Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

As soon as the idea took root, Haruki acted.

He deliberately glanced over the surrounding swarm of bees, then shook his head and scoffed,

"So this is the great Insect Technique of the Shinhe Clan?"

His tone and expression carried unmistakable disdain.

Red Bee could tell Haruki was trying to provoke him—but even knowing that, his anger surged the moment he heard those words. He opened his mouth to retort.

But before he could get a word out, Haruki added with a mocking chuckle,

"This is what you call being on par with the Aburame Clan? Pathetic."

The very name "Aburame Clan," along with Haruki's sneer, was the last straw.

Red Bee exploded, shouting,

"You little Uchiha punk! What do you even know?! If it wasn't for the Aburame's dirty tricks during the last Great Ninja War, our Shinhe Clan never would've fallen!"

"Dirty tricks? Please."

Haruki gave a derisive laugh and shook his head.

"You lost because you were weaker. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves. You Shinhe types really are something else."

"Good! Good! Good!"

Red Bee trembled with rage, repeating the word like a curse.

Then through clenched teeth, he snarled,

"You've done it now, Uchiha brat. I hope your mouth is still running when I've got you in pieces."

With that, he prepared to unleash the swarm.

But in that very moment—a pair of single tomoe Sharingan, glowing crimson like fresh blood, locked onto Red Bee's eyes.

His mind froze. The Sharingan took hold.

'Sharingan?! No—this is bad!'

To his credit, Red Bee had trained his mental resistance for years through constant control of bee swarms. Thanks to that, he didn't fall into the genjutsu immediately.

Right before losing consciousness, he bit down hard on the tip of his tongue.

Blood sprayed from the corner of his mouth, and the sharp pain snapped him back to reality.

But by the time his senses returned, Haruki's sword was already swinging down.

Slash—!

Steel tore through flesh. Blood sprayed in an arc as Red Bee screamed, flying backward.

A deep, bone-baring gash stretched from his right shoulder to his left hip, nearly cutting him in half.

Had he not instinctively stepped back at the last moment, Haruki's blade would've finished him outright.

Even so, the damage was devastating.

But Haruki wasn't satisfied.

His goal was a clean kill. He'd even activated the Sharingan for this moment. Letting his enemy survive now would only invite trouble later.

No hesitation.

Haruki used the Body Flicker Technique to rush in again, blade poised for the final strike.

But Red Bee wasn't a complete pushover. He might not have overwhelming strength, but as a special jonin, his battle instincts were sharp.

Seeing Haruki coming again, he forced himself to ignore the searing pain. Gritting his teeth, he commanded the swarm to intercept Haruki while instructing the bee king to drag him to safety.

Unfortunately for him, Haruki's Sharingan-enhanced reflexes made the bees look like they were flying in slow motion.

Every move, every twitch—they were all exposed.

Using only his Leaf-Style Swordsmanship, Haruki cleanly cut down any bee that got close, dodging ranged attacks with ease.

His footwork was precise. Efficient. Each second brought him closer to Red Bee.

If Red Bee had been at full strength, he might've held Haruki off long enough to escape.

But that earlier strike had taken too much out of him.

He was bleeding out, and he knew it.

Red Bee's face turned pale.

Feeling his strength slipping with every drop of blood, he made a desperate decision.

Clenching his jaw, he triggered the Shinhe Clan's final secret technique:

Insect Fusion Technique.

At that moment, the bee king beside him let out a shrill, inhuman screech.

Haruki turned toward the sound—only to see the bee king spit out a huge blob of thick honey, completely enveloping Red Bee.

Haruki's eyes narrowed.

"What the hell is this guy planning now?"

Then came the twist—

The bee king swallowed Red Bee whole.

"What...?" Haruki's eyes widened.

But no matter how strange it seemed, he didn't stop.

He cut his way through the remaining bees and slashed at the bee king's abdomen.

Clang—!

The sound was sharp and metallic.

It was like trying to cut steel.

The blow didn't even scratch the bee's hide—and the vibration ran up Haruki's arm, numbing his wrist.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face.

He had aimed for what should've been the softest part of the bee's body, and even that was this tough?

The rest of it must be even harder.

Suddenly, the bee king let out a piercing screech and lunged with its razor-sharp forelegs.

They gleamed with killing intent.

Haruki didn't dare take the hit.

With a swift sidestep, he dodged and appeared behind the massive creature.

In one fluid motion, he pulled out an explosive tag from his gear pouch and slapped it onto the bee's back.

The bee king seemed to sense danger and went berserk, flailing and attacking blindly.

But Haruki had already leapt away, safely out of range.

Boom—!!

The explosive tag detonated in a fiery blast, engulfing the bee king's rear in flames.

A hideous screech followed.

Seeing that the tag worked, Haruki didn't hesitate.

While the creature was thrashing wildly, he hurled multiple shuriken laced with explosive tags.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each one struck true, lighting the bee king up like fireworks.

This time, the mighty beast couldn't take it anymore.

With one final roar, it collapsed to the ground, twitching—and then lay still.

Still, Haruki didn't relax.

He formed the seals: Serpent → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger—

And unleashed:

Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!

While not as versatile as the Phoenix Fire Technique, the Great Fireball packed far more power—especially in direct attacks.

Haruki didn't hold back. He dumped 200 chakra points into the technique.

The resulting fireball was massive. When it slammed into the bee king's corpse, it detonated in a blazing inferno that made the earlier explosions seem like firecrackers.

Seconds passed.

The flames died down.

Haruki opened his eyes—and saw the bee king's body was now charred black, completely motionless, no signs of life.

Just as he exhaled in relief, something felt wrong.

He spun and looked around at the swarm.

The remaining bees were still in formation, maintaining their encirclement—with no sign of chaos or retreat.

That shouldn't be possible.

Both Red Bee and the bee king were dead.

Without their leaders, the swarm should've lost control.

Then it hit him.

"Wait… Red Bee?"

Was he really dead?

Haruki's gaze snapped to the bee king's abdomen.

There, faint cracks were beginning to spread—as if something was trying to break out.