Naruto: How Itachi's Sickness Limited His Potential - Game Rant

Itachi Uchiha is one of Masashi Kishimoto's best-written characters in Naruto. Introduced quite early into the series as a villain who had massacred his entire clan, Itachi went on to hold a profound role in the future of the story. Not only did he play the role of becoming an obstacle for Sasuke to overcome, but also provided the story with an intimidating villain.

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Being a member of the Akatsuki, it was a given that Itachi was tremendously powerful and even the likes of the Legendary Sannin didn't compare to his skill. In early Naruto, he was certainly one of the strongest characters, if not the very strongest. While Itachi was surpassed by quite a few as the story moved forward, it's only because his true potential was limited by a sickness that consumed him from within. Had he not contracted this illness, Itachi would truly have been on a whole different level.

Itachi's Potential As A Ninja

From a very young age, Itachi was seen as the genius of the Uchiha clan. Even before becoming a proper ninja, he had already surpassed several adults of his clan. His skill was such that his father held him in incredibly high regard and knew that Itachi held the potential to surpass everyone, despite being a shinobi strong enough to be Hokage himself.

After awakening his Sharingan, Itachi became even more menacing as a ninja. His training with Shisui made him incredibly adept at fighting and this is something that enamored Orochimaru as well. Awakening the Sharingan at the mere age of eight, Itachi immediately rose through the ranks and earned praise as one of Konoha's biggest talents. Soon after, he joined the ANBU and it wasn't long before he was made an ANBU Captain, despite being just 11 years old.

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At this point, Itachi had mastered his Sharingan already, as evident from the fact that it had fully matured. His skills with the eye were great enough to see him match Shisui, another genius of the Uchiha clan in combat. However, it was only after Shisui died that Itachi became a truly monstrous shinobi. After awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi's power rose to the next level. He was able to access the jutsu of Amaterasu and even Tsukuyomi, both of which made him a monster in combat. If that wasn't enough, his Susanoo was also deemed to be invincible.

During his time with the Akatsuki, he was quite easily one of the strongest members, if not the strongest. Even Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, lost to him without him even lifting a finger. All this was accomplished by him before hitting his peak as a ninja as he was still just a teenager. As such, Itachi's potential was limitless and had he gone on to acquire more powers such as the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he would certainly have become a menace.

How Itachi's Sickness Limited Him

It is unknown when exactly Itachi fell ill, however, throughout his time in Naruto, he was already battling for his life. Itachi knew that he had very little time left and before he passed away, he wanted to help Sasuke. When Itachi fought the likes of Kakashi and easily overwhelmed him in combat, he had already lost his edge as a fighter due to his deteriorating physical condition. Despite that, he was able to make quick work of an accomplished Jonin with the potential to become a Kage.

Over the two years that followed, Itachi's physical condition got even worse and his usage of the Mangekyo Sharingan led to blindness as well. This was most apparent during his fight against Sasuke, where he was taking his brother on in combat while being mostly blind yet dominating him. On top of not being able to see properly, Itachi's illness meant that he could not fight for extended periods of time. His stamina, strength, and speed were all compromised.

As the fight went on, it was quite clear to see that Itachi was significantly weakened when he started bleeding from his mouth. His chakra levels dropped significantly and he took damage that he would normally have avoided quite easily, which is something that even Zetsu noticed while witnessing the clash between the two brothers. Had Itachi been in better health, his performance in the fight would have been much better. Furthermore, Itachi would only have grown further as a shinobi as he was quite young at the time of his death.

Shinobi such as Hashirama, and Naruto, among others, only reached their true potential past their teenage years. In fact, some, such as Jiraiya were deemed to be in their prime during their latter years. With a shinobi as incredible as Itachi, there was certainly a lot of unfulfilled potential. When compared to the likes of Sasuke and Madara, Itachi would certainly have reached sky-high levels and might even have been comparable to them to some extent. Sadly, his disease consumed him before he could become the best version of himself. Nonetheless, Itachi was still among the strongest characters in the series and his importance to the story remains paramount.

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