Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-31810758-20170513174308/@comment-734582-20170515170145

Killer723 wrote: I don't even know if he stated that. So if its rumor, joke, or false i don't even know to tell.

But ye, you might be right it does look like a joke to me. I have no problem believing that he said that. But context is everything. It's essentially the battle of two gods, Itachi in motif and Madara almost literally. There are various references to Itachi's godhood motif, including when he defeats Deidara (golden aura, sign of divinity), his three Imperial Jewels of Japan (Mirror, Blade, Magatama), and his eye powers (Tsukuyome and Amaterasu, Susanoo, Izanami are all important gods in the Creation Myth).

Itachi also technically never lost, as his death was his own design.

So it's funny when Kishimoto says Itachi because he basically says "Motif/theme wins from raw power", which is a running theme of Naruto (IE Naruto's unshaken faith and determination as well as cunning and need for love got him out of many situations where he was overwhelmed by firepower).