It was precisely because his attack had been so effective, inflicting heavy losses on Sunagakure Camp, that Chiyo had finally resolved to retreat.
Otherwise, a full-scale offensive alone would not have shaken Chiyo's determination.
With the camp under attack and suffering severe losses while the front lines were also being assaulted, Chiyo had no choice but to announce a retreat under pressure from within and without.
Without that wave of attacks, it would have been extremely difficult for Konoha to drive Sunagakure back to the Land of Wind.
Orochimaru smiled but said nothing, because Jingyi was telling the truth.
If Sunagakure had been so easy to drive back into the Land of Wind, this full-scale war would not have lasted nearly a year before the situation changed.
If not for Orochimaru's decisiveness, and his success in persuading Jingyi to launch a surprise raid on their camp, who knew how much longer it would have taken to secure the advantage.
The ninjas throughout the camp were busy relocating, leaving Jingyi and Orochimaru relatively idle.
Only after treating a batch of wounded that had been sent over together did Jingyi return to his previous state of leisure.
"Drag it out!!!"
Orochimaru did not harbor the naive notion of crushing Sunagakure in one push. Sunagakure would not be so easily defeated. The coming war would shift into localized conflicts, with both sides continuously wearing each other down and dragging things out.
The Land of Wind was too vast. Fighting in a place with such harsh conditions and weather meant they could only shift the war into localized conflicts and continue the war of attrition.
The war would return to a contest of ninjas and supplies.
In other words, a contest of resources.
Whichever side had the deeper reserves would have the better odds