Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

The moon set and the sun rose.

In the blink of an eye, several hours passed, and it was now early morning the next day.

Under the golden rays of the rising sun, Uchiha Haruki was leading the team forward.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he swiftly raised his right arm, signaling for the group behind him to halt.

Everyone immediately stopped and tensed up, entering a state of high alert.

Moments later, Uchiha Shisui, who had been guarding the rear, stepped past the rest of the group and came up beside Haruki.

"What's wrong, Haruki?"

Haruki shook his head slightly.

"There seems to be someone ahead…"

His tone carried uncertainty.

Despite the significant increase in his spiritual energy following the awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan, his lack of formal training in sensory ninjutsu meant that his detection skills weren't very refined.

At close range, like when Aburame Ryoma had been secretly observing them, he could still pick up on such presence.

But at long range—his perception was limited.

Just like now, he could only vaguely sense that some ninja was approaching, but couldn't tell more than that.

In this moment, Haruki deeply missed the Hyuga clan's special jōnin, who had previously been part of their team.

If he were still alive, his Byakugan would've instantly revealed everything—friend or foe.

Unfortunately, during the ambush, that very Hyuga, Hyuga Feika, had been singled out by the enemy due to his clan and ability. He was swarmed and killed by several Mist special jōnin.

Now, their team's only sensory-type ninja had a detection range even smaller than Haruki's. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Shisui, however, was unaware of Haruki's inner thoughts.

Upon hearing that someone might be approaching, his expression changed drastically.

"Mist ninja? Or…"

He trailed off, hesitant to continue due to nearby ears.

But Haruki understood perfectly what he meant.

Earlier, Haruki had taken a moment to inform Shisui of the Root operatives like Aburame Ryoma.

Of course, he hadn't gone into much detail—only mentioning that he had discovered and eliminated a few suspected Root members spying on them.

Now, Shisui's unfinished sentence clearly meant: Could the approaching presence be more Root ninja?

But Haruki doubted that possibility.

After all, he had read Aburame Ryoma's memories. He was certain that only one squad was sent for this mission.

Other than the spy embedded in the Mist Village—the Faceless One—everyone else had already been dealt with by him.

So unless Danzo had sent additional teams from the very beginning, it was impossible for more Root operatives to arrive so quickly.

And that too seemed highly unlikely.

Given Ryoma's status under Danzo, he would've known if there were other arrangements.

So Haruki was inclined to believe that the approaching group belonged to another faction.

Which one? Whether they were friend or foe—that was yet to be determined.

After a brief consideration, Haruki made a decision.

"You and the others stay here and remain on alert. I'll go and check it out."

Shisui opened his mouth as if wanting to offer to go instead, but remembering the vast power gap between him and Haruki, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

So he simply nodded and said:

"Be careful."

"Mm."

Haruki responded curtly, then dashed ahead. Within a few leaps, he had vanished into the dense forest.

Shisui watched his figure disappear, then turned back to the others.

"Everyone spread out and stay alert!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The twenty surviving Konoha ninja responded and quickly dispersed into their surrounding formation.

Within seconds, the area appeared completely empty—at least on the surface.

Meanwhile…

On the other side—

After breaking away from the team, Uchiha Haruki immediately increased his speed, heading straight toward the source of the chakra he had sensed earlier.

Given his current level of strength, he still needed to act carefully—but there was no need to be overly cautious.

In less than two minutes, he located the group.

To his surprise—they were Konoha ninja.

Even more surprising, the one leading them was a jōnin from the Uchiha clan.

Though dressed in standard-issue flak jackets, the Uchiha clan crest on both his shoulders was unmistakable.

"Who's there?"

Haruki had accidentally leaked a bit of his chakra while observing them, which caused the leading Uchiha jōnin to notice.

The man immediately activated his Sharingan and hurled a few kunai in Haruki's direction.

Haruki quickly drew his short sword and deflected the kunai with a few crisp metallic clashes.

At the same time, he activated his own Sharingan and stepped out of hiding.

Among Uchiha, proving one's identity was simple—just show the Sharingan.

Sure enough, upon seeing Haruki's eyes, the Uchiha jōnin raised a hand, signaling the rest of his team to stand down.

Haruki then flashed forward, appearing in front of the squad.

The Uchiha jōnin observed him carefully and then asked:

"You're... Uchiha Haruki?"

Haruki paused, slightly stunned.

Is my name really that well-known already?

As if reading his mind, the Uchiha jōnin chuckled.

"Kid, my name is Uchiha Hachidai. Based on the clan hierarchy, I'd be considered your uncle.

A few days ago, Elder Kason sent word saying you were headed to the Mist front lines.

Told us to keep an eye out for you."

Hearing that, Haruki recalled something similar—Elder Uchiha Kason had indeed said that once Haruki arrived at the Mist battlefield, there'd be people watching out for him.

Apparently, it wasn't just empty talk.

Still, that could wait.

Haruki glanced at Hachidai and the group behind him.

"Uncle, what are you doing here?"

At this, Hachidai's face darkened slightly. He said angrily:

"I just received word not long ago that a squad of Mist elites broke through the northern line.

The direction they were heading overlaps with your team's route.

I brought people to reinforce you all.

Fortunately, I found you unharmed.

If you had actually run into them… the consequences could've been disastrous.

Oh, right. Wasn't that brat Shisui traveling with you? Where is he?"

Haruki's expression turned awkward.

Ultimately, he didn't hide anything and told Hachidai that their group had been ambushed.

But before he could even finish, Hachidai burst out in shock:

"What?! You actually ran into them—and got ambushed?!

Then how did you escape? Where's everyone else?!"

Behind him, the other Konoha ninja immediately went on alert, looking around cautiously as if expecting enemies to follow Haruki there.

Seeing their reactions, Haruki quickly waved it off and gave a full account of what had happened.

When he finished, Uchiha Hachidai stood there in stunned silence.

Only after a long pause did he finally speak again, disbelief written all over his face:

"You actually repelled those Mist ninja?

That's... that's impossible!"

Haruki didn't bother explaining.

"The full details can wait. Our team is still behind us. Should we regroup first?"

"Yes, we should."

Hachidai composed himself and nodded in agreement.

Soon after, Haruki led the group toward the hidden position where Shisui and the others were waiting.

Though Haruki could tell that some of the newcomers were still wary of him, he didn't mind.

Once the two teams reunited, that doubt would vanish on its own.

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