Tsunade (綱手), featured in the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

folktale A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally. Folktale may also refer to: Categories of stories * Folkloric tale from oral tradition * Fable (written form of the a ...

Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari Jiraiya (自来也 or 児雷也, literally "Young Thunder"), originally known as Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki (尾形周馬寛行), is the toad-riding protagonist of the Japanese folk tale Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話, " ...

'' (児雷也豪傑物語, "The tale of the gallant Jiraiya"), was the classmate of the

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

Jiraiya Jiraiya (自来也 or 児雷也, literally "Young Thunder"), originally known as Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki (尾形周馬寛行), is the toad-riding protagonist of the Japanese folk tale Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話, " ...

. She mastered

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

magic and was able to summon an enormous snail or turn into one.

Influences on fiction

* In the popular

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series ''

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

'', a character named Tsunade is the

Hokage The manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Masashi Kishimoto. The series takes place in a fictional universe where countries vie for power by employing ninja who can use superhuman abilities in combat. T ...

of the village where

Naruto Uzumaki () is the titular protagonist of the manga ''Naruto'', created by Masashi Kishimoto. As the series progresses, he is a young ninja from the fictional village of Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village). The villagers ridicule and ostracize Naruto on ...

lives. She is a descendant of the Senju and Uzumaki Clan and is known as the world's strongest kunoichi and the greatest medical ninja. Tsunade,

, and

Orochimaru , featured in the Japanese folktale ''Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari'' (''The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya''), is the archenemy of the ninja Jiraiya. He was once named and was one of Jiraiya's followers but was overtaken by serpent magic. Havin ...

appear as three legendary ninja known as the Sannin. ''Naruto'' Tsunade can summon slugs into battle, up to and including Kaiju-sized monsters. This summoning ability is predicated on Tsunade having established a blood-contract with all slug species. Jiraiya and Orochimaru can also summon and shapeshift into toads and snakes respectively. In the case of Jiraiya, this transformation is only partial and a negative side effect of an ability known as Senjutsu (仙術, lit. "sage techniques"). The repeated loss of her loved ones caused Tsunade to later abandon the life of a shinobi for many years. But after being convinced by Jiraiya and Naruto she eventually persuaded to return to Konoha and take on the mantle of Fifth Hokage.

External links

The Gallant Jiraiya
Fictional ninja Fictional female ninja Shapeshifting Fictional characters who use magic {{Japan-lit-stub