Did Itachi Let Sasuke Win? Here Is What Happened

Fans of certain series always have a soft spot for villains of the story. Most of the time, those same villains stay “evil” and try to make the show’s protagonists miserable. However, Uchiha Itachi was different from his first appearance in the Naruto series, despite being shown as a ruthless killer. His brother Sasuke went through a lot of emotional trauma because of the Uchiha Clan massacre, and Itachi was his main target for years until the inevitable clash of the two brothers. In this article, we will discuss whether Itachi let Sasuke win and explain the happenings around the event.

Sasuke technically won against Itachi; however, it seemed that Itachi was suffering from a mysterious illness that no one had ever disclosed in the series. The older Uchiha had limited stamina and physical capabilities during the fight, and the use of Amaterasu, and Sharingan, in general, only made Itachi weaker. Itachi probably let Sasuke win their fight just because he wanted his younger brother to finally get his revenge and paint the boy as a hero who killed a villain.

We will discuss Itachi’s questionable intentions more throughout the article and analyze both characters’ states before the Naruto series’ fateful fight. If you are interested in Itachi’s character analysis, stay with us until the end of the article.

Short character study of Itachi Uchiha

One of the biggest debates of the Naruto series was the fight between Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha, the estranged brothers who have tragic pasts and found themselves on opposite sides of the battlefield. Itachi is one of the most interesting characters in the series, and his intentions were discussed all over the Internet for years, especially after the manga and anime aired their versions of the fated Uchiha fight.

To understand Itachi’s character, we need to go back to the past and see what prompted Itachi to betray his clan and traumatize his brother for life. Since his beginnings as a Konoha shinobi, Itachi was hailed as a prodigy, a shinobi born only once per generation – he was a genius with a kind heart and immense love for his village and family.

However, the Konoha heads decided to use his talent for village business. This was frowned upon by the Uchiha Clan heads, who thought Konohagakure was trying to sabotage their clan and only use them for their skills. Knowing the Third Hokage is far from being the villain of that story and that the Uchiha Clan is plotting a coup d’etat on Hokage and their government, the young man was beared a huge burden since he was a young man.

We knew Itachi’s worldview and ideals since he witnessed the destruction during the Third Shinobi World War. The destruction and death encompassed the war, and Itachi vowed to become the best shinobi possible and dedicate his skills to protecting the Shinobi World. He was a jaded soul and a young child that atrocities burdened from a young age – the Naruto series idealizes children fighting, but on the others side, it shows how the Shinobi World is dangerous and a bad place to raise your children.

Itachi, the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, was made an Anbu team leader by 13 years of age. Fugaku Uchiha, Itachi’s father, was proud of his son, but other clan leaders insisted on the coup d’etat. Itachi knew that this event would kickstart another world war within the Five Shinobi Countries and decided to stop his clan from doing the disastrous deed.

Of course, Danzo Shimura and his secret organization, Root, had other plans. He blackmails Itachi to stop the coup d’etat by slaying his clan and sparing his brother Sasuke or letting the coup happen but watching all of the Uchiha clan die, including his young brother. Itachi chooses to spare his brother and kill his clan by himself.

Since that tragic night, Sasuke vowed to kill his older brother and spent his life getting better every day to best Itachi. Before the destined Naruto Shippuden episode “The End” aired, Itachi followed his brother closely and saw him become lonely and a target for Konoha residents to blame his clan for everything.

Despite being in the Akatsuki, Itachi spends his life monitoring his brother and happenings in Konoha, which makes him hopeful, especially after he meets Naruto and the rest of Team 7. Itachi is hopeful his brother will surround himself with great people and, ultimately, protect the Ninja World from danger.

Despite knowing his brother was hunting him, Itachi removed the cursed seal from Sasuke and sealed Orochimaru to stop him from possessing Sasuke’s body and acquiring his Sharingan.

Ultimately, Itachi’s intentions are controversial, making him a really layered character. But the question is – did Itachi want Sasuke to kill him?

Did Itachi want Sasuke to kill him?

Word “intentions” is mentioned a lot in this article for a good reason. Besides being a genius shinobi, Itachi was quite mature and intelligent for his age – he understood his role in the village and happenings around the Ninja World.

When Itachi finally met Sasuke, he already knew what he had to do – that was the genius and pragmatic part of Itachi that only a few could understand. He wanted Sasuke to kill him because Sasuke had been seeking his revenge all his life – Itachi was willing to give Sasuke that satisfaction

Itachi also knew if he “let” Sasuke win their fight, he could put his plan into commission – Sasuke could finally find out why Itachi did what he had to do.

Sasuke technically won the fight, but Itachi wanted him to win, so his young brother could finally get his revenge.

Was Itachi trying against Sasuke?

Despite our belief that Itachi actually let Sasuke get his revenge for the massacre of his clan, we also believe that on the one hand, Itachi tried against Sasuke – using Mangekyo Sharingan and Amaterasu, that was directly responsible for his issues during his fight with Sasuke.

The intentions of the older Uchiha brother played a huge role in Itachi’s effort in the fight – he wanted to ensure Sasuke got his revenge and directed him toward the truth. Unfortunately for Itachi (and Sasuke), the younger Uchiha misdirected his hate towards Konoha with the help of Tobi, who had ulterior motives. This storyline direction was huge in the Naruto series run, and it took its characters in directions we couldn’t expect.

Itachi tried in the fight against Sasuke, but mostly to direct him toward the truth – which came for Sasuke much later in the Naruto series.

Why did Itachi leave Sasuke alive?

We already mentioned Itachi’s intentions which are revealed in the series much later, but the main reason Itachi left Sasuke alive is to continue his dream of a peaceful Shinobi World. Itachi was a kindhearted person from childhood, and the atrocities he witnessed as a shinobi only motivated him to protect his village and family.

Alive, Sasuke can continue that goal for Itachi, despite the fact the younger boy truly wants to kill his brother. The series showed countless times how the life of shinobi is cruel from its beginnings, and Itachi knew if he had to live this way, at least he would use his talents to protect the ones he loves.

That’s why Itachi is a controversial character in Naruto – he destroyed his life and family to ensure a better future in the long run, and his methods proved successful no matter how controversial they were.

In the end, Itachi never wanted to kill his younger brother, but he wanted to ensure Sasuke carries on the Will of Fire Konohagakure village preaches about – the will to protect the ones you love, and Uchihas know that too well.