Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-26388300-20150715232613/@comment-26704954-20150716044640

Let's take inventory here:

Minato came after Nagato, in regards to Jiraiya's training. Therefore, when this statement was made by the Sannin in Ch. 367, it was including Nagato: "Minato had talent you only see once a decade. At best. He was a genius... no one like him has been born in a while... his guts and desire to succeed were the fiercest I'd ever seen. And in the blink of an eye, he was our Fourth Hokage."

It would seem that the teacher of both Nagato and Minato believed that the latter student was more exceptional. I tend to agree. The concept of Minato being "bad" at senjutsu is just wrong; it merely doesn't incorporate into his strategy of speed, it takes too long to mold. Otherwise, the pigmentation around his eyes confirms he's a true sage and entering Sage Mode correctly. He has honed his Flying Thunder God to such a level that he solos thousands of shinobi on the battlefield. The Third Raikage believed no one could surpass him. Minato is far from a chump; he's one of the more intelligent and powerful shinobi in the series. Itachi overcame and blinded Nagato's shared vision strategy in the Fourth Shinobi World War without FTG; imagine what Minato could do.

Not to take away from Nagato's obviously elite level power. Nagato is among my favorite villains and a massive threat in nearly any one-on-one. But I still think that Minato would be too fast, too smart, and too powerful for Nagato to win.