Masashi Kishimoto gave many broken abilities to characters who were about to die soon, be it Madara, Minato, or Itachi. For instance, the ‘Yata Mirror’ is one of the most absurdly powerful defensive tools introduced in Naruto.
It was a seemingly all-rounded ability, which was described as having the ability to nullify all five chakra nature transformations, and all taijutsu attacks. This meant that other than the six paths chakra, it was impenetrable.
Not just that, it essentially acts as an advanced version of the Truth-Seeking Orbs. This meant that Itachi was possibly the strongest tank in all of Naruto, but we do not see the ability being abused because Itachi dies in Sasuke’s hands.
Why give such a broken ability to Itachi?
This shield is not just an impenetrable barrier against ninjutsu but also renders taijutsu ineffective. This means that even the strongest conventional attacks would fail to scratch it. Whoever is considered a normal ninja, even if Itachi does nothing and stands behind the Yata Mirror, cannot be harmed.
Despite its hype, the Yata Mirror was never fully tested in battle. This seems to be similar to the Meteor Summoming Jutsu used by Uchiha Madara, to the extent that it was only used twice and was never named.
Given the stated properties of the Yata Mirror, Itachi would have been able to hold a siege from an entire ninja village. Possibly the only techniques that might be capable of piercing it would be those infused with Six Paths chakra or natural energy.
What was Kishimoto smoking when he gave this to Itachi?!?
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So, even Hokage-level figures may not be able to break through if they do not use special techniques and keep using their chakra to attack. This puts Itachi very high when we consider the abilities of all characters in Naruto.
Even those that Sasuke and Naruto face after Itachi’s death would not have been able to land a scratch on Itachi. There is no doubt that Itachi was destined to die.
He wished he could die in the hands of his little brother, but that doesn’t mean Masashi Kishimotot could just up and give him a broken ability that seems to not have counters.
Itachi was already a powerhouse before the introduction of the Yata Mirror; there was no need to give him additional abilities. He had a quasi-broken arsenal of Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and the Totsuka Blade, making him a fearsome opponent to face.
A broken plot device meant to be temporary
His skill set was already at the highest level among the Uchiha (considering Madara, who is an anomaly). The addition of an impenetrable defense made him nearly unstoppable. However, Masashi Kishimoto’s reasoning for granting Itachi such an ability becomes clear when considering the narrative structure of Naruto.
Itachi was doomed to die from the start; his clock started counting down the very night he exterminated his clan. His battle against Sasuke was never about determining the stronger fighter; it was a planned loss and a way to give them both peace.
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Kishimoto likely gave him the Yata Mirror because he knew that Itachi wouldn’t be around long enough to break the story’s power balance. If he had survived longer and joined forces with the Hidden Leaf again, he might have even countered fearsome army-wipe level attacks from entities like Madara.
There is a reason even Sasuke, who was his brother and defeated him did not obtain this ability. If it had remained in the narrative, it would have created major complications that would have rendered many chalked out plans of the author useless.
It would have been s though they had maxed their defense, even if their attack was ridiculously weak. As long as the Yata Mirror could be maintained, their defence could not be broken. By giving it to a character destined to die, Kishimoto ensured that it wouldn’t become a problem that would span more than a few chapters.
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