POP Anbu Itachi (Naruto Shippuden)

To better understand who this character is behind his mask, we must go back to an earlier time, when Itachi Uchiha had not yet joined the Anbu forces. Originally, Itachi Uchiha (his identity being secret when he is part of the Anbu), was an outstanding member of his clan. He was the most gifted of all the Uchiha to have existed since the emergence of the fearsome Madara Uchiha whose name alone was legendary in Konoha.

Because of his many and varied skills, Itachi had no trouble rising through the ranks of the hidden village of Konoha. While others of his age were beginner ninjas and struggled to reach the rank of Genin, he became a superior ninja and already held the rank of Jônin. A feat that almost no shinobi had ever managed to achieve. But precisely because he was exceptional, Itachi was destined to become part of the village elite.

This elite, for many, had the particularity of belonging to a very specific order; it was the Anbu. The Anbu or "Ansatsu, Senjutsu, Tokushu Butai" is a special unit whose name literally means "Special Tactics and Assassination Squad". In principle, this elite unit answered only to the orders of the Kage, but it had ended up forming a state within a state within the village of Konoha; a kind of secret society whose members' allegiance was questionable.

In this unit, all members were instructed to put a white mask on their face to conceal their identity. Generally, the members of the Anbu performed the same missions as any other shinobi in the village, but sometimes they were asked to perform special missions that required them to put on their masks on certain occasions.

Itachi was one of the most outstanding members of this elite corps, and was very much appreciated by Danzo who was its leader. A particularly unscrupulous chief who ordered Itachi to eradicate his own clan because it represented a threat for the village. Mission that Itchi accomplished before having to desert the village.

The Funko POP figure of Itachi with his Anbu mask reminds Naruto fans of the bloody night when he murdered all the members of the Uchiha family. Unlike the usual shinobi, the Anbu members do not wear the same uniform. Instead, as shown in the Anbu Itachi figure, Anbu members wear metal-looking protectors on their torso and forearms.

The POP figure of Anbu Itachi is shown kneeling, a Tantô in one hand and a kunai in the other, his implacable gaze where the Sharingan is displayed staring straight ahead. The mask of the Anbu from the Anbu Itachi Funko POP is slid to the side, this one looking like a cat's face. So, there is no doubt that the Funko POP of Itachi Anbu represents him the tragic night when he murdered his whole clan and left only his little brother Sasuke alive. This was his last mission for Konoha, which forced him to go into exile as a deserter ninja.