Riddle me this then Noddy.. Why was Itachi able to construct his Susanoo faster and/or equal to the speed of Kirin?
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simple, here's what i think happened.
Firstly, we see that Sasuke takes quite a bit of time to prepare the jutsu (after the fire balls produced the storm). Zetsu himself was able to immediately understand the exact mechanics behind Kirin. Now as we know, Zetsu isn't exactly praised for having vast intellect lol. Zetsu was observing both Sasuke and the storm in the same way that Itachi was. Now can we really say that Itachi didn't know what was coming? Absolutely not. If Zetsu could so easily deduce the workings of Kirin long before the Jutsu was actually used, there is no denying that Itachi was quite aware of exactly what was about to happen. Not only this, but consider the fact that he has the Sharingan as well. This means that not only was Itachi aware of precisely what was coming through intellect, but he was also aware through what he could perceive with his Sharingan. It doesn't help that Sasuke himself outright stated to Itachi that the jutsu's power source is real lighting from the heavens lol. Then there is the fact that a giant beast made of lighting emerges from the clouds lol.
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So it has been established that Itachi was totally aware of what Kirin was, and how the jutsu functions. Now let us address the feat of him blocking it. As we see, Itachi's body remains out of view to the readers for the last few panels he is shown in just before Kirin is used. The view is focused completely on his face. Also keep in mind that Itachi already had his MS activated long before Kirin was used.
Before I explain why Itachi did not react to the lighting itself, I first want to explain what the term "Aim Dodging" is. This is a concept involving gunfire, where the target is basing his reaction on the shooter him/herself, as opposed to the actual bullet. When Aim Dodging, you are not dodging the bullet itself after it is fired. Rather, you are reacting to the aim of the gun and remaining out of the gun's direction. Another interpretation is when you are focusing on the shooter's trigger finger. You watch carefully for the very moment that the shooter's finger squeezes the trigger, and get out of the shooter's aim at the very second you see him squeeze the trigger. When doing this, you are actually dodging the gunfire a split-second before the actual bullet leaves the gun, hence you are not dodging the bullet by any means.
This is what Itachi did. Now of course, he isn't "aim dodging" in the sense that he's getting out of Sasuke's aim or the jutsu's path. However, he is reacting to when Sasuke fires the jutsu, rather than the jutsu itself. As we know, Sasuke must use his Raiton chakra to take command of the lightning. It is after this point that he uses his hand to guide the jutsu directly onto his opponent. Meaning the jutsu is firing completely on Sasuke's cue. This is virtually akin to the concept of a shooter firing his gun. The bullet itself will not leave the gun until the trigger is pulled by the shooter. Comparatively, Kirin's lighting bolt will not descend onto the target until Sasuke throws his hand down, and guides it. Now keep in mind, Sasuke blatantly tells Itachi that all he needs to do is guide it right through his skull. At this point, Itachi now knows not only the jutsu's mechanics, but he also knows the cue of which Sasuke is going to use the execute the jutsu.
The cue being this:
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That being said, Itachi could have simply timed his Susanoo on the instant Sasuke threw his hand down, thus executing the jutsu. Once Sasuke throws down his hand, we see a closeup on Itachi's face being covered in the jutsu's light. If he timed his Susanoo for the instant that Sasuke threw down his hand, it is quite obvious that by the time we see Itachi bathed in light, he had already initiated his Susanoo.
So considering these things, it is quite evident that Itachi was timing his Susanoo for when Sasuke threw down his hand to guide Kirin down on Itachi. As the Itachi supporters aptly put, Itachi is quite intelligent. Now barring in mind how fast real lightning is, do we all really believe that Itachi purposely waited until the instant after the lightning struck to defend against it? Remember that Itachi quite obviously knew exactly what was coming (unless someone wishes to argue that Zetsu is smarter than Itachi lol). So here we have a genius shinobi that is aware of the fact that he is about to get blasted by real lighting that strikes at possibly relativistic speeds. What are the chances that Itachi, knowing these things, decided to gamble his reaction speeds against lightning itself, whereas he could take the much safer approach and time his reaction on Sasuke's cue? This would ensure that he could have Susanoo up the instant before the lightning strikes and guarantee that he survives.