I wonder how anyone knowing that Itachi is stronger than Orochimaru, can say that Orochimaru is the strongest sannin. I would say that Jiriya is the strongest because it is believed that he can fight on par with Itachi. I don't want people to think that this is A<B<C because no one i'm mentioning has defeated any other. Im saying that there is a certain level of battle that Orochimaru is not on. I can say that he has some amazing jutsu but one on one, he isn't the strongest.