One of the first things that caught the attention of Naruto fans was the presence of Sasuke Uchiha. He aspired to become an exceptionally strong shinobi so that he could outshine his older brother, Itachi. In fact, his relationship with Itachi was rooted in unconditional love and admiration. For little Sasuke, his big brother was his hero and role model.
However, things changed drastically when Itachi murdered his entire clan in one night. This made it to the annals of the Hidden Leaf Village as the infamous Uchiha Clan Massacre.
Masashi Kishimoto, the mangaka of the Naruto franchise, took much time to reveal Itachi’s secret in the anime and the manga. This resulted in the audience falling into a dilemma about Itachi’s personality. However, a question that many fans have wondered is — what drove Itachi to commit such a crime.
Why did Itachi kill his clan?
The Uchiha clan has always been known for their notoriety in Naruto. Many people in the Hidden Leaf Village have been suspicious of them since the beginning. One of them was the second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. His suspicions were justified, as Madara Uchiha conspiring against the Leaf Village for some time. Moreover, Kurama’s attack on the village further incited fear in people’s minds. The village advisors eventually became wary of the Uchiha clan.
However, the entire ordeal made the Uchihas exasperated. Itachi’s father, Fugaku, was the clan head at that time and decided to enlist Itachi as a spy by making him join the Anbu Black Ops. But, what Fugaku was unaware of was that Itachi was already working undercover for Danzo Shimura, the village advisor. He believed that the Uchihas were capable of instigating wars.
Itachi informed Danzo of the coup planned by his family. However, the advisor manipulated the young Itachi into believing that only bloodshed could bring peace to the village. Danzo also stole Shisui Uchiha’s eye, which resulted in Itachi developing trust issues later on. After all, he was naive and traumatized by the ugly truth of the Uchihas. Meanwhile, Danzo seized this opportunity to talk him into committing this gruesome slaughter.
The Massacre’s impact on Itachi Uchiha
Prior to the incident, Itachi was already neck-deep in complexities. He pretended to be a spy for his family while spying on the Uchiha clan on behalf of the Leaf Village’s elders. As such, double agent life took a toll on him, and his family never realized this.
Since he was a prodigy, his parents—Fugaku and Mikoto—had high expectations of him. Although Itachi genuinely cared for his family, putting his responsibilities before his love was a tough call. So, while he was able to murder his clan members, he couldn’t raise his sword at little Sasuke.
The Uchiha Clan Massacre shattered Itachi from the inside. He went on to carry the burden of his actions throughout his life. Towards the end, Itachi finally gave up. Theoretically, he was killed by his brother, who had become immensely powerful at that time. However, in actuality, what led Itachi to his grave was his guilt, stress, and deteriorating physical health.
