Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Search!"

After a moment of contemplation, Uchiha Haruki gave the command, directing the four squads under his leadership to search the surrounding forest.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Hyūga Feika's Byakugan, but unless they searched thoroughly, he wouldn't be able to settle his nerves.

Unfortunately, after a full fifteen minutes, they still found nothing.

During that time, the other three squads caught up. After hearing Haruki's report, they joined the search effort as well.

Still, there were no results.

Helplessly, the group had no choice but to resume their journey.

However, everyone was now on high alert.

Just after the main force had moved on, several figures emerged silently at the spot they'd just vacated. Clad in black cloaks and masked—at first glance, they looked like Konoha ANBU.

But when the leader lifted his mask, his face revealed he was none other than Ryoma Aburame.

Clearly, they weren't ANBU, but rather ROOT agents under Danzō's command.

Ryoma Aburame walked to the base of a tree and flipped his palm. Threads of chakra dispersed from his hand.

Moments later, several tiny insects, no larger than sesame seeds, crawled up from the soil and onto his hand, feasting on the lingering chakra.

These were no ordinary insects.

They were specially cultivated, mutated kikaichū, unique to the Aburame clan.

Compared to regular kikaichū, these had far weaker chakra signatures—barely detectable.

Which was precisely how they'd managed to evade Haruki's detection.

Yes—those mysterious glances Haruki had sensed came from these insects.

Of course, the insects themselves weren't "looking" at him—it was Ryoma, using a secret technique that allowed him to view through the kikaichū like remote surveillance drones.

Unfortunately for Haruki, the insects were so small and chakra-neutral that even the Sharingan couldn't locate them. Their specialized chakra-masking made reverse tracking almost impossible.

Still, Haruki's sharp reaction had spooked Ryoma. He dared not let the kikaichū get too close anymore.

But abandon the mission? That wasn't even a consideration.

Unless ordered by Danzō himself, ROOT agents never abandon a mission.

After undergoing ROOT's infamous "ego suppression" training, they had truly become tools—emotionless, obedient, unrelenting.

Of course, Ryoma was slightly different. As one of Danzō's top lieutenants, he had a bit more autonomy—he could make independent judgments.

And in his assessment, although Haruki had sensed something, he hadn't truly discovered Ryoma's presence.

This mission didn't even require Ryoma or any ROOT ninja to strike directly.

That was Danzō's order.

After learning of Uchiha Haruki and Uchiha Shisui's recent exploits, Danzō had ruled out a direct assassination attempt by his own agents.

Not because he valued their lives—but because direct interference would raise too many suspicions.

Instead, he opted for a subtler method: kill them by proxy.

And who would be the blade?

They were being sent straight to the Kirigakure battlefield—so who better than Kirigakure itself?

After collecting the kikaichū back into his body, Ryoma Aburame gave an order:

"Kuro, send a message to Faceless. Tell him the targets have entered the Land of Fire. It's time to prepare."

"Yes!"

A hoarse voice responded from behind him. The masked man's already rough voice sounded even more disturbing through the filter of his mask.

But none of the other ROOT members flinched. They stood like cold machines, unaffected by the creepy tone.

The masked man known as Kuro then raised his right hand and bit down on his thumb.

A stream of blood flowed out.

He quickly performed the hand seals: Boar–Dog–Bird–Monkey–Ram—activating the Summoning Jutsu.

With a puff of smoke, a giant night owl appeared before them.

Kuro pulled a scroll and brush from his coat, scribbled down the message, and placed it in the owl's beak. The creature then launched into the sky and vanished into the clouds.

After watching it disappear, Kuro gave Ryoma a firm nod.

Ryoma returned the gesture and said coldly, "Let's move."

With that, he dashed off in the direction Haruki's group had taken.

The other ROOT agents followed in complete silence.

Time flashed forward—Day Four.

Night.

Uchiha Haruki sat cross-legged on a tree branch, deep in training, when suddenly his brow furrowed, and he opened his eyes.

A trace of helplessness flickered in his gaze.

He had just sensed the familiar feeling of being watched again—faint, fleeting, but unmistakable.

Not only today—in fact, for the past several days, he'd felt it two to three times daily. The intensity wasn't as strong as the first time, but the sensation was undeniably real.

At first, he had ordered full alerts and conducted multiple searches.

But as the occurrences increased, he gradually gave up on reacting to them.

Haruki had considered the possibility: was this some kind of psychological warfare? Was the enemy using these subtle peeks to wear down his mental defenses?

If so, they would pay dearly. He'd make sure they regretted ever provoking him.

Tonight was especially crucial.

If the enemy planned to strike before they reached the battlefield, this was the last good opportunity.

By tomorrow afternoon, they would arrive at their destination—the southeastern coastline. Once they crossed into Konoha's defensive zone, any ambush would be much harder to execute.

So tonight, Haruki decided he wouldn't sleep.

With his current nineteen-point Spirit attribute, skipping one night of rest wasn't a big deal.

As he brooded, he suddenly heard soft footsteps approaching.

He turned and saw Uchiha Shisui standing at the base of the tree.

In the blink of an eye, Shisui used Body Flicker Technique and appeared beside him.

"You need something?" Haruki asked directly.

The two hadn't spoken since their conversation before the mission began—so Shisui showing up now clearly meant something was up.

Sure enough, with a serious expression, Shisui said, "Haruki, that sense of being watched you mentioned—I felt it today too."

"Oh? You sensed it as well?"

"Yes," Shisui nodded. "I asked around. Seems like only the two of us noticed. If it's not that the others have weak perception…"

"Then it means we're the targets," Haruki finished his sentence.

As for the perception of the others...

Haruki didn't believe all of them were less sensitive than the two of them. He wasn't a sensory-type ninja and hadn't trained in any advanced perception techniques.

Sure, thanks to his Sharingan, his spiritual energy was strong, but it was still instinctual—not specialized.

If he could feel the presence, any trained sensory ninja certainly could.

And there were two Yamanaka clan tokubetsu jōnin in the squad. Yet neither had detected anything.

Clearly, the surveillance was targeted—just at him and Shisui.