Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Inside the forest—

Uchiha Shisui and the others were still hidden in their makeshift positions.

Suddenly, the sound of deliberate footsteps echoed through the woods—without any attempt at concealment.

Moments later, Uchiha Haruki appeared in the trees, leading several dozen shinobi.

Haruki glanced around briefly and spoke plainly:

"You can come out now."

Upon hearing this, the wounded Konoha ninja—still wrapped in bandages and with unsteady chakra—slowly emerged from their hiding spots.

Seeing their miserable appearance, the reinforcements finally believed that they had indeed been ambushed.

Shisui quickly flashed to Haruki's side. Looking at the new arrivals, he asked:

"Haruki, who are these people…?"

Haruki gestured to one of the men and introduced him:

"This is our clan uncle, Uchiha Hachidai.

He heard a squad of Mist ninja broke through the defense line and, worried we were in danger, came with reinforcements."

"Oh, he's an elder? Shisui greets you, Clan Uncle!"

Shisui bowed respectfully.

Uchiha Hachidai nodded slightly and looked him over.

"So you're Shisui? Not bad. Very good."

After this brief introduction, Hachidai didn't engage in much small talk.

There were still outsiders present, and many of the Konoha shinobi had just lost friends and comrades. If he showed too much familial warmth in front of them, it might trigger resentment or discomfort.

Hachidai wasn't overly concerned with appearances, but as a leader, he still understood the need for diplomacy.

He then turned to speak with the others, gathering detailed accounts of what had happened. At the same time, he dispatched people to investigate the battlefield, to verify what they were told.

This wasn't because he doubted Haruki's story—it was simply standard protocol.

The village would only assign credit or classify the mission (A-rank or even S-rank) based on proper procedures. You couldn't just make claims and expect rewards. It wasn't that simple.

In any system, rules were paramount. Without rules, an organization would collapse into chaos.

Haruki understood this and wasn't bothered in the least.

In fact, he felt relieved.

To be honest, he had little interest in managing people. He would much rather spend his time practicing Mystic Palm Technique than coordinating personnel.

If not for the emergency, with the commander and vice commander both killed and Shisui struggling to gain control, Haruki wouldn't have taken over such a messy situation.

Now that Uchiha Hachidai and his reinforcements were here, Haruki could finally let go of the burden.

He could now return to focusing on chakra control, recovery techniques, and pushing his body's development further.

The group remained at the site for several hours, not departing until mid-afternoon when they began their journey to the frontline command post.

There were two reasons for the delay:

Uchiha Hachidai needed time to properly survey the battlefield.

Haruki's injured comrades needed rest and recovery.

Earlier, Haruki had only stabilized their injuries—not fully healed them—in order to conserve chakra and tend to everyone. After hours of forced marching, they were exhausted.

Now that they were relatively safe, there was no need to push on immediately.

So, they rested.

Mid-Afternoon

The group set out again.

This time, there were no further incidents. Everything went smoothly.

By early evening, they finally arrived at the frontline command post.

This post was situated on the eastern edge of the Land of Fire, near the coast. Just beyond the sea lay the Land of Waves.

The overall commander of the base was a jōnin from the Nara clan, named Nara Keikō.

He was a contemporary of Nara Shikaku, the current head of the clan, and similarly possessed exceptional intelligence.

Upon arrival, Haruki and the others made their way to report directly to Keikō, recounting everything that had happened.

After hearing their detailed account—and combining it with Hachidai's own investigative findings—Nara Keikō's face turned grim.

It was clear he already suspected something was wrong.

Otherwise, how could the Mist ninja so easily break through the northern defense line?

For context: in response to the Mist Village's invasion, Konoha had established three defense lines and an advance base.

The northern line near the Land of Hot Springs.

The southern line near the Land of Whirlpools.

The central line between the two.

All three stretched along the coastline, with multiple layers of defense to block the Mist's advance.

There had been breaches before—but never had all three layers of a defense line been broken.

Yet yesterday, the Mist ninja had found a gap in the northern line and smashed through all three layers, penetrating deep into the Land of Fire.

Keikō had already suspected something fishy.

Now, with this squad's supply team having been ambushed, he couldn't deny it anymore—this was a setup.

And the target?

Keikō glanced at Haruki and thought of the mission report, which highlighted his extraordinary performance.

It was as clear as day.

Someone had set a trap for Uchiha Haruki.

As for who had both the motive and the means to organize this kind of covert operation and frame job without leaving evidence…

Keikō could think of only one name: Danzo, and his Root Division.

Danzo…

Keikō shook his head.

Once Haruki had finished recounting everything, Keikō asked:

"I've noted everything you've said. Do you have anything else to add?"

Haruki hesitated.

In the end, he chose not to mention the involvement of Aburame Ryoma and the other Root operatives.

Knowing the personality of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Haruki didn't believe the Third Hokage would do anything about it even if he knew. In fact…

He suspected Sarutobi might even secretly support weakening the Uchiha clan.

So what was the point of saying more?

In this world, where power speaks louder than words, it was better to kill Danzo outright than to argue politics.

That would solve the problem entirely.

With that thought, Haruki shook his head.

"That's everything. I have nothing to add."

"I see…"

Keikō tapped his fingers on the desk, lost in thought.

A moment later, he said:

"Then go rest for now."

"Understood, Commander."

Haruki replied and turned to leave without hesitation.

As he watched Haruki's back disappear through the doorway, Nara Keikō's eyes darkened.

He could tell Haruki had held something back—but there was nothing he could do if the boy refused to speak.

What he could do, however, was report the northern defense breach up the chain immediately.

Not because it was critical by itself—but because he needed to make it clear to Hiruzen Sarutobi who was responsible.

Otherwise, Danzo might try something like this again—and if that happened, how could Keikō continue commanding this front?

"At this point, only the Third Lord can restrain him…"

Keikō gave a bitter smile as he began drafting his report.