Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The faint sound of objects slicing through the air came from behind. Uchiha Haruki's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Heh…"

Someone as cautious as Haruki would never make such a glaring mistake as leaving his vulnerable back exposed.

It was all bait—designed to lure the enemy into striking first.

And as he expected, they took the bait. The two Iwa Jonin couldn't resist the opportunity—they acted without hesitation.

Haruki?

The moment they moved, he spun around, his Sharingan flaring to life.

In an instant, the three tomoe in his pupils spun rapidly. Within a heartbeat, he had tracked the precise trajectories of all incoming shuriken.

Then, without pause, he kicked off the ground like a cannonball, his figure blurring through the air.

He darted through the storm of blades, each movement perfectly calculated. What the enemy thought was a flawless trap was full of holes under the gaze of the Sharingan and Haruki's aggressive counterattack.

In the blink of an eye, Haruki closed the distance and arrived in front of the two Iwa Jonin—his short sword already swinging.

His entire sequence of moves was executed in one smooth flow, without a hint of hesitation or delay.

This was a classic case of striking second, but landing the first blow.

He had purposefully created the illusion of weakness to force the enemy to make the first move, allowing him to seize control of the battle's rhythm—and most importantly, to start the group fight on his terms.

Haruki had no intention of remaining locked in a standoff. Iwa had the numbers, and dragging things out only increased the chance of enemy reinforcements arriving.

By starting the fight early, he forced hesitation into any would-be attackers. Others would think twice before joining in, worried about disrupting the rhythm of their comrades' battle.

That hesitation would be his opening.

All he needed was to take down one or two enemies early, and the pressure on him would drop significantly.

He had no illusions—these two weren't the only ones he'd be facing. Planning ahead was vital.

That train of thought flashed through his mind and was immediately set aside.

For now, he focused entirely on the two Jonin in front of him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A flurry of metallic collisions rang out as Haruki's short sword clashed repeatedly with the enemy's kunai and blades.

For a moment, it seemed like an even match—neither side could gain the upper hand.

But that was only on the surface.

Together, these two Iwa Jonin were able to resist the effects of Haruki's Sharingan Genjutsu to a degree, which made his usual "blind spot" tactics harder to pull off.

But Haruki's Level 5 swordsmanship, bordering on Level 6, wasn't limited to exploiting blind angles.

If he went all-out, he was confident he could kill both of them head-on.

That said, doing so would require more effort than he was willing to expend right now.

Instead, Haruki chose to feign weakness, holding the line in a stalemate and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Time ticked by.

Then, suddenly—Haruki leaned sharply back, just narrowly dodging a slash aimed directly at his throat.

At the same time, he shifted to the side with his left foot, narrowly avoiding a thrust aimed straight at his heart from behind.

As the positions and motions of the two Iwa Jonin aligned, Haruki's eyes lit up.

"Perfect opening," he thought.

At once, he activated his Sharingan to the limit of its three-tomoe evolution, launching a full-power Genjutsu that instantly ensnared the Jonin in front of him.

But both Iwa Jonin had been on high alert for this very thing.

The moment the one in front was caught, the one behind realized something was wrong—and without hesitation, launched a barrage of attacks at Haruki.

His intent was clear:

Force Haruki to give up the kill.

Buy time for his comrade to break out of the Genjutsu.

Haruki didn't take the bait. He disengaged, abandoning the finishing strike—for now wasn't the right time.

The Iwa Jonin behind him breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, the one who had been caught in the Genjutsu regained consciousness.

As his eyes opened, the first thing he saw was—Haruki.

At the same time, Haruki turned his gaze and their eyes met.

Instantly, the Iwa Jonin instinctively broke eye contact, turning his head.

And that—was exactly the moment Haruki had been waiting for.

The second the enemy looked away, Haruki's Sharingan flared again, casting a new hypnotic Genjutsu.

But this time, it wasn't aimed at the one who had just escaped the illusion.

It was aimed at the other Jonin still fighting him up close.

In a flash, that man froze mid-swing, eyes dull, caught in the illusion.

At the same time, the first Jonin realized something had gone wrong. He tried to refocus his gaze on Haruki and flung a kunai toward him in panic.

But… he was too late.

Just before his eyes reconnected with Haruki's, the damage had already been done.

Shlunk—

The sharp sound of blade piercing flesh.

Haruki's sword thrust straight through the chest of the immobilized Jonin, coming out through his back.

The moment he was mortally wounded, the man woke from the Genjutsu.

He looked down at the sword impaled through his heart… then looked toward his partner, confusion and disbelief filling his eyes.

He tried to say something—but as soon as he opened his mouth, blood gushed out.

Haruki sidestepped to avoid the spray, smoothly withdrawing his sword.

The Iwa Jonin stumbled forward, then collapsed face-down, lifeless.

Honestly, in a normal one-on-one fight, this man wouldn't have died so easily.

But in his desperation to cover his teammate, he had left himself completely exposed—no guard, no defense.

If his partner had followed up correctly, the gamble might've worked. But he hadn't.

The other Jonin had flinched—looked away—in the most critical moment.

And that mistake sealed his fate.

In a sense, it was the breakdown in their coordination that gave Haruki this opportunity.

But this wasn't luck.

Haruki had seen it coming.

From the beginning of their clash, he had been observing them with his Sharingan—watching for patterns, reading their habits.

And he had noticed something very specific:

One of the Jonin was visibly afraid of his Sharingan—so much so that he would instinctively look away under pressure.

So Haruki built his entire plan around that fear.

What had just occurred was the result of that trap.

Haruki had deliberately kept things even, enduring their attacks and baiting them into an opening.

Once he got it, he used Genjutsu to trap the one most afraid of his eyes—deepening the man's fear of the Sharingan even further.

Then, when that man awoke, Haruki was standing right in his field of view, amplifying the pressure.

Predictably, the Jonin flinched and turned his gaze away—his survival instinct overriding all else.

And that moment of hesitation abandoned his partner to Haruki's blade.

Though he realized the mistake and reacted, he was too late.

Haruki had already struck—one man down.

The trap had been set, the bait taken, and the result was as planned.