Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"What?!"

Seeing a barrage of fireballs suddenly hurtling toward him, Shoji Obara cried out in shock. How is it this fast?! he thought in disbelief.

But there was no time to dwell on it.

The fireballs were almost upon him. Shoji Obara stomped hard against the ground and threw himself backward, narrowly avoiding the assault.

As for the insect beast—

The moment it sensed danger, it burrowed into the earth and vanished without a trace.

Uchiha Haruki, unable to sense it anymore, chose not to pursue. Instead, he focused all his attention on Shoji Obara.

Before the man could steady himself again, Haruki performed a Body Flicker Technique, appearing right in front of him, his short sword lunging straight for Shoji Obara's heart.

Caught off guard, Shoji Obara couldn't dodge in time. He could only swing his kunai to deflect the blow.

Slash—

The sound of a blade slicing through flesh rang out.

The short sword scraped along Shoji Obara's side, leaving a deep gash. Blood instantly welled up and soaked his clothes.

Grimacing through the pain, Shoji Obara raised his kunai to counterattack.

But before he could move, Haruki had already predicted it. His body flickered again—disappearing from sight.

Seeing this all-too-familiar move, Shoji Obara snapped to attention, channeling every bit of focus to his surroundings, staying on high alert for any attack from his blind spots.

He had fought Haruki before. This vanishing strike tactic had been used multiple times. Shoji Obara had gained some experience with it, so he instinctively guarded where he couldn't see.

Whoosh—

A blade cut through the air.

A chill ran down Shoji Obara's spine. He quickly spun around and leapt back, raising his kunai just in time to block Haruki's short sword.

"He'll probably vanish again and come at me from the left or right," Shoji Obara speculated as he watched Haruki's feet, trying to predict his next move.

But to his surprise, Haruki didn't disappear like before. This time, he stayed put.

"What's going on?"

Just as Shoji Obara was puzzled, a wave of danger washed over him.

He looked up slightly—and saw that a pale blue ball of chakra had appeared in Haruki's left palm.

As a Jonin, Shoji Obara immediately recognized what it was: a high-density chakra sphere.

Being able to compress chakra to that level meant the attack would be devastating.

"I can't take that head-on!"

He made a split-second decision.

Slamming his feet into the ground, Shoji Obara retreated rapidly.

But Haruki was already chasing, his left hand thrusting the Rasengan directly toward Shoji Obara's abdomen.

At the last possible moment, Shoji Obara activated a Substitution Jutsu.

Boom—!

Haruki's Rasengan slammed down—but only shattered a pile of rocks left behind by the substitution technique.

Seeing this, Shoji Obara's eyelids twitched. Good thing I didn't try to block that. If it had landed, I'd be critically injured at the very least.

Haruki turned sharply, locking onto Shoji Obara's position, and moved in to chase him down.

But right then, the insect beast suddenly burst out of the ground ahead of him and lunged at Haruki.

Haruki paused slightly, then ducked low, dodging the creature's pounce.

As the beast flew overhead, Haruki raised his sword, ready to strike.

But the creature twisted in midair. Its thick, armored tail lashed toward Haruki from behind.

The whistling wind from the strike alone told Haruki he couldn't afford to take the hit.

With explosive power, he launched himself into the air.

Crack—!

The insect beast's tail slammed into the ground, creating a deep fissure in the earth. The sheer force was terrifying.

Haruki's eyes narrowed. Forming seals rapidly with both hands, he unleashed Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, hurling a massive fireball straight at the insect beast.

The creature had no time to escape. It curled its body inward, wrapping its tail protectively around its softer belly and head, relying on the thick armor on its back and tail to absorb the attack.

Boom—!

The fireball exploded on contact, blasting the insect beast off its feet and slamming it hard into the ground.

Hissss!

Flames engulfed its body as it writhed and screeched in agony.

Haruki didn't hesitate. He began forming seals again to follow up with another strike.

But suddenly—he felt a chill of danger.

Out of the corner of his eye, Haruki saw something forming—Shoji Obara was crafting a Wind Blade, which then shot toward him like a bullet.

It moved too fast to dodge.

Haruki quickly rotated his body and released the half-formed fireball he'd been about to use—launching it forward.

Whoosh—

The fireball was sliced clean in half mid-air. Its chakra core was destroyed and dissipated with a pop.

But the Wind Blade kept coming, unfazed by the fireball.

Haruki's Sharingan spun rapidly, its three tomoe locking onto the wind blade's trajectory. With a sudden lunge, he dove to the side.

Slash—!

Blood sprayed.

The Wind Blade grazed past, carving a deep gash in Haruki's left arm—bone clearly visible beneath the torn flesh.

Haruki's gaze turned icy, but he didn't go after Shoji Obara. Instead, he charged straight toward the insect beast.

He had figured it out.

This beast was the biggest obstacle in taking down Shoji Obara. As long as it was alive, it would keep interfering.

That meant—he had to kill it.

The beast had just taken a direct hit from his fireball and was still weakened. This was the perfect chance.

"Chika!"

Shoji Obara called out anxiously as he saw Haruki's intent.

The insect beast endured its burning pain and fled into the distance.

As for burrowing into the earth again—Haruki was already too close. It didn't have the time.

Its six legs scrambled over the terrain in a desperate sprint.

Haruki reached into his ninja pouch, pulling out the last few kunai he had. He wrapped them with explosive tags and threw them with pinpoint precision.

Thanks to his perfect mastery of Ninja Tool Throwing and the prediction power of the three-tomoe Sharingan, Haruki landed each kunai exactly where he intended.

As the insect beast ran, a kunai suddenly embedded itself into a tree trunk ahead—its explosive tag already lit and burning.

The beast immediately veered right—only to find another burning kunai waiting in that direction.

It shrieked and swerved again—only to be greeted by a third kunai.

Hisssss—!

The insect beast howled in terror.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

All three tags detonated simultaneously.

The resulting explosion blew the creature backward through the air.

Dazed and confused, it barely had time to react when a short sword came streaking toward it. Instinctively, it tried to dodge—but the blade tracked its movement.

Pshhhk—!

The sword drove straight into its right eye and pierced deep into its brain.

Screeeeech—!

A terrible scream erupted from the beast as it flailed violently, flinging Haruki through the air.

In mid-flight, Haruki pulled the sword free.

A mix of blood and brain matter spilled from the creature's eye socket, slinging through the air as its body convulsed.

There was no surviving that.