Itachi v Minato (Shuriken Battle)

[adeshina365]

Lol, what in the hell. First and foremost, Itachi has the Sharingan to foresee all muscle movement. That is a huge advantage to have, especially in a battle involving only Shurikenjutsu, and not things like Shunshin, Bunshins, other Jutsu.

Minato has been shown to

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his Kunai over a small distance, but that doesn't display any form of pinpoint accuracy. Especially considering

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they were, which is really just a waste of Kunai's. Itachi can easily throw 20 or so shuriken with a single arm [

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], added with his unmatched rapid fire Shurikenjutsu throwing at extremely quick successions [

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]... This is not even much of a contest. If you think FTG Kunai's are getting to Itachi, you're kidding yourself. Even without knowledge, Itachi will notice the sealing formulas on the Kunai's and speculate that it serves a purpose, so he wouldn't allow them to get near him.

Everything coming Itachi's way is getting deflected, meanwhile Minato doesn't have the feats suggesting he can keep up with Itachi in this category. Then we have the fact that Itachi can easily change the trajectory of his Kunai's, and doing so in order to nail two separate set of Rinnegan eyes in their blind spots.

Spoiler

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The manga outright states that Itachi aims for his opponents blind spots. And two pair of synchronized eyes are obviously better then one. So with the capability to rapidly throw a ridiculous amount of projectiles and pressure Minato, Itachi will also be able predict his movement, as I previously mentioned. So in whatever direction Minato is about to attempt and dodge in, Itachi will already have Kunai coming his way, in his blind spots, with pin point accuracy.

Spoiler

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The only thing having 3 FTG usages grants Minato is the ability to easily dodge anything 3 times. That is it. After those 3 usages, Itachi eventually nails him. Feats suggest Itachi stomps, but we have to consider that Minato is also a respectively skilled opponent. However, Itachi still inevitably wins.

Thank you.

 

[KidGamer65]

Lol, what in the hell. First and foremost, Itachi has the Sharingan to foresee all muscle movement. That is a huge advantage to have, especially in a battle involving only Shurikenjutsu, and not things like Shunshin, Bunshins, other Jutsu.

Minato has been shown to

You must be registered for see links

his Kunai over a small distance, but that doesn't display any form of pinpoint accuracy. Especially considering

You must be registered for see links

they were, which is really just a waste of Kunai's. Itachi can easily throw 20 or so shuriken with a single arm [

You must be registered for see links

], added with his unmatched rapid fire Shurikenjutsu throwing at extremely quick successions [

You must be registered for see links

]... This is not even much of a contest. If you think FTG Kunai's are getting to Itachi, you're kidding yourself. Even without knowledge, Itachi will notice the sealing formulas on the Kunai's and speculate that it serves a purpose, so he wouldn't allow them to get near him.

What are you talking about? Minato scattered his Kunai like that because that was his goal so he could avoid Ay :lol, not because he can't throw them at a single target. Throwing them at a single target isn't a feat that requires anywhere close to pinpoint accuracy either. And the rest is irrelevant because Minato can toss his out at the same time. Itachi can toss his Shuriken and Kunai out at rapid fire, but rapid fire is not simultaneously so he's not going to deflect all of Minato's Kunai especially when Minato's Kunai are larger and heavier than his Shuriken. Itachi and Sasuke tossed the same Shuriken at each other and they landed right in the middle of them, so if Itachi is trying to deflect heavier weapons (thrown by someone with more physical strength than Sasuke at that) obviously the Kunai are going to be closer to his position regardless of him deflecting them.

Everything coming Itachi's way is getting deflected, meanwhile Minato doesn't have the feats suggesting he can keep up with Itachi in this category. Then we have the fact that Itachi can easily change the trajectory of his Kunai's, and doing so in order to nail two separate set of Rinnegan eyes in their blind spots.

Spoiler

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The manga outright states that Itachi aims for his opponents blind spots. And two pair of synchronized eyes are obviously better then one. So with the capability to rapidly throw a ridiculous amount of projectiles and pressure Minato, Itachi will also be able predict his movement, as I previously mentioned. So in whatever direction Minato is about to attempt and dodge in, Itachi will already have Kunai coming his way, in his blind spots, with pin point accuracy.

Spoiler

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The only thing having 3 FTG usages grants Minato is the ability to easily dodge anything 3 times. That is it. After those 3 usages, Itachi eventually nails him. Feats suggest Itachi stomps, but we have to consider that Minato is also a respectively skilled opponent. However, Itachi still inevitably wins.

The only thing holding your argument above water is the fact that Itachi targets blind spots. Being able to tag Nagato's summons doesn't mean he'll actually hit Minato. Targeting a blind spot doesn't mean he'll hit Minato when Minato will know the Kunai are coming from regardless of them coming for his blind spot simply because he'll see them being thrown as explained below. Being able to predict his movement doesn't mean he'll hit him, especially since you aren't even using Sharingan's ability properly. FRS came for the Raikage out of sight, but because he knew where it was coming from he was still able to easily react to it. Gai was able to react to Obito's blindside attempt because he knew it was coming regardless of the fact that he couldn't see it. So good luck arguing that Itachi tags the guy who can react to v2 Ay from 10m away and has the

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out of all of the Hokage (including Hashirama who is no slouch as his feats show) will get hit here. This isn't even including the fact that the ones not coming for his blind spot can be deflected or blocked. Blindspot targeting is nice and all when you are coming undetected in the first place, but if you are in plain sight when you target blind spots then obviously it won't be anywhere near as effective. Barely effective at all.

Sharingan only predicts movement once movement has begun or is about to begin.

-Itachi throws his Kunai.
-Minato dodges.
-Itachi reads said movement and throws another batch towards where Minato is going to arrive.

So there's no conceivable way for Itachi to have Kunai coming towards Minato's next location until after his initial attempt has been dodged, but with the gap in between Minato dodging and Itachi throwing his next assault there is no way he's going to actually hit him. :lol Shouldn't even entertain the thought of him being able to do all this AND direct the next wave of Kunai at his blind spots simply because he needs to bounce Kunai off of each other in order to do that. If he's doing this he needs to do this in one attack like the scan of him training with the targets shows, but then he can't predict Minato's movement because Minato won't actually be moving or attempting to move until the Kunai are actually coming for him. If he waits till after Minato has dodged then he won't be able to shift the trajectory towards Minato's new location. If Sharingan helped in this matter to the degree you think it will help Itachi and Sasuke wouldn't have needed a completely different strategy to tag Kabuto w/ Sasuke's Arrow.

And sure, if Minato retreats while dodging eventually he'll get hit, but if he advances while dodging eventually he closes the distance and Itachi gets one shotted by Hiraishin+Kunai slash to the back.


Then we have the fact that Itachi sacrifices accuracy and skill if he tosses his Kunai out like he did against Sasuke, with more force and speed than when he bounces them off of each other to hit multiple targets at once. So it's either rapid fire or skillful attacks, not both.

Itachi doesn't stand a chance. Ever. Let alone him stomping. That's nonsense.

 

[blazekev90]

What are you talking about? Minato scattered his Kunai like that because that was his goal so he could avoid Ay :lol, not because he can't throw them at a single target. Throwing them at a single target isn't a feat that requires anywhere close to pinpoint accuracy either. And the rest is irrelevant because Minato can toss his out at the same time. Itachi can toss his Shuriken and Kunai out at rapid fire, but rapid fire is not simultaneously so he's not going to deflect all of Minato's Kunai especially when Minato's Kunai are larger and heavier than his Shuriken. Itachi and Sasuke tossed the same Shuriken at each other and they landed right in the middle of them, so if Itachi is trying to deflect heavier weapons (thrown by someone with more physical strength than Sasuke at that) obviously the Kunai are going to be closer to his position regardless of him deflecting them.




The only thing holding your argument above water is the fact that Itachi targets blind spots. Being able to tag Nagato's summons doesn't mean he'll actually hit Minato. Targeting a blind spot doesn't mean he'll hit Minato when Minato will know the Kunai are coming from regardless of them coming for his blind spot simply because he'll see them being thrown as explained below. Being able to predict his movement doesn't mean he'll hit him, especially since you aren't even using Sharingan's ability properly. FRS came for the Raikage out of sight, but because he knew where it was coming from he was still able to easily react to it. Gai was able to react to Obito's blindside attempt because he knew it was coming regardless of the fact that he couldn't see it. So good luck arguing that Itachi tags the guy who can react to v2 Ay from 10m away and has the

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out of all of the Hokage (including Hashirama who is no slouch as his feats show) will get hit here. This isn't even including the fact that the ones not coming for his blind spot can be deflected or blocked. Blindspot targeting is nice and all when you are coming undetected in the first place, but if you are in plain sight when you target blind spots then obviously it won't be anywhere near as effective. Barely effective at all.

Sharingan only predicts movement once movement has begun or is about to begin.

-Itachi throws his Kunai.
-Minato dodges.
-Itachi reads said movement and throws another batch towards where Minato is going to arrive.

So there's no conceivable way for Itachi to have Kunai coming towards Minato's next location until after his initial attempt has been dodged, but with the gap in between Minato dodging and Itachi throwing his next assault there is no way he's going to actually hit him. :lol Shouldn't even entertain the thought of him being able to do all this AND direct the next wave of Kunai at his blind spots simply because he needs to bounce Kunai off of each other in order to do that. If he's doing this he needs to do this in one attack like the scan of him training with the targets shows, but then he can't predict Minato's movement because Minato won't actually be moving or attempting to move until the Kunai are actually coming for him. If he waits till after Minato has dodged then he won't be able to shift the trajectory towards Minato's new location. If Sharingan helped in this matter to the degree you think it will help Itachi and Sasuke wouldn't have needed a completely different strategy to tag Kabuto w/ Sasuke's Arrow.

And sure, if Minato retreats while dodging eventually he'll get hit, but if he advances while dodging eventually he closes the distance and Itachi gets one shotted by Hiraishin+Kunai slash to the back.


Then we have the fact that Itachi sacrifices accuracy and skill if he tosses his Kunai out like he did against Sasuke, with more force and speed than when he bounces them off of each other to hit multiple targets at once. So it's either rapid fire or skillful attacks, not both.

Itachi doesn't stand a chance. Ever. Let alone him stomping. That's nonsense.

@ bold, like that failed attempt against Bee? Lol

 

[KidGamer65]

THIS.

And using ftg would be his downfall given this scenario. It would allow Itachi to zone in on his possible whereabouts and counterattack. As Minato spans, he'd be vulnerable to a shuriken being thrown in his direction and if tries to use ftg to evade it, he'd still be hit given the feats shown in the manga.

And let's address this post too. :lol Ignoring the fact that Minato can dodge Itachi's attacks without Hiraishin, this strategy makes zero sense. Minato only has 3 uses of the jutsu first of all. He won't need to use it more than twice. Second of all Itachi knowing all possible warp spots doesn't mean he'll know where exactly Minato will teleport. :lol

 

[KidGamer65]

@ bold, like that failed attempt against Bee? Lol

Imagine being delusional enough to actually think Itachi will react to attacks out of his line of sight faster than Killer B. Itachi's reaction speed is as impressive as displayed in the Manga because of Sharingan. In terms of reaction speed any attack outside of his Sharingan's LoS is practically the same as him being attacked w/o his Sharingan active in the first place. So Base Itachi. Please don't ever try to argue that Itachi in Base > Killer B in reaction speed.

But considering Minato didn't actually try to hit Killer B that time your point is irrelevant.

First we have "Itachi deflects all Kunai and takes out Minato w/ Shuriken" now we have "Itachi reacts to Hiraishin V2".

:lol Not surprising coming from you though.

 

[blazekev90]

And let's address this post too. :lol Ignoring the fact that Minato can dodge Itachi's attacks without Hiraishin, this strategy makes zero sense. Minato only has 3 uses of the jutsu first of all. He won't need to use it more than twice. Second of all Itachi knowing all possible warp spots doesn't mean he'll know where exactly Minato will teleport. :lol

I know he's capable of dodging without ftg, that was me more so addressing those implying ftg being the determining factor for this match. It's not.

Itachi doesn't need to know actually where Minato would teleport, he'd simply be analyzing each possible span location and target them all at once. IF Minato chose to teleport from point A to point B in order to evade, rather than use foot speed, he'd be vulnerable. Why? Because as Minato attempts to dodge the first oncoming shuriken, he'd jump to another spot, not knowing Itachi had disbursed his shuriken to target each kunia at once, which is something he's capable of doing. Now, could Minato jump and possibly deflect the second shuriken? Maybe, but that's where Itachi precise accuracy kicks in. Ftg is instant, the time in which Minato reappears doesn't vary, so it's easier to predict. The reason Minato spreads several kunia at once. Itachi's main strategy would be to force Minato to play defense until there's a clear opening, since he'd have blind spots.

But let's say Minato chose to use foot speed. What does he do? Charge at Itachi? Someone with superior CQC and hand speed? If he made the same attempt as he did against Obito, he'd fail miserably. Not only would Itachi deflect the kunia thrown in his direction, he'd easily outmaneuver Minato in hand-to-hand combat.

OP: question. Are all respective ninja tools available for this match-up? if so, Itachi could utilize windmill triple blade.

 

[Booker]

I know he's capable of dodging without ftg, that was me more so addressing those implying ftg being the determining factor for this match. It's not.

Itachi doesn't need to know actually where Minato would teleport, he'd simply be analyzing each possible span location and target them all at once. IF Minato chose to teleport from point A to point B in order to evade, rather than use foot speed, he'd be vulnerable. Why? Because as Minato attempts to dodge the first oncoming shuriken, he'd jump to another spot, not knowing Itachi had disbursed his shuriken to target each kunia at once, which is something he's capable of doing. Now, could Minato jump and possibly deflect the second shuriken? Maybe, but that's where Itachi precise accuracy kicks in. Ftg is instant, the time in which Minato reappears doesn't vary, so it's easier to predict. The reason Minato spreads several kunia at once. Itachi's main strategy would be to force Minato to play defense until there's a clear opening, since he'd have blind spots.

But let's say Minato chose to use foot speed. What does he do? Charge at Itachi? Someone with superior CQC and hand speed? If he made the same attempt as he did against Obito, he'd fail miserably. Not only would Itachi deflect the kunia thrown in his direction, he'd easily outmaneuver Minato in hand-to-hand combat.

OP: question. Are all respective ninja tools available for this match-up? if so, Itachi could utilize windmill triple blade.

I mean, as long as it's like a shuriken or kunai. Larger variations would fall under that, like Demon Wind Shuriken.

 

[blazekev90]

Imagine being delusional enough to actually think Itachi will react to attacks out of his line of sight faster than Killer B. Itachi's reaction speed is as impressive as displayed in the Manga because of Sharingan. In terms of reaction speed any attack outside of his Sharingan's LoS is practically the same as him being attacked w/o his Sharingan active in the first place. So Base Itachi. Please don't ever try to argue that Itachi in Base > Killer B in reaction speed.

But considering Minato didn't actually try to hit Killer B that time your point is irrelevant.

First we have "Itachi deflects all Kunai and takes out Minato w/ Shuriken" now we have "Itachi reacts to Hiraishin V2".

:lol Not surprising coming from you though.

As your previous post pointed out, it's not seeing the oncoming attack, it's about predicting and accurately countering. You provided multiple examples of that, so I don't have to. Therefore, your bee>Itachi reaction speed is mute. Also, from what you witnessed, Bee had that counterattack prepared prior to Minato spanning. So prediction was the determining factor, not reaction.

Whether Minato tried to kill bee is irrelevant, he predicted his whereabouts.

When did I say Itachi reacts to ftg? I've said predict his next move, which is possible. Also, it's not like he haven't seen shinobi react to ftg. Lol

 

[KidGamer65]

I know he's capable of dodging without ftg, that was me more so addressing those implying ftg being the determining factor for this match. It's not.

Itachi doesn't need to know actually where Minato would teleport, he'd simply be analyzing each possible span location and target them all at once. IF Minato chose to teleport from point A to point B in order to evade, rather than use foot speed, he'd be vulnerable. Why? Because as Minato attempts to dodge the first oncoming shuriken, he'd jump to another spot, not knowing Itachi had disbursed his shuriken to target each kunia at once, which is something he's capable of doing. Now, could Minato jump and possibly deflect the second shuriken? Maybe, but that's where Itachi precise accuracy kicks in. Ftg is instant, the time in which Minato reappears doesn't vary, so it's easier to predict. The reason Minato spreads several kunia at once. Itachi's main strategy would be to force Minato to play defense until there's a clear opening, since he'd have blind spots.

Even if this were a strategy Minato would lose, it doesn't work simply because Itachi can't send projectiles at every marked Kunai at the same speed, so Minato would easily be able to teleport to the marking that was targeted last, giving more than enough time to evade with foot speed.

But this isn't even necessary so I'd rather not dwell on it.

And if Itachi is using a spread out attack like that, there won't be many Kunai coming for Minato himself directly, so instead of wasting a use of Hiraishin dodging it, he'd simply deflect it causing Itachi to waste his projectiles tossing them at Kunai that Minato hasn't teleported to.

But let's say Minato chose to use foot speed. What does he do? Charge at Itachi? Someone with superior CQC and hand speed? If he made the same attempt as he did against Obito, he'd fail miserably. Not only would Itachi deflect the kunia thrown in his direction, he'd easily outmaneuver Minato in hand-to-hand combat.

Itachi being superior in CQC does what exactly? If Minato engages Itachi it won't be a a CQC battle. Deflecting the Kunai doesn't work. Again, Minato's Kunai are heavier than normal Kunai and he is stronger than Itachi physically by feats. If Itachi meets his thrown Kunai with Kunai of his own from CQC distance the thrown Kunai will still be right by him thus Minato would teleport and kill him.

-Minato rushes Itachi.
-Minato clashes with

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.
-Minato flicks a Kunai in the air, warps to it and ends Itachi.

Itachi can't stop Minato from approaching him. He won't hit him with Kunai when Minato can dodge or simply block. Blind spot attacks are useless unless Itachi fires them off undetected, and he won't stop Minato from using Hiraishin V2 when they are in CQC clashing with each other.

As your previous post pointed out, it's not seeing the oncoming attack, it's about predicting and accurately countering. You provided multiple examples of that, so I don't have to. Therefore, your bee>Itachi reaction speed is mute. Also, from what you witnessed, Bee had that counterattack prepared prior to Minato spanning. So prediction was the determining factor, not reaction.

Whether Minato tried to kill bee is irrelevant, he predicted his whereabouts.

When did I say Itachi reacts to ftg? I've said predict his next move, which is possible. Also, it's not like he haven't seen shinobi react to ftg. Lol

My examples support my argument because Minato is factually fast enough to evade any of Itachi's attacks. Itachi isn't fast enough to react to any Hiraishin attack. Predicting is only half of the job. Itachi knowing Minato is going to strike his back doesn't mean he's fast enough to react, and that's why your point is wrong.

Not to mention what is Itachi going to do if Minato teleports to his back and strikes him like he was about to strike Ay? Holding a Kunai pointed towards Minato's position won't help if said Kunai won't actually be able to hit him.

 

[blazekev90]

Even if this were a strategy Minato would lose, it doesn't work simply because Itachi can't send projectiles at every marked Kunai at the same speed, so Minato would easily be able to teleport to the marking that was targeted last, giving more than enough time to evade with foot speed.

But this isn't even necessary so I'd rather not dwell on it.

And if Itachi is using a spread out attack like that, there won't be many Kunai coming for Minato himself directly, so instead of wasting a use of Hiraishin dodging it, he'd simply deflect it causing Itachi to waste his projectiles tossing them at Kunai that Minato hasn't teleported to.



Itachi being superior in CQC does what exactly? If Minato engages Itachi it won't be a a CQC battle. Deflecting the Kunai doesn't work. Again, Minato's Kunai are heavier than normal Kunai and he is stronger than Itachi physically by feats. If Itachi meets his thrown Kunai with Kunai of his own from CQC distance the thrown Kunai will still be right by him thus Minato would teleport and kill him.

-Minato rushes Itachi.
-Minato clashes with

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.
-Minato flicks a Kunai in the air, warps to it and ends Itachi.

Itachi can't stop Minato from approaching him. He won't hit him with Kunai when Minato can dodge or simply block. Blind spot attacks are useless unless Itachi fires them off undetected, and he won't stop Minato from using Hiraishin V2 when they are in CQC clashing with each other.




My examples support my argument because Minato is factually fast enough to evade any of Itachi's attacks. Itachi isn't fast enough to react to any Hiraishin attack. Predicting is only half of the job. Itachi knowing Minato is going to strike his back doesn't mean he's fast enough to react, and that's why your point is wrong.

Not to mention what is Itachi going to do if Minato teleports to his back and strikes him like he was about to strike Ay? Holding a Kunai pointed towards Minato's position won't help if said Kunai won't actually be able to hit him.

But we HAVE seen Itachi send 8 projectiles at 8 direct targets, all reaching its destination at the SAME time. Accuracy and speed isn't a problem. Therefore Minato ISNT teleporting to anything the was "targeted last." Now if you're getting at the number of shuriken Itachi has at his disposal, than you may have an argument. However, Unless Minato's kunia are evenly spread out, within a same distance of Itachi, Itachi has nothing to worry about. All Itachi would need to focus on are the targets closer to him, in order to push Minato back.

Itachi would be on the offense. He wouldn't throw a single kunia in hopes to force Minato to use ftg, he'd throw several, as he did against Sasuke. Minato lacks the feats to counterattack, so he'd resort to evading. If he used ftg, Itachi would calculate his next reappearance.

What feats suggest Minato being stronger than Itachi? I don't recall anything

Going off your scenario, if Minato were to teleport to a nearby marked kunia in the midst of CQC, something Itachi is fully aware of, how would Itachi fail to react? He has superior hand speed and more skilled in taijutsu. There's no aspect of surprise to catch Itachi off guard, especially if the kunia isn't placed behind him. Minato surprised obito because he was running full speed and couldn't physically react. You can't compare/use that instance whatsoever when considering context and their differences reaction speed (Obito/Itachi).

Itachi wouldn't attempt to stop Minato's approach, he'd make sure defect the kunia early enough in mid throw in order to prevent it from being utilized during CQC. There's no benefit for Minato to engage in CQC at all. He'd be outclassed, and as you mentioned, he'd simply retreat once he feels pressured.

Predicting is only half the job when it's a surprise attack. If any kunia is placed behind Itachi, it's an obvious location for Minato to appear. It's not like Minato is doing anything offensively to distract him in the process. The very reason Bee countered effortlessly.

Like he did against Ay or Bee? Either way, Minato would have to get in his proximity in order strike him from behind. Bee could've had his sword stretched out further to intercept Minato striking him or forcing him to quickly teleport back. Itachi could do exactly that! There's nothing implying that one can't interpret the users approach in midst of using ftg. If Minato tried such a direct approach, he'd be countered. Although I see both parties landing the strike in the given moment, so it'd be a decision so sacrifice.

 

[KidGamer65]

But we HAVE seen Itachi send 8 projectiles at 8 direct targets, all reaching its destination at the SAME time. Accuracy and speed isn't a problem. Therefore Minato ISNT teleporting to anything the was "targeted last." Now if you're getting at the number of shuriken Itachi has at his disposal, than you may have an argument. However, Unless Minato's kunia are evenly spread out, within a same distance of Itachi, Itachi has nothing to worry about. All Itachi would need to focus on are the targets closer to him, in order to push Minato back.

Like I said, I won't drag this part of the argument on since dodging with Hiraishin isn't a necessity.

Itachi would be on the offense. He wouldn't throw a single kunia in hopes to force Minato to use ftg, he'd throw several, as he did against Sasuke. Minato lacks the feats to counterattack, so he'd resort to evading. If he used ftg, Itachi would calculate his next reappearance.

The feats to counter attack? Even Part 1 Kakashi in Hidden Mist can block several projectiles thrown at him by Zabuza. Itachi's skill doesn't change how fast or with how much force he throws his weaponry. Minato would easily block any Kunai/Shuriken assault unless he's throwing an abnormal amount or tries that rapid fire business. If he does that then Minato simply evades on foot.

What feats suggest Minato being stronger than Itachi? I don't recall anything

He cut B's tentacle with a Kunai and made a crater in the ground.

Going off your scenario, if Minato were to teleport to a nearby marked kunia in the midst of CQC, something Itachi is fully aware of, how would Itachi fail to react? He has superior hand speed and more skilled in taijutsu. There's no aspect of surprise to catch Itachi off guard, especially if the kunia isn't placed behind him. Minato surprised obito because he was running full speed and couldn't physically react. You can't compare/use that instance whatsoever when considering context and their differences reaction speed (Obito/Itachi).

Superior hand speed is irrelevant when talking about reaction speed. Same goes for his skill in Taijutsu. Itachi w/o Sharingan's enhancements is nowhere near the speed of the top speedsters in this Manga. He doesn't have the feats to react to a back attack Hiraishin blitz.

-Obito was hit before he could switch Kamui back to defense mode. No reaction.
-Ay had to be saved by Killer B specifically because it was a back attack.

The only surprise factor involved in Minato vs. Obito was the fact that Obito didn't know Minato was going to teleport to that Kunai, but that doesn't change the fact he was too slow to react. So where the actual feats that put Itachi at a level where he can react? Lmao. They don't exist. At all. Especially if we are talking about the equivalent of Base Itachi.

Itachi wouldn't attempt to stop Minato's approach, he'd make sure defect the kunia early enough in mid throw in order to prevent it from being utilized during CQC. There's no benefit for Minato to engage in CQC at all. He'd be outclassed, and as you mentioned, he'd simply retreat once he feels pressured.

That's impossible if they are already engaged in CQC. Itachi isn't going to be able to deflect his Kunai far enough when they are closer than

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, locked in combat. Especially since Minato was able to toss that Kunai above Ay's head during his top speed blitz.

Predicting is only half the job when it's a surprise attack. If any kunia is placed behind Itachi, it's an obvious location for Minato to appear. It's not like Minato is doing anything offensively to distract him in the process. The very reason Bee countered effortlessly.

B was able to counter because he had an ample amount of time in between Minato tagging him and Minato actually attacking him. Itachi doesn't have that luxury. As soon as Minato's Kunai leaves his hands he's going to teleport right to Itachi, so unless Itachi has the speed feats to react and stab Minato before Minato can teleport to his Kunai and stab him there is nothing more to argue on this front.

Like he did against Ay or Bee? Either way, Minato would have to get in his proximity in order strike him from behind. Bee could've had his sword stretched out further to intercept Minato striking him or forcing him to quickly teleport back. Itachi could do exactly that! There's nothing implying that one can't interpret the users approach in midst of using ftg. If Minato tried such a direct approach, he'd be countered. Although I see both parties landing the strike in the given moment, so it'd be a decision so sacrifice.

No, he really couldn't have, because unless you are going to argue that Minato would teleport right on to his sword the best B can manage is having his sword pointed at his gut so that if Minato strikes he'll strike at the same time. Itachi doesn't have a weapon with that reach nor is

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positioning the same as

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positioning.

Your argument only theoretically makes sense. When actually factoring in the ability of both combatants and the positioning of Minato and Itachi during the assault it becomes invalid.

 

[Uchihakil]

Itachi shits on minato in a game of shuriken