Naruto: Shippuden continued Naruto Uzumaki's adventures as the hyperactive young titular ninja worked to fulfill his dreams of becoming the strongest warrior in his village and Hokage. Along the way, Naruto made many new friends and fought powerful enemies as he worked to keep his village safe.
As one of the best shōnen anime of all time, Naruto: Shippuden introduced exciting new characters that took the franchise to new heights throughout its 500-episode run. Although Naruto is the star of the show, he had a lot to learn over the course of the series, looking up to three characters in particular – some of the most renowned ninjas alive – in his pursuit to be the strongest. By the end of Shippuden, these three legendary ninjas all proved to be remarkably powerful, but only one of them stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Who Were the Sannin in Naruto: Shippuden?
The Sannin, also known as the Legendary Three Ninjas, were hailed as the greatest ninjas of their time in the Hidden Leaf Village. The members of the Legendary Sannin were Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade, and the trio were taught under the tutelage of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Despite working together as a team during their training, the three often quarreled greatly with each other, resulting in what Tsunade would call a "three-way deadlock". This led to the trio going their separate ways after their training was completed, although they did join forces once more during the Second Shinobi World War.
As the only ninjas from Konoha to survive their battle with the Amegakure's Hanzo, he dubbed them "Konoha's Legendary Sannin". This would be the last time the three came together in battle, with each going their separate ways due to the intense rivalry they shared, with things becoming especially heated between Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
The Three Sanin Were Renowned in Strength and Ability
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The Sannin underwent rigorous training during their time with Hiruzen Sarutobi, and it made them some of the most elite and skilled ninjas in the history of the Hidden Leaf Village. Because of their elite ninja prowess, each of the three Sannin have been considered strong enough to take on the role of Hokage during their time, although only one ever actually assumed the role.
After their mentor Hiruzen decided to retire from his role as the Third Hokage, Orochimaru applied to take on the role, but his master chose Minato Namikaze -- Naruto's father -- instead, citing that Orochimaru didn't understand what it meant to take on such an important role. After the death of Naruto's father, Hiruzen wanted Jiraiya to become the Fifth Hokage. Jiraiya was actually offered the role but declined, saying the prestigious duty should go to Tsunade instead.
With all three of the Sannin being extremely powerful ninjas capable of being the Hidden Leaf Village's Hokage, ranking them by strength is no easy task. Each of the Sannin were amazingly strong in their own unique ways, and all three cared for each other despite their differences. That said, by the end of Shippuden, one of the Sannin proved to be the strongest of them all.
3 Orochimaru's Dark Path Hindered Him From Being the Greatest Sannin
Orochimaru was one of the strongest characters in the entire Naruto franchise, but his willingness to go down a dark path ultimately held him back from being the strongest of the Legendary Sannin. He sought to become immortal, which led him to perform unethical experiments on others, and he eventually fled the Hidden Leaf Village rather than face trial for his crimes. Orochimaru had many powerful abilities at his disposal and was widely considered a prodigy in the ninja arts.
His quest for immortality led him to enhance his own body over the years, making him capable of powerful healing and regeneration, even from otherwise fatal wounds. After these experiments, Orochimaru's body became that of a giant white snake, and his ability to summon more snakes to attack made him one of the most terrifyingly powerful characters in the series. Orochimaru's strongest skill was his unique Eight Branches Technique, where he uses the power of reincarnation to transform into a giant white serpent with eight heads and tails, easily capable of utter destruction.
Ultimately, Orochimaru's focus on attaining immortality and learning all the ninjutsu techniques possible made him a powerful but misguided ninja. His prodigious talents were unfortunately put to use in nefarious ways, and his selfish motives held him back from becoming stronger than his other Sannin peers. It's likely that Hiruzen realized Orochimaru's terrifying ambitions, declining to make Orochimaru the next Hokage since he felt that his student didn't understand what it meant to be a ninja of Konoha.
2 Tsunade's Power Led Her To Becoming Hokage
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Tsunade is the second most powerful Sannin, renowned as the world's strongest female ninja and the greatest healer of all time. She's also one of the strongest sensei in the series, having taught Sakura everything she knows about her medical jutsu. Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage following Hiruzen's death, and used her amazing skills to keep the Hidden Leaf Village safe throughout Shippuden's story. She widely believes that a medical-nin should avoid heavy fighting, staying in the backlines to heal others, but she's still quite a capable fighter in her own right.
She has immense physical strength and chakra control, as well as the ability to gain temporary immortality with her Creation Rebirth technique, which amazingly allows her to heal any wounds, no matter how severe or life-threatening they may be. Tsunade has also healed damage to Rock Lee's spine and remarkably cured Shikamaru's severe chakra depletion almost instantly after he came into contact with the God Tree.
1 Jiraiya's Battle Prowess Made Him the Strongest Sannin
Jiraiya was the most light-hearted of the three Sannin, but his easygoing nature belied his true power. He was offered the chance to become the Hokage three times, with Hiruzen initially expressing his desire for Jiraiya to become the Fifth Hokage after the death of Naruto's father. Because Jiraiya had no interest in taking on the serious role, he declined the position.
After his training with Hiruzen, Jiraiya went on to become the sensei for both Naruto's father and Naruto himself. The fact that he trained two of the series' most powerful characters is a testament to his own amazing power. Part of the reason Jiraiya was such a legendary Sannin was his huge chakra reserves and ability to summon toads which had a wide variety of abilities to aid him in battle. He also had immense power from his Sage Mode, an empowered state that allowed him to tap into the forces of the world, imbuing his already mighty powers with new chakra. This made him an insanely difficult ninja to encounter in battle, with even Itachi Uchiha fearing Jiraiya.
In the end, Jiraiya ultimately died at the hands of Pain, but not before an intense battle that showed the true power and extent of Jiraiya's legendary power. Even Nagato remarked that if Jiraiya had knowledge of how the full Six Paths of Pain worked, he likely would have been able to beat him. Considering that Orochimaru was easily defeated by Pain and even Tsunade fell into a coma during Pain's assault on the village, it's safe to say that even Naruto: Shippuden's primary antagonist considered Jiraiya to be the strongest of the three Sannin.
All that said, the three legendary Sannin were closer in terms of power than they'd likely ever admit considering their intense rivalaries. Even as the weakest, Orochimaru still proved to be incredibly powerful when executing his dark schemes. Tsunade regularly proved her power when defending the village during her time as the Fifth Hokage, and even with his dying breath, Jiraiya proved his might, weakening Pain and setting his student, Naruto, up for one of the most epic revenge battles in anime.
Naruto: Shippuden
Naruto Uzumaki, is a loud, hyperactive, adolescent ninja who constantly searches for approval and recognition, as well as to become Hokage, who is acknowledged as the leader and strongest of all ninja in the village.
