Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-31278419-20170915213819/@comment-734582-20170927141546

Starscream1998 wrote: Am I like the only one who still thinks Itachi being a good guy was totally out of nowhere, like there was nothing to suggest that he was prior to Tobi telling the truth? I think that fans misinterpret Itachi's intentions and Kishimoto's intentions.

The thing is, Itachi is a True Ninja, someone who will set aside their emotions and well being for the village, and puts the mission above themselves. Itachi was this to a T: he was willing to commit great evil for the good of the village. The same way, he intended to teach Sasuke his own ideas and experiences, using horror and pain. After all, Itachi himself had already witnessed a lot of that horror and pain as a kid. He just didn't account for the fact that Sasuke wasn't like him at all, and didn't take the same lessons from it.

The same way, Itachi did what he did for the good of the village. Murdering his clan to ensure the village wouldn't be destroyed, mind-raping Sasuke to teach him the lessons Itachi had learned, ensuring a Uchiha killed the Uchihi and got avenged by an Uchiha to ensure honor is maintained. He's not really a "good guy", because the series has thoroughly established that this True Ninja business is what screwed up the world in the first place. He Mindraped Sasuke because he learned his ways through the horrors of war and the harsh reality of being an ANBU, and thought he could 1-on-1 teach those to Sasuke.