Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Haruki, Tekka, over here!"

—Command Headquarters, Meeting Room—

As soon as Uchiha Haruki entered the room, someone called out to him. Following the voice, he saw Uchiha Shisui seated at the table.

Shisui's injuries had long since healed, but since they were assigned to different units and stationed in different defense zones, they rarely crossed paths.

Besides, Shisui took his duties very seriously, handling everything personally. Unlike Haruki, who often delegated tasks to his subordinates.

Because of this, Haruki and Shisui didn't interact often.

However, Uchiha Tekka, due to his frequent missions, had run into Shisui many times, and the two had become quite familiar.

So before Haruki could say anything, Tekka nudged him toward Shisui.

Haruki didn't refuse and followed him over.

After sitting down, the three began chatting quietly.

Of course, most of the conversation was between Tekka and Shisui—Haruki mostly just listened, rarely offering his opinion.

Time passed slowly.

Soon, half an hour had gone by.

Once everyone had arrived, Kurozawa Nariki finally entered the room.

Unlike back at the Forward Base, Nariki lacked the decisive, no-nonsense demeanor of Uchiha Kazuo.

Before beginning any meeting, he had to exchange pleasantries.

Although Haruki thought it was a waste of everyone's time, no one objected, so he endured it patiently.

After nearly fifteen minutes of chatter, Nariki finally got serious and began addressing the issue at hand.

He said,

"I'm sure most of you have already heard—starting from noon today, several patrol units reported sightings of Mist-nin."

The room immediately erupted in whispers.

Nariki knocked on the table. Once the room quieted, he continued:

"The reports are true."

"Furthermore, it's not just our northern front—Mist-nin have also been spotted on the central and southern fronts."

"You all know what that means, don't you?"

One of the Special Jōnin immediately said,

"Looks like the Hidden Mist has finished consolidating after capturing the Forward Base and is preparing for a second offensive."

"That's right. Jōnin Tachikawa is spot on. This is clearly their reconnaissance phase," another added.

"We need to strengthen our patrol units as soon as possible to prevent their scout teams from getting too close," someone else suggested.

...

The room erupted with opinions and debates.

After a while, Kurozawa Nariki raised his hand to quiet everyone and summarized:

"I've heard all of your thoughts."

"In short, for the foreseeable future, all of you must remain vigilant during your missions. Be on guard against sudden attacks from the Hidden Mist."

"That's true—Hidden Mist excels at these kinds of ambush tactics. Everyone should stay alert," someone chimed in.

Others nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Nariki added,

"To counter possible ambushes, some teams will have their missions adjusted. I'll now announce the updated assignments."

Haruki immediately had a bad feeling.

And sure enough, Nariki brought him up first.

"Jōnin Haruki—your team will head to Eagle's Beak Cliff. There's a stronghold there that needs heavy defense. I'm entrusting this task to you."

Eagle's Beak Cliff—the northernmost outpost of the northern front, located on a remote projection of the continental shelf.

Its shape resembled a giant eagle's beak, which is how it earned its name.

The area juts out into the sea, making it highly vulnerable to being surrounded and attacked from three sides.

The last two times the Hidden Mist breached the northern front, they started from there.

So it goes without saying—the place is dangerous.

However, Haruki knew that Nariki wasn't assigning him there out of spite or to punish him.

Rather, it was a tactical move—to use Haruki's personal strength to hold the weakest point in their defenses.

That location had already been breached twice.

If it happened a third time, Nariki would definitely be investigated by the ANBU.

As the saying goes—"once is an accident, twice is carelessness, thrice is incompetence."

If Mist-nin broke through from the same location three times in a row, the upper ranks would lose confidence in Nariki's leadership.

Of course, none of that really concerned Haruki.

He didn't object to the assignment because he was confident in his own power.

Even if the stronghold fell, he was sure he wouldn't die.

So he didn't really mind.

Besides, Nariki had promised to send him three full squads, totaling over fifty ninjas, to defend the stronghold alongside him.

So Haruki agreed.

Adding his own subordinates and the personnel already stationed there, the total number of defenders would exceed 200 ninjas—a number unmatched anywhere else on the northern front.

That alone showed just how concerned Nariki was about another Mist breakthrough.

Haruki shook his head and stopped overthinking.

Once the meeting ended, he wasted no time.

He quickly gathered his team and the three squads assigned by Nariki and set off overnight for Eagle's Beak Cliff.

That night, under a star-scattered sky…

Haruki and his group moved quickly.

By midnight, they had arrived at their destination.

Looking at the intact outpost, Haruki breathed a sigh of relief.

He had worried about something melodramatic—like the Mist already having captured the place before he even arrived.

If that had happened, a fierce battle would've been unavoidable.

Thankfully, he'd been overthinking.

After all, the Mist had only just begun their probing actions today.

Who knew how long it would take for them to organize a full assault?

Even if they had breached this location twice before, they wouldn't be so reckless as to attack tonight.

If Kurozawa Nariki could anticipate the need for reinforcements here, surely the Mist-nin could guess it too.

They wouldn't risk it.

If the place turned out to be a trap, the consequences for them could be disastrous.

That said, the geography here heavily favored attackers.

So, despite the risk, the Hidden Mist probably wouldn't give up on it.

They would just ramp up recon and intelligence-gathering first.

And that was one of the reasons Nariki had assigned Haruki here—to fortify the weakest link.

Tap tap tap—

Footsteps echoed ahead.

A group of Konoha ninjas, led by a Jōnin, exited the outpost and approached them.

Clearly, Haruki's arrival had alerted the stationed personnel.

Thankfully, Nariki had already sent word ahead, so the stationed ninjas weren't overly tense.

The handover process went smoothly.

After confirming his identity, Haruki assumed command of the outpost.

As usual, he assigned Uchiha Tekka to handle the daily affairs within the stronghold.

He himself returned to his quarters to resume the day's unfinished training.

Compared to managing people, Haruki still preferred cultivating his own power.

The tangible progress he gained from it had become an addiction.

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