The young Uchiha Itachi was a skilled prodigy of Leaf Village. He graduated the Ninja Academy at age 7 and passed the Chuunin Exam at age 10. By age 13 Itachi had become a captain in the special ANBU squad. Itachi began to grow dissatisfied with his clan, feeling they were not using their gifts to their fullest extent. To test his potential he murdered his best friend Shisui. Doing so granted him the ability to use the Mangekyou Sharingan, a rare Sharingan form seen only in a few select clan members. To gain this form Itachi believed you had to kill your closest friend.
After murdering Shisui, Itachi turned against his clan. Itachi felt that Sasuke could also gain the Mangekyou, and felt that murdering the clan would drive Sasuke to his absolute limits, to one day gain the Mangekyou as well.
After wiping out his clan, Itachi fled Leaf and joined the Akatsuki Organization. Several years after leaving, Itachi returned with fellow member Hoshigaki Kisame. It was during this period it was revealed Akatsuki was seeking to obtain the Kyuubi demon from inside Naruto for their own ends. The two men began to do battle with Hidden Leaf ninja but when they began to be outnumbered, they fled.
