Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-43403813-20190907005521/@comment-43403813-20190928221352

@FlatZone It's because of Sasuke possessing the Rinnegan that he was able to resist Infinite Tsukuyomi, it gave his Susanoo the ability to shield the others from the light. If MS/EMS Sasuke had brought his Susanoo up to shield Team 7, it wouldn't have worked, because he didn't possess the Rinnegan at the time.

@MadEyes Even healthy, Itachi's stamina doesn't appear to be the best. Deva and Preta ignores Amaterasu, and any other path can be revived by Naraka. Itachi would never know which path is the "Reviver Pain" in a situation where he doesn't have knowledge. Pain could revive the paths just like how they did with Jiraiya, Jiraiya didn't even see the revival jutsu being used. In regards to clone explosion, that's nothing compared to what Pain can dish out, like Chaotic Shinra Tensei, Chibaku Tensei etc. Additionally, Pain can deflect it with Shinra Tensei (or maybe absorb with Preta but this is just speculation), or just keep his distance. Don't forget Pain has his own rockets, missiles and laser beams with the Asura path, making a decent long-distant pressure.

Pain isn't stupid, he knows how much of a threat Itachi is, he'd most likely use his brute force from the very beginning. Itachi simply doesn't have enough versatility or the stamina to outlast Pain.