Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

At the same time.

Under the cover of night.

Not far from a small town, the earth trembled slightly as a strange-looking insect suddenly burrowed its way out of the ground.

The creature was nearly two meters long, with three pairs of razor-sharp legs and a body covered in thick, armor-like scales. Its yellowish-brown eyes gleamed with an eerie intelligence.

It glanced around cautiously. Then, it opened its mouth—and spat out a human figure.

The man landed lightly, instantly scanning his surroundings for danger. Only after confirming it was safe did he reach out and pat the insect on the head. "Nice work, Chika."

The insect, clearly enjoying the praise, affectionately nudged his hand before curling up quietly on the ground, waiting for further orders.

The man was none other than Kohara Shuji.

And the strange insect named Chika was his summoned beast. Not only could it completely conceal its presence, but its body also contained an extra-dimensional space.

Kohara Shuji had hidden himself inside that very space, using Chika's natural stealth to tail Uchiha Haruki from underground without ever being discovered.

That's right—ever since the battle two days ago, he had been shadowing Haruki, watching his every move from beneath the earth.

The eerie feeling of being watched that Haruki occasionally sensed? It had been him.

As for why Iwagakure hadn't moved to completely surround the Konoha forces?

The answer was simple: Kohara Shuji had never passed that intel to the other Iwa shinobi.

It wasn't because he wanted to take down Haruki by himself, but rather because he didn't think the current group of Iwa forces was strong enough to stop them.

Sharing the information would only increase the chance of his own cover being blown—a risk with no real reward.

But now, things had changed.

Just earlier, he'd received word that a special elite squad sent by the village had finally arrived at the battlefield.

From what he knew, the squad was small in number, but every member was at least Special Jonin with a unique specialty. Leading them was a renowned Elite Jonin known as the Steam Ninja—Han.

And more importantly—Han was not just a normal ninja. Sealed inside him was a terrifying beast of destruction: the Five-Tails.

With that kind of firepower now in play, Kohara had finally transmitted all the intel he'd gathered to the elite team.

By his calculations, they'd arrive at the battlefield by tomorrow morning.

At the thought, Kohara stared in the direction of the distant town. It was as if he could see Haruki's figure through the dense layers of terrain. He whispered to himself, "It's close… It's almost time."

Then he gently patted the head of the strange insect beside him and said, "Chika, let's go."

The insect gave a small shiver, raised its head—and with a single gulp, swallowed Kohara Shuji back into its body.

Then, with two of its front claws, it jabbed into the soil. The earth around it seemed to liquefy, swallowing it up in an instant.

Moments later, the ground returned to normal—leaving no trace behind.

Just like that, morning arrived.

As the first light of dawn began to break, the Konoha shinobi resting in the town were already awake.

They washed up briefly, chewed on a few military ration pills to restore their energy, and prepared to move out again.

Led by several Jonin, they set off toward their next destination.

Haruki walked at the front of the formation, guarding the side of Hyuga Rinka. His Sharingan was fully activated, scanning the surroundings with a focused, tense gaze.

Rinka looked over at him multiple times, finally unable to hold back. "Haruki, what's going on with you today? You're way too tense."

Haruki glanced at him. From the expression on Rinka's face, he could see a rare sense of ease.

It wasn't just him—the surviving ninja in the squad all seemed noticeably more relaxed than they had been the past two days.

Clearly, completing their mission and heading to rendezvous with allied forces had caused some of their tension to slip.

"That's not good…"

Haruki's steps suddenly faltered.

Rinka immediately snapped to attention, thinking he had spotted something. He looked around warily and asked in a low voice, "What is it?"

Haruki, pulled out of his thoughts by the question, replied vaguely, "Oh… nothing."

Before Rinka could ask more, Haruki quickly added, "Keep your eyes open. I need to talk to Jonin Nara about something—I'll leave for a bit."

Though Rinka didn't really understand, he nodded. "Got it. Be careful."

He was a Special Jonin himself and didn't need constant guarding. Haruki had only been walking beside him because Shisui Nara had arranged for every Hyuga scout to be paired with a member of the combat unit, just in case.

Haruki nodded briefly and turned to go, but after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Rinka… be extra cautious. I've got a bad feeling about today."

With that, he vanished in a Body Flicker Technique before Rinka could respond.

Rinka froze for a beat, frowning. "Bad feeling? What's that supposed to mean? Could there still be enemies? That doesn't make sense..."

Still pondering, he recalled Haruki's unusually alert behavior all morning. A chill crept up his spine. "Wait… did he sense something?"

At that thought, he turned and scanned the dense forest around them, unease rising in his chest.

"Byakugan!"

In a flash, Rinka activated his Byakugan. The veins at his temples bulged, his appearance now sharp and intimidating.

But he was used to it.

Using the Byakugan's x-ray vision, he quickly swept his surroundings.

Aside from the now-distant Haruki, a few other Hyuga scouts, and their partners, there wasn't a single chakra presence within a one-kilometer radius.

After confirming that, Rinka breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Still...

The image of Haruki's tense expression lingered in his mind. In the end, Rinka abandoned his earlier ease, straightened up, and returned to taking his scouting duties seriously.

Meanwhile…

Roughly twenty to thirty kilometers away, a seven-man Iwagakure squad was racing across the terrain.

Suddenly, a sharp eagle cry pierced the air.

All seven members halted instantly and looked up.

From the edge of the sky, a large eagle swooped down, circled twice overhead, then dove and landed neatly on the outstretched arm of one shinobi.

The man stroked the feathers on the eagle's back gently, then retrieved a small scroll from the canister strapped to its leg.

Unrolling it, he stared at the numbers written inside. Then, referencing a cipher in his memory, he quickly translated it.

"What's the message?" asked one of the others, watching him intently.

Instead of replying, the man casually rubbed his fingers together. A spark of fire chakra flared to life, and the scroll burned to ash in his palm.

Only once the ashes scattered in the breeze did he finally speak.

"Jonin Kohara just sent intel. The Konoha squad has left the town. Based on their movement trajectory, command believes they're planning to rendezvous with the group that broke through Tiger Mountain Camp yesterday."

"Then what's the plan?" one of the other Iwa shinobi asked immediately. "Do we intercept them on the road, or head straight to Tiger Mountain Camp and wait for them to walk into a trap?"