Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Just as Uchiha Haruki came to a halt, three kunai shot toward him from the distance.

The one who launched the attack was none other than the Iwagakure jōnin who had used Earth Style: Earth Flow Return to block his Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique earlier.

After a few seconds of recovery, the enemy no longer looked as battered as before—and had rejoined the effort to surround and suppress Haruki.

But now that Haruki had finally seized a bit of initiative, how could he allow himself to fall back into their trap?

With a single thought, he fully activated the Sharingan's predictive and insight abilities.

In just an instant, he could clearly see and anticipate the flight path of the three kunai.

Wait!

Haruki was just about to dodge when he noticed something off—the handles of each kunai were wrapped with a tag.

Upon closer inspection, he realized they were explosive tags—faintly glowing, already activated.

Without hesitation, Haruki reached into his pouch, pulled out three kunai, and flung them with all his strength.

The speed was tremendous. In the blink of an eye, his kunai collided precisely with the incoming projectiles mid-air.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three sharp metallic clashes rang out, followed by bright flashes as the six kunai deflected off each other and scattered in different directions.

Then came a deafening boom—the explosive tags detonated, erupting into three massive fireballs.

The fireballs compressed the surrounding air, creating powerful shockwaves that forced Haruki back several steps.

Just as he stabilized himself, the ground beneath his feet suddenly felt soft. Looking down, he saw that the earth seemed to have turned to sludge—making it hard to keep his footing.

A jutsu?

Haruki's eyes flicked to the other two Iwagakure jōnin nearby.

The one wielding the sickle-and-chain was now crouched, both palms pressed to the ground, clearly channeling some kind of Earth Style ninjutsu.

Without thinking, Haruki leapt to the side.

The moment his feet left the ground, the area within three meters of where he'd stood transformed into a swamp-like mire.

Had he not reacted so quickly, he'd have been trapped.

This confirmed it—these three Iwa shinobi weren't just good at close-range combat; even their long-range coordination was excellent.

I can't let them control the pace.

With that in mind, Haruki dodged a few more shuriken thrown at him by the Iwa shinobi who had used Earth Style: Earth Lance earlier.

Then, his eyes locked onto the jōnin who had tried to ambush him with explosive tags.

If his hunch was right, now would be the moment that enemy launched his next jutsu.

Sure enough, when Haruki looked over, the jōnin was already forming hand signs.

In the split second their eyes met, Haruki activated the hypnotic ability of the Sharingan, disrupting the enemy's hand seals and freezing his movements.

Though he quickly snapped out of it thanks to his comrades' warning, Haruki had already gained the upper hand.

Without delay, Haruki's hands flew through hand seals—then he exhaled a barrage of blazing embers:

Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!

Like scattered flower petals, dozens of small fireballs burst forth. Under Haruki's precise control, they split into three separate waves, like tiny fire spirits dancing toward the three Iwa jōnin.

The fiery, brilliant spectacle drew attention from all over the battlefield—including the three targets themselves.

But for them, it was not beautiful—it was deadly.

To ensure maximum pressure, Haruki had poured over 200 chakra points into this attack, generating close to 150 fireballs.

If not for his Sharingan having evolved to its three-tomoe peak, he wouldn't have been able to control so many projectiles simultaneously.

As the fireballs rained down, the three Iwa jōnin quickly reacted—some dodged, some used defensive jutsu, others blocked with brute force.

After a moment of chaotic clashing, they managed to fend off the fiery assault.

However, Haruki gave them no time to recover.

His hands crossed again as he launched another jutsu:

Shadow Clone Jutsu!

In a flash, his single form became three—each one rushing toward a different enemy.

"What?!"

Seeing Haruki use Shadow Clone Jutsu so casually, the three Iwa jōnin were visibly shaken.

Even with the three of them working together, they could feel that Haruki still had the upper hand.

For him to suddenly use a chakra-draining jutsu like this—it didn't make sense.

And in a way, they were right.

Using shadow clones in the middle of combat was typically a last resort due to their immense chakra cost.

But Haruki wasn't like most shinobi—he possessed the Chakra Absorption Technique.

As long as he could absorb enough chakra after the fight, he could treat shadow clones as a regular part of his arsenal.

What's more, his clones focused primarily on swordsmanship and Sharingan-enhanced tactics, rarely using chakra-heavy ninjutsu—keeping the energy drain to a minimum.

That's why he dared to use shadow clones so freely.

Now, with three versions of himself on the field, it was a true three-versus-three match.

The Iwa jōnin could no longer encircle him—and Haruki could finally execute his battle plan.

Of course, expecting the same results as before was unlikely.

These three jōnin weren't like the previous opponents. They knew two of the figures were shadow clones. They wouldn't be so easily baited.

Which meant Haruki's clones wouldn't last long.

I need to eliminate one of them before my clones disperse.

With that decision in mind, Haruki and his two clones each charged a separate target—and the battle erupted.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Steel clashed repeatedly across the field. Haruki's true body was matched against an Iwagakure jōnin named Tarō Sugiki.

Sugiki swung his chained sickle with practiced precision, deflecting Haruki's strikes while occasionally lashing out to test if he was facing the real one.

Haruki's response was calm and restrained—mirroring his two shadow clones. Not a single enemy strike landed.

At the same time, he avoided any direct clash that would expose the real Haruki.

As a result, all three Iwa jōnin remained uncertain about which opponent was real.

But this couldn't last forever.

No matter how convincing, shadow clones still had limited durability. The moment one took serious damage, it would vanish.

And with their level of strength, the Iwa shinobi could easily deal damage if they were willing to risk some injury themselves.

Once that happened, the real Haruki would be revealed.

But that—was exactly what Haruki was waiting for.

If he could trick one of them into thinking a clone was the real him, he could launch a decisive strike against an unguarded enemy.

If timed right, he might even pull off a one-hit kill.

Why not just take advantage of the distraction and go all-out on Sugiki now?

Simple—Sugiki was too cautious right now, especially after seeing Haruki's tactics. Even if he went all-out, it would take too long to finish the job.

By then, the other two Iwa jōnin could dispel the clones—and surround him again.

Totally not worth the risk.

That's why Haruki didn't rush.

Of course, if the Iwa shinobi refused to engage the clones at all—he wouldn't be polite about it either. He would go for the kill.

Now, all that remained was to see what they would choose.