Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"What's the situation now?"

Uchiha Haruki turned to Kanda Eikaku and asked directly.

Hearing this, Kanda Eikaku immediately handed him the monocular and said, "The four Mist warships are still advancing. Looks like they're heading straight for the Forward Base."

This answer didn't surprise Haruki. He nodded, took the monocular from Eikaku, and looked in the direction he had indicated.

Tonight, the moon was exceptionally bright, and with ease, Haruki spotted the four Mist Village warships.

They had moved even closer to the reef watchtower, but rather than approaching directly, they were angling past it, forming a diagonal trajectory headed toward the Forward Base in the Land of Waves.

Just as Kanda Eikaku had said—it was highly likely they were planning to launch a direct strike on the base.

That meant Haruki's mission was to wait until battle broke out, then launch a flanking assault from the rear.

Perfect. That would buy him more time.

And at this point, every extra minute meant a greater chance for his original body to return in time.

So of course, he would delay as long as possible.

But just as this thought crossed his mind, several black figures suddenly leapt off the Mist ships.

"What's this…?"

Haruki abruptly lowered the monocular and activated his Sharingan.

Although the Sharingan didn't offer great long-range vision, its powerful insight still allowed him to discern what was happening.

"Mist-nin…"

His heart tightened.

"They're coming this way…"

Indeed, those figures had landed on the water and were now charging directly toward their watchtower.

Even more Mist-nin began jumping off the other three ships.

Altogether, nearly fifty enemy shinobi were now rushing in their direction.

Haruki's expression darkened considerably.

The others noticed his mood and quickly asked, "Captain, what's wrong?"

"The enemy's found us," Haruki replied succinctly.

"What?!"

The group reacted with mixed expressions—some tense, some composed—as they all turned toward the ocean.

Thanks to the moonlight, they could vaguely make out black figures speeding across the water toward them.

Haruki picked the monocular back up and carefully observed the movements of the Mist ships.

They were still heading toward the Land of Waves, which allowed him to breathe a little easier.

The ships hadn't turned around. That meant although the enemy had spotted them, they weren't considered a high-priority target.

And fifty enemies—though not ideal—was still a manageable number.

With that assessment in mind, Haruki immediately gave an order:

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The team responded in unison.

But before they could move out, Haruki added:

"Listen up. Once the fighting starts, focus on delaying them as long as possible. Only go all out after the ships have moved farther away—then annihilate the attackers."

This strategy had two purposes:

First, to prevent the Mist-nin from calling for reinforcements.

Second—and more importantly—to buy time.

The Konoha shinobi clearly understood the first reason. "Understood, Captain!" they said earnestly.

Haruki nodded and sent them off to prepare.

As for whether this would delay support for the front line—he didn't care much.

They were already holding off a superior force. What more could be expected of them?

It's not like the entire battle should be resting on their shoulders.

So no—Haruki wasn't the least bit worried about being blamed later.

Right now, all he wanted was for his original self to return quickly.

Flashback – A few minutes earlier…

Elsewhere…

After hours of exhausting travel, Haruki's original body had finally crossed the strait and arrived in the Land of Waves.

He dashed toward the vicinity of the Forward Base.

But before he could get close, he noticed something was wrong.

At this late hour, the base should've been quiet and still.

But instead, it was buzzing with activity—clearly building fortifications.

It only took a moment for Haruki to understand:

The enemy was coming.

Since he didn't know the status of his shadow clone, he refrained from revealing himself.

Instead, he used a Transformation Jutsu to assume a different identity.

Then, relying on his familiarity with the base and his advanced chakra concealment, he infiltrated the base and returned to his quarters.

There, beneath his bed, he opened a hidden compartment and retrieved a slip of paper.

On it, written in kanji, was a complete record of the shadow clone's mission and Haruki's strategic considerations.

This was his contingency plan, made in advance precisely for moments like this.

And now, it was paying off.

"Watchtower No. 3… delay tactics, huh…"

Haruki murmured as Fire Release chakra formed in his palm, reducing the paper to ashes.

Without pausing, he slipped out of the base again and found a secluded spot.

Then, with a splash, he jumped into the ocean.

He swam for a while underwater before surfacing again and ran atop the waves, heading toward Watchtower No. 3 from a different direction.

About twenty minutes later…

Haruki arrived near the reef watchtower.

Even before he got close, he heard the sounds of fierce battle.

Waves of chakra flared in the air—it was clear the fight was intense.

Worried that the shadow clone wouldn't last, Haruki was about to speed up.

But at that moment, a sudden flood of memory surged into his mind.

He stopped abruptly and quickly browsed through them.

As expected, they were the final memories transmitted by his shadow clone.

He skimmed through the previous three days, then focused on the events of tonight, especially the final moments before the clone dissipated.

A moment later, Haruki opened his eyes and muttered—

"…So it was her."

At the same time—

Elsewhere…

Mei Terumi stood still, staring at the sudden cloud of chakra smoke where Uchiha Haruki had just vanished.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"A shadow clone?"

She immediately became alert, scanning her surroundings in case the real Haruki tried to strike from the shadows.

But nothing happened.

Haruki's real body never appeared.

Yes—it was Mei Terumi who had defeated Haruki's shadow clone.

After three days of continuous operations, the clone's chakra reserves were running low.

To make matters worse, he encountered an elite like Mei, making it impossible to hold his ground.

Though she was still somewhat inexperienced and lacked refined combat instincts, her strength couldn't be underestimated.

She wielded two Kekkei Genkai, and her chakra reserves were massive.

With wide-range attacks from a distance, the shadow clone's weak endurance was quickly exposed.

He tried desperately to close the distance and use swordsmanship to disrupt her ninjutsu casting—but he never succeeded.

While Mei's combat skills were still developing, she wasn't reckless enough to let someone called "Ghost Blade Haruki" get close.

And so, the shadow clone was worn down and destroyed, dissipating under her relentless assault.