Everyone treats Itachi like this tragic hero or 4D chess-playing mastermind, but let’s be real, his entire arc is a mess of bad decisions wrapped in plot armor and edgy aesthetics.
The dude massacres his entire clan, including children and his own loving parents, to “prevent a civil war.” Yeah, because clearly the best way to stop violence is to commit genocide on your own people while working with a bunch of old war criminals in the shadows. Why didn’t he expose the coup? Why not rally allies? Why not talk to anyone? Nah, just murder everybody and traumatize your little brother. Big brain move.
Speaking of Sasuke: what kind of sociopath decides the best way to protect their younger sibling is by psychologically torturing them for years, encouraging them to become stronger through hate, and then throwing them at Orochimaru, a literal p-snake? He didn’t save Sasuke. He broke him.
And don’t even get me started on him joining Akatsuki. “Oh he was a double agent!” Bro was helping collect tailed beasts and directly caused chaos that led to thousands of deaths. But it’s okay because he cried one time and gave Naruto a bird in his mouth?
Itachi fans worship him like he’s some morally complex anti-hero when he’s really just a guy who made the worst possible choice at every fork in the road. His entire plan relies on an impossible amount of foresight, people reacting exactly how he expects, and zero accountability for his war crimes. But he’s “cool” and “tragic,” so that makes it deep, I guess.
TL;DR: Itachi isn’t a genius. He’s a war criminal with an emo filter, and his fanbase is in denial.