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Narutois jam-packed with characters who harness powerful strengths that are almost too broken in the universe but also full of deep sacrifice and moral dilemmas. The villains are often never truly villains in the series and Itachi Uchiha is the prime example of it. He’s a fan-favorite to this day with his complicated, tragic story and love for his younger brother, Sasuke.
The one person who the powerful Uchiha didn’t dare to face off against was Jiraiya. Itachi might’ve easily trapped Kakashi and Orochimaru but somehow Naruto’s mentor escaped his clutches. Some fans can’t believe Jiraiya didn’t get Tsukuyomi’d.
There is, however, a rather tragic reason behind Itachi not facing Jiraiya, despite being more than powerful to hold his own against him. The villains ofNarutoare famously morally grey, especially when you learn their backstories. Itachi’s motivations and story prevented him from facing Jiraiya.
Itachi’s intentions were never malicious and he lives on borrowed time
The most common consensus about why Itachi never fought Jiraiya or used Tsukuyomi on him has to do with his illness. Every time he used jutsu, he would be depleting his own life force. He made the calculated and smart move to not fight Jiraiya, who was already at the level of a Hokage and one of the Sannin.
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Another reason why he didn’t want to, even if he might’ve had the chance to win, is that Itachi was never a bad person. He wasa double agent for Konohaand fighting another strong shinobi would’ve put the village in further danger. He was possibly relieved to know that Naruto was under the tutelage of someone wiser and not in the hands of Obito or the Akatsuki.
If Jiraiya was out of commission, Obito might’ve gotten his hands on the young shinobi. Itachi, thus, decided to leave him alone.Narutofans seemed to have realized this was the true reason. Masashi Kishimoto never even wrote Itachi using Tsukuyomi on the Sannin, despite taking down another.
Masashi Kishimotomight’ve given him a handicap with his impending death but he also wrote one of the greatest, sympathetic villains inNaruto.
The nuanced storytelling ofNarutothrough Itachi Uchiha
Itachi Uchiha’s past actions weredespicable but ultimately justified. The massacre of the Uchiha clan was to prevent a full-blown war from breaking out after Danzo gave him two terrible choices. He also had put a lot of weight on his shoulders by being the double agent for Konoha to the point he became sick.
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He was also always looking out for Sasuke, sparing him from the massacre but his methods of keeping him safe haven’t always been conventional. His life, however, is undeniably filled with tragedy and doom, even more than thealready tragic Obitowho was used all his life. He always tried to subtly do the right thing, even if we fans didn’t understand it at first glance.
Narutois available on Crunchyroll.
Bidisha Mitra
Articles Published :802
Bidisha is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with over 700 published articles. With over 7 years of writing experience, she’s versatile and adept. When she’s not writing, she’s also a voice actor on the side.Bidisha is currently continuing to learn Japanese and gets more fluent everyday. Her expertise is One Piece, Bungo Stray Dogs, and Haikyuu, but has been watching anime for over a decade. She was previously a Content Writer reviewing the latest Kpop music.
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Itachiitachi uchihajiraiyaMasashi KishimotoNarutoNaruto ShippudenSasuke UchihaUchiha Massacre
