Maybe he's... wait for it... SLICK?! *Ba dum tish!!* :3 *dead silence* ._. *deader silence* tough crowd. :/

1) Maybe this has to do with his following abilities: - ""Toad Oil Blast" where he spews a large amount of thick, slippery, flammable oil from his mouth." - ""Toad Oil Fireball" where a toad spews oil and Jiraiya ignites it with his fire technique. - "Deep Fryer" with the assistance of Ma and Pa: Jiraiya spewing oil, Ma spitting fire, and Pa blowing wind." Source and further information: http://www.comicvine.com/jiraiya/29-44511/ 2) "Yeah, I think it's just because he uses a lot of moves that involve oil. And I know a fair bit of Japanese (and have access to a Kanji dictionary!), and it doesn't mean anything other than oil. So I really just think it's because he uses so much with it, but he wanted to have something that protected his forehead ('cause they serve an actual purpose besides looking cool) so he just went with that-he's a wee bit eccentric as is. That's my theory anyway." Source and further information: http://www.narutopod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1148 3) "Jiraiya-s "Abura" Symbol Jiraiya wears a forehead protector bearing the "abura" (oil) kanji. The kanji comes from Jiraiya-s title as Gama Sennin (Frog Hermit), where toad oil was thought to hold special medicinal properties." Source and further information: http://narutoinfo.ru/pages-75.html