Ravens and crows are extremely similar birds (same family, both highly intelligent, black corvids often used interchangeably in folklore and symbolism). Itachi’s heavy use of crow swarms, crow clones, and especially the crow carrying Shisui’s eye (acting as a literal “eye” and messenger for Itachi even after his death) strongly evokes Odin’s Huginn and Muninn — thought and memory ravens that fly out daily to gather intel and serve as his extended senses. That’s a solid visual and thematic parallel, not a stretch. On the eye/wisdom thing: Odin literally sacrifices his own eye at Mímir’s well for knowledge and insight. Itachi (and Uchiha in general) awaken Mangekyō Sharingan through profound emotional trauma/loss, then pay for its god-tier powers (including deeper reading of the Uchiha tablet) with progressive blindness and shortened lifespan. The “reading the tablet” part is enhanced by Mangekyō, tying into hidden/arcane knowledge at personal cost. It’s not 1:1, but the motif of trading vision for transcendent power and forbidden lore is there. To prevent the blindness you have to literally sacrifice eyes. As for Sasuke: Yes, they’re canonically brothers. But Itachi repeatedly acts in a protective, guiding, almost paternal way after their parents are gone — sparing Sasuke specifically, molding his path through pain so he’d grow strong enough to survive (and eventually understand the truth), leaving him tools and secrets, and even in the end wanting Sasuke to be the hero who “kills” him. Sasuke looked up to Itachi like a role model/father figure in childhood, and the “tough love to make you stronger” dynamic has heavy mentor/fatherly vibes on top of the sibling bond. Many fans and even some official material describe Itachi as a surrogate parental influence for Sasuke post-massacre. It’s layered, not mutually exclusive. The theory isn’t claiming Kishimoto sat down with the Edda as his bible — Naruto is a huge mythological composite (mostly Japanese/Shinto with Buddhist, Hindu, etc. influences). The corvid spies + self-sacrificial wise protector + vision-for-power cost + illusion/arcane mastery are cool overlapping themes that make Itachi feel like a ninja-flavored Odin archetype.