Get to know about the hero of the hidden leaf village before Naruto stepped in.
Itachi Uchiha is one of the most well-written characters in the Naruto series. His life was a life full of pain and suffering, right until his death. He is the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha and was a truly gifted Shinobi during his academy days. At the age of 13, he was at the same level as most Jonin level Shinobi and was hence given a position in the Anbu Black Ops. This was when he got to know about his clan’s plans about rioting against the hidden leaf village for being oppressed by the villagers. This was also the beginning of Itachi’s suffering.
Murdering his clan and joining the Akatsuki
Once the village elders got to know about the coup that was being staged by the Uchihas, they decided to wipe out the whole clan. Itachi realized that if the Uchihas had their way, the Shinobi world would be engulfed in war once again. So, it was him that told the elders. He also said that he will be killing his clan and is prepared to live his life as a terrorist. So leaving his small brother Sasuke, he killed everyone, including their parents, with the help of Tobi from the Akatsuki, who later revealed himself to be Obito Uchiha, Kakashi’s old teammate whom everyone thought had died long ago.
Itachi spent the rest of his days with the Akatsuki and worked as a supplier of intelligence to the leaf. But except for the 3rd Hokage and elders, everyone considered Itachi as a traitor.
Later on, Itachi let himself be killed by Sasuke so that he could be freed from his life of suffering, but it was only until much later that Sasuke and the rest of the Leaf got to learn about all the sacrifices Itachi had made.