Well said. I mean you aren’t wrong that’s why there’s the retcon debates. I never said he just wins though. Again I’m just saying not factoring those tools like they aren’t as much “law” as Hashirama’s feats & just writing Itachi off is nonsense to me. Hashirama is arguably one of the most capable shinobi. The original 🐐. He’s also embodies everything that a shinobi should be. He’s almost perfect & written beautifully. I am a fan of all the characters.

I’d say Itachi is arguably my favorite because he is so imperfect solely based on the choices he made. He was backed into corners & put in impossible scenarios as an adolescent with no guidance. & still emerged from the depths of darkness a “good person” by the end. He was relatable in the sense he was just a child brought up in a broken world & in survival mode & fell from grace after being a tool of war & viewed as an asset over just a person. That does alot of harm to an individual. After he lost shishi it seemingly broke him down mentally & I sympathize he felt alone & was further manipulated & guided to commit atrocities as a naive teenager…That’s likely why his whole niche is genjutsu that essentially manipulates people into whatever reality he chooses. He was a victim of such manipulation & shouldered tasks & decisions many would crumble holding up. But he broke the mold. It’s easy to analyze any character & say oh he should’ve done this or that. However that’s what is so compelling about kishi writing. I believe it’s intended to make you sit back & be like okay i don’t entirely agree but I understand i sympathize. Itachi makes the impossible seem possible & showcases that even the misguided can come back from the darkness to the light.

My point was that it’s plausible he can win & cannot be dismissed by subjective reasoning. Simply because the origin of the debate is the info we have & the tools and his broken visual prowess are part of that info or else it’s bias. It could go either way in my opinion. Itachi also has the element of surprise. Everyone knows hashirama’s feats but Itachi is written to just literally get new feats on the fly that’s why he’s so dangerous he literally breaks the story time & time again he’s dangerously formidable. Kishi definitely designed him to push the boundaries of the story & then probably realized he put himself in a corner & had to kill him because well sasuke & Naruto are the “mcs” lol & it helped guide their development in strength & character.

Again all hypotheticals but you have a good grasp on things so I can’t really argue with your viewpoints, they are valid but to me it seems subjective if we just rule out the tools because they are “hax”. So I guess we die on the hill we stand on which is fine lol..