Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"So, in the end… I still failed, huh?"

Uchiha Haruki stared at the vanishing shark, muttering to himself.

Whoosh—

A figure appeared beside him and asked, "Haruki, are you alright?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Haruki turned his gaze. It was none other than Uchiha Tekka.

Haruki shook his head. "I'm fine. What about you, Tekka?"

At that moment, Tekka was completely soaked in blood, making him appear ferocious and brutal. However, Haruki could sense that his life force was relatively stable, clearly indicating that he hadn't sustained any serious injuries.

In other words, most of that blood wasn't his.

Just as he was thinking that, Tekka thumped his chest and said proudly, "Those pathetic weaklings? No way they could hurt me."

"Mm."

Haruki nodded, unsurprised.

He'd sparred with Tekka many times and had a decent understanding of his strength. Ordinary Jonin really weren't a match for Uchiha Tekka.

The ambush team Kirigakure had sent was strong, but the strongest two had been engaged by Haruki the whole time, so it made sense that Tekka had come out unscathed.

Haruki's gaze drifted past Tekka to the rest of the group.

The team of a hundred they had set out with… now had less than sixty survivors.

That alone spoke volumes about the enemy's strength.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Haruki noticed something odd—the two Special Jonin who had originally shown hostility toward him and whom he had reluctantly brought along were nowhere to be seen.

After asking around, Haruki finally learned the answer—both had died in battle.

"…Seriously?"

Haruki shook his head, speechless.

He had even been planning to get rid of them discreetly later on, and yet… they died just like that?

He lost interest in the matter and turned his attention back to the situation.

From Kirigakure's actions, he could guess one thing—their objective had most likely already been achieved.

Whether it was the northern defense line being breached, or just a successful evacuation of their ambush units, he didn't know. But either way, they had won this round.

Now that their ship had been destroyed, there was no way they could reach the battlefield in time.

And after such an intense battle, the entire squad desperately needed to rest and recover, which meant there was even less chance of immediate reinforcements.

Haruki thought for a moment, then gave the command:

"Everyone, rest for ten minutes. After that, we'll resume heading for the northern defense line."

That's right—he had decided to stick with the original plan.

No matter the situation, unless they received new direct orders, carrying out the original mission was the least bad option.

Even if it turned out to be a miscalculation and he got criticized for a lack of leadership, Haruki didn't care.

He didn't enjoy leading squads to begin with. If this earned him fewer command assignments in the future—even better.

Unfortunately, that was unlikely.

In the ninja world, strength still ruled above all. His leadership might be questioned, but his strength was undeniable.

That alone would keep placing him in roles like this.

At the very least, when unexpected events occurred, he could keep more people alive—as he had just proven.

Had it been any other Jonin in his place, they probably wouldn't have been able to fend off Kisame and the others, much less keep half the squad alive.

These thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind, and soon the ten-minute break had passed.

Everyone had treated their wounds as best they could and followed Haruki onward toward their destination.

Their route, however, was not the same as the one Yukikaze and the Kirigakure survivors had taken during their retreat.

That alone was a major clue to Haruki.

"This proves Kirigakure already achieved their goal. Otherwise, even if they were retreating, they should have headed for the northern front to support their main force—not just run away completely."

"But what exactly was Kirigakure's real objective this time?"

The thought lingered in Haruki's mind, though his pace didn't slow. The rest followed closely behind.

Despite the number of casualties, the weaker members of the squad had already been eliminated, meaning their marching speed actually increased slightly.

About two hours later, they finally reached the coastline and spotted Konoha's defensive forces.

Just as Haruki suspected—the battle there had long ended.

Only a few cleanup squads remained, gathering the dead and tending to the wounded.

Their arrival startled the troops—at first, they thought Kirigakure was launching another ambush.

It wasn't until Haruki and his team revealed their identity that the defenders finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon after, Haruki met with the commander of the northern defense—Shigeki Kurozawa.

And from him, Haruki received devastating news.

Kurozawa, seated behind a desk, gave Haruki a grave look.

Haruki's eyes widened as he suddenly stood up and exclaimed:

"What did you just say?! The Forward Base was overrun?!"

That's right—Kurozawa had just informed him that not long ago, the Konoha Forward Base in the Land of Waves had been breached by Kirigakure.

Seeing the disbelief on Haruki's face, Kurozawa nodded solemnly and confirmed:

"The Anbu has already verified it. The base has indeed fallen. Nearly every ninja stationed there… was wiped out."

Inhale—exhale…

Haruki drew in a deep breath, steadying himself, then asked:

"When did this happen?"

"Two hours ago," Kurozawa replied.

"Two hours ago…"

Haruki muttered, and instantly recalled the exact time Kisame and the others had started to retreat.

It matched up.

He had thought back then that Kirigakure had likely completed their mission—and now, it turned out, he had been absolutely right.

Only… it wasn't about breaking through the northern front, or abandoning the attack altogether.

It was that the Forward Base—the very place he had been stationed before—had been completely destroyed.

As Haruki stood there in silence, Kurozawa continued:

"Based on the available intel, we can confirm that Kirigakure's main objective this time was to strike the Forward Base."

"Every other skirmish—the ambushes we encountered, the assaults on your squad—they were all distractions. Their real target… was the base."

Haruki nodded slowly.

That conclusion was easy to reach.

After all, even after he left, the base had over two hundred ninjas and the advantage of terrain. Kirigakure couldn't have taken it on a whim—they must've planned it well in advance.

"I wonder… if I had stayed behind… would the outcome have been different?"

That thought suddenly popped into Haruki's mind.

But he quickly pushed it away.

That kind of deadly situation wasn't something he wanted to experience again.

The speed with which the enemy took the base—even faster than last time—clearly showed they were well-prepared.

Unless he had used his Mangekyō Sharingan, he probably wouldn't have made much difference. At best, he could have slowed them down slightly.

But holding the base?

That was almost impossible.

Even the mighty Third Raikage had died from being slowly worn down.

How could he do better?

Haruki shook his head, dispelling the lingering doubt.

Then he looked up at Kurozawa and asked:

"So what do we do next?"

The Forward Base was gone.

The Kirigakure forces at the northern line had retreated.

For the moment… they had nowhere left to go.