Although all the Explosive Cannons had been disabled and the relentless barrage of explosions had ceased, that did not mean the Iwagakure Ninja were any better off. Or rather, their situation had improved, but not by much. Destroying the Explosive Cannons on the enemy positions had cost the Iwagakure Ninja, Shima included, enormous amounts of chakra that they could not recover anytime soon. And now, the Konoha Ninja were closing in at full strength.
From the start of the battle until now, the Konoha Ninja in the frontal assault force had expended almost no stamina. All they had needed to do was load tag shells into the Explosive Cannons and operate them to launch the Explosive Tags. No assignment could have been easier. By contrast, the Konoha Ninja attacking along the two flanks had already suffered considerable casualties, and even the survivors had used up a great deal of chakra.
With these fresh troops joining the fight, the Iwagakure Ninja faced a different kind of pressure from the Explosive Cannons. Against the endless barrage of Explosive Tags, they had only needed to keep their heads down and build stone walls. But the Konoha Ninja would not limit themselves to such predictable tactics. Advancing in squads, they rushed to the front, scaled the collapsed or tottering stone walls, and lunged at the Iwagakure Ninja sheltering behind them.
The more complex movements of the Konoha Ninja meant that the Iwagakure Ninja could no longer simply repeat the same monotonous task of building walls. Yet that very repetition had dulled their reactions, while their depleted stamina prevented them from executing tactics they had practiced countless times.
Their only consolation was that the constant bombardment from the Explosive Cannons had left collapsed stone walls everywhere, turning the surrounding terrain into an uneven jumble of