Naruto Chapter 590

[enkoujin]

I still think that killing only one evil mastermind and brainwashing everyone has a lot more merit than ethnic cleansing your own people, traumatizing your own sibling, being banished and hunted down by your own hometown, stripped of all established honour due to treason, having to join a greater evil just to spy on their organization and preparing to die by the hands of said traumatized sibling.

Unless, of course, Itachi could foresee all of this - which he probably did. I also guess that by doing this, he also preserved the integrity and honour of the Uchiha as well and opened the opportunity for Sasuke to grow into a person who can defend Konoha in his place. Hmm...

Actually, because the jutsu can be regenerated again in ten years, why couldn't Itachi have done this, reversed it back in 10 years and face whatever punishment he would have to deal with?