History Characters / NarutoItachiUchiha

The Leaf Village\\

* CryCute: He broke down into near-hysterics as he killed his parents, despite their differences in politics (to say the least). They still told him they loved him and were proud of him.

[[Characters/NarutoOtherCharacters Other Characters]] | [[Characters/NarutoTaka Hebi/Taka]] | [[Characters/NarutoTailedBeasts Tailed Beasts and Their Hosts]] | [[Characters/NarutoOtsutsukiClan Otsutsuki Clan]] ([[Characters/NarutoKaguyaOtsutsuki Kaguya Otsutsuki]])\\

* IncestIsRelative: It's mentioned that one of the people Itachi killed in the Uchiha Clan Massacre was his lover. Given that only members of the Uchiha Clan were killed, this person ''had'' to have been a relative, most likely [[KissingCousins a cousin.]] Her identity is eventually revealed to be Izumi Uchiha, who was technically only half Uchiha as her father was not an Uchiha.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Itachi is a decent person, nice guy and likes to end his fights as quickly and painlessly as possible, but push him too far at your peril. For Yashiro Uchiha, a coward who manipulated the entire Uchiha rebellion conflict, helped get Shisui killed and did it all without having to take responsibility himself? Itachi lets him realize how utterly screwed it is before torturing him in Tsukuyomi to utterly shatter his mind before beheading him.

* AffablyEvil: Always polite, offers his opponents the chance to escape (unless they are his target) and never uses more power than needed to disable, without lasting harm if possible. He is also an [[WellIntentionedExtremist extremist]] with history of mentally torturing several protagonists of the series, especially his little brother (who was 7 years old the first time, 13 the second).

* CursedWithAwesome: His Susano'o possesses the Yata Mirror, a supposedly indestructible shield, and the Sword of Totsuka, a blade that can seal away any person it pierces. The drawback is that it pretty much destroyed his eyes and put severe strain in his body. Not to mention he can't use it well or to its full extent due to how low his stamina is.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]]. He certainly thought through much of his GambitPileup, but in hindsight his methods to implement it were [[GoneHorriblyRight contradictory]] with his goals. A large part of it was due to his lack of trusting other people, as he tried so hard to do stuff on his own.

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HideoIshikawa (JP), Creator/YukaTerasaki (JP, young), Creator/SkipStellrecht (EN, original), Creator/CrispinFreeman (EN, current) (main series), Creator/MichelleRuff (EN, young), Creator/RobbieDaymond (''Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals''), Roberto Cuenca Rodríguez Jr. (Spain), Héctor Emmanuel Gómez (Latin America)

** Itachi notably hated being the target of this, readily pointing out that regardless of everything he had going for him he made mistake after mistake and all his carefully laid plans ended up not going like he wanted due to his unwillingness to trust in or depend on anyone else, and that in the end he was left just wanting to die. When Sasuke at one point outright claims Itachi was perfect, Itachi silences him by revealing he had planned to brainwash Sasuke into protecting Konoha.

[[Characters/NarutoTeamSevenMembers Team 7]] ([[Characters/NarutoNarutoUzumaki Naruto Uzumaki]], [[Characters/NarutoSasukeUchiha Sasuke Uchiha]], [[Characters/NarutoSakuraHaruno Sakura Haruno]], [[Characters/NarutoKakashiHatake Kakashi Hatake]]) | [[Characters/NarutoTeamEightMembers Team 8]] ([[Characters/NarutoHinataHyuga Hinata Hyuga]]) | [[Characters/NarutoTeamTenMembers Team 10]] | [[Characters/NarutoTeamGuyMembers Team Guy]] | [[Characters/NarutoTheLegendarySannin The Legendary Sannin]] | [[Characters/NarutoHokages Hokages]] | [[Characters/NarutoTheUchihaClan The Uchiha Clan]] | [[Characters/NarutoOtherLeafVillageMembers Other Leaf Village Members]] | [[Characters/NarutoHiddenSandVillage Hidden Sand Village]] ([[Characters/NarutoGaara Gaara]]) | [[Characters/NarutoHiddenMistVillage Hidden Mist Village]] | [[Characters/NarutoHiddenCloudVillage Hidden Cloud Village]] | [[Characters/NarutoHiddenStoneVillage Hidden Stone Village]] | [[Characters/NarutoHiddenSoundVillage Hidden Sound Village]] ([[Characters/NarutoOrochimaru Orochimaru]]) | [[Characters/NarutoAkatsuki Akatsuki]] ('''Itachi Uchiha''', [[Characters/NarutoObitoUchiha Tobi]], [[Characters/NarutoNagato Pain/Nagato]]) | [[Characters/NarutoMadaraUchiha Madara Uchiha]] | [[Characters/NarutoOtherCharacters Other Characters]] | [[Characters/NarutoTaka Hebi/Taka]] | [[Characters/NarutoTailedBeasts Tailed Beasts and Their Hosts]] | [[Characters/NarutoOtsutsukiClan Otsutsuki Clan]] | [[Characters/NarutoAnimeOnly Anime-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/NarutoMoviesOnly Movie-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/NarutoNovelsOnly Novel-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/NarutoGameOnly Game-Only Characters]] | [[Characters/{{Boruto}} The New Era]]]]-]]]

* IneffectualLoner: His FatalFlaw. He didn't put trust in anyone and relied solely on himself. His ultimate goal fails completely due to his belief that he was the only one who needed to suffer the burden of the Uchiha Clan's darkness. Later on, he admits to Naruto that if he had been willing to share the pain and let others help him, especially Sasuke, things would have worked out much better than they did. The anime expanded on his past and showed that part of his reason for becoming a loner was the result of what happened to the Genin team he was a

* HeroWithAnFInGood: Itachi might not be what he appeared to be at the outset, but there's still the fact calling him "one of the good guys" ([[CharacterShilling that other characters loves speak]]) is quite a stretch. While Itachi killed the Uchiha family to prevent a devastating civil war (although wholesale genocide as a peacekeeping measure is rather fucked up, too) rather than simply as a way to test his own powers, he made some rather ''complicated'' decisions regarding sparing his little brother Sasuke; rather than simply kill him, Itachi decided to spare his life and try and make Sasuke hate him enough that he could commit SuicideByCop later to turn Sasuke into a hero and let him live free of the shadow-conflict that consumed their family. Unfortunately, he did this by inflicting '''horrific''' MindRape upon Sasuke on the night of the massacre and later on, emotionally crippling Sasuke for the rest of his life, and Itachi's eventual suicide at Sasuke's hands was implied to be just as much for Konoha's sake and his own self-loathing as it was out of any affection for Sasuke. Unsurprisingly, a lifetime conditioned into obsessive hatred for his brother to the exclusion of all else means Sasuke goes completely batshit insane once Itachi's gone and Tobi gives him a slanted account of Itachi's life, but Itachi turns out to have had a plan for this; using Sasuke's erstwhile best friend Naruto as the delivery system, if Sasuke failed to become the hero Itachi wanted him to be, Itachi left behind a posthumous genjutsu that would ''brainwash'' Sasuke into protecting Konoha with his dead best friend's mind-controlling eye. While he is depicted as a man who made many sacrifices and tough choices, Itachi is still dangerously close to just being a ManipulativeBastard with an OmniscientMoralityLicence. When he was revived via Edo Tensei, he eventually acknowledged that he was wrong, and realized that the most he could do was hope Naruto would fix everything.

* ArchEnemy: A [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] one to Sasuke. After witnessing Itachi kill their parents right in front of him. He swore revenge on him throughout the series until they finally confront each other and after Sasuke fatally wounds him, he learns that Itachi still cares about his little brother despite what he did. Then Sasuke learns more from Tobi that Danzo was the one ordered the Uchiha massacre and who forced Itachi to kill his parents.

** Excessive self-reliance. A mix of belief in his own abilities along with his trauma and concerns on trusting people meant he tried to take all the burdens on himself... which backfired horribly. His last gambit with Sasuke involved using Shisui's powerful eye genjutsu, stored within Naruto, to reprogram Sasuke should he turn against the village. After his revival he puts his trust with Naruto and no longer worries about his own failure to keep Sasuke away from the wrong path. The ''Itachi Shinden'' light novel duology and its anime adaptation expand on his past: It shows he was briefly part of a genin team that did not have a successful end. One of his teammates died protecting Itachi (one that initially disliked him no less) and the other was traumatized by that and other events, leading to her retirement. It's likely that seeing this may have brought about his need to do it all himself, out of concerns they couldn't do it or not wanting them to suffer (possibly both).
** His obsession with keeping Sasuke away from the truth, as it spurs him to constantly deceive and manipulate his younger brother. As a result, Sasuke is driven towards revenge against Konoha because Sasuke sees the village made his brother suffer, which in reality Itachi wanted Sasuke to defend the village. Itachi attempts to correct this flaw by spending his final moment while reincarnated admitting the truth and his feelings to Sasuke, which does change Sasuke's goals enough to avoid destroying the village, but it leads Sasuke to think that the ninja world is flawed because of what it made Itachi do.

* MirroCharacter: From his fellow Akatsuki member Kisame Hoshigaki. [[NotSoDifferentRemark Kisame claims that they both are the same]].

* JacobMarleyWarning: What Itachi was saying when he warned Naruto not to take on everything by himself, or he'll risk ending up like Tobi and himself.

* NotSoDifferent: From his fellow Akatsuki member Kisame Hoshigaki. Kisame claims that they both are the same.
-->'''Kisame:''' I think we are alike. It's why I wanted to be teamed with you in the Akatsuki. Murdering your own clan is [[BloodKnight quite a feeling, eh Itachi-san]]?

* FamilyHonor: He seems to have cared about this. Apparently this was all Danzo led him to believe he could save of his family, that and Sasuke's life, given the choice between preventing the Uchiha rebellion under the cover of massacre and letting a civil war begin that would destroy all of Konoha, he made the choice that at least salvaged his family honor since [[HonorBeforeReason Itachi felt that his clan would lose all the honor they had ever had by betraying the village]].

* ILetYouWin: What he was intending to do in his last battle with Sasuke. He still wanted to wear Sasuke down enough in order to release Orochimaru and to rid Sasuke from the cursed seal. He also knew he was going to die in that fight, one way or another.
* IncestIsRelative: It's mentioned that one of the people Itachi killed in the Uchiha Clan Massacre was his lover. Given that only members of the Uchiha Clan were killed, this person ''had'' to have been a relative, most likely [[KissingCousins a cousin.]] (It's possible, even probable, that she was Itachi's fiancee, in an ArrangedMarriage.)

* IRegretNothing: As he puts a stop to the Edo Tensei, he proclaims as Itachi Uchiha of Konoha, he's happy to have been able to help the village again, and trusting Naruto to save Sasuke from the wrong path.

** Allegedly, at the age of seven he had Hokage-level skills of reasoning and wisdom. Let's just say that his actions don't lend themselves well to this claim. Granted, the context reveals it meant in regards to putting the needs of the village over yourself.
** Hiruzen informs us that Itachi was a spy in Akatsuki who had keep an eye on their activities. Unfortunately we don't see any real results of Itachi's work since we were never shown how Konoha find out at least something useful about Akatsuki from Itachi.

* JustFollowingOrders: The excuse given to his atrocities by everyone, in and ''out'' of universe.

* ArcVillain: Sasuke finally confronts his brother in, fittingly enough, the ''Fated Battle Between Brothers'' arc.

** The reason he let Sasuke live and mind raped Sasuke ''repeatedly'' by forcing him to repeatedly relive the gruesome deaths of their parents, forcing him to grow up into a bitter obsessive lunatic all so that Itachi could die on his own terms: At Sasuke's hands (which he didn't in the end, making all of his efforts totally meaningless).

* KnightTemplarBigBrother: Had decided on his own what was best for Sasuke. Sasuke ''will'' become a great warrior. Sasuke ''will'' avenge the Uchiha. Sasuke ''will'' become a hero, and putting him through horrible torture, forcing him to walk the path of rage and hate, and making him a criminal is just a small price to pay. He left Shisui's eye to MindRape Sasuke should he try to destroy Konoha. However, after his resurrection Itachi realizes he was beyond wrong in his methods and reasoning and unbelievably selfish. He realizes he should have believed in Sasuke and trusted him instead of trying to decide his destiny.

* BashBrothers: He and Kisame make an excellent team, even when they aren't actually fighting alongside each other. He and Sasuke become an official [[SiblingTeam pair of literal bash brothers]] against Kabuto during the 4th war.

%%* NotSoDifferent: From Kisame; Kisame claims that they both are the same.

* NotSoDifferent: From Kisame; Kisame claims that

* NotSoDifferent: With Kabuto. Both were spies that pretended to be people they were not and held valuable secrets. They both worked hard to acquire power to meet their goals. While Itachi died lying to himself believing he could accomplish everything with his own strength, he tries to help Kabuto realize the mistake in seeking strength and ignoring his true self. [[spoiler: He succeeds after trapping Kabuto into a GroundhogDayLoop genjutsu, Izanami... made to keep Uchihas from abusing Izanagi.]]

* AwfulTruth: The truth that he was following orders from Konoha to slaughter the Uchiha Clan. He made Sasuke believe he did it out of selfish desire so Sasuke wouldn't hold it against the village and the Uchiha clan wouldn't lose their honor by betraying the village.

* VillainousFriendship: With Kisame. Par for the course for Akatsuki, who generally go about their grim business in pairs. This is given some depth in the two understanding each other, both being men lost without knowledge of their true selves, unable to forgive and acknowledge themselves. Itachi wants nothing more than [[TheAtoner death]], Kisame wants his world of truth. Both live with the pain of having betrayed and killed their comrades. Later on he strikes up quite the rapport with Nagato, whom he helps about the battlefield as they involuntarily serve Kabuto.

** His obsession with keeping Sasuke away from the truth, as it spurs him to constantly deceive and manipulate his younger brother. As a result, Sasuke is driven towards revenge against Konoha because Sasuke sees the village made his brother suffer. Itachi corrects this flaw spending his final moment while reincarnated admitting the truth and his feelings to Sasuke.

* WorfHadTheFlu: Subverted. He completely curbstomped Sasuke regardless of his debilitating illness and lack of desire to fight full force.