With the roar of Kannabi Bridge, the war situation among the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning changed drastically. The balance of power among Konoha, Iwa, and Kumogakure underwent an earth-shattering shift as well.
In the Third Great Ninja War, which had been deadlocked for over four years, that deadlock was shattered in a single day.
The success of Konoha's Kannabi Bridge mission had completely transformed the battlefield situation.
Iwa and Kumogakure began withdrawing one after another, both shifting from the offensive to the defensive. Iwa in particular, with Kumogakure's massive army nearby, had retreated within almost three days to the border where the Land of Earth met the Land of Grass. Their rear battlefield bases and camps had all pulled back to the part of the Land of Grass near the Land of Earth, joining up with the troops that had withdrawn nearly halfway across the Land of Grass from the front lines.
At the same time, Iwa's army of four thousand also withdrew from Konoha's border and joined them there.
In the end, all of Iwa's forces gathered near the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass, having lost the will to attack. With their supplies destroyed and supply routes cut off, they faced a crisis of shortages in food and other necessities. While adopting a defensive posture, they were also trapped at the border, unable to advance or retreat.
They lacked the strength to attack, but if they withdrew into the Land of Earth, such a massive movement of ninja would certainly prevent them from restoring border defenses immediately. Konoha's frontline troops and reinforcements, advancing because of Iwa's retreat, would seize the gap while they repositioned their defenses and invade in one stroke. If Konoha's army entered their homeland, the