Sannin

The is the title given to the members of Team Sarutobi, namely Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. The title was received after their battle with "Salamander" Hanzo of the Village Hidden in Rain, who after a long and intense fight which resulted in their loss, declared that he was impressed and would let them live if they would take on new titles as the Sannin of Konoha. The Sannin are widely regarded for their great skill and power, each on the level of a Kage in their own right. Their name is known in countries all across the world. Tsunade is the only surviving sannin, Jiraiya and Orochimaru having been killed by Pain and Sasuke/Itachi respectively. From what can be seen, Pain plans to kill Tsunade as well.

Sannin Members

 * Jiraiya the "Toad Hermit" ("Gama Sennin"), "Pervy Sage" ("Ero sennin") (Naruto's nickname for him), "Konoha's White Storm"
 * Orochimaru the "White Snake"
 * Tsunade the "Legendary Sucker" ("Densetsu no Kamo", a reference to her poor gambling skills), "Princess" (due to her grandfather being the First Hokage (king) makes her the "Hime" or princess), "Slug Girl" (Chiyo's name for her, a reference to her ability to summon slugs).

Trivia

 * During the end of Part I each of them took in a member of Team 7 for their apprentice, training them, and in turn passing on many of their qualities on to them.
 * Jiraiya - Naruto Uzumaki, passed on his affinity to summon toads, the Rasengan, Hermit Mode, and some of his perverted traits.
 * Tsunade - Sakura Haruno, passed on her medical skills, super strength, quick temper, and as stated by many, her beauty.
 * Orochimaru - Sasuke Uchiha, passed on his affinity for snake summoning, some of his secret techniques, and his stare of killing intent that can paralyze most people with fear.
 * Each Sannin has had an apprentice earlier, the former less talented than the latter. For Jiraiya it was Minato Namikaze, for Tsunade it was Shizune and for Orochimaru it was Anko. Of these apprentices, only Anko has survived, as Minato Namikaze was killed sealing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox into Naruto Uzumaki and Shizune was presumably killed by Pain.