The story of a Hero Itachi Uchiha

Itachi was the first child born to Mikito and Fugaku Uchiha. His early childhood was marked with violence: when he was four years old, the Third Shinobi War waged and he witnessed first-hand many of the war’s casualties. The death and destruction he experienced at such a young age traumatised Itachi and made him a pacifist, leading to him training non stop to achieve his dream of becoming a ninja among ninja in order to erase fighting from the world. At age 5, after becoming a big brother to Sasuke, Itachi was approached by Shisui, who offered to become friends. Accepting his offer, the two trained together and developed a brother like bond. During the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox Attack, he was home alone looking after Sasuke, followed by Itachi rescuing Mikoto from falling debris, and in the anime seeking shelter with Izumi. The Nine-Tails’ attack had soured relations between Konoha’s leadership and the Uchiha, the former believing the latter to be responsible. The Uchiha were relocated to the edge of the village, isolating them from the rest of the village and making it easier to monitor them.

At age six, Itachi enrolled into the Academy, where he consistently scored the highest in each subject and quickly learned any skill taught to him, resulting in him being praised as the best of his generation. After four months, his teachers unanimously agreed he was to graduate after his first year due to Itachi being more than advanced enough for genin level, leading to him taking the graduation exam that month and passing. As a seven year old, his reasoning was just like a Hokage. Having studied history, not just of his clan or his village but of the world, he gained a broader appreciation of what was important. Learning so much enabled him to understand how events of the past came to happen and, when he applied that same understanding into the future, he became concerned for where things were going. On the day he graduated as the youngest post-war graduate, he was approached by Danzo Shimura, who assessed Itachi’s thinking.

Joining Team 2, Itachi went on to honing his skills to chunin level, leading to him drawing the attention of Konoha’s leaders. Meeting the criteria, Fugaku allowed him to sit in on clan meetings in the Naka Shrine basement. Nearly a year since graduating, Itachi had mastered ninjutsu to the extent his missions went to easy, though Yuki Minazuki didn’t recommend him for the Chunin Exams. After turning eight, as Team 2’s genin had distinguished themselves the most during the year, they were tasked with guarding the Fire daimyo during his annual trip to Konoha. During the mission, the convoy was attacked by a masked individual, who killed Tenma Izumo before Itachi, resulting in him awakening his Sharingan, which he mastered at the same age. At age 10, Konoha officials allowed Itachi to compete in the Chūnin Exams by himself, which he passed and became a chūnin.

At age 11, he entered the Anbu Black Ops. Itachi’s accomplishments were a source of great pride for his family, his father viewing him as proof of the Uchiha’s future prosperity and his brother viewing him as a model to live up to. Itachi spent a great deal of time with Sasuke, training with him (though rarely actually training him) and giving him the recognition their father did not. However, for all the attention he received, few truly understood Itachi, believing his isolation to be a result of the gap between his abilities and theirs and not his dissatisfaction with the shinobi’s life of conflict.