Chapter 469

The meeting ended, and the high-ranking ninjas of the Leaf Village left the camp one after another, only the three commanders remained seated, showing no intention of leaving.

The difference was that Orochimaru and Jiraiya looked very calm, while only Tsunade’s expression looked somewhat unpleasant.

After everyone had left, Tsunade scrutinized her two companions, her phoenix eyes narrowing slightly.

"What exactly is going on?"

Tsunade knew in her heart that there must be a hidden reason for this, otherwise Orochimaru and Jiraiya would not have proposed changing the strategy without informing her.

Tsunade did not hesitate and simply asked directly.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya naturally knew what Tsunade was asking about; the two exchanged a look, and finally, Jiraiya spoke with some helplessness.

"Regarding the initiative to attack, it was the Old Man's idea."

Jiraiya explained the reason in just one sentence.

How could he not know that the Leaf Village already had the upper hand and that waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out was the best strategy?

It was just that they were all kites tied to strings in the sky, and the person flying the kite decided exactly what to do.

At this, Tsunade’s expression changed slightly, and she closed her eyes, saying nothing more.

In this way, everything was explained.

Waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out was, of course, the most suitable plan for the current situation.

But the two of them had simultaneously violated this and proposed a strategy of active offense, which was clearly illogical.

Facts proved that it wasn't that Tsunade, who proposed the defensive strategy, was being isolated by her two companions.

It was an order from the Third Hokage that forced them to comply.

The reason the two didn't discuss it with Tsunade beforehand couldn't be blamed on them; after all, Tsunade had been with Mizunuki Ryosuke for the entire morning, and they couldn't find her, so they naturally couldn't discuss it with her first.

This led to Tsunade being caught off guard by Orochimaru’s proposal at the meeting just now.

"Hoo."

Tsunade exhaled the pent-up frustration in her heart, then frowned.

Since it was the Third Hokage’s order, they naturally couldn't disobey it.

Even if they took the initiative to attack, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru all had the confidence to lead the Leaf Village to victory.

But having said that, once the advantage of waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out was abandoned, it meant that countless innocent Leaf ninjas would die miserably on the battlefield.

Thinking of this, Tsunade felt a little unwilling.

"Why?"

Tsunade asked her companions beside her directly; for a moment, she clearly couldn't understand why Sarutobi Hiruzen would do this.

Regarding the strategy she had proposed earlier, she had informed the Third Hokage, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had expressed his agreement.

Setting aside the Third Hokage’s attitude at that time, why would Sarutobi Hiruzen order them to take the initiative to attack from afar now, when this strategy had already achieved obvious results?

After all, looking at it now, the only benefit of abandoning the defensive strategy and taking the initiative to attack might be to end the war in the Land of Rain a little faster.

Compared to the drawbacks it brought, this advantage was insignificant.

Facing Tsunade’s question, Jiraiya was clearly equally confused.

As for this, Orochimaru just looked at Tsunade with a strange gaze, as if there was a deeper meaning to it.

But clearly, Orochimaru had no intention of exposing everything in public.

"Since the Old Man has already given the order, we can only prepare."

"It will be very dangerous next, so you two should also prepare early."

Orochimaru said slowly, and as his voice fell, he was the first to leave the camp.

Watching Orochimaru’s back, Tsunade frowned again.

Orochimaru’s expression made it increasingly clear that there was more to this than met the eye.

But for a moment, Tsunade really couldn't guess the crux of the matter.

Compared to Tsunade, Jiraiya didn't have so many thoughts, and since he wasn't a person full of twists and turns, seeing the Third Hokage give the order, he only guessed that it might be the pressure on the village that led the Third to decide to end the battle quickly, which was why he was urging them so much.

Therefore, Jiraiya only thought about it for a moment before casting it to the back of his mind. Since Sarutobi Hiruzen had given the order, he just needed to do it.

"Tsunade, we are going to fight Hanzo of the Salamander head-on next."

"I think we should both prepare."

"I think the key to whether we can defeat Hanzo of the Salamander lies with you."

Jiraiya said to Tsunade very seriously.

As a hero of his generation, the back-and-forth political maneuvering was never something he was good at.

Fighting with all his might was the field Jiraiya was proud of; although he had been defeated by Hanzo of the Salamander last time, which showed him Hanzo’s terrifying strength, he was not discouraged in the slightest.

He trusted the strength of Tsunade and Orochimaru very much, and he felt that by gathering the strength of the three of them, they would definitely defeat Hanzo of the Salamander.

As he spoke, Jiraiya handed a glass bottle containing purple-black mud to Tsunade.

"This is..."

Tsunade took the glass bottle Jiraiya handed her with some doubt, waiting for Jiraiya’s further explanation.

"This is the poison of Hanzo of the Salamander!"

Jiraiya said with a serious expression.

It turned out that during the previous operation where Jiraiya besieged Hanzo of the Salamander, Hanzo had briefly summoned his summoning beast, the Salamander Ibuse, when he finally retreated.

Subsequently, Hanzo used the poisonous mist sprayed by the Salamander Ibuse to force back the Leaf ninjas, and only then escaped by burrowing underground with the Salamander.

Because of this, quite a bit of the Salamander’s poison remained in the nearby soil, which was then collected by Jiraiya.

Hearing this, a look of gravity appeared on Tsunade’s face as well.

She also understood the importance of the soil in this glass bottle.

As everyone knew, Hanzo of the Salamander, who held the title of "Demigod of the Ninja World," was a true old poison master, and his most proud ability was the deadly poison of the Salamander.

Since they were destined to bet everything on the upcoming battle with Hanzo of the Salamander, they must find a way to crack his poison.

With these material samples, Tsunade, as a medical saint, could now begin to study how to crack the Salamander’s deadly poison in advance.

If they could successfully crack Hanzo of the Salamander’s poison, the Sannin’s winning percentage in the upcoming battle would increase by at least thirty percent!

The difficulty of obtaining this Salamander poison sample and its importance were beyond doubt at this moment.

"Thank you for your hard work, Jiraiya."

Tsunade said to Jiraiya deeply and sincerely.

She didn't expect that Jiraiya’s stubborn act of losing troops and generals that day would have such an unexpected joy.

"Hard work?"

Jiraiya showed a bitter expression.

Although it was a case of "a blessing in disguise."

But no matter what, losing troops and generals and missing the opportunity for battle were facts, and he undoubtedly had to take primary responsibility for the death of the Inuzuka jonin.

Tsunade also knew that now was not the time to bring this up again, so she didn't say anything more.

The atmosphere fell into an eerie silence for a while.

"Then I'll go down and prepare first."

Finally, Jiraiya was the first to speak.

"Okay."

Tsunade didn't stop him, just nodded faintly.

Afterward, Jiraiya turned and left, leaving Tsunade alone to think about the deeper meaning behind Sarutobi Hiruzen’s actions.