The world of shinobi is not only filled withdangerous missions and powerful ninjutsu, there’s also conflicts and grudges that can cause the downfall of a nation. Even a powerful country can be dragged to the ground because of chaotic internal conflicts. Because just like in the real world, issues related to politics and socioeconomics are also incredibly important to the citizens of the ninja world.
One of the biggest and most devastating cases of internal conflicts happens in Konoha,one of the five most powerful ninja villagesin the world. This conflict will always be remembered as one of the darkest and bloodiest periods in the history of this village. Because it involves one of the strongest clans in Konoha, the Uchiha. From their troubling past to their tragic end, this all you need to know about the Uchiha Rebellion.
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The Uchiha Clan
The history of the Uchiha Clan dates all the way back to the foundation of shinobi itself. After all, they are the direct descendants of the mythical Sage of the Six Path himself. That is why every member of the Uchiha Clan is blessed withone of the strongest Doujutsu (Visual Jutsu) in existence, the Sharingan.
The Uchiha is a clan that thrives in battle. As a matter of fact, one of their ancestors was said to be one of the strongest shinobi in history.His name is Madara Uchiha, and he lived during the time when the Uchiha was always engaged in a never ending battle with the Senju Clan. As it happened, the other strongest shinobi that could rival the might of Madara is none other than the leader of the Senju, Hashirama Senju.
Eventually, the Senju and the Uchiha decided to live together in peace. Not only that, they also come together to build the village known as Konoha, withSenju Hashirama as the first Hokage, while Madara Uchiha is responsible for the security of the village, sort of like the police force of Konoha. And that has been the role of the Uchiha Clan till this day.
The Uchiha Rebellion
The spark of rebellion has always existed in the heart of the Uchiha Clan. After all, they always consider themselves as the strongest clan in Konoha, and yet they always felt that they got the short end of the stick compared to the other clans in the village. All because one of their ancestors,Uchiha Madara, happened to be the biggest criminal in the history of Shinobi. When a group of prideful people feels a collective discontent, you can expect bad things to happen.
The seed of rebellion begins when the Nine-Tailed Fox suddenly comes to attack Konoha. This catastrophic incident killed lots of Konoha’s shinobi, includingthe Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. The Tailed-Beasts are considered as a natural calamity, but over the years people began to suspect that there was something suspicious about the sudden appearance of the Nine-Tailed Fox on that fateful day. They began to think that there was actually somebody who controlled the raging beast. And the only people who have that sort of power are the Uchiha and their Sharingan.
Due to the pressure from the masses, the higher-ups in Konoha finally decided to change the location of the Uchiha HQ to the outskirts of the village, effectively isolating them from the other citizens. Not only that, they were also put under heavysurveillance by Anbu and the agents from the Root. It goes without saying that Uchiha felt angry and disappointed for the unfair treatment that they have received from Konoha’s top brass.
Unable to contain their anger, the Uchiha Clan, under the leadership ofItachi and Sasuke’sfather, Fugaku Uchiha, decided to attempt a coup d’etat. But first, they need information about the leaders of Konoha. In order to do that, they told the elite members of the Uchiha to infiltrate various important organizations in Konoha, and relay every information that they got to the Clan. One of those spies is Itachi, when he was part of the Anbu, Hokage’s personal secret troops.
What his father and the rest of the Uchiha didn’t realize, however, was the fact thatItachi never actually had any intention of being a traitor. Because he knew that a coup would only weaken the village, which in turn would allow the other nations to take advantage of the situation and potentially attack Konoha. The result would be catastrophic and tons of innocent people could lose their lives. So he decided to be a double agent, and report everything about the Uchiha back to the Third Hokage. Things were only getting more complicated from there, until the inevitable tragedy finally happened.
The Uchiha Massacre
Itachi received the news about the Uchiha’s imminent coup d’etat, and reported it to the leaders of Konoha. The third Hokage intended to talk things over with the Uchihas and maybe found a common ground between them. However,Danzo disagrees. In his mind, the only way to stop the attack of a powerful clan like the Uchiha was to attack them first. So he came to Itachi, with a nefarious plan.
Danzo askedItachi to kill his own family and Clan, before they got the chance to mobilize. He said that there’s no other way to save the village. As someone who longs for peace and loves Konoha very much, Itachi knows that he has to make that sacrifice. So on that gloomy night, Itachi infiltrated the Uchina Clan HQ, and massacred every single member of his Clan, including his own parents, leaving only his little brother, Sasuke, as the last surviving member of the Uchiha Clan.
