen as a sign of coming of age in the Uchiha clan. After only one week of training, Sasuke (age 7 at the time) performed the jutsu in front of his father, proving himself a genius as well in his own right and finally receiving his father's recognition. Sasuke's father told him that he could now proudly wear the clan's emblem on his back. Forebodingly, Sasuke also received a stern warning not to follow in Itachi's footsteps.

Shortly thereafter, Itachi massacred every member of the Uchiha clan, sparing only Sasuke, saying that he was not even worth killing. In addition, Itachi told him, "You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live ... if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me ... and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life." Itachi also revealed to Sasuke where the secret meeting place of the Uchiha was hidden, and suggested that Sasuke go there to learn what the true history and purpose of the Sharingan was. Sasuke thought he had fainted after this, but later remembered that he had managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan, and pursue Itachi. Upon reaching Itachi, he managed to knock off his forehead protector. Itachi was seen shedding a tear as he was picking up the forehead protector. He then proceeded to incapacitate Sasuke, who awoke in the hospital remembering only that which Itachi wanted him to.

Personality
When first introduced during his assignment to Team 7, Sasuke displayed a great indifference to his teammates. Feeling that his abilities were far superior to their own, he was unwilling to cooperate with Naruto Uzumaki or Sakura Haruno, as he felt that doing so would do nothing to help him kill Itachi. These perceptions were quickly proven wrong, however, for, despite their failings, Sakura was an excellent source of information, whilst competition with Naruto acted as an effective way to get stronger. While he retained a confidence in himself throughout the series, Sasuke increasingly relied on his friends over the course of Part I. As he started to get close to others, he also began to risk his own life to save them, even though his death would have left him unable to fulfill his goal of vengeance upon Itachi.

Although Sasuke became content with a life of happiness in Konoha, he never allowed his ambition to gain power to leave his thoughts. During the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru noticed how Sasuke's desire for revenge seemed to have lessened, and branded him with the Cursed Seal of Heaven to give him a taste of the power he could have if he kept to his previous path of vengeance. Even when Kakashi Hatake sealed the Cursed Seal, Sasuke began to draw more and more power from it with the hopes of getting stronger. While initially complacent with his development, Naruto quickly started to grow stronger at a faster rate. This, coupled with his quick defeat by Itachi during a brief return to Konoha, led Sasuke to believe that his growth was slowing. In an attempt to reassess his strength, he began to treat his friends as opponents so as to test his abilities against their own. Dissatisfied with his progress in Konoha, and believing that Orochimaru held the key to getting strong enough to kill Itachi, Sasuke defected from Konoha at the end of Part I. Naruto attempted to stop him, but Sasuke, believing the death of Naruto, his closest friend, would give him the power he desired (as he had been told by Itachi), tried to kill him instead. However, Sasuke was ultimately unable to follow through with this idea, as he felt that this was what Itachi would have wanted him to do, and instead continued on to Orochimaru.

In Part II, Sasuke showed that he had stayed true to his original personality. In the two and a half years he spent with Orochimaru, Sasuke's goal to kill Itachi took precedence above all else; he even claimed that he was willing to give his body to Orochimaru if it meant killing Itachi, but later turned on Orochimaru after reaching the conclusion that he could learn nothing else of value from him. Despite this lack of allegiance to those close to him, Sasuke seemed to be unable to bring himself to needlessly harm those that had nothing to do with his quest for vengeance against Itachi. He made it a point to prevent their deaths when possible. However, this attitude has changed after achieving his goal of bringing about Itachi's death. After learning how his brother had been manipulated by Konoha's higher-ups, Sasuke abandoned all of his hatred for Itachi, and resolved to destroy all of Konoha for both of their sakes, despite the majority of its villagers having had no involvement in the Uchiha massacre. He is also willing to take the lives of anyone who stands in the way of his revenge. However, after Pain's invasion, he seems to have lost interest in attacking the village although he might simply wish to kill Danzo first. Despite ordering Suigetsu not to kill anyone, Sasuke himself has done so after learning the truth.

Unlike most characters in Naruto, Sasuke does not address anyone with honorifics at the end of their names (except to his parents, clanmembers, and Itachi when he was a child), like "Kakashi-sensei" or "Orochimaru-sama", something the Japanese would consider very insulting or rude. According to Kakashi, Sasuke has both a superiority complex and an inferiority complex. Sasuke has been shown as unwilling to acknowledge when he is wrong or out of his league. When Naruto was showing more growth as a ninja in Part I, Sasuke began treating Naruto as an enemy, and kept challenging Naruto to a fight. When he killed Orochimaru in Part II, Sasuke talked down to him for 'robbing the cradle'. Sasuke said that it was the only way Orochimaru could have possibly overpowered an Uchiha. Sasuke also said that the Uchiha clan were the geniuses that put other geniuses to shame.

Overall, Sasuke is extremely prideful and loyal to the Uchiha clan, as he devoted his entire life in avenging their death, abandoning his friends for thinking they held him back, and was willing to kill the one who killed the clan, even though the murder being his brother. Sasuke's loyalty made him unable to forgive Orochimaru for attempting to steal his body, thinking it an insult to the clan's pride. Also, when Sasuke learned the truth from Madara, he was determined to annihilate the entire Konohagakure in revenge, despite most of them are uninvolved in the massacre. After Sasuke's defection from his home village, the only sign he wore was the Uchiha clan's, and refused to wear the Forehead protectors of both the Leaf and sound villages.

Appearance
Sasuke has black hair with a blue tint, which lengthens as the story progresses, and onyx eyes. He has lighter skin than his older brother, Itachi, had. Like many other members of his clan, his hair hangs over both sides of his face to roughly frame his cheeks. A recurring theme in Sasuke’s appearance is that he is considered quite handsome by almost all girls near his age. At the beginning of Part I, Sasuke's clothing consisted of a blue, short-sleeved shirt with a raised collar and the Uchiha crest on the back, and white shorts. In the last stage of the Chunin Exams, he wore a black, one-pieced version of this outfit, but eventually went back to his original clothes, due to the creators having a difficult time drawing this version. As the story progressed the Uchiha symbol became smaller and smaller.

In Part II, Sasuke has grown noticeably taller (almost at eye height with Itachi) and more muscular. He was first shown wearing a white long-sleeved shirt which was open at the torso, with a smaller version of the Uchiha crest on his collar. He wore black pants with a blue cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees. He also wore a purple rope around his waist, tied in a bow. After battling Deidara, he switched to a sleeveless black shirt. His arm guards were also removed, and he started wearing bandages on his wrists. He also wore a cloak with this. After he encountered and battled Itachi, he reverted to a white shirt with a raised collar which was unzipped halfway down his chest, similar to the one he wore at the start of Part II, but with shorter sleeves. He also wears blue wrist warmers. He wore an Akatsuki cloak along with this. Another noticeable trait is that, since joining the Akatsuki, Sasuke began letting his hair hang over his eyes. After ending his affiliation to Akatsuki, his appearance undergoes a slight change in that he is still wearing a cloak, only without the Akatsuki clouds.

Part I
Upon the formation of Team 7, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were forced to mingle. Sasuke tried to avoid both of them, but he kept getting drawn into Sakura's romantic advances and Naruto's attempts at a competition. Accordingly, Kakashi gave them a bell test, the three of them being tasked with taking the two bells he kept on his person. Sasuke tried to take a bell by himself, ignoring Sakura and Naruto, and had more success than either. He was still unsuccessful, however, and was forced to regroup with his team. Together, they realised that the true goal of the test was to learn to place teamwork above the single-handed completion of the mission, and, in doing so, were allowed to pass.

Land of Waves arc
Sasuke's first major mission was escorting the bridge builder, Tazuna, to his home in the poverty-stricken Land of Waves. Soon after setting out, Sasuke showed exceptional skill when attacked by the Demon Brothers, even taunting Naruto for being shocked and useless during this encounter. When they later had a tree-climbing exercise to improve chakra control, he managed to stay ahead of Naruto for a good length of time, but, as Naruto began to catch up, they started to push each other's limits. His skills improved, Sasuke was able to compete with Haku, who was extremely dangerous because of his extreme speed and dexterity. It was during this battle that Sasuke reawakened the legacy of his clan, the Sharingan, and even selflessly put himself in the way of Haku's attack on Naruto to protect him. Although he claimed his body had moved on its own, his actions showed that he was willing to put himself in mortal danger for Naruto's sake. Although it appeared that Sasuke had died in the process, it was later revealed that he was merely put in a temporary death state.

Chunin Exam arc
Before the Chunin Exam started, Sasuke fought Rock Lee, who easily overcame the power of his Sharingan through an amazing display of speed and taijutsu prowess; for if the user can't physically keep up with the target then the Sharingan is useless. However, before the finishing blow could be given, Might Guy interrupted the match and punished his beloved student for using a forbidden jutsu in a normal fight. In the first part of the exam, Sasuke realized that, to succeed in the written test, it is required to cheat without getting caught, as the written exam tests a ninja's information-gathering ability. Sasuke was shown using the Sharingan to copy the movement of a student in front of him, effectively copying the answers.

In the second test of the Chunin Exam in the Forest of Death, Sasuke was attacked by Orochimaru. Recognizing that they were no match for Orochimaru, Sasuke tried to surrender. However, Naruto stopped him, attacking Orochimaru regardless of the clear difference in strength, and taunting Sasuke just as he had earlier taunted Naruto. This spurred Sasuke into action, giving him the resolve to defeat Orochimaru. Impressed, Orochimaru put his cursed seal on Sasuke's neck during the battle as a reward, causing Sasuke so much pain that he fell unconscious. As the seal attuned to his body, he had nightmares, and, when he woke up, was immersed in its power. He immediately saved Sakura from the attacking Sound Genin, effortlessly defeating them and going so far as to break Zaku's arms. Recognizing that the Cursed Seal had apparently corrupted him, Sakura hugged him and pleaded for him to stop. He relented, and the seal receded. Sasuke was surprised by his own sudden burst of strength.

Sasuke's match up in the preliminaries was against Yoroi Akado. Before the fight started, Kakashi warned Sasuke that, if his Cursed Seal got out of control, which would happen if he used any chakra, he would need to be removed from the competition. The match started with Yoroi absorbing what little chakra Sasuke had left through his hands, and with Sasuke being in constant pain from his Cursed Seal. Having only one option, and remembering his previous encounter with Rock Lee, Sasuke used the Lion Combo. Yoroi was knocked out, and Sasuke advanced to the next round.

Following his win, Kakashi took Sasuke away to seal the Cursed Seal, but made it a point to tell him that the seal would only remain active as long as Sasuke wanted it to. Not convinced that his words would deter Sasuke from seeing the Cursed Seal, and Orochimaru, as a source of power, Kakashi used the month leading up to the final rounds to teach him the Chidori. At the same time, knowing Sasuke would be facing Gaara, he helped Sasuke to emulate some of Lee's speed. After showing up late for his match with Gaara, Sasuke demonstrated the fruits of his training, even managing to break through Gaara's defenses and injure him. Before the match could finish, however, it was interrupted by the start of Orochimaru's attack on Konoha.

Invasion of Konoha arc
With the start of the invasion, Gaara fled the village with his siblings, and Sasuke was sent after them by Genma. Sasuke chased them and, after short battles with Kankuro and Temari, Sasuke caught up with and fought Gaara. Sasuke used Chidori, once again managing to wound Gaara, who by now had started to transform into his Shukaku state. The form, however, allowed Gaara to quickly recuperate from the attack, putting Sasuke on the defensive since he no longer had the chakra reserves to use Chidori again. With Gaara's resolve to kill him growing increasingly stronger, Sasuke had no choice but to tap into the Cursed Seal in order to use another Chidori. However, this had no effect against Gaara, and Sasuke was left exhausted. Unable to move, Sasuke was saved by the prompt arrival of Sakura and Naruto. Sasuke watched Naruto's fight with Gaara unfold, becoming jealous of Naruto once he claimed victory.

Return of Itachi arc
After the failed invasion, Sasuke went to see Kakashi. When he arrived at Kakashi's house, he found Kakashi in a coma. Although nobody in the room was willing to tell him what had happened, Aoba Yamashiro soon arrived and let slip that Itachi had returned to the village in search of Naruto. Determined to find Itachi and to save Naruto (by order of priority), Sasuke tracked his teammate down and found that Itachi was already there. Despite his best efforts, including the use of Chidori, none of his attacks were able to hit Itachi. Itachi tormented Sasuke physically and mentally, belittling him for still being too weak, eventually leaving Sasuke with a broken wrist and mind. Sasuke then fell into the same coma-like state as Kakashi, and it was not until Tsunade returned to Konoha that he recovered.

Sasuke Retrieval arc
Angry that Itachi was still so much stronger than he was, and envious of the fact that Naruto had gotten stronger in such a short period of time, Sasuke challenged Naruto to a fight. Although they were stopped by Kakashi, their brief exchange was enough to show Sasuke that Naruto's Rasengan was more damaging than his Chidori. Kakashi lectured him about using Chidori on his own friends, but, before this could fully sink in, Sasuke was confronted by Orochimaru's Sound Four, each of whom had their own Cursed Seal. Amazed by their abilities, which they claimed to have received from Orochimaru, Sasuke was left with their offer of escorting him to Orochimaru so that he could get stronger.

To gain the power he so desperately wanted, Sasuke decided to take Orochimaru up on his offer, turning his back on Konoha in the process. As he snuck out of the village, Sakura found him, and soon understood the magnitude of what he was about to do. Desperate not to lose Sasuke, Sakura did anything and everything she could think of, confessing her love for him and even offering to help exact revenge on Itachi. Sasuke's cryptic last words before swiftly knocking her out and departing were, "Sakura ... thank you." Sasuke left with the Sound Four, who soon afterwards advanced his Cursed Seal to its second level, a process that left him unconscious for most of their battle with the Sasuke Retrieval Team.

Soon after Sasuke woke up, he was found by Naruto. Sasuke was glad to see Naruto; after slaughtering the Uchiha clan, Itachi had told Sasuke that he would only be able to match him in battle after he had obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan, which could only be attained by killing one's best friend, which was now Naruto for Sasuke. Naruto refused to accept that Sasuke would do this or his other reasons for pursuing Orochimaru, choosing instead to drag Sasuke back to the village by force if he had to. They subsequently engaged in battle, with Sasuke initially having the upper hand thanks to his Cursed Seal and Sharingan. When he managed to pierce Naruto's right shoulder with his Chidori, however, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's chakra kicked in to protect Naruto, giving him a massive power increase.

With the Nine-Tails' chakra now active, Naruto easily tossed Sasuke about in an attempt to knock some sense into him. Sasuke merely retorted that Naruto could never understand what it was like to lose family members, as he had never had them to begin with. Naruto reasoned that Sasuke was like a brother to him, therefore he would not let him destroy that bond. Sasuke's Sharingan evolved to its final level at that point, tipping the battle in Sasuke's favor because he was able to predict Naruto's movements. The Nine-Tails' chakra once again came to Naruto's rescue, enveloping him in a fox-shaped shield of chakra and boosting his power once more.

With the Nine-Tails' chakra shield, Naruto was again more than Sasuke could handle, even with his Cursed Seal active. To counter Naruto's power, Sasuke activated the second stage of his Cursed Seal, becoming a demonic figure with a pair of huge, hand-like wings sprouting from his back. Naruto attacked with his signature Rasengan (enhanced by the Nine-Tails' chakra) and Sasuke attacked with his Chidori (also enhanced by his current state). Upon impact, a massive dome of black energy formed around them. Sasuke punched Naruto in the chest at the last second (instead of impaling him with what was left of his Chidori) and knocked him out, while Naruto opted to scratch Sasuke's forehead protector, something Sasuke had said he wouldn't be able to do at the start of the fight.

After the energy dome dissipated, Sasuke was shown to be the victor, now standing over an unconscious Naruto. He considered killing Naruto, but realized that doing so would be exactly what Itachi wanted him to do. Leaving behind his forehead protector, which had fallen off after Naruto's last attack, Sasuke made his way to Orochimaru. While doing so, Sasuke resolved to surpass Itachi in his own way, instead of relying on the same skill Itachi used.

Sasuke and Sai arc
Sasuke debuted in Part II during a meeting with his replacement in Team 7, Sai. Sasuke wasn't interested in the slightest, and was more interested in Orochimaru's presence. When Sai stated that he might be able to get along better with Sasuke than he did with Naruto, Sasuke froze him with a stare, catching Sai in a genjutsu exuding a large amount of killing intent. Sai was amazed that even an emotionless person such as himself was affected by Sasuke's gaze, showing the power of his Sharingan. When Sai commented on how Naruto and Sakura had been searching for him, Sasuke once again regarded him with indifference.

Later, when Sai entered his room while he was resting, he told Sasuke that he wanted to repair his and Naruto's bond together. Sasuke then blew up the room, angered that he had been woken up to hear about bonds, his action drawing Naruto and Sakura to their location. Despite this being the first time in three years that they had seen each other, Sasuke expressed his usual indifference towards his former team. Uninterested in going home with them, Sasuke engaged them in battle, showing off his increase in speed and improved abilities. They were little match for him, causing Naruto to begin struggling with the Nine-Tails' chakra. Sasuke used his Sharingan to enter Naruto's mind to meet the Nine-Tails itself, finally discovering the source of Naruto's strength, and managing to suppress its influence. Before releasing Naruto, the Nine-Tails warned Sasuke to not kill Naruto, or he would live to regret it forever. Back outside, Sasuke decided to finish off his former teammates, only to be stopped by Orochimaru. Listening to Orochimaru's plan to use them to thin Akatsuki's numbers, he left with Orochimaru and Kabuto.

Hunt for Itachi arc
Orochimaru tested Sasuke's abilities by having him battle hundreds of Sound ninja, a task he completed without taking a scratch and without killing any of them. About the latter, Sasuke remarked that the only person he wanted to kill was Itachi. Soon afterwards he attacked Orochimaru, deciding that there was nothing else that he could learn and that Orochimaru was unworthy of having his body or the Sharingan. Although Sasuke appeared victorious after a brief scuffle, Orochimaru was able to initiate the body-stealing jutsu. Sasuke, however, was able to reverse the process, absorbing Orochimaru into his body.

With Orochimaru gone, Sasuke began forming a team of Orochimaru's former subordinates and test subjects who would help him find and kill Itachi. He recruited Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo under the name of Hebi, offering each something in exchange for their help. They split up to see what they could learn about Itachi's whereabouts. Sasuke soon ran into Akatsuki members Deidara and Tobi. With his Sharingan, he was able to counter all of Deidara's attacks, and then questioned him about Itachi. Rather than admit defeat, Deidara blew himself up, and it was only by using Manda as a shield that Sasuke managed to escape the blast. Sasuke was forced to rest afterwards but, when well enough to walk, Hebi investigated a known Akatsuki lair. There, Sasuke found Itachi.

Sasuke fought Itachi, showing how he had grown since their last encounter in the process. Although it was only a shadow clone, Sasuke's efforts impressed Itachi enough that he agreed to a meeting where they would have their final battle. He went to the Abandoned Uchiha Stronghold, leaving the rest of Hebi outside, and first spoke with Itachi. Itachi told him about the Mangekyo Sharingan's history and about Madara Uchiha, the man who had told him the secret of Sharingan and had helped him slaughter the Uchiha clan. Having learned all he wanted to know, Sasuke began a battle of genjutsu with Itachi. Once Sasuke was able to overcome Itachi's Tsukuyomi, they switched to a ninjutsu battle.

While exchanging fire-based jutsu, Itachi's Amaterasu ignited the surrounding area, along with Sasuke. Itachi stopped the flames by closing his eye, while Sasuke regenerated any damage taken in the process by using Orochimaru's Oral Rebirth Technique, giving him the opportunity to prepare his trump card, Kirin. Itachi managed to survive this technique by using his Susanoo. With Sasuke's chakra reserves depleted, Orochimaru was able to force himself out of Sasuke's body, ready to finally take the body he had coveted. Itachi promptly sealed Orochimaru away with Susanoo before approaching Sasuke. Rather than taking Sasuke's eyes, however, he only poked his forehead as he had done in their childhood before falling over, dead. The victory he had dreamed of having become a reality, Sasuke passed out from exhaustion.

Sasuke woke up in a cave in the care of Tobi, who was in reality Madara Uchiha. Madara tried to befriend Sasuke by removing his mask and revealing his Sharingan eye, something that caused Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan to form in Sasuke's left eye and made him use Amaterasu on Madara, who quickly retreated into the darkness of the cave. After stopping the black flames, Madara then appeared again with his mask and began to muse about how Itachi never ceased to amaze him. As Sasuke asked what he was talking about, Madara revealed that Itachi had most likely set it up so that the sight of his Sharingan would trigger the Amaterasu he had sealed within Sasuke. As Sasuke complained that he was making no sense, Madara revealed that it had been to protect him, and, when Sasuke still didn't believe him, Madara said how it must all sound crazy, but assured him that he was telling the truth, and introduced himself as the man who had helped Itachi on that fateful night. As Sasuke still doubted him, Madara went on to explain the Uchiha's history, Itachi's childhood, and the truth behind the massacre of the Uchiha clan: that it had been done on Konoha's orders. Itachi had defied orders by sparing Sasuke, threatening Konoha in order to keep him safe and playing the villain so that Sasuke would someday kill him to avenge their family.

As Madara reached the end of his story, he stated that the only reason Itachi had pushed Sasuke so hard during their fight was to bring Orochimaru out. By doing this, he was able to seal Orochimaru away and erase his influence and taint, as well as the Cursed Seal on Sasuke's neck. Itachi had always planned to die at Sasuke's hands, and had orchestrated everything to make Sasuke stronger, culminating in his own death, thus killing the closest person to Sasuke and awakening his own Mangekyo Sharingan. Sasuke initially refused to believe this, but then remembered the memories of Itachi that he had blocked out; of Itachi being a loving brother. Crushed by the fact that the brother he had hated for so long was still the loving brother he grew up with, Sasuke swore vengeance on Konoha and resolved to destroy it to avenge them both.

Hunt for the Eight-Tails arc
Before Hebi, now renamed Taka, could attack Konoha, Madara convinced them to start working with Akatsuki. He sent them to the Land of Thunder to capture the Eight-Tailed Giant Ox, where they found its host, Killer Bee. The capture attempt got off to a bad start, as Killer Bee easily defeated both Suigetsu and Jugo, and wounded Sasuke by impaling him in the chest with multiple swords. Sasuke was rescued and healed by Karin, and the team decided to all attack at once. While they had more success, Killer Bee released a great deal of the Eight-Tails' chakra and created a chakra cloak. When Sasuke failed a Genjutsu on Killer Bee (who easily shook the attack off), the latter retaliated with great force, using the Eight-Tails' power to blow Sasuke's neck and chest apart. While Sasuke was down, Killer Bee fully transformed into the beast sealed within him, leaving Taka outclassed. Suigetsu then sacrificed himself to give Jugo time to heal Sasuke by fusing some of his own flesh with Sasuke's. Fearing the deaths of his teammates, Sasuke unleashed his new Mangekyo Sharingan and Amaterasu to capture Killer Bee.

Sasuke delivered Killer Bee to Madara (although this was later discovered to be a fake) before regrouping with Taka. While resting, they dealt with a Kumo ninja who had been following them. However, when Sasuke tipped over a glass of water, he learned that his eyesight was already starting to deteriorate. He opted to keep this revelation from the team.

Summit of the Five Kage arc
Before finally setting out for Konoha, Sasuke retrieved Suigetsu's sword. Unfortunately, he soon learned from Madara that Konoha had been recently destroyed by Pain, who in turn had been brought down by Naruto (going as far as to point out that Naruto might even be stronger than Sasuke). After learning that Danzo had been made acting Sixth Hokage, and was scheduled to meet with the other Kage, Sasuke changed plans to go to the summit and exact his revenge upon Danzo. Also, Danzo has labelled him a major Konohagakure missing-nin criminal, yet in the meeting to come, Mifune labels him as an "international criminal".

He and his team then followed Zetsu to the meeting place. After reaching the Land of Iron, Taka found that it was heavily guarded, so they find a less-guarded route. While Taka waited for an opportunity to strike at Danzo, Zetsu infiltrated the Kage meeting and alerted them to Sasuke's presence. The Land of Iron's samurai were mobilized to capture him, but Sasuke quickly eliminates all of them. Karin notices that Sasuke's chakra had become darker and colder than the second state of his cursed seal. Soon afterwards the Raikage emerges through the ceiling with his bodyguards. He yells for Sasuke that he is to learn to fear his wrath and he and Sasuke prepare to fight one another.

Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
Sasuke joined his fellow members of Team 7 on a mission to protect the actress, Yukie Fujikaze, as she travelled to the Land of Snow. Throughout the movie, Sasuke encountered the Yukigakure-nin Fubuki Kakuyoku, and defeated her with the Lion Combo. Sasuke used Chidori to damage Doto Kazahana's armor, which led to him being knocked out. He was seen looking out at the newly created Land of the Spring, with Sakura holding his head, in the ending credits. In a post-credits scene, he was the one who got Koyuki Kazahana's autograph for Naruto.

Legend of the Stone of Gelel
Sasuke made a very short appearance in this movie: while Naruto was unconscious, he had a dream of him and Sasuke walking towards each other. However, they passed by each other without a word; with this, Naruto woke up into the battle. The point of the dream, however, emphasized Naruto's regret over losing Sasuke, and strengthened his resolve not to lose any more friends.

Shippūden the Movie 2: Bonds
Sasuke was summoned by Orochimaru, and was told by him about the recent Sky Ninjas' attack on Konoha, to which Sasuke made clear that he didn't care. Orochimaru then gave him an assignment, telling him to go retrieve a scroll from a man named Shinno. Near the end of the movie, he made his appearance just as Naruto was about to finish off Shinno, stopping Naruto and cutting off Shinno's flow of chakra by hitting his chakra points with Chidori senbon, something only the Byakugan can usually see. He and Naruto quickly chased after a fleeing Shinno, only to find themselves in a deep chamber with a strange large cocoon that seemed to absorb any chakra in the area. It was revealed to be a seed of the Zero-Tailed Masked Leech that Shinno had planted. The cocoon then attacked Sasuke and Naruto, and was able to restrain them until they both released their chakra from the Cursed Seal and the Nine-Tails respectively. Together, Naruto defeated the cocoon with the Tornado Rasengan, while Sasuke used his Flapping Chidori. Amaru released Hinata Hyuga and the rest of the villagers who had been taken prisoner as Sasuke and Naruto exited the building. Hinata and the villagers all boarded a flying lifeboat which they found outside the temple. Amaru scrambled to reach a launching lever away from the boat, but Naruto appeared again and ordered Amaru to get in the boat, assuring her that he would take care of the launch. She refused, but Sasuke appeared behind her and threw her in by force. As the lifeboat left, a tentacle appeared and tried to stop the boat leaving, but Sasuke cut it away. Naruto then forced Sasuke off the flying fortress onto the ship with a Rasengan, leaving him alone to destroy the flying ruins. Sasuke entered the second level of his Cursed Seal, flying off the ship and returning to Orochimaru. He gave him the scroll Orochimaru had asked for before resuming his lightning training. He then remembered that Naruto had said, as he blew Sasuke onto the lifeboat, that he would bring him back one day.

Abilities
Sasuke is established as a genius, even by the battle-excelling Uchiha clan's standards at the series' start, excelling at all that he does and finding little difficulty in more challenging tasks. Scoring the highest in the performance tests and one of the highest in written tests, he easily graduated at the top of his class in the academy. His prowess with Uchiha Fire Release and weapon-based techniques surprised Kakashi during their first training session. Madara Uchiha, Itachi, and Orochimaru have stated that Sasuke possesses the unique potential to become much stronger than Itachi (as Itachi himself said in the past), and the latter even saying that Sasuke is stronger than he was at the same age. Madara has also said he has the potential to become stronger than Nagato.

By Part II, he develops much of his potential and becomes a very powerful ninja, strong enough to fight evenly against and defeat ninja like Orochimaru, Deidara and Itachi. It can also be assumed that Sasuke has a fairly high amount of chakra, since he was able to summon Manda in a weakened state with Manda being a high level summon. Also, when Sasuke first arrived at the Land of Sound and gave Kabuto a glare that frightened the latter, Orochimaru noted of Sasuke's exceptional chakra. It seems that currently, Sasuke's chakra has gotten darker and colder than ever.

Combat Skills
Although Sasuke has been skilled with taijutsu since the start of the series, his skills improved drastically after his encounter with Rock Lee. Not only did he emulate Lee for moves like his Lion Combo, but, by copying Lee's speed, he was also able to effectively use the Chidori. His fighting style in Part II mainly relies on his speed and the new addition of his chokuto, to which he has demonstrated masterful swordsmanship. During his time with Orochimaru, Sasuke's already impressive speed saw a huge leap, allowing him to move huge distances in the blink of an eye as if to displace himself. He also greatly increased his speed at making hand seals, being able to do many in a blur and launch an enormous amount of weapons just as quickly, as seen during his fight with Itachi. His physical improvements are so great that Sakura even suspected that he had been given drugs to improve his physical capabilities. His increase in skill allowed him to easily defeat, without killing, hundreds of Sound ninja in a single battle without sustaining so much as a scratch to himself.

During fights, he easily observes his opponent and accurately sees through their abilities without losing his calm state, then he correctly chooses the most effective means and ninjutsu to counter them. Also, his resolution enables him to pick strategies in which he requires getting hurt in order to defeat the enemy, thereby showing tremendous endurance and willpower. In the second Shippūden movie, Sasuke demonstrated tremendous knowledge in regards to human physiology, as displayed by his ability to affect a person's chakra network. He was able to attack and block the chakra points, rendering the target unable to mold chakra without serious repercussions. In the Naruto Databook, it was said that Sasuke deduces a jutsu's elemental property from the seals performed by its user. He is then able to determine the attack's range from the color of the chakra.

Cursed Seal
An important aspect of Sasuke's growth as a shinobi in Part I was his acquisition of the Cursed Seal of Heaven. Orochimaru, recognizing his potential, bestowed the seal on him as a gift in order to grant him greater strength, and to entice him to seek Orochimaru for further power. Initially, Sasuke suppressed the seal on Kakashi's advice, but, later on, his frustration with his inadequate strength forced him to rely upon its power in battles. When activated, the Cursed Seal granted him enhanced speed, strength, durability and chakra. However, it corrupted both his body and his mind, giving him a darker personality and making him vulnerable to Orochimaru's influence.

After defecting from Konoha, with the help of the Sound Four Sasuke advanced his Cursed Seal to Level Two, allowing it to cover his entire body. This granted him power comparable to One-Tailed Naruto. The second level of the Cursed Seal turned Sasuke's skin dark grey, lengthened his hair without losing its style, and gave him hand-shaped wings on his back that gave him the ability to glide and momentarily hover. In this form, not only were his physical attributes increased, but his techniques were also enhanced by the Cursed Seal's dark chakra. However, this form corroded his body at a much faster rate, so he couldn't use it for prolonged periods. In Part II, Sasuke gained complete control and mastery over the Cursed Seal, and could even access its power without fully activating it. He also greatly extended the time he could stay in the Cursed Seal Level Two form. Since Itachi sealed Orochimaru, the Cursed Seal was removed from him.

Snake Techniques
Orochimaru gave Sasuke the contract to use the Summoning Technique for snakes such as Manda. Sasuke can also use Snake Authority Spell to summon snakes from his hands to attack or bind opponents. After absorbing Orochimaru, Sasuke gained access to Orochimaru's regenerative powers that allowed him to heal at a much faster rate than usual. He was also able to summon snakes from any part of his body, and could use Orochimaru's Oral Rebirth Technique to shed his skin, thus repairing any damage to his body. After Itachi sealed Orochimaru away, his Cursed Seal was removed, and it is implied he also lost these additional powers.

Sasuke has not used any snake techniques since that battle with Itachi, even against Killer Bee, raising doubts as to whether he even had the snake contract(a fact that was never confirmed in the manga). It should be noted that the tattoo on his left arm, which he used for summoning snakes vanished after the fight with Itachi, implying that he lost this ability with Orochimaru's removal. It is then likely that all his snake techniques were a result of absorbing Orochimaru.

Elemental Techniques
Proving himself a true genius ninja and member of the Uchiha, Sasuke has repeatedly shown great proficiency in fire-based jutsu. By the age of 7, he had already mastered his clan's rite of passage jutsu, the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. Even Kakashi was amazed at such a feat as, according to him, Genin usually require much more experience and developed chakra to perform elemental techniques. To encourage Sasuke not to use the Cursed Seal, Kakashi taught him how to use the Chidori, made more effective when combined with his Sharingan. With this combination, Sasuke can punch through the strongest obstacles with relative ease, as well as severely damage any opponent. In Part I, Sasuke was limited to using the attack only twice a day, with a third usage after the initial activation of his Cursed Seal.

Over the timeskip, Sasuke put a great deal of development into the Chidori's ability to manipulate lightning-based chakra. When first seen in Part II, he was able to use Chidori Current to emit electricity from all over his body as a shield that stuns those it comes into contact with. He can also channel the Chidori through his new katana, giving the blade extreme cutting power and allowing it to numb anyone it cuts. He can also concentrate it into more solid forms like senbon and a sword, allowing him to make more precise attacks.

Sasuke's most powerful original technique is Kirin, a lightning technique that uses real lightning as opposed to chakra. If there are no thunder clouds available, Sasuke can use a powerful fire release technique to create thunder clouds. Sasuke then takes control of the lightning, shapes it into a kirin, and then brings the lightning down on his target. The technique is so powerful that it has the ability to destroy an area of a fairly large radius. It is also unavoidable due to the fact that the lightning moves at 60,000 m/s.

Sharingan
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke possesses the Sharingan, the clan's Kekkei Genkai. It first developed during Itachi's departure from Konoha after the Uchiha Clan Massacre, but Sasuke would later forget he had activated the Sharingan due to the him being traumatized by the incident. It eventually reached completion during his battle with Naruto at the end of Part I. Sasuke was able to put the Sharingan to good use in Part I after his brief encounter with Rock Lee. Although their fight was ended soon after its start, and Sasuke was unable to see much of Lee's arsenal, what he was able to copy with his Sharingan was utilized for the duration of the Chunin Exams.

While his ability with the Sharingan was fairly ordinary during Part I, Sasuke is able to develop a number of more novel uses for it in Part II. During his encounter with Naruto, Sasuke was able to use his Sharingan to enter Naruto's subconscious, where he proceeded to suppress the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox residing within Naruto. In this instance, the demon compared Sasuke's eyes and chakra to that of Madara, which it claimed was even more sinister than its own. His Sharingan genjutsu abilities have also increased over the timeskip, allowing him to easily hypnotize opponents (to the point of affecting someone without emotions like Sai) and to control a summoned creature as mighty as Manda. When Orochimaru later tried to take over his body, Sasuke was able to use his Sharingan to fight the process and turn it against Orochimaru. His skill with the Sharingan has grown to the point where he could overcome the Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu, Tsukuyomi.

Mangekyo Sharingan
When Itachi, the person Sasuke was closest to, died, it awakened Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan. He has been seen using Amaterasu and a number of genjutsu while the Mangekyo Sharingan is active, although none of the latter have been named. He has also demonstrated the ability to put out Amaterasu's flames. As with Itachi, Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan damages his eyesight every time he uses it. While resting after his fight with Killer Bee, Sasuke found that his vision was slightly blurred, which shows that he is gradually going blind. Sasuke refused Itachi's eyes stating that his vision and Itachi's vision are completely different.

Creation and Conception
When developing the original Naruto manga, Masashi Kishimoto had not initially intended to create Sasuke. After speaking with his editor about the future of the series, he was advised to create a rival character for the series' protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, which resulted in Sasuke's creation. To learn more about creating an effective rivalry, Kishimoto read a variety of manga to gather ideas on what constituted such a rivalry, and he coalesced these ideal elements into one relationship. Because Sasuke is intended to be Naruto's opposite, Kishimoto is always careful to make sure Sasuke is never too emotional. With Sasuke's character being that of a "cool genius", Kishimoto feels he has created the ideal rivalry.

Sasuke's design gave Kishimoto a number of problems, making him the most difficult character he has had to create. Because he lacked a proper idea of what Sasuke's face should look like, initial drafts of Sasuke appeared too old or mature for a character the same age as Naruto. Once settling on a proper face, Kishimoto began to work on Sasuke's attire. Original designs of Sasuke had a number of necklaces and ties around his arms and legs, a result of Kishimoto's habit of giving characters as much ornamentation as possible. Realizing he could not draw such a complex character on a weekly basis, Kishimoto simplified the design to a basic contrast of Naruto's costume.

For Kishimoto, Sasuke remains the most difficult character for him to draw. While drawing, errors and mishaps commonly result in Sasuke's youthful appearance being lost, a result of Kishimoto's inexperience in drawing characters mature beyond their years. Sasuke's hair, originally kept short to save Kishimoto time, has slowly gotten longer as the series has progressed, resulting in the amount of time needed to draw Sasuke increasing as well. Sasuke received a new costume during the final portion of the Chunin Exam arc, which featured a number of belts strapped around his arms and legs. Due to the time needed to draw a costume of this design, Kishimoto returned Sasuke to his original costume in the following arc. Despite the time and energy Kishimoto spends drawing Sasuke, Sasuke has become his favorite character to draw.

Trivia

 * Sasuke's given name comes from the legendary ninja Sarutobi Sasuke. Sasuke's surname, "Uchiha", is another way of pronouncing, which is actually the Uchiha clan symbol. Uchiwa can be used to fan flames, making the flame hotter — referring to the fact that the Uchiha is a clan of fire jutsu users.
 * In the June 2006 edition of Shonen Jump, Kakashi remarked that, while Sasuke is a genius, he is dull to teach because he learns everything easily, compared to the less predictable Naruto.
 * Although Sasuke's first appearance is generally thought to be chapter 3, he can actually be seen sitting behind Naruto in chapter 1, page 13.
 * In the Naruto character popularity polls, Sasuke was placed in 3rd in the first, 4th in the second and third, and 3rd in the fourth. He finished 1st in the two most recent popularity polls.
 * The third databook, which added results from the previous six polls, has Sasuke as the third most popular character overall with 33,632 votes.
 * Sasuke is the youngest member of Taka (being the same age as Karin and Suigetsu, but with the latest birthday), yet he is the leader.
 * Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan is the only one that doesn't have three points. It consists of three overlapping ellipses, giving it six points. It is also the only sharingan to have inverse colors.  While most are red with black designs, Sasuke's seems to be black with red designs.
 * According to the Naruto databook:
 * Sasuke's hobbies are training and taking walks.
 * Sasuke wishes to fight against the upper ninjas of Konoha.
 * Sasuke's favorite foods are onigiri and tomatoes, while his least favorites are fermented soybeans and anything sweet.
 * Sasuke has completed 16 official missions in total: 7 D-rank, 1 C-rank, 2 B-rank, 6 A-rank, 0 S-rank.
 * Sasuke's registration number is 012606.
 * Sasuke's favorite word is "power".

Quotes

 * (To Team 7) "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone."
 * (To Naruto) "You are one of the ones I want to fight the most."
 * (To Naruto) "What do you know about me, if you had no siblings or parents? What do you know about me if you were alone from the start?! Huh?! I suffer because of the bonds I once had! You don't know what it's like to lose all that!"
 * (To Naruto) "Your life was only spared on a whim, but this time, you will lose your life on a whim."
 * (After Itachi's Tsukuyomi) "With my hatred ... I'll turn the illusion into reality!"
 * (To Madara) "If you think I'm just some stupid kid ruled by his emotions, then so be it. Saying I should follow in Itachi's footsteps is nothing but pretty words. It's nonsense meant for those who don't know hatred. If anyone wants to deny my way of living, I'll kill everyone they cared about! Maybe then they'll feel a little of my hatred."