Summary
- Itachi Uchiha committed the Uchiha massacre to prevent his clan from inciting another war.
- The massacre shaped Sasuke, leading him on a path of revenge.
- Itachi's guilt and stress slowly killed him, a burden that he hid from everyone, even Sasuke.
Early on in the Naruto anime, Sasuke Uchiha made one thing clear: He needed to grow as strong as possible, so he could destroy his own older brother, Itachi. Sasuke's relationship with Itachi had been one of deep brotherly love and admiration, with little Sasuke pining for more time to spend with his hero. But then Itachi committed an unforgivable act when he massacred the Hidden Leaf Village's entire Uchiha clan, sparing only Sasuke.
Both the anime and manga took their time revealing the truth about why Itachi wiped out his own clan. As such, fans' feelings towards Itachi have fluctuated as his character development progressed throughout the series. Let's unpack the events that led to the Uchiha massacre and why Itachi killed his clan in the Naruto anime's backstory.
Itachi Uchiha Had Great Promise as a Ninja
Before fans can understand the Uchihas' massacre, they need to first look into who Itachi is. As the firstborn child of the Uchiha clan leader, Itachi was born a powerful ninja, a prodigy even, and many praised him as the best in his generation. Unfortunately, Itachi witnessed many atrocities from an early age. One of the significant events to impress upon him was the Third Shinobi World War.
The horrors of the war led him to become a pacifist. He set out to become the best ninja possible, hoping that he could, in the future, erase all fighting and conflict from the world. Itachi graduated early from the Academy for Shinobi and became the Anbu captain at age 11. Two years later, Itachi murdered his entire clan, sparing only his younger brother.
Why Did Itachi Kill His Clan?
Since the Hidden Leaf Village's founding days, many were suspicious of the Uchiha clan, most of all Tobirama Senju, the second Hokage, who wasn't nearly as trusting or idealistic as his brother Hashirama. Tobirama's suspicions were largely justified, too, in light of Madara Uchiha's revolt against the Leaf Village, which continued to spark fear and mistrust in the hearts of many. The nine-tailed fox Kurama attack further cemented people's fears of the Uchiha clan, and the village advisors became wary.
With fears mounting, the village leader decided to restrict the Uchiha clan to the village's outskirts. This exclusion made the Uchihas furious. Itachi's father Fugaku, the Uchiha clan head, entered his son into the Anbu black ops, where he began to spy on the village and other clans to attempt a coup. At this point, however, Itachi is already a spy for the village advisor Danzo Shimura. With his double-agent status, Itachi believed that he was aiding the cause of peace. Danzo believed that, if left unchecked, the Uchihas would incite another war.
Itachi informed Danzo of his family's coup plans, and Danzo manipulated Itachi into believing that the coup could not be stopped without bloodshed. Danzo also stole Shisui Uchiha's eye, which led Itachi to become conflicted about whom he could trust. Ultimately, Danzo played on Itachi's trauma and naïveté to manipulate him into killing the Uchiha clan. Itachi hoped to prevent another Shiboi war and the loss of many innocent lives.
The Uchiha Massacre Both Destroyed and Shaped Sasuke
Itachi led Sasuke, the brother he spared, on a course for revenge and brutal closure. He believed only Sasuke could pass judgment on him for the massacre that he had committed, and wanted his brother Sasuke to eventually become strong enough to slay him, at the cost of Sasuke's own happiness. Sasuke left the village and began his quest to become more powerful than Itachi to avenge his clan's deaths. This, in turn, led Naruto to go on his own quest to become more powerful and bring Sasuke back into the village.
The Uchiha massacre helped mold Sasuke, and in turn, Naruto into two of the most powerful Shinobi Konoha had ever seen. Sasuke went on to try and kill Itachi numerous times but continued to fail. The day came when Sasuke challenged Itachi and was strong enough to kill his brother in mortal combat. At last, Sasuke learned the truth about his brother's motivation after killing him.
Following Itachi's death, Sasuke and Naruto overcame Madara and Obito after Sasuke gained all Itachi's powers. In defeating Madara and Obito, Naruto and Sasuke saved the Shinobi world from the infinite Tsukuyomi, which could have enslaved the world as a whole in a dream-like illusion. If Itachi had not spared his younger brother and had not massacred the Uchiha clan, his brother never would have gained his powers or been able to aid Naruto in defeating Madara and Obito.
Itachi's Guilt Slowly Killed Him
Who killed Itachi Uchiha in the end? It wasn't his brother Sasuke, despite Sasuke's immense power by then -- it was Itachi's own guilt and stress. For his entire life, Itachi Uchiha carried heavy burdens, far more than his parents and brother ever realized. A lot was expected of him as Fugaku and Mikoto's prodigy son and as an Anbu member, but that wasn't all. Itachi pretended to be a spy for his family while actually spying on the Uchiha clan on behalf of the Leaf Village's elders, making him a highly stressed double agent.
Itachi's burdens were also deeply emotional, since he sincerely loved his entire family but knew that he had to put his duty first as a loyal Leaf ninja. Itachi broke his own heart when he slaughtered his family, and when it came to Sasuke, Itachi's broken heart stayed his hand. Despite his orders, Itachi couldn't bear to kill his innocent little brother.
Itachi's immense stress and guilt became a psychosomatic illness that ate away at his physical and mental health over time. That didn't slow him down in combat, with Itachi being the same prodigious powerhouse he always was until his final battle, but it cost him dearly. Itachi didn't just die of some illness for plot reasons or to write out a seemingly unkillable character. He had ambiguous but valid reasons to perish this way.
As for why Itachi's illness was presented this way, perhaps it was done so no one would ever know the real, heartbreaking reason he was slowly falling apart. He'd rather have Sasuke think it was a mundane disease than reveal his immense personal anguish. It was easier for Sasuke to think his older brother was a heartless, twisted murderer than to have Sasuke see his truly innocent, lovable brother struggle with these issues. That made his death all the more bittersweet in Naruto Shippuden.