Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Chika!"

Not far away, Shoji Obara cried out anxiously when he saw Uchiha Haruki's sword pierce the insect beast's skull.

Unlike the typical relationship between a shinobi and a summoned creature, Shoji Obara and Chika shared a deep bond.

Chika had appeared to him in a twist of fate during his youth and had accompanied him through almost his entire ninja career.

After that one mission—when his teacher and two teammates had been killed by a member of the Uchiha clan—Chika had become his closest companion.

In truth, without Chika, he wouldn't have survived to see today.

So now, seeing Chika severely wounded ignited pure rage in him.

Without hesitation, Shoji Obara formed hand seals again and unleashed the same Wind Release technique he had used before.

A nearly invisible Wind Blade coalesced in front of him and, under his control, shot straight toward Haruki.

However, having already experienced the technique once, Haruki was not about to be hit by the same move again. Despite its remarkable speed, he dodged it with ease.

Not only that—he had watched every detail of Shoji Obara's chakra gathering and hand signs, and he had recently developed Wind-nature chakra himself.

That meant he had the foundation to copy it.

There were many jutsu Haruki wouldn't bother replicating, but this one, a B-rank technique at minimum, piqued his interest.

While he already had his eyes set on a powerful S-rank Wind technique—Wind Release: Rasenshuriken—there was no harm in learning an additional jutsu along the way.

After all, one could never have too many skills in battle.

Besides, mastering the Rasenshuriken would still take time. This technique could fill the gap for now. It had good range, solid power, and excellent speed—an overall rare and valuable ninjutsu.

Naturally, Haruki wasn't going to let it slip by. He immediately activated the copy ability of the Sharingan and duplicated the technique on the spot.

While dodging the Wind Blade, he glanced at his system panel.

As expected, a new jutsu had appeared in his skill list.

And surprisingly, it had skipped the untrained stage (Lv0) and jumped straight to Lv1 (1/200)—the entry-level.

In other words, Haruki could now perform this jutsu immediately, though it might still lack finesse.

This was Haruki's first time using the Sharingan's copying function.

And honestly? It felt… strange—but fascinating.

It was as though he had suddenly understood the entire process of casting the jutsu just by watching it once. That knowledge had been imprinted into his mind, allowing him to replicate it.

He guessed the reason he only reached the beginner level was because his understanding of Wind Release wasn't yet deep enough. He hadn't mastered the nature or shape transformation of Wind chakra.

But once those skills improved, future copies might immediately land at level 2, 3, or even 4.

Either way, it wouldn't be low.

The only surprise was that the copied technique had no name.

Yes—next to the skill's level, there was just a string of garbled characters. It seemed that because Haruki didn't know the technique's name, the panel couldn't display it.

Still, that wasn't a bad thing.

It confirmed that the panel relied on his understanding to populate information, rather than showing him unfamiliar or incomprehensible things.

Putting those thoughts aside, Haruki focused his mind and gave the jutsu a name: Wind Release: Blade of Wind.

The garbled text on the panel flickered for a moment before transforming into:

[Wind Release: Blade of Wind – Lv1 (1/200)]

With that done, Haruki closed the panel and turned his gaze back to Shoji Obara.

At this moment, Shoji was still frozen in the position of having just cast his jutsu.

Although everything that had just happened seemed lengthy in explanation, in real time it had only taken a brief moment.

With his fully evolved three-tomoe Sharingan pushed to its limits, Haruki's neural reactions were several times faster than an average person's, allowing him to think and process at incredible speed.

Shoji Obara, unaware that Haruki had secretly copied his technique, was still anxiously watching the insect beast.

Haruki wouldn't waste such a golden opportunity.

After dodging the second Wind Blade, he lunged forward like an arrow.

He activated the hypnosis ability of the Sharingan, forcing Shoji Obara's gaze to shift—and immediately swung his blade toward the man's neck.

Now, even if Shoji was worried about Chika, he had no choice but to focus on the incoming assault.

But by this point, Haruki had already seen through all of Shoji Obara's habits and combat patterns. Every strike he launched now was fluid and precise.

Though Haruki's left arm was still heavily injured, it didn't stop him from using Kenjutsu.

On the other hand, Shoji Obara's side had been pierced earlier. With his core muscles weakened, his movements were obviously impaired, and his strength had taken a noticeable hit.

And without the insect beast to distract Haruki, he could now dedicate himself completely to the fight.

Very quickly, Haruki gained the upper hand.

Shoji Obara could only defend.

But no defense lasts forever.

As the battle continued, Shoji Obara barely held on. His wounds piled up, and his condition steadily worsened.

Finally, while trying to block yet another attack from one of his blind spots, he was half a beat too slow. Haruki seized the opening and drove his sword through Shoji's lower back.

"Ugh—"

Shoji Obara groaned in pain. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Haruki standing silently just behind him.

Shhkk—

Haruki pulled his blade free and raised it again for another strike.

But just then, Shoji Obara let out a sudden roar. Reversing his grip on his kunai, he spun around and lunged straight at Haruki's throat.

Clearly—he intended to die together.

Haruki didn't retreat. Calmly, he reversed his blade mid-swing and blocked the kunai with perfect timing.

Now, in theory, Shoji had two options:

One—press the attack in hopes of wounding or even killing Haruki.

Two—withdraw to save himself.

But he did neither.

Instead, he reached out with one hand toward Haruki and grinned menacingly. "Let's die together!"

A crackling sound filled the air.

Several explosive tags were already burning on Shoji's chest.

These weren't freshly attached—he had stuck them there before turning around, readying himself for this final suicide attempt.

At such close range, even if the tags didn't stick directly to Haruki, the explosion would be more than enough to kill him.

And yet, Haruki's expression remained calm.

Because while Shoji's setup was clever and hidden—Haruki had noticed it early on, despite the man's back being turned.

There was no way Haruki would fall for such a simple trap.

Before Shoji's hand even reached him, Haruki struck first—placing his left palm firmly against Shoji's abdomen.

Boom—!

A Rasengan detonated in Haruki's palm.

Shoji Obara felt his stomach twist in agony. Blood gushed from his mouth as he was sent flying like a windmill.

"No—!"

His scream of despair rang out.

But in the next instant, several deafening explosions erupted in quick succession.

Scarlet flames surged into the sky, engulfing Shoji Obara in an instant.

Fwoosh—!

When his body finally crashed to the ground, he was nothing more than a charred, broken corpse.

Revenge had been exacted.

Uchiha Haruki stood still, quietly.

For reasons he couldn't explain, a subtle sense of relief settled in his chest.

Ever since crossing into this world, there had only been a few things—and people—that truly weighed on his heart.

Now, with one of those burdens lifted, he finally felt a bit lighter.

There would be no more today.