After all, why did Itachi smile before he died in Naruto?

 

One of the most anticipated moments in Naruto was the final battle between the brothers Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha. Assassinating Itachi was Sasuke's priority since the episode and the main motivator of his actions. But when he finally managed to bring his parents' killer to his death, Sasuke was greeted not with curses, but with a smile... Why did Itachi smile before he died anyway?

He was smiling because his plan had worked.

Itachi's plan, after the infamous Uchiha Genocide, was for Sasuke to become strong enough to defeat him. That way, he would become a hero in Konoha's eyes and bring the Uchiha name to light.

Since the creation of Konoha, the Uchiha have been seen as dangerous by the rest of the Village, largely because of their ability to control tailed beasts and Madara's behavior.

This culminated in the Uchiha's exclusion from the highest hierarchical levels of the Village and literal isolation from the clan, which was basically in an alternate part of Konoha.

This type of prejudice, added to the manipulation of superior forces in the affairs of the Village, generated great dissatisfaction among the leaders and Uchiha who, in revolt, planned a Coup d'Etat.

Son of the clan leader, Itachi knew that nothing good could come of this. And after all, plans to resolve the matter peacefully were stifled by Danzou Shimura, the solution found was the complete extermination of the Uchiha. What was accomplished by Itachi and Obito in just one night?

Itachi's demand for participating in this vile act was that the village leaders would protect Sasuke, his younger brother. He would be told the lying story that Itachi would have murdered his entire clan in search of power.

Itachi would take care of creating more hatred in Sasuke's heart by tormenting him on the day of the genocide with one of the cruelest executions of his Tsukuyomi: forcing young Sasuke to relive the death of his parents in his mind for days.

That way, Itachi would be in charge of cleaning the clan of its cursed roots that separated them from Konoha, while creating an Uchiha hero that would be more well-received.

Itachi's plan was to wipe the records of Uchiha history and start a new one, built through the "hero" Sasuke.

And when, at the end of the fight between the two, more than a decade after the start of the plan, Sasuke was finally strong enough to challenge Itachi... The plan had been successfully completed.

The only loose end in Itachi's plan was Obito. He knew the whole truth. And he was a first-rate manipulator. Itachi knew this and prepared himself by implanting a use of Amaterasu in Sasuke's eyes. A trap that would trigger once he made contact with Obito's Sharingan.

Once again, Itachi's plan succeeded.

What he didn't know was that Obito had prepared for it and managed to survive the attack. Eventually, he spills the truth to Sasuke, who in turn comes to hate Konoha for putting his brother through such suffering...

Naruto Shippuden was shown between the years 2007 and 2017, counting the second phase of the anime. In it, Naruto returns after two years of training with the mission to fight Akatsuki and rescue Sasuke from the clutches of Orochimaru.

In all, the anime has 500 episodes, ending the story of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi and preparing the ground for the direct continuation of the story.

The anime can be followed in full on  Crunchyroll, along with classic Naruto and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, its direct sequel.