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 one the level of a Kage in their own right. Their name is known in countries all across the world.

Sannin Members

 * Jiraiya the "Toad Hermit" ("Gama Sennin"), "Pervy Sage" ("Ero sennin") (Naruto's nickname for him). Jiraiya is commonly agreed to be the most powerful of the Sannin with his wide variety of Toad based Ninjutsu.
 * Orochimaru the "White Snake". Orochimaru is Konoha's most wanted Missing-nin as well as the founder and former leader of Otogakure no Sato. He is widely known for his use of Snake based ninjutsu and forbidden techniques.
 * 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). She is renowned for her prodigious healing abilities and immense physical strength. Granny/Grandma (Baa-chan) Naruto's nickname for her, likely a reference to her age as she is over 50 years old.

Legacy
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, Sage 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.

Trivia

 * Each Sannin has prior to teaching a member of Team 7, taught someone else before. For Jiraiya, aside from being known for teaching six other people besides Naruto (the Ame Orphans and the genin of Team Jiraiya) it was Minato Namikaze, for Tsunade it was Shizune and for Orochimaru it was Anko Mitarashi.
 * Despite being three of the most powerful fighters Konoha has ever produced, each of them departed from Konoha for different reasons. Orochimaru left to join Akatsuki and further develop his forbidden techniques, Jiraiya went to gather information on Orochimaru and Akatsuki's movements, and Tsunade lost all confidence in her healing ability and went into self-imposed exile.