Jiraiya is always underappreciated in the full canon of Naruto. Many other legendary shinobi end up topping fan’s list of favorites. In comparison, the Toad Sage appears not to stack up. Comparing him to Hashirama or Hiruzen makes him seem silly and simplified. Even Might Guy stands out more than Jiraiya at points. Sometimes the most general fan simply overlooks the great Sannin.
True fans of Jiraiya know there is more to him than meets the eye. After all, if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then so is strength and power. Jiraiya is powerful shinobi that many fans never take the time to understand fully. Whether it be anime only jutsu, or specific details to his big-time techniques, Jiraiya can surprise even the biggest doubter with his power. With that in mind, the Toad Sage is worthy of a more in-depth exploration into his skills.
This list aims to uncover the hidden traits behind Jiraiya’s powers that only his most faithful fans know. Keep in mind, a reader might know some entries and say, “well, that is something a general fan would know.” However, every Naruto fan is bound to know some of Jiraiya’s powers in reasonable detail, but only the biggest fans of the pervy sage will know every entry. On top of this, every entry is meant to detail certain unique aspects of Jiraiya’s powers. This is not a plain list of his powers. This list is a detailed overview that his hardcore fans will appreciate.
Now that all the details are out there, it is time to dive into 20 Wild Things About Jiraiya's Powers That Not Even True Fans Know.
Summon Selective Parts of a Toad
Jiraiya is capable of summoning specific parts of toads. Fans see this during the Search for Tsunade arc when he and Naruto confront both Itachi and Kisame. The master of toads is able to summon an esophagus of a toad to bind his opponent.
Consider that for a moment, this ninja has the ability to summon just the mouth of a toad specifically. It is likely that Jiraiya can summon all different parts of a toad’s anatomy if he needed to. Not many other ninjas are ever shown summoning just specific parts of their summoning partner. The notoriety here is all for Jiraiya, and his biggest fans appreciate that remarkable talent.
Extreme Strength
Jiraiya does not get into Taijutsu scrums super often. He often avoids short range fist fights in favor of more long range battles. Though that is the case, Jiraiya is more than capable of holding his own when matched up in close combat.
Jiraiya, being a legendary Sannin, is able to muster pure strength. Tsunade is definitely the strongest of the three, but Jiraiya can hold his own. He knows how to control his chakra and focus it as Tsunade does, and he is capable of maximizing his punches. Big fans of the Toad Sage are quick to bring this up when someone criticizes his close combat ability.
Projectile Hair
Most everyone who watches or reads the series knows that Jiraiya can harden his hair into needles. The jutsu is a defense mechanism meant to divert opponents from directly attacking him. It is the whole reason he has such long hair (more on this in the next entry).
On top of that, fans who watched filler arcs were able to see Jiraiya use his needle hair as projectiles. He shows the ability to not only use them as a defensive technique but also launch them at his opponent. That fact alone gives much more weight to an often underutilized.
His Hair Holds Chakra
So how does Jiraiya turn his hair into needles? Well, the Toad Sage actually uses his chakra through his hair. It is not the first time fans see a ninja use their hair for chakra. Ino uses hers to trap Sakura during the Chunin Exam. Still, not many shinobi are shown doing it at the level Jiraiya is.
Some fans may counter and say that the technique is silly or not worth considering. However, one can argue that the ability to control his chakra through his hair makes Jiraiya even more unique. This power is unusual and not every ninja can say they know such a creative jutsu.
Water Release: Water Gun
Jiraiya loves to incorporate the toads he summons into his jutsus. The toads have a unique ability to perform jutsu that not many other summonses can do. This flexibility allows Jiraiya to create new jutsu that combine his releases with the toad's releases. The combination ends up making powerful two formed jutsu.
One of these jutsus is only seen in the anime, so just some of his hardcore fans will likely remember it. The Water Release: Water Gun technique is used in coordination with Gamariki. Jiraiya uses his water release, and Gamariki shoots a powerful water blast from his mouth. The power of this move is capable of slicing through multiple targets. It is a secret move that Jiraiya barely uses, but can pack a considerable punch.
Spit Oil from His Mouth
Many readers and viewers know that Jiraiya can spit oil, but the full variance of that power is underappreciated. After all, oil has plenty of applications in a fight. The fact Jiraiya is able to spit is incredible.
Jiraiya acquired the ability through his training with the toad sages, and he then quickly mastered multiple uses for it. This kind of power is flexible. Jiraiya can use to divert opponents or trap them in a pool of oil that he then lights on fire. He can also combine it with fire style jutsu to create long-range moves. It is a trap and projectile all in one. Not every ninja has such flexible powers.
Incredible Memory
Not many fans consider Jiraiya to be smart. To be clear, no fan would argue that Jiraiya is dumb, they only say that his silliness hurts his ability to think clearly. However, one aspect of Jiraiya’s mind goes underappreciated: his memory.
During Jiraiya’s fight with Pain, he is near death and is able to recall specific details of his recent novel to create a code for Kakashi to decipher. Think about the kind of memory that requires. Go back to a month ago, most people cannot even remember all their social media post from even that far back. Jiraiya clearly has a powerful memory that is a special talent that shows off his brilliant mind.
Carve Messages with Chakra
Okay, so the exact use of this power is not totally clear, but it does lend insight into Jiraiya’s overall ability with chakra. Jiraiya carves the aforementioned decipherable message with his chakra. Fans had not seen a ninja do that before, so the novelty of it was confusing.
The ability does show that Jiraiya can concentrate his chakra well enough to harness it into energy targeted for a unique skill. Imagine how much control it takes to form one’s chakra so precisely that the user can carve a message. That ability requires tremendous amounts of control and knowledge of how chakra functions. It highlights something his true fans know--Jiraiya gets chakra.
Senjutsu Jumping Ability
When Jiraiya reaches his sage mode, his entire body transforms into a more toad-like appearance. On the surface, it seems just to change how Jiraiya looks. However, the toad sage is given toad abilities from the form too.
Jiraiya is able to jump in the same fashion that a toad can when he accesses his Senjutsu ability. He can jump to extreme heights and gains more agility. This boost gives Jiraiya the ability to use more Taijutsu and easily evade opponents attacks. When he goes full sage mode, enemies have to keep this particular aspect in mind as they go to attack him.
Combining Chakra with His Toads
A previous entry mentions this briefly, but the idea itself deserves some more attention. After all, not every shinobi can do this with their summonings. That idea needs to be stressed to its resolution. Jiraiya has a power unseen throughout the rest of the series.
The Water Gun is not the only technique that combines his nature release with one of his toad’s nature releases. Gamabunta and Jiraiya commonly combine oil and fire to create a massive fireball that is difficult to dodge. They can also generate oil bullets mixed with wind and water release. These varieties of combinations give them a range of ways to take on opponents.
Only Been Near passing away Twice
Jiraiya is involved in a countless number of fights throughout the series. Some of them happen in present time, and some of them are shown as part of flashbacks. Still, consider this: up to his fight with Pain, Jiraiya had only been near death twice in his entire life.
The kind of power needed to avoid death so effectively is nearly immeasurable. Only the greatest shinobi are capable of a similar feat. At some point, every shinobi needs to face death, but many face it early on in their life (whether they escape dying or not). Jiraiya barely nears the point of death over a long period that includes large-scale wars. That track record highlights his overall power.
Incredible Ability with Nature Releases
Now plenty of the main characters in the manga are capable of using multiple nature releases. Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and the Third Hokage all show the ability at some point, but this entry is here to add Jiraiya to the discussion. Even though Jiraiya is capable of using more than one nature release, he often never gets credit for that talent.
Not every character can say they have more than one nature release on hand. Only the strongest characters seem capable of getting to around three nature releases. Jiraiya is in this group (most fans know this, but seem not to acknowledge it). His ability to utilize these nature releases in a multitude of ways goes overlooked and may be doing themselves a favor by rewatching some of his battles to see this feat.
Remarkable Knowledge of Sealing
Being able to seal goes a long way for any ninja. Jiraiya shows an aptitude for sealing methods early on in his debut. He is able to decompress the nine-tails chakra flowing in Naruto that Orochimaru caused earlier. In fact, he is able to identify Orochimaru as the sealer through the technique alone.
Having immense knowledge of seals allows Jiraiya to trace back their origins or seal/unseal tremendous power. The seal he creates to hold back Naruto’s raw jinchuuriki chakra proves to be incredibly useful in the series. It takes a powerful shinobi to hold back that much strength.
Shrewd Intellect
When fans debate the smartest characters in the series, Jiraiya is often left out of the discussion. It is understandable because his zany personality leads many to dismiss his intellect. Still, that wild attitude hides a shrewd, calculating intelligence underneath.
Jiraiya is a fantastic tactician. When he battles an opponent, he is continually looking for a vulnerable spot in their attack. The toad sage first comes up with a testable hypothesis for the opponent's weakness then cautiously experiments on its likelihood. Jiraiya is always studying his enemy looking for the best spot to attack. Not every shinobi is able to quickly find solutions to a tricky enemy like he does time and time again
Impressive Durability
Of all the powers on this list, this is the one most general fans are likely to know about as well. After all, Jiraiya shows off his extraordinary durability early on in the series. The man does not go down quickly at all!
Seriously, he is able to survive for an extended period against Pain, and if he were to uncover the secret earlier, then he would still be alive. On top of this, every fan knows he has survived a punch from Tsunade at full strength. Her blows should kill him at that strength, but Jiraiya is that durable. Heck, Jiraiya is even able to take a Might Guy kick with barely a scratch.
Master of Spying
Fans cannot look past the pervy side of Jiraiya. It is an anime trait best left in the past, but at least the series tries to make it make sense with Jiraiya’s back story. The whole spying on girls (which is not okay and should not be promoted) is explained as part of Jiraiya’s spying ability.
Jiraiya is actually an incredible spy. He is excellent at gathering intelligence from the enemy while remaining undetected. It is one of the most under-appreciated talents a ninja possesses in the series. The cringe part is what Jiraiya uses those abilities for after his days as a spy are over.
Uses Toads for Genjutsu
One of Jiraiya’s weakest powers is Genjutsu. Naruto, his pupil, never shows a real knack for creating genjutsu techniques and many fans believe that Jiraiya is just not skilled in it either. This explanation seems plausible, but Jiraiya turns that weakness into a positive through his Senjutsu.
Jiraiya uses Fukasaku and Shima as summons who then harmonize a melody that cast a powerful genjutsu on the opponent. What was once a weakness is suddenly turned into the most devastating move in Jiraiya’s skill set. Not many characters use their summons to turn a negative part of their skills into a positive. True fans recognize Jiraiya for this accomplishment.
Can Control Two Rasengans at Once
Jiraiya learns the Rasengan from Minato. Every fan and their grandmother understands that Jiraiya can use the Rasengan. However, consider the fact that Jiraiya is able to use the Rasengan in both hands. Not every fan appreciates that aspect enough.
Jiraiya did learn from Minato, but he certainly made the Rasengan his own later. The control and ability it takes to make one Rasengan is difficult, now imagine doing that in both hands. Just the idea of a shinobi creating the Rasengan in their non-dominant hand seems wild. After all, it takes the title character years to be able to use the Rasengan without a shadow clone.
Ability to Reverse Summon
This list is exhausting all the summons that Jiraiya is able to maintain. There is a reason he teaches Naruto the summoning jutsu. Jiraiya is a master of all things involving summoning, and the series shows that.
In the anime, fans get more of this skill then just casual fans would know about. Jiraiya is able to reverse summon his opponent into the belly of a toad. Reverse summoning is less understood then the general summoning technique, but fans know that only the strongest shinobi are shown doing it. Clearly, Jiraiya is one of the masters of summoning and possibly the greatest in the series.
Alternate Versions of Rasengan
In a similar vein to a previous entry, all fans can appreciate the fact Jiraiya is able to master the Rasengan. The move is considered one of the strongest in the entire manga and most fans will not argue with that claim. Minato spends years perfecting the technique, and his pupil, Jiraiya, carries on that work valiantly.
Jiraiya is able to create alternate forms of the Rasengan, and show its flexibility. His is an innovator who creates stronger more kinetic forms of this move. Techniques such as the ultra-big ball Rasengan can trace their origin to him, and without his work on the technique, Naruto would not be able to create the powerful techniques he can do later in the series. It all starts with Jiraiya, and his most advent fans know that.
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