Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Below deck.

Inside a Kirigakure warship, Ao suddenly opened his eyes, and his face turned grim.

A nearby Kirigakure jonin noticed the change and immediately asked,

"What's wrong, Ao?"

As the only ninja in Kirigakure with the Byakugan, Ao carried enormous expectations. Almost every mission of importance involved him, and this one was no exception.

His role was simple but critical—use his Byakugan's x-ray vision to observe a one-kilometer radius and ensure the operation proceeded without disruption.

Now, seeing the way Ao's expression had shifted, the jonin felt a bad premonition rise in his chest.

Ao's next words confirmed his fear.

"Our presence may have been discovered."

"What?"

Even though the jonin had mentally prepared for the worst, hearing those words still made his heart sink.

They had spent weeks meticulously planning this operation. All communications had been tightly controlled. How could they have been compromised already?

"What happened, exactly?"

Trying to remain composed, the jonin pressed for details.

Ao shook his head.

"I'm not sure. All I saw in the sky… was Uchiha Haruki. Beyond that—I know nothing."

"Uchiha Haruki?" the jonin repeated, his expression hardening. He walked to the nearby porthole and peered outside.

Seeing this, Ao spoke up, "No need to look—he's already gone. What matters now is that we report this to the captain and decide how to proceed."

Realizing the urgency, the jonin didn't waste another second.

"You keep scanning the area," he instructed quickly, then turned and left the cabin at a brisk pace.

Now alone, Ao's face took on a contemplative look.

After a long silence, he muttered,

"Something's… different."

The chakra flow inside Uchiha Haruki this time was completely different from what he had observed two days ago. This only deepened Ao's curiosity.

Driven by the thought, he pulled a sealed scroll from his tool pouch.

Forming a hand seal, he released the scroll with a puff of chakra, and several ancient-looking books appeared in front of him.

These books were clearly worn and aged—collected over the last two days through Ao's access to Kirigakure's internal networks.

They all contained information about the Uchiha clan.

With great care, he picked up one and began to flip through it.

The sound of turning pages—shaa, shaa, shaa—soon filled the cabin.

Within moments, Ao was absorbed in reading.

As for the captain's response…

Ao honestly didn't care.

Or rather—he already knew what it would be.

No matter what, the operation wouldn't be canceled.

Why?

Because the village had invested too much into this campaign. They weren't about to abandon it due to a minor leak.

Besides, this naval assault wasn't the only move being made.

Three other Kirigakure outposts were also preparing to launch simultaneous attacks between tonight and tomorrow morning.

So even if their movements had been exposed—the mission would still go forward, perhaps even faster.

Ao's prediction proved correct.

After the jonin reported the intelligence up the chain of command, it didn't take long before the entire fleet began to accelerate.

At this point, they no longer cared if they'd been spotted.

All that mattered was reaching the target quickly and launching the assault before Konoha could mount a full defense.

But no matter how fast the fleet moved…

they could never be faster than Uchiha Haruki.

Fifteen minutes later.

Haruki arrived back at Blackstone Outpost.

Without even pausing to catch his breath, he made a beeline for the command center.

BANG—!

The doors to the war room slammed open as Haruki burst inside.

The Konoha jonin stationed there were startled by the sudden noise and were about to reprimand him—until they saw his face.

Dead serious.

"Haruki, what happened?" one of them asked urgently.

Haruki didn't waste a single word.

"Notify Captain Sano immediately. The Mist ninja at Flying Fish Town are approaching by sea—they're preparing to attack."

"WHAT?"

The jonin around him stood up in shock, unable to believe their ears.

But when they saw Haruki's expression—the urgency, the certainty—they swallowed whatever they were about to say.

One of them quickly composed himself.

"I'll alert the captain and gather the other jonin."

Without another word, he ran off.

Another followed suit:

"I'll start mustering our forces. The eastern perimeter may not hold—we need to reinforce it immediately!"

With that, he too left the room.

The rest of the ninja fell into step, quickly taking on roles and initiating preparations.

Within moments, Haruki was alone in the room—but not for long.

A distant noise rolled through the outpost as emergency alarms sounded.

It was clear: every Konoha ninja had been mobilized.

Haruki stayed in the war room.

He knew Captain Sano Nobuhisa would want details—and fast.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, Sano arrived, visibly flustered.

"Haruki! Tell me everything—what's going on with Kirigakure?!"

Haruki didn't hesitate. He recounted everything he had seen in detail.

As for his own deductions and theories—he didn't bother explaining those.

If he could figure it out, he knew the captain could too.

And he was right.

After listening to Haruki's report, Sano Nobuhisa frowned deeply.

"It seems Kirigakure's preparations go much deeper than we realized…"

He paused, then added,

"Good thing we didn't relax our guard, or we'd be in serious trouble right now."

Haruki knew exactly what he meant by "not relaxing."

Ever since Flying Fish Town was overrun, Blackstone Outpost had shifted its defenses more toward land-based threats.

However—they hadn't fully abandoned their ocean-facing defenses either.

That made all the difference.

As long as they could hold out for a bit, Sano would be able to rally enough forces to reinforce the east flank.

And that wouldn't have been possible without Haruki.

If he hadn't brought the intel in time, Konoha might've been caught completely off-guard.

Had that happened, the consequences would've been disastrous.

Thanks to Haruki, though, the outpost still had a chance to respond—however limited.

Just that one act had probably saved dozens—if not hundreds—of lives.

Realizing this, Sano's expression shifted as he looked at Haruki.

He suddenly felt complicated.

Two days ago, he'd been frustrated that Haruki was "playing dumb" and refusing to act as bait to draw out the enemy.

Now?

In just two days, Haruki had brought them crucial intelligence and probably prevented a catastrophe.

Sano felt embarrassed just thinking about it.

"Captain?"

Haruki noticed Sano staring at him in silence and asked,

"Do you have further instructions?"

"Oh! Yes—sorry."

Sano snapped back to reality, straightening his posture.

He took a moment to think, then said:

"Haruki, you don't need to worry about anything down here."

"Your job now is to return to the skies and track the enemy's every move.

Keep relaying their position and status in real time."

Haruki nodded.

"No problem. Have Yamanaka Aoi connect with me shortly."

Yamanaka Aoi was a special jonin stationed at the outpost. As a member of the Yamanaka clan, he was skilled in Telepathic Communication Techniques, making him the ideal relay for updates.

Haruki himself had developed a version of the telepathy jutsu and could've left behind a shadow clone to handle comms.

But sometimes—it's better not to reveal everything.

There was no need to take credit when there were perfectly capable teammates already present.

"Yamanaka Aoi, huh…"

Sano pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Got it. I'll send him your way—now go!"

"Understood."

With a brief reply, Haruki vanished from the room using the Body Flicker Technique.

A moment later, he cast Wind Release: Wings of the Wind, and soared once again into the sky.

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