Chapter 453

As a commander, the most important point is to always control one's emotions.

Especially not to easily reveal one's dejected side in front of subordinates, otherwise, it is extremely easy to affect morale.

After all, if the commander is so dejected, how can they, as subordinates, be able to forge ahead.

If Jiraiya were a qualified commander, what he needed to do at this moment was, of course, to forcibly suppress the unwillingness and dejection in his heart and say to the surrounding Konoha ninjas indifferently.

"Hanzo of the Salamander is nothing more than that."

"Didn't we easily drive him away?"

This would not only allow Jiraiya himself to avoid criticism, but the most important point is that it could also stabilize the morale of the army.

Although anyone with a discerning eye could see that this battle to surround and kill Hanzo of the Salamander was a complete defeat, as long as Jiraiya said it beautifully enough, then what about it?

After all, it was just the death of an elite Jonin from the Inuzuka family; this loss is not big and not small.

But making big things small and small things disappear, in this cruel war, let alone an elite Jonin, even the death of a Kage-level powerhouse is very normal.

A required course for a qualified commander—is to turn adversity into a favorable situation, thereby turning danger into safety.

It's a pity that Jiraiya is clearly not such a person, and he is far from having such wrist.

Jiraiya is a hero of a generation; although the word "hero" is destined to make him a great ninja, it does not necessarily mean he can become a qualified commander.

Looking at Jiraiya's dejected and depressed expression, the group of Jonin couldn't help but feel full of powerlessness in their hearts.

After all, the fact is that with the strength of dozens of them, they couldn't do anything to Hanzo of the Salamander, but instead were lightly killed by Hanzo, one person and one dog.

Inuzuka's death became a shadow that everyone could not talk about.

After all, those present were all ninjas with faces and reputations in Konoha, and they were all very clear about the tactics Tsunade had arranged before.

Tsunade repeatedly emphasized that when encountering Hanzo of the Salamander, one should mainly "drag" and "avoid," try not to fight Hanzo of the Salamander head-on, and concentrate attention on damaging the vital strength of the Rain ninjas.

But when things came to a head, Jiraiya insisted on surrounding and suppressing Hanzo of the Salamander, resulting in the failure of the encirclement and Konoha missing an opportunity to severely damage the vital strength of the Rain ninjas.

When this matter is calculated, it is ultimately Jiraiya's responsibility.

A group of Konoha ninjas looked at the dejected Jiraiya and wanted to say something, but in the end, they couldn't say it, so they shook their heads one by one and rushed to other parts of the battlefield.

After all, the war has not ended yet; although the main force of the Rain ninjas has broken through, there are still a small number of Rain ninjas who were separated and did not break through and are putting up a desperate resistance.

With the addition of these elite forces, the battle can be ended faster, and the losses on the Konoha side can be reduced as much as possible.

Jiraiya did not participate in the battle again but got up in a daze.

Everyone just thought he was blaming himself for not being able to keep Hanzo of the Salamander, but only Jiraiya himself knew the private desires hidden in the deepest part of his heart.

In a trance, Jiraiya seemed to see a golden figure again.

That is the person he can't forget in his countless midnight dreams.

It's just that Jiraiya can clearly perceive that this graceful and beautiful figure is moving further and further away from him.

Especially after today's battle, Jiraiya's immature performance will undoubtedly push the distance between him and her further away.

In fact, the reason why Jiraiya insisted on going his own way and had to disobey the strategy formulated by Tsunade to surround and suppress Hanzo of the Salamander was not only to build merit for the village but actually had an unspeakable reason.

That is—Tsunade!

Or rather, he wanted to rely on this to gain Tsunade's favor...

Although Jiraiya is no longer a greenhorn, the current Jiraiya is young and successful and has returned from Mount Myoboku, but despite this, Jiraiya's experience in emotions is still a blank slate.

And precisely because of this, after sensing that Tsunade was moving further and further away from him, Jiraiya began to try to save all of this.

So he naturally couldn't help but have the thought: "If I can make a great contribution, lead Konoha to victory, and become a hero of the village, Tsunade will definitely look at me differently!"

Once this thought appeared, it was like a cat scratching, constantly scratching in Jiraiya's heart.

After learning the news of the Rain ninjas' attack, Jiraiya thought to himself, will Hanzo of the Salamander follow the Rain ninjas in this action?

Thinking of this, Jiraiya's heart was even more moved.

So, what kind of credit can be considered to make Tsunade look at him differently?

To capture the bandits, first capture the king; what credit can be greater and more glorious than killing Hanzo of the Salamander?

Finally, taking advantage of this opportunity, Jiraiya could no longer endure it and chose to take action directly against Hanzo of the Salamander.

The result...

It can only be said that Jiraiya's idea was good, but reality is often two completely different things from what is expected.

Jiraiya also caused Konoha to fail to achieve the ideal battle results because of this private desire in his heart.

"Tsunade..."

"What should I do to win you back?"

Jiraiya shouted powerlessly in his heart, but this humble emotion was destined not to get any response.

In the end, it was just his wishful thinking.

Perhaps every hero and prodigal son is destined to be trapped by love in this life.