Itachi Uchiha (Japanese: うちは イタチ, Hepburn: Uchiha Itachi) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Itachi is the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha and is responsible for killing all the members of their clan, sparing only Sasuke. Though treated as an antagonist for much of the series, it is later revealed that Itachi slaughtered his clan in order to prevent a coup d'état which would result in a war, and that he had been acting in both Konoha's and Sasuke 's best interests for the entire series.
Itachi has been featured in the Naruto films, has appeared once in an original video animation of Naruto, and is a playable character in most of the video games from the series. Itachi's character has been popular with readers of the manga, and has been positively received by critics. His appearance as an antagonist has been praised by several writers, although some have considered his initial appearance to be unsurprising. The gradual revelations of his past and its impact on the story has also received positive reception, and his fights were noted to be "one of the best" in the series. Numerous types of merchandise have been released in Itachi's likeness, including keychains, plush dolls and figurines.
