Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

While Uchiha Haruki was locked in a fierce battle of wits and strength with Han, Hyūga Renga was sprinting at full speed—and finally made it back to the main unit.

But the moment he arrived, he noticed something was off.

The entire squad had come to a halt. Everyone stood frozen in place, as if on high alert for something. A bad feeling crept into his chest.

Still, Renga didn't have time to dwell on it. He had no idea how long Haruki could hold out—there was no time to waste.

So the instant he rejoined the unit, he made a beeline straight for Nara Soshimizu.

At that moment, Soshimizu was deep in discussion with several Konoha jonin. Every one of their faces was marked by intense seriousness.

Clearly, they were dealing with something troublesome.

But Renga didn't wait. He walked straight up to them.

Seeing him approach, Soshimizu and the others paused their discussion.

It was Hyūga Aoyama—of the same clan—who first spoke up.

"Renga? Weren't you on point patrol? Why are you back already?"

"Something happened!"

Renga stopped in front of them, panting for breath.

The words "something happened" instantly made everyone's heart skip a beat.

"What happened?" they asked urgently.

Renga gasped a few more times, then rapidly explained,

"A few minutes ago, while Uchiha Haruki and I were scouting ahead, we ran into an Iwagakure team!"

"Iwa-nin?"

"How many? What's their strength?" someone asked quickly.

"Seven of them—all jonin. Four are slightly weaker, two are strong. The seventh one is the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki—Han!"

Renga answered without hesitation.

"What?!"

The entire group reacted just as Haruki had earlier. Disbelief flashed across their faces—no one had expected the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki to suddenly show up here.

Eventually, it was Nara Soshimizu who regained his composure first.

"And Uchiha Haruki?"

Renga answered immediately,

"When I activated my Byakugan, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki noticed us. Haruki-senpai is holding them off—we have to send reinforcements immediately!"

But Soshimizu didn't give an immediate order.

His mind was racing through countless scenarios and calculations.

Renga was getting impatient. "What's the problem?" he asked.

Under normal circumstances, shouldn't they immediately dispatch jonin units for backup and try to wipe out the enemy?

Why was Soshimizu hesitating?

Renga couldn't understand.

Seeing this, Aoyama stepped in. "Renga, calm down."

Renga took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. After composing himself, he asked,

"Did something happen on our side?"

Now that he had calmed down and looked closely, he realized something must have happened. The atmosphere was too tense. Soshimizu's hesitation wasn't without cause.

Sure enough, Aoyama responded,

"A short while ago, reconnaissance teams from other directions also spotted Iwa-nin."

"Hiss—"

Renga sucked in a cold breath.

"You mean, from multiple directions?"

"That's right," Aoyama confirmed. "There are quite a few of them. We're essentially surrounded."

"Is it because of that enemy hiding in the shadows?"

Renga asked cautiously.

Earlier, Haruki had told him everything that had been discussed in the meeting after his return—so he knew the basics.

Now, upon hearing they were surrounded, his first thought was of that mysterious hidden observer.

If there hadn't been someone secretly leaking their position, there was no way Iwagakure forces could've surrounded them so quickly.

Even at top speed, it should've taken at least one to two more hours for the enemy to reach the town where they stayed last night—not their current location.

Which meant the enemy had been pursuing them without making any detours.

They had to have known exactly where the Konoha force was going. That was the only explanation for how they got here and surrounded them so fast.

Aoyama's next words confirmed Renga's guess.

"It's that guy."

"You found him?" Renga asked.

Aoyama nodded.

"He appeared once a short while ago. I saw him with my Byakugan, but he was too far. By the time we got close, he'd already vanished."

"He escaped?"

Renga frowned.

"Yes," Aoyama replied, helplessly. But then he added, "Forget him. He's not important right now. What matters is the group of Iwa-nin closing in around us."

"How far are they from us?" Renga asked.

"Four to five kilometers."

Another ninja chimed in with a sigh,

"Good thing we were prepared and deployed the recon teams five kilometers out. Otherwise, we'd be completely caught off guard right now."

Everyone nodded at the thought.

Had they not expanded their scouting range, they wouldn't have known they were surrounded until it was far too late.

If Renga had brought his message under those conditions, the response would have likely been to dispatch the combat units straight away to ambush Han's squad.

But if that happened—and the enemy was just waiting for it—they would've shrunk the net and launched a devastating ambush on the main unit.

No time to prepare… No time to think.

And speaking of thinking strategies…

All eyes turned to Nara Soshimizu.

At that moment, he emerged from his thoughts.

Without wasting a single word, he turned to Yamanaka Kazekaze and ordered,

"Kazekaze, send word to all combat units—rendezvous and support Uchiha Haruki immediately!"

"Yes!"

Yamanaka Kazekaze didn't hesitate. He formed hand seals, closed his eyes, and activated the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transmission Technique.

In less than thirty seconds, he had relayed Soshimizu's orders to all combat squads—along with Haruki's location and enemy details.

Once he opened his eyes again, another ninja asked,

"What about the Iwa-nin surrounding us?"

"Ignore them," Soshimizu replied calmly.

"Ignore them?!"

Multiple voices cried out at once, full of disbelief.

"Yes. Ignore them," Soshimizu repeated, nodding with certainty.

"From now on, we push forward with full speed toward Tiger Mountain Encampment.

As long as the combat squad holds off that Iwa-nin team, we can break through before the rest of their net tightens around us."

"Will we have enough time?" someone asked.

"We will," Soshimizu answered confidently.

"And after that?" another asked. "What if Iwa keeps chasing?"

Soshimizu replied,

"According to my calculations, they won't be able to catch us."

He paused for a second before adding,

"At least not before we rendezvous with reinforcements from Tiger Mountain Encampment."

His tone was so assured that everyone felt a surge of confidence.

No one questioned him again. They all turned to carry out their assignments immediately.