 This video is sponsored by Squarespace. For websites, online stores, and a whole lot more, Squarespace brings you everything you need to craft your online community. The relationship that Naruto and Jiraiya had was a rather personal and special one when we consider the history behind it. When we take an account that Naruto has spent his entire life without a father, when Jiraiya the gallant entered Naruto's life, he, alongside the third Hokage, Kakashi, and Iruka all played father figure type roles towards Naruto. But none had a bigger impact in shaping the person that Naruto became and his ideals than his sensei, Jiraiya. A relationship that began with Naruto's parents, Jiraiya was a mentor to many people. A mentor to the trio in the rain we know as Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato, and as well as a mentor to Minato and Kushina. He was Naruto's godfather and the one who would give Naruto his name. As Jiraiya and Naruto's relationship began in the leaf, he spent two and a half years training the young shinobi, thus furthering their relationship. Naruto mirrored the toad sage in many ways. They both lacked the innate talent that their peers had, but made up for it with unrelenting resolve and a work ethic to match. More importantly, their outlook on the world and pillars of motivation were nearly identical. Both playful and lighthearted, but when things got serious, so did they. In a world of shinobi that took advantage of one another, that asked them to be emotionless, in an unforgiving world that broke down even the most powerful shinobi, they remained strong in their beliefs no matter what. Naruto and Jiraiya both believed in saving those around them, and never giving up on that quest. The two embodied the will of fire almost more than anyone. With these similarities, it's easy to see why Jiraiya would take a liking to Naruto, and why they meshed so well together. Though their relationship was rocky to begin with, Naruto would inherit Jiraiya's vast wealth of knowledge and his kind heart. On top of that, Jiraiya knew that Naruto was the chosen one, and so he would put all of his time and effort into making sure that Naruto was mentally and physically capable of stopping wars if he needed to. As the threat of the Akatsuki grew rapidly, Jiraiya took it upon himself due to his world class stealth and intel gathering abilities to go to the village hidden in the rain and to gather information on the leader of the Akatsuki. Once he realizes that pain is in fact his former student, Nagato, he decides to engage him in battle and end the threat of pain before he can destroy other villages. While he put up a good fight, the multitude of pains would eventually overwhelm the Sani. In his dying moments, his mind would think of his student. His mind wandered to Naruto and their philosophy of never giving up. With this resolve flowing through him, Jiraiya used up the last of his strength in order to send Naruto information about the leader of the Akatsuki. And in his final moments, he would express the amount of love that he had for his student, that has now become like his son. Jiraiya's resolve is commendable. Throughout his life, he's been a person who's only wanted peace for the world and especially for the village that he left behind. He saw death and corruption. He witnessed first hand the fall of Orochimaru, the death of Minato, and surely heard about the fates of Sasuke and Itachi, as well as the tale of Maduro Uchiha. He saw the evils and the horrors of the shinobi world, and yet Jiraiya still believed that shinobi could find peace amongst their differences. Even after appointing Minato and Nagato as children of prophecy, Jiraiya didn't shy away from being wrong. He didn't shy away from hope and faith. But Naruto also taught Jiraiya that in the face of failure, or even foolishness as Jiraiya called it, if it means saving those that you love, you have to be willing to do anything for it, as he was willing to do for Sasuke. The signing entrusted the weight of the world to Naruto, the trust that he placed in his student was immeasurable. In his heart, he truly believed that Naruto was the prophesied pupil, and that alone willed himself to give Naruto a key in defeating pain. No one believed in the Nako head ninja as much as Jiraiya did, and that trust and belief pay dividends as Naruto grew chasing Jiraiya's admiration, wanting to be exactly like him. There's no greater success than that. To trust in and to believe in someone other than yourself is not an easy task, especially considering that Naruto was a kid. But Jiraiya was fearless, he, just like his student Minato and later Naruto, were the living embodiments of the will of fire, the willingness to protect the village and the next generation by any means, to die for them. Jiraiya truly was gallant, to be gallant means to be heroic or to be brave. Jiraiya the gallant bravely gave up his body to give his loved ones the key to defeating pain. Emotionally, Jiraiya's death was a death that hit everyone watching the show I think. Jiraiya had a unique presence about him, in the Naruto world riddled with snakes filled with evil and surrounded by death, Jiraiya was like a beacon of light, and a character that brought positivity and security to that world. So when he died, it felt like the Naruto world got a bit darker. When Naruto finds out about Jiraiya's death, he quickly responds with anger as he berated Tsunade for her decisions. This was a Naruto who was hurting. One might say he was even disrespectful, but it is understood that again he is in pain and blinded by anger that he needed time to grieve. The most heartbreaking thing about Naruto's reaction was the slow realization that Jiraiya was indeed dead. They had so many memories together, and two and a half years together, with no one else but the two of them. We see Naruto holding a popsicle, a symbol that represents the bond he and Jiraiya had, and that really allows for the truth of the matter at hand to settle. He and Jiraiya used to share popsicles after training. In one of their last moments together, they sat under a tree with popsicles. Naruto once again is alone. Sasuke is gone, Kakashi and Sakura aren't with him, and Jiraiya is dead. Naruto felt the love of a father for two and a half years. He got the attention, belief, and love he was looking for. He had someone who wanted to see him become great, and now he was gone. Naruto states that he wanted nothing more than for Jiraiya to see him at his very best, at his peak. To see him become Hokage. And instead he felt like this final impression he had on the signing was of his faults. We all know Naruto to be the fun loving knucklehead ninja, who even at his lowest moments can manage a smile. But when the shot focuses on Naruto, with tears streaming down his face, it's so foreign to us. It was a Naruto who was trying so hard to hold everything together, to hold everything in just like Jiraiya would have liked him to. He tried until he couldn't. This was a Naruto who was truly broken, illustrating the sheer impact Jiraiya had on Naruto's life. But Iruka's words and his actions were perfect for the grieving Naruto. He tells the Jinshiriki that Jiraiya was always proud of him and always spoke well of him. He also breaks the half of Naruto's popsicle, which can be seen in different ways. He saw it as Iruka stating that Jiraiya may be gone, but his half of the popsicle, his love is replaced by the love of those around him, like Iruka himself. But also that he now has to live up to Jiraiya's expectations, as he was the last student of the legendary Jiraiya. This was followed by Kakashi who instructs Shikamaru to take care of Naruto, a person who understands his pain. Out of Jiraiya's final words, there was one line that stuck with me. The life of a shinobi is not measured by how he lived, but rather what he did before his death. These words represent that he intended for Naruto to be everything that he wasn't, and to do everything that he couldn't do. To save Sasuke, to save the leaf, to become Hokage. His belief in Naruto was something that, even in death, was unwavering. And Naruto would make it up to his teacher by defeating pain and bringing peace to the village. I can't say that Naruto talking Nagato into changing sides was my favorite thing to watch, but I don't see Nagato's defeat and change happening any other way. Nagato and Naruto were linked by Uzumaki blood, but more importantly, they were linked by one man and his ideals. Jiraiya's outlook on life is what brought Kakashi and all of those other leaf village casualties back to life. It was Jiraiya's teachings that brought an end to Nagato's broken view of the world. By not giving into violence and into the very cycle of hatred and pain that Nagato believed in, and by believing in peace, what Jiraiya did, the child of prophecy effectively honored Jiraiya's memory in the best way possible. Because had Jiraiya been able to defeat pain and was brought to Nagato's doorstep, he would have done the exact same thing. He would have talked to him. What links Jiraiya and Nagato and Naruto is the belief that they all had in the idea of peace, and Jiraiya's belief in the two of them. A shinobi's life is one that is riddled with death and sacrifice. So as Jiraiya said, a shinobi's life is not measured by the way they live, but what they did before their death. And what Jiraiya did before his death made him a great man. He said that his life was full of failures. He failed to protect Minato, his student, and the third, his mentor. And he wasn't able to save Orochi Maru from the darkness, his friend. Jiraiya believed that he would one day accomplish a deed so great that it would obliterate all of his failures. And before his death, he didn't believe that was true. But Jiraiya was wrong. For the final time in his life, he was wrong. Jiraiya, like the great toad prophesied, led a revolution. He accomplished a deed that would change the shinobi world forever. He died sacrificing himself to protect the leaf, tsunade, and to make way for the one man revolution. His beloved pupil and child of prophecy, Naruto Uzumaki. 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