The meeting ended quickly.
The group split into two teams, each gathering their respective forces and heading toward their designated targets. This text is hosted at novęlfire.net
Seimei was assigned to the target location farther away.
By the time he arrived, it was already noon.
At that moment, many ninjas had already gathered at the scene.
Among them were not only the Konoha forces originally besieging the stronghold but also reinforcements pulled from several nearby smaller outposts.
Clearly, Nara Hikaru had made ample preparations to ensure the success of this operation.
However, this had little to do with Seimei. He didn't need to worry about coordination, as someone else was in charge of commanding this mission.
As soon as he entered the command center, he saw a familiar yet unfamiliar figure.
The person looked directly at him and said, "You must be Uchiha Seimei. I'm Yuhi Mahiro, the commander for this mission."
Indeed, this person was none other than Yuhi Mahiro, the father of Yuhi Kurenai. On the surface, he seemed stern, but in truth, he deeply understood the Will of Fire.
In Seimei's memory, Yuhi Mahiro had stopped a young Might Guy, Kakashi, and others during the Nine-Tails Incident. After entrusting the future to them, he courageously sacrificed himself.
There was no denying it—this was a Jonin worthy of respect.
Even Seimei adopted a slightly humbler attitude in his presence.
Seimei responded, "I am Uchiha Seimei. Commander, feel free to give me any instructions."
Yuhi Mahiro nodded and said, "Alright, take a seat for now. We'll begin once everyone is here."
Hearing this, Seimei sat down as instructed, quietly waiting for the meeting to start.
He didn't have to wait long. Soon, all the Jonin and Special Jonin participating in the operation arrived.
Without wasting time, Yuhi Mahiro began assigning tasks for the operation.
It was clear he had thoroughly studied Seimei's combat style, as the tasks assigned to him were highly specific and targeted.
He said, "Jonin Seimei, your mission is simple yet crucial."
Seimei straightened his back, indicating he was listening attentively.
Seeing this, Yuhi Mahiro continued, "Next, we will launch an attack from three directions: east, west, and north.
Remember, the northern front is our main attack point.
Your task is to fly to the western side of Sand River City at the start of the battle and put pressure on the Mist Ninjas there. This will force more of them to shift to that area, where the decoy team will coordinate with your actions.
Afterward, when the time is right, you must immediately return to the northern district, land on the ground, and draw the Mist Ninjas' attention from the inside. This will create opportunities for our main attack."
After a brief moment of thought, Seimei nodded in agreement.
The instructions boiled down to two strategies: a feint and a pincer attack.
The first strategy utilized Seimei's high mobility from his ability to fly.
The second leveraged his exceptional combat strength, far surpassing an average Jonin's.
Both were indispensable.
For most others, even if they could execute the first step, they wouldn't dare to undertake the second.
Penetrating deep behind enemy lines alone was a death sentence without sufficient power.
Only someone like Seimei, who had repeatedly proven his strength, could shoulder such a heavy responsibility.
As for whether this was exploitation, Seimei didn't dwell on it.
Everyone was working toward the same goal, and since the tasks were within his capabilities, he had no complaints.
Soon, the mission briefing concluded, tasks were assigned, and everyone left to prepare.
About an hour later, fully rested and well-fed, the group split into three teams and launched an attack on Sand River City from the east, west, and north.
With such large-scale movements, it was impossible for the Mist Ninjas inside the city to remain unaware.
Indeed, the Mist Ninjas had become more "subdued" in recent times, but that didn't mean they would lie down and accept their fate.
Almost immediately, they mobilized to organize an active defense.
Thus, there was no element of surprise—what mattered was raw strength.
Before either side got close, the ninjas began exchanging volleys of tools and ninjutsu.
In typical battles, this phase would last several rounds before Konoha's forces could close in.
But Seimei's presence disrupted this pattern.
As soon as the battle began, he activated Wind Release: Wind Wings, Chakra Cloak, and Earth Release: Hardening Technique, flying toward the western skies of the city.
His speed was so great that the Mist Ninjas had no time to react.
Over the past few weeks, the Mist Ninjas had been holed up inside the city. Although they maintained basic surveillance of the Konoha forces outside, they missed key details.
As such, they were unaware Seimei had arrived.
Consequently, they couldn't organize an effective countermeasure in time.
The scattered attacks they did launch were easily deflected by Seimei's Chakra Cloak and Hardening Technique.
Taking advantage of this, he quickly completed a series of hand signs and summoned a massive fireball over 30 meters in diameter.
As the saying goes, "Master one skill, conquer the world."
This straightforward jutsu was nearly impossible to counter without prior preparation.
Just like now, as the blazing fireball radiated immense heat and light, the Mist Ninjas scrambled to launch their own jutsu.
However, their scattered attacks couldn't stop the fireball's descent.
The more powerful techniques required time to prepare, and there simply wasn't enough time.
In the end, no one could stop the attack.
Left with no choice, the Mist Jonin commanding the front lines ordered their forces to disperse and had others form a Water Release: Water Wall to mitigate the fireball's impact.
The fireball hit the ground, but its explosive power was blocked by the combined efforts of several Mist Jonin.
The dispersed flames were gathered and funneled upward through the water wall's opening.
Seeing this, Seimei quickly flapped his wings and retreated to a safe distance.
By now, the other Mist Ninjas had recovered from the initial shock and were returning to their posts.
But Seimei wasn't about to let them off so easily.
Dodging a few thrown kunai, he targeted the fastest-moving group, throwing a single shuriken.
Then, he used the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!
In an instant, the single shuriken multiplied into hundreds, raining down on the Mist Ninjas.
Faced with such a dense barrage, they had no choice but to stop and block with their kunai.
Seizing the opportunity, Seimei unleashed more area-of-effect jutsu, including Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu and Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets, targeting other Mist Ninjas.
Although these attacks caused little actual damage, that wasn't the point.
The key was that the Konoha forces outside had taken the opportunity to breach the city.
Thus, a brutal battle began.