Itachi was trashing Sasuke in Taijutsu while he was sick and holding back. There is really no one that is as skilled in Taijutsu as Itachi. (I know from our messages your tired of the Itachi wank, and I agree, but I cant let his abilities be overlooked either)
Handseal speed and Hand speed are one in the same. If he can make multiple complex handseals before a Sharingan can even register it then Punches are no biggie.
It wasn't just a bluff. Even Neji was in marvel at Naruto's hand to hand ability after he got the powerup. their speed was roughly the same, but their strength were on two diffrent levels. Naruto tied Kaiten with Mearly a punch. Neji may have been more "Skilled" but that just goes to show how far Power and Speed can go.
(the bit about the Naruto and his Bunshin also backs up my argument about Sharingan v Byakugan. Sharingan is far superior when it comes to battling one or two very powerful oppenants, while the Byakugan is better at dealing with multiple weaker oppenants)
Thats basically what I meant. Uchihas can defent from a much faster attack when its right in front of them, something on the level that a hyuuga wouldn't. But a Hyuuga can defend from mutliple angles at a level an Uchiha can't.
Sharingan and Byakugan are very similar in terms of eye prowress (excluding MS) simply because Gentle fist isn't exactly part of Byakugans abilities. its something they developed to maximize their use of Byakugan. The same way that Uchiha's learned to copy Ninjutsu, use Sharingan for Genjutsu, and be really haxxed in Taijutsu to maximize their use of Sharingan.
But I guess we can agree to disagree here.
I must still disagree on this point here. Itachi, while highly skilled in all 3 areas of combat, is not the best in taijutsu. It was said that he was considered to be rather advanced in taijutsu when it wasnt his primary form of combat. According to the databooks, Sasuke only had a 3.5 in the manga while itachi had a 4.5, putting him on another level than Sasuke.
That being said, Neji also boasts a 4.5 in taijutsu. The thing is, however, that Neji, having trained his whole life in taijutsu, has much greater experience over Itachi, who typically does not use taijutsu unless his opponent is too nimble for him to put them into a genjutsu off the spot and his ninjutsu wasnt enough of a distraction for him to find an opening. Not only that, but being a prodigy himself, Neji was able to recreate his clans most powerful taijutsu abilities such as 64 palms and kaiten purely through observation and in a relatively short time. Itachi's only true redeeming quality in this area is his speed that sits at a 5, which is only barely higher than Neji's 4.5.
Handseal speed is not the same as handspeeds, or attacking speed. His ability to weave handsigns is a testament to how much time he dedicated to mastering handseals to the point where even the sharingan is unable to see them. Handspeeds, is not just about throwing punches out as fast as possible, its about being able to land an attack on the opponent faster than the opponent is able to react with
great accuracy. Anyone could simply throw thier hands out as fast as possible to try to overwhelm their opponent with a barrage of punches, but they key is being able to actually land those hits accuratley enough to do some damage. Itachi is all about being able to move quickly in a fight, so that he can outmanuevre his opponent and ultimately put his opponent into a genjutsu; his super-quick handsigns being crucial to for him to retain the element of surprise.
Neji, on the other hand, has actually trained his body to not only be fast and nimble, but to be able to attack his opponents with a barrage of strikes with
pinpoint accuracy (meaning he's not just throwing his arms about hoping to land a hit, but deliberately placing each strike exactly where he intends for it to land) before they can react so that he can do maximum damage to the opponent through his gentle fist. He is also capable to simultaneously attacking and defending himself, which further showcases his taijutsu ability. This is something that Neji has specifically conditioned himself to do when in a taijutsu bout and has repeatedly shown this in practically every fight he has shown.
In conclusion, should Neji and Itachi ever fight in a taijutsu bout, Neji would ultimately win due to his prowess, advanced techniques, and conditioning for said area of combat. Itachi is pretty good himself in taijutsu as well and has his sharingan to help him perceive his opponents next move, but ultimately, he will not be able to land a crucial blow on Neji the way Neji can to Itachi, nor will he be able to outlast him. After all, it only takes one hit for Neji to seriously mess anybody up, meaning the longer that the battle is dragged out, the more it will be in Neji's favor, because he will likely be able to land at least a few crucial blows in a relatively short period of time with his near overwhelming handspeed and his ability to attack and defend at the same time, while Itachi himself lacks a true tide-turning taijutsu ability to make up for his lack of experience in that general field of combat besides his sharingan precog. Itachi will likely be on the defensive the entire time.
Now, there are other people who truly are better in taijutsu than Itachi such as Guy, Lee, Hiashi, Tsunade, and Hiruzen to name a few, just to clarify that Itachi is not the best in the NV at taijutsu. His sharingan is crucial for him to really be able to compete with these high-level taijutsu masters, but without it, he wont be able to match up against most of these people.
Anyways, about Naruto vs Neji, Neji had only marveled at his speed, being able to dodge most of Neji's attacks and being able to keep up with him from a distance. When Naruto and Neji clashed, Neji's Kaiten wasn't actually complete, or at full strength, and I can go into another explanation about it, but I would rather not. In any case, it would not prove your point specifically because of Nejis attitude during that fight. Had he taken Naruto more seriously, he would have won the fight against that one opponent.
At this last point, I guess we can agree to disagree.
