Within Hell

As the Uchiha moved to seize control of Konoha, Itachi was assigned to keep watch on the village's leaders on the clan's behalf. Yet having already seen so much death in his young life, and understanding that an uprising would only breed more of it, he secretly reversed his loyalty and reported on the Uchiha to the village instead.

Once conflict became inevitable, Itachi received the order to eliminate his entire family. Judging it the lesser of two terrible outcomes, he turned to Tobi for aid in carrying out the massacre, a plan that also let Tobi settle a grudge against the Uchiha who had cast him aside decades before.

Itachi wiped out the clan yet found himself unable to raise his hand against Sasuke. He asked the village to guarantee his brother's safety and left Sasuke with a single purpose, to grow strong enough to kill him, as atonement for the horror he had carried out.

Itachi, ordered to spy on Konoha for the Uchiha, instead informs on the clan to the village. Told to eliminate his family, he enlists Tobi, whose own vendetta against the Uchiha aligns with the plan. Itachi slaughters the clan but spares Sasuke, securing his safety and setting him the goal of one day killing him.

Belonging to the Fated Battle Between Brothers arc and volume 43, the chapter recasts the Uchiha massacre as a tragic sacrifice, reframing Itachi from villain to a man who chose damnation to protect both his village and his brother.