Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

At the same time—

Elsewhere.

On the eastern front of the Blackstone Outpost, about two kilometers from the shoreline, aboard a Kirigakure warship, the commanding Mist Jonin received a distress call from the assault unit. His brows furrowed slightly.

After realizing the frontal assault would be difficult to push through, he had activated a contingency plan—ordering another team stationed at Flying Fish Town to circle around by land and launch a surprise attack from the southern side of the Blackstone Outpost.

But in the end, the surprise attack failed.

Instead of breaching the outpost, the squad got stuck—and based on the intel, they suffered heavy losses.

This deeply disappointed Ozawa Yuki.

"Tch. Uchiha Haruki again..."

Ozawa Yuki scowled as he looked over the intel.

First, their movements were detected by this Uchiha. And now, even their backup plan was thwarted by him.

Ozawa Yuki's dislike for Uchiha Haruki had reached its peak.

Knock knock knock—

Just then, a knock came at the door.

"Come in."

With just a slight sensing effort, Ozawa Yuki knew who it was. He put away the intel and spoke up.

Creak—

The wooden door to the cabin swung open, and a figure stepped inside.

"Captain, you called for me?"

The man didn't waste any time and spoke directly.

"Yes."

Ozawa Yuki nodded.

"Ao, the surprise assault team has run into trouble. I need you to go there personally."

That's right—the person who had entered was none other than Ao, also known as the Byakugan Killer.

Hearing this, Ao frowned.

"Wasn't Jonin Zabuya leading that team? What happened?"

"Hmph."

Ozawa Yuki snorted coldly.

"Don't bring him up again. He's already dead."

"What?!"

Ao was shocked.

Privately, he had a good relationship with Hōzuki Zabuya. He was well aware of the man's capabilities—perhaps not the strongest in raw power, but certainly a master of survival.

To suddenly hear that Zabuya had died left him stunned.

But he quickly calmed himself and asked in a serious tone:

"Who killed him?"

"Uchiha Haruki," Ozawa Yuki replied bluntly.

"Him again?"

Ao's frown deepened.

He had already been suspicious of Haruki and had secretly begun an investigation.

And now, he was hearing that name once more—far too soon.

Ozawa Yuki wasn't in the mood to elaborate and instead issued a direct order:

"The situation is deteriorating over there. Take the reserve forces and head out immediately."

"Your objective isn't just to rescue the others. More importantly, look for an opportunity to launch an assault on the southern side of the Blackstone Outpost."

He paused for a moment, then continued coldly:

"And, if possible... eliminate Uchiha. Ha. Ru. Ki."

Those final syllables were practically spit through clenched teeth.

Ao hesitated briefly, but then nodded in agreement.

The first two tasks—rescue and flanking—were within reach.

But the order to kill Uchiha Haruki?

Honestly, he wasn't confident.

The village had already made multiple attempts to deal with Haruki, and yet the man was still very much alive and active. Ao didn't believe his own abilities surpassed those of the village's entire strategic team.

His instincts told him:

If I want to deal with Uchiha Haruki, I first need to understand the anomaly I sensed that night.

Otherwise, any further attempts might be pointless.

Still, the captain had given a direct order.

He had no choice but to accept.

So, Ao left to make preparations.

Meanwhile, Haruki had no idea that Ao had already uncovered clues related to his Mangekyō Sharingan activation.

Given a little more time, Ao might fully uncover Haruki's greatest trump card.

Of course, even if Ao did learn about his Mangekyō Sharingan, it didn't mean he could break through its powers.

But it would still bring a world of trouble for Haruki.

If that information were made public, both within and outside the village, those who coveted his eyes would start to move.

While Haruki's current strength was sufficient to fend off most enemies—especially if he no longer held back—being swarmed by opportunists and bounty hunters was still an unwanted hassle.

That's why Haruki had always carefully hidden his Mangekyō Sharingan: to avoid unnecessary attention.

If he knew Ao had gotten this close to the truth, he would strike first and eliminate him.

Unfortunately, he didn't know.

However, even though he was unaware of Ao's investigation, Ozawa Yuki's orders had now inadvertently given Haruki a chance to eliminate the threat before it could grow.

Why?

Simple—just earlier, Haruki had been thinking about patching up his weaknesses in reconnaissance, and Ao had crossed his mind as a possible target.

If this operation gave him the chance to deal with Ao, he could also erase the risk of having his Mangekyō Sharingan exposed.

If not—then it was only a matter of time before the truth got out.

What happened next depended on Haruki's decision.

About half an hour later.

Elsewhere—

With Haruki making consecutive moves, the tide of battle had fully turned. Konoha had gone from being on the back foot to dominating.

They were now suppressing the Mist Ninja on nearly every front.

Notably, while playing the role of a "firefighter," Haruki also took time to assist a Special Jonin from Konoha who was struggling, helping him defeat his opponent.

Now, there were only four Mist Jonin remaining on the field.

Seeing that the lower- and mid-rank ninjas had stabilized the front lines, Haruki prepared to take on the remaining Jonin, hoping to secure a complete victory.

But just then, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

Who else could it be but Yamanaka Aoi?

"Haruki-senpai, according to our latest intel, Mist has recently deployed a reserve unit. They may be heading toward your location. Captain Sano instructed me to tell you to be cautious."

"Reinforcements? How many?"

Haruki stopped in his tracks and asked mentally.

"We're not sure yet," Aoi replied awkwardly.

"They're from the reserves. Our people couldn't get close enough for an accurate assessment."

Haruki couldn't help but feel exasperated.

Still, from that short explanation, one point stood out clearly:

Mist's reinforcements were from their reserves, meaning they hadn't entered the battlefield yet.

And as far as Haruki knew, Captain Sano had already committed nearly all available forces to deal with the current Mist presence.

In other words, they had no spare manpower left.

His tone grew sharp:

"Don't tell me... the outpost isn't sending reinforcements this time?"

"Of course not!"

Aoi quickly clarified, clearly sensing Haruki's annoyance.

"Captain Sano is already reallocating troops from the battlefield. It won't be long before he sends them over. Haruki-senpai, your mission is to stall for as much time as you can."

"That's more like it," Haruki muttered.

With that, he said no more and continued:

"Alright, I understand. Tell Captain Sano to move quickly. I'll go scout the situation first."

Without waiting for Aoi to respond, Haruki cut off the mental connection.

There was no time to marvel at the intricacies of Telepathy Technique.

Haruki raised both hands and rapidly formed hand seals—

Wind Release: Wings of Wind!

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