Here be spoilers. Any thing that has not been aired on the free version^noteone week after the paid version of Crunchyroll should be spoiler-tagged.

The Three Great Shinobi of Konoha

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The Three Great Ninja of Konoha^note

The Three Great Shinobi of Konoha (Sannin) are a trio of extremely powerful ninja from Konoha hailed as three of the greatest shinobi of their time. They were students of the Third Hokage in their youth and eventually developed into powerful, feared ninja. Despite being a team and having accomplished great things together, the three members were always in constant disagreement with one another, which Tsunade referred to as a "three-way deadlock". During the Second Shinobi World War in one battle with Hanzo of the Salamander, they were the only Konoha ninja to survive Hanzo's attacks. As a reward for this, Hanzo dubbed them the "Three Great Shinobi of Konoha", a title that would follow them for the rest of their lives and which they themselves would use with pride. Because of their legendary skills and prowess, each of the three have been considered for the position of Hokage at one time or another. Jiraiya was Hiruzen's preference for the position of Fourth Hokage, but he wasn't interested in the responsibilities. Orochimaru applied for the position, but Hiruzen did not believe Orochimaru had the village's best interests at heart and after the death of Hiruzen, Tsunade was offered a proposal to become a Hokage, which she eventually accepted. Two of them, Jiraiya and Tsunade, play mostly mentor roles, while the third, Orochimaru, is the main antagonist of the first series. All three are in their fifties during the main series, but only Jiraiya looks his age.

Orochimaru's sheet is large and detailed enough to have its own character page.

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General

All the Three Great Shinobi provide examples of:

Age Insecurity: Tsunade and Orochimaru. Both of them use jutsu to manipulate their appearance. Orochimaru takes it to another level with the way he does it... Interestingly, when he joined the Akatsuki, Orochimaru was paired up with Sasori who similarly maintains his youthful appearance using puppets.
Broken Ace: They are some of the most renowned ninjas in the world. They are also some of the most broken individuals, having endured plenty of tragedies.
Facial Markings: They all have facial markings. Orochimaru has markings around his eyes, Jiraiya has two red tear tracks below his eyes and Tsunade has a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead, which extends to a full face marking when she's using her Creation Rebirth technique.
Improbable Age: The three have apparently graduated from the Academy and became Genin at the age of six.
Living Legend: All three are very powerful ninjas on par with the Kages (In fact they were all offered the role of Hokage which Tsunade eventually accepted). They all get various moments to show just how badass they are throughout the series.
- Jiraiya was the first point of contact with Pain and actually defeated the first 3 bodies of Pain soundly. He only got taken out by the other three bodies whom he had no idea of their existence. Pain even doubted his own possibility of winning if Jiraiya had known about the 6 bodies in the beginning. This is an Arc Villain who literally destroyed the Leaf Village and killed/incapacitated everyone in it at the time.
- Most need powerful high-level jutsu to do enough damage to invoke the Chunky Salsa Rule, Tsunade just needs to punch.
- Orochimaru fought (a drugged) Jiraiya and (a freaked out) Tsunade without his arms, and it ended in a stalemate. Later, he went mano-a-mano with a Four-Tailed Naruto while maintaining his For the Lulz attitude throughout the whole fight up until the very end. The man gets mad props for that.
Long Hair Is Feminine: Averted with Jiraiya, zig zagged with Orochimaru and straight with Tsunade. All three have impressively long heads of hair well into their 50s.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Applies to Orochimaru and Jiraiya in their youth.
Masculine, Feminine, Androgyne Trio: Jiraiya (muscular and coarse man), Tsunade (buxom and beautiful woman known for her healing, although still The Lad-ette), and Orochimaru (a slender being with long hair who has inhabited both male and female bodies, he is referred to as male however).
Nice Mean And In Between: Jiraiya being one the earliest people in the village to befriend Naruto makes him the nice. Orochimaru defecting from the village, joining the Akatsuki, and being the primary antagonist of the earlier episodes make him the mean. Tsunade being initially hostile towards Naruto and always being slightly combative makes her the in-between.
Old Master: At the start of the series they are 50 years old and very very powerful. All of their known students are also very very powerful, highlighting the fact that not only are they mighty individuals but they can produce mighty individuals.
Older Than They Look: All three of them look good for their age to be fair, but this mainly applies to Orochimaru and Tsunade. They use jutsu to make themselves look younger. Ironically, it's Jiraiya who's the first of them to die.
Only One Name: All of them. Jiraya and Orochimaru do not belong to any clan, but Tsunade belongs to not one, but two notable clans (the Senju and Uzumaki), yet she still lacks a surname. Orochimaru's parents' grave has two words written for each of them, signifying he has a surname, but it is impossible to read due to the kanji's bad quality.
Power Trio: Back in the day, they were in the same genin team.
Public Domain Character: They are based on three main characters from the classic Japanese story Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya). Lampshaded when an episode in the anime about Jiraiya has the exact same name as this book.
Red Baron: As a group, the reason why they got the title of "Sannin" is that they survived fighting against Hanzo of the Salamander.
Sexy Mentor: All three look good for their age, especially Tsunade, and they each choose a member of Team 7 to mentor.
So Last Season: They are hailed as the "Legendary Sannin" and it's stated that only a Sannin can defeat a Sannin, something which is enforced by Orochimaru making a fool out of Hiruzen, but struggling against Jiraiya and Tsunade (although they all were subject to Worf Had the Flu). Further enforced by Itachi and Kisame running from Jiraiya but are still shown to make Kakashi and Kurenai suffer. Needless to say, all three are vastly surpassed in Shippuden.
Summon Magic: They each can summon an animal; Jiraiya summons toads, Tsunade summons slugs and Orochimaru summons snakes.
World's Best Warrior: The Sannin are, at least initially, referred to as legendary shinobi with powers greater than Hiruzen himself and considered the greatest leaf ninja of all time. However, they are revealed to have gotten this title not from their feats later in life, but for surviving a three-on-one fight against Hanzo, well before they had gotten far more powerful techniques, and all three are subject to Power Creep, Power Seep.
Worf Had the Flu: During their climactic fight in Part I, all three of them were subjected to this which explains why they couldn't go all-out despite being reputed as among Konoha's strongest. Orochimaru's arms were sealed away and had to rely on Kabuto to summon Manda, Jiraiya was drugged by Tsunade which restricted his chakra, and Tsunade was extremely rusty due to years of being out of action as well as being (initially) restricted by her hemophobia.

Jiraiya

Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (JP), Toru Nara (JP, young), David Lodge (EN), Brad MacDonald (EN, young), Jesús Rodriguez (Spain), Alfredo Leal (Latin-American Spanish, young), Paco Mauri (Latin-American Spanish, adult), Olivier Cuvellier (French)

Debut: Naruto Chapter 90 (Manga), Naruto Episode 52 (Anime)

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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're a shinobi, and it isn't the number of jutsu you possess. All you do need is the guts to never give up!

The legendary Toad Mountain Sage, Jiraiya is a randy loner who spends much of his time Walking the Earth. His first appearance in the series was during the Chunin exam arc when he knocked out Naruto's trainer when the latter caught him peeking on a women's shower. Naruto (who had no clue as to the old man's true identity and power, and called him "pervy sage") subsequently badgered him into continuing his training personally.

Jiraiya is basically indolent and shuns responsibility, despite his great skill as a ninja. The village elders initially offered him the position of Hokage after the Third's death, but he turned it down because he knew he'd screw it up and then he suggested Tsunade as a better option. He makes most of his money from writing pornographic novels that are a runaway hit in the Naruto universe (the same ones Kakashi is never seen without), and would much rather spend his time drinking, gambling, and wenching than doing anything serious. Nevertheless, Jiraiya is a fierce warrior and never backs down when he's really needed, helping to beat back Orochimaru's attack on Konoha in the Chunin Exam arc and always keeping his eyes and ears open regarding the whereabouts of Konoha's enemies, particularly Orochimaru and the Akatsuki.

Prior to the series, Jiraiya spent some time in the home of the great toads, who trained him and prophesied that he would eventually meet and train The Chosen One. (Jiraiya initially believed this person to be Pain, but later came to believe that it was Naruto. (Eventually, it was revealed that both were the "Chosen One".)) Jiraiya returned to the village after this and operated as part of Konoha's active military for a time along with the other two. (During this period, he also trained several genin, one of whom would eventually become the Fourth Hokage.) When Orochimaru defected, Jiraiya tried to convince him to return to the village, but his failure to do so shamed him so much that he left the village and wandered alone for many years.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru's relationship is deliberately designed to mirror Naruto and Sasuke's. Sasuke, like Orochimaru, is naturally gifted and believes only in his own personal power, while Naruto, like Jiraiya, had to work his way up and believes in comradeship. Jiraiya gave up on Orochimaru, but Naruto is determined not to do the same for Sasuke.

Jiraiya teaches Naruto the Summoning Jutsu and the Rasengan (which he himself learned from his former student, Minato, the Fourth Hokage) over the course of the series. He also attempted to find a way to allow Naruto to control his Nine-Tailed Fox transformations, but failed in this and settled for merely suppressing them instead. Many of Jiraiya's techniques are toad-themed as a result of his time in their community; he can summon them to assist him in battle, and can draw on their power to go into a more powerful "Sage Mode". He also has several Fire-Style and Earth-Style techniques and is implied to know many more, although he does precious little fighting in the series. His presence and power are what keeps Akatsuki away from Naruto for a time; Itachi believes that Jiraiya could beat any two Akatsuki members single-handedly. In Shippuden, it's revealed that Jiraiya is Naruto's godfather, explaining his interest in the boy's safety and development.

At the end of the first series, Jiraiya takes Naruto on a three-year-long journey to train in preparation for his future battles with the Akatsuki; this journey forms the Time Skip that separates the two series.

In Shippuden, Jiraiya returns Naruto into Kakashi's keeping, then returns to gathering intelligence on Orochimaru and Akatsuki. Following a tip, he tracks the Akatsuki's leader Pain to the Hidden Rain Village and engages him in battle. Jiraiya realizes that Pain is a former student of his, although greatly changed, and sends one of his toads with that information back to the village. He uses up all of his tricks, even going Sage Mode, but Pain kills him by crushing his throat with one blow. His final thoughts are of Naruto.

Ultimately, Naruto was able to redeem his former student Nagato through his teachings and is still thought of highly by his friends and loved ones after his death (i.e. Tsunade, Orochimaru, Naruto, etc.)

His hobby was sneaking a peek into a Women's Bathing House.

Favorite phrase: "Free and uninhibited"

The Ace: Similar to Naruto, Jiraiya was originally the loser of his team. By adulthood, however, Jiraiya became one of the strongest ninjas in the world and a world-renowned author. His skill was acknowledged by both Kisame and Itachi, and even though he loses to Nagato (a fight which still sees him destroying three of Nagato's Paths), the latter admits that it's only because Jiraiya was unaware that Nagato had 6 bodies and not just three. After his death, Obito Uchiha acknowledges Jiraiya's skills and the value of his teaching, claiming that it's amazing he managed to destroy any of Nagato's Paths and, later, that it was really Jiraiya's teachings, via Naruto, that had won the war. To add to this, Kabuto considered him one of the prime targets to revive with Edo Tensei and was disappointed he couldn't revive him. Finally, towards the end of the series, Naruto also acknowledges that of the numerous legendary ninja he's met, it's Jiraiya who he respected the most.
Achilles in His Tent: Because he's always out of the village traveling.
Affectionate Nickname: Naruto calls him "Ero-senin" or "Pervy Sage".
All-Loving Hero: Despite Jiraiya's eccentric behavior and prowess as a shinobi, he was a strong believer in peace; his hope being to one day end the hatred that plagued the ninja world. Jiraiya also held a great deal of faith in the next generation, and saw them as the solution to this hate.
An Arm and a Leg: Pain's Asura Path attacks him from behind, severing his arm.
Animal Motifs: Frogs and toads.
The Anti-Nihilist: Despite the cycle of hate that plagued the shinobi world, he believed that there would come a day when peace would be achieved.
Awesome by Analysis: He's able to counteract Ametarasu just by seeing it once, sealing it away before it can burn anything else.
Badass Boast: Per the usual for Jiraiya to proclaim his legendary stature to an opponent. See Large Ham below.

Badass Normal: Comparatively for the series. Jiraiya comes from no famous bloodline or clan, was not born with natural talent or prodigious skill, possesses no Kekkei Genkai powers, was never bonded with a tailed-beast, and has no body modifications, unlike Orochimaru and Tsunade. Everything he is was obtained via hard work and pure skill.
Badass Teacher: He became the teacher of the Ame Orphans, Minato Namikaze (and the other members of Team Jiraiya), and Naruto Uzumaki.
Barbarian Longhair: This Sage has a long and unkempt white hair.
Barely-Changed Dub Name: In French, his name is Jiraya.
Beware the Nice Ones: Jiraiya is ultimately a Nice Guy, but he is scary when he's in battle.
Beware the Silly Ones: A super pervert prone to overdramatic introductions who’s one of the legendary Sannin.
Big Good: He was one of the most powerful shinobi in the series and directly safeguarded Naruto from the Akatsuki. Even after Jiraiya's death, his ideals continue to influence the heroes and provide the path to lasting peace between the five nations. When defeated as the Juubi's Jinchuuriki, Obito even credits the unity of the shinobi forces to Jiraiya's ideals and says one could say Jiraiya had defeated him.
Breath Weapon: In addition to Fire Release: Flame Bullet and Big Flame Bullet, Jiraiya is capable of converting his chakra into oil and spewing it from his mouth.
Brilliant, but Lazy: He's a smart guy, but he prefers to spend his time messing around chasing girls instead. Notably, despite teaching Naruto about summoning toads for backup and the rasengan, he never expanded on either area despite having 2 and a half years to do so. It was Kakashi who taught Naruto how to upgrade the Rasengan with an element before creating the Rasenshuriken and it was only after Jiraiya's death that Naruto learned that the toads could teach him senjutsu.
Broken Ace: Jiraiya was never able to win Tsunade's heart, the one woman he genuinely had feelings for. He was unable to convince Orochimaru from abandoning the village. He also blames himself for being unable to save either his teacher Hiruzen and his student Minato. And despite his apparent big ego, he had a lot of self-loathing, believing that his life was just one long string of failures where it actually mattered. The fact he considers Naruto the one thing he did right as he dies, says a lot about how much Jiraiya hates about himself.
Broken Pedestal:
- He became one for Nagato after he left the Rain Orphans and they experienced more hardships. Nagato felt the peace Jiraiya spoke of was naïve and couldn't let go of his hatred of the Leaf Village. Naruto is able to restore Nagato's faith in Jiraiya.
- Played for Laughs when it came to Sakura. During the first anime filler arc, she calls out Naruto's blatant lack of respect for him. Two episodes later, with his shameless love for women and using their money to effectively go out drinking, she admits she's stopped respecting him. She does still regard him greatly, but she's just as quick to lose her temper with him as Naruto is.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Lazy, perverted, self proclaimed voyeur and all around slacker... who is also one of the strongest Shinobi in the Elemental lands, to the point that even Pain had to take him seriously.
Casanova Wannabe: He's a sucker for women, even though his work is romantic enough to catch Kakashi's attention
Charles Atlas Superpower: While nowhere near as strong as Tsunade, he could still level buildings and slaughter dozens of Ninjas in Taijutsu alone.
Chivalrous Pervert: He always protects the ladies, whom he has a thing for.
The Chooser of the One: Jiraiya was prophesied to train The Chosen One who would either bring peace or destruction. Considering all of his other candidates/trainees are now dead and neither has happened yet, the titular character is now the one by default.
Clark Kent Outfit: A 50-year-old ninja wears an outfit that makes him look flabby and yet underneath he's rocking a six-pack and biceps.
Combination Attack: Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet has him execute Fire Release: Flame Bullet while one of the toads he’d summon (like Gamabunta) spew out oil. In addition, in Sage Mode, he can perform Sage Art: Goemon if he has summoned Shima and Fukasaku.
Cool Old Guy: Definitely is a friendly, wise sage...when he's not acting pervy.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Jiraiya is (even by his own admission) a "super pervert" and is just as clumsy as Naruto. He also is one of the most powerful shinobi in history and when he gets serious...Look. Out.
A Death in the Limelight: Doesn't do much in Shippuden until he goes to investigate Pain's whereabouts, a mission from which he never returns.
Death Seeker: He isn't particularly interested in dying on its own, but believes that a Failure Knight like himself will only be remembered if he has a spectacular death like the ninjas of old. Ironically enough, when he does finally seem to drop this, as shown during his fight with Pain, he ends up dying.
Determinator: Believes that the most important thing for a ninja to have is the willingness never to give up.
Dirty Old Man: Probably one the most famous examples in Japanese media. He's very much eager for young, attractive women, spying on them bathing for "research" and uses money to pay them to spend time with him.
Dishing Out Dirt: With his Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld jutsu, he can create a swamp beneath a target to trap them. This technique is strong enough to immobilize Orochimaru's giant snake summons.
Dogged Nice Guy: Towards Tsunade. Ever since he was nearly killed after peeping on Tsunade, he's used greater discretion in expressing his interests in her, careful to make his advances come off as playful. Jiraiya considers his inability to win Tsunade's heart to be one of the greatest failures of his life.
The Dreaded: Let's put it this way: when Itachi and Kisame realized that they were going to have to tangle with him, their immediate instinct was to abandon the mission and flee (with Kisame admitting that he was way out of their league), and even Nagato admitted that had Jiraiya known how the Six Paths of Pain worked, he would have won the fight. The only reason why Jiraiya has such a poor fight record is the fact that external circumstances tended to conspire against him.
Dying Moment of Awesome: He literally wills his heart to beat again in order to deliver a code to Konoha about Pain, dying against the strongest ninja currently living who acknowledges Jiraiya as a truly worthy foe. Despite living in the shadow of what he calls his own failures, Jiraiya dies with a smile on his face, realizing that he achieved the glorious end he desired and that he has inspired Naruto to one day save the world.
Eccentric Mentor: To Naruto and Nagato and the other Rain Orphans. He forced the latter to wear frog suits.
Energy Ball: The Rasengan. Which he learned from his previous student, Minato, and taught it to Naruto.
Equippable Ally: 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, or they can perform justu that he can't, such as genjutsu. They both also serve as advisors in combat offering Jiraiya their expertise on strategy.
Everyone Has Standards: Notable in the anime filler arc, he's offended when Sakura thinks he's about to hit on the clearly underage Sasame.
Facial Markings: Born with 'em.
Failure Knight: The deaths of Minato and Hiruzen took a huge toll on him. So did failing to bring back Orochimaru and finding out that Yahiko died and Nagato and Konan turned evil. Jiraiya believes his life is simply a series of failures compared to the Hokages of old until the last moments of his life.
Fatal Flaw: Played for Laughs. Jiraiya's perverted nature has led to him being tricked (e.g., Naruto, the Akatsuki) or severely beaten up (e.g., Tsunade).
Foil: Jiraiya and Orochimaru's relationship is deliberately designed to mirror Naruto and Sasuke's. Sasuke, like Orochimaru, is naturally gifted and believes only in his own personal power, while Naruto, like Jiraiya, had to work his way up and believes in comradeship. Jiraiya gave up on Orochimaru, but Naruto is determined not to do the same for Sasuke.
Frog Men: Sage Mode, which he does not have 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, he dislikes the overall appearance because he believes women will find it unattractive.
Generation Xerox: Initially displaying outward interest in Naruto for the latter matching his perversion and determination, he was eventually shown to be Naruto's godfather, who did truly care for his welfare and making him his inheritor of his philosophy of the "Will of Fire."
Geometric Magic: Probably one of the greatest seal masters in the series.
Gone Horribly Right: Jiraiya teaching ninjutsu to three Hidden Rain orphans so that they could protect themselves turned out much better than he would have liked or expected. In his defense, it was not his actions and mistakes that turned them against Konoha. The blame goes right to Danzo's attempt to kill them Gone Horribly Wrong.
Go Out with a Smile: Right before he dies, Jiraiya recalls that Naruto was named after the character in his book, and decides that he had succeeded in something after all.
Heroic Sacrifice: He knew that Pain could overpower him, but still fought him to gather information to help the village instead of running away and escaping. His defeat ended up costing him his life.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: Near-pathological - even in his last moments he believes that his life was a waste and that he was a loser. The only thing he did not regret was training Naruto. His only goal in life was to have an awesome death. He managed it.
Heroic Resolve: Thinking of Naruto, he revived himself long enough to deliver intel to Konoha about Pain.
Heroic Willpower: When fighting Pain he manages to get up — after being impaled multiple times AND his heart apparently stopping — long enough to scribble out a message on Fukasaku for the rest of the village.
Hidden Depths: 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 and asked Naruto to carry on this wish.
Highly-Visible Ninja: Look at him. He attracts more attention that Naruto could ever dream of.
Honey Trap: Villains attempt this on him once or twice throughout the series. Surprisingly, it doesn't actually work either time.
Idiot Hero: He was one as a child: his sole motivation for training and getting stronger was to catch the eye of every pretty girl around him, especially Tsunade. Orochimaru thinks he's one even in his fifties.
Invisibility: In his youth, he claims to Sarutobi that he devised a jutsu perfect for peeping at women's baths without being noticed.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: A filler arc delves into the reason why Jiraiya has always been reluctant to go out with Tsunade. He doesn't want to, out of fear of hurting her by dying before her. However, even after Jiraiya dies, she continued to love Dan, and her greatest dream is for Dan to be alive and they continue to be lovers.
It's Not Porn, It's Art: He claims his peeping on women in the bath is actually research for his books.
Killed Off for Real: Killed by Pain and not resurrected by either Nagato's Rinne Tensei jutsu because of how much time had passed by that point, nor Kabuto's Edo Tensei due to his body sinking deep into the ocean's depths. While his shadow hangs over the series and Naruto holds him up as the greatest example of a shinobi imaginable, Jiraiya himself is never seen again in any form.
Ladykiller in Love: Jiraiya is a constant flirt with any beautiful lady he meets but he was truly in love with Tsunade.
Large Ham: One among various examples:
Jiraiya: When you've reached the stature I have... THE LADIES KNEEL AND WORSHIP... AT YOUR AWESOMENESS!!"
Large Ham Title: He often refers to himself as the "Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku" or something similar in his long flashy introductions.
Lazy Bum: He proved to be this as a mentor to Naruto at times, more interested in taking Naruto's money to pay for alcohol and women and peeping on girls for his love novels than actually training him. The fact that he's actually Naruto's Godfather makes this even worse.
Like a Son to Me: He claimed Minato was like a son and Naruto his grandson, although he was Naruto's godfather.
Lovable Sex Maniac: He's called "Pervy Sage" for a reason.
Jiraiya: I'm not a Pervert. I'm a SUPER PERVERT!
(or, if you're watching the english dub)
Jiraiya: I am not a little pervert! I'm a BIG ONE!^noteGreat, that makes all the difference.
Loved I Not Honor More: While Jiraiya may have had romantic feelings for Tsunade, he also had a strong Undying Loyalty to the Leaf. And when he suspected Tsunade of possibly helping Orochimaru, he point blank told her if she was, then he would kill her.
Lust Makes You Dumb: When he was a teenager, he got the bright idea to peep on Tsunade, despite the fact that he knew that she could easily kill him if he were caught. Sure enough, when he got caught he received a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown so bad that he nearly died.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: He tried to stop Akatsuki's Leader as his grand triumph, but ended up being killed instead. His legacy was to leave behind intel on defeating Pain and his death also furthered Naruto's development experiencing the cycle of hatred.
Mentor's New Hope: He was disappointed to learn Nagato had taken the wrong path because he felt he was the child of prophecy. Before his death, he believes that it is Naruto instead, who Jiraiya was glad to have taught because Naruto reminded him of Minato as well.
My Greatest Failure: Not having been able to stop his friend Orochimaru from defecting, nor to save his pupil (the Fourth Hokage) or his master (the Third Hokage). Jiraiya also considers his inability to win Tsunade's heart to be one of his greatest failures as well.
Nice Guy: Jiraiya is a pervert and a show off, but he's a lover of peace and is easy to befriend.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Jiraiya may not have wanted to leave Naruto unguarded, but his slow act of waiting until Itachi had been humiliated and psychologically tortured before summoning a toad's stomach meant that Sasuke would let his desire for revenge consume him, allowing himself to be taken by the Sound Four and kicking off all of Shippuden.
Obfuscating Stupidity: He acts as dumb as Naruto, but is the best Information broker in the Elemental Lands.
Obi-Wan Moment: After a particularly grueling battle against (supposed) Akatsuki Leader Pain that involved Nagato bringing all six of them together to beat him (considering 1 of them can take on several Jonin Shinobi easily, needing all of them to kill someone speaks greatly for their skill/threat level), Jiraiya is impaled 5 times and dropped into the deep waters below. As he sinks, he grimly smiles and references a Japanese proverb^note accepting his death. Bonus points for the Stealth Pun of the proverb being about a frog, his animal symbol.
Old Master: He's 50 and still one of the strongest people in the series. His students are also some of the most powerful in the series; Nagato, Minato, Konan and Naruto all call him "sensei".
One-Man Army: He managed to fight off several of Pain's Paths, consecutively and concurrently, where those same Paths were only taken out by lots of teamwork from Konoha.
Parental Abandonment: Jiraiya does not return to Konoha for years after Minato's death and does not even tell Naruto he even has a Godfather. The reasons include his dangerous work tailing Orochimaru but also Jiraiya's massive failure complex and guilt for letting Minato die in the first place.
Parental Substitute: He is Naruto's godfather who also acted as his sensei and father-figure during the time skip.
Passing the Torch: Jiraiya spends his final moments thinking about Naruto, and decides that it is he is the Child of the Prophecy who will find the answer for peace. 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.
The Peeping Tom: Jiraiya spies on girls in hot springs all the time. He calls it "research." Somewhat justified in that he's a popular author of trashy romance novels.
Playing with Fire: He most often uses fire jutsu, typically to ignite his own or one of his toad's oil in battle.
Power Makes Your Hair Grow: In Sage Mode, Jiraiya sports an impressive beard.
Prehensile Hair: He is able to grow and manipulate his hair using jutsu, either to bind and destroy targets or to surround him as a defense, injuring any who try to contact him. In Sage Mode, he creates a needle attack using his hair.
The Prophecy: 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. The prophecy also foretold Jiraiya writing a book. Jiraiya considered either Minato and Nagato to be that child until the former's death and the latter's mislead direction. In his last moments, he fully believed Naruto was the Child of Prophecy.
Red Baron: The Toad Sage, in reference to his toad summons and a variety of toad-related techniques, and "The Village Madness".
Relegated Mentor: He was one for the Ame Orphans. The Three Great Shinobi found the orphans at the end of the 2nd Shinobi World War, and he decided to stay with them. He ended up becoming their teacher and after 3 years he felt they could take care of themselves and make a difference in their village. Unfortunately, it didn't work out the way he had hoped...
Removed Achilles' Heel: Typically, in order to gather enough Natural Energy to enter and maintain Sage Mode, Jiraiya needs to stand still. He can bypass this by summoning Fukasaku and Shima and have them gather Natural Energy for him via the Sage Art: Amphibian Technique.
Renowned Selective Mentor: Fits this trope to a T. He only had two groups of students before Naruto, and in both cases one of them was an insanely gifted shinobi who became a legend. He chose to train Naruto become he reminded him of the Fourth Hokage, his previous student and Naruto's father.
Retcon: While many characters were subject to this, Jiraiya's was particularly notable considering his relationship with Naruto would be put in a different light. In particular, before it was revealed Jiraiya was Naruto's godfather, Jiraiya would shamelessly and lecherously check out Naruto's Sexy Jutsu (in the manga, he even says that Naruto's form is exactly the girl he'd like), which makes things even creepier. The revelation also meant Jiraiya did not check in at all on Naruto for the first twelve years of his life, yet this is at no point addressed beyond keeping tabs on the Leaf's enemies, in particular being one of the only people able to monitor Orochimaru and the Akaksuki. The latter of which ultimately falls flat when Jiraiya was not aware about the alliance between Suna and Orochimaru, or the plan to invade via the Chunin Exams, which would have been essential to know to defend against.
Retired Badass: Subverted. He seems to be just goofing off and ignoring his responsibilities to go on an endless vacation, but he's actually been keeping tabs on the Leaf's enemies.
Ship Tease: With Tsunade, if only briefly. Tsunade is the only woman Jiraiya has ever truly loved, but it never goes anywhere, as she continued to love only Dan after his death. Even after Jiraiya himself dies, her love for Dan is reaffirmed, with him confirming he is waiting for her in the afterlife, as well as her Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, where her greatest desire is for Dan to be alive and they are still in a relationship.
Sink or Swim Mentor: When normal training methods for Naruto to draw out the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox weren't working, he pushes Naruto into a giant crevice. If Naruto failed to draw out the chakra in order to summon Gamabunta, he would have died.
Spectacular Spinning: The Rasengan. He can make a giant Rasengan in Sage Mode.
Stern Teacher: At some moments, he was this towards Naruto. Such as when he lectured Naruto about being a "fool" trying to save Sasuke. There was also the time while teaching him the Rasengan, he said he wouldn't act as Naruto's parent, but he still showed him affection buying him a popsicle.
Stomach of Holding: He kept Gerotora, the scroll toad which holds the key to Naruto's Eight Trigrams Seal, in his stomach. Gerotora was instructed to go back to Naruto after Jiraiya's death.
Strong and Skilled: Jiraiya is noted to be a strong combatant and notoriously skilled. Nagato admits that if Jiraiya knew the secret of Pain since the beginning, he likely would have won the battle against him, which owes to the level of strength the Sanin had.
Summon Magic: Jiraiya is a ninjutsu master, who is famed as the "Toad Sage" because of his affiliation with the toads of Mount Myōboku. This affiliation is most commonly displayed through summoning toads, either to fight alongside him in battle or simply summoning a toad's esophagus to trap a victim and cover an area and restrict any movements within that area.
Super Mode: Jiraiya was taught how to use senjutsu and enter Sage Mode by Fukasaku, which he can use to increase his speed, durability, and physical strength. 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 merge with Fukasaku and Shima because he does not have mastery of Sage Mode.
Take Up My Sword: His last action before dying was to leave Naruto a code for how to battle Pain. Naruto continues to honor his memory all the way to the end.
Team Dad: To Naruto, despite refusing to become Hokage.
Took a Level in Badass: In his backstory, he was the "loser" of the Three Great Shinobi and was incapable of defeating his friend Orochimaru. In the end, he's one of history's most powerful ninja, which results in him being considered for the position of Hokage (the same position that the Third Hokage was originally considering Orochimaru for) multiple times during his life. Unlike Orochimaru, Jiraiya was never rejected for the position either. He turned it down. Even after his death, his name was still mentioned as a prime candidate for the role, indicating the massive level of respect he'd gained in the village over the years, not only in the eyes of his teacher but the village and the higher-ups in the Land of Fire as well. At the very end, Obito realizes that Jiraiya is truly the one who won the war as it was his ideals Naruto and Nagato followed at the end.
Tragic Hero: Always failed to save the ones he loved and believed himself to be a worthless good-for-nothing...until the very end when he achieves an end "just barely glorious but glorious indeed."

Tritagonist: Shares this role with Itachi, as the most influential person to Naruto.
Undying Loyalty: Although he left Konoha for many years, Jiraiya was still loyal to his village. When Konoha found itself in need of a new Hokage after the Third Hokage's death, Jiraiya volunteered to look for Tsunade so that she could be the Fifth Hokage, after turning down the position himself. His reason for refusing the position was, among other things, that he felt unworthy to take the role, since he had failed to save either of the previous Hokage from dying, or stop Orochimaru from turning traitor, as well as him having to conduct more "research". After he found Tsunade and began to suspect that she might be helping Orochimaru, he made it clear that he would kill her if she betrayed the village, proof of his loyalty to Konoha. However, once it became clear that Tsunade was still loyal to Konoha, and later accepted the title of Hokage, Jiraiya served as her most trusted adviser, loyal confidant, and a spy into the dealings of Akatsuki and Konoha's enemies.
Unrequited Love Lasts Forever: The only woman he had true feelings for was Tsunade, his childhood teammate. However, she was interested in another shinobi (Dan) and never got over him after his death, as shown in her interaction with the Edo Tensei-Dan and her Infinite Tsukuyomi dream.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His desire to give Sasuke a shot at killing Itachi in the hotel is understandable, but it takes all of three seconds for it to become apparent that he's absolutely no match for his older brother. It still takes Jiraiya at least another five minutes, many broken bones, and a vicious [Mind Rape to actually intervene. In fact, it's very possible that the only reason Itachi even resorted to Tsukuyomi is that he was waiting for Jiraiya to give him the excuse to flee, and nothing else was making him act. This loss was one of the biggest reasons for Sasuke's defection.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: His Sage Mode form makes him more toad-like in appearances, such as warts and webbed hands and feet; although his frog-like legs enable him to jump better, he dislikes the overall appearance because he believes women will find it unattractive.
Walking the Earth: After hearing the elder toad sage's prediction, he dedicated his life to travelling the world and meeting people along with keeping an eye on Orochimaru and Akatsuki for Konoha. His experiences meeting all kinds of different people contributed to him figuring out Pain's true identity, as the Six Paths were all people he met during his travels.
Warrior Poet: A powerful and renowned Shinobi of the Leaf Village with a passion for writing and a tendency to talk about his desires for world peace and acknowledging the flaws of the Shinobi World.
Warts and All: Naruto loves him like family and admires him more than anyone else but still usually refers to him as "Pervy Sage" ("Ero-Sennin").
Wide-Eyed Idealist: He hoped the world would one day obtain peace, but even he admitted he didn't have an answer for the cycle of hatred.
The Worf Effect: He's hyped up to be very strong, one of the legendary Sannin that the Akatsuki hesitate to fight. The first hint given about the magnitude of his badasstitude was that Itachi and Kisame tucked their tails between their legs and ran for it when he showed up to fight. However, we actually never see him win a fight, and even in his Backstory, we're only told about his failures (couldn't defeat Hanzou, was defeated by Orochimaru when he left the Leaf) rather than his victories. This serves to set a benchmark of just how powerful his opponents are that someone like him would lose to them.
- Itachi and Kisame escape from him by using Amaterasu, which demonstrates its power. They didn't even try to fight him and Kisame said that he was way above their weight class.
- Hanzou is considered to be a monster of a ninja based on how he could win against all three Sannin.
- Orochimaru couldn't scratch Naruto in Four-Tails Form (though his body begins rejecting him before the fight can reach a conclusion), while Jiraiya took him down during a previous incident (though nearly died himself doing so, and he was also holding back because he was afraid of accidentally killing or crippling Naruto).
- That he would lose a close-fight with Pain (that Nagato admitted he won only because Jiraiya didn't know how the Six Paths of Pain worked) sets the stage for Pain to "fight" All of Konoha's forces, the Toad Tribe, Kyuubi, and Naruto). This is what established his reputation with fans.
Worf Had the Flu: During his main story line fight with Orochimaru, he was poisoned beforehand and could scarcely throw a kunai straight.
World's Strongest Man: For a time he held this title. He was flat out said to be the only one strong enough to defeat Orochimaru during his invasion by Ebisu. Itachi AND Kisame both considered him too risky to fight even with both of them against him (this is huge since, despite Itachi's allegiance, it's possible he would kill Konoha shinobi to keep his cover if he had to, but he still noted that against Jiraiya they had, at best, a 50% chance of even getting a mutual kill), with Kisame even saying he was on an entirely another level. Not only that, he defeated Naruto's Four-Tailed Version 2 form within base (though he did nearly die doing so), note Orochimaru couldn't do anything to Naruto in that form (though the fight had no conclusion). And then his student Nagato considered him strong enough that he would not have been able to win if Jiraiya had known his secret.
Would Hit a Girl: Despite his feelings for her, Jiraiya had no problem threatening to kill Tsunade if she betrayed Konoha.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Minato tells him this when Jiraiya considers writing his book, and by extension, much of his life, to be a waste of his time.

Tsunade

Voiced by: Masako Katsuki (JP), Haruhi Terada (JP, young), Debi Mae West (EN), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (EN, young^notePart I only), Ana Jiménez (Spain), Dulce Guerrero (Latin-American Spanish), Laurence César (French)

Debut: Naruto Chapter 139 (Manga), Naruto Episode 83 (Anime)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/naruto_tsunade_6.png

I am the Fifth Hokage… You've trampled on our ancestors' treasure… their dream… And you will pay the price! As the Hokage, I will put a stop to you here and now!

Tsunade is a veteran Hard-Drinking Party Girl and gambler, although her lack of luck at the latter, which earned her the nickname "The Legendary Sucker", is almost as famous as her fighting skill and miraculous healing abilities. Tsunade, whose grandfather was the First Hokage (therefore, the elders refer to her as "Tsunade-hime" aka "Princess Tsunade"), became jaded and disillusioned regarding the village when both her younger brother Nawaki and her fiancé Dan were killed during the wars which crisscrossed the Naruto world prior to the series. She turned her back on the village and sought her own amusements, with her fiancee's niece Shizune and her pet pig Tonton as her only companions.

She first appears in the Search for Tsunade arc, when Jiraiya and Naruto are seeking her to offer her the position of the Fifth Hokage. She initially refuses, and bets Naruto her treasured necklace that he won't be able to master the Rasengan in three days. Orochimaru also seeks her out during this time, wanting her to heal the crippling injuries he sustained during his fight with the Third Hokage and offering to revive her brother and fiancee in exchange. After seeing Naruto successfully perform the Rasengan for the first time, a three-way battle ensues in which Jiraiya and Tsunade team up to defeat Orochimaru. Tsunade then returns to Konoha and accepts the position of the Fifth Hokage.

Tsunade has Super-Strength and the ability to concentrate chakra in her limbs, further increasing the power of her strikes. She is widely considered the greatest medical ninja in the world, and can hit vital points with precision or completely heal herself in midfight. She also uses a transformation jutsu to keep her appearance eternally young, although that's more for the sake of her vanity than any strategic purpose. It's still notable as a very advanced form of transformation, as she maintains it regardless of whether she is asleep or even knocked unconscious (something that undoes most transformations), it only coming undone if she is extremely low on chakra.

In Shippuden, Tsunade mostly plays a support role, assigning missions and providing exposition. She's also come under attack from various militaristic factions in Konoha itself. She is confronted by Pain's Deva Path, but he decides to run away... but not before nuking Konoha. After the Shinra Tensei, she uses a great deal of chakra to save those that she can and heal people, but this has the side effect of wearing off her transformation and putting her into a coma, causing the position of Sixth Hokage to go to Danzo (pending approval by the village jonins), however she later woke up from the said coma and showed herself to be critical about the decision to send Naruto and Killer Bee into hiding instead of trusting their aid in the war. However, after escaping, both Naruto and Bee eventually manage to win over the other Kage's trust with their resolve.

She later joins the rest of the Kage in fighting a resurrected Madara Uchiha but, despite their valiant efforts, were all defeated (though Tsunade manages to save their lives). A resurrected Orochimaru later helps her back up and together they go on to confront the Ten-Tails and Madara once again. After being caught in the Infinite Tsukiyomi, she, along with the other four Kage, faced the threat of death from Sasuke but were ultimately saved by Naruto. Shortly afterwards, she steps down from the Hokage position to give the mantle to Kakashi before going on to retirement.

Her hobby is gambling.

Favorite phrase: "One grab, a thousand gold" referring to getting rich without much effort.

The Ace: Tsunade is the most well regarded and famous Medic Nin and has been dubbed, "The World's Most Beautiful and Strongest Woman".
Amai, medic ninja of the Hidden Cloud: Karai, we brought the best medical ninja in the world! You're going to be alright!
Action Girl: She's one of the most skilled ninjas in the series and while she doesn't have a huge win streak due to her focus on being The Medic she's still a capable fighter.
A-Cup Angst: During her teenage years. Jiraiya said she had a chest like a cutting board. She didn't take it well.
Adapted Out: Of the first live theater adaptation, though she does appear in the second.
Affectionate Nickname:
- Naruto calls her Grandma Tsunade. It becomes funny as we find out that they are both related through the Uzumaki clan. She is Naruto's cousin of some variety.
- Her grandfather Hashirama calls her "Tsuna".
Afraid of Blood: Initially. Naruto helps her get over it. It was because her boyfriend was killed, and she couldn't heal him.
Animal Motifs: Slugs, owing to her ability to summon Katsuyu (though that's where the motif ends).
Badass Bookworm: She's the physically strongest of the Three and no slouch in the brains department either (though not as smart as Orochimaru).
Badass Pacifist: Tsunade definitely has the power and combat skills to be Hokage but it is in her philosophy as a medical ninja that she not enter combat unless absolutely necessary lest someone tries to Shoot the Medic First. There's one exception to her rule: the medic can enter battle at will if she or he has mastered her Healing Factor technique (something only she and Sakura have succeeded at, so far).
Badass Teacher: She trained Shizune and Sakura Haruno, among others, in the art of medical ninjutsu.
Bare-Fisted Monk: Her punches are enough to kill anything that isn't an Edo Tensei immortal zombie, but even Madara was worried about being hit by that.
Be Careful What You Wish For: When Jiraiya goes off to face Pain in Amegakure, she bets against him, thinking he will die, in hopes that her bad luck will ensure that he'll live. Unfortunately, this is one of the few occasions where her bet won out.
Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Zigzagged. In terms of combat, she takes a good amount of damage during her fights and has the battle damage to show it. But in terms of her general appearance, she is always seen in her young age despite being in her 50s even 10 years into the future. Moreover, whenever she grows old due to lack of chakra, her face is always obscured until she is healed at which point she innately returns to her youthful self once more.
Big Damn Heroes: Arrives with the other Kages and proceeds to kick Madara's ass.
The Big Gal: ...Kind of. She's a mixture of the third and the fifth, but she fits this role effectively well with her fighting style. She only has to hit you once to kill and she's nearly immortal.
Big Good: After Hiruzen's death in the third arc, Tsunade takes up his position as Hokage. Although her reign is short (only four years), she is Konoha's leader for the majority of the series. She relinquishes her position in the second-to-last chapter, around fifteen arcs later.
Birds of a Feather: In Chapter 160, she recognizes her similarities to her lover Dan when he agrees with her desire to have at least one medical ninja in every unit so that there's a better chance of surviving a mission or even a war. Also, both have a deceased younger sibling whom they loved dearly—for her, it was her brother Nawaki; for him, it was his unnamed sister.
Brilliant, but Lazy: She'd rather laze about, but is forced to take action to maintain the village's safety. Must be why she's perpetually angry all the time.
Broken Ace: Lost her only sibling to war. She was unable to save her fiancé's life despite her prowess, and developed a fear of blood ever since. She then spent years away from her home (along with Shizune and Tonton), gambling and drinking. Only learned of her master's passing straight from the mouth of her fellow student-turned-traitor who did the deed. Reconciled with her other fellow student, only to later have him die on her watch unable to do anything to help him.
Broken Bird: Lost the love of her life and her brother to battle. Orochimaru attempts to use this to his advantage when attempting to have her heal his arms by promising to resurrect them. She gets better upon reconciling with her old friend Jiraiya and meeting Naruto, but nearly spins off it again when Jiraiya dies.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Tsunade likes to drink and gamble, hates paperwork to a degree most people would reserve for their worst enemy, and is a bit of a Vain Sorceress but also a competent leader as well as a kickass medic and fighter
Buxom Beauty Standard: She's regarded as the most beautiful Kunoichi. Who knows why?
Boring, but Practical: Tsunade's Super-Strength and medical ninjutsu give her the most raw physical power and regenerative ability in the series, but, conversely, significantly less flash than the techniques of other high-ranking ninja.
Born Unlucky: To put it bluntly, her luck is absolute crap, to the point that she became known as "The Legendary Sucker" for basically never winning at gambling. Then there's the fact that so many people close to her have died...
Can't Hold Her Liquor: She gets drunk easily.
Cartwright Curse: She sure seems to have bad luck with the men she likes...
Cast from Lifespan: Her Mitotic Regeneration technique uses the chakra stored in her forehead to heal all her wounds, but it shortens her life. The exact effect this has on her is not greatly explored. She's still alive in the series epilogue (when she'd be in her 70s) and there's no indication at all that she's in poor health. Seeing as her grandmother was from the Uzumaki clan (who have long lifespans) the difference probably averages out. However, immediately after the War she had to retire from the position of Hokage; whether this was because she got tired of wars or because she no longer had the stamina necessary to protect the Hidden Leaf is not explained.
Character Development: The deaths of Nawaki and Dan made her give up on the belief that dreams come true and believe that being the Hokage is a "fool's job". Meeting Naruto forces her to question her cynicism, leading to her not only becoming the Fifth Hokage, but also helping the dreams of others come true (i.e., when Rock Lee tells her he dreams of being a ninja despite knowing he may die trying, she does not argue his decision and, in the anime, does all that she can to ensure he survives).
Character Tics: Tends to bite her thumb when either thinking about something serious or stressed.
Close-Range Combatant: Be it with taijutsu or medical techniques. She apparently knows multiple elemental ninjutsu, but that's an Informed Ability.
The Coats Are Off: She always wears a green coat with the kanji for "Gamble" written in the back. Well, almost always. After she decides she's going to pulverize Orochimaru and Kabuto, she takes off her coat and drops it on the ground. She discards it again^note when she rushes to heal the critically wounded Naruto. During the battle of the Five Kage against Madara, her coat gets shredded/discarded off-screen.
Combat Medic: The best in the world, her ability as a very experienced medical ninja while also being able to put up an excellent fight which makes her rather valuable as an ally.
Combat Stilettos: Sports heels even when kicking ass.
Convenient Coma: Goes into one after the Pain invasion arc and is out of it within weeks.
Cool Big Sis: Was a caring big sister to her brother when he was alive.
Curb-Stomp Battle: She literally defeats Naruto using only one finger.
Curtains Match the Window: Fiery blonde.
Cynicism Catalyst: Not her little brother, but her fiancée. Dan's death turns her into a cynic for whom "Only fools want to be Hokages". Luckily, Naruto manages to undo it.
Tsunade: One of the Legendary Three Great Shinobi taking on a snot-nosed genin… I oughta be ashamed of myself.
Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Tsunade's regeneration jutsu shortens her lifespan as well.
Deadly Doctor: Uses less combative medical techniques than Kabuto but is fully capable of causing harm with her medical abilities.
Deadpan Snarker: Quite the one with the quips.
Determinator: She's been torn in half and dying? That's not important enough to stop her from summoning Katsuyu and using her remaining strength to save the other Kage from dying before giving any attention to her own state.
Dude Magnet: Heavily implied given her being called the "world's most beautiful woman".
Doom Magnet: Many of the people closest to her have died, between her fiancé, her little brother, her mentor, and her closest friend, Jiraiya. As such, she is initially reluctant to get close to anyone except Shizune, especially when Naruto's goal painfully reminds her of Dan and Nawaki's own dreams.
Embarrassing Nickname: According to Jiraiya, she's widely known as the Legendary Sucker thanks to her awfully bad luck at gambling.
Failure Knight: A considerable one much to her shame. Couldn't save her brother from dying in battle. Couldn't save Dan, despite her skills and best efforts. Couldn't save her mentor because she was busy away from the village gambling and drinking from having reached her Despair Event Horizon. Couldn't save Jiraiya from being killed by Pain after sending him on the mission. Couldn't save her village from being destroyed by Pain in retaliation. The list just goes on with her.
Finger Poke of Doom: Bets she can beat Naruto with one finger and she does.
The Gambling Addict: Her quirk. It's apparently her grandfather Hashirama's fault.
Generation Xerox: She did train Sakura to become a Hot-Blooded Combat Medic after all.
Genre Savvy: She shows shades in this in thinking that the Shonen Protagonist couldn't possibly lose and has faith that he'll be able to not be killed or captured in any circumstance. She also states that the younger generation will eventually become stronger than theirs. Naturally, the other characters are convinced she's nuts and reckless.
Good Thing You Can Heal: Tsunade is able to regenerate any wound she receives after releasing her Yin Seal causing her reputation as ageless and immortal in battle.
Half the Man He Used to Be: Courtesy of Madara. She's gotten better with a bit of help from Katsuyu and Karin.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: While she's extremely stern and irritable at times, she cares deeply about the safety of her village and those closest to her and is willing to die for them.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Do whatever it takes to not get on her bad side.
Healing Factor: When the seal on her forehead is released, she can instantly recover from any lethal wound.
Her Heart Will Go On: She loved Dan, even after he died. Even Jiraiya was unable to win her affections before his death, which is confirmed when she reunites with the reincarnated Dan and they reaffirm their love for each other. Despite that, she still soldiers on, protecting Konoha like they wanted to and trying to promote peace. Her decision to become Hokage is, in a way, fulfilling the dream both Dan and Nawaki had in their stead.
Heroic Fatigue: She exerts so much chakra to help the villagers during Nagato's invasion that she slips into a coma, only waking up after the Fourth Ninja World War is declared.
Heroic Resolve: She so desperately wants to save the people of the Leaf Village after the attack that she ends up overexerting herself into a coma.
Heroic Second Wind: Tsunade's Yin Seal on her forehead functions as one of these, it has a constant storage of chakra built up in it which she can release to fuel her Healing Factor. This earned her reputation as immortal in battle.
The Heroine: Seems to be all but stated with the five Kages' battle with Madara. She shares this role with Onoki.
Hospital Hottie: She is widely considered the greatest medical ninja in the world and the most beautiful female ninja. Helps to be the bustiest woman in series.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: She was delivering a Kirk Summation and tons of asskicking to the revived Madara Uchiha, (who was continuously berating her for never getting near the level of her grandfather Hashirama) until he got annoyed enough to drive a Susanoo Blade through her. And she still survived it, snapped the blade in half and threw it at him.
Hypocrite: At least a little bit, when she tells Shikamaru to simply learn to live with Asuma's death, when she dropped off the radar for years, after Dan died, and spent the time drinking and gambling.
Implacable Woman: Thanks to her seal, she will always get back up.
Informed Flaw: Her Mitotic Regeneration technique supposedly shortens her lifespan. However, she's still alive in the series epilogue, when she'd be around 70 and there's no indication that she's in poor health. Then again, her grandmother was an Uzumaki (who are known for having strong life forces).
Interface Screw: Her Important Body Points Disturbance inflicts this on opponents, using chakra to scramble the electrical signals the brain uses to control the limbs.
Ironic Echo: When Jiraiya seeks her out and tries to get her to take the Hokage position, she badmouths it, calling it a "fool's goal". Later in her fight against Orochimaru, he says the same thing much to Tsunade's horror. This is one of the main factors that gets her to take the position.
Irony:
- She has a massive losing streak when she gambles, but when she does win, it means something bad is about to happen.
- The first two people she gave her necklace to dreamed of becoming Hokage, only to die tragically not long after. In hindsight, the necklace kept going back to her because she was the one meant to become Hokage, not them.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Brash, rude, and loud. With a kind and soft heart.
Kevlard: A variant. When Kabuto's strike to her chest failed to reach her heart, he wondered if this trope is in play thanks to the amount of adipose tissue.
Lady Drunk: Previous to accepting the position of Hokage, she was constantly in varying states of intoxication. And occasionally afterwards.
Last of His Kind: After her brother died, she is the last surviving remnant of the Senju clan (if one doesn't count their offshoot, the Uzumaki clan), although she no longer carries their name (which might indicate that Hashirama was her maternal grandfather).
Long-Lived: A subversion. Tsunade's Uzumaki bloodline naturally gifts her with a long life. However, her repeated usage of the regeneration technique has considerably shortened her lifespan and it's highly implied that she will live an average man's life, if not shorter, since her real appearance looks twenty years older than her current age.
Lust Object: When they were younger, Jiraiya totally lusted after her. Impressing her and gaining her affection was his initial motivation as a ninja.
Mama Bear: She becomes this for the village after she becomes the Fifth Hokage, as parental devotion is expected of a Hokage.
Marked Change: When she uses her Strength of a Hundred technique, black lines trace her face and the rest of her body. .
Master Poisoner: Jiraiya touts her as the only person in the world who can spike a ninja's drink without their knowledge.
Mighty Glacier: Can literally pulverize any opponent if she manages to touch him/her. Unfortunately, she's not focused on speed attacks, but on avoiding the blows of her enemies, demonstrating the limitations of this character type. When in her Super Mode however, she can simply tank a hit from an enemy to get within melee range and not bother with dodging.
A Mother to Her Men: Eventually develops a maternal relationship with Konoha, especially to Naruto and Sakura; the former reminds her of her younger brother and being a distant relative via the Uzumaki clan and the later becomes her apprentice (out of two).
The Mourning After: Tsunade never completely moves on from Dan Kato and has not made any attempt at another relationship by the end of the series.
Ms. Fanservice: Serves this for this series. She is very well endowed and beautiful.
Never Mess with Granny: She may be over fifty years old, but don't underestimate her. Orochimaru learned this the hard way.
Tsunade: Why am I putting my life on the line? Because now... I am the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure!
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Averted. Naruto accuses her of this, saying that she should have never sent Jiraiya on the mission to track down Pain, which she can't verbally disagree with- however, not only was Jiraiya capable of escaping Pain had he not wanted to confirm something he was almost certain about, this would lead to learning valuable information to deal with Pain's invasion.
Normally, I Would Be Dead Now: After Madara gets bored fighting the Kages and buggers off, it's revealed that Tsunade has been bisected by a giant tree branch. She maintains consciousness long enough to summon Katsuyu, who in turn keeps her alive long enough for Team Taka to arrive and finish healing her.
An Offer You Can't Refuse: Orochimaru offers to resurrect both her dead younger brother and her boyfriend if she'll heal his arms, which were rendered useless due to the Third Hokage's final attack sealing them. She seemed like she would take him up on the offer. But knowing that he's a liar, and through Naruto remembering the promises and dreams of her two departed loved ones of becoming Hokage and protecting the people they care about, she instead uses the opportunity to try to kill Orochimaru. Ironically, Orochimaru notes he did intend to keep his word, but recognizes Tsunade won't agree regardless.
Older Than They Look: Both played straight and inverted. She uses a advanced form of the Transformation jutsu to retain the body she had in her 20's or 30's at all times, keeping it even when she is asleep or unconscious. The transformaiton only comes undone when she is very low on chakra, which reveals that her natural body looks much older than she is (like she was in her 70's or 80's — probably because of her use of Creation Rebirth which shortens her lifespan whenever she uses it). She is actually in her 50s. Her look in the Distant Finale is one of the most youthful she sports for all the series, while she's probably over 60 by then.
Pen-Pushing President: One of the least pleasant aspects of her job as Hokage is paperwork. The morning Sasuke disappears, she is actually caught sleeping on her parchments.
Professional Gambler: She actually has very bad luck.
Promotion to Parent: Took care (if one can really say that) of Shizune, her fiance's orphaned niece, after his death. Although it would be more accurate to say it's Shizune who tried her best to take care of the broken, alcoholic and compulsively gambling Tsunade...
Power Tattoo: The Yin Seal on her forehead gives a large boost of chakra when released.
Proud Beauty: She's quite prideful of her looks, claims her busty figure was a blessing from the heavens, and is quick to resort to any criticism of her appearance with violence. That she perfected the Transformation jutsu to enable her to have the body she had in her prime at all times is also an implication of this.
Pyrrhic Victory: The only times she ever wins at gambling is before something terrible happens. Therefore, whenever she actually wins she's too busy waiting for the other shoe to drop to enjoy the victory.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite her bad temper, Tsunade is one of the most reasonable and sensible Kage in Konoha's history, if not Naruto's world as a whole. She's not only willing to form treaties when Konoha is recovering from a terrorist attack, she manages and instructs the Shinobi under her care to a particularly good degree. She's also willing to put her faith in other people, even if she's unsure about the outcome.
Red Baron: The Legendary Sucker, in reference to her horrible luck, and the Slug Princess, likely in reference to her summoning contract with Katsuyu.
Retired Badass: She had retired for many years and was out of practice when she went back into combat (see Worf Had the Flu). After the re-sealing of Kaguya, she retires again, this time from being Hokage entirely, giving the job to Kakashi.
Running Gag: Destroying her desk in a fit of rage.
Ship Tease: With Jiraiya. However, it never went anywhere, as she remained in love with Dan even after his death. There's a bit of insinuation later in the series that she's slowly warming up to Jiraiya being her Second Love, but this is immediately cut off by him perishing in battle against Pain not long after.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Tsunade fell in love with Dan because of his desire to become Hokage in order to protect the villagers. She continues to love him and reaffirms it when she meets with his spirit, explaining how she wants to live his dreams. Dan assures her that she is his real dream.
Sins of the Father: She is a believer of this concerning Orochimaru and his "son" Mitsuki, as she believes the latter has the potential to be just as dangerous as his "parent".
The Smart Guy: Though it's not commonly exploited like Shikamaru or his father, she does have a great deal of intelligence, as might be expected from the world's foremost medical expert.
The Smurfette Principle: She's the only woman in the Sannin. She's also the first and only woman to become Hokage.
Star-Crossed Lovers: Her marriage with Dan never came to fruition, but when she meets with his spirit they reaffirm their love for each other. Dan tells her he will continue to wait for her in the afterlife, that she is his true dream, but wants her to live out her life, telling her not to join him "too quickly."
Stern Teacher: She literally did not pull her punches when training Sakura. As she explained, a medic ninja's most important ability is not their ability to heal but their ability to dodge. So she used enough power to shatter stone during their sparing matches. By the end of the time-skip, Sakura was able to fight a member of Akatsuki who used tricky puppets and poison blades, and also heal any number of injuries. It's further emphasized in the Boruto series, where Sakura brings up how it wasn't unusual for her to get broken bones when being trained by Tsunade.
Super Mode: When she fully accesses the power of the seal on her forehead she enters one of these, markings from the seal extending over her whole body, granting her even more superhuman strength than usual as well as healing her so quickly and completely (and automatically) that she can keep fighting no matter how serious a wound she takes so long as she has chakra left (notably she has multiple Susanoo swords stuck in her during part of her fight with Madara and yet keeps going like it's not effecting her). It has been variously translated Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration: One Hundred Healings, Mitotic Regeneration: The Hundred Healings and Ninja Art Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique. Like most techniques the mode has a definite chakra limit, and unless she is given extra chakra after it runs out she will become largely helpless for some time once that limit is reached.
Super-Strength: In addition to possessing generic Super-Strength, she can further increase the power of her punches thanks to impossibly precise chakra control. She's even stronger than A the Raikage and can shatter Madara's Susano'o with a single punch (if after activating her Super Mode).
"Take That!" Kiss: A variation of this happens during her second "fight" with Naruto. After he questions if she is really qualified to be Hokage, she once again easily defeats him using only a single finger again. But, right when Naruto expects her to flick his forehead again like last time and closes his eyes waiting for it, she instead pulls away and instead kisses his forehead, to reward his efforts and symbolize her faith in him.
Team Mom: After she becomes the Fifth Hokage, she become the mother-figure the village as a whole looks to. She is responsible for nurturing several of the village's ninja, such as Naruto and Sakura.
Took a Level in Idealism: Because of Naruto's determination, she remembers her idealism prior to Dan's death.
Tragic Keepsake: Her pendant used to belong to her brother before he was killed on a mission. Shizune noted that she never ever pawned it, no matter how in debt she was.
Tsundere: As a grown up, more furious and broken version of Sakura, she is definitely this around half the time. Yet the kindness is there and seen in the other half.
Vain Sorceress: She's very vain, using ninjutsu to appear young even though she is as old as Jiraya. However, she is also benevolent if short-tempered.
Vitriolic Best Buds: She's constantly angry with Jiraiya's perversion, yet it's clearly seen that they care for each other. When he's killed by Pain, she's shaken to the core.
Weak, but Skilled: For a given measure of weak, Tsunade would be one of the weakest Hokage, just above Kakashi and Minato in terms of offensive capabilities, but her medical jutsus and strength are absolutely nothing to scoff at, as even Madara is surprised at her power, it actually makes her near indispensible in a fight.
Worf Had the Flu: When she's introduced she's been retired for many years and is out of practice due to spending her years drinking and gambling, as Kabuto and Orochimaru observe. Additionally, she never uses her Strength of a Hundred technique at the time, which gives her the power to surprise Madara who was just playing around when he otherwise curbstomped the other four Kages.

World's Most Beautiful Woman: Shikamaru's father refers to her as "the strongest and most beautiful of all kunoichi."
World's Strongest Woman: Shikamaru's father refers to her as "the strongest and most beautiful of all kunoichi." Even after she retires, no one else has been called this In-Universe nor by Kishimoto.
Younger Than They Look: Without the jutsu to make her look younger, Tsunade looks about twenty years older than she is, thanks to her repeated usage of Mitotic Regeneration.

Orochimaru

See Orochimaru.

Characters / Naruto - The Legendary Sannin

The Three Great Shinobi of Konoha

All the Three Great Shinobi provide examples of:

Jiraiya

Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (JP), Toru Nara (JP, young), David Lodge (EN), Brad MacDonald (EN, young), Jesús Rodriguez (Spain), Alfredo Leal (Latin-American Spanish, young), Paco Mauri (Latin-American Spanish, adult), Olivier Cuvellier (French)

Debut: Naruto Chapter 90 (Manga), Naruto Episode 52 (Anime)

Tsunade

Voiced by: Masako Katsuki (JP), Haruhi Terada (JP, young), Debi Mae West (EN), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (EN, young^notePart I only), Ana Jiménez (Spain), Dulce Guerrero (Latin-American Spanish), Laurence César (French)

Debut: Naruto Chapter 139 (Manga), Naruto Episode 83 (Anime)

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Characters / Naruto - The Legendary Sannin

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The Three Great Shinobi of Konoha

All the Three Great Shinobi provide examples of:

Jiraiya

Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (JP), Toru Nara (JP, young), David Lodge (EN), Brad MacDonald (EN, young), Jesús Rodriguez (Spain), Alfredo Leal (Latin-American Spanish, young), Paco Mauri (Latin-American Spanish, adult), Olivier Cuvellier (French)

Debut: Naruto Chapter 90 (Manga), Naruto Episode 52 (Anime)

Tsunade

Voiced by: Masako Katsuki (JP), Haruhi Terada (JP, young), Debi Mae West (EN), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (EN, youngnote Part I only), Ana Jiménez (Spain), Dulce Guerrero (Latin-American Spanish), Laurence César (French)

Debut: Naruto Chapter 139 (Manga), Naruto Episode 83 (Anime)

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Voiced by: Masako Katsuki (JP), Haruhi Terada (JP, young), Debi Mae West (EN), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (EN, young^notePart I only), Ana Jiménez (Spain), Dulce Guerrero (Latin-American Spanish), Laurence César (French)