Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-31338621-20190129080042/@comment-31715856-20190201034141

Overall, it's not really a good match for Itachi. Nearly every detail regarding the 2 in the series is setup to put Minato over here. Even early on, Itachi is stated to have the 2nd highest Academy scores in Konoha history... The first highest was Minato, so their intelligence is either equal or puts Minato slightly over. Minato is the fastest in pure speed among the first 5 Hokage, who ought to be in the same speed range as Itachi, if not higher for Hashirama especially.

A big factor is that Minato has an enormous chakra level, enough to enter Sage Mode. Minato is going to out last him, certainly, as Itachi has low reserves and those will deplete faster since he must retain the Sharingan the whole fight. It only gets worse with the MS involved. If he chooses to use it, Sage Mode may well decide the fight. It let Kabuto, a less powerful foe, land what would have been a fatal attack on a living Itachi.

But come on, Hiraishin settles this. Aside from being easy to set around the battlefield, he can apply it on the fly to any surface. It makes speed a non issue. Worse, if the kunai have been set (which they will) then Itachi's strongest attacks can be warped back to hit him. Sword of Totsuka, Yasaka, Amaterasu. The Yata Mirror is a problem if Itachi himself hasn't been tagged inside Susanoo, but that makes it a waiting game. His poor stamina makes this not viable for more than a brief stretch of time, and Hiraishin makes staying away to wear down Itachi much easier.

Itachi's best bet is to hit with Izanagi but that requires some setup that might not be possible unless he's an Edo. Remember the fatal hit Kabuto landed before Izanagi was activated. But Tobirama already showed that even against a Madara-level guy like Izuna that Hiraishin can give you the edge to land a killing blow, so I doubt Genjutsu is going to decide this in Itachi's favor.