Jiraiya

Jiraiya is flamboyant, confident, humorous, and openly lecherous. He frequently claims that spying on women is "research" for his novels and has no hesitation about spending money on drinking, entertainment, or distractions while traveling. Naruto quickly gives him the nickname "Pervy Sage" after discovering this side of his personality.

The behavior hides a much more serious shinobi. Jiraiya is patient when gathering intelligence, perceptive about political threats, and willing to spend years moving between countries in pursuit of information. He understands that Akatsuki represents a threat long before most villages appreciate the organization's full scale.

He carries complicated feelings about his failures. He is unable to persuade Orochimaru to return to Konoha, cannot prevent several of his students from being consumed by war, and spends years questioning whether he has accomplished anything worthy of the legacy he wants to leave.

Jiraiya's teaching philosophy is less rigid than his own master's. With Naruto, he frequently uses practical demonstrations, dangerous exercises, and real-world experience rather than classroom instruction. He also recognizes that Naruto's greatest strength lies as much in his persistence and capacity to affect other people as in his raw chakra.

Jiraiya is a highly versatile shinobi proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, barrier techniques, infiltration, sealing arts, and espionage. His large chakra reserves allow him to sustain demanding techniques and summon enormous toads.

Through the Summoning Technique, Jiraiya calls toads from Mount Myōboku, including Gamabunta, Fukasaku, and Shima. These summons provide combat power, mobility, sensory support, and access to specialized techniques.

He uses several toad-themed ninjutsu, including Wild Lion's Mane Technique, which transforms and extends his hair for restraint or defense, and Toad Mouth Bind, which alters an environment into the interior of a giant fire-breathing toad's esophagus.

Jiraiya is skilled with Fire Release and Earth Release and can combine his own techniques with his summons. With Gamabunta, he can use oil and fire together to produce extremely large-scale attacks.

He teaches Naruto the Rasengan, a technique originally created by Minato. Jiraiya himself can form the Rasengan one-handed and vary its size considerably.

Jiraiya can enter Sage Mode by drawing natural energy into his chakra. Because his mastery is imperfect, his appearance develops pronounced toad-like features. Fukasaku and Shima assist him by gathering natural energy while he moves and can combine their techniques with his.

In Sage Mode, Jiraiya's physical strength, durability, sensory ability, and ninjutsu increase dramatically. Fukasaku and Shima can also perform Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Chant, a powerful auditory genjutsu capable of immobilizing multiple opponents.

He is additionally an expert in barriers. During intelligence missions, Jiraiya can establish detection fields that alert him when enemies enter a designated area, making ambush considerably more difficult.

Jiraiya first appears during the Chūnin Exams while Naruto is training under Ebisu. After accidentally interfering with the lesson, he eventually accepts Naruto as a student and begins teaching him how to better access the chakra of the Nine-Tails.

He later teaches Naruto the Summoning Technique, forcing him into progressively more dangerous circumstances until Naruto successfully summons Gamabunta.

After the invasion of Konoha, Jiraiya is considered as a potential Fifth Hokage but refuses the position. Instead, he takes Naruto with him to search for Tsunade, whom he believes is better suited to lead the village.

During that journey, Jiraiya teaches Naruto the Rasengan and oversees his development until Naruto can complete the technique through his own unorthodox method.

Jiraiya subsequently leaves Konoha with Naruto for an extended training journey. By the beginning of Part II, Naruto has spent roughly two and a half years traveling and training with him.

Jiraiya's intelligence work becomes increasingly focused on Akatsuki and the mysterious leader controlling the organization. His investigation eventually draws him toward Amegakure, a village whose history intersects with students he trained during the Second Shinobi World War.

Jiraiya discovers that Akatsuki's apparent leader, Pain, is connected to Nagato, one of the three Amegakure orphans he once trained. After infiltrating the village, he fights the Six Paths of Pain and realizes that their bodies share a hidden connection.

Although mortally wounded, Jiraiya uses his final moments to encode a message about Pain's secret and send it back to Konoha through Fukasaku. Remembering Naruto and the unfinished possibilities of his life, he chooses to regard Naruto as the continuation of the story he could not complete himself.

His teachings continue influencing events long afterward. Naruto inherits not only the Rasengan and toad techniques but also Jiraiya's belief that shinobi must eventually find a way to end the cycle of hatred that perpetuates war.

Naruto Uzumaki becomes Jiraiya's final major student and the person in whom he ultimately places his greatest faith. Jiraiya teaches Naruto Uzumaki summoning, the Rasengan, survival skills, and broader lessons about the shinobi world.

Minato Namikaze is one of Jiraiya's former students and a prodigy whom he considers exceptionally gifted. Minato Namikaze and Kushina later name Naruto after the protagonist of one of Jiraiya's books.

Tsunade is Jiraiya's teammate and one of his oldest friends. Jiraiya has romantic feelings for Tsunade, although she never develops the same kind of relationship with him.

Orochimaru is Jiraiya's former teammate and one of the defining failures of his life. Jiraiya repeatedly tries to understand or recover Orochimaru after his defection but never succeeds.

Hiruzen Sarutobi is Jiraiya's teacher and the leader who trains the future Sannin from childhood.

Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan are war orphans whom Jiraiya trains in Amegakure. Their later involvement with Akatsuki turns Jiraiya's investigation into a confrontation with the consequences of a previous generation's wars.

Fukasaku and Shima are senior toads of Mount Myōboku who assist Jiraiya with Sage Mode and regard him as one of the humans closest to their community.