The nice thing about the world of Naruto and the characters within it is that practically everyone was born a baby. That is to say that everyone was born weak and helpless, irrespective of how much stronger they became when they matured.
Connecting these two points brings the necessary conclusion that there is a specific day and age when each character reached and surpassed a specific level of capability.
With that in mind, we have Iruka, as he was at the start of the 4th War. Specifically, the day when he bound Naruto with his sealing formula.
At which of their respective ages do you think other characters reached the same level of ability as 4th War Iruka? That is to say, when did they reach a point whereby they would be as capable or useful in shinobi missions as him?
At which of their respective ages did they completely surpass 4th War Iruka? That is to say, at which point could they convincingly outperform him on any type of task? Now because characters have different skillsets, some characters will always be better at some tasks than others. For example, Asuma will always have better Wind Style than Itachi, simply because that's his element. So for practicality, the question isn't about method-based tasks, but achieving general end-results, such as getting past physical barriers, holding opponents back/in place, killing indidivuals, protecting allies etc.
Of course, that is assuming they ever did achieve the matching and surpassing of his might. If you think they didn't, then please indicate this.
Finally, you may assume a natural growth pattern for all characters, unless you have reason to think otherwise. The Five Shadows are the 5th Hokage, 5th Kazekage, 5th Mizukage, 4th Raikage and 3rd Tsuchikage.
Connecting these two points brings the necessary conclusion that there is a specific day and age when each character reached and surpassed a specific level of capability.
With that in mind, we have Iruka, as he was at the start of the 4th War. Specifically, the day when he bound Naruto with his sealing formula.
At which of their respective ages do you think other characters reached the same level of ability as 4th War Iruka? That is to say, when did they reach a point whereby they would be as capable or useful in shinobi missions as him?
At which of their respective ages did they completely surpass 4th War Iruka? That is to say, at which point could they convincingly outperform him on any type of task? Now because characters have different skillsets, some characters will always be better at some tasks than others. For example, Asuma will always have better Wind Style than Itachi, simply because that's his element. So for practicality, the question isn't about method-based tasks, but achieving general end-results, such as getting past physical barriers, holding opponents back/in place, killing indidivuals, protecting allies etc.
Of course, that is assuming they ever did achieve the matching and surpassing of his might. If you think they didn't, then please indicate this.
Finally, you may assume a natural growth pattern for all characters, unless you have reason to think otherwise. The Five Shadows are the 5th Hokage, 5th Kazekage, 5th Mizukage, 4th Raikage and 3rd Tsuchikage.