About

The second son of Konoha Military Police captain and Uchiha clan head, Fugaku, Sasuke grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Itachi. Itachi was an acknowledged prodigy who graduated at the top of his Academy class at age 7, mastered the Sharingan by age 8, became a Chunin at age 10, and an ANBU squad leader at the age of 13. The Uchiha clan took great pride and interest in Itachi and viewed him as a genius whose work would further strengthen the bonds between the village and the clan. In particular, Sasuke's father took an active interest in Itachi. Itachi, on the other hand, was rather ambivalent and full of oddly conflicting undercurrents, acknowledging Sasuke by taking interest in his progress as a ninja when even their father did not, but spending little quality time with Sasuke. Even after Sasuke enrolled in the Ninja Academy, he still was unable to escape Itachi's shadow. Despite consistently scoring at the head of every class, Sasuke failed to receive any recognition from his father, who defined Sasuke's success only in terms of his older brother. Itachi acknowledged the rivalry Sasuke felt, telling him, "We are unique siblings. I am the barrier you must overcome, so you and I will continue to exist together."

Itachi's relationship with his father deteriorated further when Itachi was questioned by other members of the Uchiha clan regarding the death and suicide note of his best friend, Shisui. As Itachi's behavior became increasingly bizarre, Sasuke's father, on a whim and partly due to Itachi's growing distance, decided to spend time with Sasuke. He taught him the Great Fireball Technique, a common family jutsu. Sasuke (age 7 at the time) proved himself to be a genius as well in his own right by succeeded in performing the jutsu in front of his father after only one week of training, surprising him. At that moment, Sasuke finally received his father's recognition; the Uchiha clan considered the ability to perform fire jutsu as proof that one had become an adult. Sasuke's father told him that he could now proudly wear the clan's emblem on his back. More forbiddingly, Sasuke also received a stern warning not to follow in Itachi's footsteps.

Shortly thereafter, Itachi massacred every member of the Uchiha clan, sparing only Sasuke. Itachi said that Sasuke was not even worth killing. In addition, Itachi told him, "You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live." Itachi also revealed to Sasuke where the secret meeting place of the Uchiha was hidden and suggested that Sasuke go there to learn what the true history and purpose of the Sharingan is. Sasuke thought he has fainted after this, but he recently remembered that he managed to stand back up, awaken his Sharingan and chase after Itachi. Sasuke managed to knock off Itachi's headband, and Itachi was seen shedding a tear after picking up the headband and reapplying it to the side of his head and he beat Sasuke who awoke in the hospital not remembering anything but what Itachi showed him.
[edit] Personality

During Part I, Sasuke was considered the best Genin of the Rookie Nine and could have been the strongest. To this end, Sasuke's only desire as a shinobi was to get stronger, and he saw everything from his teammates, to the other villagers as simply being in the way. In fact, during their bell test with Kakashi, Sasuke's reason for not working with Naruto and Sakura was because he thought they were respectively weak and annoying, and they would get in his way. However when he was proven wrong by Sakura's knowledge, and Naruto's desire to also become stronger he began to value his teammates and even began to risk his life to save them if he needed to, valuing their lives more than his desire to kill Itachi.

During the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru noticed how Sasuke's desire for revenge seemed to have lessened, and branded him with the Cursed Seal of Heaven to give him a taste of the power he could have if he keeps to his previous path of vengeance. Even when Kakashi sealed the Cursed Seal, Sasuke began to draw more and more power from it in hope to get stronger. However even with the Cursed Seal, Sasuke began to envy Naruto, whom he saw as being much weaker than himself, because in their brief encounter, Itachi says that Naruto has a "special power" and that he came back to Konoha to find him, not Sasuke. Slowly Sasuke saw Naruto surpass him, and in the end, Sasuke decides to defect from Konoha to join Orochimaru to make himself stronger. Sasuke remembers that Itachi told him that in order to be as strong as him, Sasuke had to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan and to do that, he had to kill his best friend. When given the chance to kill Naruto and get the Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke simply punched him in the chest, sparing him as to not give Itachi the satisfaction of seeing him follow his path.

In Part II, Sasuke showed he had stayed true to his original personality. When first meeting Sai, he did not care the slightest and was interested more in Orochimaru's training him. When Sai states that he might be able to get along better with Sasuke than he did with Naruto, Sasuke freezes him with a stare, catching Sai in a Genjutsu which involves a large amount of killing intent. Sai is amazed that even an emotionless person such as himself was affected by Sasuke's gaze, showing the power of his Sharingan. When Sai comments on how Naruto and Sakura have been searching for him, Sasuke once again shows his less than loving nature.

It would appear that during his time with Orochimaru, he has come to the conclusion that if he ever wishes to stand a chance against Itachi, he needs to push away all of his past bonds with his friends and make revenge a priority, above even his own life. Because of this, he shows that he no longer cares about Konoha or anyone from the village. In spite of this, he scolds Naruto about risking the lives of an entire squad to save one man, and comments that it could damage his chances of becoming Hokage. He also states that, unlike their last encounter at the waterfall, he has no more reservations about killing Naruto, and attempts to do so. He's also aware of the fact he is intended to be the container for Orochimaru's soul, showing that he doesn't care what happens to himself as long as it results in Itachi's death. This attitude seems to have changed, however, as Sasuke comes to the conclusion that Orochimaru only wants him as a container and attempts to kill him. During his attack, he emphasized to Orochimaru the superiority of the Uchiha clan, demonstrating that he still holds his clan in the highest regard, and that Orochimaru taking his body would be an insult to the clan's reputation.

Unlike Kabuto or any of Orochimaru's subordinates, who address Orochimaru as "Orochimaru-sama" (which shows that they highly respect him), Sasuke simply refers to him as Orochimaru. Sasuke also never called Kakashi "Kakashi-sensei" (teacher) like the others did, something the Japanese would consider as very insulting or rude. Despite his association with the Sound Village, Sasuke does not wear a Sound headband, unlike most other subordinates of Orochimaru. He still wears the fan symbol of the Uchiha clan on his back, albeit much smaller and higher up by his shirt collar. Despite this lack of allegiances to those close to him, Sasuke seems to be unable to bring himself to needlessly harm those that have nothing to do with his quest for vengeance against Itachi, and makes it a point to prevent their deaths when possible.[1]However, this attitude appears to have changed after he learns the truth about Itachi's death and swears revenge against Konoha. Not only does he resolve to destroy all of Konoha(despite the majority of its villagers having no involvement in the Uchiha massacre), but he also seems to be willing to take the lives of anyone who stands in the way of his revenge.

Upon learning the truth about Itachi, Sasuke is filled with sorrow and, for the first time since the night of the Uchiha massacre, weeps for his brother's sufferings. After he has mourned Itachi's death, he resolves to avenge Itachi and tells Team Hawk that they would 'crush Konoha'. He later states that he only intends to kill the three elders of Konoha who were responsible for it. However, it is eventually revealed that Sasuke's true intention, which he hid from his team, is to kill everyone in the village, not just the three elders, thus going against Itachi's wishes. Sasuke holds all of Konoha guilty for the death of the Uchiha clan, taking for granted the peace they live in and their wrongful worship of the Senju Clan, because of this he believes that the entire village must pay for it with death.

Despite this, during their fight with Kirābī, Sasuke saw Team Hawk in a similar light as Team 7 (prior to his defection), and realized he was never alone.
[edit] Part I
[edit] Team 7

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were forced to cooperate against their will when they became the members of the newly founded Team 7 of academy graduates. Naruto could often be seen glaring at Sasuke and in one case, he ended up kissing him when he was bumped in the back. Naruto initially had a one-sided rivalry with Sasuke, because Naruto spent his whole life shunned, scorned, and desperately seeking to attain the very same recognition and popularity Sasuke had been getting; this was only made worse by the fact that Naruto has a crush on Sakura who, in turn, has a crush on Sasuke. Sasuke initially looked upon Naruto and Sakura as annoyances that would only hold him back. This attitude was one of the negative factors responsible for Team 7's initial state of borderline non-existent teamwork, which Kakashi Hatake, the team's teacher notes and berated him for. However, Naruto and Sasuke's relationship slowly shifted from an incompatible mix of frustration and dislike into a mutually positive rivalry - while Sasuke appeared to always be one step ahead of Naruto, Sasuke saw Naruto as constantly gaining ground each moment, which resulted in a state where they push and motivate each other to improve. Similarly, Sasuke's relationship with Sakura slowly changed for the better as a friend and teammate, while she slowly came to understand the troubled person behind the "popular, brooding, pretty boy" image she initially crushed on. In Part I, Sasuke wore a blue shirt and white shorts with the Uchiha crest, or an entirely black outfit, still with the Uchiha crest. In two episodes, he was shown wearing shuriken briefs and in another he was shown in kunai briefs, as opposed to Naruto who was shown in green boxers with golden lucky wish bones.

Though Naruto was usually the instigator, Sasuke made a point out of taunting Naruto on occasion, goading and egging him on. He also disappointed Sakura by ignoring her flirtations and attempts to go out with him. However, a bond between the three formed and Sasuke gradually learned the value of teamwork. As he did, he eventually began to learn to trust and pushed his thoughts of revenge into the recesses of his mind.
[edit] Land of Waves

Sasuke's first major mission was escorting the bridge builder, Tazuna, to his home in the poverty-stricken Wave Country. Sasuke showed exceptional skill when attacked by two missing-nin, The Demon Brothers, from the Hidden Mist village. Later on in the same mission, during the tree climbing exercise to improve chakra control, he managed to stay ahead of Naruto for a good length of time. He took care of Zabuza's water clones impressing Zabuza and his apprentice Haku. He also stood toe to toe for a while with Haku, who was extremely dangerous because of his extreme speed and dexterity. It was during this battle that Sasuke reawakened the legacy of his clan, the Sharingan, and in which he first demonstrated a willingness to put others before himself, selflessly putting himself in the way of Haku's attack on Naruto in a move that would have resulted in his death if Haku had meant to kill him rather than induce a temporary death-state. Although he claimed his body moved on its own, his actions show that, even at that early stage, he was willing to put himself in mortal danger for Naruto's sake. Naruto and Sasuke didn't know why though; they both hated each other but they were considering the other one a friend even though they didn't admit it.
[edit] Chunin Exam

Before the Chunin Exams even started, Sasuke fought Rock Lee, who easily overcame the power of his Sharingan through an amazing display of speed and taijutsu prowess; for if the user can't physically keep up with the target then the Sharingan is useless. However, before the finishing blow could be given, Might Guy interrupted the match by appearing just as Rock Lee was about to use his Front Lotus, forbidding him to use it.

In the first part of the exam, Sasuke realized that to succeed in the written test, it is required to cheat without getting caught, as the written exam tests a ninja's information gathering ability. Sasuke was shown using the Sharingan to copy the movement of a student in front of him, effectively copying the answers.

In the second test of the Chunin Exam, the Forest of Death, Sasuke battled a Rain ninja and managed to keep him from getting the scroll, which was the objective of the exam. Sasuke also battled a Grass ninja, who was actually Orochimaru in disguise. During the Forest of Death, Sasuke's bond with Naruto seemed to strengthen and Sasuke realized that Naruto was catching up to him, when Naruto stopped Orochimaru's summonings from harming Sasuke. At this point, Naruto used the exact phrase that Sasuke used to taunt him earlier, asking: "Hey, are you hurt, you scaredy-cat?". This was a pivotal moment in their bond, as Sasuke realized that he is in the position Naruto was in when they were attacked by the Mist ninja during the Land of Waves arc. Naruto's words as well as his actions spurred Sasuke to fight Orochimaru even while knowing that he was hopelessly out matched.

Naruto's positive influence on Sasuke did not please Orochimaru, who was interested in Sasuke as his next potential body, thanks to the Sharingan's technique copying ability, which would help greatly in Orochimaru's ambition to master all jutsu in the world. Orochimaru decided that it was imperative to somehow counter Naruto's positive influence on Sasuke and "dye him to his own color". To advance this cause he puts his cursed seal on Sasuke's neck during their fight in the Forest of Death causing Sasuke so much pain that he falls unconscious. While in that state he was haunted with hallucinations of his parents and clans deaths and another version of himself blaming him and his weakness for their death. This other version peels off part of his face to reveal Orochimaru underneath who told him they wouldn't have died if only he had been strong enough at the time. Revealing part of Sasuke's desire for strength to stem from his desire to protect those important to him.

Sasuke turned out to be strong enough to survive the one in ten chance of withstanding the seal and regained consciousness. Sasuke was filled with the curse seals power and wakens up from the visions of his dead family and saw a very wounded Sakura and unconscious Naruto next to him on the verge of being likewise killed. The first thing he did was to ask Sakura who hurt her. When one of the Sound Ninjas tried to attack them with his sound waves Sasuke seemingly, effortlessly carried both Naruto and Sakura with him to safety and was in the next instant right beside him. He then proceeded to easily beat him up, breaking both his arms. He then turned to attack the next sound ninja, but was stopped by Sakura who hugged him and pleaded for him to stop. Thinking to herself that something was wrong and that the maniacally grinning Sasuke she saw before her "couldn't possibly be the Sasuke I [she] know."

Sasuke's match up in the preliminaries was against a member of Kabuto's team, Yoroi Akado. Before the fight started, Kakashi warned Sasuke that if his curse seal got out of control, he'll have to intervene and stop the match to control the seal, which barred Sasuke from using his Sharingan or any Jutsu aside from Taijutsu. The match started with Yoroi stealing what little chakra Sasuke had left through his hands and being in constant pain from his curse seal. The match seemed hopeless for Sasuke, until he heard Naruto shouting at him for doing so poorly. When he turned back to look at his spectators he saw Rock Lee, which gave Sasuke the idea to use the part of Lee's move, kicking Sasuke up in the air and than getting underneath him, to make his own move from that, the Lion Combo. Yoroi was knocked out, and Sasuke advanced to the next round. After the fight, Kakashi took him to seal the cursed seal.

During the main matches, Sasuke was matched up against Gaara. Sasuke arrived late (because of some last-minute training by Kakashi), but his time was extended because most of the spectators had come just to see it. Sasuke demonstrated that his speed and taijutsu prowess had vastly increased, to the point where both traits were as effective as Lee without weights. Kakashi actually had Sasuke imagine Lee's movements so he could mimic them. Sasuke also unveiled his Chidori, which Kakashi taught him though assistance from the taijutsu training, to injure Gaara. Before the match could finish, it was interrupted by the start of Orochimaru's attack (Operation: Destroy Konoha).
[edit] Invasion of Konoha

After Gaara, Kankuro and Temari fled from the arena Genma instructed him to follow the sand siblings. Before Sasuke left on his mission, the proctor told him he reached the rank of Chunin. Sasuke chased them and, after some minor fights with Kankuro and Temari, Sasuke fought Gaara. Sasuke used Chidori once again wounding Gaara who by now has started to transform into his Shukaku state. Feeling physical pain was a new sensation for Gaara and he grew more unbalanced wanting to feel pain again. Having used one Chidori earlier, Sasuke had reached his daily limit of two uses on his Chidori technique that Kakashi warned him surpassing would kill him. He was able to dodge Gaara's attacks, but discovered that his fire technique was useless against Gaara in his increasingly bizarre form as he transformed more into Shukaku. Gaara, angry that Sasuke didn't hurt him, told Sasuke that he was weak and that his hatred isn't strong enough which is similar to what Itachi had told Sasuke the night he killed the clan. Sasuke tried to use Chidori for a third time, but it depleted his chakra and causes his curse seal to activate.

Too exhausted to move out of the way, Gaara was about to land a hit on Sasuke when Naruto and Sakura arrive just in time to save him. Gaara again tries to attack Sasuke, who hasn't moved and was trying to push his curse seal back, but Sakura stood up to protect him resulting in her being pinned to the tree by one of Gaara's hands. Gaara left his hand on the tree and told Naruto that unless Naruto can defeat him, Sakura will die as the sand around her gets tighter. Naruto was at first easily repelled by Gaara, but managed put a bomb on him, after much effort, which doesn't hurt Gaara, but destroyed his form. Sasuke, still covered by the curse marks shielded Naruto from the explosion and then told Naruto that he has to save Sakura and run, that he would be able to hold Gaara off for a little while, saying "Never again..., I already lost everything once before..., I don't ever want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again." This makes Naruto remember what Haku said and realized that true power comes in protecting someone else. This sudden epiphany filled him with determination and he tapped into the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's chakra and created 1999 shadow clones, shocking Sasuke, Gaara, Temari, Pakkun and Gamakichi. Naruto tells Sasuke to take it easy and leave the rest up to him.

Sasuke watched as Naruto defeated Gaara after a long and hard battle, during which Gaara transformed into the life-sized version of Shukaku and Naruto along with Gamabunta transformed into the demon fox's form. Sasuke was amazed by Naruto's power. Later on, Sakura, who had been unconscious for most of the fight, thanked Sasuke for saving her; Sasuke told her that Naruto was the one who saved her, not him (while this was happening, Naruto was asking Kakashi if he could teach him the Chidori. This was obviously impossible, since Naruto didn't have the necessary speed, the Sharingan, and the lightning affinity).
[edit] Defection from Konoha

Sasuke's willpower was surprisingly strong enough to hold back the cursed seal, and after Kakashi performed his Evil Sealing Method technique on him, the cursed seal entered a dormant state that remained as long as the Evil Sealing Method was fueled by Sasuke's will. However, a series of events unfolded that changed Sasuke's outlook on life, causing a regression back into his former absolute fixation on revenge. With Sasuke already pressured by a growing jealousy over witnessing Naruto's leaps of improvement and — culminating when Naruto defeated Gaara — Itachi visited Konoha in search of Naruto and the demon fox, and upon challenging him, Sasuke was subjected to the Mangekyo Sharingan for the second time by Itachi, and the beating he received drove him over the edge, returning him to his original goal: gaining enough power to kill his brother. Also, in the anime, Team 7's journey to the Land of Tea resulted in another humiliation for Sasuke and another victory for Naruto. Aoi of the Rain also taunted Sasuke with the fact that Itachi was better than him and called him a hopeless weakling. This infuriated Sasuke even more, and the fact that he was defeated which led Naruto to saving the day.

When Naruto returns from his search for Tsunade (in the anime, after they return from the Land of Tea), Sasuke immediately challenged him to a fight (right after heartlessly knocking away a gift of chopped apples presented to him by Sakura), enraged that Itachi was more interested in Naruto's power than he was in Sasuke's. The two go to the roof of the hospital, where Sasuke reiterates that he is the superior of the two. Naruto retorted that he never considered himself to be inferior to Sasuke, and that their headbands indicated they were equals, but Sasuke refused to wear his. With that, Sasuke and Naruto sparred with such intensity that Kakashi has to stop them from duelling Chidori and Rasengan on each other. Kakashi deflectd their attacks into adjacent water towers, and Sasuke momentarily revels in the sight of his tower being more damaged, taking this as proof his Chidori was stronger than Naruto's Rasengan. However, upon closer inspection, Sasuke was shocked to find that the back of Naruto's tower had completely been blown out by the power of the Rasengan indicating if Kakashi had not stepped in he would have suffered major or even fatal damage from the attack.

Frustrated by Naruto's increasing power, Sasuke was lectured by Kakashi, who told Sasuke that his comrades are the most important thing about being a Konoha ninja, and that Chidori should never be used on a fellow team member. Sasuke seemed slightly receptive of Kakashi's message, but he has no time to contemplate any of it. As soon as Kakashi left, Orochimaru's Sound Four (Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon) attacked. Sasuke tried his best, but his every attempt was rendered useless, even the curse mark was not strong enough considering that they each had one of their own. Sakon proceeded to goad Sasuke by telling him that if the Sound Four could beat him so easily, he had no chance of ever exacting revenge on Itachi. The Sound Four then extended an invitation to Sasuke: Follow them to the village of Sound and align himself with Orochimaru, who in turn would grant him the power he so desperately wanted.

For this cause, Sasuke decided to take Orochimaru up on his offer, advancing his Cursed Seal into Stage Two instead of attempting to contain it, and turning his back on Konoha in the process. As he snuck out of the village, Sakura found him, and soon understood the magnitude of what he was about to do. Desperate not to lose Sasuke, Sakura did anything and everything she could think of, confessing her love for him and even offering to join his twisted journey so they at least could be together. Sasuke's cryptic last words before swiftly knocking her out and departing were "Sakura..., thank you".

A Genin team consisting of Naruto, Kiba Inuzuka, Neji Hyuga and Choji Akimichi and led by Chunin Shikamaru Nara was sent to retrieve Sasuke, but encountered opposition from Orochimaru's Sound Four, who, by activating their cursed seals, could overpower Jonin-level ninjas. Naruto managed to reach Sasuke with tremendous aid from his teammates, several of whom were critically wounded. It was revealed that in his famous speech after slaughtering the Uchiha clan, Itachi did not only tell Sasuke to "run, run away and cling to your rechid life", but also that he would only be able to match him in battle when he had the Mangekyo Sharingan - which could only be attained by killing one's best friend, which was now Naruto for Sasuke.

Naruto refused to accept Sasuke's decision and decided to drag Sasuke back to the village by force if he had to. They therefore engaged in battle, with Sasuke initially having the upper hand thanks to his cursed seal and Sharingan. When he managed to pierce Naruto's right shoulder with his Chidori, however, the demon fox's chakra kicked in to protect Naruto, giving him a massive power increase.

With the demon fox's chakra now active, Naruto easily tossed Sasuke about in an attempt to knock some sense into him. Sasuke merely retorted that Naruto could never understand what it's like to lose family members, as he never had them to begin with. Naruto reasons that Sasuke is like a brother to him, therefore he will not let him destroy that bond. Accepting Naruto's strength, Sasuke puts on his headband to indicate this point and his Sharingan fully develops, forming three tomoe in each eye. He still scoffed at the idea that Naruto would even be able to scratch his forehead. The battle from this point onward tipped towards Sasuke's favor, with Naruto barely managing to keep up. Though Naruto lands a couple hits, he was injured once again by a piledriver from a high cliff by Sasuke. Like with his previous injury, the demon fox's chakra once again came to his rescue, enveloping him in a fox-shaped shield of chakra and boosting his power once more.

With the demon fox's chakra shield, Naruto was again more than Sasuke can handle, even with his cursed seal active. During the fight, Sasuke realized that his brother must have been more interested in Naruto because of the strange power he has, though the source of that power still escaped him. To counter Naruto's power, Sasuke activated the second stage of his cursed seal, becoming a demonic figure with a pair of huge, hand-like wings sprouting from his back. The two are now even and in fairly bad shape (their respective states, though powerful, are also detrimental to their bodies), so they finished their battle with a final display of power. Naruto attacked with his signature Rasengan (enhanced by the demon fox's chakra) and Sasuke attacked with his Chidori (also enhanced by his current state). Upon impact, a massive dome of black energy formed around them. Sasuke was able to punch Naruto in the chest and knock him out while Naruto scratched Sasuke's head band.

After the energy dome dissipated, Sasuke was seen to be the victor, now standing over an unconscious Naruto. He considered killing Naruto, but realized that doing so would be exactly what Itachi wanted him to do. Leaving behind his headband, which fell off from Naruto's last attack, Sasuke made his way to Orochimaru. While doing so, Sasuke resolved to surpass Itachi in his own way, instead of relying on the same skill Itachi used.