I don't know if someone found out about this already, but browsing old pictures I found something rather interesting. Jiraiya's Hermit mode is actually based on an incredible old design made by Kishimoto before Naruto was serialized. I don't know if the design was originally supposed to be Jiraiya, but the similarities with the Hermit Mode are uncanny. This picture is part of several roughdrafts he made quite a while ago, I believe for an interview or something like that. The picture has been sitting in my pc since september 2003, so you do the math. Anyway that's it-