Sannin

The or S-class ninja have gained power far beyond an average Jonin and earned a legendary status. This title is merely a description rather than an actual rank; the ninja's official rank with a village will usually still be Jonin. However, it can sometimes be lower, or they can have no rank at all. The allegiances of these ninja range from being part of the village's own ninja to being wandering ninja who are still loyal to their village, like Jiraiya. Some ninja of this level tend to leave their villages behind to seek their own ambitions, thus becoming missing-nin. The ninja organization Akatsuki is composed of nine S-class missing-nin. Ninja of this class are often noted in the Bingo book, a list of notable enemy ninja marked for assassination that each ninja village provides for its Jonin and ANBU squad members. Most ninja, even high-level ones, choose to flee rather than face someone of the S-class. Most Kage also tend to be at this level.

Ninja of the S-class are often highly revered, and usually signified by nicknames allies or enemies give them. One group of ninja who have gained this special status are the Legendary Sannin of Konoha:
 * Jiraiya the "Toad Hermit" ("Gama Sennin") "Perverted Hermit" ("Ero Sennin" Naruto's nickname for him)
 * Orochimaru
 * Tsunade the "Legendary Sucker" ("Densetsu no Kamo", a reference to her poor gambling skills) and "That Slug Woman" (Chiyo's name for her, a reference to her ability to summon Katsuyu).