Naruto is an action-packed series that is full of surprises and hidden arcs. There is also a surprise that might shock the whole Naruto community.
What if we say in the original Naruto series, that Itachi turns out to be a hero, not a villain? Yes right, that’s the time when he joined the Akatsuki (a shinobi group outside the regular village system), and that too for Jiraiya.
No doubt, Jiraiya had connections with informants, he receives information from. Still, the theory of Itachi being a spy is cool as well. Although in reality, Itachi chose this path because of his love for his brother and the Hidden Leaf Village, a fan theory suggests that Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, might have been in contact with him all along.
It is already confirmed by Hiruzen that Itachi was spying on the Akatsuki (although only the Elders were supposed to know this). But what’s still unclear is whether Jiraiya was getting information about the Akatsuki by Itachi.
A Fan Theory Suggests That Itachi Was Jiraiya’s Spy in the Naruto Series
Naruto is a series of complex worlds with different storylines. Yet, there are parts of the story that the creator, Masashi Kishimoto, may have overlooked, and the Itachi being Jiraiya spy could be one of them.
This is a theory that has been floating around for years. But the point here to note is it is not confirmed in the series.
A Naruto fan theorist and YouTuber, New Horizons (@New_Horizons), tried to solve this theory with convincing evidence. The first clear evidence is Jiraiya admitting he had informants providing information about Orochimaru and other Akatsuki members.
Jiraiya was aware of Itachi’s connection to the group. Even there were several other Akatsuki members whom Jiraiya should have known about, including Itachi’s partner, Kisame, if he was getting his information elsewhere. So, the theory suggests that Itachi was the one who might have informed Jiraiya about his own involvement with the Akatsuki at that time.
Significant Pieces That Prove Jiraiya Received Information From Itachi in Naruto
The fan theorist introduced two shreds of evidence that prove Jiraiya got information from Itachi. The first was related to Itachi’s death. On the day Itachi planned his death by Sasuke’s hands, Jiraiya coincidentally discovered that Pain, the Akatsuki leader, was in the Rain Village.
It’s possible that Itachi had already shared all he knew with Jiraiya, explaining the limited information. This is why both Jiraiya and Danzo, who knew about Itachi’s spy role, believed Tobi to be Madara Uchiha.
New Horizons also emphasized that the other Great Countries knew almost nothing about the Akatsuki, whereas Jiraiya had enough information about the organization.
These are some of the speculations through which fans believed that it couldn’t just be a mere coincidence that Jiraiya had a wealth of knowledge about Akatsuki every time Itachi or any other member made a move. This theory definitely supports the fact that Itachi was passing on information to Jiraiya.
