Plot armor is a tier of its own
Naruto rankings live on the tension between feats and favoritism. Itachi's fandom keeps him S regardless of sickness debuffs; Kakashi rides early-series mystique long after the power ceiling left him behind. Prime-era placement is the real argument — Hebi Sasuke vs. war-arc Kage, Minato's one-shining-moment versus Hashirama's raw stats. And every list must decide what to do with Sakura: consistently mid on feats, permanently F-tier in memes, occasionally A-tier when someone remembers the Kaguya fight.