Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-1018594-20150728091344/@comment-26388300-20150728180127

For me, much of the question involves understanding what Naruto's capabilities are. Does he retain any of the Six Paths senjutsu? If not, even still, going Sage Mode and Kyuubi Mode simultaneously would make him extraordinarily powerful, stronger than anyone on either side.

The Akatsuki are a specially formed militia, though, whereas the Konoha 11 are just random students who have grown up; the selection process of creating the Akatsuki involved selecting shinobi with unusual talents on top of being very powerful.

Still, let's take a look:

Team Kakashi: Naruto, Sage-Kyuubi Mode... he won't go down easy. By The Last, we observe that he can even control his Rasenshurikens remotely. His speed and strength in this mode are immense; a single, good strike to some members of the Akatsuki would likely lay them down for a while (recall Naruto, in just Sage Mode, using Frog Kata on one of the Paths of Pain; a single punch to the face and the damage was severe). Sakura, trained by the Fifth, has access to one-hit-kill strikes, as well as great self healing abilities. Her ability to stay alive and heal others would be invaluable.

Team Gai: Even missing Neji, Tintin and Lee are going to be a presence on this battlefield. Lee has likely progressed in power since the Fourth War; it's likely he is now capable of the very strong Seventh Gate. This would make him fearsome on a Versus Akatsuki battlefield. And Tintin now possesses the tools of the Sage of Six Paths, no? And she's shown that she can use them somewhat. This would come in handy, especially when combined with...

Team Asuma: Shikamaru's ability to formulate a good strategy here would be priceless, and by The Last Shikamaru likely had an understanding of who the former Akatsuki members were and what they were capable of. Choji could utilize his Butterfly Choji Mode; and Ino being capable of (even temporarily) mind controlling opponents, as she was shown to do with Obito once, would be helpful, especially if timed correctly.

Team Kurenai: Kiba and Akamaru were shown to be capable of demolishing three Rashomon Gates in the Fourth World War... consider, Rashomon Gates are what Hashirama used to counter Madara's Susanoo-Sword enhanced Tailed Beast Ball; for Kiba and Akamaru to be able to destroy three of these things is a big deal. Shino has come into access of some powerful, stealthy bug techniques, some of which, if put into place, I can't imagine being countered. And Hinata has all the skills available through Gentle Fist training and the Byakugan, including Eight-Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, which will allow her to defend and attack at the same time.

I think it works like this: if the Akatsuki appear and the Konoha 11 know nothing of their powers or are surprised by their sudden attack, Akatsuki may likely win. But if the Konoha 11 have time to formulate even a small plan, and understand who their opponents are and what they can do, then I give it to the Konoha 11.