One major change in Naruto could have shored up Team 7's weaknesses

While most Naruto fans may believe that all members of Team 7 trained under the tutelage of the correct Sannin, there is good reason to believe that changing their masters would have seen them grow even stronger than they did in the series.

Naruto trained under Jiraiya, Sasuke under Orochimaru, and Sakura under Tsunade. While all three pairings seem accurate, none were based on the student's strengths and weaknesses.

Had all three Team 7 members trained under the Sannin who were suited for them, they might have shored up all their weaknesses.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinion.

Naruto's Team 7-Sannin pairings were never the right choices

The Three Legendary Sannin in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

As theorized by YouTuber NCHammer 23, while most fans believed that Team 7's Sannin pairings were accurate, none of them were based on the students' strengths and weaknesses.

Jiraiya became Naruto's teacher because he was Minato's teacher, Orochimaru became Sasuke's teacher because he gave him the Curse mark, and Tsunade was made Sakura's teacher as they were the final two members remaining from both factions.

While it is popularly believed that Sakura was the most suited student to her Sannin, there is a chance that she might have been the one to have lost out on the most. Thinking that Sakura would be an excellent Medical ninja due to her great chakra control, while correct, was limiting her potential.

Orochimaru and Sakura as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Had Sakura trained with Orochimaru, she could have attained the Snake Sage Mode. at a level higher than Kabuto. As fans must remember, Orochimaru's biggest disappointment was that he never attained the form, as his body lacked strength. This would have never been the case for Sakura, as she had a strong body. On top of that, she could have also learned medical ninjutsu from Kabuto.

Lastly, in the off-chance that Sakura never learns the Sage Mode, Orochimaru could have also given her a Curse Mark, effectively allowing her to access more chakra than she possessed.

As for Naruto, while he had a connection with Jiraiya based on his father, Jiraiya hadn't really taught Minato anything new. In fact, it was Minato who created new jutsu and taught the same to Jiraiya. Yes, Jiraiya acted as a medium for Minato and taught the protagonist his Rasengan. However, his contributions don't go much further.

Tsunade and Naruto as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

As fans must remember, Naruto had huge chakra reserves but had little handle on his chakra control. Thus, if Tsunade was the one who trained Naruto, the protagonist could have had a better handle on his chakra, preventing him from using Kurama's chakra in the early stages. While this may feel counterproductive, this enhanced chakra control could have allowed Naruto to gain his Kurama Chakra Mode far earlier.

So, does it mean that Naruto will only focus on Chakra control when training with Tsunade? No. As Naruto already possessed passive healing due to Kurama, training with Tsunade could have seen him use the ability to heal others as well, like Karin Uzumaki. On top of that, had Naruto learned the Strength of a Hundred Seal, he would have become effectively invulnerable. Lastly, he would have been able to summon more of Lady Katsuyu.

As for Sasuke, he should have realistically trained with Jiraiya, the person whom his older brother/target Itachi Uchiha feared. That said, the truth is that Sasuke was never suited to train with any of the Sannins. However, the only one amongst the Sannins who had any experience training a dojutsu user was Jiraiya, who previously trained Nagato.

Jiraiya and Sasuke as seen in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

While it is tough to say how Jiraiya could have helped Sasuke with his Sharingan, he could have taught him the Toad Sage Mode, effectively increasing his sensory perception skills and chakra reserves. It isn't certain whether Sasuke would have been able to master the Sage Mode, but it would have allowed him to keep his dojutsu activated for longer.

Lastly, fans must remember that Jiraiya was a Fire ninjutsu specialist. So, his tutelage might have helped Sasuke get a better handle on his Fire ninjutsu and the Mangekyo Sharingan ability, Amaterasu.

While all three Sannins indeed helped bring out the current versions of their students and shaped the narrative, it cannot be argued that a switch-up in pairings wouldn't have helped Team 7 further shore up their weaknesses. So, as unrealistic as such a development would have been, the best-case scenario might have been for the Sannin to switch up their students mid-way through the story.