Itachi Uchiha is an excellent ninja, member of the Anbu and from what was once considered the most powerful clan in the village of Konoha: the Uchiha clan. Eldest son of Fugaku, the head of the clan, he is Sasuke's big brother and best friend of Shisui the Mirage . Very intelligent, he inherited from his father the ability to develop strategies in the space of a second.
After he massacred his clan, Itachi became an S-rank Nukenin (deserter Ninja) and joined Akatsuki, the most hunted criminal organization in the ninja world. His teammate was Orochimaru and then Kisame Hoshigaki.
The Uchiha Clan Massacre
After Kuybi, the Nine-Tailed Fox , attacked the village of Konoha and caused enormous damage (death and destruction), the Uchiha Clan was suspected as the instigator of these events. The clan was then monitored and excluded from the political affairs of the village. This sidelining irritated the members of the clan who decided to foment a coup d'état in order to put Fugaku at the head of the village. Several members of the clan were then placed in key positions to serve as spies.
This was the case for Itachi who joined the Anbu, the special unit in charge of protecting the Kage. However, having a pacifist spirit, he did not agree with this plan to overthrow the village government and wanted to prevent a war. ☣️ He then denounced their plans to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage , and was sent as a double agent to keep the Council informed of the progress of the Uchiha plot. If Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to resolve this concern through negotiation and diplomacy, Danzô Shimura only saw the complete elimination of the clan as the only solution to spare the most lives.
After the suicide of his best friend Shisui, Itachi was accused by his clan of having murdered him and of being a traitor. The latter then began to revolt and criticize the decisions of the members of the clan. Danzô took advantage of the situation to force Itachi to two choices: let the coup take place with the risk that innocent people as well as Sasuke would be killed ⚰️ during the confrontation or exterminate the clan to avoid disaster and preserve the life of his brother. Itachi opted for the second solution and, in one night with the help of Tobi whom he believed to be Madara Uchiha , he eliminated his clan, including his own parents.
Itachi's lie
In addition to having prioritized Sasuke's life over his clan, Itachi also decided to hide the truth from him about the reason for this Destruction of the Uchiha Clan . Thus, during this night of massacre, he attacked and tortured his brother with the most powerful Genjutsu, Tsukuyomi , in order to manipulate his feelings towards him. He then showed him images 🖼️ in which he alone exterminates the entire clan because of a selfish desire for greatness. In these illusions, he also pushes Sasuke to hate him and become his equal so that he can one day take revenge.
After the massacre, Itachi reported all the details of the events to the Third Hokage who was not aware of this mission and made him promise to stick to his version so that Konoha's reputation would not be tarnished. He absolutely wanted to prevent Sasuke from learning the truth and ending up wanting revenge on Konoha. 🏝️ He also obtained a promise from Hiruzen Sarutobi to protect Sasuke.
Itachi's illness
During the final duel between the two brothers and which resulted in Itachi's death, we discover that the latter was not in his best form. Indeed, Zetsu who had witnessed the confrontation noticed something abnormal in Itachi and that he was usually more powerful than what he had shown during the fight. Normally, he should have been able to parry many of Sasuke's attacks. Additionally, he is seen coughing up blood during the fight and, at the end, as he is about to take Sasuke's eyes 👀, he collapses and dies instead.
Still according to Zetsu, it is possible that Itachi was suffering well before the start of the fight. Moreover, Madara's revelations to Sasuke show that Itachi was taking a large number of medications to ensure he was still alive until his confrontation with his little brother. Itachi was therefore suffering from an illness which was gnawing at him and which led to his death during this confrontation. Unfortunately, the origin of this disease 🤕 has not been revealed. According to many, it was certainly due to the use of his two Mangekyô Sharingan and his Susanô which made him weaker and progressively blind. Others believe that Madara is the cause of this illness. Still others believe that Itachi intentionally poisoned himself to allow Sasuke to beat him.
The final fight between Itachi and Sasuke
Following the massacre of his clan, Itachi left the village of Konoha to join the Akatsuki organization. As for Sasuke, he devoted himself to his training under the direction of Kakashi Hatake with Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno. Afterwards, he fled the village to hone his abilities under the legendary Sannin Orochimaru . His only goal is to avenge his clan's honor by killing 🗡️ his older brother Itachi. Subsequently, knowing he was being pursued by his little brother, Itachi sent an illusion to the latter to set up a meeting. After a brief first fight in an Akatsuki lair, Itachi showed Sasuke where they could finally face each other in an ultimate duel: the lair of their own clan.
At the start of this final fight, Sasuke and Itachi faced each other in illusions showing Sasuke always victorious. Then, Sasuke managed to thwart Itachi's genjutsu and find himself face to face with his real target. After Itachi told the story of Madara and his little brother Izuna, the two brothers began the fight. Very quickly, Itachi gained the upper hand and managed to pin his brother to a wall. He then ripped out his left eye 👁️ and locked it in a jar as Sasuke screamed in pain. When he was about to remove Sasuke's other eye, Sasuke stopped him by activating his cursed mark at level 2. He thus succeeded in breaking the scene and thwarting Itachi's Tsukuyomi. It was therefore with his two eyes intact that Sasuke attacked his brother with a Fûma Shuriken before he uses his Amaterasu.
Wounded, weakened by the use of Tsukuyomi and under Sasuke's attacks, Itachi retreated to the roof. After an exchange of Katon - Supreme Fireball, Itachi called upon Amaterasu but Sasuke managed to avoid the damage thanks to a technique taught to him by Orochimaru. Subsequently, the two brothers used even more powerful techniques until their chakras were exhausted. 🕉️ Sasuke called on Kirin which allows him to use lightning to attack and then Orochimaru's Yamata . For his part, Itachi used his last card, the Susanô, to protect himself from all of his brother's attacks. This same technique allowed him to cut off the heads of white snakes, impale Orochimaru with the Sword of Totsuka and seal him permanently. Thanks to this, Sasuke was freed from Orochimaru's cursed seal.
About to have his eyes gouged out, Susake noticed that his brother was coughing up blood and that the Susanoo was beginning to disappear. He began to attack his brother again by throwing explosive scrolls at him 💣 and then with his Kusanagi Sword. However, Itachi manages to parry all his blows, notably with the immaterial shield Mirror of Yata . As Sasuke was defeated and pinned by a wall, Itachi approached his brother, patted his forehead and collapsed in front of him. Likewise, Sasuke collapsed next to his brother and lost consciousness.
Itachi's death
This is how Itachi died, all bloody and exhausted from having used his Mangekyô Sharingan , the Susanô during this fight and also from his serious illness. 🚑 However, before giving up the ghost, Itachi bequeathed his Amaterasu to his brother by sealing it in his left eye. Subsequently, Sasuke learns through Madara that his big brother has entrusted him with the future of the Uchiha clan.
What did Itachi say to Sasuke before he died?
Just before patting his brother on the forehead and collapsing, we see Itachi flash a smile 😆 at his brother and utter inaudible words. Many have asked the question of the content of these words. In another scene relating this same event, we discover what Itachi said to Sasuke, namely " Sorry Sasuke, it's over " or " Sorry Sasuke, that was the last time " then he touched his forehead.
In this same sequence in which Madara told Sasuke the story of his brother and his true nature, memories between the two brothers are recounted. In particular, we see Itachi often touching his little brother's forehead as a sign of affection 🥰 and telling him " Sorry Sasuke, another time " when the latter asks him to watch him train. From these two similar scenes, we can deduce the relationship and Itachi's desire to pass a hidden message to Sasuke.
In the past scene, Itachi spoke his words to tell his brother that he could not attend his training because he had an important mission the next day. In another scene, he told Sasuke that his role as a big brother is to protect him even if, for that, he had to be hated. With these words about to die, it can be argued that he meant that he kept his promise to protect him and witnessed the climax of his training by seeing how strong he had become 💪🏼 during this confrontation.
Itachi's goal
As we saw earlier in the article, Itachi always had the goal of protecting his brother. This is why he exterminated all the members of his clan, including his own parents, 👨👩👦👦 with the exception of Sasuke. This is also the reason why he used Tsukuyomi on the latter so that he had a very dark opinion of his brother, hated him and wanted to kill him for revenge.
From the beginning, Itachi planned everything with the aim of dying at the hands of his brother. In this way, he could both atone for his guilt for massacring his clan and make Sasuke look like a hero to the people of Konoha for killing the village traitor and avenging the Uchiha clan. Discover Sasuke's Rinnegan .
Become a member of the Uchiha
As Madara told Sasuke, Itachi went through hell 🔥 but he still died with a smile on his face after having accomplished his true mission, that of protecting his brother at all costs. But at what cost ? At the cost of his life . This sacrifice reveals to us who Itachi really was and that he was indeed an Uchiha, a member of one of the most powerful clans in this world.
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Merci beaucoup ❤️