As Orochimaru gave his pre-battle speech, Yamanaka Tohru thought back to the Land of Earth and Iwagakure as they were depicted in the original story.
The Land of Earth's terrain was simple: most of it consisted of desolate cliffs. Iwagakure had been built against these natural rock faces, which served as its defenses.
Thus, Iwagakure was surrounded by natural barriers and renowned as a ninja village with formidable defenses. Its terrain made it easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Unlike other nations, the Land of Earth and Iwagakure had a very harmonious relationship. They were united from top to bottom, with the daimyo and the Tsuchikage respecting each other and standing together. This was one reason Iwagakure suffered the fewest losses in the Third Shinobi War in the original story.
The Stone Shinobi's strategy was to begin with bombardments from the Explosion Corps, then have ordinary ninjas use Earth Release to create favorable conditions before finishing the battle with Taijutsu.
Konoha had few advantages against Iwagakure. The Stone Shinobi's Earth Release was highly defensive, while most Konoha ninjas specialized in Fire Release. Against the powerful defenses of Earth Release, Fire Release was hard-pressed to have much effect.
If the problem had been limited to ninjutsu, Konoha wouldn't have been at such a disadvantage. What troubled Konoha's ninjas most was the Explosion Corps' bombardment at the very start of the war.
Orochimaru's pre-battle speech wasn't as rousing as Jiraiya's, but it had a way of reaching deep into people's hearts.
Looking at the fervent expressions on the faces of the more than 5,000 Konoha ninjas below, Yamanaka Tohru couldn't help marveling at Orochimaru's charisma.
When the speech ended, the Konoha ninjas set out. The Stone Shinobi had also noticed Konoha's movements, and the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, led their forces to