What you want is a suitable rational upper bound to $\sqrt{2} \approx 1.4142$ such as $\frac{17}{12} \approx 1.4167$ which you can find for example with continued fractions. As a check, $\left(\frac{17}{12}\right)^2=\frac{289}{144}>2$.

Then you can say $$9^{\sqrt{2}} \lt 9^{17/12}=3^{17/6} = 129140163^{1/6} < 134217728^{1/6} =512^{1/2} = \sqrt{2}^9$$

What you want is a suitable rational upper bound to $\sqrt{2} \approx 1.4142$ such as $\frac{17}{12} \approx 1.4167$ which you can find for example with continued fractions. As a check, $\left(\frac{17}{12}\right)^2=\frac{289}{144}>2$.

Then you can say $$9^{\sqrt{2}} \lt 9^{17/12}=3^{17/6} = 129140163^{1/6} < 134217728^{1/6} =2^{27/6} =2^{9/2} = \sqrt{2}^9$$