I DON'T THINK HE WAS AT THE FOURTH'S LEVEL, HE WAS A GREAT SHINOBI BUT REMEMBER THAT THE FOURTH (AS WELL AS THE THIRD) SUFFER AN ETERNITY OF BATTLEitachi...
he was a badass and saved the village...
he has like an equal statis as the fourth....
at the cost of his life he left the village in shame and killed his family....
and untill the end he saved his brother.....
itachi is the coolest guy in naruto....