"Caught in a trap, huh?"
Qingming glanced around covertly, his thoughts echoing in his mind.
However, his face remained impassive.
The reason was simple: he saw this as an opportunity, a perfect chance to end the war.
If the Mist Ninjas had suddenly mobilized so many forces to surround him, it could be a trap—but it was also a perfect chance to turn the tables. If he could make use of the situation, even if he couldn't take all of them down, even just a few could significantly cripple the Mist Village.
After all, each Jōnin was the backbone of the village. Losing a few would be far more devastating than losing a number of Chūnin or Genin.
Qingming could easily foresee that if such a loss happened, the Mist Village wouldn't be able to talk negotiations—they'd likely be forced to withdraw from the battlefield altogether.
At that point, the war would almost be over.
The only issue was the risk involved.
Qingming quickly ran the calculations in his mind, deciding that the risk was manageable, and thus, he decided to play along with the enemy's plan.
He narrowly avoided being caught in a pincer attack by two of the Mist Jōnin, activating his "Instant Sword Art" as he focused on the third one. He took a step forward.
Seeing this, the three Mist Jōnin immediately took up a defensive stance, ready to support each other.
They knew that in the past few days, Qingming had frequently seized such opportunities to launch a fierce counterattack. At times like this, cooperation was essential to block his attacks without taking damage.
So, their preparation was natural.
But just as they were ready for him, Qingming suddenly stopped. Instead of attacking as they had expected, he rapidly formed hand signs and performed an unknown technique.
The three Jōnin's faces subtly changed. They exchanged quick glances, as if silently questioning one another.
But Qingming didn't give them time to communicate.
Once he finished the technique, he attacked immediately, as though everything before had merely been a ruse to distract them.
The three Jōnin understood immediately that this wasn't just a simple distraction. Qingming had certainly used a technique, though they couldn't sense it.
For a moment, they suspected that Qingming had discovered their plan. But seeing his direct, unwavering approach, they doubted it.
Caught in hesitation, they thought about warning the others to halt their movements, but feared delaying might be fatal. If they did nothing, they could be walking into a trap.
In that moment, they were undecided.
While they hesitated, Qingming's attack arrived.
Clang, clang!
Qingming's rapid strikes broke their concentration.
Reluctantly, they had no choice but to focus on defending against Qingming's onslaught, all while keeping a wary eye on his actions.
What they didn't realize was that Qingming was in fact communicating with someone behind the scenes.
Though it seemed he had merely executed a technique to confuse them, in reality, it was not an offensive technique but rather a form of telepathy.
Since Qingming had mastered this technique to perfection, he could communicate up to 20 kilometers away, even beyond his shadow clones.
And the battlefield was only about 18 kilometers from the Konoha command post, well within range.
At that moment, Qingming had successfully established contact with Nara Kikou.
"Qingming-sama?"
Sensing the intrusion into his mental space, Nara Kikou didn't immediately block it. Instead, he responded swiftly.
Qingming was slightly taken aback but thought to himself, As expected, a Nara clan ninja's mind is sharp.
It was clear that Nara Kikou had anticipated his telepathic abilities, so he had likely memorized Qingming's chakra and mental fluctuations, allowing him to instantly recognize his identity.
This was also a testament to Nara Kikou's intelligence-gathering methods.
After a brief moment of thought, Qingming replied, "It's me."
Upon hearing this, Nara Kikou didn't waste words but immediately asked, "You're in a rush to contact me. Has something happened?"
"Yes."
Qingming gave a short response, then quickly relayed his discovery.
Meanwhile, Nara Kikou was already reviewing the intelligence on the ceasefire battles.
He had already found the retreating movements of the Mist Ninjas to be odd.
According to the reports, the Mist should have held out a bit longer, as this would have allowed their retreat with fewer casualties.
But instead, they had made an unusual decision to separate the forces when they still had strength left.
Now, after hearing Qingming's explanation, Nara Kikou understood that the Mist was likely trying to create a time gap, gathering forces to eliminate Qingming first.
Indeed, Nara Kikou had figured out their plan.
Moreover, from Qingming's urgency, he guessed Qingming's intention to use this as an opportunity to turn the tables.
Without wasting any more time, Nara Kikou spoke decisively, "You want us to counter-surround them, right?"
Qingming wasn't surprised that Nara Kikou had guessed his plan.
After all, his intention had been clear.
So, Qingming responded, "Exactly. We turn their plan against them. This could very well end the war."
Nara Kikou hesitated for a moment before asking, "There will be at least twenty Jōnin coming for you. Can you ensure your safety?"
As he spoke, his gaze scanned through the battlefield reports, calculating the number of Jōnin and special Jōnin that had previously been in the area.
Hearing the question, Qingming was taken aback. He hadn't expected Nara Kikou to consider his safety as the bait.
From Qingming's perspective, the plan seemed too good to pass up, and he had assumed that Nara Kikou would be eager to accept it.
This made Qingming feel a bit more respect for Nara Kikou.
After a brief moment of silence, Qingming confidently replied, "No problem."
Upon hearing this assurance, Nara Kikou expressed his trust, "Alright! Hold on for five minutes—at most five minutes—and we'll have everything in place."
"Okay."
Qingming gave a brief acknowledgment before cutting off the connection, then focused entirely on the three Mist Jōnin in front of him.
Now, his task was to delay as much as possible.
He needed to wait for Nara Kikou to finish preparations for the outer encirclement.
Once that was in place, Qingming could strike decisively and cause massive damage.
As for whether Nara Kikou could pull it off…
With the yellow flash in play, once the plan was confirmed, failure was not an option.
Indeed, Minato Namikaze had been active on the frontlines these past five days, often seen rescuing Konoha ninjas in danger.
From the speed of his support, it was clear that Minato had left numerous markers on the battlefield.
These markers could serve as teleportation points in the upcoming operation.
That was why Qingming was willing to "risk" playing into the Mist's hand, to lure them into intensifying their pursuit of him.
…
Time passed, minute by minute.
Two minutes later.
Even the three Mist Jōnin, no matter how slow-witted, began to sense something was off.
After all, they could see the Mist Jōnin joining the operation, yet Qingming showed no signs of retreating.
The three knew that Qingming wasn't blind to the approaching reinforcements, especially with his Sharingan.
Over the past few days, they had witnessed Qingming's extensive combat experience, and they knew he could clearly see through their movements.
Yet here he was, staring down their encirclement without retreating—this could only mean one thing: a trap.
In that moment, the three Jōnin realized that Qingming had likely detected their plan. But by the time they wanted to send a warning, it was too late. Their reinforcements had already arrived, and there was no turning back now.
The situation was as the saying went—"an arrow on the bowstring, it must be released."
The three of them no longer hesitated, and with no definitive proof, they rushed toward Qingming.
plz support me if you can.
patreon.com/Mano99
all the fanfic is 30 chapter a had and you will get 1 chapter everyday.