"Trapping the prey in the jar, huh?"

Seimei discreetly scanned his surroundings, mumbling to himself.

However, his expression remained calm and collected.

After all, he saw this as an opportunity—a chance to bring an end to this war.

The Mist Village had suddenly dispatched so many ninja to ambush him. If he could turn the tables, even if he couldn't eliminate all of them, taking out just a portion would be enough to deal a significant blow to the Mist Village.

After all, every Jonin was a pillar of their village. Losing a few lower- or mid-level ninjas might not mean much, but if they lost Jonin, it would be a major problem.

Seimei could almost foresee it—if this happened, the Mist Village wouldn't just retreat from negotiations. They might pull out from this battlefield entirely.

At that point, the war would be as good as over.

The only issue was that this plan required him to take on some risk.

Seimei quickly weighed the situation in his mind and ultimately decided that the risk was within his tolerable limits. Without hesitation, he chose to turn the tables.

Narrowly dodging an attack from two Mist Jonin, Seimei used his "Instant Sword Technique" to face a third and stepped forward.

Seeing this, the three Mist Jonin immediately assumed a defensive stance to support one another.

They had no choice. Over the past few skirmishes, Seimei had always seized such moments to launch fierce assaults against them.

At such times, only by working together could they fend off his attacks without injury.

So, being prepared was only natural.

But just as they braced themselves, Seimei abruptly stopped. Contrary to their expectations, he did not attack. Instead, he swiftly formed hand seals, casting an unknown jutsu.

The three Mist Jonin exchanged quick glances, their expressions shifting slightly, as if trying to figure out if anyone had noticed something unusual.

Unfortunately for them, Seimei didn't give them time to ponder.

The moment his jutsu was completed, he launched an attack without hesitation, as though his previous actions had merely been a diversion.

Still, the three Mist Jonin knew better—this wasn't just a bluff.

Seimei must have used some kind of jutsu just now, but they couldn't perceive its effects.

For a fleeting moment, they wondered if Seimei had seen through their plan. Yet seeing his fearless assault made them doubt their suspicions.

This left them hesitant. Should they notify the others to pause the operation? But doing nothing risked falling into a trap.

Caught in this dilemma, they failed to decide.

In that brief hesitation, Seimei's attacks struck.

Clang! Clang!

Seimei's relentless assault interrupted their thoughts.

Helpless, the three were forced to focus on defending against his attacks while staying vigilant for any of his next moves.

What they didn't realize, however, was that Seimei had already initiated communication with his allies—right under their noses.

Indeed, Seimei's earlier actions weren't a bluff. He had cast a jutsu, but it wasn't an offensive one. It was the Mind Link Technique.

After mastering this technique to its peak, he could communicate with others up to 20 kilometers away—even those beyond his shadow clones.

Conveniently, this battlefield was roughly 18 kilometers from the Leaf Village command post, well within the range.

At this moment, Seimei had established direct contact with Nara Keiko at the command post.

"Jonin Seimei?"

Sensing a presence entering his mental space, Nara Keiko didn't block it but immediately responded.

Hearing this, Seimei paused for a moment and thought, As expected of the Nara Clan—so meticulous.

Clearly, Keiko had already familiarized himself with Seimei's chakra and mental signatures, enabling him to identify Seimei right away.

Of course, this also reflected the thorough intelligence gathering Keiko had conducted.

After a brief moment of thought, Seimei replied, "It's me."

Nara Keiko wasted no time. "Is there a problem? What's so urgent?"

"Yes," Seimei replied simply, then quickly explained his discovery.

As he spoke, Nara Keiko had already pulled out several reports on earlier Mist Village withdrawals.

Previously, he had found these retreats suspicious.

After all, based on battlefield intelligence, the Mist could have held their ground longer and minimized casualties before withdrawing.

But instead, they had abruptly ordered separations, despite having reserves to spare. It didn't make sense.

Now, after hearing Seimei's explanation, the pieces clicked. The Mist Village had been creating a time advantage, gathering their forces to eliminate Seimei first.

Nara Keiko quickly deduced their plan.

Not only that, but he also understood Seimei's intentions from his urgency.

Without hesitation, Keiko asked, "You want us to encircle them?"

Seimei wasn't surprised that his strategy had been guessed.

He had already made his intent clear.

So, Seimei responded directly, "Exactly. We can turn this around and possibly end the war."

Keiko hesitated briefly before asking, "The Mist Jonin targeting you could number over twenty. Are you confident in your safety?"

As he spoke, Keiko's eyes scanned the battle reports, calculating the Jonin and Special Jonin who had been sighted in the area.

Caught off guard by the question, Seimei felt a flicker of surprise.

He hadn't expected Keiko to consider the safety of a decoy like him.

In Seimei's view, anyone hearing this plan would jump at the opportunity.

Even if it cost him his life, it would be a worthwhile trade.

This consideration made Seimei develop a slightly higher opinion of Nara Keiko.

After a brief silence, Seimei firmly replied, "No problem."

Hearing his confidence, Keiko placed his trust in him and said, "Good. Hold on for five minutes—no more than five. I'll have everything in place."

"Understood," Seimei acknowledged before cutting the connection. He then turned his full focus back to the three Mist Jonin before him.

For now, his job was to stall for time and wait for Keiko to complete the preparations.

Once everything was ready, the encirclement would close, and Seimei could break through their center, delivering a devastating blow to the Mist forces.

As for whether Keiko could pull it off—

With the Yellow Flash here, there's no way it won't work.

Yes, Minato Namikaze was stationed on the frontlines. Over the past five days, Seimei had seen him rescue endangered Leaf ninjas time and again.

From his rescue speed, it was clear that Minato had left numerous markers across the battlefield.

These markers would serve as critical teleportation points in the upcoming operation.

This was why Seimei dared to take the risk and bait the Mist into continuing their assault.

Time ticked by.

Two minutes later—

Even the three Mist Jonin, slow as they were, began sensing something was wrong.

By now, the Mist Jonin involved in the operation had all come into view, yet Seimei showed no signs of retreating.

The trio couldn't believe Seimei hadn't noticed his teammates. They were well aware of the Sharingan's capabilities.

Moreover, over the past few days, they had witnessed Seimei's extensive combat experience firsthand.

For someone so seasoned, possessing the Sharingan, to stand idly by while being surrounded? Even a fool would suspect a trap.

Their thoughts immediately turned to the unknown jutsu Seimei had cast earlier.

A deep unease gripped them.

But it was too late to warn the others. Their comrades had already moved in. At this stage, retreating was impossible.

The arrow was nocked; it had to be loosed.

Without concrete evidence, not to mention the lack of time, there was no way to call it off.

"Nothing to do but fight!"

The three steeled themselves and charged at Seimei.