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Many Naruto fans like to downplay Jiraiya's sage mode abilities. And from my understanding, this mostly comes from Uchiha fans, who exalt their solo King. What they normally say is that Jiraiya's sage mode is imperfect and therefore:

1. Jiraiya's sage mode has no sensory abilities.
2. Jiraiya can't use frog kata
3. And Jiraiya isn't as physically strong as Naruto is.

Some even say that Sage Naruto beat Sage Jiraiya in a fight. But I have already addressed this in this article: Sage Jiraiya versus Sage Naruto

So I am writing this article to address all those statements and ensure the truth about Jiraiya's sage mode is known to all.

First of all, how does sage mode work?
A person can use senjutsu when they can combine nature energy with both physical energy and mental/spiritual energy. It's something only people who have an enormous amount of chakra can do (according to Pa, chapter 412). If a person can do it right, they gain some abilities. These include:

1. Ability to sense nature energy
2. Ability to lift very heavy objects
3. The user doesn't get tired when using sage mode
4. faster recovery and healing

Now, according to Pa, Jiraiya didn't completely master sage mode. In other words, he is not a perfect sage. i.e., someone who can perfectly balance nature energy with physical energy and mental energy. So many fans take it to mean Jiraiya can't use sage mode as well as Naruto. Some claim he can't use the sensory ability, etc. But is that what the manga or the databook says?
The simple answer is NO.

First of all, when Pa said Jiraiya couldn't completely master Sage mode, He also said Jiraiya was one of the best users of Sage mode. We don't know who the others are, but when you are among the best, it means you are not very far from the top. Meaning Jiraiya is almost up there with Ma and Pa. Aside from this, the Pa does tell us the consequences of not perfecting sage mode. Pa states that Jiraiya has frog features because he didn't master it. Meaning Jiraiya adds a little more nature energy than it's necessary and is not able to balance them perfectly well. We are not told that adding too much nature energy takes away from the user's sage abilities. What we are told is that the user develops frog features.

Anyone who says Jiraiya can't use the sensory ability of sage mode is just using head cannon no matter what reason they give. Here is why?

https://preview.redd.it/o17ye5sq0e3h1.png?width=2142&format=png&auto=webp&s=999a05b5827ad9b507d55ec310fc4873a618a430

Naruto's first breakthrough in learning Sage Mode was being able to sense nature energy. We learnt this in chapter 414. The first thing he said was "I can see it", and Pa commented, saying, "It seems he is finally starting to be able to sense nature energy." This was the first thing that happened to Naruto in his journey to become a sage. At this point, he couldn't even lift the stone statues. He gave it another try before he was able to lift them. All this time, he was still using toad oil and hadn't even started the proper Sage Mode training. The sensory ability of sage mode is tied to the ability to sense nature energy. And as you can see its the very first thing that is learnt. It comes naturally, even before the super strength comes, and both are still at an early stage of the training. Meaning for Jiraiya to be one of the best sage users and someone who almost mastered sage mode, sensory ability shouldn't be an issue for him. It looks like it's a basic thing that comes with every sage mode. Even Madara, who never used sage mode, gained that ability the very first time he had sage chakra in him. He didn't even learn to gather nature energy. He just took the chakra from Madara directly. So this is consistent with the Lore. If only Jiraiya couldn't use sensory ability, then that wouldn't make any sense at all. Because it doesn't even require training. If you can't sense natural energy, then you shouldn't be able to use it. Madara didn't even demonstrate physical strength or enhanced abilities because those come after one can see nature energy. (Why Naruto said I can see it.)

So, if Jiraiya can use the sensory ability of Sage Mode, then why couldn't he sense Pain when he sneaked up on him?

First of all, let's understand this. Ma and Pa were also using sage mode from the beginning of the fight, and none of them were able to sense the animal path at the beginning of their fight. They had to depend on that tongue-sensing technique. So does that mean Ma and Pa ain't good at sage mode too? Also, they were with Jiraiya when the Asura path sneaked up on them. Yet none of them, including Jiraiya, were able to detect him. Should we conclude that they don't have sensory ability, and only Naruto could do it for some reason? Do you see the issue here? We can conclude that it's a plothole because it doesn't make any sense that Ma and Pa couldn't do better than Jiraiya and are worse sages than Naruto. But that would be lazy since there is actually an explanation in the show for this.

The reason is simple:

Nagato can hide his chakra and that of his path's chakra from sensory ninjas. He has the same ability as Mu. Or something like. To be detailed, it seems he doesn't really hide his chakra; he just makes it impossible to pinpoint him. At least that is what Inoichi said.

Inoichi made it clear that sensory ninjas couldn't track him (pinpoint him). It seems his chakra can be sensed, but you can't tell where he is. Early in Konoha, before Naruto fought Pain, Pa made a statement that he could feel the same energy as before, meaning when they fought Pain earlier, there was some energy around, but that is all. They can't pinpoint where the paths were or where Nagato was. Just a general sense of energy around the battlefield.

Finally, Naruto, the one confirmed to have danger-sensing or sensory abilities, wasn't able to track Nagato's location using sage mode alone. He needed to stab himself with Pain's chakra rod to pinpoint his location. Pain wasn't that far from the village, so it shouldn't have been difficult for Naruto to track him (we know Naruto can sense Ninjas miles away). But he couldn't sense Nagato. So there is your answer. The reason Pain could sneak up on Jiraiya was that Pain is untrackable.

Now, what about Jiraiya not using frog kata?

Well, the databook makes it clear that Jiraiya can use Frog Kata (air punch). And he is also physically strong because we saw him throw the buffalo in the air either with his hands or powerful ninjutsu.

,Thanks you for reading.

NB: Here are other articles I have written here hat might interest you:
Sage Naruto versus Sage Jiraiya: Who wins
The truth about why Rinnegan Sasuke doesn’t use all the Paths' abilities
The truth about that Itachi (Edo) versus Nagato fight