Itachi Uchiha is a special character in the anime Naruto. Although initially perceived as a ruthless villain for massacring the Uchiha clan, it was later revealed that Itachi was acting under the orders of the Konoha leaders to prevent a coup orchestrated by the Uchiha clan.

Itachi sacrificed his reputation and became a “villain” for the sake of Konoha’s safety. His motivation was to protect the village and his younger brother, Sasuke, from internal conflicts that could jeopardize Konoha and trigger a large-scale war. Despite his harsh and controversial actions, Itachi was ultimately recognized as someone who sacrificed himself for the peace and safety of the village.

Below is the full story of Itachi’s mission to annihilate the Uchiha clan.

1. The Origin of the Uchiha Clan and Konoha Village Conflict

When Kushina was about to give birth, the Third Hokage and Biwako visited her home to inform her that the Kyubi’s seal would weaken during childbirth. To anticipate the possible release of the Kyubi from the Jinchuriki’s body, the Third Hokage asked Kushina, who served as the Kyubi’s Jinchuriki, to undergo the delivery outside Konoha Village. Taji and Biwako assisted Kushina during the birth, while Minato stabilized the Kyubi’s seal within Kushina.

However, Tobi suddenly appeared after Naruto’s birth. Tobi killed Taji and Biwako and attempted to kill Naruto. Fortunately, Minato saved Naruto by teleporting him to a safe location. While Minato moved to a different place, Tobi successfully released the Kyubi from Kushina’s body and unleashed it to rampage through Konoha Village.

After the Kyubi caused massive destruction and casualties in Konoha, Minato appeared and teleported the Kyubi to another location. In an attempt to seal the Kyubi within Naruto’s body, Minato used the Shiki Fujin Jutsu to seal half of the Kyubi’s chakra inside Naruto and the other half within himself. As payment for summoning the Shinigami, Minato was destined to die, as the Shinigami would consume his soul.

Meanwhile, the Kyubi, refusing to be sealed, tried to strike Naruto with its claw. However, Kushina and Minato managed to shield Naruto from the Kyubi’s attack, causing their own bodies to be impaled instead. As a result, the Kyubi was successfully sealed within Naruto, Minato died as the Shinigami took his soul, and Kushina also passed away due to the Kyubi’s fatal attack.

After the Kyubi incident, Konoha’s leaders—The Third Hokage, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura—began investigating the cause of the Kyubi incident. Danzo suspected that the Uchiha clan, using their Sharingan, was responsible for controlling the Kyubi. He argued that if the Kyubi were released, it would have wandered aimlessly unless someone was controlling it, implying that the Uchiha had a motive to seize power over Konoha.

Although the Third Hokage disagreed with Danzo, Koharu and Homura sided with Danzo, believing his suspicion was logical. Consequently, Danzo’s proposal was chosen in the vote. As a result, the Anbu were tasked with monitoring the Uchiha clan’s territory 24 hours a day.

Danzo led a village council meeting involving all clan leaders in Konoha. In his speech, he discussed the reconstruction of Konoha after the Kyubi incident and proposed relocating some clans within the village.

However, Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan, opposed Danzo’s decision to relocate the Uchiha clan to the outskirts of the village and move the Police Force headquarters away from the village center. Danzo informed Fugaku that the Anbu would take over the security of the village center. The Third Hokage supported Danzo’s explanation by stating that relocating the Uchiha Police Force headquarters was intended to bring them closer to their training grounds so that the officers would no longer need to commute back and forth.

After returning from the Konoha village meeting, Fugaku held a clan meeting to address the concerns of his members. The Uchiha clan members expressed their grievances about Konoha’s decisions, such as excluding the police force from handling the Kyubi incident due to accusations of controlling the beast, suspicions that Konoha blamed the Uchiha for the incident, and the plan to relocate the Uchiha to a monitored area.

Some Uchiha members even compared their current situation to the era of the Second Hokage, when their clan was ostracized and moved to the outskirts of the village to be sidelined. Fugaku responded to their concerns by urging them not to jump to negative conclusions. He pointed out that other clans were also being relocated. However, Fugaku promised his clan members that he would negotiate the Uchiha clan’s relocation with Konoha.

After the Uchiha clan meeting ended, Fugaku and Itachi walked through the Uchiha’s new district. Although Fugaku had asked his clan members not to think negatively about Konoha’s decisions, he secretly felt the same way. He noticed several buildings surrounding their new territory, suspecting that those buildings were intended to monitor their activities.