chuunin_archive | Itachi and his Sharingan. (Reply)

Okay - so Itachi keeps his Sharingan on all of the time.

But why does he do it?

Personally, I think he leaves it on more for his protection than anything else. From Itachi's cryptic behaviour towards Sasori upon his asking of details about the Kyuubi Jinchikuri, I think we can see that trust isn't a fundamental element behind the formation of the Akatsuki. They're all well aware that they're a collection of S-rank criminals, and are probably together simply due to the fact that they all share a common interest. Kishimoto hasn't EXACTLY shown what this is, but I'm assuming that they want to be the most powerful shinobi alive. This is shown through what we've seen of the pasts of some of the Akatsuki members:

*Itachi killing his clan to test his capacity and prove that he's more powerful than anyone who was part of the Uchiha clan
*Kisame attempting to overthrow the Mizukage with his Seven Swordsmen brethren
*Sasori attempting to amass power by absorbing people into his being

Zetsu could also gain powers from the people whom he consumes, but that's only speculation.

This quest for power would also be a strong reason behind why Orochimaru and the Akatsuki simply cannot get along. Orochimaru isn't willing to share the power, but on this note, eventually someone would wish to be more powerful than the other members in the Akatsuki - Orochi probably just left while the getting was good.

Also, to refer back to the trust issue, the pairs that were formed to seek out the Jinchikuri seem to be pairs that got along the best. Of course, with a pairing like Deidara and Sasori, the conflict there (over art, no less) show that even within a powerful group such as Akatsuki, pettiness and selfishness prevail over bonds that could aid in their survival and longevity.

So, in conclusion, Itachi keeps that Sharingan active to make sure no one shanks him when he's not paying attention.

But as to why Kisame and he get along as they do - that's yet a mystery to me.