Sasuke Uchiha

is a main character in the anime and manga series Naruto.

Sasuke's given name comes from the legendary ninja Sarutobi Sasuke. His surname, Uchiha, is another way of pronouncing "uchiwa", or a paper fan, which is actually the Uchiha clan symbol. Uchiwa cannot be folded. In contrast, Ōgi, which Temari uses as her weapon, can be folded. Although both uchiwa and ōgi produce wind by fanning, the former is used in more practical/everyday situation such as cooking or commoners cooling themselves down during a hot summer day. The latter is considered to be more formal. 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 Shonen Jump's June 2006 edition, Masashi Kishimoto (in Kakashi's voice) remarks that while Sasuke is a genius, he is a little dull to teach because he learns everything easily compared to the less predictable Naruto.

In Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Sasuke usually ranked the 3rd or 4th spot for the majority of the series. More recently, however, he has been ranked at 1st.

Background
A Genin-rank ninja, Sasuke is the natural genius offspring of the once powerful Uchiha clan. One of the more outstanding clans in Konohagakure, the Uchiha clan was known for its kekkei genkai, the Sharingan, as well as their use of fire element jutsu after their country's namesake. Like most of the Uchiha clan members, Sasuke's chakra has an affinity for fire based jutsu. The clan also formed much of Konohagakure's village police force. Sasuke is one of three known remaining survivors.

Early childhood
The second son of a Konoha police captain, Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi. Itachi was an acknowledged prodigy who graduated at the top of his Academy class at age 7, mastered the Sharingan by age 8, became a Chunin at age 10, and an ANBU squad leader at the age of 13. The Uchiha clan took great pride and interest in Itachi and viewed him as a genius whose work would further strengthen the bonds between the village and the clan. In particular, Sasuke's father 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 still was unable to escape Itachi's shadow. Despite consistently scoring at the head 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 unique siblings. I am the barrier you must overcome, so you and I will continue to exist together."

Itachi's relationship with his father deteriorated further when Itachi was questioned by other members of the Uchiha clan regarding the death and suicide note of his best friend, Shisui. As Itachi's behavior became increasingly bizarre, Sasuke's father, on a whim and partly due to Itachi's growing distance, decided to spend time with Sasuke. He taught him the Great Fireball Technique, a common family jutsu. Sasuke (age 7 at the time) eventually succeeded in performing the jutsu in front of his father after only one week of training, surprising him. At that moment, Sasuke finally received his father's recognition; the Uchiha clan considered the ability to perform fire jutsu as proof that one had become an adult. Sasuke's father told him that he could now proudly wear the clan's emblem on his back. More 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. Itachi said that Sasuke was not even worth killing. However, Itachi's real plan was to kill Sasuke after he activated his Sharingan, so he could take his brother's eye for the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. In addition, Itachi told him, "You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live." 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 is. Sasuke thought he has fainted after this, but he recently remembered that he managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan and chased after Itachi. Sasuke managed to knock off Itachi's headband, and Itachi was seen shedding a tear after picking up the headband.

Sasuke collapsed, and awakened in the Konoha hospital to overhear villagers gossiping about the destruction of his clan. He escaped the hospital and wandered the village, remembering happy times with his murdered family and finally collapsing into tears as he reached the spot where his parents were killed. He then traveled to the Nakano shrine and found the secret of the Sharingan that Itachi promised him. Whatever he read there only seemed to harden his heart, and from that point forward, Sasuke's life was dedicated to vengeance against his brother.

Team 7
Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke are forced to cooperate against their will when they become the members of the newly founded Team 7 of academy graduates. Naruto initially has a one-sided rivalry with Sasuke, because Naruto spent his whole life shunned, scorned, and desperately seeking to attain the very same recognition and popularity Sasuke has been getting; this is only made worse by the fact that Naruto has a crush on Sakura who, in turn, is head over heels for Sasuke. Sasuke initially looks upon Naruto and his admirer, Sakura, with an equal smug distaste, viewing them as annoyances that would only get in the way. His loner attitude is one of the negative factors responsible for Team 7's initial state of borderline non-existent teamwork, which Kakashi Hatake, the team's sensei notes and berates him for. However, Naruto and Sasuke's relationship slowly shifts from an incompatible mix of frustration and dislike into a mutually positive rivalry - while Sasuke appears to always be one step ahead of Naruto, Sasuke sees Naruto as constantly gaining ground each moment, which results in a state where they push and motivate each other to improve. Similarly, Sasuke's relationship with Sakura slowly changes for the better as a friend and teammate, while she slowly comes to understand the troubled person behind the "popular, brooding, pretty boy" image she initially crushed on.

Sasuke makes a point out of taunting Naruto on occasion, goading and egging him on with his air of superiority. He also continually disappoints Sakura by repeatedly informing her that he is not interested in going out with her. However, a bond between the three forms and Sasuke gradually learns the value of teamwork. As he does, he eventually begins to learn to trust and pushes his thoughts of revenge into the recesses of his mind.

Land of Waves
Sasuke's first major mission was escorting the bridge builder, Tazuna, to his home in the poverty-stricken Wave Country. Sasuke showed exceptional skill when attacked by two missing-nin, The Demon Brothers, from the Hidden Mist village. Later on in the same mission, during the tree climbing exercise to improve chakra control, he managed to stay ahead of Naruto for a good length of time. He took care of Zabuza's water clones impressing Zabuza and his apprentice Haku. He also stood toe to toe for a while 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 in which he first demonstrated a willingness to put others before himself, selflessly putting himself in the way of Haku's attack on Naruto in a move that would have resulted in his death if Haku had meant to kill him rather than induce a temporary death-state. Although he claimed his body moved on its own, his actions show that, even at that early stage, he was willing to put himself in mortal danger for Naruto's sake. Naruto and Sasuke didn't know why though; they both hated each other but they were considering the other one a friend even though they didn't admit it.

Chunin Exam
Before the Chunin Exams even started, Sasuke fought Rock Lee, who easily defeated him through the weakness of the Sharingan: if the user can't keep up with the target then the Sharingan is useless. However, before the finishing blow could be given, Might Guy ends the match.

In the first part of the exam, Sasuke realizes 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 is 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, the Forest of Death, Sasuke battles a Rain ninja and manages to keep him from getting the scroll, which was the objective of the exam. Sasuke also battles a Grass ninja, who is actually Orochimaru in disguise. During the Forest of Death, Sasuke's bond with Naruto seems to strengthen and Sasuke realizes that Naruto is catching up to him, when Naruto stops Orochimaru's summonings from harming Sasuke. At this point, Naruto uses the exact phrase that Sasuke used to taunt him earlier, asking: "Hey, are you hurt, scaredy-cat?". This was a pivotal moment in their bond, as Sasuke realizes that he is in the position Naruto was in when they were attacked by the Mist ninja during the Land of Waves arc, a position where he feels inferior and powerless.

Naruto's positive influence on Sasuke does not please Orochimaru, who is interested in Sasuke as his next potential body, thanks to the Sharingan's technique copying ability, which would help greatly in Orochimaru's ambition to master all jutsu in the world. Orochimaru decides that it is imperative to somehow counter Naruto's positive influence on Sasuke and "dye him to his own color". To advance this cause he puts his cursed seal on Sasuke's neck during their fight in the Forest of Death. As Sasuke lies unconscious, he is haunted with hallucinations of his parents dying and Orochimaru blaming him and his weakness for their death, exploiting his trauma to subvert the bond he has with his comrades with promises of power.

Sasuke turns out to be strong enough to survive the one in ten chance of withstanding the seal and regains consciousness. Sasuke wakes up in a psychologically twisted state, colored by the seal in a sinister black flame-pattern and influenced by Orochimaru's suggestion, but this is still far from enough to destroy his bond with his teammates &dash; the first thing he sees is a very wounded Sakura, and he consequently almost kills the Sound ninja who injured her. At the last minute, he is stopped by Sakura who hugs him and pleads for him to stop, who knows that the maniacally grinning Sasuke she sees before her "couldn't possibly be the Sasuke I [she] know[s]."

Sasuke's match up in the preliminaries is against a member of Kabuto's team, Yoroi Akado. Before the fight starts, Kakashi warns Sasuke that if his curse seal gets out of control, he'll have to intervene and stop the match to control the seal, which bars Sasuke from using his Sharingan or any Jutsu at all aside from Taijutsu. The match starts with Yoroi stealing what little chakra Sasuke has left through his hands. The match seems hopeless for Sasuke, until he hears Naruto's nagging. Next to him is Rock Lee, which makes Sasuke get an idea: He creates a new move based on one of Lee's that he copied during their battle, the Lion Combo. Yoroi is knocked out, and Sasuke advances to the next round. After the fight, Kakashi takes him to seal the curse seal.

During the main matches, Sasuke is matched up against Gaara. Sasuke arrives late (because of some last-minute training by Kakashi), but his time is extended because most of the spectators had come just to see it. Sasuke demonstrates that his speed has vastly increased, to the point where he moves as fast as Lee without weights. Kakashi actually had Sasuke imagine Lee's movements so he could mimic them. Sasuke also unveils his Chidori, which Kakashi taught him, to injure Gaara. Before the match could finish, it is interrupted by the start of Orochimaru's attack (Operation: Destroy Konoha).

Invasion of Konoha
After Gaara, Kankuro and Temari flee from the arena Genma instructs him to follow the sand siblings. Sasuke chases them and, after some minor fights with Kankuro and Temari, Sasuke fights Gaara. Gaara begins to transform into his Shukaku state. Having used chakra earlier, Sasuke is overpowered and defeated after he attempts to use his cursed seal to surpass the daily limit of two uses on his Chidori technique. Naruto and Sakura arrive just in time to save his life. Sasuke watches as Naruto defeats Gaara where he could not, growing jealous of Naruto's increasing power. Sakura, who had been unconscious for most of the fight, thanked Sasuke for saving her; Sasuke admitted that Naruto was the one who saved her, increasing his newly-formed jealousy of Naruto's strength.

Defection from Konoha
Sasuke's willpower is surprisingly strong enough to hold back the cursed seal, and after Kakashi performs his Evil Sealing Method technique on him, the cursed seal enters a dormant state that remains as long as the Evil Sealing Method is fueled by Sasuke's will. However, a series of events unfolds that changes Sasuke's outlook on life, causing a regression back into his former absolute fixation on revenge. With Sasuke already pressured by a growing jealousy over witnessing Naruto's leaps of improvement and — culminating when Naruto defeated Gaara — Itachi visits Konoha in search of Naruto and the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and upon challenging him, Sasuke is subjected to the Mangekyo Sharingan for the second time by Itachi, and the beating he receives drives him over the edge, returning him to his original goal: gaining enough power to kill his brother. Also, in the anime, Team 7's journey tothe Land of Tea results in another humiliation for Sasuke and another victory for Naruto. Aoi of the Rain also taunts Sasuke with the fact that Itachi is better than him. This infuriates Sasuke even more.

When Naruto returns from his search for Tsunade (in the anime, after they return from the Land of Tea), Sasuke immediately challenges him to a fight (right after heartlessly knocking away a gift of chopped apples presented to him by Sakura), enraged that Itachi was more interested in Naruto's power than he was in Sasuke's. The two go to the roof of the hospital, where Sasuke reiterates that he is the superior of the two. Naruto retorts that he never considered himself to be inferior to Sasuke, and that their headbands indicated they were equals, but Sasuke refuses to wear his. With that, Sasuke and Naruto spar with such intensity that Kakashi has to stop them from using Chidori and Rasengan on each other. Kakashi deflects their attacks into adjacent water towers, and Sasuke momentarily revels in the sight of his tower being more damaged, taking this as proof his Chidori was stronger than Naruto's Rasengan. However, upon closer inspection, Sasuke is shocked to find that the back of Naruto's tower had completely been blown out by the power of the Rasengan.

Frustrated by Naruto's increasing power, Sasuke is lectured by Kakashi, who tells Sasuke that his comrades are the most important thing about being a Konoha ninja, and that Chidori should never be used on a fellow team member. Sasuke seems slightly receptive of Kakashi's message, but he has no time to contemplate any of it. As soon as Kakashi leaves, Orochimaru's Sound Four (Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon) attack. Sasuke tries his best, but his every attempt is rendered useless. Sakon proceeds to goad Sasuke by telling him that if the Sound Four can beat him so easily, he has no chance of ever exacting revenge on Itachi. The Sound Four then extend an invitation to Sasuke: Follow them to the village of Sound and align himself with Orochimaru, who in turn will grant him the power he so desperately wants.

For this cause, Sasuke decides to take Orochimaru up on his offer, advancing his Cursed Seal into Stage Two instead of attempting to contain it, and turning his back on Konoha in the process. As he sneaks out of the village, Sakura finds him, and soon understands the magnitude of what he is about to do. Desperate not to lose Sasuke, Sakura does anything and everything she can think of, confessing her love for him and even offering to join his twisted journey so they at least can be together. Sasuke's cryptic last words before swiftly knocking her out and departing are "Sakura... Thank you".

A Genin team consisting of Naruto, Kiba Inuzuka, Neji Hyuga and Choji Akimichi and led by Chunin Shikamaru Nara is sent to retrieve Sasuke, but encounters opposition from Orochimaru's Sound Four, who, by activating their cursed seals, can overpower Jonin-level ninjas. Naruto manages to reach Sasuke with tremendous aid from his teammates, several of whom are critically wounded. It is revealed that in his famous speech after slaughtering the Uchiha clan, Itachi did not only tell Sasuke to "run, run and cling desperately to life", but also that he will only be able to match him in battle when he has the Mangekyo Sharingan - which can only be attained by killing one's best friend, which is now Naruto for Sasuke.

Naruto refuses to accept Sasuke's decision and decides to drag Sasuke back to the village by force if he has to. They therefore engage in battle, with Sasuke initially having the upper hand thanks to his cursed seal and Sharingan. When he manages to pierce Naruto's right shoulder with his Chidori, however, the demon fox's chakra kicks in to protect Naruto, giving him a massive power increase.

With the demon fox's chakra now active, Naruto easily tosses Sasuke about in an attempt to knock some sense into him. Sasuke merely retorts that Naruto could never understand what it's like to lose family members, as he never had them to begin with. Naruto reasons that Sasuke is like a brother to him, therefore he will not let him destroy that bond. Accepting Naruto's strength, Sasuke puts on his headband to indicate this point and his Sharingan fully develops, forming three tomoe in each eye. He still scoffs at the idea that Naruto would even be able to scratch his forehead. The battle from this point onward tips towards Sasuke's favor, with Naruto barely managing to keep up. Though Naruto lands a couple hits, he is injured once again by a piledriver from a high cliff by Sasuke. Like with his previous injury, the demon fox's chakra once again comes to his rescue, enveloping him in a fox-shaped shield of chakra and boosting his power once more.

With the demon fox's chakra shield, Naruto is again more than Sasuke can handle, even with his cursed seal active. During the fight, Sasuke realizes that his brother must have been more interested in Naruto because of the strange power he has, though the source of that power still escapes him. To counter Naruto's power, Sasuke activates the second stage of his cursed seal, becoming a demonic figure with a pair of huge, hand-like wings sprouting from his back. The two are now even and in fairly bad shape (their respective states, though powerful, are also detrimental), so they finish their battle with a final display of power. Naruto attacks with his signature Rasengan (enhanced by the demon fox's chakra) and Sasuke attacks with his Chidori (also enhanced by his current state). Upon impact, a massive dome of black energy forms around them. While both are quite capable of delivering a finishing blow, neither does. Instead, Sasuke merely punches Naruto in the chest while Naruto scratches Sasuke's headband.

After the energy dome dissipates, Sasuke is seen to be the victor, now standing over an unconscious Naruto. He considers killing Naruto, but realizes that doing so would be exactly what Itachi wants him to do. Leaving behind his headband, which fell off from Naruto's last attack, Sasuke makes his way to Orochimaru. While doing so, Sasuke resolves to surpass Itachi in his own way, instead of relying on the same skill Itachi uses.

Naruto the Movie
Sasuke played a small role in the first movie. Sasuke was the one who had the tickets to a Princess Fuu'un movie and encountered Fubuki Kakuyoku through out the movie and defeated her with the Lion Combo. Sasuke used Chidori to damage Doto Kazahana's armor, which led to him getting knocked out. He was seen looking out at the newly created Spring country with Sakura holding him and presented Naruto the autograph that he got him from Fuu'un in the ending credits. He also appears in the trailer of the 5th installement.

Filler episodes
Even though most of the fillers revolves mostly around Naruto, Sasuke had some cameos. He is briefly seen in episode 170 of the anime with Orochimaru. He shows off his Sharingan on one of Orochimaru's acquaintances and says to Orochimaru that it is unnecessary to refer to him as Itachi Uchiha's little brother. He also later appears in episode 202 as a "special guest" and he was seen wearing a bluish-gray robe, but his bottom wear was unseen. Sasuke was also in the Land of Tea arc, which was the first filler arc.

Reunion
When first meeting Sai, he did not care the slightest and was more interested in Orochimaru's presence. When Sai states that he might be able to get along better with Sasuke than he did with Naruto, Sasuke freezes him with a stare, catching 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, showing the power of his Sharingan. When Sai comments on how Naruto and Sakura have been searching for him, Sasuke once again regards him with indifference.

Later, when Sai enters his room while resting he tells Sasuke that he wants to repair his and Naruto's bond together. Sasuke however blows up the room, angered that he was woken up to hear about bonds. Following the explosion, Sakura and Naruto found Sai and Sasuke. While the two looked on at him, Sasuke showed his usual indifference to his former team,. Sasuke begins to mock Naruto on when he spent so much time trying to save him, he could have made himself stronger to become Hokage. Sasuke also told Naruto that he spared his life on a whim, and he would now end it on a whim. . However Sai and Yamato jumped in, forcing Sasuke to reveal his Chidori Current, to paralayze them. When Naruto began his conversation with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, Sasuke used his Sharingan to enter Naruto's mind to meet the demon fox itself. The demon fox comments that Sasuke's eyes and chakra is far more sinister than its own, because he reminded it of Madara Uchiha. Sasuke then shows the ability to forcefully supress the demon fox's chakra, blasting it back inside its gate. Before releasing Naruto, the demon fox warns Sasuke to not kill Naruto, or he will regret it. Listening to Orochimaru's plan to use them to thin the Akatsuki numbers, he dissappears with Orochimaru and Kabuto.

Defection from Otogakure
Sasuke later appears with Orochimaru after having defeated a large number of ninja. Orochimaru scolds Sasuke for not killing a single one of them, to which Sasuke replies that they aren't the ones he wants to kill. Orochimaru also observes that Sasuke wasn't damaged once during the fight, and that Sasuke's abilities far surpass his own when he was Sasuke's age. Later, as Orochimaru lies sick in bed, Sasuke attacks him with a blade made of lightning chakra, saying that he has nothing more to learn from Orochimaru. After activating his Sharingan and cursed seal, Sasuke decides that he feels like killing Orochimaru as well. Having anticipated this, Orochimaru reveals his true form, a giant, white snake, in preparations of taking Sasuke's body. To keep up, Sasuke advances to level 2 of his cursed seal, and does battle with Orochimaru. Sasuke seems to defeat Orochimaru with great ease, but is paralyzed by the snakes' poison. Using his Living Corpse Reincarnation, Orochimaru transfers Sasuke to a dimension within himself where the body transfer is to be made. As Orochimaru takes hold of Sasuke, Sasuke uses his Sharingan to fight the process.

When Kabuto enters the room, he finds Sasuke standing over Orochimaru's dismembered true form. When Kabuto asks who he is, Sasuke replies by using his Sharingan to show Kabuto the confrontation with Orochimaru. In doing so, Sasuke reveals that he managed to take control of the dimension within Orochimaru and that he turned it against him. Although Kabuto believes this to mean Orochimaru is dead, Sasuke merely says that he has taken over and walks away.

Formation of Snake
After arriving in one of Orochimaru's labs, Sasuke releases Suigetsu, a former understudy of Zabuza Momochi. After picking up Zabuza's sword in the Land of Waves for his new ally, the two head off to get two more members of their new team. When asked why he is looking for teammates, Sasuke replies that he has a task he needs to carry out, something that he has been planning since going to Orochimaru years earlier. He also adds that the people he is trying to recruit are the most capable for the job due to their unique abilities, despite the fact that Sasuke could recruit basically anyone he wanted. After arriving at another base and having the prisoners there freed, Sasuke recruits Karin, and the three head out to find their final member, Jugo. Jugo is recruited at the North base. It is revealed that Jugo was the source of the cursed seal and that he has a split personality: before the cursed seal he is gentle and kind, but when he is influenced by the cursed seal he becomes an uncontrollable killer. Kimimaro was the only one who could control him, causing his gentle side to prefer imprisonment. However, Sasuke is able to use his killer intent to frighten Jugo into releasing the seal. With his group established, Sasuke sets out to find Itachi. Snake splits up to search for clues on Itachi's whereabouts, but Sasuke runs into Deidara and Tobi. After a fierce battle in which Deidara kills himself in a suicide attack in attempt to kill Sasuke, and in which Sasuke loses one of his wings in the Cursed seal's level 2 form (though replacing it with snake summons he seems to be able to fly), he rejoins Snake to rest and to restart his mission to find and kill Itachi.

Battle with Itachi
They check out an Akatsuki base that Jugo discovered. Sasuke goes into the base by himself and encounters Itachi. After a short fight, Itachi reveals himself to be a Clone, and tells Sasuke to meet him at an Uchiha Hideout. Sasuke takes "Snake" with him to the meeting place, though he leaves them behind with Kisame Hoshigaki once he reaches his destination.

Sasuke and Itachi meet again, and Sasuke prepares to kill Itachi. Their fight begins using Sharingan Genjutsu. Sasuke appears to have stabbed Itachi, but it was a Genjutsu, with the real Itachi on the throne. Sasuke reflects it and appears to have stabbed Itachi through the chest, and questions Itachi. Itachi reflects it on Sasuke, who dispels it and returns things to reality. Itachi reveals that he had a fellow conspirator, and reveals him to be Madara Uchiha. Itachi then speaks of Madara's history, and tells him the secret of the Mangekyo Sharingan. He told Sasuke that he was his spare, and that he must take his eyes to gain the power Madara once had. Sasuke prepares to finish Itachi

A fight ensues with Sasuke and Itachi throwing shuriken at each other, and then Itachi creates a Shadow Clone to attack, but it is easily destroyed with one of Sasuke's shuriken, energized with the Chidori Current. Itachi then captures Sasuke in Tsukuyomi and appears to have taken his eyes. Sasuke activates his Cursed Seal and dispels the technique. Itachi then falls to the ground, with his eyes being in pain due to the use of Tsukuyomi.

He continues the fight with his brother by throwing shuriken with wires attached to them at Itachi. They are too fast for Itachi to avoid, and he is wrapped in wires and thrown on the ground. Sasuke then uses Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, so Itachi breaks the wires and substitutes himself with a Shadow Clone as a shield. It stops the attack and another Shadow Clone of Itachi jumps towards the roof, so Sasuke leaps up and hits it with a Chidori Current punch, destroying it. The real Itachi performs Great Fireball on Sasuke from on the roof, but Sasuke shields himself with his Cursed Seal wing. Itachi and Sasuke then shoot Great Fireballs at each other, and then he uses Amaterasu, and his eyes begin to bleed. Sasuke shields himself by shedding his skin with Orochimaru's Oral Rebirth Technique, and repairs the damage to his body.

Sasuke then prepares to end the battle with his technique Kirin. With Kirin, Sasuke controls the thunderclouds and almost kills Itachi, but Itachi survives with his technique, Susano'o. Orochimaru then appears to emerge from Sasuke and attacks, but he is easily destroyed by Susano'o's Totsuka Sword, removing Sasuke's Cursed Seal.

Itachi then goes to get Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke is helpless after having his Cursed Seal removed, and is unable to get away. Itachi then attempts to take Sasuke's eyes but stops instead, suddenly falling and dying, and he taps Sasuke on the forehead, which he used to do to him before he wiped out the Uchiha Clan. Sasuke is frozen with surprise as he watches Itachi collapse, for reasons completely unknown to him. Zetsu, who was watching the fight, comments that something was wrong with Itachi because he noticed it was difficult for Itachi to maintain his full power since he started experiencing pain, and then started bleeding whenever he used his Mangekyo Sharingan Eye Techniques. Seeing this as his victory, Sasuke smiled before he too loses consciousness.

He is later rescued by Madara Uchiha and takes him to an unknown location. There, Madara gives Sasuke some first-aid. Madara then claims to know the truth about Itachi as he removes his mask revealing a glimpse of his Sharingan. Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan appears in Sasuke's left eye when this happens, but it only appears in his left eye. There it is revealed that Itachi tapped Sasuke's forehead in order to transfer his Mangekyo Sharingan to Sasuke, which was set to activate when it saw Madara's Sharingan and to use the Amaterasu on him. However, the Amaterasu disspears due to Sasuke being unable to control it. Madara tells Sasuke that Itachi did all of this to protect Sasuke. Madara also reveals that it was he who helped Itachi slaughter the Uchiha Clan. He also urges Sasuke to ask him questions and continue to explain that Itachi's true intentions have always been to protect the Shinobi World, Konoha, and Sasuke.

Truth Revealed


Madara explains the truth about Itachi to Sasuke. He says that Itachi, ANBU member at the time, killed the Uchiha Clan upon Konoha's orders. Sasuke is doubtful, but Madara continues, explaining that the only four that know the truth are Danzo, the Third Hokage, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the two elders from Konoha. Madara remarks that since the Third died, the other three probably would refuse to reveal Itachi's true purpose. Madara goes on to explain his and Konoha's past. He starts by explaining that 80 years back, during many shinobi wars, there were two supreme clans, the Senju of the Forest and the Uchihas. The two clans were by far the most powerful. It got to the point where if one country hired Senju, their enemies were certain to hire Uchiha. Eventually the rivalry pushed both clans to their limits. They negotiated a truce. The united clans then made an agreement with the Land Of Fire. Konohagakure was born. Eventually, one village per country became the norm, as every ninja village hastened to mimic the most powerful force in the ninja world.

Madara went on to explain that he wished to be Hokage to avoid seeing Uchiha destroyed, but that he was the only one who wanted this: everyone else wanted Hashirama Senju. He sought revenge against Konoha, but was defeated despite using the Nine-Tails. The Second Hokage though he attempted to act in good faith was also suspicious of the Uchiha, and began trying to distance their clan from governing the village, instead giving them the job of controlling the Konoha Military Police Force. Later It was speculated that the Uchiha, or later specifically Madara, attacked Konoha using the demon, but Madara claims it was a natural disaster.

The village, however, suspected the Uchiha, and the discrimination which had always existed got worse. Eventually, the Uchiha began plotting a coup, installing Itachi in the ANBU as a spy. Itachi, who had fought in a war as a four year old, and wished to avoid bloodshed, instead informed on the clan. The Third Hokage tried to negotiate with the Uchiha to no avail, and is eventually forced to order Itachi to attack. Itachi, who figured out that Madara still lived, offered Madara the chance to destroy the Uchiha as revenge, if he swore not to touch the rest of the village. Madara agreed, but Itachi was unable to kill Sasuke. Instead he asked Sarutobi to spare him, and threatened to leak Konoha's secrets to other countries if Danzo interfered. After, Itachi joined Akatsuki. He returned to the village with Kisame a few days after the Chunin Exam Finals and Sarutobi's death in order to show Danzo, that he is in fact still alive. As Madara reaches the end of his story, he states that the only reason Itachi pushed Sasuke so hard during their fight was to bring Orochimaru out. By doing this he was able to kill Orochimaru and erase his influence and taint. Itachi had always planned to die at Sasuke's hand and orchestrated everything to make Sasuke stronger culminating in his own death, thus killing the closest person to Sasuke, the only person he had a bond with his whole life...himself, Itachi. This allowed Sasuke to gain his own Mangekyo Sharingan, and before dying, Itachi planted Amaterasu in Sasuke's eyes as a last line of defense against Madara. Sasuke in shock, refuses to believe what Madara has told him. Madara then explains that Sasuke has accepted the "illusion" that Itachi has made for him. That all this time he was just trying to give Sasuke more power, so that he can be killed and revenge could be taken for the Uchiha clan, by Sasuke himself, to make Sasuke look like a hero in the eyes of the Leaf Village. Even while a disease was killing Itachi from inside, he took all kinds of medicine just to live for the moment when he dies at the feet of his little brother. He left the name "Uchiha" to Sasuke and deceived him all the way to his end. Sasuke is now released and must cope with the "truth", recalling all the happy memories he once had with Itachi, to the point that he begins to shed tears for the first time since his clan was killed. Afterwards he informs Snake that they will now be called "Hawk" and that their new goal is to crush Konoha. It is then revealed that Sasuke has indeed unlocked his own Mangekyo Sharingan.

After the revelation, Sasuke remembers when he attempted to fight Itachi after the Uchiha Clan Massacre, he noticed Itachi was crying but thought he was seeing things. This memory cements his new dedication for revenge against Konoha. Later Team Hawk, Madara, and Kisame began to discuss their plan to attack Konoha. Sasuke's goal was to only target the village elders. Due to the difficulty of this mission, Madara states that Akatsuki and Hawk will work together. To make their job easier, Madara send's Hawk to capture the Eight-tailed beast.

Personality
During Part I, Sasuke was considered the best Genin of the Rookie Nine, and could have been the strongest. To this end, Sasuke's only desire as a shinobi was to get stronger, and he saw everything from his teammates, to the other villagers as simply being in the way. In fact, during their first bell test with Kakashi, Sasuke's reason for not working with Naruto and Sakura was because he thought they were respectively weak and annoying, and they would get in his way. However when he was proven wrong by Sakura's knowledge, and Naruto's desire to also become stronger he began to value his teammates and even began to risk his life to save them if he needed to, valuing their lives more than his desire to kill Itachi. Masashi Kishimoto, in the voice of Kakashi, remarks that while Sasuke is a genius, he was dull to teach because he learned techniques easily compared to Naruto.

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 keeps to his previous path of vengeance. Even when Kakashi sealed the Cursed Seal, Sasuke began to draw more and more power from it in hope to get stronger himself. However even with the Cursed Seal, Sasuke began to envy Naruto, whom he saw as being much weaker than himself, because in their brief encounter, Itachi says that Naruto has a "special power" and that he came back to Konoha to find him, not to Sasuke. Slowly Sasuke saw Naruto surpass him, and in the end, Sasuke decides to defect from Konoha to join Orochimaru to make himself stronger. Sasuke remembers that Itachi told him to be as strong as him, Sasuke had to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan and to do that, he had to kill his best friend. When given the chance to kill Naruto and get the Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke simply punched him in the chest, sparing him as to not give Itachi the satisfaction of seeing him follow his path.

In Part II, Sasuke showed he had stayed true to his original personality. When first meeting Sai, he did not care the slightest and was interested more in Orochimaru's presence. When Sai states that he might be able to get along better with Sasuke than he did with Naruto, Sasuke freezes him with a stare, catching 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, showing the power of his Sharingan. When Sai comments on how Naruto and Sakura have been searching for him, Sasuke once again regards him with indifference.

It would appear that during his time with Orochimaru, he has come to the conclusion that if he ever wishes to stand a chance against Itachi, he needs to push away all of his past bonds with his friends and make revenge a priority, above even his own life. Because of this, he shows that he no longer cares about Konoha or anyone from the village. In spite of this, he scolds Naruto about risking the lives of an entire squad to save one man, and comments that it could damage his chances of becoming Hokage. He also states that, unlike their last encounter at the waterfall, he has no more reservations about killing Naruto, and attempts to do so. He's also aware of the fact he is intended to be the container for Orochimaru's soul, showing that he doesn't care what happens to himself as long as it results in Itachi's death. This attitude seems to have changed, however, as Sasuke comes to the conclusion that Orochimaru only wants him as a container and attempts to kill him. During his attack, he emphasized to Orochimaru the superiority of the Uchiha clan, demonstrating that he still holds his clan in the highest regard, and that Orochimaru taking his body would be an insult to the clan's reputation.

Unlike Kabuto or any of Orochimaru's subordinates, who address Orochimaru as "Orochimaru-sama" (which shows that they highly respect him), Sasuke simply refers to him as Orochimaru. Sasuke also never called Kakashi "Kakashi-sensei" (teacher) like the others did, something the Japanese would consider as very insulting or rude. Despite his association with the Sound Village, Sasuke does not wear a Sound headband, unlike most other subordinates of Orochimaru. He still wears the fan symbol of the Uchiha clan on his back, albeit much smaller and higher up by his shirt collar. Despite this lack of allegiances to those close to him, Sasuke seems to be unable to bring himself to needlessly harm those he has never met before, and makes it a point to prevent their deaths when possible.

Abilities
Sasuke is established as a natural genius at the series' start, excelling at all that he does and finding little difficulty in more challenging tasks. This is most immediately evident through his proficiency with the Uchiha Clan's Fire Element Techniques, as well as a number of other weapon-dependent attacks. Of the abilities the Uchiha bloodline has allowed him, Sasuke has found most frequent use in the Sharingan, which first develops during Itachi's departure from Konoha after the Uchiha Clan Massacre and eventually reaches completion during his battle with Naruto at the end of Part I. However in recent chapters it is revealed that he already developed his one-tomed sharingan, after Itachi killed the entire clan, where Sasuke, had surpressed some memories of him chasing after Itachi, and then seeing him shed a tear. While his ability with the Sharingan is fairly ordinary during the first half of the series, Sasuke is able to develop a number of more novel uses for it in Part II. During his encounter with Naruto, Sasuke is able to use his Sharingan to enter Naruto's subconscious where he proceeds to suppress the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox residing within Naruto. In this instance, the demon fox compares Sasuke's eyes and chakra to that of Madara Uchiha which it claims is even more sinister than its own. When Orochimaru later tries to take over his body, Sasuke is able to use his Sharingan to fight the process and turn it against Orochimaru. His Sharingan Genjutsu abilities have also increased over the timeskip, allowing him to easily hypnotize opponents. His skill with the Sharingan has grown to the point where he could dispel the Mangekyo Sharingan Genjutsu, Tsukuyomi.

During his battle with Itachi, Itachi kills Orochimaru, removing Sasuke's Cursed Seal, then dies himself but passes his Mangekyo Sharingan to Sasuke through a poke on the forehead. Itachi did it in an effort to help him fight against Madara, setting to activate when it catches sight of Madara's Sharingan. Later, when he realizes that Itachi was good after all, and did all he did to protect Sasuke and help him grow, Sasuke awakens his own Mangekyo Sharingan.

Sasuke is able to put the Sharingan to good use in Part I after his brief encounter with Rock Lee. Although their fight is ended soon after its start and Sasuke is unable to see much of Lee's arsenal, what he is able to copy with his Sharingan is utilized for the duration of the Chunin Exams. His newfound taijutsu abilities are first seen in the form of, which consists of wrapping himself around an airborne opponent to ensure they are unable to save themselves upon impact with the ground. A derivative of this jutsu is seen again as the, and after kicking an opponent into the air Sasuke delivers a series of blows to them, eventually culminating in a debilitating kick to the chest. Sakura mentions after their first encounter in Part II that his growth rate wasn't normal, even suggesting that Sasuke has been taking special drugs.

Orochimaru's influence has also added a number of abilities to Sasuke's arsenal, as first seen with his Cursed Seal of Heaven. After recovering from the initial application of the seal, Sasuke finds himself endowed with increased chakra, speed and strength, as well as less merciful tendencies when the seal is active. When he battled Naruto, he forced the seal to level 2, which had power comparable to One-tailed Naruto. The second level of the seal turns Sasuke's skin dark grey, grows his hair longer without losing its style, a dark star-shaped mark on the bridge of his nose and hand shaped wings on his back. In Part II, Sasuke gains complete control over the Seal, and can even perform partial activations of it. As with Jiraiya passing toads to Naruto, Orochimaru gave Sasuke the snake contract to summon snakes such as Manda. Sasuke can also use Hidden Shadow Snake Hands to summon snakes from his hands to attack opponents or wrap around him as a shield. After Itachi seals Orochimaru away, Sasuke's Cursed Seal dissapears.

To encourage Sasuke not to use the cursed seal, Kakashi teaches him how to use the Chidori, made more effective when combined with his Sharingan and the speed he has copied from Rock Lee. With this combination Sasuke can punch through the strongest obstacles with relative ease, as well as severely damage any opponent. In Part I, Sasuke is 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 puts great deals of development into the Chidori's ability to manipulate lightning-based chakra. When first seen in Part II he is able to use to emit electricity from all over his body as a shield that stuns those it comes into contact with. If need be, Sasuke can channel this force into his new Kusanagi, creating a destructive blade. He can even concentrate this chakra into highly condensed needle-like forms, which he can throw in volleys with pinpoint accuracy. Sasuke has also taken to using form manipulation on the Chidori itself to create an extendable blade form, although he is only able to extend it to 5 meters in length. This blade is also capable of splitting into multiple additional blades upon contact with an enemy, drastically increasing the number of wounds it can inflict. He has also shown the ability to send the chidori through the ground, creating an electric current beneath his opponent's feet. His final technique, is the, a lightning based technique which requires real lightning as opposed to his chakra. If there are no clouds available, Sasuke can use  to make the right storm conditions and Sasuke simply has to use his chakra to draw the lightning towards his foe.

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, resulting 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 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 worked 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, increasing the amount of time needed to draw Sasuke. 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 was never intended to appear in Naruto at all. He was suggested as a concept for a rival character by Masashi Kishimoto's editor and publisher; shortly after, he was added to the series.
 * When in Cursed seal level 2 form, Sasuke's hair strongly resembles the Uchiha clan's founder, Madara Uchiha.

Quotes

 * "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are tons of things I dislike, and I don't particularly like anything. And, I don't want to use the word dream, but I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan, and definitely to kill a certain man."
 * "Come to think of it, wasn't your dream to become Hokage?"
 * "What do you know about me, with no siblings or parents?! You were alone from the start! What the hell do you know?! Huh?! I suffer because of the bonds I once had. You don't know what it's like to lose all that!"
 * "Hey... clumsy idiot."
 * "Sakura, thank you."
 * "Seems this isn't your first time seeing the Sharingan. And you must be the Kyubi."
 * "I will not do as you say. I will obtain power in my own way. I will surpass you in my own way!"
 * "Disappear with the thunder."
 * "Hey, you aren't hurt, are you? Scaredy cat?"
 * "For me, revenge is everything!"
 * "You can use your eyes as much as you want, but with my eyes, I'll turn my dream into reality." And that reality, is your death!"
 * "As Hawk, we have only one main goal. To crush Konoha."
 * "I think you should have spent your time training instead of running around chasing me. Right, Naruto?"
 * "I am an avenger!"