The Shinobi World of the Past Two Years

However, those victories had all been tactical. The strategic initiative in war always belonged to the side that could win in the field.

The Battle of Konoha continued to advance slowly but steadily despite the Salvation Society army being constrained, moving unwaveringly in the direction the Salvation Society had hoped for.

After more than two months of bitter fighting, the Salvation Society finally encircled Konoha, using concentrated firepower to create a scorched battlefield thirty kilometers wide.

Once their strategic objective had been achieved, their former tactical disadvantage was completely reversed. Now, it was the armies of the various nations trapped in Konoha that needed to attack.

At the same time, the battlefield was now wide enough. The Salvation Society's army could halt its pursuit at the battlefield's midpoint, or chase all the way to its edge. Their flexibility had increased tremendously.

The allied forces of the various nations thus lost every advantage they had. Before long, their impatience led them into several annihilation battles, crushing the army's morale.

Having fully seized the initiative, the Salvation Society kept its promise. They did not attack Konoha, instead devoting more manpower and material resources to intercepting reinforcements.

They established numerous underground fortifications in the north of the Land of Fire, using them as defensive strongpoints and storage depots for supplies needed to continue their offensive.

The Salvation Society even had the spare capacity to replant trees on the former battlefields, and they had actually employed Wood Release ninja to do it.

It was blatant mockery. Wood Release ninja had become synonymous with the strongest force on the battlefield. Their status was equivalent to strategic weapons, far surpassing even the Mahākāla Insect that had once been used to destroy Iwagakure's fortress.

Wood Release first gained its renown through the First Hokage. Later, however, the