Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

After eliminating the three Iwagakure jōnin, Uchiha Haruki scanned the battlefield, evaluating the overall situation.

During the later battles last night, perhaps due to already receiving orders allowing for retreat, the upper-ranking Iwa shinobi didn't display much will to resist.

And with no strong leadership, the mid- and lower-tier ninjas naturally didn't fight with much dedication either.

As a result, combined with the overwhelming numerical advantage on their side, the casualty count had been significantly lower compared to the first base encounter.

Which meant—even now, they still had over four hundred shinobi in fighting condition.

In contrast, although Iwagakure had gathered a fair number of reinforcements at this third-line base, their total strength barely reached two hundred.

So, on the battlefield, it was still Konoha who held the upper hand.

Even in the matchups between jōnin, Haruki was the only one facing multiple opponents—everyone else had the numbers advantage.

Don't be misled into thinking that just because Iwagakure had gathered elite forces from previous bases they'd be superior—in truth, they were still a notch below the Konoha squad.

After all, Konoha's side had prepared for this long in advance. The troops assembled for this task were elite units that Iwagakure's hastily patched-together groups couldn't compare to.

If that weren't the case, the higher-ups wouldn't have entrusted them with the critical mission of stalling the enemy reinforcements.

After all, it was a given: the support forces Iwagakure was sending next would be no joke.

If Konoha's strength wasn't up to the task, this wouldn't be a holding action—it would be a suicide mission.

Naturally, the command center wouldn't just send them off to die. That's why their personnel and resources were well above standard.

That also explained why the casualty rate during last night's engagements had been relatively low.

These thoughts flashed through Haruki's mind as he shifted his attention away from the jōnin and locked onto the more troublesome Iwa chūnin who were still putting up fierce resistance.

Compared to the surrounded Iwa jōnin, these chūnin were the real problem—because no one was able to pin them down.

In just ten short minutes, several Konoha shinobi had already died at their hands. Haruki couldn't allow this to continue.

It wasn't out of compassion for his fellow shinobi—it was about preparation for the even tougher battle ahead. The squad simply couldn't afford to take too many losses now.

After all, no matter how strong he was, he was only one person. When Iwagakure's reinforcements arrived, he'd need these people to draw attention and divide the pressure.

If too many of them died now, it would cost him dearly later.

With that thought, Haruki leapt forward, charging straight at an Iwa chūnin.

"What the hell was that?!"

Yamaguchi Ishibashi was locked in a fierce battle with a Konoha chūnin when he suddenly sensed a dark blur flash past him.

Out of instinct, he turned to look.

But before he could process it, a chilling sense of danger exploded from his side, sending a cold shiver down his spine.

Without a moment's hesitation, he dodged to one side—just in time to see a short sword stab through empty air.

A cold sweat broke out across his entire body.

Judging by the position of that sword, if he'd hesitated even a second longer, it wouldn't have been air that was pierced—it would've been his heart.

"Who the hell was that?!"

Yamaguchi was both alarmed and confused. He turned to follow the trail of the blade, hoping to catch sight of the attacker.

But all he saw was a fluttering corner of a cloak—the enemy had vanished.

Just as he prepared to resume the search—

That same ominous feeling returned.

"No!"

Yamaguchi's face twisted in panic as he quickly dodged again.

Slice!

The blade grazed his arm, carving out a wound nearly an inch deep.

"Ngh!"

He grunted in pain, gritting his teeth as he stabbed his kunai in the direction of the attack while keeping his eyes locked on that side.

Still—no one there.

Swish!

Yet another strike came from behind. Even though Yamaguchi dodged as best he could, it still tore through his flesh.

He retaliated once more—and again found no one.

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead. This enemy was like a phantom—a ghost that left only fleeting shadows behind.

The fear and humiliation burned inside him.

If it were an honorable duel, even if he lost, he'd accept it. But this? This was mockery. He felt like prey being toyed with.

As he brooded over it—slash!

Another wound.

Finally, Yamaguchi snapped.

With a furious roar, his hands began flying through hand seals—he was clearly preparing to unleash a powerful jutsu.

But before he could finish the sequence—

Thunk!

A short sword pierced straight through his back and skewered his heart.

Pfft!

Blood gushed from his mouth.

As he stared down at the blade protruding from his chest, his eyes were filled with disbelief and resentment.

The truth was—he hadn't been preparing an actual ninjutsu.

He was faking it—a trap.

He'd hoped to lure the mysterious attacker into striking, confident that based on previous patterns, he'd be able to dodge and counterattack at the perfect moment.

But he underestimated the opponent's speed.

That fake weakness he'd purposely revealed? It became his death sentence.

"I... I can't accept this…" he gasped.

And then, as Uchiha Haruki yanked the blade free, Yamaguchi collapsed to the ground—lifeless.

Even in death, he had never seen the face of the one who killed him. No wonder his soul was filled with such bitter regret.

Haruki glanced down at the corpse without a word.

He flicked the blood from his blade, gave a quick nod to the nearby Konoha chūnin—who stood there frozen in shock—then vanished again using the Body Flicker Technique.

His next target: another Iwa chūnin.

In just over ten minutes, Haruki had personally eliminated more than twenty highly skilled Iwa chūnin—dramatically reducing potential losses on the Konoha side.

A few Iwa jōnin tried to intervene, but they were blocked by the Konoha jōnin they were already engaged with.

Of course, by battlefield etiquette, a jōnin like Haruki technically shouldn't be targeting lower-ranked shinobi.

But…

What could Iwagakure do about it? They were on the back foot.

Even if they wanted to retaliate in kind, they didn't have the advantage—so Haruki was free to act without restraint.

The battle continued.

Haruki kept hunting down Iwa chūnin—any who performed too well were quickly silenced.

The result?

Many Iwa chūnin, even those with great skill, dared not reveal it.

The lower-tier battles quickly became one-sided.

And it wasn't surprising. Konoha had already held a numerical edge.

Now, with all the bold Iwa fighters being picked off by Haruki, how could the tide not turn even further in Konoha's favor?

Just a few more minutes passed, and the number of surviving Iwagakure shinobi had dropped below a hundred.

Just as Haruki was about to shift his focus to the Iwa jōnin, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

Not just in his mind—every single Konoha shinobi still alive on the field heard it at the same time.

"All units, execute Plan C immediately!"

Haruki recognized the voice—it belonged to a jōnin from the Yamanaka Clan, one of their communication specialists.

At that moment, the shinobi must have used the Mind Communication Technique to relay orders from the task force commander, Nara Shisui.

And Plan C?

It was the strategy they'd long prepared—to stall Iwagakure's reinforcements and buy time for Konoha's all-out counteroffensive at other bases.

Which meant—

Iwagakure's reinforcements were almost here.

The moment that realization hit him, Haruki moved without hesitation.

According to the plan, he withdrew from the battlefield, sprinting back toward the direction they had originally come from.