Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto is known for its compelling narrative embedded with intricate complexities that keep the audience engaged. One of the darkest yet pivotal moments of this grand narrative was Itachi Uchicha mass murdering his entire clan, which still fascinates the audience even now.
At the age of 13, the young Uchiha bloodied his hands by eradicating his clan to prevent a civil war from occurring. What's more, not a single Uchiha child was spared, save for his brother, Sasuke. However, at this point, an ardent Naruto fan has come up with a theory suggesting that Itachi killing every other member of his clan, including the children, was actually a good thing for the village.
Itachi Uchiha's actions prevented the possibility of a Civil War in Naruto
Fans of Naruto have never ceased to amaze by coming up with different theories about the series. Recently, one Redditor, CAPTAINFREEMVN, theorized under a post about Itachi's act of not sparing any children from the Uchiha clan during the massacre.
While Itachi could have only ended the lives of the main leaders and the elders of the Uchiha clan, he also went on to eliminate the children. According to this aforementioned theory, sparing the lives of the Uchiha children would have been adverse for the village, as they could harbor angst within them and go against the village in the future, much like Sasuke.
Itachi Uchiha's brother, Sasuke, wanted to avenge the death of his family. However, shortly after defeating his brother, he came to know that Itachi's actions were based on the village's interest. This revelation promoted the dark-haired Uchiha to go against the Konoha. He wanted to destroy Konoha for what they did to his big brother.
Notably, throughout his life, Itachi Uchiha had always wanted the best for his village. However, he was a victim of the political unrest between the Uchiha clan and the rest of the Hidden Leaf Village. Since its founding days, Hidden Leaf Village had remained wary of the Uchiha clan members.
Uchiha Madara's revolt against the village deeply etched the mark of mistrust on the hearts of the villagers. The narrative also suggests that the village leader decided to restrict the Uchiha clan to the outskirts of the village, making the Uchiha heads extremely furious. Hence, Itachi's father decided to enter his son into Anbu Black Ops.
Later in Naruto, it was revealed that Itachi was working as a spy for Danzo, believing that his actions would bring peace to the village. However, the strained relationship between the Uchihas and the rest of the villagers meant that a Civil War could break out at any time. Thus, he was partly manipulated by Danzo and ended the lives of everyone in his clan.
If he hadn't massacred his own clan in Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha's life would have been lost, along with many other innocent lives in the village. For the greater good, Itachi readily sacrificed the lives of his beloved clan members, including Izumi, whom he killed first (according to the official canon).
Now, multiple theories suggest that Itachi didn't kill the children himself. One of them even speculates that it was Obito who had killed the children and the women, while Itachi ended the lives of the elders. However, it wasn't confirmed in the anime, which is why it's only a speculation at this point.
So, could Itachi spared the children if he had reasoned with Danzo and Hiruzen? As mentioned previously, it would only delay the civil war. Those spared children, like Sasuke, could seek to destroy Konoha, posing a challenge for the Konoha.
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