Forum:Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Itachi (Strongest?)

As i have read through the manga and watched the anime i have come face to face with a question which i cannot answer. When Itachi and Kisame try to capture Naruto they say they cannot attempt this whilst naruto is with jiraiya as he is too powerful. However later on sasuke states that neither him or Orochimaru are strong enough to defeat Itachi. When Jiraiya fights Orochimaru it seems that Orochimaru is the stronger of the two. Was wondering if ive missed something or someone can clear this question up for me.
 * Jiraiya was at that time affected by Tsunades chakra obstruct drug and had only access to approx. 30 % of his normal chakra. Jacce 14:59, 2 August 2008 (UTC)