Sasuke Uchiha

is a main character in the Naruto series. He was originally introduced as a protagonist; a genin of Konohagakure's Team 7. As the series progressed, he became an antagonist, culminating in his association with Akatsuki, becoming one of the most dynamic characters in the series. Sasuke is currently a missing-nin, an international criminal, and the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan.

Background
Sasuke is the second and youngest son of the Konoha Military Police Force captain and Uchiha clan head: Fugaku Uchiha, and his wife Mikoto. Mikoto named him after the father of the Third Hokage in hopes that he would grow up to be a great ninja like his namesake. As a child, Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi Uchiha who was an acknowledged prodigy 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 and spending time playing with him when even their father did not. Even after Sasuke enrolled in the 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." Nevertheless Itachi deeply cared for his younger brother and Sasuke looked up to Itachi, wanting to be more like him.

The relationship between Itachi and 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 behaviour became increasingly bizarre, Sasuke's father began spending more time with Sasuke, and began teaching him the Great Fireball Technique, a common family technique seen as a sign of coming of age in the Uchiha clan. When Sasuke first tried to perform the technique, he only produced a small flame and after that, some smoke. His father said that Itachi was able to do it on his first try at Sasuke's age, which disappointed him. Later, with one week of training, Sasuke (age 7 at the time) performed the technique 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. Following this, Sasuke also received a stern warning not to follow in Itachi's footsteps any further, surprising him as before, he was told to be like him; and his father showing he was proud of Sasuke for the first time the same way as he used to with Itachi.

At some point in the past, Sasuke joined Itachi on a mission to catch a wild boar. Sasuke was wielding a bow and was told by Itachi not to hit any vital points. However, Sasuke missed the boar completely. Eventually they defeated the boar and Sasuke apologised for being so off, Itachi responded by telling him that he needed to train more.

On one fateful night, Itachi slew 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. He told him that "to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan," he "had to kill the person he was closest to", and that "when we battle, we should have the same eyes". Sasuke thought he had fainted after this, but later remembered that he had managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan, and pursued Itachi. Upon reaching Itachi, he used knives 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.

When Sasuke first met Naruto Uzumaki in the Academy, they were matched to spar against each other. Naruto was excited at the opportunity to defeat Sasuke and become so popular like him, however he was easily beaten. By looking at Sasuke's eyes, Naruto realised that they were so filled with hatred that it seemed that he wasn't even looking at Naruto. When Iruka told them to make the reconciliation seal, they both refused. Up until his graduation from the Academy, Sasuke remained a loner and never acknowledged Naruto's attempts to defeat him, considering him a hopeless dead-last and as such, someone not worth his time or energy.

Personality
When he was a child, Sasuke was a very kind boy, loving towards his parents and brother, and respectful to his fellow clansmen as well as his teachers. He was even very proud of being Itachi's brother and Fugaku's son, famous for being devoted protectors of Konoha, and he always desired to emulate them. His original dream was to join the Konoha Military Police Force when he grew up, like his father and greatly sought his father's approval and acknowledgement of his abilities. After Itachi massacred the clan, Sasuke's ideals and personality changed drastically, becoming cold, lonely, cruel, cynical, somewhat arrogant, and with the next nine years of his life devoted to killing Itachi.

When first introduced to Team Kakashi, Sasuke displayed great indifference to his team-mates. Feeling superior to all of them, including his teacher, Sasuke was unwilling to cooperate with Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, as he felt they would provide him no aid in killing Itachi; this attitude had began since he was in the Academy, as he had the lowest score in cooperation and second lowest in assertiveness. However overtime, as he spent more time with his team, he begins to see them as somewhat of a family and Sasuke starts to lose some of his anger, caring more about his team than his revenge. Sasuke even admitted to Naruto that he almost thought that he should forget revenge and instead focused on Team 7. To help push him back into his desire for power, Orochimaru branded Sasuke with the Cursed Seal of Heaven during the Chūnin Exams to give him a taste of power. Although Kakashi Hatake sealed the Cursed Seal, as well as teaching him the Chidori in the hopes of deviating him from the path of revenge, Sasuke began to draw more power from the seal in the hopes of getting stronger.

According to Kakashi, Sasuke has both a superiority and an inferiority complex, as he is unwilling to acknowledge when someone is stronger than him, but obsesses when he believes that they are. For example, he was complacent with his rivalry with Naruto when he believed he was stronger, but noticing Naruto's fast growth, showcased in his victory over Sunagakure's jinchūriki, Gaara, who had previously beaten Sasuke, and his own quick defeat by Itachi on his return to Konoha, led to his defection to Otogakure to seek power from Orochimaru. Upon defecting from the village, he left with the Sound Four and travelled to the Land of Sound, only to lose the entire group to the Sasuke Retrieval Team and faced Naruto alone at the Valley of the End, where Naruto attempted to save him from his path of revenge. Sasuke in turn planned to kill Naruto, his closest friend, to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan, but upon his victory he decided against it, vowing to beat Itachi his own way, not Itachi's.

In Part II, Sasuke's personality reverted to about the same as when he first met Team 7, although his revenge against Itachi became priority above all else, including his own life. He also claimed to have cut all ties to his life in Konoha, believing that they were the cause of his weakness, going as far as attempting to kill Naruto, whom he had spared in their previous battle, to prove how detached he was. Despite this, Sasuke seemed unwilling to needlessly kill in his quest for revenge, and later when battling the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki Killer B, Sasuke remembered Team Kakashi after witnessing his own team Taka each sacrificing themselves to help him. Sasuke also has a continuous habit of underestimating his opponents, shown in his overconfidence in his battles. Sasuke however, is not above admitting his mistakes on such things, as shown after his battles with Deidara and Killer B where he acknowledged that the former was stronger than he thought and that the latter had given Taka a much harder time than he expected.

Despite claiming earlier that he did not care if he had to sacrifice his own body to Orochimaru as long as it served his quest for revenge, when Sasuke felt he had grown stronger than Orochimaru he thought that to give himself up to someone weaker than himself was insulting to the Uchiha. He proceeded to battle and absorb Orochimaru's consciousness when the latter attempted to steal his body. Sasuke later, however, discards his belief that he was stronger than Orochimaru when he admitted that only defeated him because he was weakened. Sasuke also seems to fear Orochimaru as shown in his panicked reaction to seeing Kabuto during the Fourth Shinobi World War and mistaking him for Orochimaru. Sasuke possesses a fierce loyalty to his clan to the point of obsession and kept wearing its family crest on his back proudly while refusing to wear any other symbols such as a forehead protector. He also viewed anyone outside of the clan wielding the Sharingan as insulting, as the eye is a symbol of the Uchiha clan's powers, showing disgust towards Danzō who had ten Sharingan in his arm, and an eleventh one in his right eye and stated that Kakashi should feel grateful to the Uchiha for the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan. According to Tobi, Sasuke alone is shouldering the entire hatred of the Uchiha clan.

After his battle with Itachi, which resulted in Itachi's death, the revelation that he had been ordered by the Konoha Elders to kill the Uchiha clan coupled with the fact that Itachi truly loved him, Sasuke vowed to kill the elders for using Itachi and ordering him to massacre the Uchiha clan. After he confirmed the truth, Sasuke quickly grew to loathe the village that he once would have protected with his life and vowed to kill everyone in the village, thus separating any connection to the Uchiha clan and purify the clan's name.

At first, Sasuke still held onto the notion of friendship and sparing the innocent, witnessed in his teamwork with his group during their attempt to capture Killer B. But as time passed on with this new path of revenge and with further corruption by Tobi, Sasuke has grown much more cruel and ruthless; by the time he launched an attack against the Kage Summit, he killed anyone who stood in his way, not caring about his team, and after cornering Danzō, Sasuke turned to sacrificing the members of his group to accomplish his goals, and attempting to kill his former team-mates and teacher whilst experiencing neither shame, guilt, nor remorse for any of his actions. After expressing a feeling of exhilaration that he had never before felt upon killing Danzō and even declaring that he sees that killing the members of Konoha as a high priority and satisfaction, Karin, Kakashi, and Sakura completely lost all hope in him; only Naruto still keeps his faith. Sasuke, in response to this, abandons his refusal to transplant Itachi's eyes into himself, claiming that he wants to destroy Naruto with his full power. Upon receiving his "Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan", Sasuke's cruelty reached a new level when he killed the original White Zetsu simply to test out his new powers. He's also grown to be impatient and brutal in battle, going as far to assault Kabuto with the full force of his powers without even thinking things through.

Despite Tobi's influence being the source of Sasuke's corruption and their same path of hatred and revenge, as well as believing that Tobi is a fellow Uchiha, Sasuke refused to acknowledge Tobi as his ally, and even speaks rudely to him at times.

He has also shown great rage whenever someone mentions Itachi in a negative way, crushing Danzō with his Susanoo for speaking ill of his brother. When Kakashi stated that he knew there was more to him than his clan, Sasuke saw his old comrades from Konoha smiling, which infuriated him and he said they were laughing because of their ignorance about Itachi's sacrifice and it sounded like scorn and disdain to him, leading him to wanting to turn these laughs into screams of despair. Sasuke's hatred has twisted any of his potential happy memories of Konoha into fuel for vengeance. Recently, upon his last meeting with a resurrected Itachi, he showed a somewhat kinder and more vulnerable side to himself instead of his usual coldness. It was also shown just how confused and torn up he is over Itachi's decision, telling his brother that he did not understand why he was spared during the massacre and apparently implying that he would have rather died as a child than have had to deal with the grief and suffering. Itachi seems to hold a slight influence over Sasuke, despite their vastly different view on things concerning Konoha, as he agreed to fight Kabuto with Itachi, though soon afterwards claimed it was because he wanted answers and that anyone involved with Orochimaru was his enemy as well.

Also, for his entire life, despite being popular with females due to being handsome and cool, Sasuke has shown absolutely no interest in any of these women, or their advances, due to his all-consuming desire for revenge and power. Such girls included Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka and Karin. Even when Sakura's childish crush turned into more serious affection, Sasuke still did not return the feelings, though before he left the village, he gave Sakura a genuine thank you. His disinterest in these women can turn to ruthless and uncaring antipathy, expressed during his fight with Danzō, where he unhesitatingly pierced Karin just to kill Danzō and then attempted to finish her off to prevent her from being a burden in the future, and during his fight with Team Kakashi, where he attempted to kill Sakura twice despite her showing obvious hesitancy.

Appearance
Sasuke has black hair with a blue tint, which lengthens as the story progresses, and onyx eyes. His bangs hang on both sides of his face to roughly frame his cheeks and is spiky in the back. A recurring theme in Sasuke's appearance is that he is considered quite handsome by many 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 arm warmers, which he stopped wearing after the Chūnin Exams, along with white shorts. In the last stage of the Chūnin Exams, he wore a black, one-pieced version of this outfit with many small arm-belts adorning his left arm and similar bands around both legs, but eventually went back to his original clothes, due to the creators having a difficult time drawing the black version on a regular basis. As the story progressed, the Uchiha symbol became smaller and smaller.

Initially, Sasuke wore a short blue-clothed forehead protector with the Konoha symbol on the metallic plate. After suffering a second defeat from Itachi, Sasuke stopped wearing it for some time. He put it back on during the latter half of his battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End, only to let it drop off at the end. Since then, Sasuke hasn't worn a forehead protector.

In Part II, Sasuke has grown noticeably taller over the two and a half years and more muscular. He was first shown wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, similar in appearance to the lavender long-sleeved shirt worn by Kimimaro and which was open at the torso, with a smaller version of the Uchiha crest on his collar. He wore dark blue pants with a blue cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees. He also wore a purple rope belt around his waist, tied in a bow, in which he carries his sword. After battling Deidara, he switched to a sleeveless dark grey shirt. His arm guards were also removed, and he started wearing bandages on his wrists, under which he wore special bracelets with seals where he stores shuriken. He also wore a cloak with this.

After he encountered and battled Itachi, he reverted to a grey high-collared short-sleeved shirt similar in appearance to the blue shirt he commonly wore in Part I, with a zipper usually down to mid-chest, although after recovering from his surgery, he started wearing it fully zipped up. He also wears blue wrist warmers. He briefly wore an Akatsuki cloak along with this. Another noticeable trait is that, along with this new outfit, Sasuke began letting his hair hang over his forehead. The Uchiha crest on the back of his outfit has returned to its original size since his battle with Itachi. While adjusting to Itachi's eyes at the Mountains' Graveyard, he is seen wearing black Uchiha robes similar to those worn by Madara in his youth with a belt sash around his waist.

Sasuke has the largest number of costume variations of any character in the series, with his clothing generally changing in each arc, with only the Sand Siblings having an approximately equal amount of costume variations.

When Sasuke joined Itachi on his mission to capture the wild boar, Sasuke was wearing an ANBU uniform.

Abilities
Sasuke is hailed as a genius, even by the battle-excelling Uchiha clan's standards at the start of the series, 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's Fire Release and weapon-based techniques even surprised Kakashi during their first training session. Tobi, Itachi, and Orochimaru have all stated that Sasuke possesses the unique potential to become much stronger than Itachi, who was already considered a genius above all others. Orochimaru even mentioned that Sasuke is stronger than the former was at the same age when he was training Sasuke in Part II. Tobi has also stated that in time, Sasuke could become more powerful than Nagato.

By Part II, he develops much of his potential and becomes a very powerful ninja, strong enough to fight on par with several highly skilled shinobi. Admittedly, in his battle against Orochimaru, Sasuke downplays his victory, and attributes it to Orochimaru's sickly state. According to Tobi, Itachi had already determined the outcome of their fight, and was sick as he was using medicine to prolong his life. This didn't prevent Itachi from praising Sasuke however, saying if he didn't use Susanoo he would have been killed by Kirin. Also, Sasuke managed to survive a fight with Deidara — a powerful and dangerous S-rank ninja well known for his abilities — without any form of handicaps. After receiving his Mangekyō Sharingan, Sasuke proved capable of holding his own against at least two Kage and their respective bodyguards, before being weakened to the point of exhaustion due to his battle with them.

Sasuke is shown possessing a high amount of chakra. At the age of 7, he already had enough chakra to use his clan's signature fire release technique, something Kakashi was very surprised, even when Sasuke performed it at age 12, as such techniques usually require more experience and development in chakra. In Part II, he was able to summon Manda, a high level summon, while in a weakened state to protect himself from Deidara's suicide-bomb technique (though this may be due to borrowing on Orochimaru's chakra). Sasuke was also able to use many highly chakra-consuming techniques several times a day, exampled by his reckless usage of all three of his Mangekyō Sharingan techniques against Danzō and the other Kage multiple times, among other techniques like the Chidori. Quality-wise, Sasuke's chakra is noted to be very foul and powerful. When Sasuke first arrived at the Land of Sound and gave Kabuto a frightening glare, both he and Orochimaru took note of Sasuke's exceptional chakra. Even Kurama, the Nine-Tails points out that Sasuke has the same foul chakra as Madara's, whose chakra was particularly strong even amongst the Uchiha. Karin has also mentioned that Sasuke's chakra, as he approached the point of manifesting Susanoo, had become even darker and colder than the corrupting influence of the Cursed Seal of Heaven in its second stage; it has since continued to grow even more potent along with the development of Susanoo.

Under Orochimaru's training, Sasuke has developed an immunity towards most forms of poisons, to a level that the one Sakura learned from Shizune would not affect him. However, he was not immune to the effects of Orochimaru's true form's poisonous blood. In his early childhood, Sasuke was trained in archery, allowing him to fight at mid to long-range (albeit Itachi stated that Sasuke still needed improvement at the time).

Taijutsu
Although not his favoured area of combat, Sasuke's taijutsu was at a very high level ever since the start of the series. This was first showcased in the bell test with Kakashi, who was so shocked that he couldn't even read Icha-Icha while fighting him. After mastering tree-climbing, he could completely overwhelm Haku in a taijutsu bout, easily outperforming his normal speed and blocking his attacks, ultimately forcing him to use the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. However, his skills improved drastically after his first encounter with Rock Lee. By emulating some of Lee's moves he was able to create the Lion Combo. Under Kakashi's tutelage, he improved his taijutsu by coping more of Lee's Strong Fist-style. With this increase he was able to overwhelm Gaara during their initial fight. He was also able to outfight the entire Sound Four for a good amount of time. In the various times they fought, Sasuke was able to match and even defeat Naruto in hand-to-hand combat. After the time-skip under Orochimaru's guidance, Sasuke further improved his taijutsu. His increase in skill allowed him to easily defeat, without killing, hundreds of Oto-nin in a single battle without sustaining so much as a scratch to himself. He was also able to keep up with Itachi in taijutsu during their fight. In the anime, he was also able to hold his own against Kakashi in a taijutsu fight.

Aside from his taijutsu skills, Sasuke has an above-average level of physical strength. He was able to lift up both Naruto and Sakura by the throat using only one hand and carry a unconscious Killer B over his shoulder (which was actually one of the Eight-Tails' tentacles) despite being weakened after he thought he defeated him. He has also shown high levels of durability and endurance as he was able to survive being battered, thrown and slammed around by a Kurama-fueled Naruto, survived getting hit in the neck by A's Lightning Release Armour enhanced backhand chop, though one of his Susanoo's ribs partially absorbed the blow before cracking and was fully willing to being stabbed by Danzō's wind chakra-infused kunai in order to fatally wound him without immediately collapsing from his own wound. Even in a near-blind and battered state from fights against the Kage and overusing the Mangekyō Sharingan, he was still able to retain enough stamina to fight against Kakashi, restrain and disarm Sakura and later match Naruto's Rasengan attack with his own Chidori.

Since the start of the series, Sasuke showed a high level of speed as he was the first to react to the Demon Brothers ambush. After being trained in chakra control by Kakashi he was able to hold his own to Haku's speed during their second encounter. He later trained to mimic Lee's speed in order to effectively use the Chidori in battle and was able to match it in only a month. With this new speed he was able to completely outrun Gaara's sand defence. After his Sharingan fully develops, he was also able to match the speed of both Naruto's initial jinchūriki form and one-tailed form during their fight, though with the latter, Sasuke wasn't able to completely dodge the demon shroud. After the time-skip, due to Orochimaru's training, Sasuke's already impressive speed saw a huge leap, allowing him to move huge distances in the blink of an eye as if by teleportation. Likewise he was able to evade attacks from extremely fast shinobi such as Killer B's Lariat, and A's Elbow, though he credited the evasion to his Sharingan reading the linear moves. 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 improvements are so great that Sakura even suspected that he had been given drugs to improve his physical capabilities.

Kenjutsu
During his stay with Orochimaru, Sasuke was trained in kenjutsu and received a chokutō becoming an expert swordsman. He is shown using his blade in every one of his later fights, using it in either a normal or reverse grip, this becoming an important element in his fighting style. With these abilities he was able to incapacitate hundreds of Oto-nin without killing them nor getting so much as a drop of blood on himself. His skills with a blade are better shown during the Five Kage Summit where he was able to easily outfight and kill multiple samurai (who are trained specifically in swordplay) and even block an attack from Mifune, a master swordsman who acknowledged Sasuke's ability.

Sasuke is also capable of channeling his Chidori through his blade increasing it's cutting power and paralysing anyone stabbed by it. This is powerful enough to slice through a chakra wave created by a similar sword technique. If for some reason Sasuke finds himself disarmed he can shape his Chidori into a makeshift extendable blade.

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, recognising 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 Naruto's one-tailed form. The second level of the cursed seal turned Sasuke's skin dark grey, his eyes yellow, lengthened his hair without losing its style, blue venom lipstick seemed to appear on his lips, and gave him hand-shaped wings on his back that gave him the ability to fly and hover. In this form, not only were his physical attributes further 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 Sasuke.

Shurikenjutsu
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke is well versed in weapons use such as kunai and shuriken as well as wire strings. During his inital training he is capable of using techniques like Shadow Shuriken Technique in which he could hide one shuriken in the shadow of another and the Manipulated Shuriken Technique, which allows him to control the path of giant shurikens. Due to his Sharingan, he can use an advanced version of the former, the Manipulating Windmill Triple Blades. After his training with Orochimaru, he increased his speed and precision in throwing shuriken. In the anime he was able to perfectly strike a set of multiple targets (one of which was hidden in a blind spot) like Itachi had done in the past.

Since his battle with Itachi, Sasuke started using a bracelet with a special seal that allowed him to instantly summon shuriken, thus increasing the amount he carries at any one time and launch speed. He also demonstrated the ability to increase the lethal properties of the Fūma Shuriken by riging it to disconnect it's four blades and launch them into separate directions and the ability infuse the shuriken with lightning chakra.

Summoning Technique
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 body shedding technique to shed his skin and produce a new body, thus repairing any damage he sustained. 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 B. 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 likely that all his snake techniques were a result of absorbing Orochimaru. To symbolise his ascension from snakes (i.e. Orochimaru's power) he changed his team's name from Hebi (snake) to Taka (hawk).

It is revealed that his animal-oriented techniques have also changed to a hawk as shown from him summoning a hawk that he used to fly around on during his fight with Danzō. It is unknown when he made a contract with them.

Nature Transformation
Proving himself a true genius ninja and member of the Uchiha, Sasuke has repeatedly shown great proficiency in fire-based techniques. By the age of 7, he had already mastered his clan's rite of passage technique, 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. He has also shown combining his fire skills with weapons for techniques like Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique and Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.

Hoping 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 damaging 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. In Part II, Sasuke was shown to be able to use the Chidori several times in one day. During their battle, A commended Sasuke's Chidori for being able to break through his Lightning Release Armour despite inflicting minimal damage.

Over the time-skip, 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 through "chakra flow", 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 actual 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 a mountain, as well as break Itachi Uchiha's Susanoo.

After adjusting to his Mangekyō Sharingan powers, Sasuke has developed an advanced Fire Release known as the Blaze Release; an element that draws its power from Amaterasu. Aside from unleashing a wave of unquenchable black flames that incinerates everything that reflects in his eyesight, Sasuke can control the movement of the flames into surrounding him and creating spikes to protect himself. As such, he was regarded as more skilled with it than Itachi was by C. After gaining his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he was able to wrap Amaterasu around his Susanoo arrows, even using the orb of it to create tomoe-like projectiles that can fire in a wave.

Sharingan
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke possesses the Sharingan, the clan's kekkei genkai. He first developed it at the young age of seven, during Itachi's departure from Konoha after the Uchiha clan massacre, with one tomoe in each eye, but Sasuke would later forget he had activated the Sharingan due to being traumatised by the incident. He was able to reactivate it for the first time during the battle with Haku on the Great Naruto Bridge, where he had one tomoe in his left eye, and two in his right. By the time of his fight with Rock Lee it had matured into two tomoe in each eye. It eventually reached completion, with three tomoe in each eye, during his battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End near 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 utilised for the duration of the Chūnin 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 a small amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra. 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 somewhat over the time skip, allowing him to easily hypnotise opponents, replay memories, 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 that he was able to match Itachi in a genjutsu duel during their battle and finally overcome the Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu, Tsukuyomi. It seems that after receiving the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan that he has started to keep his Sharingan activated for extended periods of time, much like his late brother.

Mangekyō Sharingan
Sasuke awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan after the death of his older brother, Itachi. Sasuke's Mangekyō takes the appearance of three intersecting ellipses. Unlike other Sharingan, which have a black design and red background, Sasuke's Mangekyō is the first one that is shown to have a red design and a black background.

Customary of the dōjutsu, Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan damages his eyesight every time he uses it, causing his eyes to bleed and him to experience great pain and extreme fatigue. While resting after his fight with Killer B, Sasuke found that his vision was slightly blurred and during his battle with Kakashi, unleashing Susanoo's final form caused his vision to worsen.

The first ability Sasuke has displayed using the Mangekyō is genjutsu presumed to be Tsukuyomi, as it broke the victim's will and induced paralysis. During their battle, Danzō denounced Sasuke's skill with genjutsu, reiterating Itachi's ability to alter a victim's impression of space and time while under his Tsukuyomi. The second ability was Amaterasu, which Itachi implanted within his eyes before his death. When Sasuke first used it unintentionally against Tobi, his eyes assumed the appearance of Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan. When he later used it on his own, they took the form of his own Mangekyō Sharingan. Various characters have implied that his skill with Amaterasu surpasses Itachi's, as he is able to both control and extinguish the flames with his right eye.

Sasuke has also displayed the ability to use Susanoo, which he can use in the same manner as his Cursed Seal, manifesting single parts at a time; the technique's development is dependent on Sasuke's hatred. Sasuke initially uses incomplete versions of Susanoo due to various reasons. During his fight with Danzō, he uses a more complete version, and demonstrates its ability to use different weapons. Later on, during his fight with Kakashi, he perfected his Susanoo into an armoured form similar to Itachi's. Unlike Itachi, Sasuke's Amaterasu comes from his left eye, and Tsukuyomi along with his ability to manipulate and extinguish the black flames from his right eye. The last ability Sasuke demonstrated with his Mangekyō Sharingan was a technique that manipulates the black flames of Amaterasu known as Blaze Release.

Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan
Although Sasuke initially refused Itachi's eyes, after his conversation with Naruto, Sasuke finally had Tobi transplant Itachi's eyes in order to escape the Mangekyō-induced blindness and to face Naruto with his full power. His "Eternal" Mangekyō took the shape of his old Mangekyō Sharingan, with an altered version of Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan design in the centre.

Following the acquisition of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, his Susanoo underwent a new change as the armour's hood gained a beak-like shape, its hands gained scales and it wields an orb composed of the black flames of Amaterasu on its third hand, from which he can produce either a weapon to stab his opponents, or fire several tomoe-shaped projectiles that can incinerate a foe on contact. It also wields another weapon on his left hand.

Intelligence
From a young age, Sasuke has been able to easily learn various ninjutsu, scoring top marks in academy tests and being referred as a genius by several shinobi. He is a proficient strategist and during fights, he easily observes his opponents and accurately sees through their abilities while remaining calm. He then correctly chooses the most effective means and ninjutsu to counter them. Sasuke can deduce a technique's elemental property from the seals performed by its user, as he shows in his battle against Deidara. He is then able to determine the attack's range from the colour of the chakra.

Likewise, he is capable of outsmarting older and more experienced shinobi, such as Danzō Shimura during their battle, when he fooled him into revealing his use of Izanagi and later using a right-timed genjutsu in order to trick him into believing that Izanagi was still active. His resolution enables him to pick strategies in which he requires getting injured in order to defeat the enemy, thereby showing tremendous endurance and willpower.

His intelligence also allowed him to develop many powerful techniques on his own, all based on the one technique his teacher taught him. From the Chidori, Sasuke mastered the principles of Lightning Release, and created many innovative techniques that are derived from it. He was also able to combine techniques together to create the right atmosphere for the Kirin, utilising weather manipulation to create a powerful thunderstorm. He has also developed a great understanding of snakes and snake-derived techniques from extensive research done to defeat Orochimaru.

Introduction Arc
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 almost 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.

Chūnin Exam Arc
Before the Chūnin Exams 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 technique in a normal fight. In the first part of the exam, Sasuke realised 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 Chūnin Exam in the Forest of Death, Sasuke was attacked by Orochimaru. Recognising 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 Otogakure genin, effortlessly defeating them and going so far as to break Zaku's arms. Recognising 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.

In Part II, Sasuke is revealed to have saved Karin from a bear during the second phase, but he left her alone since he didn't need her scroll.

Sasuke's match up in the preliminaries was against Yoroi Akadō. 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 defences 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 Kankurō 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 half Shukaku form. 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. Later he attended the Third Hokage's funeral.

Search for Tsunade Arc
After the failed invasion, Sasuke went to see Kakashi, and later was seen reading the stone tablet in the Naka Shrine. When he arrived at Kakashi's house to see him again, he found his teacher in a coma. Although nobody in the room was willing to tell Sasuke of 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 hurriedly rushed outside, tracked his team-mate 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, trapped in Itachi's "Nightmare Realm". Guy appeared to take Sasuke back to Konoha, however, 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 got 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 Mangekyō 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 favour 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 Rasengan (enhanced by the Nine-Tails' chakra) and Sasuke with his Chidori (empowered by the Cursed Seal). 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 couldn't find himself to do it. He also realised that doing so would be exactly what Itachi wanted him to do. Leaving behind his scratched 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 débuts in Part II during a meeting with his replacement in Team 7, Sai. When Sasuke shows a lack in interest for knowing who Sai is, the latter inadvertently provokes him by stating that he might be able to get along better with Sasuke than he did with Naruto, and Sasuke traps Sai in a genjutsu exuding a large amount of killing intent. Sai is amazed that even an emotionless person such as himself was affected by Sasuke's gaze, channeling through his Sharingan. When Sai comments on how Naruto and Sakura have been searching for him, Sasuke once again regards him with indifference in attitude.

Later, when Team 7 infiltrates one of Orochimaru's hideouts successfully under the leadership of Yamato, Sai, acting on his own, locates and enters Sasuke's room while he was resting in a bid to assassinate him as ordered by his superior in Konoha's Root faction, Danzō Shimura. However, after spending quality time in Team 7, especially with Naruto, Sai comes to understand the meaning of bonds of friendship, and disregarding his original secret mission of killing Sasuke, he states to the latter that he wants to repair his and Naruto's bond. Enraged on being disturbed, Sasuke destroys the room, drawing Naruto, Sakura and Yamato to their location. Despite this being the first time in nearly three years that they had seen each other, Sasuke expresses his usual indifference towards his former team. Unperturbed in the prospect going home to Konoha with them, Sasuke engages them in battle, showing off his increase in speed and improved abilities.

The new Team 7 are little match for him, mostly due to the team's exhaustion with Naruto's four-tailed form (that he had previously used to battle Orochimaru), causing Naruto to begin struggling with the Nine-Tails' chakra in his mind. To the surprise of both Naruto and the Nine-Tails, Sasuke uses the heightened prowess of his Sharingan to enter Naruto's subconscious to meet the Nine-Tails itself, finally discovering the true source of Naruto's strength. The Nine-Tails appears to be impressed with Sasuke's growth and ability, but as it criticises his chakra being as "sinister" as Madara Uchiha's, Sasuke coldly dismisses any relation to that person and uses his Sharingan to suppress the Nine-Tails back into its sealed cage. The Nine-Tails concludes that this was probably its last meeting with Sasuke, so it warns him not to kill Naruto, for he would only end up regretting it. Back outside, Sasuke decides to finish off his former team-mates, starting with Naruto, only to be stopped by Orochimaru. Paying heed to Orochimaru's plan to use Team 7 and other Konoha shinobi to thin Akatsuki's numbers, Sasuke leaves with him and Kabuto.

Itachi Pursuit Arc
Sometime later, Orochimaru tests Sasuke's abilities by having him battle hundreds of Otogakure ninja with no compassion or mercy, a task he completes without taking a scratch and without killing any of them. When inquired about the latter part of the scenario, Sasuke remarks that the only person he wants to kill is his brother, Itachi, and leaves to his training room. Soon afterwards, as Orochimaru reaches the limit of his present "vessel" containing his soul, which starts degrading his health, he is notified by Kabuto that the time for his ritual to take over Sasuke's body is near. As Kabuto leaves to get some medicine, a vulnerable Orochimaru is unexpectedly attacked by Sasuke, who announces that there is nothing else that he could learn from Orochimaru, and that he is unworthy of having his body or the Sharingan. Although Sasuke appears victorious after a brief scuffle with Orochimaru's true snake-form, he is nevertheless brought to Orochimaru's subconscious for his body-stealing technique. Having severely underestimated Sasuke, it is Orochimaru, in turn, who is absorbed to a dormant state within Sasuke, who is able to reverse the process using his Sharingan and hence, gains access to all of Orochimaru's abilities.

With Orochimaru gone, Sasuke goes ahead with his plan to locate and kill Itachi, by first recruiting some of Orochimaru's former test subjects - Suigetsu Hōzuki, Karin, and Jūgo - on the pretext of granting them virtues for their themselves after the success of their mission (Suigetsu wants to obtain Samehada by killing Itachi's Akatsuki partner, Kisame Hoshigaki; Karin wants to be with Sasuke due to her massive crush on him; and, Jūgo wants to see if Sasuke was indeed worth of his dear friend, Kimimaro's sacrifice), and dubs their team Hebi. And immediately afterwards, Sasuke had his team split up and learn of Itachi's potential whereabouts. While searching alone, Sasuke is found by Akatsuki members, Deidara and Tobi, with the former wanting to kill him for defeating Orochimaru himself. Using his Sharingan and lightning-based techniques, Sasuke manages to counter most of Deidara's attacks, fueling his pre-existing hatred for the Sharingan, stemming from his past encounter with Itachi, even further, which to him could not see or admire his "art". As a last ditch effort, Deidara uses C0 to try blowing himself up along with Sasuke in a titanic explosion, which obliterates everything in the nearby vicinity. Sasuke, however, summons Manda in time and uses his Sharingan to have the great serpent shield him from the explosion, at the cost of his life. After recovering from his wounds, Hebi continues onto one of Akatsuki's lairs, where Sasuke finds a crow clone of Itachi which expresses admiration over Sasuke's growth in power and tells him they will have their battle at the Uchiha Hideout, leaving the rest of Hebi behind to deal with Kisame.

Once inside the Hideout, Itachi tells Sasuke the cursed history of their clan, of Madara Uchiha being still alive as another Uchiha besides themselves, and his desire to obtain the flawless Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan by taking Sasuke's eyes. Once he finishes, the brothers first fight in a battle of genjutsu, where Sasuke demands the location of Madara so that he can kill him too, but after Itachi declares him to be "immortal", he ensnares Sasuke in a Tsukuyomi, from which Sasuke breaks free, much to Itachi's surprise, due to his immense mastery of the Sharingan. With Zetsu witnessing (and "recording") the battle, Itachi appears somewhat weaker to dodge some of the simplest attacks from Sasuke and even coughs blood. Notwithstanding Itachi's condition, Sasuke unleashes a fireball, provoking Itachi to do the same. As Sasuke's fire gains on Itachi's, the latter resorts to using his Mangekyō Sharingan technique, Amaterasu, which ignites the area in the undying black flames, and almost burns Sasuke. But Sasuke survives using one of Orochimaru's techniques, and in his cursed seal second state, launches Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique, which creates an artificial weather condition around them, perfectly suitable for Sasuke to attack Itachi with his final lightning technique that uses the power of natural lightning itself: Kirin. But Itachi barely survives, only by his use of the third and final Mangekyō technique, Susanoo.

Having used the last of chakra on Kirin, Orochimaru, who has been absorbed and suppressed by Sasuke's chakra, uses this opportunity to reappear in the outer world through one of his eight giant snakes in a last attempt to take Sasuke's body for his own. However, before this could happen, Itachi has Susanoo use the Sword of Totsuka to seal him permanently in a genjutsu realm, thereby removing every tint of Orochimaru's being from Sasuke, including the Cursed Seal of Heaven. Cornered by an incoming Itachi, Sasuke watches in horror his brother inevitably aiming for his eyes, but is flabbergasted when, instead, Itachi says a few words and collapses to his death, after poking him in the forehead- something Itachi would regularly do to Sasuke when they were younger. Shocked and exhausted, Sasuke too passes out, albeit with a smile due to the accomplishment of his lifelong mission.

Sasuke wakes up in a cave in the care of Tobi, who quickly exposes himself to be Madara Uchiha. As Tobi tries to befriend Sasuke by removing his mask and revealing his Sharingan, he somehow triggers Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan to form in Sasuke's left eye and launch an Amaterasu onto him, causing him to retreat into the darkness of the cave. After dispelling the black flames with ease, an unscathed and masked Tobi appears again and begins to muse about how Itachi never ceased to amaze him. As Sasuke asks what he was talking about, Tobi reveals that Itachi had most likely implanted a one-shot Amaterasu in Sasuke's eye to attack if and when he saw Tobi's Sharingan. As Sasuke complains that he is making no sense, Tobi makes startling revelations that it had been to protect him, and, when Sasuke still didn't believe him, Tobi 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 to slaughter the entire Uchiha clan.

Tobi reveals to Sasuke the "truth" of Itachi, that he killed his clan by orders from Konoha, how he joined Akatsuki to keep an eye on the organisation from the inside, and how in the end his only goal was to keep his village, and his brother safe. And that everything he had done was to make sure Sasuke grew strong. Remembering his childhood of how Itachi really was a kind, good brother, Sasuke developed his own Mangekyō Sharingan. He renamed Hebi to Taka and vowed he would destroy Konoha after crying over the memories of his beloved older brother.

Invasion of Pain Arc
Before Hebi, now renamed Taka, could attack Konoha, Tobi convinced them to start working with Akatsuki. He sent them to the Land of Lightning to capture the Eight-Tails, where they found its host, Killer B. The capture attempt got off to a bad start, as Killer B easily defeated both Suigetsu and Jūgo, prompting Sasuke to face B one on one. Sasuke is unable to read Killer B's unique kenjutsu and B ultimately stabbed Sasuke with six swords. Sasuke was rescued and healed by Karin, and the team decided to all attack at once. While they had more success, Killer B released a great deal of the Eight-Tails' chakra and created a chakra cloak. When Sasuke attempted to use genjutsu to knock B out, the Eight-Tails broke him out of it and B retaliated with great force, using the Eight-Tails' power to blow Sasuke's neck and chest apart.

While Sasuke was down, Killer B fully transformed into the beast sealed within him, leaving Taka outclassed. Jūgo heals Sasuke by fusing some of his own flesh with Sasuke's. Suigetsu then allows the team to flee and protects then from Killer B's Tailed Beast Ball. Fearing the deaths of he and his team-mates, Sasuke unleashed his new Mangekyō Sharingan and Amaterasu to capture Killer B.

Sasuke delivered Killer B to Tobi before regrouping with Taka. While resting, they dealt with J, 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.

Five Kage Summit Arc
Once Taka recovered from their battle with Killer B, they headed for Konoha, but are intercepted by Tobi. He informed Taka about the destruction of Konoha and their failure in capturing the Eight-Tails which had been revealed to be nothing more than a transformed tentacle. He also told them about Danzō Shimura becoming Hokage and the Kage Summit. Taka was led to the Land of Iron, where the summit was held, by White Zetsu.

Taka managed to infiltrate the summit without being detected, but their cover was blown by Zetsu, on orders from Tobi. Forced out of hiding, Sasuke engaged the samurai guards and slaughtered them despite his previous strict no-kill policy, revealing how deep he has fallen into darkness. The Fourth Raikage, still under the impression that Sasuke has killed his younger brother Killer B, confronted Taka together with his escorts. The ensuing fight was interrupted by the Fifth Kazekage and his escorts, but not before the Raikage had lost an arm and Sasuke was near exhaustion. After seeing how dark Sasuke had become, the Kazekage continued the fight, but Sasuke used his Susanoo to create a distraction and escaped with Karin, leaving Suigetsu and Jūgo to fend for themselves.

Karin guided Sasuke to the room where the summit was held, but before he could engage Danzō, Sasuke was confronted by Mifune. In the meanwhile, Danzō managed to escape, but the Fifth Mizukage prevented Sasuke from pursuing him. Sasuke was ready to pass out, but was reinvigorated by Zetsu's Spore Technique. He escaped from the Mizukage, only to be confronted by the Third Tsuchikage. He was just barely saved by Tobi, who pulled him and Karin into another dimension using his Sharingan, where Karin nursed Sasuke back to health.

Tobi brought Sasuke out in front of Danzō. Sasuke, overtaken by his lust for revenge, advances Susanoo to a form able to fire arrows. Danzō, using Izanagi, avoids fatal injury and goads Sasuke about Itachi all the while. Each determined to kill the other, they clash again, Danzō relying on Izanagi to save him. Sasuke, however, had used a genjutsu to only create the illusion that Izanagi was still active, allowing him to mortally wound Danzō. Danzō takes Karin hostage in an attempt to buy time, but Sasuke had no hesitations in fatally wounding Karin in order to finish off Danzō.

With his revenge against Danzō fulfilled, Sasuke declared his plans to go to Konoha. However, Tobi pointed out that Sasuke was exhausted and near blindness. He also told Sasuke to kill Karin if she was no longer of any use, before leaving himself. As Sasuke was about to kill Karin, Sakura suddenly appeared and interrupted him. She told him that she was willing to follow him, even if it meant abandoning and even destroying Konoha. Sasuke was sceptical and told Sakura to kill Karin to prove she was sincere. However, as Sakura hesitated, Sasuke attempted to kill her with his Chidori, only to be stopped by Kakashi. Sasuke laughs at their continued attempts to convince him to return to Konoha and attacks Kakashi, with the intention of killing him. Taking Kakashi's attempt to remind him about his former comrades in Konoha as an insult to Itachi, Sasuke's Susanoo gained a layer of armour. However, this form was short-lived, as much to Sasuke's horror, his eyesight deteriorates instantly, to the point of seeing a blurred haze at most, and Sakura uses the opportunity to try and strike him down.

Sakura ultimately cannot bring herself to kill Sasuke. Though near-blind, Sasuke senses her and nearly killed her, but she is saved by Naruto. Naruto sympathises with Sasuke's motives, to which Sasuke cynically counters with his pleasure of revenge, as well as revealing his crime of murdering Danzō. When Naruto restrains Kakashi to keep him from killing Sasuke, Sasuke uses this opportunity to try once more to kill Kakashi with Chidori, but Naruto counters with Rasengan. As the two collide, he tells Naruto that his only options are to kill him or die. Naruto rejects both, stating he has a third option. As their clash sends two flying back, one of White Zetsu's clones appears and cushions Sasuke's fall. Tobi then appears and prepares to take Sasuke away, but he tells him to wait so he can hear what Naruto has to say, which is that if they fight again, they will both die together. Sasuke then becomes angry and demands Naruto to answer why he cares about him so much, to which Naruto replies he is doing it because he is his friend, leaving Sasuke shocked. Despite this unperceived event, Sasuke firmly states he refuses to go back on the path he walks. So, before leaving away with Tobi, Sasuke says that they must have a talk.

At their hideout, Sasuke asks Tobi to replace his eyes with Itachi's eyes, as his vision is almost faded due to his reckless overuse of his Mangekyō Sharingan from battling Killer B, A, Danzō Shimura and Team 7 as he wants to defeat Naruto with his full power. After transplanting Itachi's eyes, Tobi claimed that Sasuke would need time to recuperate from the operation and adjust to the new Mangekyō. Sasuke however remarked that it felt perfect and that he could feel Itachi's power flowing into him.

Shinobi World War Arc
Sasuke recovers from his surgery, and asks Zetsu if he could take off the bandages. Zetsu told him not yet, but when he does, he'll be looking at a whole new world. After some time passes, Sasuke attacks White Zetsu with his Susanoo and sets him ablaze with Amaterasu, saying that his eyes could see just fine in the dark so he should try it outside. He then removes his bandages, revealing his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Back at the Mountains' Graveyard, Sasuke carves an opening through the roof with his sword — and dressed in his old garbs — mobilises. Later, as Sasuke walks to the battlefield in the middle of a thunderstorm, he looks behind him and grins ominously.

Sasuke meets up with some of Zetsu's clones, and uses a combination of Susanoo and Amaterasu to destroy many of them. Using genjutsu on one of them, he discovers that Tobi has started a war, in order to capture B and Naruto. Sasuke wonders if Naruto forgot what true strength is. Sasuke decapitates the hypnotised clone and decides to go kill Naruto, and finishes off the remaining Zetsu clone using Amaterasu. He then reminisces about his brother and resumes his way to the battlefield. As he notices something coming by the forest, he takes his sword and goes to investigate, only to find his brother, much to his surprise. Sasuke chases after him and tries to catch him with an arm of Susanoo after he calls out to Itachi, but Itachi counters with his own. Positively identifying Itachi, Sasuke asks what he is doing there since he was supposed to be dead, to which Itachi reveals Kabuto had revived him with Impure World Resurrection. Sasuke bombards Itachi with a slew of questions and retorts his brother's later statement that since he was dead, he would not talk anymore by saying that even in death he was running away from him. Itachi then tells Sasuke that he wasn't running away but rather was focusing on doing important tasks like ending the Impure World Resurrection.

Still pursuing his brother — who even goes as far as to summon a flock of crows in order to blind him — he manages not to lose sight of him and follows him right to Kabuto's location. After seeing him, Kabuto lets out a maniacal laugh and states that his luck was finally changing. After seeing Kabuto's form, Sasuke mistakes him for Orochimaru however after hearing Kabuto's voice he realises it's not Orochimaru. Kabuto then tries to take advantage of Sasuke's hatred to help him defeat Itachi. Sasuke, however, having learned the truth about Itachi, sided with his brother over Kabuto, stating that anything left of Orochimaru was his enemy as well and then told Itachi that when this was over he was supposed to keep his promise and talk to him about everything afterwards.

As Kabuto covers his face up entirely claiming that introverts weren't used to so much attention, Sasuke surmises that it's because he wanted to protect himself from the brothers' ocular-based genjutsu. Informing his brother of some of the abilities of the snake, he watches on vigilantly as Kabuto's snakes grow in size and attack them. Activating his Susanoo alongside Itachi, he beheads the snakes that attacked him. As Itachi cautions him to not be so rough, Sasuke tells his brother that with Orochimaru's powers it'd take more than that to kill him. After Kabuto manages to elude them, Sasuke listens as Kabuto tells him that the experiments on his former team-mates had allowed Kabuto to acquire new abilities. Firing an arrow at Kabuto which the latter narrowly dodges, Sasuke watches on as Kabuto emerges from the mouth of one of the snakes and declares that after finding the Ryūchi Cave and learning the way of the sage from the White Snake Sage, that he had transcended to a dragon.

As Kabuto's technique is initiated, Sasuke covers his ears and closes his eyes in pain, realising that he can't maintain his Susanoo. As the technique ends, Sasuke opens his eyes to see Itachi's Susanoo protecting him. Kabuto tries to implant doubt and mistrust amongst the two brothers, but Sasuke doesn't fall for them and attempts to hit him with his Chidori Sharp Spear, but fails. As Kabuto tells them that a mismatched pair like them could never defeat him, Itachi tells him that they'd be going with an attack pattern they had used in their youth against a wild boar. Forming his Susanoo arrows, Sasuke is able to hit Kabuto's snake-tail with his arrow, effectively pinning Kabuto to the ceiling of the cave. He later realises that Kabuto was moving to use his discarded sword to seemingly sever his snake-tail. Itachi intercepts the swing however. As Itachi returns to Sasuke, he tells him that beating a giant pig like that was probably no problem for him now, to which Sasuke replies that dealing with the snake before them was the more pressing issue.

Noticing the strong teamwork between the two brothers, Kabuto admits that he surprised by it. Sasuke explains that he merely wants to know the truth from Itachi's own mouth. Realising that Sasuke heard about Itachi's secret past, Kabuto mocks Sasuke for trying to get the truth from Itachi when he has been lying to his younger brother all his life. Kabuto goes on to say it is foolish that Sasuke is helping Itachi when their personal goals are so different; Itachi's being to protect Konoha while Sasuke wants to destroy it. Pointing out that he and Sasuke share similar goals of destroying Konoha, Kabuto again tries to persuade Sasuke to join him. Ultimately, Itachi tells Sasuke not to listen as Kabuto is an even better liar than him. Itachi then admits to Konoha's dark side, but still firmly considers himself a Konoha ninja, greatly shocking Sasuke. Admitting to his own faults for how Sasuke turned out, Itachi promises to tell him something important after the battle, which he intends to finish with "Izanami, the partner technique to "Izanagi". As Kabuto attacks, Itachi blocks it, telling Sasuke the technique has begun and to stay near him.

Naruto the Movie: 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. Later, Sasuke encountered Fubuki Kakuyoku, and defeated her with the Lion Combo. Sasuke used Chidori to damage Dotō Kazahana's armour, 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.

Naruto the Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel
Sasuke made a very short cameo when 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, emphasised Naruto's regret over losing Sasuke, and strengthened his resolve not to lose any more friends.

Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds
Sasuke was summoned by Orochimaru, and was told by him about the recent Sky ninja's 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 Shinnō. Near the end of the movie, he made his appearance just as Naruto was about to finish off Shinnō, stopping Naruto and cutting off Shinnō'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 Shinnō, 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-Tails that Shinnō had planted. He taunts both of them and an angry Naruto jumps down to fight him. Sasuke soon follows suit. 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 Hyūga 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 then uses the full cursed seal to fly away. He is next seen watching Naruto being saved by Jiraiya from a distance. Sasuke turns around and goes back to Orochimaru's hideout. He gave him the scroll Orochimaru had asked for, though Kabuto pointed out that he didn't bring Shinnō and it's not like him to fail a mission. Orochimaru notices that Sasuke seemed different, and asks him if a "good thing" happened to him. He pauses into the doorway, but doesn't say anything and walks out. Once outside, he thinks about what Naruto had said to him as he blew Sasuke onto the lifeboat that he would bring him back home one day. He then resumed his training.

Naruto Shippūden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire
Sasuke appeared in a few flashbacks when Sai asked Naruto about what Kakashi had taught him.

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. Realising 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 got 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 Chūnin 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 favourite character to draw.

Trivia

 * Sasuke was named after Sasuke Sarutobi, the Third Hokage's father, though their names in turn were likely inspired by the fictional 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 techniques users.
 * Unlike most characters in Naruto, Sasuke doesn't address anyone with honorifics at the end of their names (except to his parents, clan members, and Itachi when he was a child and after discovering Itachi's true nature), like "Kakashi-sensei" or "Orochimaru-sama", something the Japanese would consider very insulting or rude.
 * In the June 2006 edition of Shōnen 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.
 * On the cover page of chapter 1, Sasuke is seen riding a hawk, which he later learns to summon. In most subsequent cover pages he is only depicted with snakes, another species he learns to summon.
 * 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 fifth and sixth popularity polls, and in the third databook, which added results from the previous six polls, has Sasuke as the third most popular character overall with 33,632 votes. In the most recent poll, Sasuke ranked second.
 * Sasuke is one of four characters to have always stayed in the Top Ten of every Character Popularity Poll.
 * Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan which consists of three overlapping pointed ellipses, giving it six points is the only one shown to have inverse colours; while most are red with black designs, Sasuke's is black with red designs.
 * According to the third Naruto databook:
 * Sasuke's hobbies are training and taking walks.
 * Sasuke wishes to fight against Itachi Uchiha (first and second databooks) and the upper ninja of Konoha (third databook).
 * Sasuke's favourite foods are omusubi with okaka and tomatoes, while his least favourites are nattō 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 favourite word is.
 * According to the first Naruto fanbook, while in the Academy Sasuke had the highest grade in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, the lowest grade in cooperation and the second-lowest grade in assertiveness, which was bringing down his average. His overall grade was second place to Ino's.

Quotes

 * (To Itachi) "That's okay… Just as long as we can be together sometimes."
 * (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 Sakura about Team 7) "I know the four of us have worked together. And for a while, I thought I could choose that path instead… but in the end… I've decided on revenge. That's always been my purpose of living."
 * (To Naruto) "I don't look to the future any more. Only the past."
 * (To Naruto) "Just shut up for once! What the hell do you know about it?! It's not like you ever had a family in the first place! You were on your own right from the beginning, what makes you think you know anything about it?! Huh?! I'm suffering now because I had those ties, how on earth could you possibly understand, what it feels like to lose all that?!"
 * (To Tobi) "If you think I'm just a foolish kid ruled by his emotions, that's fine. Following Itachi's path would be childish, the whispering of fools who don't know hatred. If anyone else tries to ridicule the way I live, I'll slaughter everyone they ever cared about. And then maybe they'll understand what it's like to taste… a little of my hatred."
 * (To Team Kakashi) "I finally… I finally got my first bit of revenge for Itachi... it's like the disgrace of the Uchiha clan is being cleansed. Like I'm separating the Uchiha clan from the rotten ninja world. You might even say it's what Konoha always wanted. You always repudiated the Uchiha clan, so now we will disappear from your memories just like you always wanted. When I kill everyone in Konoha! By severing the bond, we will be purified! That will be the true revival of the Uchiha clan!"
 * (To Itachi) "I'm not in an illusion anymore!! I can see through your genjutsu because these are your eyes!!"
 * (To Itachi) "I should have died! You were supposed to kill me and our parents together! And yet… Why was I the only one!? Why was I the only one to survive!?"
 * (To Itachi) "Itachi… You always used to tell me "later, later", and in the end it was just lies. At least this one time… Keep your promise!"