Being one of the three Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya was an exceptionally powerful ninja, easily considered Kage-level and was initially chosen for the position of Fifth Hokage by the Konoha Council, though he turned it down. He stated that he had only been brought to the verge of death twice in his entire life, once when he was doing "research" on Tsunade herself, (and being beaten to a pulp by her for doing so), and when he used the toad key to weaken the Nine-Tails' seal on Naruto's stomach and resulting in Naruto's four-tailed form. This only happening because he was trying to reseal the demon chakra rather than harm Naruto.
His strength was so great that even powerful members of Akatsuki either were easily subdued like Konan while others like Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, a master of the Sharingan and former member of the Seven Mist Swordsmen respectively, opted not to face him in battle, fearing that the very best they could do together against Jiraiya would end in a stalemate. Kisame even noted that he was no match for Jiraiya saying he was "on a whole other level." Itachi stated that even if they had reinforcements, the result would be no different. Minato Namikaze also acknowledged his master's power, skills, and mindset. Even Nagato, a former student of his, was nearly defeated despite outnumbering Jiraiya, causing the younger opponent to marvel Jiraiya's abilities, noting that he could not have beaten Jiraiya had he had prior knowledge of Pain's secret.
also jiraiya was never struggling when fighting the animal path because as i recall he was fighting with his hands clasp and still forming shadow clones fire styles and barrier techniques.Which other ninja have you ever seen forming jutsus without hand signs.not even the "mighty" itachi.you are the one underestimating jiraiya.
