"A Mask That Hides The Heart"
It is said that you don't truly know a person. It's not possible to see what a person really thinks and feels deep inside. This is ignorance but not by choice. that person you lived with your whole life is but a stranger. The reality is you knew little to nothing about them. How can you begin to understand them.
Itachi Uchiha beared it all, all the pain. He was young he hadn't choosen the life he was forced to live. He didn't ask to be born into this world yet it happened anyway. No one can prevent thier own birth or what their destined to face. He was young it had all started when his father took him to see the aftermath of the war that he'd been able to identify who he really was. We all go through an event where we truly come to understand who we really are. Whether it's in the beginning of your life or the flash before your very own death. What was Itachi's purpose in living you may ask. Well once he saw all the deaths of the ninjas his main purpose was to be strong enough to come in between the fighting and stop it. So basically be a peacemaker. He had envisioned this at a young age. A very young age, four years old. you can argue that at this age you can't be certain that you've found your reason to live. Yet his reasoning was beyond his years. He hadn't come to know true love or his true purpose in life until he met the person who changed his life completely. He had been a bitter child and he kept to himself most of the time. Not because of a sense of superiority but because there was no one who interested him until he came, Sasuke. He was born into this world just like Itachi not knowing what would come ahead. Itachi felt this sensation of love, true love. Unlike love for his father or mother this was genuine a feeling that came naturally. Growing older Sasuke felt love for his elder brother that was unconditional. He loved his brother afterall Sasuke was his follower. it's only natural that the younger brother/sister(s) always look up to their older siblings. Sasuke wanted to follow in Itachi's footsteps not knowing the pain and resposibility he had to carry. He had carried all the pain but if he dropped it all he wouldn't be able to pick it back up.