The answer is yes and no. Let’s go back a bit in this battle to better understand this possible plot hole.
The Sharingan has the ability to anticipate an opponent’s movements. However, even if the user can see and predict an attack, their body still needs to be fast enough to react and dodge it. A good example is the fight between Rock Lee and Sasuke in classic Naruto, where Lee wins because of his superior physical conditioning. His speed and abilities exceeded Sasuke’s capacity to react. Sasuke could see the movements, but his body wasn’t fast enough to keep up.
With that in mind, the question becomes: could Minato keep up with the Sharingan? It’s true that Minato’s teleportation ability is extremely overpowered, but there’s one scene that stands out. At the moment Minato throws his kunai toward Obito and it passes through him, Minato instantly teleports to that kunai, managing to strike Obito from behind.
Here’s an important detail: Obito was Minato’s student and knew his techniques well. So the fact that he didn’t anticipate an attack from behind might seem like a plot hole. However, Obito’s ability allowed him to phase through objects, but he needed to become solid again in order to grab his opponent. The story clearly emphasizes this limitation.
Minato waited for the perfect moment. He positioned himself strategically, knowing that Obito would try to grab him. At the exact moment Obito attempted to attack, he became tangible—and that’s when Minato executed his counterattack. It’s a complex scene to interpret, since everything happens extremely fast.
For most of the fight, Minato kept a safe distance from Obito. However, nothing stopped Obito from using genjutsu, since practically all Uchiha possess this ability—which would have been a significant advantage. We don’t know how resistant Minato is to genjutsu, nor why Obito chose not to use it, especially against an opponent who had the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In summary, I don’t believe it was necessarily a plot hole. It’s possible that Obito avoided using genjutsu to keep his identity as an Uchiha hidden, which could explain its absence during the fight. Additionally, he may have believed that his intangibility ability alone would be enough to defeat Minato, since it’s an extremely powerful technique.
Another point to consider is Obito’s mask, which had only one eye hole. This raises a question: wouldn’t it be possible for Minato to notice that it was a Sharingan?
The Naruto universe is full of details, and it’s always possible that the author might overlook a rule previously established. So, what do you think?