I think people have extrapolated a bit too much from the manga

In the Manga Itachi chooses to break off combat with Gai & CO. He insinuates that its because he's not here to start a war, not because he doesn't believe he can defeat them.

In the Manga Itachi chooses to get Jiraya out of the way rather than confronting him, Jiraya at first seems to expect to be able to handle the 2 akatsuki easily but is rather bothered when they evade him without much apparent effort. Kisame makes an untranslateable/unintellible comment about it not being the right time becuase the 'moon' has not yet become the 'sun'

In the Anime Itachi expressly states that he doesn't want to take on Jiraya because he doesn't want to risk getting himself or Kisame hurt for no purpose.

The anime also clarifies that the 'Moon' Kisame/Itachi refer to is one of the Top tier Sharingan powers.

So - what can we derive from this?

#1 Itachi sees Jiraya as a dangerous opponent, and while not concerned about any of the Jounins he's faced individually, does not want to have to face many of them at once.

#2 None of the Konohana Jounins individually are a match for Itachi - and Jiraya while potentially able to defeat him, does not know his full abilities either, making a match between them unpredictable.

#3 If the moon/sun comment was about Itachi - then Itachi may not have been at his full power for some reason when he appears in this story arc.

can we all agree on this or is it time for more flamewar?