Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

After letting his thoughts wander for a while, Uchiha Haruki withdrew his focus, closed the panel, got out of bed, and stepped out to wash up.

On the way, he encountered quite a few Konoha shinobi. They all greeted him with respect, and Haruki simply nodded in return.

Unknowingly, they had already been stationed at this forward base for a full month.

And in that month, the name "Ghost Blade Haruki" had gained real weight—instilling fear into many Iwagakure ninja and granting a sense of security to the lower- and mid-ranked shinobi of Konoha.

On top of that, his exceptional skill in medical ninjutsu had saved the lives of numerous injured comrades.

As a result, the shinobi stationed at this base treated him with great respect, never once regarding him as a mere child.

Haruki had already earned real authority here—something many Uchiha had never achieved.

But it was precisely this growing reputation that made him a thorn in the side of certain individuals.

Land of Fire – Konohagakure

Root Headquarters

Danzo flipped through the mission reports in his hand.

The more he read, the darker his expression became.

Several minutes later, with a sharp snap, he flung the report onto the desk and barked, "What's the story with this Uchiha Haruki?! Why wasn't I informed earlier?!"

The Root shinobi below flinched and immediately knelt on one knee. "Reporting, Lord Danzo. For the past while, our forces have been concentrated in the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. The remaining manpower was, per your command, prioritized to monitor Uchiha Shisui..."

Before the man could finish, Danzo waved him off. "Enough! Stop."

Once the subordinate fell silent, Danzo picked up another report from the desk—this one detailing Uchiha Shisui's recent activity.

He quickly read through it, then let out a cold snort.

"'Shisui of the Body Flicker,' and now 'Ghost Blade Haruki'... Konoha's Twin Stars, huh? What a grand title."

Though his words sounded dismissive, a deep regret stirred within him.

He regretted not sending follow-up assassins after the assassination attempt by Crying Rain Squad failed after the Chūnin Exams.

Now, both had grown into formidable forces—far beyond what a single chunin squad could handle. Even jonin...

Even within Root, jonin were rare and highly valuable tools, each holding critical responsibilities and not to be deployed lightly.

Danzo couldn't help but curse under his breath. "Damn it!"

If Haruki and Shisui had been just ordinary Uchiha prodigies, he wouldn't have been so alarmed.

But these two weren't like most of their clan.

They lacked the usual Uchiha arrogance and instead got along surprisingly well with other Konoha shinobi—making them perfect mediators between the Uchiha and the village.

To Danzo, that was completely unacceptable.

Having inherited the ideology of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, Danzo harbored a deep-rooted distrust toward the Uchiha. He saw them as a ticking time bomb—inevitably destined to rebel.

To him, it was better to strike preemptively than to wait until it was too late.

And now, Haruki and Shisui's influence threatened to delay that inevitable explosion—something Danzo could not allow.

Hence, his growing hostility toward the two.

Tap—

Tap-tap—

Tap—

Danzo tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought.

After a long silence, he suddenly ordered, "Pull back half the teams from the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning. Nothing major is expected to happen there for now."

"Yes, Lord Danzo," the Root ninja responded swiftly. Then, after a slight pause, he asked, "Are we going to use them against Uchiha Haruki and Uchiha Shisui?"

"Foolish!"

Danzo immediately snapped, "Those two have already grown too powerful. Using the same methods as before would be utterly idiotic!"

"I'm recalling those teams to monitor them."

Normally, a subordinate would fall in line after being reprimanded.

But Root shinobi were different. They had no ego, only mission directives—and their minds focused solely on how to eliminate Haruki and Shisui.

So after a moment of silence, the ninja pressed further, "Then... how should we handle them?"

Danzo, knowing the nature of his subordinates, didn't get angry this time. Instead, he thought deeply and replied, "Aren't they known as Konoha's Twin Stars? Notify Orochimaru—I want him to transfer both of them to the Kirigakure frontlines."

"The Mist battlefield?" the Root ninja muttered, seemingly catching on. He nodded. "Understood, my lord."

It was well known that Mist ninja had the highest individual combat skills among the Five Great Nations, and they specialized in the Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu—a natural counter to the Sharingan.

Clearly, Danzo was planning to use a borrowed knife.

Once Haruki and Shisui arrived at the Mist front, they would undoubtedly face targeted ambushes.

After all, no village wants to see enemy prodigies rise, and Kirigakure was no exception.

With a few hidden manipulations—maybe leaking intel at the right moment—Danzo could ensure that Haruki and Shisui would walk straight into death traps.

"Konoha's Twin Stars... hmph."

Danzo scoffed and tossed the report aside.

Meanwhile…

Back at the forward base, Haruki finished washing up, grabbed a quick bite, and began his assigned duties for the day.

His job today, once again, was patrol duty.

At his current level, as long as he didn't act recklessly or get ambushed, such missions posed no real danger to him.

And indeed, the day passed without him encountering a single enemy.

Though the patrol was uneventful, he used every spare moment to train, leaving him thoroughly exhausted by day's end.

That night, his training only intensified.

Having taken a night off for his birthday, Haruki had fully resumed his extreme training schedule—spending every waking moment, aside from eating, sleeping, and completing missions, on intense practice.

Though unaware of Danzo's secret plotting, Haruki was keenly aware of one truth—in a world where supernatural power reigned, strength was everything.

So he never dared relax.

And just like that, the days slipped by.

On the fourth night, as usual, Haruki arrived at his secret base to continue his training regimen.

He started with Rasengan, finishing its practice quickly.

Next came Genjutsu: Sharingan.

Originally, he dedicated 12,000 chakra points per day to this technique.

But now, after his Physique upgrade, his daily recovery had increased by 6,000 chakra, allowing him to pour 18,000 points into it.

Naturally, this extended the training time.

After both skills were completed, his chakra reserves were nearly depleted.

So, he moved on to Shadow Clone Jutsu practice, burning through 1,500 chakra points before calling it.

After a short rest, Haruki walked deeper into the base and began using Chakra Absorption Technique, siphoning chakra from several of the captive shinobi.

In under a minute, he extracted nearly 30,000 chakra points, restoring himself to full power.

Fully replenished, he returned to the training chamber.