Chapter 856: Destined to Wander

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

Especially, one must not easily show one's own dejected side in front of subordinates; otherwise, it is very easy to affect morale.

After all, if the commander is so dejected, how can they, as subordinates, be able to strive forward?

If Jiraiya were a qualified commander, what he would need to do at this moment would naturally be to forcibly suppress the unwillingness and dejection in his heart and say to the surrounding Konoha ninjas indifferently:

"Hanzō of the Salamander is nothing more than this."

"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 Hanzō of the Salamander was a complete defeat, as long as Jiraiya said it beautifully enough, then what of it?

After all, it was just the death of an elite Jonin of the Inuzuka family. This loss could not be said to be big or small.

But turning big things into small things, 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 an advantage, thereby turning danger into safety.

It is a pity that Jiraiya is clearly not such a person, nor does he have such means.

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 dejected 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, not only could they not do anything to Hanzō of the Salamander, but they were instead lightly killed by Hanzō, one person and one dog.

The death of Inuzuka became a shadow that everyone could not talk about.

After all, those present could be considered ninjas with faces in Konoha, and they all knew clearly about the tactics Tsunade had arranged before.

Tsunade repeatedly emphasized that when encountering Hanzō of the Salamander, one should focus on "dragging" and "avoiding," try not to fight Hanzō of the Salamander head-on, and focus one's attention on damaging the effective strength of the Rain ninjas.

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

If 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 still couldn't say it, so one by one they shook their heads and rushed to other parts of the battlefield.

After all, the war had not ended yet. Although the main force of the Rain ninjas had broken through, there were still a small number of Rain ninjas who had been separated and had not broken through and were putting up a desperate struggle.

With the addition of these elite forces, the battle could be ended faster, and the losses on the Konoha side could 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 Hanzō of the Salamander, but only Jiraiya himself knew the selfish desire hidden deep in his heart.

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

That was the person he could not forget in his countless midnight dreams.

It was just that Jiraiya could clearly sense that this graceful figure was moving further and further away from him.

Especially after today's battle, Jiraiya's immature performance would 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 Hanzō of the Salamander was not only because he wanted to make contributions for the village, but in fact, there was also an unspeakable reason.

That was—Tsunade!

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

Although Jiraiya was no longer a green boy who had just started, and the current Jiraiya had achieved success at a young age and returned from Mount Myoboku, despite this, Jiraiya's experience in love was 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 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 back and forth in the bottom of Jiraiya's heart.

After learning the news of the Rain ninjas' attack, Jiraiya thought to himself in his heart, would Hanzō of the Salamander follow the Rain ninjas to act this time?

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

So, what kind of contribution could be considered to make Tsunade look at him differently?

To catch the thief, first catch the king. What contribution could be greater and more glorious than killing Hanzō of the Salamander?

Finally, taking advantage of this opportunity, Jiraiya could no longer endure it and chose to take action directly against Hanzō 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 selfish 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 heroic wanderer is destined to be trapped by love in this life. ===== CHAPTER 858 =====