Meanwhile, on the frontline battlefield between Konoha and Iwagakure, the fighting had raged for more than three months.
Iwagakure's army had initially relied on the advantages of Earth Release to breach three border strongholds of the Land of Fire in succession. Wherever they passed, treasuries were stripped bare, and all grain, supplies, and equipment fell into their hands.
The mountain-like piles of money, grain, silk, and weapons were enough to make Iwagakure's higher-ups beam with delight, while the morale of this invading army swelled to its peak.
Yet Konoha's resistance proved far more tenacious than Iwagakure had anticipated.
Led by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Konoha's leadership deployed troops and generals, relying on familiar terrain and ingenious tactics to block the enemy layer by layer.
The Jonin led from the front, while the Chunin and Genin fought fearlessly, shattering Iwagakure's offensives time and again.
In particular, after paying the price of several elite Jonin, Konoha had forcibly established a solid defensive line deep within the Land of Fire, leaving Iwagakure unable to advance a single step.
During the stalemate, Iwagakure might have held the wealth gained through plunder, but it had also lost a great deal of manpower. Its supply lines were repeatedly harassed by Konoha's Anbu, and signs of decline had begun to show.
With winter approaching, the bitter cold was especially unfavorable to Iwagakure's army, which had come from afar.
After weighing the pros and cons, the Tsuchikage finally gave the order to withdraw.
He intended to return, properly digest the gains from these wars, and then begin realizing the ambition that was already on the verge of emerging.
As Iwagakure's army dragged its heavy spoils back across the border like a receding tide, Konoha's frontline ninja nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
The battlefield was filled with the mingled