Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-26005711-20150502074955/@comment-26388300-20150511010106

This isn't an easy one to answer, I don't think. We're placing them on even ground, right? No Six Paths enhancements for Naruto. So at this point, I think it will mostly be decided by battle ingenuity and attention to detail; after all, Itachi is noted for having a lesser reserve of chakra than most characters, was never a jinchuriki, and never learned senjutsu... and yet everyone knows that Itachi was a juggernaut, and much of this was because he was simply an intelligent and attentive shinobi.

Minato was a genius; Jiraiya was of the opinion that Minato had a "once in a generation" quality mind. He CREATED the rasengan; he outmaneuvers the Second Hokage with his own jutsu; he personally challenged one-thousand shinobi and won, a feat that basically ended the Third Shinobi World War; and yes, though he feels the time it takes to properly mold senjutsu chakra is too lengthy, he can enter a perfect Sage Mode.

Naruto is not a genius, but this has never hindered him too much; through hard work and belief he has managed to combat and triumph over Nagato, Madara, and Sasuke, all three established as shinobi masterminds. He defeated a tailed beast, the Kyuubi, all by himself, something we witnessed an entire squad of Anbu fail to do; his Shadow Clone training method leaves nearly everyone else in the dust, giving him months and months of experience in the course of a few days; he's learned to control chakra to such an extent that others are left breathless.

Minato is my favorite character, though I think I may give the battle to the "Naruto:The Last" version of Naruto himself. Minato can teleport, true, though so can Sasuke, and Naruto defeated Sasuke. But I'm not sold on this verdict. I think Minato was likely more powerful than we were ever allowed to witness.