Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Argh!"

A sharp scream echoed through the air.

Uchiha Haruki pulled his short sword out from the chest of the Iwagakure ninja in front of him, expressionless as he delivered the finishing blow.

He stood up and scanned the surroundings. Around him, several Konoha ninjas were doing the same—cleaning up the battlefield.

Scattered across the ground were the bodies of both Konoha and Iwa shinobi. It was a brutal scene.

Today marked the twentieth day since Haruki's Physique stat had advanced, and it was also the final day of their outpost rotation.

However, it seemed the Iwa shinobi positioned about twenty kilometers away didn't intend to let them leave quietly. They had launched a sudden attack today.

Fortunately, with home-ground advantage, Konoha's forces had managed to repel the invaders, though not without a cost.

As for why the Iwa shinobi had launched the attack?

Haruki wasn't interested in figuring it out. They were heading back tomorrow—whatever plans the enemy had were no longer his concern.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Haruki and the Konoha squad returned to the town outpost.

No sooner had they arrived than Furukawa was summoned to a meeting.

Seeing this, Haruki couldn't shake off a bad feeling.

And sure enough, his instincts were correct.

Less than half an hour later, Furukawa returned—with bad news.

In exactly three hours, their entire squad would be split into four teams to launch an assault on the Iwa outpost twenty kilometers away.

This was a direct order from headquarters, and there was no room for negotiation.

Moreover, their outpost wasn't the only one. Nearly every Konoha outpost on the frontlines had received the same command.

In short—this was a full-scale offensive.

"Is this Orochimaru's idea of revenge? Isn't this way too reckless?"

"This will only lead to mutual destruction. Konoha doesn't even have the numerical advantage on the Rain Country front. This kind of attack makes no sense."

Haruki's mind was flooded with questions and frustration.

More than anything, he felt a deep sense of malice—he was just one day away from returning to safety, and now this had been thrown at him.

If it weren't for the fact that every outpost had received the same order, Haruki would've suspected that he or their team was being deliberately targeted.

"Forget it. This mission doesn't have a mandatory objective. I'll just coast through it."

Sighing, Haruki pulled up his proficiency panel.

The familiar pale-blue screen appeared in his vision:

[Name: Uchiha Haruki]

Age: 11

Physique: 7 → 8

Spirit: 9

Chakra: 3450 (5027 → 6100)

Bloodline: Sharingan - Single Tomoe (160/1000 → 271/1000)

Skills:

Chakra Refinement Technique: Lv3 (762/1000 → 986/1000)

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique: Lv2 (30/500)

Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique: Lv2 (101/500) → Lv3 (12/1000)

Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique: Lv2 (13/500)

Genjutsu: Binding Pillar Technique: Lv1 (110/200) → Lv2 (5/500)

Body Flicker Technique: Lv2 (375/500) → Lv3 (225/1000)

Shadow Clone Technique: Lv0 (5/100)

Leaf-Style Kenjutsu: Lv3 (1/1000) → Lv3 (430/1000)

Insight Technique: Lv4 (186/2000) → Lv4 (716/2000)

Ninja Tool Throwing: Lv3 (570/1000) → Lv4 (3/2000)

Chakra Control: Lv3 (180/1000)

Three Basic Techniques: Lv3 (0/0)

Initially, Haruki had been worried that being stationed at a front-line outpost would interrupt his training. But surprisingly, the Iwa forces had remained unusually quiet.

This had allowed him to focus on training in relative peace.

As a result, many of the skills he had prioritized over the past month had improved significantly.

Most importantly—chakra.

Twenty days ago, after his Physique stat broke through, his chakra capacity began to grow. In just about half a month, it increased from 5027 to 6100.

Then it plateaued.

After all, his Physique had only increased by a single point, and the body's potential had its limits. That alone was enough to justify the growth so far.

However, the Chakra Refinement Technique had nearly reached Level 4—now sitting at Lv3 (986/1000). If Haruki could survive the night, he could max it out within two days back at HQ.

Once that happened, his chakra flow, skill grinding, and Sharingan evolution would all accelerate dramatically.

As for other skills—

His Leaf-Style Kenjutsu had improved rapidly again, reaching Lv3 (430/1000).

According to Furukawa, Haruki's swordsmanship was now on par with some jōnin.

In fact, Furukawa admitted that in pure melee combat, he could barely keep up with Haruki. If the fight dragged on, Haruki might even win.

Side note: Furukawa was no longer the "One-Armed Man." Orochimaru had reattached an arm for him—not his original one, but it was capable of forming hand seals.

That's when Haruki learned Furukawa was one of Orochimaru's people.

Which meant, by extension, Haruki was now part of Orochimaru's faction.

Every time Haruki thought about it, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

Not because of Orochimaru's eventual obsession with the Sharingan—that was a future concern—but because once Orochimaru defected, his allies would be purged by the village.

Still, Haruki didn't linger on it.

With the proficiency panel helping him, if he hadn't gained the power to resist Orochimaru by then, he'd have no one to blame but himself.

As for Konoha's purge?

By then, if he wasn't already plotting rebellion against Konoha himself, it would be out of respect for Hiruzen Sarutobi's face. If they came after him... well, they'd better be prepared.

Haruki turned his attention to Ninja Tool Throwing.

Thanks to his Sharingan, he had broken through to Level 4 (2/2000).

Now, with his Sharingan active, he could manipulate kunai and shuriken with incredible precision.

Of course, they were still projectiles—not exactly fatal unless the enemy was weak or caught off-guard.

But as supportive techniques, they were top-tier.

Level 4 wasn't the cap, but proficiency would now increase more slowly.

Other skills that saw notable improvement over the month included:

Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique — Now Lv3 (12/1000). Faster casting and more accurate targeting. If he fought Shirou Kurato again, Haruki could pressure him significantly even without the Sharingan.

That said, to force a direct counterattack like last time, he'd still need the Sharingan to predict movements.

He also noticed that leveling up Phoenix Fire first helped improve his proficiency in Great Fireball and Dragon Fire techniques.

However, due to his chakra limitations, he wasn't planning to grind those two techniques just yet.

Once Phoenix Fire reached Lv4 or Lv5, he'd revisit them—progress would be faster by then.

Besides, now that Haruki had Leaf-Style Kenjutsu, he relied less on ninjutsu. Phoenix Fire was more than enough for now.

Not to mention, he still had Binding Pillar Genjutsu and Body Flicker for support.

Both of those had also leveled up.

Binding Pillar Genjutsu: Now Lv2. Faster cast time and stronger crowd control.

Body Flicker Technique: Now Lv3. His movement speed increased by 20%—useful for both retreats and ambushes.

Thanks to all these upgrades, Haruki didn't mind the assault on the Iwa outpost. Without this power, he wouldn't even survive—so why stress over anything else?

Ultimately, strength is everything.

Without power, any wave could drown you.

But with enough power, even a tsunami couldn't shake your resolve.

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