Iwagakure had calculated well. They knew the Four-Village Alliance had already fallen apart, so they wanted to use Kirigakure to stall for time, hoping to find a turning point.
Unfortunately, Nawaki had no intention of leaving behind such a hidden danger. In fact, as early as when the Four Great Shinobi Villages had secretly begun planning war mediation, he had already decided to use Kirigakure's ambush to dismantle their alliance and bring this war to an end in one stroke!
The Third Shinobi World War had now lasted for several years. Although Konoha had been victorious all along, sustaining hundreds of thousands of troops fighting across multiple fronts had driven expenditures to astronomical levels. If this continued, a fiscal deficit would likely emerge and affect the economic stability of the Land of Fire! Nawaki therefore had to end the war as soon as possible, cash in the spoils of war, and restore the Land of Fire's economy.
However, destroying Kirigakure and absorbing the Land of Water would undoubtedly be a long-term process. Therefore, before sending troops against Kirigakure, Nawaki had to deal with Iwagakure first.
The day after Konoha declared war on Kirigakure, the five hundred thousand Konoha troops who had already left the Land of Wind and were marching toward Konoha suddenly stopped in the West Forest region. Then, under Skywalker's command, they turned north and advanced menacingly toward the Land of Earth battlefield!
After Konoha issued its announcement yesterday afternoon, it held a grand funeral for the fallen Uchiha Hikari and Rin, who had sacrificed herself. Both of their names were engraved upon the Memorial Stone, making them heroes of Konoha! From that point onward, Rin Nohara was dead in Konoha, and the real Rin could only continue living as an Anbu operative.
After attending the funeral, Nawaki