Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-3965545-20170621043245/@comment-27797856-20170622113235

Rafaelrios123 wrote: He is sannin-level everyone knows that,the real problem are the fanboys that think he is way beyond that,when he isn't. Pretty much this.

Itachi knew full-well that he would lose against Jiraiya (with Kisame by his side too), so he's definitely not above sannin-level. He might've placed Orochimaru under a genjutsu, but as Orochimaru wanted Itachi's body, he couldn't kill him or physically exhaust his body either. Orochi did lose to Sword of Totsuka, though, so I guess there's that...

What you got to remember is that Itachi is so OP in a few fights because the plot demanded it. A great example of this is Susanoo and how overpowered Kishi made it out to be.

I would put Itachi in the same category as Kisame: Incredibly powerful, to the point where he could single-handedly take on a Bijuu, but not without weaknesses.