itachi let sasuke win but i wouldn't call it a battle since itachi wasn't trying 2 win but help sasuke
what do you call using amaterasu on sasuke? A pat on the back?!
the fight between them was real until a certan point. sasuke proved he was the only one to push itachi to that edge(susanoo). that point btw was when itachi removed orochimaru and started walking toward sasuke, thats the part that was staged, he knew he was just gonna fall over and die.
every single shuriken thrown until that point was thrown with the intent to kill. if itachi was holding back sasuke would have figured it out. itachi did not hold back, that fight was supposed to be the defining point of both their lives, you would think itachi would do his best to make sasuke believe he was actually trying to kill him you smart human beings