Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Uchiha Haruki stared blankly at Yamanaka Ichiryo, who had closed his eyes again to sense the surrounding chakra signatures. A cold thought crossed Haruki's mind:

"Hopefully, he won't connect this to the Sharingan… or even if he does, he'd better keep his mouth shut. Otherwise…"

For some reason, Yamanaka Ichiryo suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Instinctively, he shifted his body slightly to put a little more distance between himself and Haruki.

A moment later, Ichiryo opened his eyes and reported, "There are two enemy squads. One's stationed in the two-story building ahead, and the other is hidden underground. Both are standard Genin squads."

A standard Genin squad typically consists of one Chūnin and three Genin. There are also full Chūnin squads and elite Jōnin squads.

The former usually consists of one Special Jōnin and three Chūnin, or four Chūnin altogether. They're commonly assigned B-rank missions—like the one their own squad was currently carrying out.

Such missions often involved direct confrontation with enemy ninja, though rarely did they escalate to involve Jōnin-level combatants.

As for the latter—Jōnin squads—the composition could vary widely depending on the mission difficulty. Usually, one or two Jōnin led the team, accompanied by a few elite Chūnin. In more extreme cases, it wasn't unheard of for a squad to consist entirely of Jōnin.

But such missions were generally reserved for elite Jōnin. After all, Jōnin were the pillars of the village. Assigning too many of them to a single task would be an inefficient use of resources. Typically, such full Jōnin deployments only occurred during wartime.

Under normal circumstances, Jōnin didn't form teams with other Jōnin at all.

Anyway, back to the situation at hand: since there were only two Genin squads inside, there was no real threat. A swift and decisive attack would settle things.

Haruki's thoughts were shared by the rest of the team.

Without further hesitation, the four of them charged into the building ahead.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!

A dozen kunai shot toward them at high speed.

"I've got this!" Haruki barked. With one long stride, he stepped to the front of the group. Shing! A short blade slid cleanly from his waist.

The next moment was filled with the sharp clink-clink of metal striking metal.

In the blink of an eye, Haruki deflected every incoming kunai. Not a single one got through to threaten the group.

Having full trust in Haruki's abilities, Yamanaka Ichiryo and the others dashed forward before the kunai had even hit the ground.

Moments later, the sounds of combat erupted.

Inside the small building, four Iwagakure shinobi fought back fiercely against the sudden assault by the three Konoha Chūnin.

Haruki quickly scanned the area and, confirming there were no other enemies in hiding, launched a direct attack on the sole Iwa Chūnin.

To the Iwa Chūnin, it was as if Haruki appeared before him in the blink of an eye.

"So fast!" the Iwa shinobi thought in shock.

But Haruki gave him no time to react. As he closed the gap, he raised his short blade and slashed down with lightning speed, a flash of cold steel slicing the air.

The Iwa Chūnin's face tensed. Instinctively, he raised his kunai to block.

Clang!

A crisp metallic clang rang out.

The Iwa Chūnin's arm went numb from the impact. His kunai nearly flew out of his hand. He had defended too hastily—his block lacked proper force.

Luckily for him, Haruki was still a child. His physical strength didn't yet match an adult's. If it had, that kunai would've been knocked clean out of his grip.

But that hardly mattered.

After a brief deadlock, Haruki suddenly twisted his wrist. His downward slash turned into a sharp upward flick, angling toward the enemy's face.

Alarmed, the Iwa Chūnin leaned back to avoid the blade.

In that instant, one of the Konoha Chūnin who had been fighting him earlier took advantage of the opening and hurled a kunai straight at his chest.

Sensing the incoming threat, the Iwa shinobi twisted his waist, trying to dodge.

But by now, he could barely stay on his feet—let alone evade properly.

The kunai sliced across his torso, carving a deep gash into his side.

Blood dripped steadily from the wound.

As the saying goes: Kick him when he's down.

Haruki had no intention of showing mercy to an enemy. A cold flash of steel followed as he struck again with his blade.

Clang!

Cling cling cling—!

At first, the Iwa Chūnin managed to keep up with Haruki's rhythm. But after just a dozen or so exchanges, he began to falter.

Konoha-ryū Kenjutsu—Konoha-style swordsmanship—was no ordinary technique. It combined the strengths of many other schools, focusing on three key elements: speed, precision, and lethality.

Haruki had already mastered it to Level 3. He could now wield a wide range of sword techniques with ease, making his attacks even more aggressive and relentless.

The Iwa Chūnin couldn't hold out much longer.

To make things worse, the Konoha Chūnin beside him continued launching sneak attacks whenever possible.

Eventually, after about thirty exchanges, Haruki found his opening. With a precise thrust, he drove the short blade straight into the enemy's chest.

Schlk—!

The sound of steel sinking into flesh echoed through the room.

The Iwa Chūnin looked down at the blade embedded in his chest. His kunai slipped from his hand. His mouth opened slightly, as if to speak… but in the end, no words came out.

Haruki confirmed the kill, yanked out his blade, and surveyed the area again.

Meanwhile, the other three Iwa Genin were in dire straits as well.

Haruki didn't want to take any chances or waste time. Without delay, he dashed toward one of the remaining enemies.

The Konoha Chūnin who had assisted him earlier did the same, targeting another Genin.

Three-on-four. The Iwa side had the numbers—and their overall strength exceeded the Konoha team's.

How could they possibly win?

The three Iwa Genin were filled with despair.

Driven by desperation, they fought back fiercely.

But it was no use.

In less than two minutes, all three Iwa Genin lay motionless on the ground.

Haruki and the others quickly cleared the battlefield, replenished their supply of shuriken and kunai, and Haruki asked, "Where's the underground entrance?"

"This way," Yamanaka Ichiryo answered promptly, stepping forward to lead.

The four of them passed through the first-floor lobby and arrived at a hallway deeper inside the building.

Ichiryo scanned the room numbers on either side, comparing them to his memory. He finally stopped at Room 107 and said, "The entrance is inside this room."

As he pushed the door open—

Fwhoosh!

A sudden gust of air swept toward them.

All four instantly darted to the sides.

Thud thud thud!

Over a dozen kunai shot past, embedding themselves in the opposite wall.

Then came a crackling sound—zzz zzz zzz…

The four of them turned toward the noise. Several explosive tags were burning rapidly.

For the first time since arriving, a flicker of emotion appeared on their faces. But none of them panicked.

After all, before coming here, they had anticipated a potential ambush.

The earlier battle had ended quickly, sure, but not quietly. It made perfect sense that the other Iwa team had caught wind of it.

So encountering traps or ambushes wasn't unexpected. Seeing explosive tags didn't shock them either.

Prepared as they were, evading wasn't too difficult.

In almost no time at all, the four of them leapt back from Room 107.

Each casually kicked open a nearby door and slipped inside.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of explosions tore through the hallway.

Scarlet flames surged alongside powerful shockwaves, sweeping down the corridor from the room.