Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Clang—

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed through the forest.

Uchiha Haruki, wielding a short sword, was sparring against three of his chunin subordinates—yet he showed no sign of struggle. In fact, he was completely at ease, dominating the fight with fluid, precise movements.

The sparring lasted about fifteen minutes before Haruki found an opening and delivered a swift kick to each opponent, sending all three flying.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

They hit the ground hard.

One of the younger chunin, around fifteen or sixteen years old, groaned and complained,

"Captain, can't you go a little easier? You always hit so hard!"

His tone was more playful than serious—he knew full well that Haruki was holding back. If their captain really used full force, it wouldn't just be a rough landing they had to worry about.

After all, Haruki's medical ninjutsu was top-tier. He could put them through hell—and then patch them up perfectly afterward.

As if struck by that thought, the young ninja suddenly shivered.

Haruki chuckled at the complaint and was just about to reply when a figure approached rapidly, sprinting through the trees at high speed.

Haruki recognized him immediately—it was a chunin from Nara Shisui's guard detail, one of the ninja responsible for relaying messages between Jonin units and command.

Judging by his hurried expression, something serious had happened.

Haruki's three subordinates also sensed the tension and quickly got to their feet, gathering around him.

Their instincts were right. As soon as the messenger arrived, he delivered grim news:

The northwest defense line had collapsed.

A unit of about a hundred Iwagakure shinobi had broken through and were now advancing toward their base. Nara Shisui had ordered Haruki to immediately lead his team to intercept them—they were to stop the enemy outside the base at all costs.

After hearing the full situation, Haruki frowned and asked,

"Didn't Iwa slow their attacks recently? Why launch a major offensive all of a sudden?"

"We don't know yet," the messenger said, shaking his head.

Haruki thought for a moment, then waved him off.

"Alright, you're dismissed. We'll move out right away."

"Understood. Thank you!" the chunin replied before vanishing into the trees again.

Haruki turned to his team.

"Get ready. We move now."

"Yes, Captain!" the three replied, immediately checking their gear.

Meanwhile, Haruki quickly reviewed his own status—not equipment, but chakra reserves.

Thankfully, he had a good habit: during training, he always kept his chakra levels balanced, consuming only what he could restore during short breaks.

So even though he had used up quite a bit of chakra earlier while training Fire Style: Great Fireball, Fire Style: Dragon Flame, and Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, his chakra reserves remained plentiful.

If that hadn't been the case, responding to this sudden emergency would've been far more troublesome.

But now? Aside from some minor fatigue, he was operating at nearly full combat readiness.

And that gave him confidence.

Ten seconds later, his subordinates were prepped, and Haruki led them toward the battlefield.

By the time they arrived, the area was already a blazing furnace of battle.

Dozens of Konoha ninja were engaged in brutal combat with nearly a hundred Iwagakure shinobi. The fight spanned a full kilometer, turning the surrounding woods into a blood-soaked war zone.

It was clear Konoha was at a severe disadvantage—their forces were smaller, and the attack had caught them off guard.

Only the arrival of reinforcements like Haruki's squad was barely keeping things from falling apart.

But if the situation continued as it was, they wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

The reason?

Iwagakure had sent in their elite. The number of genin was minimal. Most of the enemy force were chunin, and there were a significant number of jonin among them.

Haruki's brows furrowed.

Where the hell did they get so many troops?

Before he could analyze further, several Iwa chunin charged toward him.

They were grinning at first—until one of them caught sight of Haruki's face.

His grin vanished instantly. He froze on the spot.

Haruki hadn't even activated his Sharingan yet. The man had simply recognized him—and was too terrified to move.

Uchiha Haruki. The Ghost Blade.

Haruki's gaze swept past him and locked onto the other three. His Sharingan flared to life, and in an instant, he cast Genjutsu: Sharingan Hypnosis.

The lead attacker collapsed mid-charge, caught in a mind trap.

The remaining two panicked and tried to avert their eyes—but they were too slow.

Haruki's hands blurred through seals and launched a near-mastered Genjutsu, catching another one in mid-step. He froze, mind trapped in illusion.

Haruki dashed forward.

His blade flashed—and cleanly severed the ninja's throat with a whispering slash.

He disappeared in the next instant, reappearing in the blind spot of the third enemy.

Haruki's execution of this technique was flawless. Without even needing to think, he maneuvered perfectly into a blind angle, a deadly habit ingrained by endless repetition.

Before the final enemy could realize what happened, Haruki's blade pierced straight through his heart from behind.

"Aaahh!"

The first Iwa ninja—the one who had frozen up—screamed suddenly. Nobody knew where he got the strength, but he turned and fled in pure panic.

Unfortunately for him, he made one fatal mistake: he turned his back to Haruki.

Without hesitation, Haruki grabbed a kunai from his pouch and threw it.

Thud—

The kunai flew across more than ten meters and nailed the man between the shoulder blades, killing him instantly.

However, the scream had drawn unwanted attention.

Nearby Iwa shinobi turned and looked. One of them immediately recognized Haruki and shouted:

"The Ghost Blade! He's here—the Ghost Blade is here!"

It was like flipping a switch.

Immediately, two Iwagakure jonin appeared and began moving to intercept Haruki.

Haruki didn't even blink.

He was used to this reaction by now. Ever since his reputation spread, Iwagakure had stopped letting regular genin or low-tier chunin engage him.

Why?

Because Haruki's swordsmanship was far too deadly to the average shinobi.

He could annihilate most enemies before they even landed a hit. So Iwa developed a new policy—if their low-level forces encountered Haruki, they were allowed to retreat and call for jonin reinforcements.

In fact, any nearby jonin were required to respond—with at least two-man teams, specifically to deal with Haruki.

And that's exactly what happened now. The instant word of his presence spread, two elite jonin rushed to confront him.

Haruki's eyes analyzed them.

By gauging the chakra flow within their bodies, he could tell they were both Special Jonin level—skilled, but manageable.

"Two Special Jonin, huh?" Haruki muttered in his head.

He turned to his three subordinates.

"I'll handle things here. Go assist the others."

"Yes, Captain!" ×3

The trio responded in unison and swiftly dispersed, moving to support the rest of Konoha's forces.

As Haruki gave that order, the two Iwa jonin glanced at each other.

They both saw the same thing in each other's eyes:

"Now's our chance."

Without delay, they attacked.

Each one threw several shuriken—some aimed to block Haruki's escape routes, others aimed directly at his vitals.