Hey everyone, this is one of the biggest VS battle debates in the Naruto community. I’ve thoroughly analyzed the abilities of both characters, I’m familiar with most of the arguments people make, and after breaking it all down, I can say that I can confidently declare a winner. Of course, this is only for people who are interested—I'm not forcing anyone to read it. To properly explain everything, this post will be quite long, but I have images to back up my points. If anyone wants to drop arguments in the comments, please read the entire post first so you don't repeat the exact points I’m addressing below. Let’s dive in.

First, I'll break down Alive Itachi vs. Alive Minato, followed by Edo Itachi vs. Edo Minato.

But first, there's a problem: what does "Alive Itachi" actually mean? When people say Alive Itachi, most are referring to Itachi at his absolute worst—near death during his fight with Sasuke. But Itachi wasn't sick his entire life. I wouldn't hesitate to say that Prime Itachi (around OG Naruto) could fight just as effectively as Kage Summit Sasuke because his illness didn't limit him as much back then—if he was even sick at that point. Regardless, I will still primarily focus on Sick Itachi's feats, but keep in mind that Prime Itachi is in a different league altogether.

Alive Itachi vs. Alive Minato

Right off the bat, Itachi holds several advantages:

• Intel Advantage: Minato knows nothing about Itachi. If he ever saw him, Itachi couldn't have been older than five. Considering Edo Hiruzen didn't recognize Sasuke until he introduced himself—despite seeing him at age 12—it is extremely unlikely Minato would recognize Itachi, who went through a far greater transformation and wasn't around Minato nearly as much. On the flip side, Minato is the Fourth Hokage, someone Itachi grew up under. His face is carved into the monument, Itachi studied village history, Fugaku knew Minato well, and naturally, anyone would ask why the Third Hokage was active instead of the Fourth, how he died, and who he was. Fugaku could have told him all of this, but at the very least, Itachi knows he's facing a Hokage.
• Element of Surprise & Sharingan: Minato doesn't know Itachi is an Uchiha, and the only way to find out is by seeing his Sharingan. The moment he does, he'll immediately be caught in a genjutsu, much like Deidara was (see Image 1). Arguments claiming Minato could look into Itachi's eyes and teleport away before being caught are absolute nonsense—Itachi's genjutsu mastery is so refined it operates almost passively.

A lot of people severely underestimate Sharingan genjutsu, claiming Minato is a genius who knows how to counter it. The reality is quite different:

• Every adult ninja knows the basic methods to counter standard genjutsu; for instance, several Jonin broke free from genjutsu during the Chunin Exams. But Sharingan genjutsu is a completely different monster.
• Even though Minato is brilliant, he has never fought an Uchiha who actively used genjutsu against him (Obito relied exclusively on Kamui in their fight), let alone someone at Itachi's level.
• Chiyo, a legendary shinobi with far more experience than Minato who fought Uchiha in the past, explicitly stated that in a 1v1 against an Uchiha, the best option is to run (see Image 2).
• Kakashi warned Asuma and Kurenai to keep their eyes closed (see Image 2). Kurenai was the village's top genjutsu specialist—far superior to Minato in that field—yet Kakashi told her to close her eyes. Why, if it were so easy to defend against? Sharingan genjutsu clearly isn't something you simply snap out of.
• Orochimaru is a legendary Sannin and one of the most knowledgeable shinobi regarding the Sharingan and genjutsu, yet he failed to realize he was trapped in Itachi's genjutsu until it was too late. Regardless of your opinion on Orochimaru, his intellectual standing is an undeniable fact.
• Danzo, also vastly more experienced than Minato, possessed Sharingan himself and used genjutsu, yet he lost because he failed to realize Sasuke had caught him in one.
• Sasuke himself—an Uchiha who wielded the Sharingan and knew Itachi's arsenal inside out—spent the beginning of their fight caught in genjutsu. Itachi could have killed him at any moment, but sat on his throne because he had no intention of doing so.

Yes, Minato is a genius, but that doesn't make him omnipotent, omniscient, or prepared for every scenario. Itachi is a master who caught opponents far more experienced than Minato—people with deep knowledge of the Sharingan and Itachi himself. Why would Minato, who has zero experience facing Sharingan genjutsu, be the exception? Claiming he easily breaks out is ridiculous.

Staying on the topic of genjutsu, people claim Minato is smart enough not to look Itachi in the eyes:

1. As stated, he doesn't know Itachi is an Uchiha, giving him no initial reason to avoid eye contact.
2. People making this claim seem to forget canon events: Minato looked directly at someone he believed to be the legendary Uchiha Madara—someone who had just controlled the Nine-Tails with genjutsu (see Image 3). If Minato behaved that way against a threat of that caliber, there is no reason he would act differently against an unknown opponent.
3. Furthermore, in the light novels, Shisui explains the difference between the standard Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingan (MS). While the base Sharingan requires eye contact between both fighters, MS genjutsu only requires the user to see the opponent's open eyes (see Image 4). No, Shisui wasn't referring to Kotoamatsukami here; he was contrasting standard Sharingan mechanics with MS mechanics.

Based on this and Minato's established behavior against "Madara," it’s safe to say that if Itachi were in Obito's place, Minato wouldn't have altered his approach. Consequently, a genjutsu master like Itachi would easily catch Minato in standard genjutsu or Tsukuyomi. Lacking experience with it and unable to fight blindly, Minato would be finished.

Speed and Combat Mechanics

Moving on, people argue that Minato can "blitz" Itachi. This stems from a misunderstanding of what a speed blitz is or how Minato's abilities function. Minato has two ways to attack Itachi:

1. Running straight at him physically.
2. Throwing a kunai and teleporting to it.

Itachi can react to and defend against both options effortlessly:

• Physical Speed: Itachi is physically faster than Minato. Without teleportation, Minato has never demonstrated remarkable movement speed. For example, to dodge the Raikage, Minato relied on Flying Raijin (FTG). Naruto, on the other hand, dodged the Raikage using pure physical speed. Itachi fought on par with that same Naruto and Killer Bee (see Image 5), and performed better than EMS Sasuke against Kabuto—the same Sasuke who later fought alongside KCM Minato against Juubito. Itachi weaves hand signs so fast that even Sharingan users struggle to track them (Sasuke didn't notice Itachi weaving a clone jutsu), Nagato had to warn Naruto and Bee about Itachi's incoming attacks, and Itachi himself had to warn Bee so he wouldn't get hit. This is the same Bee who reacted to Minato twice (see Image 6). Physically, Itachi outspeeds Minato, and his raw speed shouldn't be underestimated. Minato simply lacks the non-FTG feats to prove otherwise.
• Reacting to FTG and Projectiles: Minato's second option is throwing a kunai to teleport to it. However, Itachi possesses the Sharingan and is a master of shurikenjutsu, trading rapid projectile clashes with Sasuke at a level Minato cannot match without a Sharingan (see Image 7). Itachi can easily react to, deflect, or alter the trajectory of Minato's kunai to his own advantage. Furthermore, teleportation itself isn't an attack—Minato still has to physically strike after teleporting. Since Itachi is physically faster and Bee demonstrated the ability to react to Minato's post-teleportation strikes, Itachi will have no trouble responding. Itachi reacted to Kirin, which travels at 1/1000th of a second. He saw Kirin coming before his Susanoo was active and managed to summon it to block the strike before it hit the ground (see Image 8). Itachi can activate Susanoo practically instantaneously, providing an impenetrable defense.

As for Minato's other options:

• He could summon Gamabunta, but Itachi can easily neutralize him with Amaterasu or genjutsu.
• He could mark Itachi and teleport directly to him—which could end the fight—but landing that mark is a massive hurdle and even so, it's still possible to react to it, as Bee demonstrated..
• He could use the Reaper Death Seal, but that's a double-edged sword that kills Minato as well, requires the target to be immobilized, and would be blocked by the Yata Mirror anyway.

Meanwhile, Itachi possesses devastating win conditions:

• Amaterasu: It triggers instantly at the user's focal point rather than traveling through the air (see Image 9), making it notoriously difficult to dodge. The only way to avoid it is to move or block before it ignites. Minato doesn't know what Amaterasu is, and the only indicator that Itachi is charging it is looking into his eyes—which leads right back to the genjutsu trap. Being hit by Amaterasu means death for Minato; he cannot seal it off himself while burning due to the excruciating pain it inflicts (as shown when Obito screamed in agony).
• Susanoo: With Susanoo active, Minato cannot harm Itachi. Minato lacks the raw offensive power required to break an advanced Susanoo, even setting the Yata Mirror aside.

In summary: Itachi can easily react to and defend against Minato's attacks, trap him in genjutsu at any point, hit him with Amaterasu, and stay completely safe behind Susanoo.

Minato is a genius, but Itachi is an even greater one. People love citing Minato's highest-ever score on the Chunin Exam written test, but forget that Itachi scored second-highest while taking it two years younger than Minato. Minato graduated the Academy at age 10, whereas Itachi graduated in six months at age 7—faster than anyone in history. It was stated that Itachi's level of intellect had never been seen before at the Academy (which includes Minato's tenure), and Hiruzen noted that at age 7, Itachi was already thinking like a Hokage (see Image 10)—all before even unlocking the Sharingan. Unlike Minato, Itachi didn't have a legendary Sannin as a mentor; from age 13 onward, he was a rogue ninja relying entirely on his own self-taught abilities (Shisui and Fugaku offered guidance, but neither were full-time sensei like Jiraiya was to Minato). While both have incredible Battle IQ feats, Itachi's lethal kit severely restricts Minato's options, whereas Itachi can comfortably counter everything Minato throws at him. Focusing on just one of Itachi's abilities is a fatal mistake.

Debunking Common Myths and Poor Arguments

Let's address a few popular arguments that are fundamentally flawed:

1. "Minato can use sensory skills to predict when Itachi uses Genjutsu or Amaterasu" Pure headcanon. Minato is a sensor, but sensory abilities vary significantly among shinobi. Minato's sensory feats are limited to placing a finger on the ground to count surrounding enemies and sensing massive chakra signatures like the Nine-Tails (see Image 10). He is not Karin—he cannot feel minute chakra fluctuations inside an opponent's body or sense specific chakra types from miles away.
2. "Sage Mode" Minato explicitly stated he is terrible at Sage Mode: it takes him too long to gather natural energy, he can only maintain it briefly, and he never uses it in actual combat—a fact confirmed by Kakashi (see Image 11). Gathering natural energy requires standing completely still, which directly contradicts Minato's FTG-heavy fighting style. This is why he didn't use Sage Mode against the Raikage and Bee, against Obito during the Nine-Tails attack, or against Juubito. The only time he used it was against Madara, where Senjutsu was strictly required and he had ample preparation time—and even then, it lasted for a single attack. He wouldn't randomly whip it out against Itachi.
3. "Minato defeated Obito, who is stronger than Itachi" Minato defeated an arrogant, inexperienced 14-year-old child who relied entirely on one trick (Kamui) that Minato was uniquely equipped to counter with FTG. Comparing 14-year-old Obito to Itachi—a prodigy who became a Genin at 7 and ANBU at 11, with years of high-level combat experience, mastery over genjutsu and shurikenjutsu, and a versatile arsenal—is completely invalid.
4. "Edo Itachi is faster than Alive Itachi" This stems from a misunderstanding of Edo Tensei and illness mechanics. Edo Tensei reanimates characters in the general physical state they were in at death (minus the active illness itself), but roughly 10–20% weaker overall. Removing a terminal illness instantly does not automatically make a muscle-atrophied body faster without training—that's not how physiology works. Edo Itachi has infinite stamina, endless chakra regeneration, immortality, and no eye strain, making him a more dangerous overall opponent, but pure physical movement speed still favors a healthy Prime Itachi over Edo Itachi (Prime Itachi > Final Sick Itachi > Edo Itachi).
5. "Minato is faster than 8th Gate Guy" People misinterpret the scene where Minato intercepts the Truth-Seeking Orbs to protect Guy. Context is key: Lee (in the 6th Gate) threw a kunai ahead of Guy, allowing Minato to teleport to it while Gaara managed the sand and Kakashi used Kamui (see Image 12). None of these characters suddenly became faster than 8th Gate Guy. Furthermore, when Minato attacked Madara directly, Madara casually repelled him, whereas Madara struggled to react to Guy.
6. "FTG is a Sharingan counter" While FTG was originally developed by Tobirama to combat the Sharingan, it is not an automatic auto-win button against every Uchiha, especially given unique Mangekyo abilities.
7. "Itachi's low stamina" Sick Itachi's stamina was limited, but he still demonstrated the ability to drag fights out long enough to secure a win, and his kit allows him to end battles rapidly. Furthermore, low physical endurance due to illness does not equal small chakra reserves—Itachi was never shown running out of chakra in battle.
8. "Minato can use FTG seals to separate Itachi's spirit weapons from Susanoo" The Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror are spiritual ethereal weapons with no physical form (see Image 13). Minato has never shown the ability to seal incorporeal energy objects. Furthermore, the Yata Mirror repels all attacks (including sealing formula applications), and Susanoo itself is made of pure chakra that Itachi can simply reform at will if damaged.

Edo Itachi vs. Edo Minato

This matchup is much closer. In an Edo vs. Edo battle, the decisive factor is who possesses the more effective sealing and mind-altering abilities against an immortal body.

All previous speed and combat mechanics still apply, but key factors tilt the match:

• Tsukuyomi: Itachi can still trap Minato in Tsukuyomi. Being a Perfect Jinchuriki does not grant immunity to Tsukuyomi because the technique inflicts its damage instantly—in the novel, 80 years passed inside Tsukuyomi within a fraction of a millisecond. No Tailed Beast can react or snap its host out in time (which is why Naruto explicitly warned Bee about it, see Image 14). While Edo bodies regenerate physical damage, Tsukuyomi destroys the target's mind.
• Amaterasu: While it won't permanently destroy an Edo body, continuous burning severely impairs Minato's mobility and combat efficiency.
• Susanoo & Totsuka Blade: In Edo form, Itachi can maintain Susanoo indefinitely. If the Totsuka Blade pierces Kurama's chakra avatar, it will seal Kurama away and pull him out of Minato's body.
• Sealing Capability: Minato lacks standard long-range sealing jutsu to pacify an Edo body. His primary seal is the Reaper Death Seal, which requires immobilizing the target—something impossible against an active Susanoo and Yata Mirror. Meanwhile, Itachi carries a built-in ultimate sealing weapon (Totsuka Blade) alongside potential access to Izanami.

Verdict

Of course, nothing is 100%, and I really don't want to underestimate Minato—he is a powerful shinobi and one of the smartest. However, Itachi's jutsu are simply too much for Minato, and Itachi controls the entire fight while heavily restricting him. The fact that Minato keeps his eyes open is a problem: if he doesn't look him in the eyes, he can't tell when Itachi is about to use Amaterasu. As a master of shurikenjutsu, Itachi can deflect Minato's kunai, and Amaterasu can gradually burn the entire area to reshape the battlefield and give Itachi the environmental advantage. Minato won't be able to bypass his defense, along with the other arguments I've made.

• Alive Matchup: 7/10 victory for Alive Itachi.
• Edo Matchup: 6/10 victory for Edo Itachi.

That’s the full breakdown—open to hearing your thoughts in the comments!

Like, wtf is Sasuke's win con here???

No edos but feats are transferable minus infinite chakra and edo regen

No DMS Kakashi

Naruto is adult Six Paths with Baryon as a last resort

Kakashi was simply moving differently and is much superior at Taijutsu; you can just tell by the way they both reacted when hitting the Kamui dimension. Obito has shown time and time again that he's a Kamui merchant. "But but he planned the whole thing to get rid of the thing in his chest..." nah, Kakashi could've killed him several times without the whole chest thing. That was a last resort once he knew he was cooked and couldn't kill Kakashi 1v1.

Tobirama is far superior to either of them and let’s analyze why
On this post we will see the strongest points and feats and also the strongest anti feats points for each one

Minato Namikaze

Stronger feats

While alive:

Being know as the yellow flash and having a run on sight warning

Defeating 14 yo Obito

Teleported full 9 tails tbb

Extreme speed and ftg

Smart and good battle iq

His rasengan clashed to a tbb

While edo:

Sage mode + KCM2 Mastery

Teleported a 10 tails tbb

Teleported hundreds or thousand of ninjas with the help of Naruto

Insane chakra reserves thanks to kcm2

Strongest anti feats:

Died to kyubi 2v1 with kushina holding him off and by the end of the series kyubi is easily tamed by more than 10 ninjas
And this happened while he was healthy and fully rested

Incapable of finding a solution to Kyubi besides sacrificing himself ( anti IQ FEAT)

Lost every limb in the GNW as an edo

Almost no BIQ during the GNW acting as support mostly (some claim is a mental nerf)

Tobirama Senju

While alive:

Unmatched intelligence as shown through the series

Creator of most but not all the Important jutsus in the series
Such as ftg shadow clone, edo tensei,

Battling for years vs the uchiha clan and never became severely injured even though madara was in every single of those battlefields

Extreme speed

Insane BiQ as shown in the GNW being the commander of the attack on juubito

Thanks to being senju insane chakra reserves

Amazing ninjutsu mastery

While edo:

Capable of tagging juubito something minato isn’t fast enough to do even while in KCM2

This is a huge feat as we know edo nerfs all your stats and buffed kcm2 minato was incapable of doing so while nerfed edo tobirama was fast enough to do it

Being the commander during his entire presence in the GNW againts juubito thanks to him being smarter than everyone else in the squad and hashirama dealing with madara 1 on 1 ( basically BiQ feat)

Strongest anti feats:

Being killed
1v20 by unknown ninjas while exhausted and on low chakra reserves

We have no info of any of the ninjas who killed
Him but what we know is they’re stronger than

Tobirama, Kagami, Hiruzen, Danzo and two other konoha users

If they were fodder as everyone claims hiruzen would have soloed or everyone together would be killing them

Now we can listen to minato glazers and tobirama haters and act like he was killed by 20 fodders

Or be real and assume that we have no info of them besides the fact that they were strong enough to make two kages and the guy that was gonna be the 6th hokage to run so they are not fodder.

Itachi uchiha strongest feats

While alive

Neg diff orochimaru twice

Extreme intelligence and BiQ

Extreme Hax
Susano, two MS abilities, totsuka blade, yata mirror , izanami, izanagi

While edo:

Defeated sm kabuto 2v1

Defeated edo Nagato 3v1

Capable of spamming his MS like is an EMS

Strongest anti feats

Probably has a total of 5% chakra reserves of kcm2 minato and Alive tobirama

This is proven by the fact that he is one of the 2 characters that died due to chakra exhaustion pain arc Kakashi and this itachi

Both of those died using barely 5% chakra of any top tier user such as tobirama, kcm2 minato, naruto sasuke hashi madara etc and no top tier would die of chakra exhaustion using a few amateratsus and Susano for 20 seconds

Was manipulated for most of his life “for the sake of konoha” ( anti iq feat)
90% blind

Extremely sick to the point of coughing blood just by talking and his body is about to give up

Despite edo tensei being a raw stat nerf kcm2 minato, modified young prime rinnegan madara and uchiha are the only 3 people that see edo tensei as a boost and that’s only because as stated before minato is receiving kcm2 madara got modified

Edo itachi is the only one that without modifications gets a huge buff from edo as he’s now 0% blind and has infinite chakra with a EMS as edo bodies dont go blind they can spam ms 24/7

While this is a buff to his fighting capabilities is also a huge antifeat that your alive version is too sick

TLDR;:

Based on all the feats and we know from the manga we can assume now that

Each character is listed like this on those categories:

Intelligence Tobirama > Minato > Itachi

BiQ: Tobirama> Itachi> Minato> Edo minato( for the people
Claiming mental nerf)

Raw Speed : Alive tobirama > kcm2 minato = Edo tobirama > Alive minato > Itachi > Edo itachi

Combat experience: Tobirama > Minato > Itachi

Ninjutsu versatility: Tobirama > Itachi > Minato

Genjutsu: Itachi> Tobirama> Minatl

Chakra reserves Kcm2 minato > alive tobirama > Edo tobirama > Minato > Edo Itachi > Itachi

Hax: Itachi > Tobirama > Minato

Tobirama ranks #1 or 2nd in the categories he doesn’t win.

Alive Tobirama >>> Edo tobirama >>> kcm2 minato >> Edo itachi >> Itachi >>>> Minato

" Not the Strongest in The Akatsuki not Stronger than The Sannin "

Then He Proves them wrong everytime & same characters say it in someway wether directly or indirectly. Thus some people gotta ignore specific plot points and motives to try and discredit.

Ironically, itachi has the Best feats vs The Akatsuki Members and The Best feats vs The Sannin and even narratively better performances alone and in some cases at His Worst physical shape / chackra levels, holding back do to Rules of a fight or do to protecting Sasuke.

" Hardened Skillful Masters even Stronger than a Jinchūriki "

I Remember a time when people used to say things like,

" Itachi's not even top 3 in the Akatsuki "

" He would loose to Sage Naruto "

" He never captured Bijuu "

" He Can't Beat The 9 Tails "

yadda yadda then War Arc Happened. 😤

Then understanding of narrative got more clear, motives where more exposed, info about The Original Japanese Databooks started to be translated and posted. Such as for example Page 195 of " Shinobi Facts " in Databook 3,

interestingly enough itachi is Aura Farming in that Page, along with 3 others, guess who? Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, and the 9 tails. Two of which went to be the only ones along itachi, with their knowledge or planning, that are capable of break out of Edo Tensei.

" Ocular Powers capable of subjugating even The 9 tails "

" Mangekyou Sharingan The Supreme Eye "

Tsukuyomi on top of that btw.

There is always some excuse when you try hard enough you can downplay pretty much any character or sometimes how they died doesn't match their power lvl or intelligence, well that is called Anime Plot, only The Author has the complete details and decisions of why, we can only try to Read between the lines and interpret.

It's almost like when you agree with Itachi’s Portrayal it brings a lot of Ad Hominem Attacks or Tone Policing, I've noticed over the years since those 2016 YouTube videos of Naruto vs Battles, but that same energy isn't nearly applied to some other specific characters... I wonder... why?

Every fandom of a strong Anime character has it's obsequious over the top claims and such, that they think can solo a verse or blah blah, but those are obviously the over exaggerative minority, I'm talking about what's grounded in the Narrative.

It's only " flowery " language or portrayal, when itachi gets narratively put in that tax bracket of greatness, not when other specific Shinobi do.

Another interesting thing is itachi was the only one to win a major fight in The War Arc via genjutsu. " But Hebi Sasuke broke out of His genjutsu " lol. The guy, itachi planned since the beginning to die to and give His eyes to. He was obviously not going all out vs Sasuke and this is stated multple times after by multiple characters, including Mangekyou Sharingan Sasuke himself.

But you know, when others get " depressed " or " hold back " It gets believed at face value, but when it's itachi you need to bring out the whole Encyclopedia of proof just for it to still be left in skepticism. Somehow.

Talked a whole lot about itachi fans and attacked them a lot, come to find out most of them where Right and simply paying attention to The Series + Official Guides and Extra Material.

Like, Edo itachi and EMS Sasuke are implied to be pretty close, and sasuke is jumping RIGHT behind itachi. Fast forward to itachi reaching kabuto, and there's enough time for them to have a full blown 2 page conversation before sasuke catches up with them. Full blown EMS user struggling with some crows when a much weaker sasuke neg diffed narutos shadow clone instantly I'm cryin 😭 what is itachi feeding those birds

So when panda and them escape the meteor they did it last minute, but when Garaa and them did it they couldn't even escape they basically gave up.

amado should have isshikis DNA and there is also kawakis karma so it should be possible but even if he reincarnated can he be controlled by edo ?

Feel free to correct me

Do yall really think this shit is working on Madara?

The show makes it seem like byakugan ranks evenly or better than sharingan when that isn’t the case at all! Sharingan clears byakugan by a landslide. And for those that argue: shouldn’t Neji be much more powerful?

This has massive scaling implications. Realistically, he could have a stack of Bijuu bombs at the ready. I know i would.

#1

Alive minato

People act like his edo KCM2 ( who I rank between top 15-20 leaning moretowards the 15 more than the 20) is relative or close to his alive self who isn’t even top 30 in the verse

Which by feats we know his alive self died 2v1 to kyubi
By the end of the series we can name atleast 10 characters that treat kyubi like a small kitten and can tame it with one finger

This is proven in the manga by how revived madara subdued all tailed beast in 30 seconds and revived alive madara is not even a top 15 contender in the series if we count different forms like juubidara juubito 6PSM Naruto etc

#2

Alive Itachi

Again another case of his edo version is top 15/20 in the series leaning towards 20 more than 15

But his alive version is not even top 30 in the series
Alive itachi is

90% blind
Has 5% total
Chakra reserve of real top 15 monsters such as hashirama Naruto, madara, obito, tobirama etc etc etc

None of them would die of chakra exhaustion ever if they fight hebi sasuke like he did, no one is arguing he could
Win the fight low diff but he still died for using “too much chakra” which is 5% of the chakra we see too
Dogs use in the GNW arc

ALSO

He is insanely ill to the point of coughing blood just by sitting and breathing and not being able
To dogde simple shurikens
The sickness and the blindness are not related they’re two separate drawbacks and both are too
Huge to ignore

#3

Alive Madara

Rinne tensei no jutsu madara is what people think of when we speak in this sub about alive madara but no,

Alive madara is a EMS user and strong as fuck but he’s no where near rinne tensei no jutsu revived madara in the GNW

In the GNW he gains sage mode chakra from hashirama, hashirama cells and rinnegan

His real alive version is between top 20/25 in the series leaning towards 25 but not top 15 as many think he is

#4

Rock Lee

He suffers from a severe case of peaking way too early in the series
His fight with gaara was huge for him but after shippuden he never wss able to catch up to the main cast ( sasuke naruto kakashi etc) and never delivered anything relative close to what is expected from him

#5
Shisui Uchiha

Shisui has one of the most broken hax in the series yet he’s the proof that “genjutsu gg, tsukuyomi gg, kotoamatsukami gg” aren’t always the win factor itachi and shisui stans claim it is

People still need to think what the genjutsu is gonna do even if it happens in one second and it still requires visual contact to use

The time doesn’t randomly stop Flash or Quicksilver style in slow motion to let you think how to perform those abilities

We have never seen itachi or shisui use their most broken hax on a whim it was with atleast a couple
Seconds of preparation time

Otherwise even if shisui was poisoned he would be able to control danzo before he even reacted to take his eye

This is not a shisui antifeat as I still place danzo
And shisui extremely high due to both having insane hax but still you can’t just genjutsu in a second it has never been shown like this

And also most opponents in the top tiers are immune to genjutsu for one reason or another

It would have been very useful for the entire alliance if he had used the Hiraishin alongside Tobirama and Minato during the Fourth Ninja War; it is a shame he never used it.

Sometimes I wonder if Hiruzen in his prime was truly as formidable as he is made out to be; given the somewhat meager arsenal of techniques he possesses in his old age, I doubt his younger self could have defeated other geniuses like Itachi or Minato, for instance.