Itachi's Crow in Naruto

In the Naruto series, Shisui Uchiha, a skilled shinobi from the Uchiha clan, possessed a powerful Mangekyo Sharingan ability called Kotoamatsukami. He had a noble intention to use this ability to prevent the Uchiha clan from carrying out their planned coup d'état against Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village.

However, before Shisui could enact his plan, his right Mangekyo Sharingan was taken by Danzō Shimura, a high-ranking member of the village's leadership. Fearing that Danzō would also come after his remaining eye and potentially misuse its power, Shisui made a drastic decision. He removed his left eye, the last remaining Mangekyo Sharingan, and entrusted it to his best friend, Itachi Uchiha. who he believed would use it to protect the village. The eye was later implanted into a crow to keep it safe.

In the novel "Itachi Shinden: Book of Dark Night," to safeguard the eye, Shisui merged it with a crow that happened to be passing by. Surprisingly, the crow did not resist the merging process, and once the procedure was complete, it nodded in acknowledgment and flew away into the night. From that moment on, the crow became a guardian of Shisui's eye, following Itachi closely from high above, even during significant events such as Itachi's departure from Konoha after the Uchiha Clan Downfall.

Itachi Pursuit Mission

Itachi Uchiha, in his desire to protect Konohagakure and prevent his younger brother Sasuke from causing harm to the village, devised a plan involving a crow clone. Itachi's crow clone approached Naruto Uzumaki to gather information about Sasuke.

During their encounter, the clone questioned Naruto about his relationship with Sasuke, to which Naruto declared that he considered himself more of a brother to Sasuke than Itachi was. As Naruto attempted to attack, Itachi's clone cast a genjutsu, enveloping Naruto in a swarm of crows. Within this genjutsu, the clone raised the question of what Naruto would do if Sasuke were to attack Konoha.

In response, Naruto made a firm commitment to protect the village without resorting to killing Sasuke. The clone, with a smile, had one of the crows descend into Naruto's throat, explaining that its power would hopefully never be necessary. Naruto sought an explanation, but Itachi's clone dispersed, stating that it had other matters to attend to.

Later on, when Itachi encountered Naruto again, he provided an explanation for the purpose of the crow. Itachi had programmed Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan, which he had entrusted to Itachi, with a technique called Kotoamatsukami. This genjutsu was designed to manipulate anyone possessing Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan, compelling them to act in defense of Konoha.

Itachi anticipated that Sasuke would eventually need to replace his own eyes, which would succumb to blindness due to the use of the Mangekyo Sharingan. When Sasuke underwent this eye transplantation, Itachi expected him to turn against Konoha. Itachi saw Naruto as the ideal candidate to confront Sasuke in such a situation, as Naruto's resolve to protect the village would make him both the suitable recipient and deliverer of the crow and its eye.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Itachi Uchiha is unexpectedly revived by Kabuto Yakushi using the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu. Although Itachi is reluctant to fight against his fellow Konoha shinobi, Kabuto compels him to face off against Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B. In the midst of the battle, Itachi activates his Mangekyo Sharingan, which triggers the crow embedded within Naruto's body.

As the crow emerges from Naruto's mouth, it employs the power of Kotoamatsukami, overriding Kabuto's control over Itachi. The genjutsu's command to protect Konoha takes precedence, and Itachi finds himself aligning with Naruto and B to confront Nagato, who poses a threat to their village.

However, Itachi realizes that by prematurely using Shisui's transplanted Mangekyo Sharingan eye to activate Kotoamatsukami, his original plan has been thwarted. The eye is designed to utilize Kotoamatsukami only once every decade, but Itachi's current situation has forced him to use it prematurely. Understanding the risks involved, Itachi decides to prevent Shisui's eye from falling into the wrong hands.

In a decisive move, Itachi uses his Amaterasu technique to engulf and destroy the crow, ensuring that the eye's power cannot be misused. By sacrificing this opportunity, Itachi safeguards the integrity of Shisui's eye and prevents its potential exploitation.

There isn't much information available regarding Itachi's Crow's personality as it was introduced in the series as Itachi's Summon and did not showcase any kind of personality traits. As with most of the summons, it abided by its summoner’s commands.

Itachi's crow, as depicted in the Naruto series, appears as a normal-sized crow with black feathers. Its appearance is typical of a crow found in nature, with no distinct markings or distinguishing features. It doesn't possess any noticeable physical alterations that would suggest its connection to Itachi or Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan.

Itachi's crow possesses a unique ability associated with the implanted left Mangekyo Sharingan of Shisui Uchiha. This ability is known as Kotoamatsukami, a powerful genjutsu technique. When activated, Kotoamatsukami allows the user to manipulate the thoughts and actions of the target without them being aware of it.

The crow's role is to serve as a guardian of Shisui's eye and the Kotoamatsukami ability. Itachi programmed the eye to use Kotoamatsukami on anyone who possesses Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan, compelling them to protect Konohagakure.

Apart from the manga and anime series, Itachi's Crow also appears in the light novel, titled “Itachi Shinden: Book of Dark Night.” It is also a part of the Naruto game, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations.