Kirigakure was in almost the same situation.
Without having fully grasped the situation, neither Terumi Mei nor Genji could truly fall out with Iwagakure and directly send troops to intercept them or attack Iwagakure. This was not merely due to geographical differences.
More importantly, it was a matter of political strategy.
After all, Genji and Terumi Mei believed that the three Shinobi Villages already allied together could absolutely form a suppressive advantage over Iwagakure. There was simply no need for Kirigakure to join the war!
If it truly became four against one and Iwagakure was severely damaged, that would not benefit Kirigakure either. The best choice was to watch the Three Great Shinobi Villages and Iwagakure tear each other apart.
That was Terumi Mei and Genji's view.
However, both of them had made enormous errors in judgment. One was their estimate of Iwagakure's strength. Even setting aside Shōji, that extraordinary combatant, Iwagakure's combined remaining forces were already barely comparable to those of the Three Great Shinobi Villages!
Not to mention anything else—there were four Tailed Beasts alone!
What could Konoha, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure use to deal with them!?
One village had no Tailed Beast, while the Jinchuriki of the other two villages were only six or seven years old. Coupled with the fact that the top-tier combatants of all three villages had steadily dwindled over the past decade, Iwagakure already held an absolute advantage in Tailed Beasts alone!
Then there were the Land of the Sky's research, Chakra Armor, and the automated puppet army. Though the Three Great Shinobi Villages had three or four times as many ninja as Iwagakure, their overall combat strength had already become almost evenly matched!
The other error was that, with Fourth Raikage under Shisui's Kotoamatsukami and perfectly controlled, Iwagakure would not be fighting one