Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-26636534-20160221124823/@comment-24827576-20160303120202

In the end, even Itachi himself acknowledged that Jiraiya was stronger and more powerful than him. He stated that even if Kisame and Itachi went against Jiraiya, the best outcome would be all 3 of them dying. Granted Itachi was sick, but having Kisame there would offset the "illness" factor, if you want to look at it that way, but even so, Itachi still admits there was no way to defeat Jiraiya without dying.