Naruto: How Itachi's Sickness Limited His Potential

gamerant.com:

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.

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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