At one point in the Naruto storyline, we discover that Sasuke's main motivation for strengthening himself was to kill and destroy his brother Itachi, who massacred the entire Sasuke clan while Sasuke was still alive. is a boy.
In that sense, he trained so hard that he believed he was strong enough to defeat his brother. However, Sasuke was too strong for Itachi in that battle until his younger brother finally overcame him. However, will Itachi really let Sasuke win?
Fans know that Sasuke couldn't defeat Itachi in that fight because Sasuke couldn't defeat his brother at that point in the storyline. Simply put, even if Sasuke chose to go all out, he wouldn't be strong enough to compete with Itachi. Now let's discuss why Itachi refrained from confronting Sasuke.
Did Itachi let Sasuke win?
Sasuke made it clear that he intended to kill his brother when he first appeared in the Naruto series. This is because his brother Itachi, who killed the entire Sasuke clan, was spared and instructed to grow strong enough to kill him in the future. In that sense, Sasuke's main purpose for gaining power was to kill Itachi.
To train under one of the famous Sannin and gain power, Sasuke actually had to leave Konoha and join Orochimaru.
He learned several snake-based techniques from his sensei and developed the power to master lightning-based chakra attacks during his training with Orochimaru. In addition, Sasuke was also given a seal that increased his strength.
Naturally, Sasuke sought out Itachi to finally make amends with his brother when he was strong enough to actually absorb Orochimaru into his body when he tried to do so and take over his body.
After meeting each other in a fateful battle, the two were able to exchange genjutsu methods until it became clear that they could not win the fight with genjutsu alone. Sasuke seemed to be able to make Itachi work hard even when he lacked the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Because of an incurable disease diagnosed several years ago, Itachi had to use his Mangekyo Sharingan technique, Amaterasu, to try to destroy Sasuke in that battle, although it only weakened him.
However, Sasuke took advantage of this method as he enhanced his new Unicorn technique by using Amaterasu's fiery flames. But he was shocked to discover that Itachi, using his Susanoo, escaped the strongest attack ever.
Sasuke was forced to use his curse seal at that time. Orochimaru was waiting for this moment to escape Sasuke's body and try to regain control of it. However, as this successfully removed Sasuke's cursed seal, Itachi took advantage of the situation to seal Orochimaru with Susanoo's Totsuka Sword.
Since Sasuke had used all of his chakra on Kirito's attack and had nothing left in his arsenal to penetrate the formidable armor of Itachi's Susanoo, he had no choice at that point. The older brother came to Sasuke and said that he needed his eyeballs to create the eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to restore his deteriorating eyesight.
However, Itachi poked Sasuke's forehead instead of taking his eyes, which was one of the things he often did to his younger brother when they were children. Itachi died grinning and apologizing to his brother for not being able to maintain this facade anymore. He passed away due to illness.
It's clear that the eldest Sasuke held back until the very end and only let Sasuke win because Sasuke won the battle when Itachi succumbed to his own illness. Given that he wasn't even strong enough to penetrate the Susanoo armor, the young man of the Sasuke clan did not have what it took to overcome Itachi in that battle.
Of course, others would argue that Itachi only died from the consequences of his illness and not from losing that battle. However, he only let his younger brother defeat him in that battle, clearly showing that he had no intention of killing and defeating Sasuke.
Why does Itachi continue to attack Sasuke?
As stated before, Itachi clearly refrained from using his strongest attacks until the end of his battle with Sasuke. As demonstrated during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Itachi had skills and attacks that he did not even try to use against Sasuke during his battle with Kabuto. So why did Itachi turn against Sasuke?
Itachi refrained from confronting Sasuke because he had no intention of killing his brother. His sole purpose in inciting Sasuke's hatred towards him was to build the power necessary to finally defeat him and let him go without committing the murder of Sasuke's entire clan.
Of course, he also wished that Sasuke would have enough strength to not have to protect his younger brother. Furthermore, Sasuke can only pursue power if he is motivated to do so.
Itachi also refrained from confronting Sasuke because he wanted his brother to try everything before having to use the curse seal that Orochimaru left behind. Itachi was aware that Orochimaru was still lurking inside Sasuke, waiting to take control of his body as it weakened.
Itachi was waiting for Sasuke to exhaust all alternatives before he was desperate enough to use the cursed seal, as he was still a protective older brother. Therefore, Itachi sealed Orochimaru away as soon as he appeared, freeing Sasuke from the Sannin's embrace.
Itachi could have used the full power of his Susanoo from the beginning of the battle to kill Sasuke if he wanted to. However, he didn't because that would mean Sasuke wasn't desperate enough to activate his cursed seal.
Of course, Sasuke will be able to defeat his brother once he gains the eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the abilities of the Sage of Six Paths. However, the Sasuke we see in the final battle with Itachi lacks the power to overcome his brother.
As a result, the older boy clearly held back. Furthermore, Itachi would be a completely different monster in terms of potential power if he were healthy and in top shape.
Want to know more about Sasuke and Itachi's complicated relationship? Understand Itachi's motives and delve deeper into their tragic conflict. For a thorough analysis of this legendary Naruto event and more fascinating anime analysis, visit AnimeZ. Stop by now so you don't miss it!