Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Nighttime.

A light rain fell from the sky.

Everything was shrouded in darkness.

Uchiha Haruki and his squad followed Furukawa, stealthily moving into position around 100 meters west of a village.

That village was the Iwagakure outpost.

Faint points of light flickered in the distance—traces of scattered lamps within the village.

Upon reaching a low ridge, Furukawa raised his right fist, signaling everyone to halt.

Immediately, the entire team stopped moving—no hesitation, no confusion.

One thing was clear: the battlefield tempers warriors. Everyone who had survived a month of engagements with Iwa shinobi was no fool.

At the very least, no one acted recklessly or out of line.

Furukawa glanced at the time, confirming that the attack wouldn't commence for another ten minutes or so. He gestured for the team to use the remaining time to rest.

Everyone quietly adjusted their breathing, preparing for the imminent battle.

Time ticked by in silence. Other than the faint sounds of steady breathing, only the gentle pattering of rain could be heard hitting the earth.

As if sensing the incoming chaos, the rain grew heavier.

Haruki stretched out his hand, frowning slightly as the rain landed on his skin. He muttered to himself:

"This kind of weather really isn't ideal for Fire Style jutsu…"

Still, the moment his hand touched the short blade at his waist, he felt reassured.

With Leaf-Style Kenjutsu at Lv3 (430/1000), there was nothing to fear.

Boom!

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out in the distance.

Haruki instinctively looked toward the source. A fiery red light erupted from the south side of the village—the distinct burst of an explosive tag.

The sound of clashing metal followed almost immediately.

"Someone got exposed?"

That was Haruki's first thought.

Their mission had been organized into four teams, each attacking the village from a different direction simultaneously.

Haruki's squad, led by Furukawa, was responsible for the western front. The others had the north, east, and south.

Judging by the situation, it was most likely the southern squad that had been discovered.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have broken the timing protocol and launched an early assault.

Of course, if Haruki could figure that out, so could Furukawa.

After only a few seconds of thought, Furukawa decisively ordered:

"The plan has changed. Everyone, follow me!"

Without another word, he charged toward the Iwa outpost.

Haruki and the others followed immediately.

Clearly, Furukawa had decided to start the attack early—and he wasn't the only one.

As they closed in on the village, a new explosion rang out—this time from the north.

"Good. As long as we're not going in solo."

Haruki's gaze scanned the area sharply, staying alert for hidden dangers.

Crack!

A faint splintering sound caught Haruki's attention.

He immediately looked down at the ground beneath his feet.

There, he could feel a slight vibration, like the tremors of a minor earthquake—barely perceptible, but unmistakable.

Despite how faint it was, Haruki's instincts screamed danger.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Ryousuke and Shizuko Mizutani—one in each hand—and bolted sideways.

At the same time, he shouted a warning to the others:

"Watch the ground!"

"What?!"

Some were confused and reacted a split second too late, while others picked up on the urgency and dashed aside just like Haruki.

In the very next moment, the earth split open—multiple jagged fissures erupting across the terrain ahead of them.

A few Konoha genin, slow to respond, were swallowed up instantly.

It was only then that Furukawa and the jōnin at the front realized something was wrong.

Not because Haruki's senses were sharper than the jōnin—rather, the enemy had deliberately targeted the lower-ranked ninjas, avoiding Furukawa and his peers.

Otherwise, someone like Furukawa would've detected the disturbance long ago.

Before the group could regain their footing, the ground erupted again—this time with a barrage of sharp stone spikes shooting upward like bamboo after rain.

Several Konoha ninja couldn't dodge in time and were wounded.

Luckily, no one else died.

They had Haruki's warning to thank. His shout gave them just enough time to react, sparing them from total devastation.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

A volley of kunai flew from the hands of Furukawa and the jōnin nearby.

Clanging sounds followed—the attacks had been intercepted.

Still, the assault on the genin and chūnin abruptly ceased.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

Heavy footsteps echoed.

From the darkness emerged an Iwa jōnin.

Upon seeing him, Furukawa didn't waste words. He ordered one of his own jōnin to engage the enemy while he led the rest of the team toward the village.

Before departure, the team had been briefed:

Objective 1: Eliminate as many enemy combatants as possible.

Objective 2: Destroy their stored supplies.

Judging by Furukawa's move, he intended to focus on Objective 2.

That suited Haruki just fine. He had no desire to die in a head-on clash with Iwa shinobi.

If they could accomplish their goal and retreat, all the better.

But would the Iwa ninja let them succeed so easily?

Of course not.

As soon as Haruki's squad neared the village, hundreds of kunai flew out at them, forcing them to retreat.

Earlier in the day, they had defeated the enemy with home-field advantage.

Now, the tables had turned. It was Iwa's home ground.

The way they hurled kunai like they cost nothing—pure flex. No team on an away mission could afford such a wasteful tactic.

Unless they had space-time techniques and sealing scrolls, ninjas could only carry limited gear on missions.

So, a war of attrition was clearly not a smart play for them.

That said, the Iwa defenses weren't impenetrable either.

From Furukawa's side, one of the Konoha jōnin stepped forward silently and began forming seals at high speed.

In the next instant, a torrent of chakra surged out, merging with the falling rain.

It formed a massive water dragon—easily over ten meters long.

With a deafening roar, the water dragon lunged, charging toward the village's not-so-sturdy wall.

If it hit, the entire wall would collapse—and anyone hiding behind it would be seriously injured if not killed.

In this rainy weather, Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu was especially potent.

But the enemy was no fool.

Before the dragon could make contact, a voice shouted from behind the wall:

"Don't even think about it!"

At the same time, a towering earth wall shot up from the ground.

Haruki recognized the jutsu—Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, a B-rank technique known for its defensive power.

Earth naturally countered water, and this jutsu had been cast by a fellow jōnin—Water Dragon Bullet didn't stand a chance.

With a deep rumble, the two attacks collided.

The ground trembled under Haruki's feet.

The dragon burst apart into a spray of water—not a single Iwa shinobi was harmed.

Fortunately, Konoha's jōnin weren't relying on that single move.