The Uchiha clan (うちは一族, Uchiha Ichizoku) is the founding clan of Konohagakure[1] and one of the four noble clans. They are famed to be the village's strongest because of their Sharingan and natural combat abilities[2]. Some members possess the kekkei genkai, Sharingan, a kekkei genkai inherited from the Ōtsutsuki Clan and one of the "Three Great Dōjutsu". They were previously in charge of the Konoha Military Police Force until their deaths during the Uchiha Downfall. Currently headed by Sasuke Uchiha, few Uchiha now survive into the present day.
Background[]
Founding[]
The Uchiha clan are descendants of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, through Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's and his eldest son, Indra Ōtsutsuki's lineage. As a result, they are also distant cousins of the Senju, Uzumaki, Hyūga and Kaguya clans. Through Indra, the Uchiha inherited Hagoromo's "eyes", granting them powerful spiritual energy and large chakra reserves. Due to their "Curse of Hatred" first displayed by Indra, the Uchiha are subject to powerful emotions. These emotions typically start as love for a friend or family member that then become overpowering hatred when the object of their love is lost. This loss, whether actually experienced or merely threatened, awakens an Uchiha's Sharingan. It is due to the Sharingan that the Uchiha have received much of their fame and notoriety.
The Uchiha have been fighting the Senju clan for centuries, a rivalry that traces back to the days of Indra and his younger brother, Asura[3]. When the Sage of Six Paths was dying, he selected Asura as his successor, believing Asura's desire for peace through love was better than Indra's peace through power. Indra, driven by his Curse of Hatred, fought Asura to claim what he believed was his birthright. The Uchiha and Senju, descendants of Indra and Asura respectively, continued their battle through the centuries, though none still remembered this reason for their conflict.
By the time of the Warring States Period, the Uchiha and Senju had emerged as the strongest shinobi clans in the world[4][5]. When one of the fledgling countries of the era would hire the Uchiha to fight in their wars, the opposing side would hire the Senju[6]. The constant warfare between their clans only fueled their hatred, with all Uchiha owing the death of a loved one to an Senju and vice versa. But centuries of conflict began to wear on members of the clans; Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju met as children and became friends, bonding over their disapproval of the combat and death that they and their younger brothers were constantly subjected to and dreaming of a time when children wouldn't need to fight. Unable to do anything about the world at their age, Madara turned away from their dreams.
Madara and Hashirama continued to face each other in battle over the coming years. Driven by his desire to defeat Hashirama and through competition with his younger brother, Izuna, Madara became the first Uchiha to awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan. With its increased power he took control of the Uchiha. Hashirama, by then leader of the Senju, tried to use their positions to broker peace between them and finally achieve their childhood dreams. Despite growing interest in peace amongst the Uchiha, Madara was unwilling to agree to peace after Izuna was killed by Hashirama's brother, Tobirama. Using Izuna's eyes to acquire "eternal" Mangekyō, Madara challenged the Senju for supremacy one final time[7]. He was defeated, but even then refused Hashirama's offer of peace, insisting that Hashirama kill himself first. When Hashirama agreed to these terms, Madara was moved to accept, withdrawing his request for Hashirama's death[8].
Konohagakure[]
The Uchiha unified with Senju and made a pact with the Land of Fire to create a hidden village within its borders, what would become Konohagakure. Other clans settled in Konoha to share their peace and Konoha's model was adopted across the shinobi world, ending the turmoil of the era[9]. When it came time to select Konoha's First Hokage, Konoha's leader, the villagers selected Hashirama. Madara interpreted this as the first step in the Senju's supremacy over the Uchiha and tried to rally his clan to take control of the village. Weary of the fighting, the Uchiha ignored him, prompting him to leave the village[10]. He later returned, challenging Hashirama at what would become the Valley of the End and dying in battle.
The Uchiha and Senju clans truce.
Hashirama did not wish for Madara's actions to be held against the rest of the Uchiha, a wish that was not followed: his successor as Hokage, Tobirama, was wary of the Uchiha, believing they could never be convinced to fully commit to Konoha's best interests. For this reason he created the Konoha Military Police Force which he left the Uchiha in charge of, officially as a sign of good faith but what many Uchiha interpreted as the start of their clan's isolation from Konoha's affairs[11]. As the decades passed, a growing number of Uchiha came to believe that Madara had been right to fear ostracism from the Senju[12].
After the Third Shinobi World War, many members believed that Fugaku Uchiha, their head, should become the Fourth Hokage. However, Fugaku was not even considered as a suitable Hokage and the title passed to a disciple of the Senju, much to the Uchiha Clan's protests. A few months later, the Nine-Tails Attack took place and Fugaku believed that the Military Police Force should aid in Konoha's defense due to their innate ability to control the bijū. Before they could jon, the higher-ups told Fugaku to patrol the borders instead due to their apparent suspicion that the Uchiha Clan was behind the attack, believing that the Sharingan could also be used to control the Nine Tails and attack Konoha. Fugaku complied without comment. After the attack, the Uchiha were relocated in a compound in the outskirts of the village with the pretext of being "necessary" for the reconstruction. Konoha Council thought of the attack to be the first step of insubordination and used it to convince others that the Uchiha Clan was behind the attack[13].
Under the leadership of Fugaku Uchiha, the Uchiha began plotting a coup d'état to overthrow the Third Hokage and his government[10]. They strategically placed some of their members within the ANBU in order to spy on Konoha, but some of these very spies disagreed with the Uchiha's plans, believing an Uchiha coup would only begin a world war. Shisui Uchiha tried to use his Kotoamatsukami to force the Uchiha to stop their plans, but he was prevented from doing so by Danzō Shimura. Danzō after that approached Itachi Uchiha, a longtime double agent for Konoha, and gave him an ultimatum: allow the Uchiha to carry out their coup, inevitably ending with the eradication of all Uchiha, or Itachi could wipe out the Uchiha before they had the chance, and in exchange he could spare his younger brother, Sasuke. Itachi chose the latter[14].
Uchiha Clan massacre.
Before assassinating his clan, Itachi sought out the help of Tobi, who he believed to be Madara Uchiha. In a single night, Itachi and Tobi wiped out the entire Uchiha clan, with Itachi taking responsibility of killing his parents. When he was discovered by Sasuke, Itachi pretended to be solely responsible for the attack, concealing Konoha's involvement and the fact that he did everything for Sasuke's safety. Overwhelmed with grief for killing his family and clan, Itachi wanted Sasuke to take revenge against him, and to do that, he began pushing Sasuke to get strong enough to kill him. In the meantime, he left Sasuke under the Third Hokage's care, due to the fact the Third had long desired a peaceful resolution to the Uchiha's grievances.
Post-Downfall[]
Only three Uchiha survived their clan's downfall: Itachi, though publicly acting as a criminal by joining Akatsuki, continued serving Konoha for the rest of his life until finally dying while fighting Sasuke; Sasuke, at Itachi's insistence, began seeking power at any cost so that he could someday kill Itachi, a pursuit that drove him to eventually defect from Konoha and become an international criminal; Tobi, real name Obito Uchiha, kept to the shadows for many years following his apparent death during the Third Shinobi World War, only taking public actions after Itachi's death so that he can gain Sasuke's assistance during the Fourth Shinobi World War[15]. From learning from Obito about what Konoha forced Itachi to do, Sasuke initially decided to destroy Konoha to take revenge. When he was able to talk with a reincarnated Itachi, however, he changed his mind, as Konoha's destruction would make all that Itachi sacrificed meaningless[16].
During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Madara Uchiha was temporally brought back to life. He and Obito joined forced in trying to use the Ten-Tails to enslave the world with the Infinite Tsukuyomi. After learning the truth from Itachi, Sasuke joined the Allied Shinobi Forces, and Obito, in time, sided against Madara. However, after being redeemed by Naruto Uzumaki, Obito gave his life to end the war and Madara died shortly afterwards, leaving Sasuke the last surviving Uchiha. From his subsequent battle with Naruto, Sasuke redeemed himself and escaped the Curse of Hatred that plagued the Uchiha for so long. Despite his years of criminal actions, his contributions to the victory in the Fourth Shinobi World War were enough for him to be pardoned for his crimes[17].
The current Uchiha Clan.
Years later, Sasuke married Sakura Haruno and have a daughter together, Sarada Uchiha, thus restarting the Uchiha line like Sasuke wished. At some point, Sasuke started following any traces left of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and left Sakura and Sarada as the only members of the Uchiha Clan present in Konoha. This secret mission was to be kept secret by the Five Kage and Sakura Uchiha, making selective information regarding Sasuke's history to be restricted from the general public, requiring special permits for consultation[18][19]. An experiment of Orochimaru, Shin, creates numerous clones of himself. Shin planned to use them to form his own pure line of the Uchiha clan, but his mistreatment of his clones causes them to turn against him and kill him. The clones settle in Konoha afterwards[20].
Abilities[]
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, the signature technique of the Uchiha.
The Uchiha were known for having an innate aptitude for all combat skills and an advanced growth rate. They also have an especially potent chakra quality and reserves, as well as a natural affinity for the fire nature transformation; Uchiha are not truly considered full-fledged clan members until they can successfully perform the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique[21]. Uchiha also frequently use ninja tools in combat, being best known for their proficiency in shurikenjutsu.
The Uchiha clan are most feared for their dōjutsu kekkei genkai, the Sharingan. They can use their Sharingan to see chakra, cast various genjutsu, and, most infamously, copy opponents' jutsu. The Sharingan is such a versatile ability that many ninja consider it wiser to flee than to face an Uchiha in a one-on-one combat[22]. Sharingan can be evolved into Mangekyō Sharingan by experiencing loss of a loved one, granting the user new and more powerful jutsu. Overuse of the Mangekyō eventually robs the Mangekyō of its sight, something that can only be restored by receiving another's eyes, preferably a sibling's, to create "eternal" Mangekyō. The Mangekyō's mechanics were long poorly misunderstood by the Uchiha, causing many to personally kill their loved ones to gain power.
Members[]
- Madara Uchiha: Defected from clan and succeeded by unknown.
- Fugaku Uchiha: The last head before the Uchiha Clan Downfall.
- Sasuke Uchiha: Head and patriarch of the Uchiha Clan post-Downfall.
Heirs[]
- Itachi Uchiha: Originally Fugaku's successor and disinherited due to his wayward beliefs.
- Sasuke Uchiha: Fugaku's successor after Itachi was disinherited.
- Sarada Uchiha: Sasuke's only child.
Trivia[]
- Uchiha is another way of pronouncing "uchiwa" (団扇, paper fan), the clan's symbol. Uchiwa can be used to fan flames, making the flame hotter, referring to the fact that the Uchiha is a clan of Fire Release users. Likewise, the "gunbai-uchiwa" that the crest resembles, is a tool used by military commanders to issue orders to troops.
- The Uchiha favored high-collared outfits with their crest proudly sewn on the back, a traditional attire choice within the clan. During the Warring States Period, the Uchiha refused to have any armour on their back in order to proudly display their clan's symbol. Over the generations, their attire has changed with their attire initially consisting of a dark coloured mantle along with pants, which later became simple shirts and pants, all the while retaining the high collar.
- Because of Sasuke's marriage to Sakura Haruno, her techniques (such as chakra enhanced strength) have been inherited and implemented in the Uchiha Clan.
- Many of the Uchiha Clan's jutsu (Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, etc.) are named after Shintō deities from the Japanese creation myth.
- The clan had various places affiliated with them:
- A senbei shop that was famous throughout the village.
- A shrine where the clan secretly met.
- A supply base in Sora-ku.
- A hideout that served as the arena for the final battle between Sasuke and Itachi.
References[]
- ↑ First Fanbook
- ↑ Naruto chapter 7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 671
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624
- ↑ Third Databook pages 192-193
- ↑ Naruto chapter 398
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Naruto chapter 399
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399
- ↑ Itachi Shinden: Book of Bright Light
- ↑ Naruto chapter 590
- ↑ Naruto chapter 642
- ↑ Naruto chapter 627
- ↑ Naruto chapter 699
- ↑ Naruto Gaiden chapter 5
- ↑ Boruto episode 19
- ↑ Naruto Gaiden chapter 10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 223
- ↑ Naruto chapter 257