Squigles, I do grant that you have a point with them being taken by surprise. I only pointed that out because Itachi is both clever and paranoid, something that leads to him planning very far ahead. Your idea about Itachi trying to draw Kabuto closer might be true, but somehow - call it a hunch - I feel that it was just surprise or some other problem.
You brought up an excellent point about un-summoning individuals. I'm not sure he can do that, since there is no data, but it does seem likely since he can summon individuals. Is it the Genjutsu? Is it Kabuto's desire for a challenge, to foolishly prove his superiority and might? Villains often do such stupid things when they could theoretically win. I don't know, but given the flashback, it seems plausible.
You mentioned the possibility of Izanami already being in effect. I theorize that the activation of the jutsu or the ending of the jutsu might be the cause for Itachi getting hurt. I base this on the fact that Itachi's right eye was closed (Is it from pain or due to losing a Sharingan to Izanami) right before he regenerated, sharingan included. It's impressive if he managed to save Sasuke under those conditions. This begs two questions:
1. Was the Izanami in effect, based on the above? Is my observation at least accurate, even if my interpretation is wrong?
2. Will the Sharingan regenerated by the Edo Tensei after the use of Izanami be of any use?
3. Was Sasuke distracted for some really important reason? Why did Itachi tell him to stick close?
4. Is it certain that one will lose eyesight after the Izanami? Do we have cold hard facts? If not, will there be another sacrifice or no sacrifice at all?
NarutoMinato raised a rather interesting point about the Amaterasu, one which I'd asked myself. I'm glad that you pointed out the use of the Susano'o squigles, because I hadn't realized the significance of it, even though the difference was clear in the examples I brought up. This brings up the following questions:
1. While the EMS provably returns the eyesight of the person in question, does it really protect one from all MS techniques? Could the use of Amaterasu cause further damage to the EMS where the Susano'o doesn't?
2. Are there other EMS techniques that cause bleeding or loss of vision?
3. Why is the case of using Amaterasu through the susano'o (Blaze release Magatama and Amaterasu coated arrows) different?
I theorized earlier that the EMS might still cause blindness due to some techniques or pose another risk. (Most high level techniques in Kishi's world pose a risk and are not risk free, afaik.) Was it due to this that Madara sought out the power of Hashirama (life force and healing from the Mokuton to restore his eyes) and did he really gain a bit of Hashirama's power? Did that cause the evolution of the Rinnegan? I know that this theory is a bit wild, but it is possible to some extent. In any case, I'm curious.
Finally, I'd like to point out that Kabuto called himself closer to the Sage of the Six Path's than anyone else. This suggests to me that he might have made further body modifications. However, it could be because he gave life through the Muki Tensei. Thoughts everyone?
Once again, I hope you guys take a look and share your thoughts on all of the above!
