tesk - Case in point: Uchiha Itachi

Case in point: Uchiha Itachi

So, despite being part of the Naruto Fandom for a rather short time, I have noticed that the black sheep of the Uchiha clan is considered very enigmatic by majority.
Which, I have to admit, I am not sure I can always understand. I agree that there are unsolved mysteries about him and we do not have even a proper timeline concerning his (supposedly)most notorious deeds. But I still think that Yakushi Kabuto and Jiraiya are the truly undecipherable ones. Then again, the exact degree of Uchiha Itachi’s mysteriousness is not all that important, I believe.

I feel a bit confused because I do not know what to think of the mangaka himself either. I know he got some acclaim for his previous work, but I have absolutely no idea what kind of story that one was, so I cannot guess what cliches and standards he is leaning towards in Naruto.
Some say he is a mastermind, the others claim his plot occasionally makes no sense whatsoever.
Another thing which I think must not be disregarded: what kind of morals does he support/is intending to point out? Nature vs nurture? Forgiving vs Vigilante Justice?

Well, I have yet to work out what to think of these things and personally, I have not lost faith in Kishimoto. The only thing that makes me worry (and I mean, really worry) is that in Naruto, the author seems to follow the pattern of the feudal Japan rather seriously. Which is, in my opinion, a bit disturbing. The whole solution, whether it is regarding solely Uchiha Itachi or the whole Narutoverse, depends on what Kishimoto thinks of the ethics and morals he is currently showing us. If he thinks there is nothing wrong with the system we are going to get a happy end with the „conflicting side“* defeated.

If he thinks he has created a world really flawed and is willing to show that it cannot longer function like that, he is probably going to give us very complex and interesting solutions. Or no solutions at all, for that matter. Which would be no less interesting.

Now, it is obvious I can’t tell who Itachi really is. In reality, I can’t claim anything about neither him nor his motives. We have practically no facts to base our assumptions upon. I can only interpret the things according to my experience (regarding fiction, in general), beliefs, and analysis that seems logical to me. Perhaps, only to me.

For that matter, following is really just some subjective interpretation and well, I like theorizing too. So some predictions are probably going to take place.

Problem number one: Uchiha Shisui.

I have to admit, in a way I really like Wikipedia. Without it I could not claim that his name means „still water“. However, here facts end.

He was considered „very talented“ and „very loyal“ whatever these statements are supposed to really mean. Who is the measuring stick for talent and loyalty, for that matter? It is not impossible that rather than „exceptionally gifted and faithful“ we are dealing with a person that just suffered from the syndrome called „people just liked him more than others for reasons unrevealed“. But, I digress.
He was believed to be Itachi’s friend. Well, Itachi did not decline this. In fact, we are led to believe that the certain Shisui of the Mirage was Uchiha Itachi’s best friend. Again, we do not have anyone to compare him to. I, for once, did not get the impression that Itachi had any friends. And yet, Shisui was ordered (by whom?) to keep an eye on Itachi, his best friend. It appears unclear which came first, the order, or the friendship. But, I digress, again.

To take the matter unnecessarily further (but I will always do that, so now you have been warned), we do not know whether Shisui took those orders seriously. He was believed to be a person who „would have done anything for the clan“, so it is likely he did what he was told to do. But it is possible that he only used the image of the person who „would have ...“. It depends on whose side he decided to take. Itachi clearly seemed to be not on the side of the clan (and seemed to have no problem with that whatsoever, which makes one wonder how was it possible with that upbringing of his?). If you can take a side, that is. And for all the claims concerning Shisui’s point of view regarding the Uchiha clan politics, we cannot really tell just how devoted to the clan/its ideas he was.

However, despite the fact that I have just expressed my doubts, Itachi did not remain calm and collected when he was told that Shisui had died. Well, at least not when he was accused of murdering Shisui, who had seemingly committed suicide. Itachi, if we are to believe him, claimed with certainty that he had not killed Shisui. He might have lied (and I do not buy any of those „he just doesn’t seem to be a liar“ arguments), I have no problem with that. But, when he is later questioned by Sasuke, he avoids answering question „Did you kill Shisui?“. I am open to different interpretations. What can I say for sure?
The answer is: the chances of Itachi being the killer and being innocent are equal. We can only guess. This is official. What is my opinion?

Well, this is a totally different matter. Currently I believe he did not kill Shisui. Nu-huh. Why?
His reaction seems rather off to me. He was a clever kid, why on earth would he have lashed out in anger when he was accused? If someone says it was to cover up murder by acting offended I just have to disagree, beacuse the behaviour on his part that followed only made them(the clansmen that came to question him) certain(or gave them excuse to look certain) that he had something to hide. They immediately asked for permission to arrest him. See, when you have nothing to hide you do not have to go berserk because of some random accusations, since you a r e n o t a f r a i d. But if you are lying for some reason(and happen to feel uncertain about the whole thing) you may lose your control, out of fear. And I do not believe that Itachi was stupid enough not to know this. If he had anything to hide he would have used the first strategy to look like he did not. Instead he exploded.

Well, my own (undoubtedly subjective) theory is that he was deeply shocked by the death of Shisui which then caused mental breakdown. And this is why he gained Mangekyo. Emotions overwhelming, this is what makes Sharingan develop in the first place, after all.

You can theorize a bit, asking whether some guilt was present on Itachi’s part and if/how much Itachi knew about his friend’s death. Mind you, I think it was suicide, just like it appeared. But you can say that perhaps it was part of some great conspiracy (c’mon, everyone likes good conspiracy-theories) and Shisui was indeed killed. We just do not know by whom then. Or, yes, one more possibility: he is not really dead. But this would open another can of worms(as if I have not opened some already) so I won’t go there.

So, the feeling of guilt(survivors guilt, for example, those close to people that have commited suicide always take some blame, although it’s almost never reasonable) or just that of great loss probably was the reason that Itachi’s Sharingan developed into Mangekyo(u).
And regarding that suicide note....is it just me, or honestly, did it not seem to you absolutely bizarre that men with Sharingan accused another one of copying the handwriting? As if they have never had any idea how to use their kekkei genkai?

Yes, yes, I know there is that ultimately important detail I have been trying to avoid for yonks.
How old was Uchiha Itachi when Uchiha Shisui died?
Well, fine, I do not know. However I know that IF I would be bold enough to take a stand and suggest some possibilities I would get tons of hatemail-like letters telling me that I am ignorant and have never bothered to read the manga carefully.


Now this is pure speculation. I have linked Shisui’s death to Itachi gaining Mangekyou(we can not be entirely sure that he had not had Mangekyou before Shisui’s death, although I am basing my assumptions upon „Mangekyou followed friend’s death immediately“ at the moment).
To me, it looks like Shisui died six months after Itachi had become an ANBU member. Itachi took the test to join ANBU six months after he had become chuunin, which happened when he was 10. Some people have said that after passing the test it still took him some time(about half a year again?) to become truly a member of ANBU. I cannot exclude this possibility however it seems oxymoronic to me. I am not able to buy it at all, makes no sense. So, I think he was about 10,5 or 11 when he became an ANBU member, right after passing the test(which I will talk about later, I promise). Then another six months passed and Shisui died. Itachi, I think, was about 11 or 11,5 then. Ergo he had Mangekyou by the age of 11,5 at most.
Now, I am well prepared for hatemail. Just keep in mind I am not claiming anything of this as a fact.

Problem number two: joining Akatsuki


This matter is slightly different from the previous one. As we know that Itachi was member by the time he briefly re-visited Konoha, we can take for granted he has joined them sometime in the past. But no, we can not take for granted it happened just during his 4-5 year long absence. Because Orochimaru left 7 years ago (pre-timeskip) and complained about oh-so-strong Uchiha Itachi being one of the reasons. Itachi was about 11 then. He had to be connected to the Akatsuki somehow because he had to have some time and space to meet the old fag before the latter ran away in horror.
And it’s not very likely that Orochimaru would have been unable to get what he wanted (Itachi) unless What He Wanted had Mangekyou Sharingan, besides just some smarts and decent enough speed. See, old fag or not, be fair and give Orochimaru some credit, he is arguably the strongest sannin, for heaven’s sake.
This again supports the idea that Shisui dying and Itachi gaining Mangekyou had to take place much earlier than the Uchiha clan massacre. But no, he was not a fully recognized member before he left Konoha.You cannot be true member unless you have got the ring. And Itachi is not seen wearing Shu neither before the massacre nor immediately after it. Instead he is wearing ANBU uniform, but more about this one later.

Which means that Akatsuki do not organize important meetings in which every other member is involved when a new(although relatively) member is joining.
And no test is actually required, you can just find a ring while sunbathing and shout that you got it and you will be in. Tobi clearly proved this.
Besides, can you really see Itachi running between Konoha and Akatsuki doing missions assigned by both during two years? Well, I can’t, sorry.

But he was associated with Akatsuki and well-known to Orochimaru for about two (or more, in case the previous owner of Shu did not die immediately after Itachi had fled Konoha) years before he became an „official“ member.
His reasons for association/joining?

Honestly, I have no idea. We can (yeah, I have said this already) only guess. But it’s fairly obvious he doesn’t give a damn about the tailed-beasts and what not. He openly ruins his missions and hides information that is essential. The message he is sending is actually rather clear, really: go fuck yourself.
But he is still with them......why then? Did the AL force him to be a member? Okay I shall present the question differently: can you see anybody forcing young Uchiha Itachi into doing anything? Anything at all? You can see Orochimaru did not cope with the task. So I do not see anyone threatening him or using brute force to persuade him. But for some reason he is staying with them although he seems to have (mildly put) dislike of the situation. (As a sidenote, Sasori had to take a test before he was accepted and it seems as a hint, but we have no evidence whatsoever that Itachi had to prove himself like that, too, so I’ll just drop it)
Now, facts end. Here goes my personal speculation. Is it far-fetched? I think it is.
Remember the S-class mission? I have an idea about what that was.

I know it’s highly unlikely, but I think his mission might have been infiltrating Akatsuki.
This would be why, despite having been exceptionally brilliant, it remained his only S-class mission ever. Well, actually, at the moment I am re-examining this point and we have no proof that it was for joining ANBU when Itachi was assigned his S-class mission. It might have been a B-class mission and the S-class one might have been given him later(then again I do not think that it would be possible to join ANBU with completing just a B-class one and Itachi has never had any A-class missions) . For instance, before becoming ANBU captain(years later). But, no matter what, it had to be difficult to prove yourself worthy of ANBU at the age of 10,5-11. So, lets just say that The Mission He Did To Join ANBU(from now on referred to as The Mission) was infiltarting Akatsuki(which sounds pretty S-class to me, anyway).
Now, for Konoha it would have been extremely useful to have their own man in Akatsuki. Orochimaru has promised to destroy Konoha AND he was a member at that time. And, speculating again, how on earth does Jiraiya have so much information regarding Akatsuki? Well, I think from Hokage(whoever it happens to currently be). ANBU is directly under Hokage.
And I have no doubts Itachi would have succeeded in any mission he was given if he just didn’t happen to totally dislike it. As he is a part of the organization now, I can say that if this was his mission, then yes, he succeeded and was exceptionally brilliant. Although, I would have to admit that if he was told by Hokage(who else?) to gather information and remain strictly under-cover he is not doing very well, especially regarding the latter.**

But then, I would be a bit annoyed as well, after being „under-cover“ for about 9 years, really.

** Being doing a really long mission assigned by Hokage would explain why nobody was given orders to hunt down Uchiha Itachi after the Uchiha clan massacre, which he was suspected of.

[Being one of Hokage's proteges would explain why he showed up in Konoha immediately after Sandaime's death.]

Of course, now I have reached the next problem, but before I continue, I shall say that The Mission is still a mystery. We do not know what he was asked to do, we can only guess. But it is almost certain that ANBU missions are given by Hokage. And I still don’t get why nobody tried to catch him after he „officially left Konoha“(you’d think they were restricted?).

Problem number three: the Uchiha clan massacre


First, we never see anyone, including Itachi Uchiha, killing them. We see corpses. In the street. At „night“(Well, maybe Sasuke was just stupid enough to not distinguish night from afternoon. I would not be surprised, if this was the case). You would think they were in their houses already. But, I digress. No explanation can be given, yet.

(And I do not see a kid killing a couple of dozens Sharingan-users with kunais and katanas. Or with anything except some mass-destruction jutsu. Which, by whomever the people were killed, was NOT used. Although you can do everything with plot-no-jutsu.)



Now, besides the undeniable fact that immediately after the massacre Itachi is seen wearing (clean!) ANBU uniform (with unscratched forehead-protector), I have no certain information to explore.

So, time for raw speculation again.
To me, it seems that Itachi arrived just seconds before Sasuke. What was he (or was it him?) doing on the telephone pole, anyway?
He clearly was willing to prevent Sasuke from seeing their dead parents. It is no less clear that after he had failed he made an extra point of mindraping Sasuke with showing exactly what he was just trying to hide. Which is oxymoronic.

And then he went out of his way to leave Sasuke under the impression that he(Itachi) was directly or not so much guilty of the massacre. Simultaneously he was avoiding making any clear statements whatsoever. As if he was afraid of lying. Which is oxymoronic again. Do you really think that (quote)“I continued acting as the elder brother you desired..blah-blah“ has any credibility?
Well, I would say that Itachi is, sadly enough, not capable of coming up with a decent lie even if his life depended on it.

[Sidenote, to me it seems obvious that Sasuke is put under genjutsu right after he sees a man on the telephone pole. But I cannot claim anything. ]

Take a look at some of Itachi’s words now:
„To awaken Mangekyou Sharingan you have to kill your closest friend“-WTF? Please explain to me, how on earth then is Hatake Kakashi able to run around and show off his Mangekyou?
And even before the fandom had solid evidence that this exact statement was total rubbish it really should have been clear to any (somewhat) intelligent reader that you can not, even in a fairy-tale, gain from doing evil like that. Even if it was not meant literally (all the other Uchihas in history who had got Mangekyou were surely not monstrous murderers, were they?). While we are at that, who is Itachi Uchiha to tell me what „friend“ really means?

Besides, Itachi knows Sasuke, he knows that the young brat would never do anything like that. It sounds like he was making up the best excuse for Sasuke to never get Mangekyou. And Itachi never seems to be happy about the fact that he has Mangekyou. He seems actually quite bitter when he says that he has it „Thanks to Shisui“. I would say he was trying to prevent Sasuke from obtaining the second level, but again I can not claim anything.
„Because of your wish to surpass me I will let you(Sasuke) live.....for my sake“- lovelorn puppies aside, what is he talking about?

„It would be worthless to kill someone like you(Sasuke)“- this statement is granted no logic. It is stupid, especially when you keep in mind that Itachi supposedly(in case he is the one to blame, that is) did not find those ripe-old grandmas and grandpas worthless to kill.
Yeah, I just so believe everything Itachi said and showed in genjutsu(in which he controls literally everything).

Sidenote, it seems that when he was Tsukiyomi-ing Sasuke he did not show the latter anything but just some of Sasuke’s private memories concerning their family and some random fantasies of some random blood being shed.
Another sidenote, he constantly says that Sasuke is foolish. If I am correct(I have to check it) he has never, before that evening, called Sasuke foolish. So, what is he trying to point out?

So, really, the whole speech(and the „special effects“ which would not survive any criticizm either) consists of big lies and/or big nonsenses.
(He also says for the second time that Sasuke hated him. This is not true. Even now, Sasuke does not really hate him, but this is another essay for another time. Does he really believe that Sasuke was hating him? If so, it is a mystery how he came to this conclusion. And then he isn’t nearly as smart as we are led to believe he is. In fact he would be an absolute idiot. Despite the latter being a possibility I sincerely hope this is not the case. Itachi being stupid would ruin the story.)

The massacre is not related to Akatsuki. No.*** Kisame had never in his life seen Sharingan other than Itachi's, before he met Sasuke (and please note, neither had Deidara). And he did not have a faintest idea of who Sasuke was, he had only heard rumours of the massacre. But everyone has. Even Zabuza had. So, for the last time, the Akatsuki's leader is not an Uchiha. While I agree that Kisame is not the brightest bulb on the stage, he is not THAT dim(although close enough). Neither is he blind. And Itachi obviously went out of his way to hide the very existence of his little brother (should not be surprise, though, Sasuke is dear to him). Orochimaru must have been a sneaky little bastard indeed to find out.
In addition: this means, that we are going to have an entirely separate Uchiha arc. For there is another Mangekyo(u) Sharingan user. Or at least, the person just recently was alive. The more I try to keep everything in mind the more complicated things get.

[***There might be a connection, but it is possible only if Kisame joined Akatsuki much later than the Uchiha clan massacre took place.]

[EDITED ON 20.07.07: Well, no. Separate Uchiha story-arc is not required. While the AL is not an Uchiha, he's taking orders from another person. And this opens a whole new can of worms. And I cannot really exclude the possibility of SOME Akatsuki members being involved in the massacre anymore.]

Now, for the reason that we have only smoke and mirrors some fishy circumstances given to us regarding the massacre, I have to leave the matter where it is.
Just one more thing: how happened that nobody neither noticed nor heard that in their neighbourhood-district was a mass-murder going on? No answer. How happened that just Itachi’s most precious Sasuke was having a training at that time? No answer.






* In Naruto no Voldemorts or Saurons can be noticed. The luck of ours is unbelievable.