Original subtitles

MADARA: After the attack of the nine-tailed fox, 16 years ago,

unjust suspicions grew that the Uchiha

had tried to stage an insurrection

and seize power to take over leadership of the village.

As a result, the Uchiha were put under strict surveillance

by the ANBU black ops, and were forced

to relocate to the outskirts of the village.

They became completely isolated.

Distrust bred hatred, and eventually, their suspicions

became reality.

The Uchiha clan started plotting a coup

de tat to take over the village.

And so the Hidden Leaf's leaders planted a spy

within the Uchiha clan to watch us.

That spy was your older brother, Itachi Uchiha.

And that's when Itachi's suffering began.

-An Uchiha coup de tat.

And Itachi... was he really a spy?

- Despite being an Uchiha, you were told nothing

because you were so young.

But it's all true.

Your father, Fugaku, was the mastermind

of that planned coup.

And Itachi was a spy who entered the ANBU black ops

on your father's orders.

- Itachi, you also serve as the Uchiha clan's pipeline

to the village nerve center.

You understand that, don't you?

- However, it was actually the opposite.

Itachi was supplying the village with intelligence

on the Uchiha.

In other words, he was a double agent.

You can't even imagine what a heavy burden that was to bear.

-But why?

Why would Itachi betray the Uchiha?

- You may never understand his reasons,

because you've never lived through the horrors of war.

The Third Great Ninja War, when Itachi was merely

four years old, he saw many people die.

He should have never had to experience war

at such a young age.

War is hell.

That trauma turned him into a pacifist

who hated warfare, one who had the peace

and stability of the village foremost

in his mind and actions.

Instead of being bound by obligation to his clan,

he was a ninja devoted to his village,

and the village leaders exploited that trait.

They assigned him to a top secret mission... an eye

for an eye.

For they'd need the sharingan to face the Uchiha.

That's right.

The mission was the eradication of the entire Uchiha clan.

What must Itachi have gone through emotionally

when he learned of his assignment?

Itachi was faced with a terrible choice... the decision

to raise his hand against his fellow brethren

was probably an unbelievable struggle.

But if ninja the caliber of the Uchiha were to revolt,

both the Hidden Leaf village and the Land of Fire

would be shaken tremendously.

Other nations would take advantage of the situation

and invade.

It could easily become the trigger for the Fourth Great

Ninja War.

The Uchiha clan's self-interest would embroil innocent people,

who had nothing to do with the Shinobi world,

and countless people die once again.

If you were Itachi, what would you have done?

So he made up his mind.

He himself would drop the curtain

on his own clan's history.

Of course, he did not hate the Uchiha.

He simply did what he had to.

The discrimination by the village and the object

of their antagonism... he shouldered all the

blame himself.

No one should ever question Itachi's decision

and the sacrifices he made.

To be truthful, back then, I had

also been quietly plotting war.

I held grudges against the Senju-led Leaf, as well as

the Uchiha, and Itachi had picked up on that.

He alone knew of my existence.

He sought me out and made me a proposal.

In exchange for letting me carry out

my vendetta against the Uchiha, I

was to leave the village alone.

He would aid me against the clan.

The third Hokage tried to resolve the situation

through other means.

He attempted to open negotiations with the Uchiha

to reach a compromise, but time ran out,

and his efforts failed.

The night drew near.

He knew his fate.

To become known as a criminal who murdered his own clan.

To bear the burden of disgrace and become a rogue ninja.

All of that was part of the mission.

Itachi completely fulfilled his duty,

except for one single mistake.

He could not bring himself to kill his younger brother.

[theme music]

- Afterwards, Itachi appealed to the third Hokage,

beseeching him to protect you from Danzo and the councillors.

He fled the village after threatening Danzo.

If anything were to happen to you,

Itachi would leak all the intelligence

he had on the Hidden Leaf to unallied nations.

He worried about you above all else,

and yet he could not tell you the full truth,

so he told you as much as he could.

-It's a lie!

This just isn't like you, big brother!

It's not!

- I have acted like the older brother

you desired for one reason... because I wanted

to discover how powerful you were.

I needed to find a worthy opponent

to test the limits of my own abilities.

You have that unique potential.

Now I've made you hate me.

Now you have to desire to defeat me,

which is exactly why I'm going to allow you to live.

Don't you see?

It's all for my own benefit.

Foolish little brother.

If you wish to kill me one day, in hate and revenge,

surviving in such an unsightly manner as this, by all means,

flee.

Cling to your wretched life, and then, one day,

when you possess the same eyes, come back and face me.

- He gave you a reason to seek revenge against him,

and hoped it would make you stronger.

They wanted you to believe that the Uchiha was

a proud clan from the Hidden Leaf village.

He begged the Hokage to make sure you would never

learn the truth.

And from the moment he left the village,

he resigned himself to battling you to the death in order

to bestow upon you new powers.

That is Itachi's truth.

-No.

You're lying.

It's got to be a lie.

It just has to be.

It's all nonsense.

Itachi tried to kill me many times!

- If Itachi really wanted to kill you,

you'd most certainly be dead.

- He even used the mangekyo sharingan against me!

There's no question he was trying to kill me!

[screaming]

No question.

- Even your contingency plans were

factored into his calculations.

He had to pressure you hard during that battle.

Surely you've figured out why?

You understand it now, don't you?

-And now it finally emerges.

- He wanted to free you of the curse mark

and the death of the one closest to you.

It was a battle to awaken your mangekyo sharingan.

Itachi carefully set up everything in that battle,

diverting your attention from the truth

by pretending to the very end that he was stealing your eyes.

You're starting to see the truth.

-You're lying.

I know it.

You sent the Nine-tails to attack the Hidden Leaf!

Itachi told me that it was all your doing!

ITACHI (VOICEOVER): 16 years ago,

when the Nine-tails attacked the Hidden Leaf

Village, it was Madara's doing.

But like Madara's bid for power, the Fourth Hokage

stopped that, too.

In short,

Madara is a bitter, defeated loser.

He is not worthy or capable of achieving

Uchiha's true greatness.

I am the one.

I shall surpass Madara and become the ultimate ninja.

- You laid false charges against the Uchiha

and you teamed up with Itachi to toy with our clan!

- Itachi was lying when he told you that.

Just as I've explained.

He was gripped with fear that you would somehow

discover the truth.

He wanted to make absolutely certain there

was no chance of that.

He fed you lies to make sure you wouldn't trust me.

He even implanted Amaterasu in your eyes.

- There's no way that I'd ever believe you!

Itachi was pure evil!

He was a criminal who slaughtered our clan

and became an Akatsuki!

- He took the burden of all this on himself

and fled his birth village.

Then he joined the Akatsuki to spy from inside

on the organization that threatened his village.

He always had the welfare of the Hidden Leaf in his mind,

just as he always thought of yours, as well, Sasuke.

Itachi appeared in the Hidden Leaf Village

after the death of the Third Hokage, who

had promised to be your protector.

He wanted to remind Danzo and the councillors

that he was still alive and still very much a threat.

He wanted to make sure...

-Stop it!

More lies!

Everything you say is a lie!

You're still alive, aren't you?

- Each of us lives dependant and bound

by our individual knowledge and our awareness.

All that is what we call reality.

However, both knowledge and awareness are equivocal.

One's reality might be another's illusion.

We all live inside our own fantasies.

Don't you think that's true, Sasuke?

How much can you see when you look

with those sharingan eyes of yours?

- My eyes are not the same as they once were.

My sharingan can see through genjutsu.

- You speak with such confidence, as you always do.

Well, for now, I'm willing to take your word for it.

- Those eyes of yours did not perceive a single truth

about Itachi.

You weren't able to pierce through any of the illusions

he created.

Itachi killed his friends, his superiors, his lover,

his father, his mother, but he couldn't

kill his little brother.

He killed every shred of feeling in his heart

in order to slaughter his own kin

for the sake of his village.

But he just couldn't bring himself to kill you.

Do you understand what that means?

To him, your life was even more precious than the village.

Until the moment of his death... no, even after he died,

it was all for you, to confer on you new powers.

By allowing you to defeat him, he had avenged the Uchiha clan.

He made you the hero of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Ravaged by illness, painfully aware of his impending death,

he forcefully prolonged his life with medication, all

for the sake of his beloved little brother.

Because he had to fight you and die in your presence.

For the peace of the Hidden Leaf Village,

and most of all for you, Sasuke Uchiha,

he wanted to die being known as a criminal, and a traitor.

He accepted disgrace in the place of honor,

and hatred in the place of love.

And yet, Itachi still died with a smile on his face.

He bequeathed to you the Uchiha name,

still fooling you to the very end.

ITACHI: I'm home!

-Welcome home, Itachi!

Hey come on, let's go outside play together.

So what do you think we should go play first?

-Stop that, Sasuke.

Your brother has academy homework to do first.

You could play after he's finished doing that.

SASUKE: But Mom!

- It's OK, I can do my homework later.

Besides, it's easy.

-Oh, goodness.

SASUKE (THINKING): I wonder where he could be hiding.

-Ha!

I found you, big brother!

-You're pretty sharp, Sasuke.

But too bad!

-Aww!

That's so not fair!

Hey Dad?

-Huh?

- Itachi and I were out playing hide and seek today,

but then he used a clone jutsu to trick me and run away.

And that's cheating, isn't it?

- Oh, you've mastered using the clone jutsu?

- Hey wait, you could teach me the clone jutsu

after we finish dinner, OK?

-Homework, boys.

-Sorry about that, Sasuke.

But we'll do it some other time.

No Sasuke, it's time to go.

- What happened to the new shuriken jutsu

you promised to teach me, huh?

ITACHI: It'll have to wait.

I have an important mission tomorrow.

I must prepare.

SASUKE: You're such a big fat liar.

-Sorry, Sasuke.

Maybe some other time.

SASUKE: OK, Just watch this.

-Hey!

Be careful!

[grunt]

-Itachi?

That was fun.

Will you train with me again sometime?

-Sure.

But I'm going to be assigned missions soon,

and starting tomorrow, you'll be attending the Ninja Academy.

So, we aren't going to have as much free time to ourselves

anymore.

- That's OK, as long as you can still

spend time with me once in awhile.

-We're flesh and blood.

I'll always be there for you.

Even if it's just as an obstacle for you to overcome.

-Big brother?

Listen.

Can you please help me with my shuriken training today?

-I can't, I'm too busy.

Why don't you ask father to teach you?

- But you're better than he is when

it comes to shuriken jutsu.

Even a kid can see that.

Hey!

-Sorry, Sasuke.

Some other time, OK?

Even if it's just as an obstacle for you to overcome.

Sasuke, I'll always be there for you.

Even if you do hate me.

That's what big brothers are for.

-Forgive me, Sasuke.

But this is it.

-We are no longer the Hebi.

From this day on, our team will be the Taka.

And Taka has but one goal.

Our mission

is to destroy the Hidden Leaf.

[theme music]

[theme music]

[theme music]

[theme music]

[theme music]

KILLER B: Oh my eyes, light too bright.

Is it noon already?

Dammit, man, no fool, you fool.

Training for more and my belly is starving.

Rap loving guy, I got me a hunch that I just

decided on sukiyaki for lunch!

Yeah.

-Sure looks like that's the guy.

Next time, on Naruto Shippuden...

Battle of Unraikyo.

Eight-tails, I'm here to capture you.