Как пишется джирайя на английском

editJiraiya  [1][2][3][4]
自来也 Jiraiya Toad Sage (蝦蟇仙人, Gama Sennin)[5] The Village’s Madness (里の狂気, Sato no Kyōki)[6] Perverted Hermit (エロ仙人, Ero-sennin, English TV: Pervy Sage)[7]
Debut
Manga	Naruto Chapter #90
Anime	Naruto Episode #52
Movie	Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
Game	Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2
OVA	Finally a clash! Jōnin vs. Genin!! Indiscriminate Grand Melee Tournament Meeting!!
Appears in	Anime, Manga, Game, Movie
Voice Actors
Japanese	Hōchū Ōtsuka Tōru Nara (Child)
English	David Lodge Brad MacDonald (Child) Richard Cansino (Naruto: Ultimate Ninja) Wally Wingert (Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress)
Personal
Birthdate	November 11
Sex	Male
Age	Part I: 50–51 Part II: 54
Status	Deceased
Height	Part I: 191.2 cm1.912 m <br />6.273 ft <br />75.276 in <br />
Weight	Part I: 87.5 kg192.904 lb <br />
Blood type	B
Classification	Sage Sannin
Occupation	Writer
Affiliation	Konohagakure Mount Myōboku
Team	Team Hiruzen Ame Orphans Team Jiraiya
Rank
Ninja Rank	Part I: Jōnin
Ninja Registration	002301
Academy Grad. Age	6
Family Koji Kashin (Clone) Naruto Uzumaki (Godson)
Nature Type Fire Release Wind Release Earth Release Water Release Yin Release Yang Release
Jutsu Barrier: Canopy Method Formation Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison Big Ball Rasengan Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall (Anime only) Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld Finger Carving Seal Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet (Anime only) Fire Release: Flame Bullet Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet Fire Sealing Method Five Elements Unseal Frog Kata Hair Needle Senbon Hiding in a Toad Technique Needle Hell (Anime only) Needle Jizō Rasengan Reverse Summoning Technique (Anime only) Sage Art: Goemon Sage Mode Shadow Clone Technique Spiralling Serial Spheres Summoning Technique (Toad) Summoning: Crushing Toad Stomach (Anime only) Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind Summoning: Toad Shop Technique Toad Flatness — Shadow Manipulation Technique Toad Oil Bullet Transparent Escape Technique Turning into a Frog Technique Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan Water Release: Water Gun (Anime only) Wild Lion’s Mane Technique
Tools Chakra-Suppressing Seal Fūma Shuriken Hidden Kunai Mechanism (Anime only) Stone Swords

Jiraiya (自来也) was one of Konohagakure’s Sannin. Famed as a hermit and pervert of stupendous ninja skill, Jiraiya travelled the world in search of knowledge that would help his friends, the various novels he wrote, and, posthumously, the world in its entirety – knowledge that would be passed on to his godson and final student, Naruto Uzumaki.

Background

After he graduated from Konoha’s Ninja Academy, Jiraiya was teamed with Orochimaru and Tsunade under the leadership of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen gave them a bell test for the team’s first exercise, during which Jiraiya repeatedly fell for Hiruzen’s tricks, and for failing to acquire a bell, he was tied to a stump as punishment. Hiruzen encouraged Jiraiya to be more like Orochimaru, but Jiraiya countered that his Transparent Escape Technique was a fair testament to his skills, as he could spy on bathing women without getting caught: Hiruzen offered to accompany him to see if this was true.^[8] Jiraiya had a certain interest in Tsunade from their first meeting,^[9] and when her breasts developed, she became a frequent target of his peepings. She nearly killed him when she caught him on one occasion, forcing him to be more discreet about his interests.^[10]

Jiraiya at some point discovered Mount Myōboku, the residence of the toads; in the anime, he was brought there when he tried to summon a toad without first having a contract with them.^[11] Fukasaku trained Jiraiya in their ways, most prominently senjutsu. While he was at Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage made a prediction about Jiraiya: that he would travel the world and during that time meet the Child of the Prophecy, a student who would grow up to either save or destroy the world depending upon how Jiraiya taught them.^[12]

At some point Jiraiya was made a jōnin^[13] and lead a genin team of his own. He started to suspect that one of them, Minato Namikaze, might be the Child of the Prophecy because of his natural genius.^[14] As such, he took Minato as his disciple and taught him many of his skills; Minato would eventually teach Jiraiya the Rasengan. Gutsy Shinobi did not sell well when it was released. Eventually, Jiraiya found his writing style when he created the adult novels called Icha Icha. The novels were based on his personal experiences in love — particularly his rejections by Tsunade — retold in a comical way. The books were wildly popular, giving his chequebook a balance that is «filled with zeroes».

Although their team under Hiruzen’s leadership had disbanded, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade continued fighting together during the Second Shinobi World War. During one such fight in Amegakure, they were the only three to survive an encounter with Hanzō, for which accomplishment Hanzō dubbed them Konoha’s «Legendary Sannin».^[15] After the battle, three war orphans approached them and asked to be taught ninjutsu. Jiraiya, guilty for his involvement in the war, decided to stay in Ame for a time in order to look after them.^[16] Shortly after he joined them, he discovered that one of the orphans, Nagato, possessed the Rinnegan, once used by the Sage of the Six Paths to save the world. Jiraiya decided that Nagato was the Child of the Prophecy, and as such agreed to teach the orphans ninjutsu so that he might guide Nagato towards the world’s salvation.^[17]

Nagato was a kind child, torn between his desire to not hurt others and his wish to protect Yahiko and Konan. Jiraiya comforted Nagato that it was enough to want to protect people one holds to be important, as the world is plagued with seemingly endless conflict. Nagato decided that it was possible to end the constant bloodshed and, though he didn’t know how, that he would someday find the path to peace. Jiraiya was inspired by Nagato’s words and started writing what would become The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. After three years of training the orphans, Jiraiya decided they were ready to forge out on their own and he returned to Konoha; he left them a finished copy of Gutsy Shinobi, dedicated to Nagato.^[18] News of the orphans’ deeds would reach him from time to time, but eventually he heard that they’d all died.^[16]

Minato — selected as Konoha’s Fourth Hokage after Jiraiya refused the position^[19] — enjoyed the book, finding the main character very much like Jiraiya. He decided to name his and Kushina Uzumaki’s then-unborn son «Naruto» after the main character, hoping that their Naruto would be just as determined as the character (and thus its author). Jiraiya tried to convince them not to since that would make him Naruto’s godfather, but Minato and Kushina insisted this was a good thing.^[20] Minato died during the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s Attack, giving his life to seal the Nine-Tails into the newborn Naruto; as one of his last acts, Minato sent Jiraiya Gerotora, on whose stomach he wrote the key to Naruto’s seal. Jiraiya guessed that Minato wanted him to help Naruto gain control of the Nine-Tails’ power, though he couldn’t guess what that power would be needed for.^[21]

Although Orochimaru had always been his better, someone that Hiruzen pointed to as an example for Jiraiya to live up to, Jiraiya considered Orochimaru to be one of his closest friends. For this reason, when Orochimaru eventually defected from Konoha, Jiraiya pursued him and tried to convince him to return. Orochimaru refused and attacked Jiraiya in order to secure his escape. For a time, Jiraiya tried to find a deeper meaning in Orochimaru’s betrayal, something that, if changed, would bring Orochimaru back. He could ultimately come up with nothing.^[22] Orochimaru accused Jiraiya of being unable to understand him as his parents weren’t killed.^[23] From that point onward, Jiraiya started following Orochimaru’s movements as well as those of Akatsuki, an organisation which Orochimaru eventually joined. His investigations often took him away from the village, preventing Jiraiya from becoming Fifth Hokage like Hiruzen wanted him to.

Personality

Jiraiya was generally light-hearted and gregarious, making jokes at his own expense and giving a mirthful laugh about it afterwards. In his interactions with others, he liked to pretend to be smug or selfish, upsetting them so that he could further rile them up with his humour.^[9] Even when entering combat he did not miss an opportunity to be flashy and over-the-top, striking kabuki poses and giving dramatic self-introductions; these intros were often interrupted in some way, and Jiraiya was quick to express his annoyance at whoever was responsible. Friends and foes alike were fond of Jiraiya for his eccentricities, admiring that somebody so seemingly irreverent could in actuality be an extremely competent shinobi: he was deeply loyal to Konoha despite how often he is away from it, not hesitating to threaten to kill Tsunade if she betrayed the village, despite their long history. Jiraiya also demonstrated no hesitation in attempting to destroy his former best friend Orochimaru in retribution for the death of their teacher, nor in attempting to dispatch his former pupil Nagato when he learned Nagato was the true leader of Akatsuki, despite the pain it brought him. Jiraiya felt that his personality quirks render him incapable of being Hokage, as he either lacked the responsibility for the position or he had, through his past infractions and failures, proven unworthy of such an honour.

Despite being seen as an eccentric troublemaker in his youth, Jiraiya proved to be an exemplary and competent Shinobi. Jiraiya would establish a vast information network across the countries and in battle demonstrated the ability to both recognise and analyse threats and danger on short notice. Jiraiya was also capable of coming up with quick gambits and new strategies in the middle of battle based on his keen observations.

Jiraiya was a self-proclaimed super-pervert with no equal.^[24] His favourite hobby was spying on women while they bathe, a passion he flaunted openly and in fact took pride in because of how infrequently he was caught. Despite this, Jiraiya disliked it when Naruto Uzumaki referred to him as the «Perverted Hermit» (エロ仙人, Ero-sennin, English TV: Pervy Sage) in front of others. With the «research» from his peeping, he would use it as inspiriation for his novels. Despite his high-success as a novelist, this fact did not stop him from taking Naruto’s money when he got the chance and spending it on alcohol and women. In the anime, Naruto ghost-writes an Icha Icha book without anybody noticing, suggesting that either Naruto can write like an adult, or that Jiraiya’s writing abilities were no better than a child’s. Tsunade suspected it was the latter, as she notes that a report Jiraiya wrote when he was younger was poorly written and accompanied by crude crayon illustrations.

Jiraiya’s perversion has backfired on him a number of times. When he first meets Naruto, he has no interest in training him. Naruto convinces him to change his mind by using the Sexy Technique, which Jiraiya so strongly approves of that he asks Naruto to continue to use it for the duration of their training. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame of Akatsuki later hypnotise an attractive woman to lure Jiraiya away from Naruto so that they can try to capture him; though it works at first, Jiraiya quickly realises that women aren’t usually attracted to him, allowing him to return to Naruto in time to rescue him. When he was younger, he spied on Tsunade while she was bathing and, when she caught him, she broke both of his arms, six of his ribs, and ruptured a number of organs as punishment. Ever since, he’s used greater discretion in expressing his interests in Tsunade, careful to make his advances come off only as playful. Jiraiya considers his inability to win Tsunade’s heart to be one of the greatest failures of his life. Despite his boisterous nature, Jiraiya was plagued by doubts and insecurities that his life was nothing more than a series of failures. Being unable to save Orochimaru weighed heavily on him, as did the deaths of his sensei the Third Hokage, and his student the Fourth Hokage. Jiraiya considered his achievements paltry things next to the previous four Hokage and desired a death as glorious as their own. In his final moments, Jiraiya expressed his pride in realising a heroic death that was «just barely glorious, but glorious indeed«.

Despite his self deprecation, one of Jiraiya’s defining feature was his indomitable spirit and drive to never give up. Despite the multitude of failures he suffered in life, he never succumbed to despair, always forging ahead as he felt a shinobi must. Against Orochimaru, Jiraiya revealed his belief that the truest essence of the shinobi was one who endured and fought on no matter what they faced, regardless of inborn talent or genius. Even mortally wounded, Jiraiya’s willpower was so powerful that he willed his own heart to begin beating again in order to impart a final message to Konoha and more importantly Naruto. He would pass these beliefs and drive on to his pupils.

Perhaps Jiraiya’s greatest contribution to the world was his abilities as a teacher, something even he felt he failed in. Driven by the prophecy he would one day find the world’s saviour, Jiraiya would mentor three of the most powerful shinobi in history, Nagato, Minato and Naruto, imparting his belief in the spirit of a shinobi to all three. While he could be harsh and distant to Naruto at first, Jiraiya held a genuine love for the boy and took time to make certain he acted like a parental figure as opposed to merely teacher and student, even buying ice cream to share with him when Naruto was depressed at his lack of a family. Even in death, Jiraiya’s last thoughts were of Naruto, who he entrusted the world’s salvation to. In the anime, before departing for the afterlife, Jiraiya’s spirit would use its final moments to clap Naruto on the shoulder in a final show of affection.

While he rarely revealed it outwardly, Jiraiya was a great believer in peace and held a deep longing to change the hatred inherent in the world. While he desired to find an answer to the cycle of hatred that plagued the world, he was never been able to come up with a way to do so. He never had children of his own, for which reason he thought of Minato Namikaze as his son and, by extension, thought of Naruto as his grandson. Jiraiya stated simply that to be happy was not his fate;^[19] Tsunade doubted he believed his own words. Under his bluster, Jiraiya remained a fundamentally kind man who treasured those close to him, maintaining a strong faith in the next generation, especially those he personally trained and Naruto in particular, believing that Naruto would be able to create and enjoy the world that Jiraiya could only dream of. When he died, Jiraiya decided that, despite his numerous failures, the successes of his time with Naruto made everything worthwhile.

Appearance

Jiraiya was a tall and well-built man in adulthood with fair skin. He had waist-length, spiky white hair that he usually ties back into a pony tail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended further down his face as he got older, going all the way to the bottom by the time he was an adult. By the time he was middle-aged, he developed wrinkles around the corners of his mouth and a wart (possibly a piercing in the manga^[25][26]) on the left side of his nose. Following an encounter with Naruto’s Version 2 form, he received a large scar on his chest.^[27] His usual attire consisted of a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armour that is visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. He often carried a large scroll on his back, and had a tattoo on his left palm, and he wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for «oil» (油, abura), which denoted his affiliation with Mount Myōboku.

Abilities

Jiraiya was an exceptionally powerful shinobi, hailed as one of the greatest ninja of his generation and that Konoha ever produced. His true recognition came during the Second Shinobi World War when proved able to compete against Hanzō and his giant salamander Ibuse, and was dubbed a Sannin. Renowned groups like the Uchiha Clan and Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist paled in comparison. Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha both admitted that together, even with assistance, they would at best reach a stalemate.^[28] He was offered to become Hokage three times,^[29][19] and would have been offered a fourth one had he lived longer.^[30] Kakashi, also among the most powerful shinobi Konoha ever produced, found the idea of Jiraiya being single-handedly defeated absurd. In truth, the assumed Akatsuki leader Nagato openly admitted that he would have lost if Jiraiya had prior knowledge of the Six Paths of Pain,^[31] which Tobi felt is a major testament to the Sannin’s abilities.^[32] Upon death, he became one of the individuals Kabuto Yakushi most wanted to reincarnate for war.^[33] Decades later, Jiraiya’s might was still revered as a clone was made of him.

Chakra and Physical Prowess

Jiraiya had chakra reserves large enough to summon Gamabunta and chakra potent enough to use senjutsu. He was masterful with his chakra control, able to perform a Rasengan in both hands at the same time, or even carve messages with his chakra despite it being disrupted. He also was knowledgeable enough of genjutsu to teach others how to break free from it. His raw might is also considerable, able to fling Naruto several metres with a single finger tap.^[34] In the anime, he was shown lifting and throwing large boulders,^[11] as well as kicking away some of the Giant Multi-Headed Dogs.

Jiraiya was also remarkably resilient, able to withstand a lot of damage before going down. He could survive a full on kick from Might Guy with barely a scratch, and even attacks from summons as big as Gamabunta.^[35] Due to this resilience, he had only been brought to the brink of death twice: against Naruto Uzumaki’s Four-Tailed Form and Tsunade’s monster strength, and even Nagato had a difficult time inflicting lethal damage on his old master using the Six Paths of Pain.

Ninjutsu

Jiraiya was a ninjutsu master,^[36] famed as the «Toad Sage» (蝦蟇仙人, Gama Sennin) because of his affiliation with the toads of Mount Myōboku. This affiliation was most commonly displayed through summoning toads, either to fight alongside him in battle or simply summoning a toad’s œsophagus to cover an area and restrict any movements within that area. Other toad-based skills include spitting oil from his mouth, hiding himself within a target’s shadow to control their actions undetected, and using toads to infiltrate sensitive areas.

Apart form his toad-based techniques, he was equally skilled in a variety of other styles. He could grow and manipulate his hair, either to bind and destroy targets or to surround him as a defence, injuring any who comes into contact with him. He was also able to use the Rasengan — a destructive ball of compressed chakra — as well as its improved version, the Big Ball Rasengan. His prowess with the Rasengan was shown to be comparable to the creator, Minato.

Jiraiya was well-versed in fūinjutsu, able to deduce the workings of Naruto’s Eight Trigrams Sealing Style within moments of seeing the seal’s design. He also quickly notices the seal is being restricted, and as such easily removes the restriction. He could create seals for others that they can use to suppress the chakra of those who have been applied with Jiraiya’s seal. He also displayed a certain skill for barrier ninjutsu, erecting barriers to either detect all movements within a wide radius or toad-themed barriers for him to take shelter in. In the anime, he could also apply a seal on people that acts as a powerful protection from chakra-absorbing techniques.^[37]

Jiraiya could utilise the natures of Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Yin and Yang Release.^[4] With Fire Release, he could a shoot a blast of fire that he can combine with his toad’s oil to make for an even more devastating attack. With Earth Release, he could create a swamp to trap targets in^[38] and massive defensive walls.

Senjutsu

Jiraiya was taught how to use senjutsu by Fukasaku, which he can use to increase his speed, durability, and physical strength.^[39] He can also use it to empower his other ninjutsu, such as the Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan. Before he can gain these benefits, Jiraiya must enter Sage Mode, which he does not have complete mastery of. This causes his Sage Mode form to make him more toad-like in appearance, such as warts and webbed hands and feet, although his frog-like legs enable him to jump better. Using Sage Mode requires his supply of natural energy be constantly replenished, something that is difficult to do while in combat. For this reason, Jiraiya summons Fukasaku and Shima and fuses them to his body, having them gather natural energy for him. As an added bonus, Fukasaku and Shima can combine attacks with Jiraiya’s, as with the Sage Art: Goemon, or they can perform jutsu that he can’t, as with genjutsu.^[38]

Intelligence

Despite his goofy and eccentric nature, Jiraiya was actually very shrewd in the field. His specialty is intelligence gathering, having a spy network that runs throughout the Five Great Shinobi Countries that he can use to gain information about a particular person or group to be used to his or his allies’ advantage. In combat, he is very perceptive; Jiraiya observes all of the opponents’ various actions, forms a theory about the how and why, and uses that theory to try and capitalise in the battle.^[40] He has repeatedly proven to be a very talented teacher, as all his students went on to become very powerful and well-known shinobi. His memory is very good; as he was dying, he was able to craft a coded message using the page numbers of Icha Icha Tactics, with the first word on each page serving as his message.

Stats

Databook	Ninjutsu	Taijutsu	Genjutsu	Intelligence	Strength	Speed	Stamina	Hand seals	Total
Third	5	4.5	3	4.5	4.5	4.5	5	4.5	35.5

Part I

Chūnin Exams

Main article: Chūnin Exams

During an unannounced return to Konoha, Jiraiya visits the Konoha Hot Springs in order to spy on the women bathing there. He is discovered by Ebisu who, not realising who Jiraiya is at first, tries to stop him and reprimand him. Jiraiya uses a toad to knock Ebisu out so that he won’t interfere in his «research». Jiraiya is immediately confronted by Naruto Uzumaki, who Ebisu was training to improve his chakra control and who now, because Ebisu is unconscious, needs somebody else to teach him. Jiraiya refuses to be that somebody until Naruto demonstrates his Sexy Technique, at which point Jiraiya eagerly agrees.

While watching Naruto struggle with his training, Jiraiya notices two things: Naruto is the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails; his access to the Nine-Tails’ chakra is being restricted by the Five Elements Seal, which Jiraiya correctly guesses was placed by Orochimaru. Jiraiya removes the seal, making it easier for Naruto to control his chakra, and offers to start teaching him to use the Nine-Tails’ power the next day. He informs Ebisu of this decision later that night. Ebisu doesn’t mind, but asks that Jiraiya meet with the Third Hokage so that, together, they can stop whatever Orochimaru is planning against Konoha. Jiraiya is unwilling to get involved.

In order to teach Naruto how to take advantage of the Nine-Tails’ large chakra reserves, Jiraiya teaches Naruto the Summoning Technique, expecting him to use the Nine-Tails to summon bigger and bigger toads. Naruto is not only unable to tap into the Nine-Tails’ chakra, but makes poor use of his own chakra, only managing to summon tadpoles. From talking to Naruto about his previous uses of the Nine-Tails, Jiraiya gathers that he needs to be in a life-or-death situation in order to instinctively draw on the Nine-Tails. When, after a month, Naruto is still only summoning tadpoles, Jiraiya puts Naruto in a life-or-death situation: he throws him into a ravine. Jiraiya is impressed when Naruto summons Gamabunta to save himself, but decides to return to his «research» before Gamabunta notices him.

Konoha Crush

Main article: Konoha Crush
Orochimaru launches an invasion of Konoha, using snakes to break through the village’s defences and destroy its infrastructure. Jiraiya stops them with Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique, crushing the snakes with Gamahiro. He then seeks out the Third Hokage to lend assistance in his fight with Orochimaru, but by the time he arrives the Third is dead and Orochimaru has fled. Jiraiya does not attend the Third’s funeral a few days later, instead visiting the Third Training Ground and crying over memories of the Third.

Search for Tsunade

Main article: Search for Tsunade
Jiraiya is approached by the Konoha Council, who inform him that, due to the dire straits the villages has been left in following the invasion of Konoha, the Land of Fire’s daimyō has already approved Jiraiya’s selection as Fifth Hokage. Jiraiya declines, but offers to find Tsunade to have her take the position, which the councillors agree with. Jiraiya asks to be allowed to take Naruto with him; as he explains it to Naruto’s teacher, Kakashi Hatake, the organisation called Akatsuki has been collecting tailed beasts like Naruto’s Nine-Tails. Jiraiya plans to look after Naruto and further teach him to exploit the Nine-Tails’ powers. He doesn’t share any of this with Naruto, who therefore doesn’t see much reason to accompany Jiraiya on his search for Tsunade. Jiraiya offers to teach him a jutsu stronger than Sasuke Uchiha’s Chidori, which instantly wins Naruto’s interest.

After leaving Konoha, Jiraiya and Naruto stop in Shukuba Town. While they check into a room to rest in, an attractive woman starts flirting with Jiraiya; Jiraiya sends Naruto to their room while he and the woman spend time together. It quickly occurs to him, however, that women are not usually drawn to him, at which point he realises that the woman is under the influence of a genjutsu so that she could be used to lure Jiraiya away from Naruto. He returns to Naruto and finds him about to be captured by Akatsuki’s Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki; Sasuke is also there, wishing to fight Itachi. Itachi and Kisame decide to flee rather than fight Jiraiya, which he tries to stop with his Toad Mouth Bind, but this fails. Jiraiya collects a sample of the Amaterasu flames that Itachi used to escape and returns to Naruto and Sasuke, at which point he is attacked by Might Guy.

Guy apologises for attacking Jiraiya, explaining that he didn’t get a good look because he was trying to avoid Itachi’s Sharingan. Jiraiya asks Guy to go back to Konoha with Sasuke, who has been rendered unconscious by Itachi’s Sharingan. Guy informs him and Naruto that the same thing happened to Kakashi, and that only Tsunade may be able to cure them; to that end, he asks that they be sure to find her. Afterwards, Jiraiya explains to Naruto why Akatsuki is after him. Naruto decides that he’ll need to become stronger so that he can better face them next time, which Jiraiya decides to help with by teaching him the Rasengan. As they travel around the country trying to track Tsunade’s location, Jiraiya instructs Naruto in the Rasengan’s usage, providing him training aids where needed. Although Naruto relies on some unconventional workarounds and his developments often interrupt Jiraiya’s rest, he masters the first two of Rasengan’s three learning steps.

Jiraiya and Naruto eventually learn that Tsunade is in Tanzaku Quarters. When they arrive at where she’s supposed to be, however, she isn’t there. What’s more, there’s evidence that Orochimaru has been there. They find a place to eat to decide what to do next, only to find Tsunade there with her attendant, Shizune. Tsunade is surprised to see Jiraiya, having just met Orochimaru, though she refuses to say anything about the nature of their meeting. Jiraiya informs her that Konoha would like her to become the Fifth Hokage; Tsunade is surprised — having thought Orochimaru was lying when he said he killed the Third Hokage — as is Naruto, who didn’t realise Tsunade was being offered the Hokage position. Tsunade refuses to offer, ridiculing those who’ve been held the title, including the Third and Fourth Hokage, and dismissing the job as fitting only for fools. Naruto, who has his own dreams of being Hokage, is enraged and tries to attack Tsunade. Jiraiya holds him back, but Tsunade agrees to fight with him.

Tsunade easily defeats Naruto, but not before he tries to use his imperfect Rasengan. She berates Jiraiya for teaching Naruto the Rasengan at all, declaring it cruel to let someone as untalented as him believe he can master something so complicated. Naruto makes a bet with her that he can master the Rasengan in a week and goes off to start training. Jiraiya invites Tsunade to drinks afterwards and guesses that Tsunade’s bet with Naruto has something to do with the offer Orochimaru made her. He doesn’t ask for details about the offer, but he promises to personally kill her if she does anything to endanger Konoha. She claims not to care about the village, so Jiraiya remarks how similar Naruto is to Tsunade’s dead brother, Nawaki, who treasured Konoha. He invites her out to drinks again the night before the bet expires, planning to ask her more about what Orochimaru wants, but she’s able to drug his drink without him noticing.

When Jiraiya wakes up the next morning he has difficulty moving and using his chakra. He goes looking for Tsunade, but can only find Naruto and Shizune. He notices Kabuto Yakushi watching them, so asks Shizune what Tsunade’s deal with Orochimaru is. Shizune reveals that, in exchange for healing the damage to Orochimaru’s arms caused by the Third Hokage, Orochimaru will revive Nawaki and also Tsunade’s dead lover, Dan Katō. As they try to find Tsunade in order to stop her from helping Orochimaru, Jiraiya worries that he may actually need to follow through on his promise to kill her. When they locate her, however, they find that she is already trying to kill Orochimaru. Jiraiya instructs Shizune to help deal with Kabuto while he fights Orochimaru by himself. He asks Tsunade to give him an antidote for the drug she gave him, but Kabuto has been able to trigger her fear of blood, rendering her unable to do anything.

Jiraiya’s inability to control his chakra and Orochimaru’s inability to use his arms means they can’t do much against each other. Jiraiya is able to create a Swamp of the Underworld, but it is too shallow to defeat Orochimaru’s snake, only managing to stop it from moving. Nevertheless, Orochimaru is confident that Jiraiya will lose, proven by his «wasting» time with Naruto. He contrasts Naruto with Sasuke: Sasuke is an Uchiha, naturally gifted and capable of learning every ninjutsu; Naruto is mediocre, struggling to learn even one ninjutsu and thus failing to live up to the title of shinobi. Jiraiya rebuts: a shinobi is not someone who can learn all ninjutsu, but rather someone who refuses to give up. They watch as Naruto uses a completed Rasengan to defeat Kabuto, which Orochimaru decides is a problem. He goes to kill Naruto, parrying Jiraiya’s attempt to stop him.

Tsunade is able to protect Naruto and overcomes her phobia so that she can return to the fight. She summons Katsuyu to fight Orochimaru’s Manda, with Jiraiya joining in by summoning Gamabunta. After they save Katsuyu from Manda, Jiraiya and Gambunta attack Manda with Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet. Manda avoids it and attacks them from behind, but they are saved by Tsunade, who defeats both him and Orochimaru. Orochimaru escapes with Kabuto; before he leaves, he warns that he has other ways of fixing his arms. Tsunade heals Jiraiya’s broken bones, restores his chakra, and, having accepted the Hokage position, returns with him and Naruto to Konoha.

Sasuke Recovery Mission

Main article: Sasuke Recovery Mission
When they get back to Konoha, Jiraiya has Tsunade heal the mental damage done to Sasuke and Kakashi, as well as ask her to look at Rock Lee on behalf of Guy. Naruto goes around the village to visit his friends, with Jiraiya secretly watching him. Naruto gets into a fight with Sasuke shortly after Tsunade heals him, which Kakashi interrupts in time to stop them from using their Chidori and Rasengan against each other. Kakashi notices Jiraiya and asks him if it was a good idea to teach Naruto the Rasengan; Jiraiya asks the same about teaching Sasuke the Chidori. Jiraiya admits to being surprised that Naruto would use the Rasengan against a friend and asks about his relationship with Sasuke. Kakashi explains that Sasuke is a rival that Naruto wants to live up to, just as Jiraiya once did with Orochimaru. Now understanding things, Jiraiya decides to speak with Naruto about it.

Sasuke ends up defecting to Orochimaru and Naruto ends up in the Konoha Hospital in his failed attempt to stop him. Jiraiya visits him there and informs Naruto that he’s going to take him away from Konoha for three years of training; both Akatsuki and Orochimaru will be unable to move forward with their plans for three years, meaning this is the perfect opportunity to prepare Naruto for the next time he faces them. Naruto declines, believing it’s essential that he go after Sasuke immediately. Jiraiya tries to convince him to give up on Sasuke, drawing on his own experience with Orochimaru and pointing to Naruto’s contemporary condition as proof that Sasuke no longer considers him a friend. These facts, coupled with the many more important challenges Naruto must face someday, causes Jiraiya to conclude that going after Sasuke would be foolish. Naruto replies simply that he’d rather be a fool. Jiraiya is satisfied by this and tells Naruto to be ready to go once he’s discharged from the hospital.

Land of Rice Fields Investigation Mission

Main article: Land of Rice Fields Investigation Mission
In the anime, Jiraiya takes Naruto and Sakura Haruno to the Land of Rice Fields to see if they can learn anything about where Orochimaru has Sasuke. They aren’t able to locate him, but they are able to free the Fūma clan from Orochimaru’s control. When they return to Konoha, Jiraiya asks Tsunade to keep Naruto busy until he returns from some investigations he needs to do, fearing Naruto may go after Sasuke by himself if he isn’t kept preoccupied.

Sunagakure Support Mission

Main article: Sunagakure Support Mission
As happens at the end of the Sasuke Recovery Mission in the manga, Jiraiya picks up Naruto at Ramen Ichiraku to take him away for three years of training.

Interlude

In the anime, shortly after leaving Konoha, they discuss the fact that Naruto will need to learn how to counter genjutsu if he hopes to be a match against Sasuke the next time they meet. Jiraiya summons Gamariki to help him practise dispelling genjutsu, but Naruto struggles with it and his chakra keeps hitting Gamariki, who doesn’t appreciate it. Jiraiya takes Naruto to the Genjutsu Tree Village to try a different approach, but they discover the village has been taken over by Kandachi.^[41] They free the villagers and then attack Kandachi, who Naruto defeats with his newly-created Big Ball Rasengan. As they leave afterwards, Jiraiya is pleased by how similar Naruto is to Minato and hugs him, which Naruto is bothered by.^[42]

In Naruto’s Footsteps: The Friends’ Paths

Main article: In Naruto’s Footsteps: The Friends’ Paths

Two years into their training, Naruto’s control of the Nine-Tails’ chakra has improved significantly. Jiraiya tries to give him more access to the Nine-Tails’ power and uses Gerotora to weaken Naruto’s Eight Trigrams Sealing Style. This causes Naruto to enter a version 2 form with four tails; not in control of his body, Naruto attacks Jiraiya and nearly kills him before he manages to suppress the Nine-Tails. Naruto has no memory of what happened and Jiraiya doesn’t tell him, instead shifting Naruto’s training to other pursuits, including keeping his anger in check so that the Nine-Tails won’t flare up again.^[43]

Part II

Kazekage Rescue Mission

Main article: Kazekage Rescue Mission
Jiraiya returns Naruto to Konoha after two-and-a-half years. Kakashi greets them when they arrive and Naruto gives him a copy of Icha Icha Tactics, which Jiraiya wrote during their time together. He entrusts Naruto to Kakashi’s care, warning that Akatsuki will likely be making a move soon; he sends the same warning to Sunagakure, whose Kazekage is a jinchūriki like Naruto. Jiraiya leaves Konoha to start investigating Akatsuki, but returns shortly afterwards to inform Tsunade that the Kazekage has been captured. She already knows this and is about to send Naruto and his team to Suna to lend assistance. He warns Naruto to keep his temper and to not use «that technique». He also tells Kakashi to keep an eye on Naruto, giving him a seal that can be used to suppress the Nine-Tails if Naruto starts losing control of it.

Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission

Main article: Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission
When the Kazekage is successfully rescued, Jiraiya and Tsunade meet with Kakashi to discuss Naruto’s display of the Nine-Tails’ power during the mission, a sign of his worsening control. Jiraiya explains his own experience with Naruto’s version 2 form and his observations about how Naruto’s transformations work. Because Naruto can be as much a risk to himself as he is to others in these states, they task Yamato with keeping him in check.

Three-Tails’ Appearance

Main article: Three-Tails’ Appearance

In the anime, Jiraiya returns to Konoha to congratulate Naruto on defeating Akatsuki’s Kakuzu. Because Kakashi is about to take Team 8 on a mission to investigate one of Orochimaru’s bases, Jiraiya distracts Naruto from this potential opportunity to find Sasuke by taking him to Yugakure for training. Because Naruto doesn’t have any long-range jutsu in his repertoire, Jiraiya recommends that he use cooperation ninjutsu, synchronising with his toad summons to make up for this deficiency. He has Naruto try to perform the Water Release: Water Gun with Gamariki, but their personalises clash, preventing them from cooperating. Naruto instead summons Gamatatsu, with whom he’s able to synchronise with Gamakichi’s guidance.

Jiraiya applauds Naruto’s progress, but is called away to look into news on Akatsuki before he can see Naruto’s training completed. He leaves Naruto to finish the training himself, though, before he goes, he convinces Tsunade to let Naruto help on Team 8’s mission.

Itachi Pursuit Mission

Main article: Itachi Pursuit Mission
Jiraiya visits Tsunade and reports rumours that Orochimaru has been killed by Sasuke. They share these rumours with Naruto and Sakura Haruno, who suspect that Sasuke is making moves against his brother, Itachi Uchiha of Akatsuki. Naruto proposes that they try to locate Itachi so that they can, in turn, find Sasuke. An Eight Man Squad is organised for this purpose, which, in the anime, Jiraiya and Tsunade see off as they leave Konoha.

Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant

Main article: Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant

While the Eight Man Squad is still on their mission, Jiraiya visits Tsunade with news that he’s discovered the location of Akatsuki’s leader, though he refuses to go into more detail until she meets him for drinks. While having saké, Jiraiya shares news of Amegakure’s ongoing civil war, which the Akatsuki leader is rumoured to be behind. Because Amegakure is in a delicate political situation, Jiraiya must infiltrate the village by himself to confirm before Konoha can take direct action. Tsunade feels guilty for always relying on him to do dangerous work like this and offers to help him if he needs it. He reminds her that she, the Hokage, can’t just leave the village, but she replies that Naruto will inevitably replace her anyway. While they discuss Naruto, Jiraiya reflects that, because he thought of Minato as a son, being with Naruto feels like being with his grandson. Jiraiya departs, but warns Tsunade about Danzō Shimura before he goes.

Jiraiya is able to successfully infiltrate Amegakure and quickly captures two Ame-nin, Ryūsui and Yūdachi. He tries using tickle torture to get them to reveal information about Pain, but it’s only after using the Turning into a Frog Technique on Yūdachi that Ryūsui is forthcoming: Pain is the mysterious leader and god-figure of Ame, who brought the rebelling faction to victory in the civil war by personally killing Ame’s former leader, Hanzō. Jiraiya is unsettled by news that Pain killed Hanzō, having assumed from his own past encounter with Hanzō that he was unbeatable. He takes a precaution by removing Gerotora from his body and instructing him to go to Naruto if anything happens to him. Gerotora warns him against this, feeling Naruto is unprepared for full access to the Nine-Tails’ power. Jiraiya shares his suspicions that Madara Uchiha is somehow moving behind the scenes which, if true, would mean Naruto will need to master the Nine-Tails sooner rather than later.

Jiraiya has one of his toads take Yūdachi to Konoha to be interrogated by Ibiki Morino while he controls Ryūsui in order to further explore Ame. He is quickly discovered and confronted by Pain’s «angel», who Jiraiya recognises as Konan, one of the orphans he trained decades ago. Jiraiya is surprised to see her and guesses that Pain must also be one of the orphans, though she refuses to confirm and instead attacks him. He quickly captures her, but Pain rescues her and sends her away. Although Jiraiya does not recognise the body, Jiraiya assumes that Pain is Nagato because of his Rinnegan. Jiraiya expresses his disappointment that Nagato has turned away from his once-righteous path towards peace by leading a criminal organisation like Akatsuki. Pain asserts that, as a god, his plan to liberate the world through destruction is the definition of righteousness.

Deciding that he must stop Pain before the world is destroyed, Jiraiya summons Gamaken to fight Pain while he prepares to enter Sage Mode. Pain counters with his own various summons and nothing else, which Jiraiya finds odd considering the huge arsenal of ninjutsu Nagato learned during their time together. Despite the constant attacks by Pain’s summons, Jiraiya is able to enter Sage Mode with help from Fukasaku and Shima. Both are surprised that Jiraiya would call on him, so he informs them that Pain is the apparent Child of the Prophecy; they immediately understand, seeking out and destroying the chameleon Pain is hiding in. Pain responds by summoning two more bodies, each with their own Rinnegan and neither of which Jiraiya recognises. Though confused by this, Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima team up with Sage Art: Goemon.

One of the Pains (the Preta Path) absorbs their Sage Art: Goemon as well as Jiraiya’s followup Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan, but Jiraiya succeeds in blinding another Pain (the Human Path). He tries to attack this blinded Pain from behind, but it mysteriously blocks him. Fukasaku notices that one of the other Pains saw him attacking the blind one and guesses that they share vision. Outmatched, they decide to retreat so that they can discuss tactics; they decide that their only hope is to split up the Pains and fight them one at a time, something they likely won’t be able to do accomplish without genjutsu. Since Jiraiya isn’t good with genjutsu, Fukasaku and Shima ready their Toad Confrontation Singing, which draws the Pains to their location. Jiraiya holds them off while the genjutsu is prepared: he obscures the Preta Path’s sight; he binds the Human Path to the wall; he attacks the first Pain, the Animal Path, uninhibited until the genjutsu is finally cast.

While the Pains are caught, Jiraiya stabs them with Stone Swords and believes they, and by extension Nagato, are dead. As he leaves, Pain’s Asura Path attacks him from behind, severing his left arm. The full Six Paths of Pain — with the three he defeated restored by the Naraka Path — face Jiraiya. He recognises the Deva Path as Yahiko, causing him to question his assumption that Pain is Nagato. When asked, Pain assures him that Yahiko is dead, then attacks to kill Jiraiya as well. After a prolonged battle, Jiraiya retreats into his Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison. The Animal Path follows him, but he’s able to capture it. From looking at the Animal Path up close, Jiraiya realises that he met it once before years ago. Jiraiya, remembering the Great Toad Sage’s prediction that Jiraiya would travel the world, starts to suspect why he knows the Animal Path. Fukasaku and Shima recommend he return to Konoha to report what he’s discovered, but he refuses, believing this is the best chance to figure out who Pain is. He has Shima deliver the Animal Path to Konoha while he and Fukasaku confront Pain again.

The other five Pains quickly surround Jiraiya when he returns to the battlefield, but he’s able to confirm his theory: each of the Pains is somebody he met during his travels. Before he can communicate this to Fukasaku, his throat is crushed and he is stabbed by the Pains’ black receivers. As his life starts to fade, Jiraiya reflects on his failures: his failure to win the heart of Tsunade; his failure to redeem Orochimaru; his failure to protect Minato or the Third Hokage; and now his failure to have a meaningful death. His thoughts turn to Naruto, who Jiraiya knows wouldn’t submit to failure like this and would keep fighting for as long as he could. Jiraiya decides that he, as Naruto’s teacher, should demonstrate the same resolve. As such, he forces himself back to consciousness and uses the last of his energy to etch a coded message into Fukasaku’s back.

Despite Pain’s attempt to stop him, Fukasaku is able to escape to Konoha. Jiraiya, meanwhile, is thrown into the sea by Pain’s attack and starts sinking into its depths. Jiraiya spends his final moments continuing to think about Naruto, and decides that it is he, not Nagato, who is the Child of the Prophecy. Jiraiya is confident the world is in good hands if Naruto is to be its salvation. Satisfied with how this final chapter of his life has turned out, Jiraiya officially ends what he titles the Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant. Before he dies, Jiraiya decides that the sequel should be called the Tale of Naruto Uzumaki, and smiles at how good the title is.

New Era

Time Slip Arc

Main article: Time Slip Arc

In the anime, when a grown-up Sasuke and Naruto’s future son Boruto were sent back in time to shortly after Sasuke’s defection, the two bumped into Jiraiya and Naruto. Jiraiya handed Boruto his binoculars, framing him for his discovered peeping, but Tsunade arrived and resolved the situation.

Tsunade asked about Boruto and Sasuke’s arrival, and Sasuke claimed they were travelling performers who utilised ninjutsu during their performances. Still somewhat suspicious, Tsunade ordered Naruto and Jiraiya to guard Boruto and Sasuke, proclaiming that a recently defected genin, as well as Konoha still recovering from an assault during the Chūnin Exams, they needed to remain on their guard at all times, and couldn’t afford to let strangers walk into their village. However, as soon as Tsunade left, Jiraiya left Naruto to take care of Boruto and Sasuke, much to Naruto’s annoyance.

Later while checking on Naruto, he was shocked to see Naruto captured by a new stranger with odd powers and even more surprised to see Boruto performing a Rasengan on the foe. When the foe retreated with Naruto, he sealed off Jiraiya with Sasuke and Boruto inside a stone prison. Sasuke explained that he and Boruto were really ninja from a distant village on a mission to stop Urashiki from stealing the Nine-Tails’ chakra. Sasuke also explained that Urashiki had ties to Akatsuki. While realising that the two strangers were still hiding something, he decided to trust them work together to save Naruto, freeing them by summoning giant toad. Soon, Sasuke locked onto Naruto’s location from detecting the tailed beast’s chakra beginning to leak out.

Along the way, having realised that the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style was stopping Urashiki from stealing the Nine-Tail’s chakra, Jiraiya placed powerful seals on Boruto and Sasuke to protect them as well. Upon finding Naruto, Urashiki’s actions forced the boy into his Version 1 state. While Sasuke engaged Urashiki, Jiraiya went to deal with the rampaging Naruto. He was surprised to see Boruto’s kindness initially reaching Naruto, realising that their chakra was compatible with each other and by extension, realising they were somehow related to each other. After subduing the demon chakra in Naruto and Urashiki retreated, Jiraiya suggested training Naruto and Boruto together, knowing the foe would return. Jiraiya realised at this point Boruto and Sasuke are actually from the future and that Boruto is Naruto’s son due to their chakra compatibility (meaning they are related) and knowing Naruto’s family well enough to know he currently has no living relatives.

The following day, Jiraiya began explain to the two boys the nature of their training: to synchronise their chakra and create a new cooperation ninjutsu. Pointing out the difficult nature behind such a task, he insisted that their similar chakra would make it possible. As Naruto and Boruto continued to work on the technique, relying on their respective Rasengan training, Jiraiya decided to confirm another suspicion: that the adult is actually Sasuke Uchiha. He later met with adult Sasuke and asked him to deliver food to Naruto while he took care of a task. In reality, he spied on Sasuke to see how he would interact with Naruto. Jiraiya saw the feeling Sasuke had when he was renewing Naruto’s conviction, so after Naruto left, he met with Sasuke again. Jiraiya thanked Sasuke for his genuine, but unusual kindness to Naruto since he was supposed to be a stranger. Sasuke explained that Naruto looked like someone he knew in the past, which solidified Jiraiya’s suspicions and before Sasuke could leave, Jiraiya asked the traveller if he was Sasuke Uchiha, leaving the time-traveller shocked.

Taking Sasuke’s shocked reaction as a confirmation of his identity, Jiraiya quickly relieved the pressure by dryly laughing off his accusation. Since Jiraiya could tell that Sasuke and Boruto’s desire to protect Naruto was genuine (due to the fact Sasuke offered to distract Urashiki while Boruto and Jiraiya took Naruto to safety rather than having Jiraiya be the distraction) and that they had their reasons for keeping secrets, he made a deal with Sasuke not to delve deeper into their true identities provided that Sasuke reveals all he knows about Urashiki. Sasuke then explained all he knew about his abilities. After hearing all this, Jiraiya deemed that the best course of action would be to seal away Urashiki.

Before they could formulate a proper plan, however, Sasuke detected Urashiki’s return near Naruto and Boruto’s location, speeding off with Jiraiya to help Boruto and Naruto. With Sasuke still drained from Urashiki’s theft of his chakra, their efforts were easily repelled by Urashiki, resulting in Jiraiya being impaled in the shoulder. Urashiki then smugly told them that he can perceive the future.

Deciding the foe’s newest technique was too dangerous, Sasuke tackled himself and Urashiki over the ledge and into a river to let his allies escape. While tending to Jiraiya’s wounds, the group tried to figure out how to deal with Urashiki. Boruto then realised that in the fight, the blood splattered on Urashiki was drying much faster than Boruto’s. After engaging the foe again to test a theory, they concluded that Urashiki’s technique lets him warp into the past by several seconds, giving him a pseudo-clairvoyance from his experiences. Urashiki then attack the Konoha-nin again, where Jiraiya then contained everyone in his Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind. During which, Naruto unleashed a continued barrage of clones on Urashiki. While he easily countered the assault with his technique, Urashiki inadvertently poisoned himself from the acidic vapors of the great toad’s belly far sooner than the Konoha-nin due to his repeated time-warp. Once Jiraiya released the summoning, Naruto and Boruto then proceeded to knockout Urashiki with a Rasengan assault.

Still defiant, Urashiki managed to get up. Battered and too weak to continue fighting as he was, he decided to consume all his accumulated chakra. Concluding that it wasn’t enough, he smugly ripped out both his eyes and ate them as well. The final result transformed him into a fiendish being of immense physical might. Jiraiya and the two genin were quickly overwhelmed by Urashiki’s continued assaults, even with the aid of the returning Sasuke. Urashiki’s efforts ultimately enraged Naruto enough to unleash the Nine-Tails’ chakra.

Jiraiya watched in shock as Boruto decided to make use of Naruto’s Nine-Tails Rasengan. As Boruto managed to reach Naruto’s consciousness, they were able to perfect their new collaboration technique. With the combined effort of Jiraiya and Sasuke, the two kids were able to plough through Urashiki’s final attack and obliterate him. Afterwards, Jiraiya drily noted how troublesome their apprentices were, which Sasuke agreed.

Days later, after everyone recovered from the battle, it was decided by Sasuke and Boruto that they should leave soon as their mission was done. They were then approached by Sakura, who demanded for Sasuke to reveal how he knew her and what the contents of his letter were about. While Sasuke struggled to answer, Jiraiya gave a convincing alibi that Sasuke and Boruto were in fact such avid fans of his, they studied up on his entire life and wished to train under him, which Boruto and Sasuke awkwardly agreed to. The following day, as Boruto and Sasuke prepare to leave, the Sannin confronted Sasuke about his true identity, feeling it would be best if he and Naruto had no memories of the recent events. Sasuke agreed, having already erased the memories of everyone else he and Boruto had come in contact with since arriving. Sasuke then revealed his Sharingan, which Jiraiya smiled at as it confirmed his suspicions about Sasuke’s identity (and that Naruto would succeed in returning Sasuke to the village in the future) before his and Naruto’s memories were erased.

Legacy

Deciphering Jiraiya’s dying message becomes Konoha’s top priority, though Jiraiya’s code is not recognisable to the Konoha Cryptanalysis Team. Only Naruto, one of the people closest to Jiraiya, is able to identify the code’s key: Icha Icha Tactics. By taking the first word on each page that Jiraiya specifies, they produce the message, «the real one isn’t among them.» It isn’t until the examination of the Animal Path and the interrogation of the Ame ninja are completed that Jiraiya’s message makes sense: the Six Paths of Pain are controlled remotely by a main intelligence, Nagato. Pain’s Assault on Konoha is already underway by the time this is figured out, but Naruto, after defeating all six Pains, is able to use the information to find and meet with Nagato. It is also only by using Jiraiya’s legacy and teachings that Naruto makes Nagato see his own impact on their former teacher.

Naruto is very depressed when he first learns of Jiraiya’s death and tries blaming it on Tsunade since she let him fight Pain alone. It eventually occurs to Naruto that Jiraiya, by fighting Pain, has bought him time for his own fight with Pain; he uses this time to learn senjutsu which, in combination with what Fukasaku is able to report about Pain’s abilities, allows him to defeat the Six Paths of Pain. When he meets Nagato, Naruto wants to take vengeance for Jiraiya’s death, but he decides instead to forgive Nagato, thereby ending the cycle of hatred that the main character of Jiraiya’s book, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, spoke against. Nagato realises that this same idea that Naruto got from Jiraiya, Jiraiya in turn got from him, and that his actions in Akatsuki therefore contradict both himself and Jiraiya. He gives his life to revive those killed during his attack on Konoha, the only atonement he can offer. Nagato later observes that if Jiraiya’s was the first story in a trilogy and Naruto’s will be the last, his own is the better-forgotten middle volume. Upon his final sealing in the war, Nagato tells Naruto that he will return to Jiraiya’s side and they will watch together as Naruto brings the story to a close, referring to Jiraiya’s life as a true masterpiece.

After observing Naruto’s confrontation with Nagato, the Great Toad Sage discovers that his prophecy was somewhat incorrect: Jiraiya would not train the Child of the Prophecy, he would train the Children of the Prophecy, Nagato and Naruto, both of whose actions steer the world towards peace because of Jiraiya’s influence. Obito Uchiha, after plunging the world into the Fourth Shinobi World War, blames the actions of Naruto and Nagato for the failure of his Eye of the Moon Plan; because Jiraiya was their teacher, Obito decides that, in a sense, it was Jiraiya who defeated him in the end.^[44] For Jiraiya’s influence, Naruto creates a memorial to him in the woods near Konoha after Pain’s Assault ends. The memorial itself is a rock with the kanji for «teacher» (師, shi) carved into it; Naruto also leaves a copy of Gutsy Shinobi and «never-dying flowers of hope» given to him by Konan. In later years, Tsunade would visit the memorial to toast her childhood comrade, doing so on the day Naruto became Hokage.

Tsunade is just as sad as Naruto when she finds out about Jiraiya’s death, and it provides her with yet another reason to keep Konoha safe from Pain, so that his sacrifice isn’t wasted. She is rendered comatose in her effort to protect the villagers, at which point the Fire Daimyō voices his regrets that Jiraiya, being dead, cannot replace Tsunade as Sixth Hokage. When the Fourth Shinobi World War starts, Kabuto Yakushi expresses interest in reincarnating Jiraiya to have him fight for Akatsuki, but unfortunately is unable to reach him as his body rests in the lower depths of the sea.^[33] Orochimaru, his death having been misreported, reemerges during the war with a reformed outlook. Tsunade argues that this change in him might have saved Jiraiya had it happened sooner, but Orochimaru believes it was better for Jiraiya to die as he was rather than risk his changing because of Orochimaru’s change.^[45] After Naruto shares his memories with the Shinobi Alliance, Tsunade and Orochimaru are shown solemnly remembering their former comrade, after which Orochimaru joins the fight on the side of the alliance. When bidding farewell to his father, Naruto mentions that of all the shinobi he has met, Jiraiya is the one he respects the most.

Jiraiya’s legacy of good was even spread to the new generations which included Boruto Uzumaki, Sarada Uchiha, Chōchō Akimichi, and the Konoha 11 members where it encouraged those new generations to someday be better and share the goodness in life. At some point, Amado Sanzu managed to obtain some of Jiraiya’s DNA and cloned him, naming the clone Koji Kashin, whose sole mission was to eliminate Jigen, the vessel of Isshiki Ōtsutsuki.^[46] Naruto found Koji’s style to be a great reminder of Jiraiya’s, and could not help but feel concerned for Koji’s safety despite being unable to discern why. Isshiki, reading Koji’s mind upon resurrecting through Jigen, understood that Amado wanted to cling onto the mighty fate that Jiraiya bore, hence his reason to create Koji.

In Other Media

Movies

Naruto Shippūden the Movie: Bonds

Main article: Naruto Shippūden the Movie: Bonds
When Naruto is about to go on a mission, Jiraiya has Sakura Haruno deliver a package to him. In the package is a charm, which activates when Naruto enters a version 2 form and suppresses the Nine-Tails’ influence. When, at the end of the mission, Naruto and Amaru almost fall to their deaths, Jiraiya arrives and saves them with Gamabunta.

Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Will of Fire

Main article: Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Will of Fire
When the world begins mobilising for the Fourth Shinobi World War, Jiraiya saves the Fifth Kazekage from an attack by Hiruko’s forces. He tells the Kazekage that he believes Naruto can stop Hiruko and avert the war, but he allows the Kazekage to come to his own conclusion. Naruto does indeed defeat Hiruko; afterwards, he and Tsunade discuss how old they’ve gotten, as evidenced by Naruto’s rapid growth.

Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Lost Tower

Main article: Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Lost Tower
Twenty years in the past, Jiraiya takes Minato Namikaze aside and shows him that he’s finally learned to use the Rasengan. Minato is unfazed and leaves with a simple congratulations, much to Jiraiya’s confusion.

Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie

Main article: Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie
The Jiraiya of the Genjutsu World died trying to procure the Red Moon Scroll, which the Great Toad Sage foretold would help defeat the Masked Man.

Video Games

Jiraiya is a playable character in the following video games:

Game name	Japanese release	English release
Jump Super Stars	8 August 2005
Jump Ultimate Stars	23 November 2006
Naruto Mobile	2016	2016
Naruto RPG 2: Chidori vs. Rasengan	14 July 2005
Naruto Shippūden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3		17 November 2009
Naruto Shippūden: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! EX 2	29 November 2007
Naruto Shippūden: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! EX 3	27 November 2008
Naruto Shippūden: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! Special	2 December 2010
Naruto Shippūden: Naruto vs. Sasuke	4 July 2008	6 November 2010
Naruto Shippūden: Ninja Council 4	19 July 2007	2 June 2009
Naruto Shippūden: Ninja Destiny 2	24 April 2008	15 September 2009
Naruto Shippūden: Ninja Destiny 3	28 April 2009
Naruto Shippūden: Shinobi Rumble	22 April 2010	8 February 2011
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 4	5 April 2007	24 March 2009
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 5	20 December 2007	27 November 2009
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing	14 July 2016	24 August 2016
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3	10 December 2009	11 May 2010
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Impact	20 October 2011	18 October 2011
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2	21 October 2010	19 October 2010
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3	18 April 2013	5 March 2013
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4	4 February 2016	9 February 2016
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations	23 February 2012	13 March 2012
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution	11 September 2014	16 September 2014
Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker	30 August 2018	31 August 2018
Naruto x Boruto: Ninja Tribes	June 2019	June 2019
Naruto x Boruto: Ninja Voltage	22 November 2017	22 November 2017
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution		23 October 2007
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2		21 October 2008
Naruto: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! 3	20 November 2004
Naruto: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! 4	21 November 2005
Naruto: Ninja Council 3	27 April 2006	22 May 2007
Naruto: Ninja Destiny	14 December 2006	20 March 2008
Naruto: Path of the Ninja	22 July 2004	23 October 2007
Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2	13 July 2006	14 October 2008
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja		30 October 2007
Naruto: Shinobi Collection	2014
Naruto: Shinobi Collection Shippū Ranbu	27 July 2015
Naruto: The Broken Bond		18 November 2008
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2	30 September 2004	12 June 2007
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3	22 December 2005	25 March 2008
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes		28 August 2007
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress	30 March 2006	24 June 2008
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Online	14 April 2013	20 July 2016
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm	15 January 2009	4 November 2008

Jiraiya in the video games often gains extra abilities, such as being able to use his elongate his hair in various ways, as well as his taijutsu’s motions being theatrical in appearance, reminiscent of a kabukimono.

Creation and Conception

Masashi Kishimoto had several different designs for the Jiraiya character. In one such design, Jiraiya would change into an ugly but powerful form during moments of passion, such as anger or when seeing a beautiful woman. This version of Jiraiya had a married toad couple riding on his shoulders, who would periodically tell jokes. Kishimoto abandoned the idea because it was too complicated, but integrated some aspects when he entered his Sage Mode.^[47]

Trivia

• Jiraiya and the other Sannin are named after the characters in the Japanese folktale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari; Jiraiya references the story before his death. The Jiraiya of that story excels in toad magic.
  • «Jiraiya» (自来也), roughly translated can mean «I came», whereas from the derived story the name holds the meaning «Young Thunder» or «Young Lightning».
• Jiraiya’s autograph is featured in the real version of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.
• In the Live Spectacle Naruto, the role of Jiraiya was played by Yoshiaki Umegaki.
• Jiraiya is given no rank in the manga or its databooks, but the anime classifies him as a jōnin.^[13]
• Studio Pierrot’s Settei sheets of Jiraiya show that he was 153 cm when he was part of Hiruzen’s genin team. They also show that as an adult his sandals add 7 cm on to his height.
• According to the databook(s):
  • Jiraiya’s hobby was sneaking a peek into a Women’s Bathing House.
  • Jiraiya wished to fight Naruto Uzumaki.
  • His favourite food was garlic pickled with Japanese basil and karaage-fried chicken, while his least favourites were kiwifruit and gratin.
  • Jiraiya completed 1,839 official missions in total: 58 D-rank, 345 C-rank, 684 B-rank, 614 A-rank, 138 S-rank. With this rating of mission completion by Jiraiya, he has the most completed missions of all characters in the entire Naruto series.
  • Jiraiya’s favourite phrase was «Free and uninhibited» (自由奔放, Jiyū honpō).
• Jiraiya shares the same blood type with his former team-mates, Tsunade and Orochimaru, as well as his former apprentices, Naruto Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze.
• Jiraiya is tied with Itachi Uchiha as having the highest stats total in the databook.
• Jiraiya’s last words are based off of a Japanese proverb: «A frog in a well does not know the great ocean» (井の中の蛙大海を知らず, I no naka no kawazu taikai o shirazu).

Quotes

• (To Tsunade) «Yo! I’m Jiraiya! You can send me the love letter later!«^[9]
• (To Nagato) «When people get hurt, they learn to hate… when people hurt others, they become hated and racked with guilt. But knowing that pain allows people to be kind. Pain allows people to grow… and how you grow is up to you.«^[48]
• (To Naruto) «I’m not a pervert… I’m a super pervert!«^[24]
• (To Orochimaru) «You’re wrong, that’s not what makes a shinobi. You never did get it, a real ninja is one who endures no matter what gets thrown at him… Let me explain something to you, there is only one thing that matters if you are a shinobi, and it isn’t the number of techniques you possess. All you do need, is the guts to never give up.«^[49]
• (To Naruto) «Even I can tell that hatred is spreading. I wanted to do something about it … but I don’t know what … but I believe… that someday the day will come when people truly understand one another!! If I can’t find the answer, it will be up to you to do it!!«^[50]
• (To Tsunade) «Now my job is to help the next generation, and set a good example for them. And for that I’ll gladly lay down my life, and I’ll be smiling the whole time. It’s what makes us old guys cool, you see.«^[19]
• (To Tsunade) «A person who feels nothing at the death of those close to him is no different than a butcher.«^[51]
• (To Naruto) «Never go back on your word… and never give up. That’s your ninja way… and as your mentor… I have no business whining! Because… the student’s ninja way should be the master’s too! Isn’t that so, Naruto?!«^[52]
• (Last words) «There, that ending… was a little better. The frog at the bottom of the well drifts off into the great ocean. Heh heh… yep… pretty damn honourable… pretty damn honourable… I guess it’s time to put down my pen. Right… I need a title for the next book… let’s see… Ah, got it… The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki… perfect.«^[53]

References

Jiraiya (自来也 or 児雷也, literally «Young Thunder»), originally known as Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki (尾形周馬寛行), is the toad-riding protagonist of the Japanese folk tale Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話, «The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya»). The tale was originally a Yomihon that was published in 1806–1807,^[1] and was adapted into a serialized novel that was written by different authors and published in 43 installments from 1839 to 1868; one of its illustrators was woodblock artist Kunisada. Kawatake Mokuami then wrote a kabuki drama based on the first ten parts of the novel, which premiered in Edo in 1852, starring Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII in the leading role. Since then the story has been adapted into, several films, video games, and manga and has also influenced various other works.^[2]

Classic tale – Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari[edit]

Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話)  is considered the first novel or Yomihon to be adapted into a kabuki play, the novel was written by Kanwatei Onitake (感和亭鬼武) and was published between 1806 and 1807. The story was later adapted many more times with variations in the story.^[1]

Part 1: (books 1–5)[edit]

The tale of Jiraiya starts with a poor, masterless samurai named Isami Gentaro, who’s wrongfully jailed because he could not afford the rent for his farm. His family manages to get the money to pay his bail so Isami’s father, Kirakusai travels alongside his grandson, Tomokichi to pay Isami’s bail. However, on the way to free Isami, Kirakusai is attacked and killed by Master Rokuyaon Gun who kidnaps the two-year-old Tomokichi and abandons him in a valley. During this time, a masterless samurai of the Miyoshi House, Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki, better known as «Jiraiya», happens upon the young Tomokichi and decides to raise him as his son.^[1]

Gentaro is later released with the help of other villagers and becomes a vassal of Shiizu Kunihisa after proving his courage as a samurai at the same time as Master Gun. Gentaro and Master Gun then begin working together to capture Jiraiya as he is a wanted criminal. Fortunately, though caught, Jiraiya manages to scheme his way out of jail. Gentaro eventually meets his wife, Soe (who now goes by «Seino») and they discuss the former’s hatred for whoever killed his father and son, both unaware the latter is alive. Master Gun eavesdrops on this conversation and decides to steal their Amulet of Protection, also known as the «Seitensō» (西天草), and proceeds to kill both Gentaro and Soe. Tomokichi—whilst engaged in a duel with Master Gun for Midori, the stepdaughter of Gentaro—learns that it was he who murdered his family. While this allows Tomokichi a chance to exact his revenge, he is unable to take it as Master Gun uses the Amulet of Protection to escape.^[1]

Master Gun is chased to Mt. Miyoko by Tomokichi and, upon reaching the mountain, is accosted by the spirits of the dead until he arrives to a grotto where the Immortal Toad Ascetic lives. They converse and the immortal sees all of Master Guns’ sins and even tells him that, since there are dead souls haunting him, he must be a murderer and that he’ll die from his sins. Terrified, Master Gun begs the immortal to save him, to which he agrees but saying he will only help him once. The immortal then uses his magic arts to send Master Gun down the mountain before warning him if he tells anyone of this encounter he will die. However, later that night, after getting drunk with one of Jiraiya’s followers, Master Gun tells him of the events at Mt. Miyoko. The morning after Master Gun leaves, Jiraiya goes to Mt. Miyoko to visit the Immortal. The Toad Ascetic then appears in front of Jiraiya and tells him that, even though he is a bandit who committed innumerable sins, he’ll teach him one magic art as he admires Jiraiya’s loyalty.^[1]

While Master Gun and Jiraiya are visiting the immortal, Tomokichi sets out to find them and, upon finally locating Jiraiya, recounts to his stepfather of what has happened to his family. Jiraiya vows to assist Tomokichi in his revenge and will be there to help when he is needed, sending his troops to steal the Seitenso from Master Gun so as to lure him out in order to kill him.^[1]

After luring Master Gun to a place called Kagamigaura, Tomokichi and Master Gun then engage in battle. While Tomokichi almost fails, he is able to turn the tide thanks to Jiraiya’s encouragement, announces he’ll avenge his grandfather and parents, and finally cuts off Master Guns’ head, ending part one and the first revenge story.^[1]

Part 2: (books 5–10)[edit]

The second part opens up with the immortal on Mt. Miyoko appearing to Jiraiya in his dreams asking for his assistance in return for teaching him more magic arts. Jiraiya sets off towards the mountain to save his master and, when he arrives, sees a monstrous snake fighting his master, who’s taken on the form of a giant toad. Jiraiya manages to kill the snake and is rewarded by the immortal with more magic arts, which he then uses to rob a wealthy man right after learning them. Since Jiraiya is wanted by the government, he became a pirate and started plundering commercial ships, until one night at sea the ghost of his former lord, Miyoshi Nagashige asks him to take revenge on the Ishido family, more specifically Ishido Haruchika. Jiraiya agrees and he soon after saves a vassal of Ishido named Agawa Uneo, and his companion Nagisa, the younger sister of another vassal named Madeno Hamanosuke, to which he tosses Agawa Uneo into the sea and takes Nagisa hostage. Agawa Uneo is then saved by a former member of his group and begins to pursue Jiraiya immedatly after recovering. During this time, Madeno Hamanosuke goes to Mt. Kinki to pray to Benzaiten, a god related to snakes, for the safety of his lord. He is answered by a goddess who appears before him and gives him the Stone Conch, otherwise known as the «Ishihara» (石螺), which holds the power to negate magic arts and repel evil.^[1]

Meanwhile, Tomokichi has become a vassal of Shiizu Kunihisa after taking revenge on Master Gun and is ordered to take back the Amulet of Protection from Jiraiya, to which he sets off in search of his adoptive father. After finding Jiraiya, Tomokichi asks him to return the Amulet of Protection to which the former agrees, but only after the next six months as he needs it to complete his revenge. In order to keep this meeting a secret, Jiraiya summons a powerful tsunami to kill all of Tomokichi’s troops despite the latter’s pleads for mercy to his men. After all is said and done, Jiraiya invites Tomokichi to go with him on his revenge quest so that he would not be punished.^[1]

Jiraiya then begins his plan, first by robbing betrothal gifts for Ishido Haruchika’s daughter, Tamahitohime, which leads to the death of Nagisa. After sneaking into the Nitsuki House, Jiraiya summons a tsunami to kill all of the servants in order for his troops to pose as them and sneak into the Ishido residence. Jiraiya then finds a mountain hermit who was going to treat one of Ishido Haruchika’s sick daughters and kills him, he then pretends to be the mountain hermit in order to sneak into the Ishido House. After sneaking into Ishido Haruchikas’s room, Jiraiya then cuts off his head.^[1]

Afterwards, Jiraiya calls on Tomokichi to return the Amulet of Protection as promised. However, Madeno Hamanosuke shows up and announces the head of the man Jiraiya cut off actually belonged to Agawa Uneo and all of his troops were captured because a member of the Jiraiya’s group, Asazuma was a vassal of Ishido and warned the Ishido house of his plan. Jiraiya tries to use his magic arts to defeat Madeno Hamanosuke, however, Madeno uses the Stone Conch that was given to him by Benzaiten to negate Jiraiya’s magic arts. Jiraiya finally realizes that his death is at hand as he lived a sinful life and this is his justice so, before anyone can kill him, he commits suicide and turns to stone.^[1]

Characters[edit]

Isami Gentaro – Tomokichis’s father who is imprisoned at the beginning of the story, he later becomes a vassal of Shiizu Kunihisa and hunts down the bandit Jiraiya. He is killed by Master Rokuyaon Gun as part of his plot to steal the Amulet of Protection.

Kirakusai Gentaro – Isamis’s father and the grandfather of Tomokichi, he’s killed by Master Rokuyaon Gun whilst on his way to pay his son’s bail.

Soe Gentaro – Isami’s wife and Tomokichis mother, sells herself to a brothel to pay for her husband’s bail. She is later reunited with her husband but is killed alongside him by Master Rokuyaon Gun as part of his plan to steal the Amulet of Protection.

Master Rokuyaon Gun – One of the story’s main antagonists who seeks the Amulet of Protection, he is killed by Tomokichi as part of the first revenge plot that makes up the story.

Tomokichi Gentaro – Jiraiya’s adopted son, he is kidnapped by Master Rokuyaon Gun as a child and left to die but is found by Jiraiya. He grows up and takes revenge on Master Rokuyaon Gun for killing his family.

Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki – Otherwise known as «Jiraiya», he is the titular protagonist of the story.

Shiizu Kunihisa – The head of the Kunihisa household who Master Rokuyaon Gun and Isami Gentaro served before their deaths and who Tomokichi later serves after taking his revenge on Master Rokuyaon Gun.

The Immortal Toad Ascetic – The Immortal Toad Ascetic that lives on Mt. Miyoko and helps Master Rokuyaon Gun escape, he teaches Jiraiya several magic arts throughout the story.

Miyoshi Nagashige – Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki’s late lord, he appears to Jiraiya as a ghost and asks him to take vengeance on the Ishido House, but more specifically on Ishido Haruchika.

Ishido Haruchika – The head of the Haruchika family, he is the second antagonist of the story as he is the one that Jiraiya is asked to kill by his late lord, Miyoshi Nagashige.

Agawa Uneo – A vassal of Ishido Haruchika, he is captured by Jiraiya and tossed into the sea before later being used as a decoy for lord Ishido during Jiraiya’s plan to take revenge.

Madeno Hamanosuke – Another vassal of Ishido Haruchika, his sister is captured by Jiraiya and later dies and so he planned to take revenge on Jiraiya. He is also given the Stone Conch, otherwise known as the «Ishihara» (石螺), which was given to him by the god Benzaiten in order to negate Jiraiya’s magic arts.^[1]

• 

  Jiraiya riding a giant toad, depicted in an 1866 print by Yoshitoshi

English translation – Jiraiya, or the Magic Frog[edit]

Plot[edit]

A popular version of the story was translated by William Elliot Griffis. The story starts with Jiraiya’s father who was a castle lord being killed during one of many civil wars. After he is killed young Jiraiya is hidden by a retainer and is able to escape, but they are attacked by a band of robbers, and the retainer is killed after resisting. Jiraiya goes to a place called Echigo where he spent the rest of his childhood. Jiraiya now led a wandering life in several provinces but wished to restore his family name. Since he was talented at swordsmanship and was exceptionally brave Jiraiya soon become a chief of his own band of robbers, where he would sneak in disguise to the places he robbed to learn where the treasure was stored. He would then come back and rob them later.^[3]

One day Jiraiya heard of an old man who lived in Shinano and he started off to rob him. The land was a place full of mountains and was full of snow in the winter. During the journey, he was beset by a great snowstorm and he took refuge in a small house that he happened upon, inside was a beautiful woman who treated him with great kindness. This did not change Jiraiya’s nature as a robber though and after midnight he went to kill her with his sword while she was reading. However, in a flash, her body changed to a very old man who grabbed the heavy steel blade and easily broke it into pieces. He then announces his name as Senso Dojin, and that he is a giant frog that has lived on the mountain for hundreds of years. He pardons Jiraiya after telling him he could kill him easily and then teaches him magic arts. Jiraiya stayed with Senso Dojin for several weeks learning the magic arts of the mountain sprites in order to control the weather as well as to control frogs and change their shape and size at will. After Senso teaches him he forbids him from robbing or injuring the poor and helpless and to instead take from those who use and acquire money dishonestly and to help the needy and suffering. He then turns into a giant frog and hops away.^[3]

After this Jiraiya sets out on his journey to help the poor and needy by helping a poor farmer whose crops failed and he could not pay his rent or loan on time. As well whenever a miser was robbed they would say that the young thunder had struck, as Jiraiya was very popular with the poor people of the time.^[3]

During this time when Jiraiya was helping the poor and needy, a young maiden named Tsunade also lived in the same province of Kiushiu. She was a model daughter and was always obedient and kind. One day during her trip into the mountains for firewood she met a very old man who approached her and told her he had lived in the mountains for hundreds of years and that his body was really that of a snail. He then offers to teach Tsundae the powers of magic he possesses. She gladly accepted and began training daily with the old man. Once she had mastered the magic, she was advised to use her powers to defend the poor and destroy wicked robbers, and to join her powers with Jiraiya in the form of marriage. The old man then turns into a snail and crawls away. Tsunade then remarks that she and Jiraiya with the combination of slug magic and frog magic would be able to destroy a robber named Orochimaru, who was the son of a serpent. Tsunade and Jiraiya eventually met and were married soon after.^[3]

Soon after Jiraiya and Tsunade were married war broke out in Japan between the Tsukikage and the Inukage. In the war, the Tsukikage sought out the help of Jiraiya and Tsunade who agreed to help them with the war, while the other clan the Inukage sought the help of Orochimaru otherwise known as Dragon-coil. Orochimaru was known as a very wicked robber whose father was a man and mother was a serpent that lived at the bottom of lake Takura, he was skilled in the magic of the serpent and would spew venom on the strongest of warriors to destroy them.^[3]

During a respite between the conflicts, Jiraiya and Tsunade were resting in a monastery. In the monastery, there was also a princess named Tagoto that had fled from Orochimaru as he wanted her to be his bride. She hated Orochimaru and did not want to marry him, however, when Orochimaru upon hearing that Tagoto and Jiraiya were in the same monastery, immediately made his way to the monastery. He then kidnapped the princess Tagoto and poured poisonous venom onto the sleeping Jiraiya and Tsunade. After they are poisoned one of Jiraiya’s pages, Rikimatsu, volunteers to go to India to retrieve the only antidote to cure Jiraiya and Tsunade. Rikimatsu then uses the magic he learned from the Tengus of the mountains he flies to India and back in one day and one night to deliver the antidote. After Jiraiya and his wife recovered the war broke out again, and in a great battle Orochimaru was killed and Tagoto was rescued. Jiraiya was rewarded by being made a daimyo of Idzu.^[3]

At this point, Jiraiya had grown tired of war and the hardships that an active life brought, and he was glad to settle down to a peaceful life in Idzu. He spent the remainder of his day in peace and tranquility among his children and his grandchildren.^[3]

Characters[edit]

Ogata — Jiraiyas’s late father was a castle lord in Kiushiu and was slain during a civil war.

Jiraiya – otherwise known as “young thunder”, is the protagonist of the story, his father was a castle laird in Kisushiu but is killed when he is young. He then becomes a bandit who uses his frog magic arts to help the poor and needy.

Tsunade – Jiraiya’s wife, is taught slug magic by an old man whose real body turns out to be a slug. Her magic is strong against snake magic

Senso Dojin – he appears as an old man who teaches Jiraiya frog magic, and later reveals himself to be a giant frog

Orochimaru – otherwise known as Dragon-coil, is the son of a snake and is able to use snake magic which is strong against frog magic. He is the main antagonist of the story.

Rikimatsu – he is one of Jiraiya’s pages, he learns Tengu magic and is instrumental in saving Jiraiya and Tsunade when they are poisoned by Orochimaru.^[3]

Popular culture[edit]

The story of Jiraiya inspired three homonymous characters from the manga and anime series Naruto.

A Persona representing the spirit of Jiraiya is summoned by the character Yosuke Hanamura in Persona 4.

The 18th Super Sentai season, Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, features a character named Jiraiya (played by Kane Kosugi) who summons a giant black toad mecha.

The seventh installment of the Metal Hero Series, Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya features ninja student Toha Yamaji who identifies himself as Jiraiya to combat The Sorcerers Clan.

In Urusei Yatsura in episode 179, Cherry summons a giant slug and a giant toad to fight the spirit of a giant snake that possessed Sakura.

In Pokémon, Greninja is a Water/Dark-type Pokémon, the evolved form of Frogadier, and the final evolved form of Froakie, the Water-type starter of the Kalos region. With the appearance and abilities of both a frog and a ninja, pulling inspiration from Jiraiya.

See also[edit]

• Japanese folklore
• Jiraiya the Hero
• The Magic Serpent
• Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya
• Susanoo
• Yamata no Orochi

References[edit]

• «The Gallant Jiraiya». 2001-07-13. Archived from the original on July 13, 2001. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
• Zhang, Jin. The Didacticism of “Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari” (2012). Web.
• Griffis, William Elliot (1880). Japanese Fairy World: Stories from the Wonder-Lore of Japan, New York, Steam Printing House pgs. 126–140.
• Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari» (# 7, pp. 4–5), ca. 1850 | Brian P Coppola». Retrieved 2019-11-13.

External links[edit]

• Vintage Ninja writeup about the 1921 film Jiraiya
• 1821 version of the story (in Japanese)

Джира́йя — один из Денсетсу но Саннин Конохагакуре. Прославившийся как отшельник и извращенец с изумительными способностями ниндзя, Джирайя путешествовал по миру в поисках знаний, которые могли бы помочь его друзьям, писал различные романы и исследовал мир во всей его полноте. Впоследствии, все его знания и идеалы перешли к его крестнику и последнему ученику, Узумаки Наруто.

Личность

Джирайя, как правило, был беззаботным и общительным, любящим пошутить и сопроводить собственные шутки весёлым смехом. В отношении с другими он любил притворяться самодовольным и эгоистичным, выводя собеседников из себя, чтобы затем ещё сильнее разозлить их своим юмором.^[8] Даже в бою он не упускал возможности быть ярким и вульгарным, принимая эффектную позу на манер  кабуки и театрально представляя себя. Подобные вступления зачастую постоянно прерывались ввиду различных обстоятельств, и Джирайя незамедлительно выражал своё раздражение тому, кто был ответственен за это. Друзья и враги любили Джирайю за его эксцентричность, восхищаясь тем, что такой, казалось бы, на первый взгляд непочтительный человек на самом деле является высококвалифицированным шиноби. Он был непоколебимо предан Конохе, несмотря на то, что очень часто покидал родную деревню, не побоявшись даже угрожать Тсунаде убийством в том случае, если она предаст деревню, несмотря на их долгую историю. Также Джирайя не колебался, когда пытался уничтожить своего бывшего лучшего друга Орочимару в отместку за смерть их учителя, и не предпринимал попытки воззвать к бывшему ученику Нагато, узнав, что тот был настоящим лидером Акацки.

Несмотря на то, что в молодости Джирайя считался эксцентричным нарушителем спокойствия, он оказался образцовым и компетентным шиноби. Джирайя создал обширную информационную сеть в различных странах, а в бою продемонстрировал способность как распознавать, так и анализировать угрозы и опасности в сжатые сроки. Кроме того, Джирайя был в состоянии придумывать уловки и новые стратегии в середине битвы, основанные на его проницательных наблюдениях.

Джирайя провозгласил себя супер-извращенцем, которому нет равных.^[9] Его любимым занятием были подглядывания за обнаженными женщинами в бане, не скрывая своего интереса, а тот факт, что его практически никогда не обнаруживали, становился предметом для гордости. Тем не менее, Джирайе не нравилось, когда Узумаки Наруто называл его «Эро-сеннин» (エロ仙人, «Извращённый отшельник») в присутствии кого-либо. Со своих «исследований» по подглядыванию Джирайя написал серию романов под названием Ича Ича. Романы были основаны на его личном опыте на любовном фронте — в особенности, на постоянных отказах со стороны Тсунаде — и описывались в комичной манере. Книги пользовались огромнейшей популярностью, и его чековая книжка была буквально «заполнена нулями». Тем не менее, этот факт не помешал ему одолжить денег у Наруто на алкоголь и женщин. В аниме, книга «Ича-Ича», дописанная Наруто, не вызвала у читателей никаких подозрений, так что можно предположить, что либо Наруто смог написать как взрослый, или же писательские навыки Джирайи были не лучше, чем у ребёнка. Тсунаде подозревала, что верно скорее второе, отметив, что отчёт, который Джирайя написал в молодости, был крайне плохо составлен и сопровождался грубыми цветными иллюстрациями.

Извращённость Джирайи неоднократно приводила к неблагоприятным последствиям. Когда он впервые встретил Наруто, то совершенно не был заинтересован в его обучении, однако Наруто убедил его передумать с помощью Оироке но Дзюцу, которую Джирайя оценил настолько высоко, что настойчиво просил Наруто использовать эту технику на протяжении всего обучения. Учиха Итачи и Хошигаки Кисаме из Акацки позже загипнотизировали привлекательную девушку для Джирайи, чтобы разделить их с Наруто и облегчить захват последнего. Несмотря на эффективность плана, Джирайя быстро понимает, что женщины обычно не оказывают ему знаков внимания первыми и, заподозрив неладное, вовремя вернулся к Наруто, чтобы спасти его. Когда он был моложе, он следил за Тсунаде на горячих источниках, за что жестоко поплатился, попавшись ей на глаза: Тсунаде сломала ему обе руки, шесть рёбер и повредила многие внутренние органы в качестве наказания. С тех пор, он с особой осторожностью выражал свою заинтересованность в Тсунаде, лишь в игривой манере оказывая ей некоторое ухаживание. Неспособность завоевать сердце Тсунаде Джирайя считает одной из самых больших неудач в своей жизни. Несмотря на свою яркую натуру, на самом деле Джирайя сожалеет о ряде своих поступков. Будучи неспособным спасти Орочимару, он испытал эмоциональный кризис, равно как и из-за смерти своего сенсея Сандайме Хокаге и ученика Йондайме Хокаге. Джирайя считал свои достижения ничтожными вещами по сравнению с делами предыдущих четырёх Хокаге и желал смерти такой же славной, как и их собственная. В свои последние минуты Джирайя выразил гордость за то, что осознал героическую смерть, определив её как «достойный конец, очень достойный».

Несмотря на его самоуничижение, одной из отличительных черт Джирайи был его неукротимый дух и стремление никогда не сдаваться. Несмотря на множество неудач, которые он пережил в жизни, он никогда не поддавался отчаянию и всегда двигался вперёд, поскольку чувствовал себя обязанным шиноби. В сражении с Орочимару Джирайя продемонстрировал свою веру в то, что истинной сущностью шиноби был тот, кто терпел и сражается вне зависимости от того, с чем он столкнулся, независимо от врождённого таланта или гениальности. Даже на грани смерти сила воли Джирайи была настолько сильна, что он захотел, чтобы его сердце снова начало биться, дабы передать предсмертное послание Конохе. Он передал эти убеждения своим ученикам.

Вероятно, наибольшим вкладом Джирайи в мир были учительские наставления, но даже тут он корил себя за неудачу. Руководствуясь пророчеством, что однажды он найдёт спасителя мира, Джирайя стал наставником трёх самых могущественных шиноби в истории — Нагато, Минато и Наруто, передавая каждому свою веру в духе шиноби. Поначалу он мог быть грубым и отстранённым от Наруто, но Джирайя искренне любил его и потребовалось некоторое время, чтобы он начал рассматривать их взаимоотношения как узы родителя и ребёнка, вместо уз учителя и ученика, что было показано, когда он купил ему мороженое, чтобы поддержать Наруто в период его депрессии из-за отсутствия семьи. Даже перед смертью последние мысли Джирайи были о Наруто, которому он доверил спасение мира. В аниме, прежде чем отправиться в Джодо, дух Джирайи использовал свои последние моменты, чтобы хлопнуть Наруто по плечу, в качестве последнего проявления любви.

Хотя он редко показывал это внешне, Джирайя был великим сторонником мира и глубоко жаждал искоренить злобу и жестокость, присущие Земле. Хотя он хотел найти ответ относительно бесконечного цикла ненависти, от которого страдал весь мир, он так и не смог подобрать подходящее решение. У него никогда не было собственных детей, по этой причине он думал о Намиказе Минато как о своём сыне и, как следствие, думал о Наруто как о своём внуке. Джирайя просто отметил, что быть счастливым не его судьба.^[10] Тсунаде сомневалась, что он верил своим словам. Несмотря на его буйный характер, Джирайя оставался принципиально добрым человеком, который дорожил близкими ему людьми, сохраняя твёрдую веру в следующее поколение, в частности тех, кого он лично обучал, и даже полагал, что Наруто суждено построить мир, о котором сам Джирайя мог бы только мечтать. Умирая, Джирайя решил, что, несмотря на многочисленные провалы, успехи за время, проведённое с Наруто, всё оправдали.

Внешность

Джирайя — довольно высокий мужчина атлетического телосложения. Отличительной чертой Джирайи являются его колючие белые волосы, длиной до самого пояса. За спиной они собраны в хвост. Под глазами у него находились две красные линии, удлиняющиеся на протяжении всей его жизни. На голове он носит своего рода протектор с рожками, на котором начертано канджи, означающее Абура (油, Масло), что указывает на его принадлежность к Мьёбокузану. На левой стороне носа у него находится  пирсинг, в аниме изображаемый как бородавка. Также, у него довольно маленькие чёрные глаза. Во время тренировок с Наруто, его ученик, не контролируя себя, наносит ему ранение, о чём свидетельствует огромный шрам на груди.^[11]

Джирайя одет в светло-зелёное кимоно, обвязанное чёрным поясом, под которым он носит сетчатую рубашку. Поверх кимоно он носит красный  хаори с желтыми овалами с двух сторон. Обут он в традиционную японскую обувь  гета. Кроме того, за спиной он носит большой свиток. В детстве, он носил белую куртку от кимоно с зелёной обшивкой, расшитую жёлтыми узорами. Рукава и низ были обшиты красной тканью на манер пламени. Под ней он также носил сетчатую рубашку, однако, более длинную. На ногах он носил чёрные сандалии. Во время Третьей мировой войны Ниндзя, он носил серый костюм, поверх которого была надета серая броня.^[12] Во время обучения сирот из Амегакуре, на нём одно время был надет резиновый зелёный костюм лягушки.^[13]

Изменения

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  В детстве

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  В юности

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  В молодости

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  В костюме лягушки

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  В 54 года

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  В Сеннин Модо

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  Перед смертью

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Прошлое

После окончания Академии Конохи, Джирайя объединился в команду с Орочимару и Тсунаде под предводительством Сарутоби Хирузена. Хирузен провёл со своими учениками испытание с колокольчиками в качестве первой командной тренировки, во время которой Джирайя неоднократно попадался на уловки наставника, и, в конце-концов, в качестве наказания за полный провал был привязан к бревну. Хирузен посоветовал Джирайе равняться на Орочимару, но Джирайя возразил, заявляя, что его Тотон Дзюцу была ярким доказательством его навыков, поскольку он мог подсматривать за обнажёнными женщинами в бане и не выдать себя. Хирузен предложил отправиться вместе с ним, чтобы убедиться, правда ли это.^[14] С первой встречи Джирайя начал проявлять интерес к Тсунаде,^[8] а когда её грудь выросла, то она стала объектом его частых подглядываний. Однажды она чуть не убила его, застав за этим занятием, в результате чего впредь он стал осторожнее в своих желаниях.^[15]

Однажды Джирайя очутился на Мьёбокузане, резиденции жаб. В аниме он попал туда, когда попытался призвать жабу, с которыми ещё не подписывал контракт.^[16] Фукасаку занялся его тренировками, прежде всего сконцентрировавшись на Сендзюцу. Во время пребывания Джирайи на Мьёбокузане Огама Сеннин рассказал о его судьбе: он будет путешествовать по миру и встретит ребёнка из пророчества, который станет его учеником и, повзрослев, спасёт или уничтожит мир, в зависимости от того, как его обучит Джирайя.^[17]

Несмотря на то, что их команда под лидерством Хирузена была расформирована, Джирайя, Тсунаде и Орочимару продолжали сражаться бок о бок во время Второй мировой войны Ниндзя. В ходе одного из сражений в Амегакуре, троица оказалась единственными выжившими в битве против Саншоуо но Ханзо. За проявленные способности Ханзо решил их пощадить и нарек троицу «Денсетсу но Саннин Конохи».^[18] После этой битвы к ним подошли три сироты войны и попросили обучить их Ниндзюцу. Джирайя, чувствуя вину за своё участие в войне, решил остаться в Аме на некоторое время, чтобы позаботиться о них.^[19] Вскоре после этого, он узнал, что один из сирот, Нагато, обладал Риннеганом, который в незапамятные времена использовал Рикудо Сеннин, чтобы спасти мир. Джирайя решил, что Нагато был тем самым ребёнком из пророчества и согласился обучить сирот Ниндзюцу, так как это могло направить Нагато к спасению мира.^[20]

Нагато был добрым ребёнком, который разрывался между желанием не навредить окружающим и стремлением защитить Яхико и Конан. Джирайя успокаивал Нагато, говоря, что достаточно просто желать защищать дорогих себе людей, так как мир страдает от бесконечных конфликтов. Нагато решил, что можно положить конец бесконечному кровопролитию, и, хотя сам не знал, как именно, найти путь к миру. Вдохновленный словами Нагато, Джирайя начал писать то, что годы спустя станет известно как «Доконджо Нинден». После трёх лет тренировок сирот, Джирайя решил, что они уже готовы сами вершить свою судьбу, и вернулся в Коноху. Он оставил им экземпляр своего первого романа, посвящённого Нагато.^[21] Время от времени до него доходили новости о деятельности сирот, но в конце концов он получил известие, что они умерли.^[19]

В какой-то момент Джирайя возглавил свою собственную команду в Конохе и предположил, что один из его учеников, Намиказе Минато, может быть тем самым ребёнком из пророчества, поскольку считался гением от природы.^[22] Джирайя начал заниматься с ним и научил многим своим навыкам. Впоследствии Минато обучил Джирайю своему Расенгану. «Доконджо Нинден» не очень хорошо продавался после выхода. Минато — избранный Йондайме Хокаге после того, как сам Джирайя отказался от предложения стать им,^[10] — восхищался книгой, находя главного героя очень похожим на самого Джирайю. Поэтому, он решил назвать своего ещё не рождённого тогда сына от Узумаки Кушины в честь главного героя книги — «Наруто», надеясь, что их Наруто станет таким же решительным, как персонаж книги (и, следовательно, его автор). Джирайя пытался убедить их переосмыслить решение, поскольку это сделало бы его крёстным отцом Наруто, но они настаивали на том, что это хорошая идея.^[23] Минато погиб во время нападения Кьюби на деревню, отдав свою жизнь, чтобы запечатать зверя в новорождённом Наруто. В качестве одного из своих последних действий, Минато отправил Джирайе Геротору, на животе которого оставил ключ к печати Наруто. Джирайя догадался, что Минато хотел, чтобы он помог Наруто контролировать силу Кьюби, хотя не понимал, для чего эта сила может понадобиться.^[24]   

Хотя Орочимару всегда превосходил его и даже сам Хирузен указал Джирайе равняться на него, тот всегда считал Орочимару одним из своих близких друзей. Поэтому, когда Орочимару сбежал из Конохи, Джирайя последовал за ним и попытался убедить его вернуться обратно. Орочимару отказался и напал на Джирайю, чтобы тот не препятствовал его побегу. Какое-то время Джирайя пытался найти смысл в предательстве Орочимару, полагая, что, если что-то изменится, тот вернётся назад. В конечном счёте, он не смог ничего придумать.^[25] С этого момента Джирайя начал следить за Орочимару и Акацки, организацией, к которой тот примкнул. Его исследования и путешествия занимали много времени и держали вдали от деревни, что не позволяло Джирайе стать Годайме Хокаге, как того хотел Хирузен.

Действие

Чунин Шикен

Вернувшись в Коноху без предупреждения, Джирайя посещает горячие источники Конохи, дабы подсматривать за купающимися женщинами. Его замечает Эбису, который, не признав Джирайю, пытается остановить его и сделать ему выговор. Джирайя использует жабу, чтобы отправить Эбису в нокаут, защищая свои «исследования». Затем Джирайя сразу же сталкивается с Узумаки Наруто, которого Эбису тренировал контролю чакры, и теперь, когда тот находится без сознания, юноше приходится искать замену побеждённому учителю. Джирайя отказывается, и тогда Наруто демонстрирует свою Оироке но Дзюцу, после чего Джирайя охотно соглашается.  

Наблюдая за тренировками Наруто, Джирайя замечает две вещи: Наруто — Джинчурики Кьюби, а его доступ к чакре Биджу ограничен Гогьё Фуин, которую, как правильно догадывается Джирайя, поместил Орочимару. Он снимает её, облегчив Наруто контроль чакры, и предлагает юноше со следующего дня начать тренировки по использованию силы Кьюби. Позже той же ночью, об этом решении он сообщает Эбису. Эбису не высказывает своих возражений, но просит Джирайю встретиться с Сандайме Хокаге, чтобы вместе они остановили то, что Орочимару начал планировать против Конохи. Джирайя же с неохотой ввязывается в конфликт.

Для того, чтобы научить Наруто пользоваться преимуществами огромных запасов чакры Кьюби, Джирайя обучает его Кучиёсе но Дзюцу, ожидая, что он будет использовать Кьюби для призыва все более и более огромных жаб. Тем не менее, Наруто не только не удаётся задействовать чакру Биджу, но и использовать собственную чакру, из-за чего он призывает только головастика. Из разговора с Наруто о его предыдущем опыте применения чакры Кьюби, Джирайя приходит к выводу, что это происходит, когда тот находится в ситуациях на грани жизни и смерти. Когда спустя месяц Наруто не демонстрирует никакого прогресса, все ещё призывая головастиков, Джирайя ставит его в эту самую ситуацию на грани жизни и смерти — сбрасывает в ущелье. Джирайя выражает удивление, когда Наруто призывает Гамабунту, чтобы спастись, но решает вернуться к своим «исследованиям», прежде чем Гамабунта замечает это.

Крушение Конохи

Орочимару начинает вторжение в Коноху, используя змей, чтобы пробить оборону деревни и разрушить инфраструктуру селения. Джирайя останавливает их с помощью Кучиёсе: Йатаи Кузуши но Дзюцу, уничтожая змей с помощью Гамахиро. Затем он отправляется на поиски Сандайме Хокаге, желая оказать помощь в битве с Орочимару, но к тому времени, как он прибывает, Сандайме уже погибает, а Орочимару отступает. Джирайя не посещает похороны Сандайме несколько дней спустя, но присутствует на третьей тренировочной площадке, где придаётся воспоминаниям и оплакивает учителя.

Поиски Тсунаде

К Джирайе обращается совет Конохи, информируя его, что, в связи с тяжелейшим положением деревни после вторжения, Даймё Хи но Куни уже одобрил его назначение на пост Годайме Хокаге. Джирайя отказывается, но предлагает найти Тсунаде, чтобы она заняла эту должность, на что советники соглашаются. Джирайя также попросил взять Наруто с собой на поиски. Наставнику Наруто, Хатаке Какаши, он объясняет, что организация, именуемая Акацки, собирает Биджу по типу Кьюби Наруто. Джирайя планировал присматривать за Наруто и научить его использовать силу Биджу. Он не делится этими подробностями с самим Наруто, поэтому юноша не видит особых причин, чтобы сопровождать Джирайю в поисках Тсунаде. Джирайя предлагает обучить его технике, превосходящую по силе Чидори Учиха Саске, чем мгновенно завоёвывает интерес Наруто.

Покинув Коноху, Джирайя и Наруто через некоторое время остановились в Шукуба-мачи. Во время поиска свободного номера, с Джирайей начинает заигрывать привлекательная девушка. Джирайя отправляет Наруто в их комнату, тогда как сам уходит проводить время с незнакомкой. Тем не менее, Джирайя быстро осознаёт, что женщины обычно никогда не тянутся к нему первыми, и он понимает, что девушка находится под действием Гендзюцу и используется с целью разделить их с Наруто. Он возвращается к Наруто, прибывая в тот момент, когда Учиха Итачи и Хошигаки Кисаме из Акацки собираются похитить его. Там же оказывается Саске, бросивший вызов Итачи. Итачи и Кисаме решают отступить, чтобы не иметь проблем с Джирайей, который пытается остановить их своей Кучиёсе: Гамагучи Шибари. Джирайя собирает образец пламени Аматерасу, которое Итачи использовал для побега, и возвращается к Наруто и Саске, после чего его внезапно атакует Майто Гай с помощью Дайнамикку Энтори.

Гай извиняется за нападение на Джирайю, оправдываясь тем, что на ходу не смог узнать его, опасаясь попасть под действие Шарингана Итачи. Джирайя просит Гая вернуться в Коноху вместе с Саске, находящимся без сознания в результате столкновения с Итачи. Гай сообщает ему и Наруто, что то же самое произошло и с Какаши, и что только Тсунаде способна исцелить их должным образом. Для этого он просит их обязательно найти её. После произошедшего, Джирайя объясняет Наруто, почему Акацки ищут его. Наруто решает, что должен стать сильнее, настолько, чтобы в следующий раз смог справиться с ними, и Джирайя решает помочь ему с этим, научив Расенгану. За время путешествия по стране в поисках Тсунаде, Джирайя инструктирует Наруто в использовании Расенгана, обеспечив всем необходимым для тренировки. Хотя Наруто полагается на некоторые обходные пути и его подходы часто мешают отдыху Джирайи, он всё же осваивает два из трёх этапов.

Джирайя и Наруто узнают, что Тсунаде находится в Танзаку. Тем не менее, по прибытии в обозначенное место, они не обнаруживают её. Более того, там были доказательства присутствия Орочимару. Они находят заведение, чтобы поужинать, и случайно замечают Тсунаде с её помощницей Шизуне. Тсунаде выражает удивление, встретив Джирайю сразу после столкновения с Орочимару, однако отказывается раскрывать ему характер беседы. Джирайя сообщает ей, что Коноха хочет видеть её Годайме Хокаге, что тоже стало для неё неожиданностью, так как она считала, что Орочимару солгал, когда говорил, что убил Сандайме Хокаге, как и для Наруто, который ничего не знал о назначении нового Хокаге. Тсунаде отказывается, высмеяв тех, кто носил этот титул, в том числе и Сандайме с Йондайме Хокаге, заявляя, что эта работа подходит только для глупцов. Наруто, который сам мечтал стать Хокаге, в ярости выходит из себя и пытается напасть на неё. Джирайя останавливает его, но Тсунаде соглашается сразиться с ним.

Тсунаде легко побеждает Наруто, но не раньше, чем тот пытался использовать свой незавершённый Расенган. Она отчитывает Джирайю за то, что Саннин обучил Наруто Расенгану, заявив, что это жестоко учить бездарей как он чему-то настолько сложному. Наруто заключает с ней пари о том, что освоит Расенган за неделю, и приступает к усердным тренировкам. Джирайя приглашает Тсунаде выпить и высказывает версию, что пари Тсунаде с Наруто как-то связано с предложением от Орочимару. Он не просит раскрыть ему подробности сделки, но обещает, что лично убьет её, если она сделает что-то, что поставит под угрозу безопасность Конохи. Она утверждает, что ей нет дела до деревни, и Джирайя указывает ей на сходство Наруто с её умершим младшим братом Наваки, который дорожил Конохой. В ту же ночь он приглашает её выпить ещё раз до завершения срока сделки, желая выведать больше информации о намерениях Орочимару, но она незаметно подсыпает ему в алкоголь снотворное.

Когда Джирайя просыпается на следующее утро, ему становится сложно передвигаться и контролировать чакру. Он отправляется на поиски Тсунаде, но находит только Наруто и Шизуне. Джирайя замечает, что Якуши Кабуто наблюдает за ними, и просит Шизуне рассказать про сделку Тсунаде и Орочимару. Шизуне отвечает, что в обмен на исцеление его рук, повреждённых Сандайме Хокаге, Орочимару пообещал Тсунаде возродить Наваки и её возлюбленного Като Дана. Когда они пытаются найти Тсунаде, чтобы помешать ей помочь Орочимару, Джирайя выражает беспокойство, что ему действительно придётся сдержать своё обещание убить её. Тем не менее, когда они находят её, выясняется, что она попыталась убить Орочимару. Джирайя поручает Шизуне заняться Кабуто, пока он сам будет сражаться с Орочимару. Он просит Тсунаде дать ему противоядие от препарата, который она ему подсыпала, но Кабуто вызывает у неё  гемофобию, что вызывает у неё шок и неспособность действовать.

С неспособностью Джирайи контролировать чакру, и с неспособностью Орочимару использовать свои руки, оба Саннина не наносят серьёзного урона друг другу. Джирайе удаётся применить Дотон: Йоми Нумa, но оно оказывается слишком маленьким, чтобы полностью одолеть змею Орочимару, лишь обездвижив её. Тем не менее, Орочимару выражает уверенность в поражении Джирайи, доказывая, что он «напрасно тратит время» с Наруто. Он противопоставляет Наруто Саске: Саске — Учиха, одарённый от природы и способный изучить любую технику. Наруто же, по его словам, посредственность, которая лезет из кожи вон для того, чтобы изучить хотя бы одну технику, и не сможет стать достойным звания шиноби. Джирайя опровергает утверждение Орочимару, заявляя, что шиноби — это не тот, кто может изучить все техники, а тот, кто отказывается сдаваться. Они наблюдают за тем, как Наруто использует завершённый Расенган и побеждает Кабуто. Тогда Орочимару начинает рассматривать Наруто как проблему. Он решает лично убить его, отразив попытку Джирайи остановить его.

Тсунаде встаёт на защиту Наруто и преодолевает свою фобию, вернувшись в бой. Она призывает Катсую в ответ на то, что Орочимару призвал Манду, а Джирайя присоединяется к ней с помощью призыва Гамабунты. После того, как они спасают Катсую от Манды, они атакуют змею с помощью Катон: Гамаю Эндан. Манда уклоняется и атакует их со спины, но Тсунаде спасает Джирайю, побеждая и Манду и Орочимару. Орочимару отступает с Кабуто, напоследок предупредив, что у него есть и другой способ восстановить свои руки. Тсунаде исцеляет сломанные кости Джирайи, восстанавливает его чакру и принимает должность Хокаге, вернувшись с ним и Наруто в Коноху.      

Миссия по возвращению Саске

Вернувшись в Коноху, Джирайя просит Тсунаде исцелить психологический ущерб Саске и Какаши, а также, от имени Гая, осмотреть Рока Ли. Наруто обходит деревню, чтобы навестить своих старых друзей, а Джирайя тайно наблюдает за ним. Вскоре после того, как Тсунаде исцеляет Саске, он вступает в поединок с Наруто, который завершается своевременным вмешательством Какаши, остановившим столкновение Чидори и Расенгана. Какаши замечает Джирайю и спрашивает у него, было ли хорошей идеей научить Наруто такой технике как Расенган, а Джирайя задаёт аналогичный вопрос Какаши о Чидори Саске. Джирайя признаётся, что был удивлён тому, что Наруто использовал Расенган против друга, и интересуется насчёт его взаимоотношений с Саске. Какаши объясняет, что Саске — соперник Наруто, которого тот хочет превзойти, так же, как в своё время Джирайя соперничал с Орочимару. Поняв суть происходящего, Джирайя решает переговорить с Наруто об этом.

В результате, Саске уходит к Орочимару, а Наруто попадает в больницу Конохи, после неудачной попытки остановить его. Джирайя навещает его там и сообщает, что собирается взять его с собой на тренировки за пределы Конохи на следующие три года. Акацки и Орочимару, по его сведениям, не смогут продвинуться вперёд в течение этого времени, поэтому Джирайя рассматривает этот факт как отличную возможность подготовить Наруто ко встрече с ними. Наруто отвергает предложение, желая отправиться за Саске. Джирайя предпринимает попытку отговорить Наруто от возвращения Саске, опираясь на свой собственный опыт с Орочимару, и указывая, что раны Наруто являются доказательством того, что Саске больше не считает его своим другом. Эти факты в сочетании со многими более важными пробелами, с которыми Наруто должен впоследствии столкнуться, приводят Джирайю к умозаключению о том, что после случившегося было бы глупо просто броситься за Саске. Наруто отвечает, что предпочтет быть глупцом. Джирайя доволен и говорит Наруто подготовиться к уходу вместе с ним сразу после выписки из больницы. В аниме, прежде чем Наруто и Джирайя уходят из Конохи, проходит как минимум три месяца, пока Джирайя собирает информацию об Акацки. За это время Тсунаде отправляет Наруто на различные миссии вместе с его друзьями из Коноха 11. В конце концов, после последнего посещения Рамен Ичираку, Джирайя и Наруто отправляются в путь.

Отважный учитель и ученик: Обучение

В аниме, вскоре после ухода из Конохи, Джирайя и Наруто размышляют над тем, что Наруто следует научиться противостоять Гендзюцу, если он надеется встретиться с Саске в следующий раз. Наруто тренируется с Гамарики, чтобы рассеять Гендзюцу, однако они оказываются несовместимыми для общей тренировки. Наруто следует за Джирайей в Какурезато в Гендзюцу деревьев, чтобы попробовать другой подход, но они обнаруживают, что деревня была захвачена Кандачи. Учитель и ученик освобождают жителей деревни, а затем нападают на Кандачи, которого Наруто в итоге побеждает с помощью своего недавно созданного Одама Расенгана. Когда они уходят, Джирайя выражает радость относительно того, насколько Наруто похож на Намиказе Минато, и обнимает его, что вгоняет Наруто в ступор.^[26]

По следам Наруто: Пути Друзей

За два года обучения Наруто значительно улучшает контроль над чакрой Кьюби. Джирайя пытается предоставить ему больше доступа к силе Биджу и использует Геротору, чтобы ослабить печать Наруто. Пользуясь случаем, Кьюби высмеивает Наруто за его неспособность спасти Саске, взывая к его негативным эмоциям. В итоге Наруто переходит во вторую версию покрова с четырьмя хвостами. В таком состоянии Кьюби берёт контроль над разумом Наруто и переходит в буйство. Джирайе удаётся вернуть Наруто в нормальное состояние, но из-за его нежелания причинить вред ученику, он получает тяжёлые травмы. В то время как Наруто забывает об этом инциденте, Джирайя решает не восполнять его память, вместо этого переключая обучение Наруто на другие занятия, включая контроль его гнева, чтобы Кьюби не обрёл контроль снова.^[27]

Миссия по спасению Казекаге

Джирайя возвращается с Наруто в Коноху два с половиной года спустя. По прибытии, их приветствует Какаши, и Наруто дарит ему экземпляр новой части Ича Ича, которую Джирайя написал за время, проведённое с ним. Джирайя оставляет Наруто Какаши, предупредив, что Акацки в ближайшем времени должны начать действовать. Такое же предупреждение он отправляет в Сунагакуре, где Казекаге также, как и Наруто, является Джинчурики. Джирайя покидает Коноху, чтобы начать расследование по делу Акацки, но вскоре возвращается, чтобы сообщить Тсунаде о том, что Казекаге был захвачен. Та оказывается в курсе последних событий, в связи с чем отправляет Наруто и его команду в Суну. Джирайя предупреждает его сохранять самообладание и не использовать «ту технику». Ко всему прочему, он просит Какаши присматривать за Наруто, дав ему печать, которая в состоянии подавлять чакру Кьюби, на случай, если Наруто начнет терять контроль над Биджу. 

Инфильтрационная миссия на мосту Тенчи

После успешного спасения Казекаге, Джирайя и Тсунаде навещают Какаши, чтобы обсудить инцидент, когда Наруто поддался силе Кьюби, что является признаком ухудшения контроля. Джирайя объясняет на собственном опыте принцип работы второй версии, а также делится своими наблюдениями о преобразовании состояния Наруто. Поскольку существовал большой риск того, что он снова может навредить себе и окружающим, они поручают Ямато держать юношу под контролем.   

Появление Трёххвостого

В аниме, Джирайя возвращается в Коноху и поздравляет Наруто с его победой над Какузу, членом Акацки. Поскольку Какаши собирается выступить на миссию с командой 8 и исследовать одно из убежищ Орочимару, для того, чтобы оградить Наруто от новой миссии, связанной с Саске, Джирайя вновь начинает тренировать его, и отводит Наруто в Югакуре. Между ними происходит философский разговор о значении слова «дом». Дабы усилить техники Наруто, Джирайя обучает его Ренкей Ниндзюцу. Он даёт ему задание освоить Суитон: Мизудеппо совместно с Гамарики. Когда Наруто и Гамарики оказываются неспособными работать сообща, из-за противоречивых личностей, Джирайя говорит ему, что тот не сможет изучить совместные Ниндзюцу без синхронизации с жабой. Наруто решает тренироваться вместе с Гамакичи и Гамататсу.

Впоследствии, Джирайя наблюдает за прогрессом Наруто. Получив сообщение об Акацки, он вынужденно покидает своего ученика. Прежде чем уйти, он всё-таки убеждает Тсунаде позволить Наруто помочь команде 8 в их миссии. 

Миссия по поиску Итачи

Джирайя посещает Тсунаде и сообщает о том, что Саске убил Орочимару. Они делятся этими вестями с Наруто и Харуно Сакурой, которые подозревают, что теперь Саске сделает ход в направлении к убийству своего брата, Учиха Итачи из Акацки. Наруто полагает, что если они попытаются найти Итачи, то выйдут на Саске. С этой целью формируется отряд из восьми человек и, в аниме, Джирайя и Тсунаде наблюдают за тем, как группа выходит за пределы Конохи. 

История о доблестном Джирайе

В то время как отряд из восьми человек продолжает свою миссию, Джирайя вновь приходит к Тсунаде и рассказывает ей, что в Амегакуре, по слухам, скрывается лидер Акацки, однако отказывается делиться подробностями, пока они не выпьют вместе. Выпив саке, Джирайя делится с ней информацией о том, что в Амегакуре не прекращается гражданская война, за которой, по слухам, стоит лидер Акацки. Поскольку Амегакуре находится в непростой политической ситуации, Джирайя настаивает на том, что для начала он должен в одиночку проникнуть в деревню, разузнать, как обстоят дела на самом деле, прежде чем Коноха сможет действовать напрямую. Тсунаде чувствует себя виноватой за то, что всегда полагается на Джирайю в том, что касается опасной работы, и вызывается помочь, если нужно. Джирайя напоминает, что она — Хокаге, и так просто покинуть деревню не может, но она отвечает, что Наруто в любом случае заменит её. В то время как они оба обсуждают Наруто, Джирайя размышляет над тем, как когда-то считал Минато своим сыном, в связи с чем чувствует, что Наруто стал для него внуком. Джирайя уходит, предупреждая Тсунаде о Шимура Данзо, прежде чем покинуть деревню.

Спустя некоторое время после проникновения Джирайи в деревню, он был обнаружен Пейном. Бродя по деревне, Джирайя опрашивает местных жителей об их лидере. Потерпев неудачу в сборе информации, Джирайя берёт в плен двух ниндзя Аме. Он пытается использовать щекотку, чтобы вытащить из них информацию, но только после превращения Юдачи в лягушку Рьюсуи соглашается ответить на его вопросы. Он преподносит лидера как таинственную фигуру, которая совершила государственный переворот против бывшего феодала, Саншоуо но Ханзо. Джирайя выражает обеспокоенность относительно поражения Ханзо, так как исходя из прошлого сражения с ним он думал, что лидер Аме непобедим. Прежде чем начать действовать, Джирайя призывает Геротору и поручает ему охранять ключ от печати Наруто, считая, что за нападением на Конохагакуре 16 лет назад стоял Учиха Мадара. В результате он приходит к выводу, что Наруто незамедлительно должен научиться контролировать Кьюби.

С помощью одной из своих жаб он доставляет Юдачи в Коноху, на допрос к Морино Ибики, тогда как сам берёт под контроль Рьюсуи, чтобы исследовать деревню. Вскоре его обнаруживает «ангел» Пейна, в котором Джирайя узнаёт свою бывшую ученицу Конан, одну из сирот, которых он обучал десятилетия назад. Джирайя удивляется, увидев её, и догадывается, что Пейном может оказаться один из сирот, хотя она отказывается это подтвердить. Конан делает первый шаг и атакует бывшего учителя. Джирайя вспоминает и других своих учеников, — Яхико и Нагато. Джирайя быстро захватывает её, однако Конан освобождается благодаря вмешательству Пейна, который отсылает её следить за деревней. Не узнав тело, Джирайя выдвигает предположение, что перед ним находится Нагато из-за его Риннегана. С приходом Пейна, они обсуждают его идеологию и цели Акацки. Будучи уверенным, что Саннин не уйдёт оттуда живым, Пейн раскрывает ему все свои планы. Джирайя не скрывает своего разочарования относительно того, кем стал Нагато, свернув с правильного пути и возглавив преступную организацию. Пейн утверждает, что, поскольку он является богом, его план освобождения мира через разрушение является определением праведности.

Решив, что он должен остановить Пейна прежде, чем тот уничтожит мир, Джирайя призывает Гамакена для боя с лидером Акацки, а сам начинает готовиться ко входу в Сеннин Модо. Пейн противостоит ему собственными различными призывами, что Джирайя находит странным, учитывая, что Нагато обладал огромным арсеналом Ниндзюцу ещё когда он учил его. Несмотря на непрерывные атаки от призывов Пейна, Джирайе все же удаётся войти в Сеннин Модо благодаря Фукасаку и Шиме. Оба удивляются тому, что Джирайя призвал их, тогда как Джирайя заявляет им, что Пейн, по всей видимости, был тем самым ребёнком из пророчества. Они быстро воспринимают информацию, найдя и уничтожив скрывающегося хамелеона Пейна. Пейн отвечает тем, что призывает два тела, обладающих Риннеганом, ни одно из которых Джирайя не узнаёт. Будучи немного сбитыми с толку, Джирайя, Фукасаку и Шима объединяют усилия и применяют Сенпо: Гоемон.

Один из Пейнов (Гакидо) поглощает эту технику, а потом и последующий от Джирайи Чо Одама Расенган, но тому, однако, удаётся ослепить другого Пейна (Нингендо). В ходе боя выясняется, что зрение троих связано. Джирайя также осознаёт, что у каждого из тел есть своя способность. Окружённые со всех сторон, Джирайя, Фукасаку и Шима решают отступить, чтобы обсудить дальнейшие действия. Они приходят к выводу, что единственный способ одолеть Пейна заключается в том, чтобы разделить все три тела, для чего необходимо использовать мощное Гендзюцу. Так как Джирайя не был квалифицированным пользователем Гендзюцу, Фукасаку и Шима готовят свою Маген: Гамариншо, временно парализовав Пейнов. Джирайя сдерживает оппонентов до момента реализации иллюзии, прижимая Нингендо к стене и нападая на Чикушодо, после чего техника активируется.

Победив три тела Пейна, Джирайя пронзает их каменными мечами, приходя к выводу, что они окончательно уничтожены. Внезапно, на него из-за спины нападает Шурадо, который отрывает ему руку. Все Пейн Рикудо — вместе с тремя побеждёнными, которые были восстановлены Джигокудо — сталкиваются лицом к лицу с Джирайей. Он узнаёт в Тендо Яхико, засомневавшись в том, что Пейном является Нагато. На вопрос кем он является на самом деле, Пейн уверяет его, что Яхико мёртв, после чего все шестеро нападают на Джирайю. После непродолжительной схватки, он отступает в Кеккай: Гама Хьёро. Чикушодо следует за ним, но вскоре погибает от его руки. Глядя на Чикушодо с близкого расстояния, Джирайя осознаёт, что встречал его раньше. Джирайя припомнил предсказание Огама Сеннина о том, что он будет путешествовать по миру, поняв, откуда знает Чикушодо. Фукасаку и Шима рекомендуют ему вернуться в Коноху и доложить обо всём, но Джирайя отказывается, веря, что это лучший шанс выяснить, кто такой Пейн. Он поручает Шиме доставить Чикушодо в Коноху, а сам, вместе с Фукасаку, продолжает битву с Пейном.

Остальные пять Пейнов быстро окружают Джирайю, когда тот возвращается на поле боя и подтверждает свою теорию: он встречался с каждым из Пейнов во время своих путешествий. Прежде чем он успевает рассказать об этом Фукасаку, Шурадо разрывает его горло, и все Пейны пронзают его спину чёрными стержнями. Теперь, когда его жизнь подошла к концу, Джирайя начинает размышлять о своих неудачах: ему не удалось завоевать сердце Тсунаде, он не смог вернуть Орочимару, не спас Минато и Сандайме Хокаге, и сейчас, по мнению Джирайи, он лишился возможности умереть достойной смертью. Он начинает думать о Наруто. Джирайя знает, что он не смирится со своими провалами и будет бороться столько, сколько сможет. Джирайя решает, что, как учитель Наруто, должен продемонстрировать такую же решимость, что и его ученик. Он заставляет себя вернуться в сознание и тратит последнюю энергию на то, чтобы высечь на спине Фукасаку зашифрованное послание.

Несмотря на попытки Пейна остановить его, Фукасаку удаётся добраться до Конохи. Джирайя, тем временем, в последний раз подвергнувшись нападению лидера Акацки, падает в море и его тело начинает погружаться на дно. В последние мгновения своей жизни Джирайя продолжает думать о Наруто и решает, что это он, а не Нагато, был ребёнком из пророчества. Джирайя выражает уверенность, что мир находится в надежных руках, если Наруто будет его спасителем. Удовлетворённый тем, что финальная глава его жизни удалась, Джирайя официально заканчивает то, что называет «Историей о доблестном Джирайе». Прежде чем умереть, Джирайя решает, что продолжение следует назвать «Историей об Узумаки Наруто», и улыбается тому, насколько хорошим получилось название.

Способности и техники

Как и его бывшие товарищи по команде, Джирайя являлся исключительно талантливым шиноби, признанным одним из величайших ниндзя своего поколения, которые когда-либо рождались в Конохе. Истинное признание он получил во время Второй мировой войны Ниндзя, когда был назван Саннином, обзаведясь титулом, сравнимым с членством в клане Учиха и Семи мечниках Киригакуре. Хошигаки Кисаме считал, что Джирайя находится в более высшей лиге, чем он, а его напарник, Учиха Итачи, пришёл к выводу, что даже бок о бок с Кисаме они не смогут победить его.^[28] Навыки Джирайи позволили ему дослужиться до ранга Джонина.^[29] Ему трижды предлагали занять пост Хокаге,^[30][10] и предложили бы в четвёртый раз, если бы он прожил дольше.^[31] Какаши, также являющийся одним из самых сильных шиноби, когда-либо родившихся в Конохе, заявил, что Джирайю невозможно победить в одиночку. Хотя Джирайя в конце концов погиб, сражаясь против самого сильного члена Акацки, сам Пейн открыто признал, что, если бы Джирайя узнал секрет Пейн Рикудо, он бы одержал победу,^[32] что Тоби расценивает как главное свидетельство способностей Саннина.^[33] После смерти, Джирайя стал одним из тех, кого Якуши Кабуто больше всего хотел возродить во время Четвёртой мировой войны Ниндзя.^[34]

Чакра и физическая сила

Джирайя обладает достаточно большими запасами чакры, чтобы призвать Гамабунту, и достаточно мощными для использования Сендзюцу. Джирайя достиг отличного контроля над своей чакрой, благодаря чему был способен использовать Расенган двумя руками одновременно или даже высечь послание с её помощью, несмотря на то, что контроль над ней был нарушен. Также он был достаточно осведомлён о Гендзюцу, чтобы научить Наруто прерывать иллюзии. Ко всему прочему, он обладает большой физической силой, будучи в состоянии одним движением пальца отбросить Наруто на несколько метров.^[35] В аниме было показано, что Джирайя способен поднимать и бросать огромные валуны,^[16] а также отталкивать гигантскую многоголовую собаку.

Джирайя также был на удивление стойким, так как был способен выдержать много повреждений, прежде чем упасть. Он смог выдержать удар ногой Майто Гая со всей силы и остаться без единой царапины, и даже атаки таких больших призывов, как Гамабунта, вроде гигантского быка.^[36] Обладая невероятной стойкостью, Джирайя лишь дважды был на грани смерти: в столкновении с Узумаки Наруто в форме четырёх хвостов и от чудовищной силы Тсунаде. Даже Нагато с трудом смог нанести смертельный урон своему бывшему учителю с помощью Пейн Рикудо.

Ниндзюцу

Джирайя — мастер Ниндзюцу,^[37] который знаменит как «Гама Сеннин» (蝦蟇仙人, «Жабий мудрец») из-за своей связи с жабами Мьёбокузана. Эта связь чаще всего проявляется в призывах жаб, с которыми он либо сражается в бою, либо просто призывает их пищевод, покрывающий определенную область и ограничивающий любые движения в этой области. Другие способности, основанные на жабах, включают в себя плевок маслом изо рта, маскировку в тени цели для управления её действиями незамеченным, или использование жаб для проникновения в места, защищенные сенсорными техниками.

Помимо техник, базирующихся на использовании жаб, Джирайя обладает квалификацией и в других стилях. Таким образом, он способен управлять своими волосами, либо для захвата и уничтожения цели, либо в качестве защиты, ранив любого, кто дотронется до него. Также он владеет Расенганом — разрушительной сферой сжатой чакры, и его улучшенной версией — Чо Одама Расенганом.

Джирайя хорошо разбирается в Фуиндзюцу, будучи в состоянии вычислить принципы работы печати Наруто за считанные секунды после того, как увидел её узор. Кроме того, он быстро определил, что печать была ограничена, и снял это ограничение. Ко всему прочему, Джирайя мог создавать печати для других, которые используются для подавления чакры тех, на кого они наложены. Он демонстрирует определённые навыки в Кеккай Ниндзюцу, возводя барьер, который определяет все движения в пределах широкого радиуса, или создавая жабьи барьеры, где можно укрыться.

В сражениях Джирайя, как правило, задействует два элемента — Катон и Дотон. Благодаря этим знаниям, он обучал Яхико и Нагато их элементам.^[38] С помощью Катона, Джирайя способен стрелять огнём и комбинировать его с жабьим маслом. Задействуя Дотон, Джирайя создаёт болото, чтобы ограничить движения цели.^[39] Помимо этого, Джирайя был в состоянии использовать Суитон- и Футондзюцу, а также Интон и Йотон.^[4]

Сендзюцу

Фукасаку обучил Джирайю Сендзюцу, которое он мог использовать для увеличения своей скорости, выносливости и физической силы.^[40] Также он может применять его для усовершенствования своего Ниндзюцу, как в случае с Чо Одама Расенганом. Тем не менее, прежде, чем получить все эти преимущества, Джирайя должен войти в Сеннин Модо, которым он не овладел в полной мере. Это привело к тому, что при использовании Сеннин Модо, Джирайя становится похож на жабу: у него появлялись бородавки, изменялся дизайн глаз, а ноги и руки становились перепончатыми, хотя при обладании ногами как у жабы повышалась его скорость и прыжки. Так как использование Сеннин Модо требует постоянного накопления природной энергии, в бою с этим могут возникнуть трудности. По этой причине Джирайя призывает Фукасаку и Шиму для слияния со своим телом, чтобы они собирали для него природную энергию. В качестве бонуса, Фукасаку и Шима могли комбинировать атаки с Джирайей, как, например, Сенпо: Гоемон, а в довершение всего они могли исполнять техники, которыми сам Джирайя не владел, как в случае Гендзюцу.^[39]

Интеллект

Несмотря на его эксцентричную личность, Джирайя на самом деле был очень проницательным. Он специализировался на сборе разведывательных данных, имел сеть шпионов, которая действовала во всех Шиноби Годайкоку для получения информации о конкретном человеке или группе и использовалась в его личных интересах или интересах его союзников. В бою у него высокая чувствительность: Джирайя замечает все различные действия соперника, разрабатывая теорию о том, как и почему, и использует эту теорию в битве.^[41] Он неоднократно был представлен в качестве крайне талантливого учителя, так как все его ученики стали очень могущественными и известными шиноби. Кроме того, у него, вероятно, была очень хорошая память: умирая, он смог написать зашифрованное сообщение, используя номера страниц Ича Ича для подачи текста. 

Параметры способностей

Параметр способностей Джирайи выглядит следующим образом.

Наследие

Несмотря на его смерть, Джирайя по-прежнему оказывал большое влияние на дальнейшее развитие событий, в основном — через своего ученика, Узумаки Наруто. Благодаря сообщению, которое он оставил на спине Фукасаку, Коноха Анго Кайдоку Хан удалось разгадать тайну Пейн Рикудо Нагато. Только Наруто, один из самых близких людей Джирайи, смог подобрать ключ к посланию: третья книга из серии Ича Ича. Собрав первые слова с каждой страницы, номера которых Джирайя оставил на спине Фукасаку, удалось разобрать сообщение: «настоящего среди них нет». До тех пор, пока изучение Чикушодо и допрос шиноби Аме не были завершены, суть послания оставалась неясной: Пейн Рикудо контролируются дистанционно с большого расстояния главным телом, Нагато. Пейн напал на Коноху ещё до того, как шиноби успели разгадать его тайну, но Наруто, победив всех шести Пейнов, использовал эту информацию, чтобы найти и встретиться с Нагато. Кроме того, только благодаря наследию и учениям Джирайи Наруто убедил Нагато понять своё влияние на их бывшего наставника.

Наруто был очень подавлен, когда впервые узнал о смерти Джирайи и попытался обвинить в этом Тсунаде, так как она позволила ему отправиться на сражение с Пейном в одиночку. В конце концов, Наруто пришёл к выводу, что Джирайя, сражаясь с Пейном, выиграл достаточно времени для его личного противостояния с Пейном: он воспользовался этим временем для изучения Сендзюцу, которое, в сочетании с информацией о способностях Пейна, переданной Фукасаку, позволило ему победить Пейн Рикудо. Когда он встретился с Нагато, Наруто хочет отомстить за смерть Джирайи, но вместо этого он решает простить Нагато, тем самым заканчивая цикл ненависти, против которого выступал главный герой книги Джирайи «Доконджо Нинден». Нагато осознал, что эти идеи Наруто перенял от Джирайи, а Джирайя, в свою очередь, от него, и что его действия в Акацки противоречат ему самому и Джирайе. Он отдал жизнь, чтобы воскресить убитых во время его нападения на Коноху, считая это единственным искуплением, которое он может предложить. Нагато также отметил, что, если первая история в трилогии была о Джирайе, а последняя о Наруто, то всем лучше забыть о втором томе. В ходе запечатывания во время Четвёртой мировой войны Ниндзя, Нагато заявил, что он вернётся к Джирайе и вместе они будут наблюдать, как Наруто завершит свою историю, ссылаясь на жизнь Джирайи как на настоящий шедевр.

Понаблюдав за встречей Наруто и Нагато, Огама Сеннин открыл для себя, что его пророчество было несколько неточным: Джирайя тренировал не ребёнка из пророчества, а детей из пророчества, так как и Наруто, и Нагато оба желали направить человечество к миру под влиянием Джирайи. Учиха Обито, погрузив мир в Четвёртую мировую войну Ниндзя, обвинял Наруто и Нагато в том, что из-за них провалился его Тсуки но Ме Кейкаку, а поскольку Джирайя был их учителем, Обито решил, что, в некотором смысле, это Джирайя победил его в конце.^[43] Спустя некоторое время, Наруто поставил памятник Джирайе в лесу в окрестностях Конохи. Памятник состоял из небольшого камня, на котором написано канджи «учитель» (师, «Shi»). Справа, слева и сверху от камня находятся три куная, соединенные между собой проволочной нитью. Около камня Наруто положил первую книгу Джирайи Доконджо Нинден, а также «цветы надежды», которые ему дала Конан. В последующие годы Тсунаде посещала памятник, чтобы выпить за своего товарища из детства, сделав это в тот день, когда Наруто стал Хокаге.

Тсунаде, также как и Наруто, тяжело переживала смерть Джирайи, это дало ей ещё одну причину сохранить Коноху в безопасности от Пейна, чтобы его жертва не была напрасной. Из-за своих усилий по защите жителей деревни она впала в кому, после чего встал вопрос выбора нового Хокаге. Даймё Хи но Куни сказал, что он хотел бы видеть Джирайю в этой должности, если бы тот был всё ещё жив. Перед началом Четвёртой мировой войны Ниндзя, Якуши Кабуто выразил заинтересованность в получении тела Джирайи, чтобы возродить его при помощи Кучиёсе: Эдо Тенсей, однако, это оказалось невозможным, так как тело Саннина затонуло слишком глубоко. Тем не менее, он отметил, что у Тоби осталось достаточно ДНК Джирайи на оружии Пейна, однако, ему было отказано на основании, что возрождённый Джирайя оказался бы слишком опасным.^[44] Орочимару и Тсунаде вновь сражались плечом к плечу во время войны, где последняя отметила, что если бы Орочимару изменился раньше, то Джирайя был бы всё ещё жив. Орочимару рассудил, что Джирайя мог бы измениться вслед за ним.^[45]

После того, как Наруто поделился своими воспоминаниями с Альянсом Шиноби, Тсунаде и Орочимару торжественно вспомнили своего бывшего товарища, после чего Орочимару присоединился к битве на стороне Альянса. Во время прощания со своим отцом, Наруто упомянул, что из всех шиноби, которых он когда-либо встречал, Джирайя был тем, кого он уважал больше всего. Наследие Джирайи передалось и новому поколению шиноби, в частности Узумаки Боруто, Учиха Сараде, Акимичи Чочо и членам Коноха 11, которые побуждали своих детей быть лучше и руководствоваться миролюбивой политикой Джирайи.

Законченные миссии

Количество	Ранг
58	Ранг D
345	Ранг C
684	Ранг B
614	Ранг A
138	Ранг S

Цитаты

• „Привет! Меня зовут Джирайя! Ты можешь прислать мне потом любовное письмо.“ – Тсунаде, Глава 405

• „Когда людям причиняют боль, они учатся ненавидеть… Когда люди причиняют боль другим, их начинают ненавидеть, а сами они охвачены чувством вины. Но познание боли позволяет людям быть добрыми. Боль позволяет людям расти… а кем ты вырастешь — зависит уже от тебя.“ – Нагато, Глава 446

• „Я не просто извращенец… Я супер-извращенец!“ – Наруто, Глава 91

• „Есть три порока, которые никогда не должны соблюдать шиноби. Эти пороки — алкоголь, женщины и деньги.“ – Наруто, Глава 150

• „Ты ошибаешься, настоящая суть шиноби не в этом. Ты так этого и не понял, настоящий ниндзя — тот, кто способен вынести что угодно… Позволь мне объяснить, есть лишь одна вещь, которая имеет значение, если ты — шиноби, и это отнюдь не количество техник, которыми ты обладаешь. Все, что нужно — это мужество никогда не сдаваться!“ – Орочимару, Глава 166

• „Даже я могу сказать, что ненависть распространяется. Я хочу как-то помешать этому… но не знаю как… Но я верю, что когда-нибудь настанет день, когда люди начнут по-настоящему понимать друг друга!! Если я не смогу найти ответ, тебе предстоит это сделать!!“ – Наруто, Глава 436

• „Теперь моя работа — помочь новому поколению и быть хорошим примером для них. И за это я с радостью отдам свою жизнь, улыбаясь при этом. Это то, что делает нас, стариков, крутыми, вот увидишь.“ – Тсунаде, Глава 366

• „Человек, который ничего не чувствует, когда умирают его близкие, ничем не отличается от убийцы.“ – Тсунаде, Глава 159

• „Важно не то, как шиноби живёт, а то, как он умирает.“ – самому себе, Глава 382

• „Никогда не отказываться от своих слов… и никогда не сдаваться. Таков твой путь ниндзя… и я, как твой наставник… не имею права скулить! Потому что… путь ниндзя ученика должен быть и путем ниндзя наставника тоже! Верно, Наруто?!“ – Наруто, Глава 382

• „Вот… Такая концовка… Совсем другое дело… Последняя глава… Лягушка из колодца уплывает в великий океан… Да, достойный конец, очень достойный… Пожалуй, пора заканчивать… Надо придумать название для следующей книги… Сейчас… Придумал… «История об Узумаки Наруто»… Превосходно…“ – Последние слова, Глава 383

Создание и концепция

Изначально, Кишимото Масаши разработал другой дизайн Джирайи, а также дизайн его волос. Также, он должен был призывать жаб ростом с человека. Тем не менее, эта идея была признана неудачной. В интервью, мангака также признался, что отношения ученик-учитель Наруто и Джирайи — его любимые.

Прочее

• Имена и качества Джирайи, Тсунаде и Орочимару взяты из японской народной сказки  Джирайя Гокетсу Моногатари. Джирайя ссылается на неё перед смертью. Джирайя из этой истории специализируется на жабьей магии.
  • Джирайя (児雷也) означает «я пришёл», в то время как в повести-источнике, его имя означает «молодой гром» или «молодая молния».
• Автограф Джирайи показан в настоящей версии Доконджо Нинден.
• Ранг Джирайи не упоминается в манге и датабуках. Он известен из аниме.^[29]
• В соответствии с данными студии Pierrot, рост Джирайи составлял 153 см, когда он был Генином в команде Хирузена, а сандалии добавили 7 см к его текущему росту.
• У Джирайи такая же группа крови, что и у его бывших товарищей по команде, Тсунаде и Орочимару, а также бывших учеников, Узумаки Наруто и Намиказе Минато.
• Джирайя, наравне с Учиха Итачи, имеет самую высокую статистику в Ша но Шо.
• Последние слова Джирайи основаны на японской пословице И но нака но кавазу тайкай о ширазу (井の中の蛙大海を知らず, «Лягушка в колодце ничего не знает о великом океане»).
• Две красные полосы под глазами Джирайи похожи на «кровавые слезы». Примечательно, что  гемолакрия — выделение крови вместе со слезами, является патологическим состоянием и реальным феноменом.

Качества

Качества Джирайи выглядят следующим образом:

Примечания

Jiraiya (自来也) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Introduced in the series’ first part, he was a student of Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and one of the three «Legendary Great Three Students of the God Shinobi»—along with Orochimaru and Lady Tsunade, his former teammates. Jiraiya appears as a perverted old man who occasionally returns to the village Konohagakure, reporting the activities of Orochimaru and the organization Akatsuki. Referred to as the «Toad Sage» and «Pervy Sage», he mentors Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and later becomes the godfather and mentor of Minato’s son, Naruto Uzumaki.

Jiraiya
Naruto character
Jiraiya as he is drawn by Masashi Kishimoto
First appearance	Naruto, Volume #10, Chapter #90: Whaddabout My Training?! (2001) Naruto episode 52: Ebisu Returns: Naruto’s Toughest Training Yet! (anime)
Created by	Masashi Kishimoto
Voiced by	Japanese Hōchū Ōtsuka Tōru Nara (as a child) English David Lodge Brad MacDonald (as a child) Todd Haberkorn (Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals) Richard Cansino (Naruto: Ultimate Ninja) Wally Wingert (Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress)

Jiraiya appears in two Naruto films, and as a playable character in most of the franchise’s video games. Various pieces of merchandise based on him have been released. He has received positive critical reception. Reviewers have praised Jiraiya’s introduction in the story and his relation with Naruto as his mentor. Out of all student-teacher relationships in Naruto, Jiraiya and Naruto’s are the ones Kishimoto liked the most. He served as a strong father-figure to Naruto.

Creation and conceptionEdit

Manga author Masashi Kishimoto first conceived Jiraiya’s name based on Kabuki. He conceptualized him as a wizard with frog-like traits. He gave him an incisive and energetic speech pattern specific to old Kabuki plays. Kishimoto stated that Jiraiya «makes everything more colorful» since he is one of the few characters who enjoy talking.^[1] Regarding the bonds in the story, Kishimoto highlighted the importance of the character’s death during his fight against Pain; this remark was made since, in his last moments, Jiraiya manages to discover the origin of Pain’s multiple bodies and uses his last forces to send a message to Naruto Uzumaki in which he explains how Pain can be defeated. Kishimoto felt he had done a good job of establishing Jiraiya’s last moments.^[1] He commented that out of all the master-pupil relationships he had created in the Naruto series, the bond between Naruto and Jiraiya is his favorite, stating that drawing their interactions was «worthwhile».^[2] Jiraiya was one of the characters that resonated the most with the author alongside Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha, and Haku.^[3]

At the 2015 New York Comic-Con, when asked which character besides Naruto is his favorite, Kishimoto chose Jiraiya. Due to the fans’ preference, Kishimoto drew a sketch of Jiraiya in front of the audience at the event. He stated he felt nostalgic since this was the first time he had drawn Jiraiya or any other character in the series for a while. However, Kishimoto did not remember how to draw Jiraiya initially, and thus he used a person among the spectators who was cosplaying Jiraiya as a reference.^[4] After being asked which character’s point of view he would choose to tell the story from instead of Naruto’s if given the possibility, Kishimoto listed Jiraiya as one of his choices. He elaborated on this by stating Jiraiya was not very knowledgeable at a young age, feeling that this aspect would have created an interesting contrast with Jiraiya’s «not so much arrogant, but overconfident, blusterous, and very, very skilled» adult self and that the story presenting Jiraiya’s development would have been «fun to draw».^[5] Kishimoto further mentioned that jutsu was still in the process of developing during Jiraiya’s childhood, and he felt this would have been an engaging subject to depict in the series.^[5] Jiraiya is played by Hōchū Ōtsuka in the series’ original animated adaptation,^[6] while David Lodge voices him in the English dub.^[7]

David Lodge stated that Jiraiya is one of viewers’ «favorite characters».^[8] When questioned if he is frequently asked to voice Jiraiya in new features since the character is a part of such a popular franchise, he answered affirmatively. Lodge stated that besides being known as the «Toad Sage» due to controlling frogs, Jiraiya is also known as the «Pervy Sage», considering this a «big deal» in Japan due to such content being classified as sensitive.^[8] He stated that in the United States, a lot of the things regarding the «Pervy Sage» part had to be restricted.^[8] Lodge said that Jiraiya was the best character he had ever played due to having «so many dimensions»; he elaborated by mentioning that while Jiraiya can be «crazy», he can also be a «very serious, philosophical, wise sage».^[8] He characterized this aspect of Jiraiya’s personality as «fun».^[8] He said he had «such a good time» playing Jiraiya, stating he managed to «delve into a character that is more than one-dimensional» in the process of voicing him.^[8] Lodge also stated he has «a huge fanbase» for Jiraiya’s character. He commented that Jiraiya is his favorite character, characterizing him as «such a grand scope character».^[9]

AppearancesEdit

In NarutoEdit

Jiraiya is a ninja from the village of Konohagakure trained by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.^[10][11] He becomes known as the «Toad Sage» due to his training under the Great Toad Sage in the field of Senjutsu (仙術, lit. «sage techniques»), enabling him to summon toads as allies during battles.^[12][13] The Great Toad Sage also informs Jiraiya of a prophecy that he will mentor a child who will either save the world or destroy it.^[14] As he grows older, Jiraiya and his two teammates, Orochimaru and Tsunade, are collectively referred to as the «Legendary Sannin» owing to their exemplary ninja abilities allowing them to survive a fight against Hanzo—Amegakure’s dictator—during the Second Great Ninja War.^[15] Soon after, Jiraiya encounters a trio of Amegakure orphans consisting of Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, training the three in ninjutsu to protect themselves before returning to the Land of Fire. At that time, Jiraiya considered Nagato to be the child from the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy.

For most of his adult life, though loyal to Konohagakure, Jiraiya periodically leaves his hometown to explore the world.^[16] Sometime later, Jiraiya becomes a mentor to Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage, who dies due to sealing the Nine-Tailed Fox inside his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki.^[17] Jiraiya makes only sporadic appearances, returning to Konohagakure after long absences to report on information he has learned throughout his travels.^[18][19] During his first appearance in the series’ Part I, Jiraiya takes the time to train Naruto, teaching him his own signature abilities and trying to help him learn how to control Kurama.^[20][21] When his teacher, Hiruzen, who has resumed his duty as the Third Hokage since Minato’s death, dies during an invasion by Orochimaru, Jiraiya is offered the position of Hokage. Despite this, Jiraiya thinks his inability to prevent Orochimaru from becoming a criminal makes him unworthy of the responsibility and instead offers to search for Tsunade so that she can take the position instead—a task he eventually succeeds at.^[22] After Naruto’s flawed attempt to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha,^[23][24] Jiraiya decides to take the boy for two and a half years of training to make him strong enough to bring Sasuke back and to protect himself from the Akatsuki organization.^[25]

In Part II, Jiraiya returns to inform Kakashi Hatake and Yamato about the threat Naruto can become under the Nine-Tails’s influence by telling them of his near-death experiences when the youth used only a fraction of Kurama’s power.^[26][27] To keep Naruto from participating in Team 7’s new Sasuke-related mission, Jiraiya offers to train him again and takes Naruto to Yugakure, the Village Hidden in Boiling Water.^[28] After entrusting Naruto with the key to Kurama’s seal, Jiraiya begins investigating the Akatsuki’s leader, Pain.^[28][29] His investigation leads him to battle Pain, whom he recognizes to be Nagato using the corpses of Yahiko and five other ninja he met in his journey.^[30] At the battle’s conclusion, while reflecting on his life, Jiraiya realizes that Naruto is the boy foretold in the prophecy.^[31] Due to this, remembering it was his first novel that inspired Minato to name his son after the book’s protagonist, Jiraiya musters the strength to send a message able Nagato’s Paths of Pain, along with a disabled Animal Path, to Naruto and the rest of Konohagakure to give them an edge.^[32][31] While Pain kills Jiraiya, he concludes that Naruto will be a hero.^[32]

In other mediaEdit

Jiraiya makes an appearance in two Naruto films, Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds (2008) and Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire (2009). He is a playable character in most Naruto video games, including the Clash of Ninja series, the Ultimate Ninja series, and the Path of the Ninja series.^[33][34][35] In the first Ultimate Ninja game (2003), he only appears as a support to Naruto during his special techniques.^[35] In the Path of the Ninja RPG series, he is a character who can be spoken to for information and support.^[33] In Ultimate Ninja 2 (2004), he is an available character and has been given variations of the Rasengan, fire techniques, and toads summoning techniques. In Path of the Ninja 2 (2006), he is not only a character in the storyline, but a «secret» acquirable character that can be added to the team as a fully active member.^[35]

ReceptionEdit

Jiraiya has appeared in several of the main Shōnen Jump popularity polls. In the second and third, he ranked in the top ten.^[36] In the fourth poll, he ranked 11th.^[37] In the last poll conducted in 2011, Jiraiya was placed 16th.^[38] Merchandise based on Jiraiya has also been released, including action figures, key chains, and headbands similar to his.^{[39][40][41][42]} Naruto’s Japanese voice actress, Junko Takeuchi, was reminded of Jiraiya’s close relationship with Naruto when reading the script of The Last: Naruto the Movie.^[43]

Several manga, anime, and video game reviewers have praised the character of Jiraiya. Davey Jones of ActiveAnime regarded Jiraiya’s training with Naruto as good comic relief and stated that the two characters are similar.^[44] AnimeonDVD‘s Justin Rich praised Jiraiya’s introduction in the series, describing him as a funny character.^[45] Jason Van Horn of IGN commented on Jiraiya’s relationship with Naruto, writing that «they share so much in common».^[46] Matt Shingleton of DVDTimes viewed Jiraiya as «the greatest character Masashi Kishimoto [had] ever created in this series» and further said that «besides the fact he fills the comical pervert archetype [he is] one of the strongest characters in the series and just about everything about him is rough and unpredictable».^[47] Jason Thompson praised the character’s Sage Mode, commenting that it would make a good cosplay. He also expressed shock at the character’s death while fighting Pain, considering him a sympathetic person.^[48] Luke Carroll of Anime News Network enjoyed David Lodge’s role as Jiraiya’s English voice actor.^[49] Hiroshi Matsuyama found that Jiraiya’s death had a major impact in his work as a game designer in the Naruto games due to his previous works from .hack never actually had a death in the narrative with the exception being Harold who is already dead during the .hack series.^[50]

In 2010, Shueisha published the first novel Jiraiya wrote, which was inspired by his student Nagato and prompted Minato and Kushina Uzumaki to name their son after its protagonist. The novel is titled Naruto: Tales of a Gutsy Ninja (Naruto―ナルト―ド根性忍伝, Naruto: Dokonjō Ninden) and follows the fictional character Naruto Musasabi. Naruto tries to track down his former comrade, Renge Momoashi, and unravel a mysterious conspiracy involving the destruction of a nearby village.^[51][52] In 2015, Shueisha released Jiraiya’s second novel, Naruto: The Tale of the Utterly Purehearted Shinobi (Naruto -ナルト- ド純情忍伝, Naruto: Dojunjō Ninden), which presents a battle between two fighters who appear to be related.^[53][54]

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

  Media related to Jiraiya (Naruto) at Wikimedia Commons

Jiraiya (自来也 or 児雷也, literally «Young Thunder»), originally known as Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki (尾形周馬寛行), is the toad-riding protagonist of the Japanese folk tale Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話, «The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya»). The tale was originally a Yomihon that was published in 1806–1807,^[1] and was adapted into a serialized novel that was written by different authors and published in 43 installments from 1839 to 1868; one of its illustrators was woodblock artist Kunisada. Kawatake Mokuami then wrote a kabuki drama based on the first ten parts of the novel, which premiered in Edo in 1852, starring Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII in the leading role. Since then the story has been adapted into, several films, video games, and manga and has also influenced various other works.^[2]

Classic tale – Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari[edit]

Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話)  is considered the first novel or Yomihon to be adapted into a kabuki play, the novel was written by Kanwatei Onitake (感和亭鬼武) and was published between 1806 and 1807. The story was later adapted many more times with variations in the story.^[1]

Part 1: (books 1–5)[edit]

The tale of Jiraiya starts with a poor, masterless samurai named Isami Gentaro, who’s wrongfully jailed because he could not afford the rent for his farm. His family manages to get the money to pay his bail so Isami’s father, Kirakusai travels alongside his grandson, Tomokichi to pay Isami’s bail. However, on the way to free Isami, Kirakusai is attacked and killed by Master Rokuyaon Gun who kidnaps the two-year-old Tomokichi and abandons him in a valley. During this time, a masterless samurai of the Miyoshi House, Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki, better known as «Jiraiya», happens upon the young Tomokichi and decides to raise him as his son.^[1]

Gentaro is later released with the help of other villagers and becomes a vassal of Shiizu Kunihisa after proving his courage as a samurai at the same time as Master Gun. Gentaro and Master Gun then begin working together to capture Jiraiya as he is a wanted criminal. Fortunately, though caught, Jiraiya manages to scheme his way out of jail. Gentaro eventually meets his wife, Soe (who now goes by «Seino») and they discuss the former’s hatred for whoever killed his father and son, both unaware the latter is alive. Master Gun eavesdrops on this conversation and decides to steal their Amulet of Protection, also known as the «Seitensō» (西天草), and proceeds to kill both Gentaro and Soe. Tomokichi—whilst engaged in a duel with Master Gun for Midori, the stepdaughter of Gentaro—learns that it was he who murdered his family. While this allows Tomokichi a chance to exact his revenge, he is unable to take it as Master Gun uses the Amulet of Protection to escape.^[1]

Master Gun is chased to Mt. Miyoko by Tomokichi and, upon reaching the mountain, is accosted by the spirits of the dead until he arrives to a grotto where the Immortal Toad Ascetic lives. They converse and the immortal sees all of Master Guns’ sins and even tells him that, since there are dead souls haunting him, he must be a murderer and that he’ll die from his sins. Terrified, Master Gun begs the immortal to save him, to which he agrees but saying he will only help him once. The immortal then uses his magic arts to send Master Gun down the mountain before warning him if he tells anyone of this encounter he will die. However, later that night, after getting drunk with one of Jiraiya’s followers, Master Gun tells him of the events at Mt. Miyoko. The morning after Master Gun leaves, Jiraiya goes to Mt. Miyoko to visit the Immortal. The Toad Ascetic then appears in front of Jiraiya and tells him that, even though he is a bandit who committed innumerable sins, he’ll teach him one magic art as he admires Jiraiya’s loyalty.^[1]

While Master Gun and Jiraiya are visiting the immortal, Tomokichi sets out to find them and, upon finally locating Jiraiya, recounts to his stepfather of what has happened to his family. Jiraiya vows to assist Tomokichi in his revenge and will be there to help when he is needed, sending his troops to steal the Seitenso from Master Gun so as to lure him out in order to kill him.^[1]

After luring Master Gun to a place called Kagamigaura, Tomokichi and Master Gun then engage in battle. While Tomokichi almost fails, he is able to turn the tide thanks to Jiraiya’s encouragement, announces he’ll avenge his grandfather and parents, and finally cuts off Master Guns’ head, ending part one and the first revenge story.^[1]

Part 2: (books 5–10)[edit]

The second part opens up with the immortal on Mt. Miyoko appearing to Jiraiya in his dreams asking for his assistance in return for teaching him more magic arts. Jiraiya sets off towards the mountain to save his master and, when he arrives, sees a monstrous snake fighting his master, who’s taken on the form of a giant toad. Jiraiya manages to kill the snake and is rewarded by the immortal with more magic arts, which he then uses to rob a wealthy man right after learning them. Since Jiraiya is wanted by the government, he became a pirate and started plundering commercial ships, until one night at sea the ghost of his former lord, Miyoshi Nagashige asks him to take revenge on the Ishido family, more specifically Ishido Haruchika. Jiraiya agrees and he soon after saves a vassal of Ishido named Agawa Uneo, and his companion Nagisa, the younger sister of another vassal named Madeno Hamanosuke, to which he tosses Agawa Uneo into the sea and takes Nagisa hostage. Agawa Uneo is then saved by a former member of his group and begins to pursue Jiraiya immedatly after recovering. During this time, Madeno Hamanosuke goes to Mt. Kinki to pray to Benzaiten, a god related to snakes, for the safety of his lord. He is answered by a goddess who appears before him and gives him the Stone Conch, otherwise known as the «Ishihara» (石螺), which holds the power to negate magic arts and repel evil.^[1]

Meanwhile, Tomokichi has become a vassal of Shiizu Kunihisa after taking revenge on Master Gun and is ordered to take back the Amulet of Protection from Jiraiya, to which he sets off in search of his adoptive father. After finding Jiraiya, Tomokichi asks him to return the Amulet of Protection to which the former agrees, but only after the next six months as he needs it to complete his revenge. In order to keep this meeting a secret, Jiraiya summons a powerful tsunami to kill all of Tomokichi’s troops despite the latter’s pleads for mercy to his men. After all is said and done, Jiraiya invites Tomokichi to go with him on his revenge quest so that he would not be punished.^[1]

Jiraiya then begins his plan, first by robbing betrothal gifts for Ishido Haruchika’s daughter, Tamahitohime, which leads to the death of Nagisa. After sneaking into the Nitsuki House, Jiraiya summons a tsunami to kill all of the servants in order for his troops to pose as them and sneak into the Ishido residence. Jiraiya then finds a mountain hermit who was going to treat one of Ishido Haruchika’s sick daughters and kills him, he then pretends to be the mountain hermit in order to sneak into the Ishido House. After sneaking into Ishido Haruchikas’s room, Jiraiya then cuts off his head.^[1]

Afterwards, Jiraiya calls on Tomokichi to return the Amulet of Protection as promised. However, Madeno Hamanosuke shows up and announces the head of the man Jiraiya cut off actually belonged to Agawa Uneo and all of his troops were captured because a member of the Jiraiya’s group, Asazuma was a vassal of Ishido and warned the Ishido house of his plan. Jiraiya tries to use his magic arts to defeat Madeno Hamanosuke, however, Madeno uses the Stone Conch that was given to him by Benzaiten to negate Jiraiya’s magic arts. Jiraiya finally realizes that his death is at hand as he lived a sinful life and this is his justice so, before anyone can kill him, he commits suicide and turns to stone.^[1]

Characters[edit]

Isami Gentaro – Tomokichis’s father who is imprisoned at the beginning of the story, he later becomes a vassal of Shiizu Kunihisa and hunts down the bandit Jiraiya. He is killed by Master Rokuyaon Gun as part of his plot to steal the Amulet of Protection.

Kirakusai Gentaro – Isamis’s father and the grandfather of Tomokichi, he’s killed by Master Rokuyaon Gun whilst on his way to pay his son’s bail.

Soe Gentaro – Isami’s wife and Tomokichis mother, sells herself to a brothel to pay for her husband’s bail. She is later reunited with her husband but is killed alongside him by Master Rokuyaon Gun as part of his plan to steal the Amulet of Protection.

Master Rokuyaon Gun – One of the story’s main antagonists who seeks the Amulet of Protection, he is killed by Tomokichi as part of the first revenge plot that makes up the story.

Tomokichi Gentaro – Jiraiya’s adopted son, he is kidnapped by Master Rokuyaon Gun as a child and left to die but is found by Jiraiya. He grows up and takes revenge on Master Rokuyaon Gun for killing his family.

Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki – Otherwise known as «Jiraiya», he is the titular protagonist of the story.

Shiizu Kunihisa – The head of the Kunihisa household who Master Rokuyaon Gun and Isami Gentaro served before their deaths and who Tomokichi later serves after taking his revenge on Master Rokuyaon Gun.

The Immortal Toad Ascetic – The Immortal Toad Ascetic that lives on Mt. Miyoko and helps Master Rokuyaon Gun escape, he teaches Jiraiya several magic arts throughout the story.

Miyoshi Nagashige – Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki’s late lord, he appears to Jiraiya as a ghost and asks him to take vengeance on the Ishido House, but more specifically on Ishido Haruchika.

Ishido Haruchika – The head of the Haruchika family, he is the second antagonist of the story as he is the one that Jiraiya is asked to kill by his late lord, Miyoshi Nagashige.

Agawa Uneo – A vassal of Ishido Haruchika, he is captured by Jiraiya and tossed into the sea before later being used as a decoy for lord Ishido during Jiraiya’s plan to take revenge.

Madeno Hamanosuke – Another vassal of Ishido Haruchika, his sister is captured by Jiraiya and later dies and so he planned to take revenge on Jiraiya. He is also given the Stone Conch, otherwise known as the «Ishihara» (石螺), which was given to him by the god Benzaiten in order to negate Jiraiya’s magic arts.^[1]

• 

  Jiraiya riding a giant toad, depicted in an 1866 print by Yoshitoshi

English translation – Jiraiya, or the Magic Frog[edit]

Plot[edit]

A popular version of the story was translated by William Elliot Griffis. The story starts with Jiraiya’s father who was a castle lord being killed during one of many civil wars. After he is killed young Jiraiya is hidden by a retainer and is able to escape, but they are attacked by a band of robbers, and the retainer is killed after resisting. Jiraiya goes to a place called Echigo where he spent the rest of his childhood. Jiraiya now led a wandering life in several provinces but wished to restore his family name. Since he was talented at swordsmanship and was exceptionally brave Jiraiya soon become a chief of his own band of robbers, where he would sneak in disguise to the places he robbed to learn where the treasure was stored. He would then come back and rob them later.^[3]

One day Jiraiya heard of an old man who lived in Shinano and he started off to rob him. The land was a place full of mountains and was full of snow in the winter. During the journey, he was beset by a great snowstorm and he took refuge in a small house that he happened upon, inside was a beautiful woman who treated him with great kindness. This did not change Jiraiya’s nature as a robber though and after midnight he went to kill her with his sword while she was reading. However, in a flash, her body changed to a very old man who grabbed the heavy steel blade and easily broke it into pieces. He then announces his name as Senso Dojin, and that he is a giant frog that has lived on the mountain for hundreds of years. He pardons Jiraiya after telling him he could kill him easily and then teaches him magic arts. Jiraiya stayed with Senso Dojin for several weeks learning the magic arts of the mountain sprites in order to control the weather as well as to control frogs and change their shape and size at will. After Senso teaches him he forbids him from robbing or injuring the poor and helpless and to instead take from those who use and acquire money dishonestly and to help the needy and suffering. He then turns into a giant frog and hops away.^[3]

After this Jiraiya sets out on his journey to help the poor and needy by helping a poor farmer whose crops failed and he could not pay his rent or loan on time. As well whenever a miser was robbed they would say that the young thunder had struck, as Jiraiya was very popular with the poor people of the time.^[3]

During this time when Jiraiya was helping the poor and needy, a young maiden named Tsunade also lived in the same province of Kiushiu. She was a model daughter and was always obedient and kind. One day during her trip into the mountains for firewood she met a very old man who approached her and told her he had lived in the mountains for hundreds of years and that his body was really that of a snail. He then offers to teach Tsundae the powers of magic he possesses. She gladly accepted and began training daily with the old man. Once she had mastered the magic, she was advised to use her powers to defend the poor and destroy wicked robbers, and to join her powers with Jiraiya in the form of marriage. The old man then turns into a snail and crawls away. Tsunade then remarks that she and Jiraiya with the combination of slug magic and frog magic would be able to destroy a robber named Orochimaru, who was the son of a serpent. Tsunade and Jiraiya eventually met and were married soon after.^[3]

Soon after Jiraiya and Tsunade were married war broke out in Japan between the Tsukikage and the Inukage. In the war, the Tsukikage sought out the help of Jiraiya and Tsunade who agreed to help them with the war, while the other clan the Inukage sought the help of Orochimaru otherwise known as Dragon-coil. Orochimaru was known as a very wicked robber whose father was a man and mother was a serpent that lived at the bottom of lake Takura, he was skilled in the magic of the serpent and would spew venom on the strongest of warriors to destroy them.^[3]

During a respite between the conflicts, Jiraiya and Tsunade were resting in a monastery. In the monastery, there was also a princess named Tagoto that had fled from Orochimaru as he wanted her to be his bride. She hated Orochimaru and did not want to marry him, however, when Orochimaru upon hearing that Tagoto and Jiraiya were in the same monastery, immediately made his way to the monastery. He then kidnapped the princess Tagoto and poured poisonous venom onto the sleeping Jiraiya and Tsunade. After they are poisoned one of Jiraiya’s pages, Rikimatsu, volunteers to go to India to retrieve the only antidote to cure Jiraiya and Tsunade. Rikimatsu then uses the magic he learned from the Tengus of the mountains he flies to India and back in one day and one night to deliver the antidote. After Jiraiya and his wife recovered the war broke out again, and in a great battle Orochimaru was killed and Tagoto was rescued. Jiraiya was rewarded by being made a daimyo of Idzu.^[3]

At this point, Jiraiya had grown tired of war and the hardships that an active life brought, and he was glad to settle down to a peaceful life in Idzu. He spent the remainder of his day in peace and tranquility among his children and his grandchildren.^[3]

Characters[edit]

Ogata — Jiraiyas’s late father was a castle lord in Kiushiu and was slain during a civil war.

Jiraiya – otherwise known as “young thunder”, is the protagonist of the story, his father was a castle laird in Kisushiu but is killed when he is young. He then becomes a bandit who uses his frog magic arts to help the poor and needy.

Tsunade – Jiraiya’s wife, is taught slug magic by an old man whose real body turns out to be a slug. Her magic is strong against snake magic

Senso Dojin – he appears as an old man who teaches Jiraiya frog magic, and later reveals himself to be a giant frog

Orochimaru – otherwise known as Dragon-coil, is the son of a snake and is able to use snake magic which is strong against frog magic. He is the main antagonist of the story.

Rikimatsu – he is one of Jiraiya’s pages, he learns Tengu magic and is instrumental in saving Jiraiya and Tsunade when they are poisoned by Orochimaru.^[3]

Popular culture[edit]

The story of Jiraiya inspired three homonymous characters from the manga and anime series Naruto.

A Persona representing the spirit of Jiraiya is summoned by the character Yosuke Hanamura in Persona 4.

The 18th Super Sentai season, Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, features a character named Jiraiya (played by Kane Kosugi) who summons a giant black toad mecha.

The seventh installment of the Metal Hero Series, Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya features ninja student Toha Yamaji who identifies himself as Jiraiya to combat The Sorcerers Clan.

In Urusei Yatsura in episode 179, Cherry summons a giant slug and a giant toad to fight the spirit of a giant snake that possessed Sakura.

In Pokémon, Greninja is a Water/Dark-type Pokémon, the evolved form of Frogadier, and the final evolved form of Froakie, the Water-type starter of the Kalos region. With the appearance and abilities of both a frog and a ninja, pulling inspiration from Jiraiya.

See also[edit]

• Japanese folklore
• Jiraiya the Hero
• The Magic Serpent
• Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya
• Susanoo
• Yamata no Orochi

References[edit]

• «The Gallant Jiraiya». 2001-07-13. Archived from the original on July 13, 2001. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
• Zhang, Jin. The Didacticism of “Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari” (2012). Web.
• Griffis, William Elliot (1880). Japanese Fairy World: Stories from the Wonder-Lore of Japan, New York, Steam Printing House pgs. 126–140.
• Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari» (# 7, pp. 4–5), ca. 1850 | Brian P Coppola». Retrieved 2019-11-13.

External links[edit]

• Vintage Ninja writeup about the 1921 film Jiraiya
• 1821 version of the story (in Japanese)

Jiraiya (自来也 or 児雷也, literally «Young Thunder»), originally known as Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki (尾形周馬寛行), is the toad-riding protagonist of the Japanese folk tale Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話, «The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya»). The tale was originally a Yomihon that was published in 1806–1807,^[1] and was adapted into a serialized novel that was written by different authors and published in 43 installments from 1839 to 1868; one of its illustrators was woodblock artist Kunisada. Kawatake Mokuami then wrote a kabuki drama based on the first ten parts of the novel, which premiered in Edo in 1852, starring Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII in the leading role. Since then the story has been adapted into, several films, video games, and manga and has also influenced various other works.^[2]

Classic tale – Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari[edit]

Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話)  is considered the first novel or Yomihon to be adapted into a kabuki play, the novel was written by Kanwatei Onitake (感和亭鬼武) and was published between 1806 and 1807. The story was later adapted many more times with variations in the story.^[1]

Part 1: (books 1–5)[edit]

The tale of Jiraiya starts with a poor, masterless samurai named Isami Gentaro, who’s wrongfully jailed because he could not afford the rent for his farm. His family manages to get the money to pay his bail so Isami’s father, Kirakusai travels alongside his grandson, Tomokichi to pay Isami’s bail. However, on the way to free Isami, Kirakusai is attacked and killed by Master Rokuyaon Gun who kidnaps the two-year-old Tomokichi and abandons him in a valley. During this time, a masterless samurai of the Miyoshi House, Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki, better known as «Jiraiya», happens upon the young Tomokichi and decides to raise him as his son.^[1]

Gentaro is later released with the help of other villagers and becomes a vassal of Shiizu Kunihisa after proving his courage as a samurai at the same time as Master Gun. Gentaro and Master Gun then begin working together to capture Jiraiya as he is a wanted criminal. Fortunately, though caught, Jiraiya manages to scheme his way out of jail. Gentaro eventually meets his wife, Soe (who now goes by «Seino») and they discuss the former’s hatred for whoever killed his father and son, both unaware the latter is alive. Master Gun eavesdrops on this conversation and decides to steal their Amulet of Protection, also known as the «Seitensō» (西天草), and proceeds to kill both Gentaro and Soe. Tomokichi—whilst engaged in a duel with Master Gun for Midori, the stepdaughter of Gentaro—learns that it was he who murdered his family. While this allows Tomokichi a chance to exact his revenge, he is unable to take it as Master Gun uses the Amulet of Protection to escape.^[1]

Master Gun is chased to Mt. Miyoko by Tomokichi and, upon reaching the mountain, is accosted by the spirits of the dead until he arrives to a grotto where the Immortal Toad Ascetic lives. They converse and the immortal sees all of Master Guns’ sins and even tells him that, since there are dead souls haunting him, he must be a murderer and that he’ll die from his sins. Terrified, Master Gun begs the immortal to save him, to which he agrees but saying he will only help him once. The immortal then uses his magic arts to send Master Gun down the mountain before warning him if he tells anyone of this encounter he will die. However, later that night, after getting drunk with one of Jiraiya’s followers, Master Gun tells him of the events at Mt. Miyoko. The morning after Master Gun leaves, Jiraiya goes to Mt. Miyoko to visit the Immortal. The Toad Ascetic then appears in front of Jiraiya and tells him that, even though he is a bandit who committed innumerable sins, he’ll teach him one magic art as he admires Jiraiya’s loyalty.^[1]

While Master Gun and Jiraiya are visiting the immortal, Tomokichi sets out to find them and, upon finally locating Jiraiya, recounts to his stepfather of what has happened to his family. Jiraiya vows to assist Tomokichi in his revenge and will be there to help when he is needed, sending his troops to steal the Seitenso from Master Gun so as to lure him out in order to kill him.^[1]

After luring Master Gun to a place called Kagamigaura, Tomokichi and Master Gun then engage in battle. While Tomokichi almost fails, he is able to turn the tide thanks to Jiraiya’s encouragement, announces he’ll avenge his grandfather and parents, and finally cuts off Master Guns’ head, ending part one and the first revenge story.^[1]

Part 2: (books 5–10)[edit]

The second part opens up with the immortal on Mt. Miyoko appearing to Jiraiya in his dreams asking for his assistance in return for teaching him more magic arts. Jiraiya sets off towards the mountain to save his master and, when he arrives, sees a monstrous snake fighting his master, who’s taken on the form of a giant toad. Jiraiya manages to kill the snake and is rewarded by the immortal with more magic arts, which he then uses to rob a wealthy man right after learning them. Since Jiraiya is wanted by the government, he became a pirate and started plundering commercial ships, until one night at sea the ghost of his former lord, Miyoshi Nagashige asks him to take revenge on the Ishido family, more specifically Ishido Haruchika. Jiraiya agrees and he soon after saves a vassal of Ishido named Agawa Uneo, and his companion Nagisa, the younger sister of another vassal named Madeno Hamanosuke, to which he tosses Agawa Uneo into the sea and takes Nagisa hostage. Agawa Uneo is then saved by a former member of his group and begins to pursue Jiraiya immedatly after recovering. During this time, Madeno Hamanosuke goes to Mt. Kinki to pray to Benzaiten, a god related to snakes, for the safety of his lord. He is answered by a goddess who appears before him and gives him the Stone Conch, otherwise known as the «Ishihara» (石螺), which holds the power to negate magic arts and repel evil.^[1]

Meanwhile, Tomokichi has become a vassal of Shiizu Kunihisa after taking revenge on Master Gun and is ordered to take back the Amulet of Protection from Jiraiya, to which he sets off in search of his adoptive father. After finding Jiraiya, Tomokichi asks him to return the Amulet of Protection to which the former agrees, but only after the next six months as he needs it to complete his revenge. In order to keep this meeting a secret, Jiraiya summons a powerful tsunami to kill all of Tomokichi’s troops despite the latter’s pleads for mercy to his men. After all is said and done, Jiraiya invites Tomokichi to go with him on his revenge quest so that he would not be punished.^[1]

Jiraiya then begins his plan, first by robbing betrothal gifts for Ishido Haruchika’s daughter, Tamahitohime, which leads to the death of Nagisa. After sneaking into the Nitsuki House, Jiraiya summons a tsunami to kill all of the servants in order for his troops to pose as them and sneak into the Ishido residence. Jiraiya then finds a mountain hermit who was going to treat one of Ishido Haruchika’s sick daughters and kills him, he then pretends to be the mountain hermit in order to sneak into the Ishido House. After sneaking into Ishido Haruchikas’s room, Jiraiya then cuts off his head.^[1]

Afterwards, Jiraiya calls on Tomokichi to return the Amulet of Protection as promised. However, Madeno Hamanosuke shows up and announces the head of the man Jiraiya cut off actually belonged to Agawa Uneo and all of his troops were captured because a member of the Jiraiya’s group, Asazuma was a vassal of Ishido and warned the Ishido house of his plan. Jiraiya tries to use his magic arts to defeat Madeno Hamanosuke, however, Madeno uses the Stone Conch that was given to him by Benzaiten to negate Jiraiya’s magic arts. Jiraiya finally realizes that his death is at hand as he lived a sinful life and this is his justice so, before anyone can kill him, he commits suicide and turns to stone.^[1]

Characters[edit]

Isami Gentaro – Tomokichis’s father who is imprisoned at the beginning of the story, he later becomes a vassal of Shiizu Kunihisa and hunts down the bandit Jiraiya. He is killed by Master Rokuyaon Gun as part of his plot to steal the Amulet of Protection.

Kirakusai Gentaro – Isamis’s father and the grandfather of Tomokichi, he’s killed by Master Rokuyaon Gun whilst on his way to pay his son’s bail.

Soe Gentaro – Isami’s wife and Tomokichis mother, sells herself to a brothel to pay for her husband’s bail. She is later reunited with her husband but is killed alongside him by Master Rokuyaon Gun as part of his plan to steal the Amulet of Protection.

Master Rokuyaon Gun – One of the story’s main antagonists who seeks the Amulet of Protection, he is killed by Tomokichi as part of the first revenge plot that makes up the story.

Tomokichi Gentaro – Jiraiya’s adopted son, he is kidnapped by Master Rokuyaon Gun as a child and left to die but is found by Jiraiya. He grows up and takes revenge on Master Rokuyaon Gun for killing his family.

Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki – Otherwise known as «Jiraiya», he is the titular protagonist of the story.

Shiizu Kunihisa – The head of the Kunihisa household who Master Rokuyaon Gun and Isami Gentaro served before their deaths and who Tomokichi later serves after taking his revenge on Master Rokuyaon Gun.

The Immortal Toad Ascetic – The Immortal Toad Ascetic that lives on Mt. Miyoko and helps Master Rokuyaon Gun escape, he teaches Jiraiya several magic arts throughout the story.

Miyoshi Nagashige – Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki’s late lord, he appears to Jiraiya as a ghost and asks him to take vengeance on the Ishido House, but more specifically on Ishido Haruchika.

Ishido Haruchika – The head of the Haruchika family, he is the second antagonist of the story as he is the one that Jiraiya is asked to kill by his late lord, Miyoshi Nagashige.

Agawa Uneo – A vassal of Ishido Haruchika, he is captured by Jiraiya and tossed into the sea before later being used as a decoy for lord Ishido during Jiraiya’s plan to take revenge.

Madeno Hamanosuke – Another vassal of Ishido Haruchika, his sister is captured by Jiraiya and later dies and so he planned to take revenge on Jiraiya. He is also given the Stone Conch, otherwise known as the «Ishihara» (石螺), which was given to him by the god Benzaiten in order to negate Jiraiya’s magic arts.^[1]

• 

  Jiraiya riding a giant toad, depicted in an 1866 print by Yoshitoshi

English translation – Jiraiya, or the Magic Frog[edit]

Plot[edit]

A popular version of the story was translated by William Elliot Griffis. The story starts with Jiraiya’s father who was a castle lord being killed during one of many civil wars. After he is killed young Jiraiya is hidden by a retainer and is able to escape, but they are attacked by a band of robbers, and the retainer is killed after resisting. Jiraiya goes to a place called Echigo where he spent the rest of his childhood. Jiraiya now led a wandering life in several provinces but wished to restore his family name. Since he was talented at swordsmanship and was exceptionally brave Jiraiya soon become a chief of his own band of robbers, where he would sneak in disguise to the places he robbed to learn where the treasure was stored. He would then come back and rob them later.^[3]

One day Jiraiya heard of an old man who lived in Shinano and he started off to rob him. The land was a place full of mountains and was full of snow in the winter. During the journey, he was beset by a great snowstorm and he took refuge in a small house that he happened upon, inside was a beautiful woman who treated him with great kindness. This did not change Jiraiya’s nature as a robber though and after midnight he went to kill her with his sword while she was reading. However, in a flash, her body changed to a very old man who grabbed the heavy steel blade and easily broke it into pieces. He then announces his name as Senso Dojin, and that he is a giant frog that has lived on the mountain for hundreds of years. He pardons Jiraiya after telling him he could kill him easily and then teaches him magic arts. Jiraiya stayed with Senso Dojin for several weeks learning the magic arts of the mountain sprites in order to control the weather as well as to control frogs and change their shape and size at will. After Senso teaches him he forbids him from robbing or injuring the poor and helpless and to instead take from those who use and acquire money dishonestly and to help the needy and suffering. He then turns into a giant frog and hops away.^[3]

After this Jiraiya sets out on his journey to help the poor and needy by helping a poor farmer whose crops failed and he could not pay his rent or loan on time. As well whenever a miser was robbed they would say that the young thunder had struck, as Jiraiya was very popular with the poor people of the time.^[3]

During this time when Jiraiya was helping the poor and needy, a young maiden named Tsunade also lived in the same province of Kiushiu. She was a model daughter and was always obedient and kind. One day during her trip into the mountains for firewood she met a very old man who approached her and told her he had lived in the mountains for hundreds of years and that his body was really that of a snail. He then offers to teach Tsundae the powers of magic he possesses. She gladly accepted and began training daily with the old man. Once she had mastered the magic, she was advised to use her powers to defend the poor and destroy wicked robbers, and to join her powers with Jiraiya in the form of marriage. The old man then turns into a snail and crawls away. Tsunade then remarks that she and Jiraiya with the combination of slug magic and frog magic would be able to destroy a robber named Orochimaru, who was the son of a serpent. Tsunade and Jiraiya eventually met and were married soon after.^[3]

Soon after Jiraiya and Tsunade were married war broke out in Japan between the Tsukikage and the Inukage. In the war, the Tsukikage sought out the help of Jiraiya and Tsunade who agreed to help them with the war, while the other clan the Inukage sought the help of Orochimaru otherwise known as Dragon-coil. Orochimaru was known as a very wicked robber whose father was a man and mother was a serpent that lived at the bottom of lake Takura, he was skilled in the magic of the serpent and would spew venom on the strongest of warriors to destroy them.^[3]

During a respite between the conflicts, Jiraiya and Tsunade were resting in a monastery. In the monastery, there was also a princess named Tagoto that had fled from Orochimaru as he wanted her to be his bride. She hated Orochimaru and did not want to marry him, however, when Orochimaru upon hearing that Tagoto and Jiraiya were in the same monastery, immediately made his way to the monastery. He then kidnapped the princess Tagoto and poured poisonous venom onto the sleeping Jiraiya and Tsunade. After they are poisoned one of Jiraiya’s pages, Rikimatsu, volunteers to go to India to retrieve the only antidote to cure Jiraiya and Tsunade. Rikimatsu then uses the magic he learned from the Tengus of the mountains he flies to India and back in one day and one night to deliver the antidote. After Jiraiya and his wife recovered the war broke out again, and in a great battle Orochimaru was killed and Tagoto was rescued. Jiraiya was rewarded by being made a daimyo of Idzu.^[3]

At this point, Jiraiya had grown tired of war and the hardships that an active life brought, and he was glad to settle down to a peaceful life in Idzu. He spent the remainder of his day in peace and tranquility among his children and his grandchildren.^[3]

Characters[edit]

Ogata — Jiraiyas’s late father was a castle lord in Kiushiu and was slain during a civil war.

Jiraiya – otherwise known as “young thunder”, is the protagonist of the story, his father was a castle laird in Kisushiu but is killed when he is young. He then becomes a bandit who uses his frog magic arts to help the poor and needy.

Tsunade – Jiraiya’s wife, is taught slug magic by an old man whose real body turns out to be a slug. Her magic is strong against snake magic

Senso Dojin – he appears as an old man who teaches Jiraiya frog magic, and later reveals himself to be a giant frog

Orochimaru – otherwise known as Dragon-coil, is the son of a snake and is able to use snake magic which is strong against frog magic. He is the main antagonist of the story.

Rikimatsu – he is one of Jiraiya’s pages, he learns Tengu magic and is instrumental in saving Jiraiya and Tsunade when they are poisoned by Orochimaru.^[3]

Popular culture[edit]

The story of Jiraiya inspired three homonymous characters from the manga and anime series Naruto.

A Persona representing the spirit of Jiraiya is summoned by the character Yosuke Hanamura in Persona 4.

The 18th Super Sentai season, Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, features a character named Jiraiya (played by Kane Kosugi) who summons a giant black toad mecha.

The seventh installment of the Metal Hero Series, Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya features ninja student Toha Yamaji who identifies himself as Jiraiya to combat The Sorcerers Clan.

In Urusei Yatsura in episode 179, Cherry summons a giant slug and a giant toad to fight the spirit of a giant snake that possessed Sakura.

In Pokémon, Greninja is a Water/Dark-type Pokémon, the evolved form of Frogadier, and the final evolved form of Froakie, the Water-type starter of the Kalos region. With the appearance and abilities of both a frog and a ninja, pulling inspiration from Jiraiya.

See also[edit]

• Japanese folklore
• Jiraiya the Hero
• The Magic Serpent
• Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya
• Susanoo
• Yamata no Orochi

References[edit]

• «The Gallant Jiraiya». 2001-07-13. Archived from the original on July 13, 2001. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
• Zhang, Jin. The Didacticism of “Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari” (2012). Web.
• Griffis, William Elliot (1880). Japanese Fairy World: Stories from the Wonder-Lore of Japan, New York, Steam Printing House pgs. 126–140.
• Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari» (# 7, pp. 4–5), ca. 1850 | Brian P Coppola». Retrieved 2019-11-13.

External links[edit]

• Vintage Ninja writeup about the 1921 film Jiraiya
• 1821 version of the story (in Japanese)

Jiraiya (自来也) is a fictional character in the Naruto anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Introduced in the first half of the series, he was a student of Hiruzen Sarutobi and one of the three «Legendary Sannin»; along with Orochimaru and Lady Tsunade. Jiraiya appears as a perverted old man who occasionally returns to the village, reporting the activities of Orochimaru and Akatsuki. Refereed to as the «Toad Sage», he mentored Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and later became godfather to Minato’s son Naruto Uzumaki.

Jiraiya is a playable character in most of the video games from the series and various merchandises have been released based on him. The character received positive reviews and is considered to be one of the strongest in the series; critics praised Jiraya’s introduction in the series as well as his relation with Naruto as his mentor. Of all the student-teacher relationships in the series, Jiraiya and Naruto’s is the one Kishimoto likes the most.

Jiraiya is voiced by Hōchū Ōtsuka, while David Lodge voices him in the English dub and Richard Cansino voices him in the English dub of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja.