What Episode Does Jiraiya Die In? & When Does Naruto Find Out He Died?

Jiraiya plays a monumental role in Naruto’s life in the beginning of the Naruto series. Fans came to adore this quirky, toad-summoning ninja despite his flaws, including his penchant for bothering women he likes.

One thing that leaves many scratching their heads, though is the story of his untimely demise – and their burning hope of whether he ever stages a miraculous resurrection, like some other beloved characters in the Naruto universe.

Jiraiya meets his end in episode 133 of the series, titled “The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant” – which, spoiler alert, doesn’t end all that gallantly for Jiraiya, and means he kicks the bucket relatively early in the series. But Naruto doesn’t find out about his mentor’s passing until episode 152, aptly named “Somber News.”

Even though Jiraiya doesn’t live to see the sequel series, this heart-wrenching event leaves a significant mark on Naruto and the whole anime’s trajectory. If you’re ready to dive into the emotional rollercoaster that is Jiraiya’s death, grab some tissues and keep reading!

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Table of Contents

• What happened to Jiraiya?
• How did Jiraiya die? 
• What Episode Does Jiraiya Die?
• What episode does Naruto find out Jiraiya died? 
• What episode does Jiraiya come back to life?

What happened to Jiraiya?

Let’s take a look at who Jiraiya was. A legendary ninja with, ahem, slightly perverse tendencies, he roamed the world to gather intel for his friends. Propelled by a prophecy that he would find the world’s savior, Jiraiya tutored three of history’s most formidable shinobi: Nagato, Minato, and Naruto. He imbued them all with his unwavering belief in the shinobi spirit.

Jiraiya’s greatest contribution to the world might have been his teaching skills – something he somehow believed was lacking. Initially stern and distant with Naruto, Jiraiya soon developed genuine affection for the boy and strived to be more of a father figure than just a mentor. He even treated Naruto to ice cream whenever the young ninja felt lonely.

Despite the heaviness of his mission, Jiraiya was usually light-hearted and sociable. You could often find him cracking jokes at his own expense and laughing as if he’d just heard the world’s funniest punchline. And he enjoyed appearing arrogant or selfish, ruffling people’s feathers just so he could tickle them with his wit.

In his final moments, Jiraiya’s thoughts were of his final mentee, entrusting him with the world’s salvation. In the anime, Jiraiya’s soul used its last bit of energy to give Naruto an ethereal pat on the back. If that’s not loyalty, I don’t know what is.

Decoding Jiraiya’s dying message became Konoha’s top priority, even though the cryptic code stumped the Konoha Cryptanalysis Team. Only Naruto could decipher the key: Icha Icha Tactics. He figured out the message “the real one isn’t among them” by selecting the first word on each page Jiraiya chose.

The message remained a puzzle to Konoha until they investigated the Animal Path and interrogated an Ame ninja, learning: the Six Paths of Pain are controlled remotely by a mastermind, Nagato. But by the time they discover this, Pain’s Assault on Konoha is already underway.

However, Naruto, having defeated all six Pains, uses this knowledge to confront Nagato. Naruto also helps Nagato understand the impact he had on their former teacher by invoking Jiraiya’s legacy and teachings.

Upon hearing about Jiraiya’s death, Naruto is devastated and initially blames Tsunade for letting him face Pain alone. Eventually, Naruto realizes that Jiraiya’s battle with Pain was a necessary evil: it bought him time to prepare for his own showdown.

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How did Jiraiya die?

While the Eight Man Squad is busy on their mission, Jiraiya approaches Tsunade and casually mentions he’s found Akatsuki’s commander, but he refuses to spill the beans until she agrees to join him for a drink or two. Talk about priorities.

Once she agrees, Jiraiya informs her about Amegakure’s current civil war, which the Akatsuki commander is suspected of stirring up. Since Amegakure is in political chaos, Jiraiya insists on infiltrating the village solo before Konoha can take any action.

Tsunade feels guilty for relying on him for such dangerous work and offers her help, but Jiraiya reminds her she can’t just leave her Hokage duties. To this, she retorts that Naruto will eventually take her place. This brings the discussion to Naruto, whom Jiraiya is coming to see as his own ninja grandson. Afterwards, he leaves Tsunade with a warning: to keep an eye on that sneaky Danzo Shimura.

During the battle with Akatsuki commander Nagato, Jiraiya faces the overwhelming power of Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain. Jiraiya’s arm is severed, his larynx is crushed, and he’s impaled multiple times by black chakra rods. Ouch.

In his final moments, Jiraiya uses the last ounce of his energy to scribble a coded message on his toad buddy Fukasaku’s back, hoping to give Naruto some clues about Pain’s true identity.

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What Episode Does Jiraiya Die?

Jiraiya meets his end in episode 133, “The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant”. Check out chapters 380 to 383 of the manga if you want to revisit his heroic end in page form.

How does it come about, you ask? Jiraiya infiltrates the Rain Village to gather intel on Akatsuki. Unfortunately for him, Pain has a sixth sense for trespassers and summons the Six Paths of Pain to give Jiraiya a not-so-warm welcome. Needless to say, he very much succeeds in defeating Jiraiya’s sage form, fatally wounding him.

Still, Jiraiya’s not out just yet. He can’t help but notice one of the Paths looks like Yahiko and starts pondering if Pain is Yahiko, Nagato, or just a fan of cloning Rinnegan wielders. Pain, on the other hand, simply declares they are the Six Paths of Pain before trying to finish off Jiraiya once and for all.

Our gallant hero traps the Animal Path with his Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison technique and whacks it with his Rasengan, sending it straight into a pool of stomach acid. Ouch! Jiraiya gets stabbed in the arm and chest by the Path before he dies. Talk about a bad day.

As the Path’s forehead protection falls off, revealing a scar, Jiraiya recognizes an old foe. He asks the Two Great Sage Toads to deliver the Animal Path’s body to Tsunade for further investigation, but Shima decides to go solo while Fukasaku sticks around for some quality time with Jiraiya.

Approaching the surface, Jiraiya inspects the Paths’ faces and realizes it’s a reunion: he’s fought these people before. Finally, he figures out Pain’s identity – but a moment too late. One of the Paths crushes his throat and the six Paths impale him from the back before he can reveal his realization to Fukasaku. Terrible timing, right?

Reflecting on his life, including being rejected by Tsunade and not having a glamorous death like the Third and Fourth Hokages, Jiraiya remembers Minato and Kushina asking him to be Naruto’s godfather and for their permission to name him after his novel’s protagonist – which he, of course, gives.

Inspired by his master and Naruto’s never-say-die attitude, Jiraiya gets a final burst of energy. Using his Finger Carving Seal, he scribbles a coded message about Pain’s true identity on Fukasaku’s back as he fights to stay alive. The Six Paths of Pain launch an attack on the duo, but Fukasaku escapes while Jiraiya sinks below the surface.

With his last breath, he declares Naruto the real Child of the Prophecy and announces his novel’s sequel: ‘The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki.’ If only he could have lived to write it. Instead, he got quite the dramatic exit!

Tsunade sits on a cliff in Konoha, watching a river and a frog. At the same time, Naruto stops running in the woods, feeling Jiraiya’s presence as a ray of light shines down on him. Jiraiya may be gone, but he’s always watching over his ninja godson.

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What episode does Naruto find out Jiraiya died?

Naruto learns about Jiraiya’s demise in episode 152 of the Naruto series, named “Somber News” (sounds like a fun time, right?). This episode covers chapters 403, 404, 405, and 416 of the Naruto manga.

During the episode, the Akatsuki’s five members successfully imprison the Six-Tails inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but, oops! They kill the jinchuriki host in the process, too.

Tobi later informs Konan that he has entrusted the Eight-Tails retrieval to Taka, Sasuke’s squad, which totally guarantees success because who wouldn’t trust Sasuke, right?

Later, Naruto is rudely awoken in the village by Kakashi, who informs him that Tsunade has summoned him. As he approaches the Hokage’s office, he spots Gamabunta and Gamakichi, the two toads, and wonders why they’re there and why Kakashi is as silent as a – well – ninja.

Upon meeting Fukasaku, one of the Two Great Sage Toads and Jiraiya’s personal master, Naruto gets a bit miffed when the toad refers to Jiraiya as a boy. Fukasaku, however, chuckles at Naruto’s nickname for Jiraiya – the pervy sage. Soon, the laughter dies down as Fukasaku breaks the news: Jiraiya perished in his battle with Pain.

Kakashi asks for the details, and a heartbroken Naruto struggles to respond. They learn from Fukasaku that Jiraiya discovered Pain’s true identity as his former student Nagato and decided to face him in a not-so-friendly reunion.

When Fugasaku reveals that Pain and five others possess the Rinnegan, Kakashi and Shizune gasp in disbelief, wondering if a buy-one-get-five-free deal on Rinnegan was going on.

Blaming Tsunade for Jiraiya’s death, Naruto tells her she shouldn’t have sent him on such a risky mission. As he leaves, he adds that if Jiraiya had been the Fifth Hokage, he wouldn’t have sent her on the same assignment. Yikes!

Kakashi tries to apologize for Naruto’s outburst, but sage toad Fukasaku reassures him, seeing how much Naruto cared for and loved Jiraiya. He even thinks Naruto might be the “Child of the Prophecy” after witnessing their bond.

The episode wraps up with Naruto reminiscing about good ol’ Jiraiya as he heads home, probably hoping for a happier episode next time.

What episode does Jiraiya come back to life?

Spoiler alert: Jiraiya doesn’t get revived in the series! Sorry about that, folks. Even though a bunch of characters got a second chance at life after Pain’s showdown, Jiraiya was not among them and he’s still chilling in ninja heaven. But why?

Pain used the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to bring back everyone he had killed during his attack on the Hidden Leaf Village. Unfortunately, Jiraiya had crossed over to the other side too long ago for this to work on him.

However, there’s a plot twist in Boruto where Jiraiya seems to make a cameo. Don’t get your hopes up, though – it’s not him! Turns out, it’s Kashin Koji, Jiraiya’s clone. But Jiraiya was one of the few characters who didn’t get a free ticket back to the land of the living during the Fourth Great Ninja War. So, how does a clone of him exist?

While Kabuto claimed that reviving Jiraiya wasn’t necessary in the manga, the anime hinted that his body was lost forever in the depths of the ocean. Yet somehow, Amado got hold of a sample of Jiraiya’s DNA (perhaps from a strand of hair or a ninja toenail clipping?). It’s unclear if he retrieved the whole body or just whipped up Kashin Koji from a smaller sample Jiraiya left behind.

Either way, the real Jiraiya is still out of the picture, leaving fans with a consolation clone and a barrel of tears.