The Sannins were once an elite group from the Hidden Village of Konoha. This group consisted of three legendary and extremely powerful ninjas. The Sannins are considered to be the most powerful elite shinobi group of their time. According to legend, they could single-handedly bring down an entire country. These are T sunade the Kunoichi doctor, Orochimaru the snake and Jiraiya the frog hermit .
The History of the Sannin
While they were still at the rank of Genin, these three characters had Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, as their master. Even though they were a team and together they had accomplished many feats, the three were constantly at odds. Tsunade called this situation a "Three-way standoff". This incredible team finally split up at the end of their training in Konoha Village.
During the Second Great Ninja War, even though they were only around twenty years old and very little known as ninjas, the trio had to face Hanzo of the Salamander . The latter was not only the leader of the Amekagure but also a famous Shinobi deemed invincible. And yet, he only managed to defeat them after a very long fight. Additionally, as the three survived his attacks, Hanzo recognized great value in them. He therefore spared their lives and awarded them the title of Sannin. This is how they became famous around the world 🌏.
However, it is important to note that the trio's legend is not limited to this event. Their reputation is also the result of their formidable power as well as their extraordinary powers. Having reached the level of a Kage, each of the three was considered to take the place of Hokage. If Hiruzen Sarutobi had initially thought of Orochimaru, he finally gave it up when he noticed his student's actions. Indeed, he had within him a dangerous ambition and an unhealthy appetite for power. Mad with rage at having been excluded, he nourished the desire to see Konoha destroyed. During the Chûnin exam , he attacked his Sensei and managed to kill him despite losing the use of both arms 💪🏼 in the confrontation.
After this drama, Jiraiya was favored by the Konoha Councilors for the position of Hokage but he declined the offer. He then promised the Councilors to find Tsunade in order to bring her back to Konoha. A few years later after the death ⚰️ of Sandaime, the three Sannin met again. Aided by Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru sought out Tsunade for her healing gifts. As for Jiraiya, with the help of Naruto Uzumaki , he was also looking for Tsunade so that she could take possession of his position as Fifth Hokage in Konoha. Faced with Tsunade's refusal to help him, Orochimaru engaged in combat against his two former teammates. On one side, there was Orochimaru and Manda, the snake master of Ryûchi Cave. Facing him, we find side by side Tsunade with Katsuyu, the queen 👸🏼 of slugs and Jiraiya with Gama Bunta, the father of the toads of Mount Myôboku. An epic battle then took place between the three legendary Sannin which ended with Orochimaru's escape.
Hiruzen, the Sensei of the legendary trio
As was said above, Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade had as Sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi aka God of Shinobi . During their training, they learned in particular to perform the Invocation Technique with their left hand 🤚🏼. This space-time ninjutsu allows its user to summon either an animal or a person just by using a little blood and chakra. While Orochimaru was still very young, his Sensei noticed that he was the most promising of the three Sannin. He considered him a true prodigy such as appeared once in a generation only. With Orochimaru's prodigious skills, knowledge and determination, Sarutobi saw him as a true asset to Konoha and even thought he would be the best choice to succeed him as Hokage.
Furthermore, the master advised Jiraiya to follow Orochimaru's example, since he was not very strong at the start of his training. But, over time, Sarutobi noticed that his little prodigy harbored perverse ambitions and a thirst for excessive power. He tried to help him as best he could to steer him away from this dangerous path. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain, which led him to prefer Minato Namikaze , Jiraiya's very gifted student, to Orochimaru for the title of Fourth Hokage. However, his choice earned him the deep hatred of his student. He later discovered that Orochimaru was experimenting on humans in his quest for immortality. While he could have killed him at that moment, he didn't have the courage, especially since he still loved him. And as soon as Orochimaru had the chance, he ended his master's life in a fight to the death.
Tsunade
Known as the Slug Princess, 🐛 Tsunade is the granddaughter of the legendary ninja Hashirama Senju, founder of Konoha and First Hokage. She is also the niece of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage. Tsunade's worldwide fame began during the Second Great Ninja War following their fight with Hanzo. In addition to having obtained the title of Sannin, she is also seen as being the strongest Kunoichi in the Naruto universe. Tsunade also stood out during this war for her gifts as a doctor. She is also considered the best ninja doctor in the Naruto universe. After obtaining the title of Fifth Hokage, she had as disciples Sakura Haruno and Shizune who in turn became talented medical ninjas. Tsunade was also known for her legendary bad luck and addiction to gambling.
Tsunade Abilities and Abilities
Thanks to her excellent mastery of Ninjutsu and her perfect handling of seals, Tsunade has become the best ninja doctor 👩🏼⚕️ who has ever existed until today. With these skills and her chakra control, she was able to develop a Jutsu that allows her to regenerate any cell in the body. To achieve this, he must use a significant amount of chakra and activate a bucket at the forehead. Although this technique is effective in instantly healing any injury, even fatal ones, it nevertheless shortens its lifespan. Hating growing old, Tsunade also designed a technique giving her the ability to always have a youthful appearance. Tsunade also knows a large number of healing spells and the proper way to perform them. Even better, she can also use medical ninjutsu ⚕️ during a fight to not heal, but on the contrary injure, inflict terrible internal damage or even kill. She is also capable of transforming her chakra into a scalpel which she uses to operate on or slash her opponent.
In addition to her healing Jutsu, she is also an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. When facing an opponent, she can combine her great knowledge of Taijutsu with her absolute mastery of chakra to deliver incredibly powerful blows to her opponents by releasing her chakra in a single blow. Tsunade is capable of destroying an entire village with just one kick and without the need to concentrate her chakra. It must be said that she is the ninja who has the greatest physical strength in the entire Naruto manga. In particular, it is possible for him to concentrate a large quantity of chakra in any part of his body to make it more powerful. She is thus able to pulverize enormous pillars, walls and even Susanô's armor with the Mangekyô Sharingan , which the Fourth Raikage himself did not succeed in doing. His strength lies in his fists as well as in his feet or even in his fingers.
In terms of summons, Tsunade can call on Katsuyu, a giant slug who is devoted to her and who obeys her at the drop of a hat. 👁️🗨️ This creature is capable of projecting mucus from its mouth so acidic that it can melt hard rock. And, just like her master, Katsuyu has the power of healing and when she lacks chakra, she draws it from Tsunade. She can also split her body into hundreds of small slugs, this is a type of multi-cloning. Katsuyu has great intelligence and can be of great help to Tsunade whether it is for information or advice. Another of his abilities is to use his body as effective armor 🛡️. This was particularly the case against the Shinra Tensei or Celestial Repulsion launched by Pain on Konoha. Katsuyu protected all the inhabitants of the village from this terrible attack by absorbing them into his body.
Orochimaru
As with Tsunade and Jiraiya, Orochimaru became famous worldwide following their confrontation against Hanzô. And yet, his genius was recognized by his Sensei long before when he was still a young Shinobi. At the time, he was way above his teammates. Sarutobi had even declared that he was the type of prodigy you only encountered once a century. He is notably respected, but also feared by many because of his legendary power and his snake-like appearance, 🐍 hence his nickname White Serpent. After fleeing Konoha, he joined the criminal organization Akatsuki before leaving it following a confrontation he had with Itachi Uchiha when he wanted to take over his body and steal his Sharingan. Subsequently, he founded the Hidden Village of Oto and became its leader as he planned the destruction of Konoha. Thirsting for immortality, Orochimaru has developed several techniques to try to achieve it. He was notably the Sensei of Anko Mitarashi as well as Sasuke Uchiha. When he wanted to take over Sasuke's body, the latter absorbed him. And it was Itachi Uchiha who managed to seal Orochimaru in an illusory dimension after piercing him with the Sword of Totsuka (or the Katana of Sakegari ). He was then brought back by Sasuke during the Fourth Shinobi War using a cursed seal placed on Anko and his cells taken from a piece of Kabuto Yakushi's skin.
Orochimaru Abilities and Abilities
His mastery of Ninjutsu 🥋 is such that Orochimaru knows a large number of techniques. Furthermore, he aspired to know how to master all the techniques that exist in the shinobi world, but knowing that this was impossible in a single lifetime, he wanted to achieve immortality. With this goal in mind, he created an immortality spell which involves transferring one's soul into the body of another in order to benefit from the latter's lifespan. This ritual allows him to take the targeted person to another dimension where he can then take over their body. Furthermore, he also found another way to achieve immortality. It involves affixing cursed seals containing one's chakra and part of one's consciousness. Then, it is thanks to a fragment of a compatible body that he can be brought back.
Orochimaru has a fighting style 🥊 mainly based on snakes. Furthermore, his invocations mainly concern snakes of different sizes which he chooses depending on the power of his opponent. These allow him to deliver extremely powerful blows and they also serve as protection. One of his techniques is to swap his body with that of a snake. It is also capable of molting like them. On the other hand, it is necessary for him to rest for a short while because these techniques require a good amount of chakra. During a fight against Naruto, he managed to unleash a huge wave of snakes when he used the Grip of the Spectral Serpent . You should know that Manda, the King of Snakes is his ultimate summon. If this snake is as clever and powerful as Orochimaru, it is not subject to him. Every time the Sannin wants to summon this reptile, he must offer it a hundred humans as sacrifices.
Oroshimaru also masters an evil but powerful Jutsu, a forbidden technique that allows its user to bring the dead back to life. This is Edo Tensei or the Reincarnation of Souls. It was invented by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju but Orochimaru improved it by placing a Kunai with a seal of obedience in the head of his summons. The resurrected characters then obey him completely like puppets. He used it in particular during his fight to the death against his Sensei Hiruzen Sarutobi by summoning the deceased First and Second Hokage.
As a very powerful Shinobi, Orochimaru should also have some proficiency in Taijitsu even if it is not his strong point. On the other hand, he has perfect mastery of the Cursed Seal techniques, Fûinjutsu and Juinjutsu . With his most famous seal, namely the cursed mark, he managed to subdue and control several powerful Shinobis. He even made them even more powerful than they already were thanks to this brand. Orochimaru also placed a seal that he himself composed on Naruto, which disrupted the seals that allowed the latter to restrain Kurama aka Kyûbi, the nine-tailed fox demon . 🦊
Jiraiya
In addition to being one of the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya is also known for his fearsome combat techniques. And, as a disciple of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, he enjoys undeniable fame, especially since most Shinobis do not dare to measure up to him. When he was still young, he received special training from the frogs 🐸 of Mount Myôboku, and more particularly from Fukasaku, an old wise toad . Having become a hermit, he likes to call himself the Frog Hermit (or the Toad Hermit). Jiraiya undertook travels all over the world to acquire knowledge that could be useful to his friends. He is also the author of several novels, such as The Paradise of Frolicking, The Fury of Frolicking or Tactics of Frolicking, which some like the Sixth Hokage Kakashi Hatake love to read. And as the titles of these books 📚 suggest, Jiraiya is known to be obsessed, especially since he doesn't hide it and is even proud of it. Naruto even nicknamed him the perverted hermit. Note that Jiraiya was the sensei of the three orphans Nagato, Yahiko and Konan as well as the Hokage Minato Namikaze and Naruto Uzumaki. He was killed by Pain during their confrontation.
Jiraiya's Abilities and Abilities
Jiraiya is a formidable fighter who is quite versatile. Indeed, he excels in practically all ninja combat arts, with the exception of Genjustu. He also admits to being an unparalleled nonentity in this area. On the other hand, he manages to fill this gap very well with his summons of toads who are experts in Genjutsu. Thanks to these, he does not suffer from any weakness. It is important to note that Jiraiya is able to summon any toad from Mount 🏔️ Myôboku thanks to a pact he signed with them. The toad leader Gamabunta is his most powerful summon, but in reality he only calls upon him when there is only one recourse. Indeed, Jiraiya avoids summoning Gamabunta as much as he can because he is grumpy and because this summon costs him a lot of chakra. On the other hand, when the two fight together, they are able to use a very powerful collaboration technique called Katon - The Oil Kiss . For this attack, Gamabunta uses the Toad Oil technique to spit a large jet of oil while Jiraiya ignites everything with the Katon - Fireball technique. 🔥 This attack notably allowed them to burn the molt of the leader of the snakes Manda who was the summon of Orochimaru.
Jiraiya also masters a large number of Ninjutsu techniques. During his fights, his hair can transform into an offensive or defensive weapon. He can even give them the shape of a lion. Like Minato and Naruto, he is capable of calling on the Rasengan and he masters the Doton as well as the katon . Another of his gifts is knowing how to erect a barrier 🚧 of detection all around him, which allows him to detect any person crossing it, even if it is imperceptible to the naked eye as was the case with the chameleon invisible from Pain. Gama Daïra's Shadow Manipulation is another of the techniques used by Jiraiya. It gives him the ability to hide in the shadow of the targeted person and then control their body and mind. Jiraiya can then use it as a human shield but this technique requires that he hold his breath for as long as necessary otherwise the person is freed from his grip.
It is thanks to his mastery of Senjutsu that Jiraiya was able to achieve the status of hermit. This hermit mode drastically boosts his skills and gives him more power. Furthermore, unlike Ninjutsu, the practice of Senjutsu does not require chakra and its user is only slightly exhausted during his fights. 🤼♂️ And when Jiraiya goes into hermit mode, thanks to the resulting overactivity, the damage received is less. Furthermore, Jiraiya's Rasengan can reach monumental size and is capable of inflicting blows of disproportionate violence. He notably revealed the full power of his Taijustsu against Pain when he punched one of them in the face, which was enough to bruise him and almost make him blind. Note on the other hand that Jiraiya's mastery of Senjutsu is not perfect. In particular, it is necessary for him to merge with two formidable hermit toads, Fukasaku and Shima, during his fights. Following this fusion, Jiraiya is slightly transformed into a toad and their combination of blows are devastating. The trio is notably capable of launching a wave 🌊 of gigantic oil and engulfing their opponent.
The strongest of the 3 legendary ninjas
As was said earlier in the article, Hiruzen Sarutobi had noticed Orochimaru's incredible abilities from a young age. 👶🏼 For the Third Hokage, the latter was one of those gems that only appeared once a century in Konoha. Moreover, he considered him to be undoubtedly the most promising of the trio he formed at the academy. Furthermore, not without pride, Orochimaru firmly believed that he was a genius, the most gifted and already saw himself taking his Sensei's place as Hokage. And it must be recognized that Orochimaru is very powerful to the point that he still managed to kill his Sensei, Haruzen.
Is he the strongest of the 3 Sannin? Is he stronger than Tsunade or Jiraiya? As we saw, the latter defeated him during their confrontation which pushed Orochimaru to flee in the end. But let's note, first of all, that there were two of them against him and also that Orochimaru was handicapped ♿ in both arms following his confrontation with Sarutobi. When comparing their skills and techniques, all three of them are very powerful but very different. And if we rely on the many opinions of the Naruto fan community, they differ greatly. Many lean more towards Orochimaru while others opt more for Jiraiya. For many, it's impossible to judge Tsunade because she hasn't fought much.
And for you, which of these three great Shinobis is the strongest? Don't hesitate to leave your opinion on the subject in comments.
Become a legendary Sannin too
As we saw in the article, Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade "earned" their title of Sannin for their courage and strength against Hanzo. Subsequently, they demonstrated that they deserve this status thanks to their power and combat skills.
You too can become a legendary Sannin if you wish. Train tirelessly to prove to others that you have courage and are as powerful as these three legendary ninjas of Konoha. Don't hesitate to choose the best Naruto Goodies in our online store.
