Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

After the discussion, Haruki returned to Hyūga Rinkai's side and briefly summarized what had been discussed during the strategy meeting.

Upon hearing the summary, Rinkai finally understood the seriousness of the situation—and why Haruki had rushed off so abruptly earlier. If Haruki's premonition turned out to be true, then it would indeed be a terrifying development.

This also made Rinkai far more cautious as he resumed his scouting duties. Almost every minute, he would activate his Byakugan to scan the area within a kilometer radius.

Fortunately, everything remained calm all the way through the short rest period in the late morning. No signs of anything unusual.

Unfortunately, their luck ended there.

Less than half an hour after they resumed marching, Rinkai did another routine sweep with his Byakugan—and his expression suddenly changed.

Haruki, who had been watching him closely, immediately noticed the shift and asked, "Rinkai, did you find something?"

Rinkai turned his head and looked toward the right front quadrant. His voice was serious. "Three o'clock direction, roughly six hundred meters ahead. There's an Iwagakure squad."

Hearing this, Haruki immediately looked in that direction, but the distance was too far for him to see anything with the naked eye or even his Sharingan. So he pressed further, "How many of them? What's their strength like?"

"Seven." Rinkai first confirmed the number.

"And their strength?" Haruki asked again.

Although a ninja's strength couldn't be determined solely by chakra reserves, it was undeniable that those with higher chakra levels generally had stronger abilities. Estimating enemy strength by chakra levels was basic protocol—and Haruki often relied on it.

And compared to the Sharingan, the Byakugan had far better precision when it came to detecting chakra.

Sure enough, a moment later, Rinkai reported, "Four of them are average. Their chakra is about one-fourth of yours."

"One-fourth?" Haruki murmured, glancing at his status panel.

His current chakra cap was 24,724 points. During missions, he typically maintained it at around 24,000. A quarter of that was 6,000—roughly the level of a Tokubetsu Jōnin.

In just a second, Haruki had a rough idea of the strength of those four.

Then Rinkai added, "The other two are stronger. Their chakra is about half of yours."

"Half?" Haruki frowned slightly. That meant around 12,000 points—more than enough to surpass the 'one-card' threshold.

'Are those two both Elite Jōnin?' Haruki wondered.

Still, he didn't panic. At this level, battle experience and technique mattered even more than raw chakra. Without proper combat awareness, even someone with high chakra reserves wouldn't necessarily qualify as an Elite Jōnin.

If regular Jōnin were the backbone of a village, then Elite Jōnin were the steel beams.

In peacetime, they were even potential candidates for Kage.

That meant there wouldn't be many of them in any village—including Iwagakure. Sending two at once? Unlikely.

Haruki silently breathed a bit easier.

Then he asked, "What about the last one?"

Rinkai paused. He furrowed his brow and stared toward the target's location. Several seconds passed, but he remained silent, straining his vision.

Then suddenly—"Ah!"

He let out a startled cry and deactivated his Byakugan, gasping for air. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, and he looked as if he'd just been shocked out of a nightmare.

Before Haruki could ask, Rinkai yelled, "We have to go! Now!"

Without wasting a second, Haruki grabbed his arm and dashed toward the direction of the main group at top speed.

It took over ten seconds before Rinkai finally caught his breath. As they ran, he broke free from Haruki's grip and began explaining.

"That last guy isn't just some normal ninja. If I'm not mistaken, he's the Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails."

"What?" Haruki froze in his tracks, staring in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

From Rinkai's earlier reaction, Haruki had already guessed this final individual wasn't simple—but he hadn't expected it to be the Five-Tails Jinchūriki.

More importantly...

'Iwagakure actually deployed such a monstrous weapon?'

Haruki frowned in doubt.

But thinking further, it wasn't that surprising. After all, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki—Han—was far more stable than others. There wasn't much risk of him going berserk.

And this wasn't the first time Iwagakure had sent Han into battle.

Otherwise, how did he earn the nickname "Steam Ninja"? That title was built from blood and fire.

Thinking this through, Haruki no longer felt it was all that shocking.

But...

'He's a Jinchūriki... If I could turn him into a chakra battery, I wouldn't have to worry about chakra for a long time,' Haruki thought, feeling temptation creep into his heart.

What? Not strong enough?

Sure, his current strength wasn't enough to take down a Jinchūriki—but his Sharingan was only one point away from evolving: (9999/10000).

Once he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, his power would skyrocket.

With Mangekyō-level ocular power and his Level 6 Genjutsu: Sharingan Eye already more than halfway upgraded, controlling a mere Jinchūriki might not be out of reach.

Even if the opponent fully transformed into a Tailed Beast, Haruki believed he still had a shot.

And if his Mangekyō awakened an especially powerful ability, things might be even easier.

But...

After a fierce internal debate, Haruki ultimately gave up the idea. He had three main reasons.

First: he didn't want to prematurely awaken the Mangekyō and disrupt his long-term plans.

Second: capturing a Tailed Beast would bring too much attention. Uchiha Madara wasn't dead yet. If he caught wind of Haruki's potential, he might capture and manipulate him to push the Moon's Eye Plan forward.

Haruki had no interest in getting tangled up with a dying man's ambitions.

And third: there were too many people nearby—not just Konoha ninja, but Iwagakure's as well.

If he made a move and couldn't quickly take Han down, it would spark an all-out battle. His Mangekyō would definitely be exposed, and that would invite even greater trouble.

None of that fit into his plans.

So, after weighing everything, Haruki decided to let it go—for now.

Still, such an opportunity shouldn't go to waste.

Even if he couldn't capture Han, observing the man's combat style and strength was incredibly valuable intel.

He might never target the Five-Tails again, but preparation was never a bad thing.

"Haruki? Haruki?"

Rinkai's anxious voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Seeing him come back to his senses, Rinkai urged, "Why'd you stop? When I activated my Byakugan earlier, that Tailed Beast noticed me! The Jinchūriki is heading our way—we need to regroup with the main force!"

But before he could finish speaking, a loud whoooosh noise—like a train starting up—suddenly echoed from afar, growing louder by the second.

Hearing the sound, Rinkai instantly activated his Byakugan and scanned the direction it was coming from.

One glance—and his face went pale.

"He's here! Run!"

But even without Rinkai's warning, Haruki had already seen the man tearing through the trees.

Clad in red armor, wearing a straw hat, and wreathed in white steam, the figure surged forward with terrifying speed.

He didn't bother dodging small trees—he simply barreled through them like they were nothing. Only the thicker trunks could slightly alter his path.

Such unstoppable momentum was terrifying beyond words.

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