Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Clang—

A crisp metallic sound echoed through the forest as a kunai clashed with a short sword.

The moment their blades met again, the ANBU captain's face—hidden behind a mask—darkened visibly. He leapt backward several paces, widening the distance between them.

Seeing this, Suzune, though unsure why he retreated, also ceased her attack, standing ready while keeping a wary eye on 'Haruki'.

Standing still, Haruki calmly watched the masked Iwagakure ANBU and noted the cold glint in his opponent's eyes. He instantly understood—they had figured something out.

Instead of pretending any further, he smirked.

"What's wrong? Don't stop now, come on!"

The ANBU captain suddenly spoke in a flat tone,

"As expected… You're not Uchiha Haruki. Or rather—you're just his shadow clone."

"Shadow clone?"

Suzune's gaze sharpened as she turned to Haruki in surprise. Though startled, she didn't seem unable to accept it.

Clearly, both she and the ANBU captain had considered this possibility beforehand.

Haruki wasn't surprised that his identity had been exposed. Although a shadow clone looks nearly identical to the original, the real giveaway is always in behavior.

Shadow clones have limited durability, so in order to survive, they tend to avoid damage at all costs—even if it means giving up golden opportunities to counterattack.

A few times might go unnoticed, but if it keeps happening, even a fool would begin to suspect something.

After all, no true shinobi in this world would fight so passively.

Haruki realized this ANBU captain had likely deduced his true nature by observing these odd patterns.

What puzzled him, however, was how calm the captain seemed, as if he had expected this outcome all along.

"Could it be…"

Haruki's eyes flicked between the two Iwa-nin, then swept across the dense forest surrounding them.

"No way... Are they—already ahead of me?"

"Does that mean the plan needs to change again?"

He frowned slightly, uneasy.

At that moment, an invisible wave of energy surged toward him, causing his body to tremble involuntarily.

Haruki looked up sharply.

The kunoichi who had been playing a support role suddenly unleashed a large-scale sonic ninjutsu. From her position at the center, invisible sound waves rippled outward like crashing waves.

Wherever the waves passed—flowers, grass, trees, insects, or animals—all began to tremble violently.

And the vibrations were intensifying.

Standing in the middle of the assault, Haruki felt every structure within his body shaking violently, as if he were on the verge of disintegrating.

It reminded him of one word—resonance.

And if that were truly the principle behind this jutsu… it was terrifying.

But this attack was no longer his concern.

The enemy had clearly targeted him using a technique that specifically exploited the inherent weakness of shadow clones—their fragile physical structure.

And since he hadn't withdrawn from the jutsu's range immediately, the outcome was inevitable.

Rather than waste chakra resisting the technique, Haruki raised his hands and willingly dispelled the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

With a puff, the clone vanished in a cloud of chakra.

Suzune finally stopped channeling the jutsu, gasping for breath as she clutched her knees.

Clearly, even for her, the technique required tremendous energy and concentration.

After a moment's rest, she approached the ANBU captain.

"Captain… I'm good now. Let's go."

"Mn."

The captain gave a short nod, then the two of them turned back the way they came, hurrying to regroup with their other two teammates.

Those teammates were currently headed… in the direction Haruki's real body had escaped.

It turned out that Uchiha Haruki had never truly shaken off the Iwagakure ANBU.

They had simply split into two groups to follow both possible escape routes, unable to immediately determine which one was the real path.

This was also why the ANBU captain and Suzune had remained so calm even after discovering they had only been chasing a clone.

Meanwhile—

In a different part of the forest, the real Haruki was sprinting through the woods when his steps suddenly faltered.

He redirected part of his consciousness to process the memories returning from the recently dispelled clone.

Moments later, his face turned grim.

What the shadow clone had figured out, he could now see clearly as well.

The overly calm reaction of those two Iwa-nin wasn't normal—it practically screamed "trap."

Combining that with the intense pressure his clone had been under, Haruki could reasonably conclude—

"There are more enemies than just those two."

The ANBU captain might've been strong, but not enough to truly threaten Haruki. Even with a sound-based specialist assisting him, the threat level didn't add up.

And yet—his danger sense had triggered repeatedly and strongly.

Which could only mean… more pursuers were closing in.

Suddenly, Haruki came to a complete stop and turned to scan the path behind him.

One second…

Two seconds…

Five seconds…

Ten seconds…

A full minute passed.

Nothing.

The forest behind him remained completely still—no sign of enemy movement.

"Hahhh…"

He exhaled slowly, letting go of some of the tension.

Then he chuckled to himself,

"When did I become so jumpy? Like a cat in a thunderstorm…"

Thinking about it logically, even if someone was chasing him, with the distance he'd covered, it was unlikely they'd catch up this fast.

As long as he maintained this high-speed pace, he should be fine.

Haruki was just about to resume his run—when something triggered his senses again.

He instinctively looked upward.

And what he saw made his pupils contract violently—his heartbeat momentarily skipped.

There, gliding silently through the air under the moonlight, was a hawk circling above—its sharp eyes scanning the ground like a silent ghost.

If Haruki hadn't possessed the Sharingan, he might never have noticed it.

Though the hawk appeared no different from any other bird, Haruki's gut told him—

"This is how they're tracking me."

If it were just regular pursuers, Haruki might have outpaced them by now. Even if he couldn't lose them entirely, his superior speed would've allowed him to stay ahead indefinitely.

But with this hawk acting as a mobile surveillance unit, everything changed.

The enemy could now track his movements precisely, reposition ahead of him, and set up ambushes.

This… was the power of fighting on home turf.

"No. I need to get rid of that thing. Otherwise, I'm running straight into a trap."

Haruki's mind raced as he quickly analyzed his options.

He attempted to use his Sharingan to disrupt the hawk from this distance—but it wasn't enough. His current visual power couldn't reach that far.

As for ninjutsu—even less promising.

"That only leaves one choice…"

"If I can't destroy the hawk, I'll take down its controller. The result is the same."

He sighed deeply.

"Tch. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to engage with the Iwagakure pursuit squad…"

But plans never keep up with reality.

Now, even if he wanted to avoid battle, he no longer had that luxury.

Fortunately, part of the enemy force had been lured away by his shadow clone down another path. It would take them time to return.

As long as he acted quickly and decisively, he could avoid being trapped in a full-scale encirclement.