WTF???
Hashirama stated Itachi's better shinobi than him. So what??? He never knew Itachi, never met him, never talked to him, never saw what Itachi could do. Hashirama made this statement based clearly on the story he heard from Hiruzen which he knew. He might have been just simply impressed by what Hiruzen said, and that's all. Also statement after statement shows very clear how should we understand what did Hashirama mean. At the end of his story he explains what is shinobi...
I like Itachi much more than Hashi but based on feats and hype only retard would think Itachi can beat Hashirama. If he was this strong this war would never occur in the first place... thread.