Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"But... I guess it's time to leave."

Uchiha Haruki muttered to himself as he recalled the sudden memory that had just surfaced in his mind.

That's right—just now, one of his shadow clones had dispelled itself, transferring urgent intel to him. It was a signal: he needed to head out immediately.

"But before I go... should I go out with a bang?"

Haruki's gaze swept sharply over the tents where the wounded were housed.

Thanks to the trust he had just built up, Haruki was confident that he could silently wipe out an entire tent's worth of people in an instant—without causing a stir.

But... what would be the point?

First of all, while he could kill silently, he couldn't control silently.

All his genjutsu techniques were single-target only, and couldn't manage multiple people at once.

Which meant he wouldn't be able to extract their chakra. And without that, the effort would be meaningless.

Secondly, these people had already been harvested once. Even though they still had some chakra left, a group of six or seven wouldn't provide much. The risk far outweighed the gain.

And most importantly—he didn't want to create unnecessary complications.

Sure, even if he killed them now, it wouldn't be discovered right away—but it wouldn't stay hidden forever either. The other Iwagakure shinobi weren't blind.

He still had to make his way toward the battlefield between the Cloud and Stone forces, looking to fish in troubled waters. If someone started chasing him now, it would ruin his stealth advantage.

Besides...

Haruki opened his system panel for a glance.

He saw that his Healing Jutsu had risen from Lv3 (70/1000) to Lv4 (490/2000), and his Mind Reflection Jutsu had gone from Lv7 (257/20000) to Lv7 (512/20000).

Over 150,000 chakra points collected—that was more than enough. There was no need to be greedy.

With that settled, Haruki didn't delay any longer and began stealthily slipping out of the camp.

Thanks to his partial memory of Moriki Tetsu, sneaking out was even easier than sneaking in. It took him only a few minutes to escape the temporary camp.

Afterward, he followed the path preserved in the memories of his shadow clones, racing quickly toward the site where Cloud and Stone forces had clashed.

······

The moon hung faint in a sparse night sky.

Haruki sprinted without rest, finally reaching the location of his shadow clone's last mark by midnight.

But when he arrived, the battlefield was empty.

The Cloud and Stone shinobi had already moved on, leaving only traces of their recent conflict.

Haruki glanced around and quickly spotted the symbolic markings left by his other shadow clones.

Following those signs, he continued moving forward. It wasn't until dawn that he finally caught up and reunited with three of his clones.

Even then, the march hadn't stopped.

In the distance, he could just make out the large Cloud shinobi unit, with a small number of Stone ninja trailing behind.

"What's going on?"

Haruki approached one of the shadow clones and asked.

The clone answered rapidly,

"In simple terms, the Stone forces don't want the Cloud shinobi to get away so easily. They're trying to stall them. But since they're no match for the Third Raikage, they've resorted to this tactic—just tailing and harassing. You'll see the rest for yourself."

With that, the shadow clone dispelled itself.

In the next moment, the memories and experiences of the clone poured into Haruki's mind.

Within moments, he had a clear grasp of the current situation.

To sum it up: in the outer region, Iwagakure had already formed a massive encirclement, but due to the sheer scale of the ring, their forces were spread thin, and the line risked being broken.

To completely wipe out the elite Cloud unit, they needed time to shrink the encirclement and concentrate their forces.

That's why Iwagakure had sent out an elite team to try and stop the Cloud advance.

The clash between both sides had taken place right where Haruki had arrived at midnight.

At that time, the clones had believed that the decisive battle would happen there, so they quickly informed Haruki.

But unexpectedly, during the middle of the fight, the Third Raikage had suddenly unleashed an overwhelming burst of power, ripping through the elite Stone blockade single-handedly—giving the Cloud main force a chance to continue moving forward.

Left with no choice, the shadow clones had marked the route and followed along.

Similarly, the Stone shinobi, after suffering that blow, didn't dare to block them head-on anymore. They had resorted to constant harassment from behind.

Now, it was a matter of who would act faster:

Would the Cloud shinobi reach the encirclement edge and break through—or would the Stone forces tighten the noose and seal them in?

It had turned into a race against time between the two villages.

According to Haruki's memories of the previous timeline, Iwagakure had ultimately won that race.

Otherwise, the Third Raikage wouldn't have had to stay behind alone, sacrificing himself to help the Cloud forces escape.

"The only question is—how much longer until that moment comes?"

Thinking that, Haruki had two of his remaining clones dispel themselves.

Poof! Poof!

With twin clouds of chakra smoke, both clones vanished, leaving only Haruki behind.

Now alone, Haruki followed at a safe distance behind the Cloud and Stone forces, waiting for the final battle to erupt.

······

Time passed—minute by minute, hour by hour.

Before long, the sky had turned fully bright.

Neither the Cloud nor the Stone forces had paused.

And naturally, neither did Haruki.

By now, he had gone a full day and night without sleep. Fortunately, he wasn't an ordinary person—he could endure for several days without rest if needed.

Time flew by again.

Near noon, Haruki suddenly felt a strange sense of pressure in the air.

He looked up at the sky.

Just that morning, it had been a clear, cloudless blue—but now, it was choked with dark thunderclouds.

CRACK!

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning ripped through the heavens, illuminating the battlefield and stabbing into everyone's eyes with blinding force.

Moments later, a deep rumble of thunder echoed across the sky, causing everyone to instinctively look up.

In that moment, a single thought filled every heart:

The might of heaven and earth—beyond the reach of man.

CRACK!

Another bolt of lightning tore through the sky, casting sharp illumination across the field—and revealing a sea of Stone shinobi surging over the hills ahead.

"Hmm?"

Haruki's Sharingan flared open, scanning the area ahead.

He saw wave after wave of Stone ninja pouring in from the distance, rushing to the frontlines.

Even further ahead, and to both sides, even more shinobi were converging—dense as ants, impossible to count.

Even Haruki, hardened as he was, was stunned by the sheer number.

No wonder people say:

When a force numbers ten thousand—it's like a boundless tide.

While it might not have actually been ten thousand Stone ninja, the momentum they carried was just as powerful.

Even the Cloud shinobi had stopped moving!

CRACK!

Another bolt of lightning tore down from the clouds.

A few droplets of rain landed on Haruki's face.

"It's raining…"

He whispered, glancing up.

Raindrops began to fall from the sky like a burst dam, pounding down in a torrential wave.

"Hahaha! This rain is perfect!"

Suddenly, a booming laugh rang out from the front lines, snapping Haruki's attention forward.

He looked up and saw a figure wreathed in lightning burst out from the Cloud formation, charging straight at the Stone army.

Who else could it be?

The Third Raikage, of course!