Naruto: The real reason why Jiraiya could never be reanimated by Kabuto

One of the most beloved characters in the Naruto series is Jiraiya. The legendary Sannin has been a primary figure in helping the protagonist become a better and stronger shinobi. Moreover, for many years, he has been the topic of discussion among several fans, and one of the most common questions posed by the fanbase is regarding his reanimation in the Shippuden series.

Fans knew about Kabuto’s knowledge of Edo Tensei. However, he couldn’t reanimate the Toad shinobi, whose reason he stated in the series as well. However, there are other perspectives on this issue which the article will explore in detail.

Disclaimer: Aside from the reasons provided by Kabuto within the show, the last section of the article explores a compelling theory in regard to this topic.

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Understanding why Jiraiya couldn’t be reanimated by Kabuto in Naruto

In the series, Kabuto has already given his reason with respect to this topic. But before we get into this, it’s important to know what happened prior to this incident. Jiraiya was fighting against Pain when he was brutally injured and eventually killed by his former student. When he died, his body sank to the bottom of the water inlet outside Amegakure. Kabuto said that he couldn’t reanimate Jiraiya because his body could not be found as it had sunk deep into the water body.

However, the fanbase wasn’t really convinced with this reason since the Naruto series is filled with skilled shinobis capable of retrieving the body, but there seemed to be a time constraint. In addition, Kabuto could have retrieved a sample of Jiraiya’s DNA from one of Pain’s rods that had the Pervy Sage’s blood. Even Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the Naruto series, expressed his thoughts and reasons on this topic.

Jiraiaya’s death was an important plot point since it helped the protagonist to grow and become a better human being. He could never relate to Sasuke’s pain because he never had to witness the death of someone who was almost like a father figure to him. When Jiraiya died, this event changed Naruto, and he attempted to settle things without trying to kill anyone. His character development was quite gradual, and reanimating Jiraiya would have undone all the development that took place during the course of the series.

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Fan theory that connects this to Amado from the Boruto series

According to a video by NCHammer 23, which explores a theory about why Jiraiya couldn’t be reanimated, everything ties to Amado from the Boruto series. This fan theory proposes the idea that Amado was someone who was working in Hidden Rain Village owing to its technological advancement. His exceptional intelligence could have played a pivotal role in developing his skills that utilized the Rinnegan.

In the Naruto series, Nagato was someone who had a lot of respect for Jiriaya, owing to their past. This certainly could have played a role in influencing Amado’s perception of the Pervy Sage as well. After the fight against Jiraiya, Nagato could have instructed Amado to collect Jiraitya’s DNA sample and his body, which wouldn’t be too difficult for someone with decent chakra reserves and Water Release abilities.

However, Nagato soon died, and Amado was only left to work with Jiraiya’s body and DNA samples to achieve his personal goals. Additionally, it is possible that to respect Nagato's wishes, Amado created a clone of the Sannin, which is the Kashin Koji everyone knows in the Boruto series. If this is the case, it would be safe to assume that Kabuto didn’t have the necessary means to reanimate Jiraiya in the Naruto Shippuden series. Moreover, it's also important to note that this particular section is merely a fan theory, so fans are advised to take this information with a grain of salt.