Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Uchiha Haruki pulled himself out of his thoughts and refocused his gaze on the Iwagakure Chunin before him.

The battle was still ongoing.

Haruki was holding his own against two opponents without losing ground.

But that wouldn't last forever.

After all, he was just one person. Facing a coordinated assault from two enemies, mistakes were bound to happen the longer the fight dragged on.

So...

"I need to end this quickly!"

And to end it quickly, he first needed to break free from this close-quarters deadlock.

As long as he remained locked in melee combat, he couldn't leverage his greatest advantages.

What were those advantages?

Naturally, his level 3 Ninja Tool Throwing and level 2 elemental jutsu.

With this in mind, Haruki began to form a plan.

When he noticed Ryosuke and Shizuko Mizutani struggling under the assault of another Iwagakure Chunin, an idea struck him.

From that moment on, during the ongoing battle, Haruki would glance toward them now and then. Each time they were injured, he would deliberately show signs of anxiety and distraction.

These subtle changes didn't escape the notice of the two Chunin he was facing.

They exchanged a glance—no words were needed.

Haruki, too, caught their reaction and remained calm.

Now, both sides were waiting for the right moment.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Shizuko Mizutani was caught off guard and slashed across the arm by the enemy Chunin. Blood spurted out instantly.

The intense pain drew a scream from her lips.

Seeing this, Haruki's expression changed slightly. As though distracted, his dodging movements slowed a beat.

Rip—

A gash tore through the fabric on his left shoulder as a Chunin's kunai sliced it open. Blood began to seep from the wound.

One of the Iwa Chunin's eyes lit up as he seized the opportunity, swinging his kunai straight at Haruki's vital spot.

Haruki's next movements perfectly demonstrated what it meant to be "one step late, every step late."

That earlier misstep had thrown off his rhythm. Though the wound wasn't serious, barely even noteworthy, his momentum had been broken.

As a result, under the renewed assault of the second Chunin, Haruki was forced to fall back.

Meanwhile, the first Chunin who had injured him pressed the attack even harder.

Eventually, Haruki couldn't hold them off. One of them saw an opening and landed a powerful kick to his right arm.

Had he not instinctively raised his arm to block, that kick would have landed square on his head.

In that case, he wouldn't have just been knocked away—it could've been fatal.

Still, the force of the blow sent Haruki flying backward.

Neither of the Iwa Chunin noticed, however, that just as Haruki's feet left the ground, he deliberately pushed off, adding extra force to his retreat.

Even if they had noticed, they wouldn't have cared—because they had no intention of giving him even a second to recover.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Several shuriken and kunai were hurled at the airborne Haruki, right on his heels.

Not only that, the two Chunin followed close behind, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

Haruki was very familiar with this kind of "strike-while-you're-down" tactic. Not long ago, he had used the exact same method to kill a Genin.

He didn't need to guess. Whether or not he dodged the incoming projectiles, the moment he hit the ground, those two would attack relentlessly.

If he failed to react in time, he'd be killed just like that Genin.

Even if he managed to react, the loss of initiative would put him at a severe disadvantage.

By all accounts, the situation looked grim.

But Haruki's face showed no panic. In fact, he looked slightly… smug.

Thud thud thud—

The shuriken and kunai from the two Iwa Chunin all struck Haruki directly.

But the sound wasn't the expected one of blades piercing flesh—instead, it sounded more like metal hitting wood.

Wait!

Not "like"—it really was wood.

Lying on the ground now was a wooden log, embedded with ninja tools.

The real Haruki was nowhere to be seen.

"Substitution Jutsu!" both Chunin cried out in unison, halting their advance.

They weren't surprised that Haruki knew the jutsu—but they were shocked that he'd been able to pull it off in such a short amount of time.

Even they wouldn't have been confident in doing that under pressure.

But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was—where was Haruki?

Experienced as they were, the two Chunin immediately scanned their surroundings.

And then they spotted him—perched on a tree branch.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Haruki raised one hand to his lips and released a massive, roaring fireball.

The heat came surging toward them like a tidal wave. Caught off guard, both Chunin tried to dodge. Despite their speed, they'd already lost the initiative. The explosion from the fireball scorched them both.

Boom—

One Chunin hit the ground hard, gritting his teeth through the pain. He tried to get up, using a tree trunk for support.

But at that very moment, a kunai shot out of the lingering smoke.

The Chunin twisted his body just in time to narrowly avoid it.

But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the kunai curved behind the tree—and came back around.

Zzzzz—

A high-pitched sound followed—the shriek of wire under tension.

He hadn't realized until it was too late: the kunai had been attached to thin ninja wire.

Before he could react, he was tightly bound to the tree.

Panic set in as he tried to break free, but his arms were pinned—he couldn't even form hand signs. His only option was brute force.

But ninja wire wasn't so easily broken.

And just as he was about to struggle—

A thin streak of flame shot out from the smoke, racing along the wire like a fiery serpent.

"Aaaaaaaaah—!"

His screams of agony echoed across the battlefield, lingering in the air for several seconds before fading.

Tap tap tap—

Haruki calmly walked out of the smoke. Looking down at the charred Chunin—still clinging to life—he casually flung a kunai, putting an end to his suffering.

Then he turned his gaze to the right—where the other Iwa Chunin was still struggling.

That man's body was pierced with multiple shuriken, blood flowing freely. He tried several times to rise but failed every time.

Clearly, those shuriken were also Haruki's doing.

Moments ago, using the smoke as cover, Haruki had briefly activated his Sharingan.

With it, he'd multitasked—using kunai and wire to trap the first Chunin, and simultaneously sending shuriken into the second.

Now, watching the wounded Chunin squirm, Haruki shook his head and threw one last kunai, ending his misery.

And with that, both Iwagakure Chunin were dead.

Looking back, the turning point had been that single kick.

Once Haruki committed to a strategy of swift execution, he began telegraphing that he was deeply concerned about his teammates.

Thanks to his youth—and the way he'd immediately rushed to aid Ryosuke and Shizuko after his earlier kills—the enemy believed it.

So when Shizuko was injured and Haruki "panicked," they fell for it completely.

From there, Haruki deliberately exposed a "flaw," and the two Chunin took the bait.

The moment he was kicked away, Haruki knew—his plan had worked.

Though the enemy's follow-up was tight, his Substitution Jutsu had already been trained to a perfect level 3.

Plus, by accelerating as he left the ground, he bought just enough time to execute the technique.

From that point on, the momentum shifted.

He caught them off guard with a Great Fireball, followed by his Sharingan-enhanced tool throws, trapping and wounding them both.

Then came the final act—Dragon Fire Technique, sent through ninja wire to burn his immobilized enemy alive.

Once both were incapacitated, he finished them off with ease.

From start to finish, the fight had remained under Haruki's control. The only real gamble was in the initial baiting strategy.

But even that was within his limits.

He had a 90% chance of successfully using Substitution Jutsu—and if not, he was prepared to risk exposing his Sharingan to survive.

So the actual risk wasn't that high.

Still, the two Iwa Chunin were truly unfortunate. They never got the chance to use any real jutsu before Haruki struck them down with precision.

Which just goes to show—in a ninja battle, timing is everything.