Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

In the blink of an eye—

The time had reached deep into the second half of the night.

Boom—!

Suddenly, a distant explosion echoed through the forest, jolting Uchiha Haruki awake from his dreams.

In an instant, the drowsiness vanished from his eyes, replaced by a sharp, focused gaze.

Without hesitation, Haruki grabbed his ninja tool pouch and forehead protector, rolled to his feet, and by the time he stepped out of the tent, he was already fully geared up.

Several others emerged alongside him, including their team leader—Furukawa.

Haruki took a few quick steps to Furukawa's side and followed his gaze into the distance. Faintly, the sound of battle could be heard in that direction.

Something was clearly wrong.

This area's patrol duties were split between two divisions: one handled daytime operations, the other took the night shift.

Team 17, Haruki's squad, belonged to the First Division, which was responsible for daytime patrols. The Second Division had taken over for the night.

There was no doubt—the ones currently engaged in combat with unknown enemies were from the Second Division.

The Second Division comprised four squads.

Two of those squads had the same configuration as Haruki's team—one jōnin leading three genin.

The other two squads were made up of one special jōnin and three chūnin.

Including the division commander, who was a jōnin, the Second Division had a total of seventeen shinobi:Three jōnin, two special jōnin, six chūnin, and six genin.

This setup was nearly identical to the First Division.

Right now, Haruki could only hope that the enemy had accidentally exposed themselves, prompting one of the Second Division's squads to act and engage in battle.

Otherwise… things would get messy.

Because that would mean the enemy force was at least on par with theirs in total strength—and the mission would no longer be mere infiltration or recon.

It would be a full-blown assault.

And in such a case, one side wouldn't walk away alive.

While Haruki was still lost in thought, the First Division had already fully assembled.

At the same time, battle noises erupted from two other directions in the forest.

No need to guess anymore.

This definitely wasn't stealth or infiltration.

No one runs multiple infiltration teams simultaneously. It's a nightmare to retreat if they're discovered.

Given how openly they were moving, they were clearly planning a large-scale night raid.

But…

Haruki couldn't understand why the enemy was doing this.

This was just a temporary camp—no critical infrastructure, no valuable targets. Even if the enemy took it, what would they gain?

Besides, Konoha's main base wasn't far away. As long as they sent word quickly, backup could arrive at any moment.

In short, the enemy had no chance of holding this position.

Worse, they might even get trapped and surrounded.

The risk-reward balance here was completely skewed.

So why take the risk?

To eliminate Konoha's elite forces?

Come on.

There were only a handful of them here. None of them were particularly famous. Even if the enemy killed them all, what real impact would it have on Konoha?

Were they trying to force their way through?

That made even less sense—because in that case, they'd want to avoid detection, not cause a huge commotion.

This lack of information was frustrating, and for now, Haruki simply chose to stop speculating.

Just then, the First Division commander, Nakajima Hiroshi, stepped forward.

He was a seasoned jōnin, and his voice carried a clear, commanding tone:

"Everyone, attention!"

The group immediately straightened up and waited for his next order.

"Squad One."

"Here!"

A slim man with three genin stepped out of formation.

Haruki recognized him as Okura Seiya—he looked frail and bookish, but in reality, his strength rivaled that of their own team leader, Furukawa.

"Seiya, your team stays behind and guards the camp," Nakajima ordered.

"Understood, Commander."

Seiya offered no objections. He nodded and quietly stepped back.

Then Nakajima looked toward the remaining squads:

"Squads Two, Three, and Four."

"Here!"

The three squad leaders responded in unison.

"You'll come with me to support the Second Division."

"Yes, sir!"

Furukawa and the others responded immediately.

Haruki couldn't quite understand the decision.

In his mind, Seiya—being so powerful—should have joined the support team. Leaving him to guard the camp felt like a waste.

Fortunately, Nakajima soon made the reasoning clear.

"Seiya, summon your summoning beast now."

"Understood."

Seiya nodded calmly, not surprised in the least. Then he bit into his thumb, blood dripping down his hand.

Seemingly unaffected by pain, he quickly performed five hand seals—Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram.

Using the blood as a medium, he activated the Summoning Technique, and with a puff of smoke, summoned a night owl.

Immediately afterward, Seiya cast another unknown jutsu, linking his vision with the owl's.

From now on, everything the owl saw, he would see as well.

Although this ability had a limited range, it was clearly a top-tier reconnaissance method.

And now, Haruki finally understood Nakajima's strategy.

They were going to let the owl follow the support team from the sky, allowing Seiya to receive real-time intelligence through the link.

Then Seiya would relay that information to Konoha's main base, ensuring HQ had full situational awareness.

That way, whether they needed reinforcements or countermeasures, HQ would be able to respond with precision.

Sure enough, Nakajima's next words confirmed Haruki's guess:

"Seiya, guide the owl from here. Shadow us from above, and relay all field intel directly to HQ."

Seiya gave a brief nod to indicate there would be no problem.

Flap!

The owl took off into the sky, vanishing into the darkness in a blink.

Seeing this, Nakajima nodded and turned to Haruki and the others:

"Let's move!"

With that, he led the charge into the forest without hesitation.

Haruki and the rest didn't dare fall behind—they quickly followed.

To Haruki's relief, Nakajima didn't make the mistake of splitting their forces. Instead, he took everyone toward the nearest battlefield together.

Clearly, Nakajima wanted to assess the situation before deciding the next move.

And to that, Haruki gave his full approval.

With the current state of uncertainty, dividing their forces too early would be extremely dangerous.

If they got picked off one by one, things could go south fast.

Thankfully, Nakajima wasn't some brainless leader. His sound judgment helped put Haruki at ease—at least a little.

Rustle—Rustle—Rustle—

In the thick forest, Haruki and the others moved swiftly.

Just as they were about to reach the battlefield, Nakajima suddenly raised his right arm, signaling everyone to stop.

The entire unit halted at once, scanning their surroundings with intense vigilance.

At some point, the insects and birds had gone silent.

Under the silent veil of night, only the soft sound of wind rustling through the trees could be heard.

The eerie quiet was suffocating.

Everyone held their breath, their eyes sharp, their nerves taut.

It felt as if something savage and deadly was lurking nearby.

No one dared to breathe too loudly.