Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-44455926-20191119200613/@comment-9782468-20191120193222

As far as how capable they were as combatants? That's debatable. Naruto had intel and Jiraiya did not. And Jiraiya has Ma and Pa.

As far as raw strength and speed? Naruto wins. Perfectly balancing the Nature Energy gives you a way better boost than imperfect.

Also, Naruto has Sage Mode Sensing, which Jiraiya does not.

Rasenshuriken is not easily avoided like you suggest because He didn't throw it at Kakuzu. As it stood, his Rasenshuriken still caught a Pain or 2 (I forget how many) when he threw it.

Jiraiya fought 3 Pains and then immediately had his arm ripped off when number 4 showed up. Naruto fought 5 immediately and then the 6th a little later. Both of them had summons on their side.