Itachi killed his clan in order to protect the village. His clan was planning a coup d’etat in order to get control of the village, which would lead to a civil war. So he made a deal with Danzo to kill his entire clan to stop the Coup d’etat. Itachi killed his entire clan except for his younger brother. And then left the village.
From the very beginning of the show, we see Itachi go rogue after killing his clan. He killed every Uchiha including his own parents. However, he spared his younger brother Sasuke’s life, though he tortured him in his Tsukuyomi. But why did Itachi kill his clan? And who ordered him to do so?
We will discuss that in detail here.
Table of Contents
Why Did Itachi Kill His Clan?
The Uchiha clan was planning to overthrow the village and take control of it. And that would cause a riot or civil war. Itachi and Shisui let the Hokage and the elders of the village know about the situation. At first, the 3rd Hokage ordered him to observe the situation and find out if there is any solution to avoid the violence.
Shisui came up with a plan to stop the situation. He wanted to use his visual Jutsu Kotoamatsukami on the clan leader Fugaku. That way he would be able to control the Uchiha leader and by doing so he could stop the riot.
However, as Danzo couldn’t trust Shisui and his ultimate genjutsu, things escalated pretty quickly. After that, in order to minimize the casualty and prevent the civil war, Itachi made a deal with Danzo and killed his entire clan. And then took the blame on his shoulder and spread a made-up reason so that the villagers and the Uchiha clan remain good in everyone’s eyes.
Before leaving the village, Itachi met Danzo and told him that he finished his job. He killed everyone except his younger brother according to Danzo’s order. He blackmailed him and told him if Danzo was to harm Sasuke, Itachi would give important intel about the village to the enemy villages.
So, as you can see now, everything Itachi did, he did it to protect the Hidden Leaf Village.
Why Did Itachi Kill His Parents?
Itachi killed his parents along with every other Uchiha clan member. As he had to stop the coup d’etat and the civil war, Itachi had no choice but to confront his father- the clan leader Fugaku Uchiha. But his father had no intention to fight him a deathmatch. So, he respected Itachi’s wish and let him kill them.
He killed his parents with the Anbu sword and put Sasuke under Tsukuyomi, and then left the village taking all the blame on his shoulder.
His parents didn’t show any resistance or anything. Instead, his parents said they understood him and he should stick to his decision. And compared to their pain, Itachi’s pain was far greater as he has to continue bearing that with him as long as he lives.
Itachi’s father, Fugaku had only one wish. And that is to take care of Sasuke. As he promised to look after his younger brother, Itachi then killed his parents and burst into tears.
How Old Was Itachi When He Killed His Clan?
Itachi killed his entire clan and his parents when he was only 13 years old. He was an Anbu commander at an early age. He kept an eye on the situation under the direct order of the Hokage, and when he was thirteen years old the situation escalated quickly.
How Many Uchiha Did Itachi Kill?
A lot of people think that Itachi killed only 2 people that night- his parents. However, that’s not the case. According to the Itachi Shindene novel, Itachi killed his lover/girlfriend. And in many flashbacks, they did show that Itachi was killing other Uchiha members as well.
So this part of him killing only his parents, is not true at all. While the exact number that he killed is still unknown.
What If Itachi Didn’t Kill His Clan?
The Uchiha clan planned to overthrow the village system and take control over it. A civil war would have happened and many people would have died because of that. As they were the most powerful clan in the village with renowned ocular jutsu, eventually the Uchiha clan would have taken control of the village.
And because of the many casualties in that civil war, the Hidden Leaf Village would become very weak in military power. The other villages would have taken advantage of that and attacked the Leaf Village.
So, if Itachi didn’t kill his clan, that would lead to a far bigger massacre and problem than it’s been. The entire village would end up in chaos. A lot of ninjas that we know probably would have died and wouldn’t make it in the show.
Why Did Itachi Kill His Girlfriend Izumi?
Itachi killed his girlfriend because she was an Uchiha too. And Itachi was ordered to the entire Uchiha clan. That is why Itachi killed his girlfriend Izumi Uchiha.
In the original manga, Masashi Kishimoto never draw Itachi’s girlfriend or how he killed him or anything. However, in the light novel Itachi Shinden Book of Dark Night, Itachi placed his girlfriend under his genjutsu Tsukuyomi for 0.000000001th of 1 second. He gave her an entire life in that genjutsu like a dream and killed her after that.
Why Did Danzo Want To Kill The Uchiha Clan?
Danzo Shimura wanted to kill the Uchiha clan because they planned a revolt against the hidden leaf village. No matter how evil he was, Danzo always wanted the best for the Leaf village. And in order to protect the village, he wanted the Uchiha dead.
However, there was another reason, he wanted to kill them. Well, he always wanted the Sharingan for himself. And after Itachi killed all the clan members, he took to Sharingan eyes and later used those in fights.
How Did Itachi Kill His Clan?
Itachi at first killed his girlfriend according to Itachi Shinden novel. And then his doubt was gone, he continued to do what he was ordered to do. Soon after that Itachi encountered his father Fugaku Uchiha. His father was far stronger than he was. However, his father didn’t want to fight his beloved son in a death match. So he told Itachi to meet at home.
And at the other end, Obito finished the killing.
Did Obito Help Itachi Kill His Clan?
Yes, Obito helped Itachi to kill his clan. No matter how genius Itachi was, he couldn’t kill all the Uchiha alone. That’s why he asked for Obito’s help and with his help, he killed the entire clan.
Before that Itachi made a deal with Obito. According to that, Obito agreed to help him kill his clan, and in return, Itachi would join his clan.
Uchiha Massacre Episode
They showed the Uchiha massacre several times throughout the series. You will see the massacre in Naruto Shippuden 135, 359 & 455 episodes. The flashbacks show different aspects of the incidents at different times.
Why Didn’t Itachi Kill Sasuke?
Itachi killed every one of his clan members except his younger brother Sasuke. He didn’t kill Sasuke because he loved his younger brother more than anything. That is why Itachi blackmailed Danzo to keep Sasuke safe. He told Danzo, if anything was to happen to Sasuke, Itachi would pass important intel to the enemy villages.
You can watch this video to know about why did itachi kill the uchiha clan:
Conclusion
Uchiha clan planned a coup d’etat to overthrow the Hidden Leaf village. And in order to stop that, Danzo ordered Itachi to kill his entire clan. To save his village, Itachi killed his clan including his parents.
After killing his clan with Obito’s help, Itachi then went rogue and joined Akatsuki. After that, he used to send intel from Akatsuki to Hidden Leaf village. If he hadn’t killed his clan, the village would be in chaos by now. In order to maintain the peace, Itachi stained his hands with blood.
After reading this article I hope now you have a clear idea on “why did Itachi kill his clan”.