In the anime, Izumi meets Itachi prior to them enrolling in the academy, where she asks him to join her and her playmates in a game, but he declines. When the other children begin bullying Itachi, she defends him and orders them to leave him alone, but Itachi scares the bullies when he deflects a rock back at one of the bullies before leaving. On the night of the Nine-Tails rampage, Izumi is crying out for her parents and is found by Itachi who saves her from being killed by debris. Along with the infant Sasuke, they take refuge in a shelter. Afterwards, she thanks Itachi for saving her and asks if she can hold Sasuke, to which Itachi refuses because she will make Sasuke cry. Izumi persists but Sasuke cries and Itachi takes him back, which makes Sasuke happy, but this leaves Izumi irritated.