I don't think he's a villain

[Darthmoe]

It seems to me that Itachi is not actually a villain, but instead was forced to do the evil things he did.

When he came to capture Naruto initially, he told Kurenai and Asuma that he did not intend to hurt them and it seems like he had chances to kill them (Kurenai Asuma Kakashi) but did not deliver fatal blows, instead just tried to stop them.

For some reason, i think Itachi used Mangekyou Sharingan on Kakashi so that Kakashi could copy the technique/ learn how it works, and use it himself for good. By good i mean that Itachi probably has similar motives to the Konoha ninja, but is in a complicated situation.

The situation being Tobi's control over Akatsuki / Itachi. Someone mentioned on the boards that they thought Tobi actually is the one who made Itachi wipe out his clan. And Itachi probably was not supposed to leave Sasuke alive, but did because he is not a villain, and needed someone to surpass him and eliminate Tobi.

And then, Kisame says "From here, it looks like you are crying, Itachi" He seems good.

[darkmetal505]

Itachi is the disgruntled youth who comes of age in the Narutoverse.

[Assassin]

There is absolutely no proof of anything you said.

[TheBladeChild]

There is absolutely no proof of anything you said.

Hes right all your have is speculation. Also I kinda hope your wrong about Itachi turning out to be a good guy. Im tired of the whole "bad guy turning good" because they have a encounter with Naruto(or any anime character like him).

[February]

although it seems unlikely, your speculation is very interesting. If true, it would be a huge twist to the storyline and I would enjoy it alot.

[Assertn]

Well, it sounds like the popular sentiment among the manga rumors is that Itachi finds Naruto's group in this next chapter.

We'll see if it's true or not.

[SilentSnake]

highly... unlikely...

just because Itachi is not killing those he doesn't have to (or at least tries not) doesn't mean he's a good guy.

Better word would be - simply a good ninja focused on his goals, that's all.

he has got plans for Sasuke that's for sure, but even villains have things they care about (otherwise they wouldn't really be villains, just mindless killers :P ).

Theory with Tobi - so farfetched:S

[Carnage]

A good ninja focused on his goals? He fucked up his first chance to capture Naruto by wasting a Tsukyomi on Sasuke.

[thejustin2]

he wanted to show sasuke the true power of the sharingan while hoping to convince him to kill his best friend. remember itachi doing that? thats pretty freakin evil killing your best friend for personal gain, i think. although leaving his brother alive might have shown some remorse, he still killed off everyone else with the potential to use the sharingan.

[Assertn]

A good ninja focused on his goals? He fucked up his first chance to capture Naruto by wasting a Tsukyomi on Sasuke.

You're assuming that he cares more about fulfilling his obligations in akatsuki than reminding Sasuke of his hatred.

[February]

Now that I think about it, it isnt that unlikely this theory might be true. After all, we still do not know why he let Sasuke live. If he was going to kill off his parents, he might as well kill off his brother too. And the whole attack on Sasuke and etc, Itachi trying to convince Sasuke to hate him might have a strong reason. Like persuading Sasuke to get stronger to kill the Akatsuki mastermind (as you said) or trying to see the full potential of the Sharingan (since Tobi did say that Sasuke's had more 'potential' than Itachi's)

I am almost convinced that Itachi is aware of Tobi's existence as a Sharingan user. And it also seems likely that he might be receiving orders from Tobi.

But even if his goals were for a just cause, you dont kill an entire clan including your parents for your plan, even if it was something good.
The only way I dont consider Itachi a villan is if he wasnt the one who killed off the Uchiha clan. Then again, being a villian can be cool :P

[Super5]

Seems a little outrageous to me. From my viewpoint, Itachi was trying his best to kill Kakashi and everyone he encountered in the first fight at Konoha. It's not very clear from the angle that it's drawn at, but I thought Itachi was aiming for critical spots when he was continuously stabbing Kakashi. Besides that, there is the question of whether someone can be killed by Tsukuyomi or not. He also barely missed Kurenai when he struck at her after reversing her genjutsu.

Your theory is also based on the premise that Tobi was stronger than Itachi before Itachi went missing-nin. I'm not even sure he's stronger than Itachi now - the only evidence for this is that he seems to be giving the orders behind the scenes. But, that doesn't necessarily mean that he's stronger, only that he's better at operating in secret. But it's a fair assumption that he is, so I won't argue the point any further.

A different theory for Itachi's actions might be that he believes in the younger generation, just like Asuma, Sandaime, etc. He challenged Sasuke to get stronger so that the next generation can surpass the previous one.

The major flaw in the theory you presented is that Itachi has committed the unforgivable sin in the Japanese view: murder of your parents and clan (extended family). This leads me to believe that Itachi is evil to the core, but Kishi could always surprise us.

[Assertn]

Seems a little outrageous to me. From my viewpoint, Itachi was trying his best to kill Kakashi and everyone he encountered in the first fight at Konoha. It's not very clear from the angle that it's drawn at, but I thought Itachi was aiming for critical spots when he was continuously stabbing Kakashi. Besides that, there is the question of whether someone can be killed by Tsukuyomi or not. He also barely missed Kurenai when he struck at her after reversing her genjutsu.

Itachi also used Tsukuyomi on Sasuke....twice....
I think it's pretty safe to say he wasn't trying to kill Sasuke.
I'm pretty sure if Itachi was really determined to kill the Konoha Jounin, he would have.

Also, I could argue that, from your viewpoint, Tobi runs away from everyone he encounters and is an overall coward who talks big. However, we now know that it was all just a deception Kishimoto gave us. Perhaps Itachi is the same way.

[iMUSTbeTHEdevil]

I am going to say that he is a villian. He did kill everyone in his village. The main qualification for any villian is being harmful to innocent people. -dg-

[February]

I am going to say that he is a villian. He did kill everyone in his village. The main qualification for any villian is being harmful to innocent people. -dg-

The thread starter also talked about this. A possible theory is that it wasn't Itachi who killed the village members but someone else, but made it to look like he did.

[Super5]

@Assertn: I disagree that he could have killed the Konoha jounin if he wanted to, in the time he had. It was 3 on 2 (and they had Kakashi on their side, who's no slouch). He probably would have eventually killed the jounin if more hadn't kept arriving, but these things take time and Itachi was out of time. It still looks to me like he was trying his best to kill them, but they got lucky a couple of times and survived until reinforcements could arrive.

I don't think he was trying to kill Sasuke. Sasuke is evidently the one person he doesn't want to kill until he's at Itachi's level. So he keeps challenging and humiliating Sasuke until he gets better.

Actually, Tobi didn't run away. In the rare instances we saw him, he actually seemed to be pulling his weight. He claimed to have defeated the 3-tails, but Deidara was skeptical. Without seeing the actual battle, we can't be sure how much he did. He let Deidara fight Sasuke, but he didn't run away and actually helped in the battle when Deidara asked. He didn't come off as a coward to me, just someone who is one of the many underdeveloped characters in Naruto.

[iMUSTbeTHEdevil]

The thread starter also talked about this. A possible theory is that it wasn't Itachi who killed the village members but someone else, but made it to look like he did.

I dont think that anyone else did it. Itachi showed Sasuke how it was done. And at that stage of the MS I dont think that he could do more than just recreate the past, seems that making a new storyline while using the MS would be more advanced. But that could be wrong, who knows, all I know is that he is a villian and when the time comes if Sasukes doesnt kill him due to some new revelation about his past, I will be pissed! -dg-

[Assertn]

@Assertn: I disagree that he could have killed the Konoha jounin if he wanted to, in the time he had. It was 3 on 2 (and they had Kakashi on their side, who's no slouch). He probably would have eventually killed the jounin if more hadn't kept arriving, but these things take time and Itachi was out of time. It still looks to me like he was trying his best to kill them, but they got lucky a couple of times and survived until reinforcements could arrive.

What? You mean Gai? So you're saying Gai alone was enough to stop Itachi, despite Itachi having been strong enough years ago to wipe out every single Uchiha. We already know how Gai pans out against Kisame...and that was when it was 4v1 against 1/3 of Kisame's strength. Kakashi was incapacitated, and Asuma and Kurenai would've been worthless against MS.

Also, did you notice that Itachi did not actually take an aggressive stance at all during that entire encounter?

[SilentSnake]

Also, did you notice that Itachi did not actually take an aggressive stance at all during that entire encounter?

Before the fight:
Didn't Itachi say something along the line "we have no quarrel with you" but Kurenai and Asuma didn't want to let him and Kisame go?

[Super5]

What? You mean Gai? So you're saying Gai alone was enough to stop Itachi, despite Itachi having been strong enough years ago to wipe out every single Uchiha. We already know how Gai pans out against Kisame...and that was when it was 4v1 against 1/3 of Kisame's strength. Kakashi was incapacitated, and Asuma and Kurenai would've been worthless against MS.

Also, did you notice that Itachi did not actually take an aggressive stance at all during that entire encounter?

Gai is an elite jounin (he beat the 30% Kisame clone after all) so I don't know why you're hating on him. It was basically 1 on 1 in his fight with Kisame, since his entire team was incapacitated. I think he would have had an even chance against Kisame, even at full strength. He presented a formidable challenge to the Akatsuki group and Itachi knew it. Which is one of the reasons why Itachi retreated after he joined the fight (the other being the reinforcements that were coming).

He did attack Kakashi with the water technique right after Kakashi joined the fight. That seemed pretty aggressive to me; he could have just stood there waiting to counter their next move. If Itachi really wanted to avoid their fight, he and Kisame could have just run away right at the beginning. They did it easily enough later. My guess is that Asuma and Kurenai pissed him off, and he was going to kill them for interfering with him. I still maintain that Itachi is absolutely evil, but we'll see.