Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

The next morning.

At dawn, Uchiha Haruki set out on the road back to the village, accompanied by more than a dozen genin, escorted by a team of chunin and a squad of jonin.

Along the way, people kept sneaking glances at him.

It wasn't their fault—Haruki had his Sharingan activated the entire time. Even if he wanted to stay low-key, it was impossible not to draw attention.

But Haruki didn't care.

Ever since his Sharingan had been exposed, he had lost a key trump card. In that case, he had no reason to hold back—his only focus now was to grow stronger.

If he didn't use the travel time to keep advancing his Sharingan's evolution, he'd be wasting precious hours.

As for those curious stares? That wasn't his problem.

And so, Haruki remained calm and composed the whole time, though to others, it gave off the impression that he was deliberately flaunting his Sharingan.

Still, these were all shinobi straight from the battlefield—no one had time or energy to start something over a misunderstanding.

Even if someone did, Haruki wasn't afraid.

But if things could remain peaceful, he'd rather not waste effort on unnecessary conflict.

Just like that, two days passed quietly.

That night.

After completing his daily training of Genjutsu: Sharingan, a sudden flash of insight lit up in Haruki's mind.

He understood instantly—his Genjutsu: Sharingan had leveled up.

He opened his panel for a quick look. Sure enough, it had advanced from Lv1 (191/200) to Lv2 (1/500).

Haruki tested the jutsu. His hand seal speed had increased by about 20%, and the genjutsu effect was just a little stronger.

The improvement wasn't huge, but progress was progress.

He calmed his excitement and continued training into the night.

Hours passed.

It was deep into the night by the time Haruki finally finished that day's training routine. He collapsed onto his bedroll and fell asleep.

Of course, he didn't sleep too deeply.

It was still wartime—no telling when enemy shinobi might ambush them. Haruki kept a sliver of awareness at all times.

This kind of sleep wasn't ideal, and the quality was lower, but he was used to it. It wouldn't affect him in the short term.

The night passed without incident.

At dawn the next day, the group had a quick breakfast and hit the road again.

And so it went—travel by day, train by night.

By the time they returned to Konohagakure five days later, Haruki's Sharingan evolution had reached 872/1000, and his Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique had advanced to Lv2 (442/500).

As for the ambushes he'd been worried about? They never came.

After parting ways with the lead jonin, Haruki returned to his house.

No one had lived there for months, and the place was covered in dust.

He spent some time cleaning the house top to bottom. Only once it was spotless did he finally allow himself to rest.

Yes—rest.

Months of battlefield life had worn him down in every way.

In that kind of environment, getting a decent night's sleep was a luxury—even in the main camp, there was always the risk of a surprise attack. It had been mentally exhausting.

Now that he was back in the relative safety of the village, Haruki had no plans to jump straight into training.

His first priority was a long, uninterrupted sleep to recover from all that fatigue.

And once he fell asleep...

He slept for an entire day.

When Haruki finally woke up, his entire body felt refreshed.

The deep exhaustion that had been weighing on him for so long had vanished. He felt recharged.

"Ahhh... that's the stuff."

He stretched with a yawn, a content smile on his face.

Grrr~

At that moment, his stomach growled loudly.

Haruki rubbed his belly, grabbed his wallet, and headed out the door.

Once on the street, Haruki immediately noticed something different—the village felt much more desolate than before.

There were fewer people around, and many had weary, anxious expressions on their faces.

He thought back to six months ago, during the last Chūnin Exams. Back then, new shops were opening and the streets were lively.

Now?

There were for sale signs on many storefronts. The few businesses still operating looked lifeless, with barely any customers inside.

Thinking about it, it wasn't surprising.

In Konoha, while civilians made up the majority, it was the shinobi who had the real purchasing power.

In the past, their spending had kept the local economy afloat.

But now most of them were out on the battlefield. Without their income, business had plummeted.

On top of that, the chaos across the ninja world had driven up transportation costs, causing prices in the village to soar. It was no wonder things looked so bleak.

Haruki shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He quickened his pace and headed in a familiar direction.

Soon, he saw it—a ramen shop still open for business.

Ichiraku Ramen.

As soon as Haruki walked in, the chef in a white apron greeted him warmly.

"Welcome! What would you like today?"

"One miso chashu ramen."

Haruki didn't hesitate. He ordered the most luxurious bowl on the menu.

"Coming right up! Please wait a moment," the chef replied and got to work immediately.

Soon, a bowl of fragrant, piping-hot ramen was placed in front of him.

Gulp.

After months of surviving on dry rations and basic field meals, Haruki couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva at the sight of real food.

Seeing his expression, the chef beamed with pride.

"Please enjoy!"

Haruki didn't need to be told twice. He picked up his chopsticks and devoured the ramen like a starving wolf.

In less than two minutes, the bowl was empty.

Still hungry, Haruki patted his stomach, then ordered another bowl.

A second bowl of miso chashu ramen came out quickly—and disappeared just as fast.

Still not satisfied, Haruki ordered a third bowl—this time, tonkotsu ramen.

And just like that, Haruki ate ten bowls in a row.

By the time he finally stopped, the table was covered in empty dishes.

BUURRP~

Haruki let out a loud, satisfied belch and rubbed his full belly.

"How much do I owe you, boss?"

"Thank you for your patronage! That'll be 875 ryo," the chef replied with a grin.

Haruki did a quick mental check—same price as before. No inflation. He didn't comment on it, just pulled out his wallet, counted out the ryo, and handed it over.

The chef smiled so wide his eyes practically vanished.

With a cheerful wave goodbye, Haruki left the ramen shop.

He didn't head home right away. First, he made a stop at the Hokage's Office.

Since his team leader had died in battle, Haruki needed to personally collect the application form for the Chūnin Exams.

There were no obstacles. He quickly got the form, signed it, and handed it back.

Now, all that was left was to wait for the exams in ten days.

But Haruki didn't plan to waste those ten days.

First, his Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique was on the verge of leveling up. He aimed to push it to Lv3 before the exam.

Not because he expected to need it against other candidates—he just wanted to set a personal goal to keep himself motivated.

Besides that, there was also the matter of Uchiha-Style Kenjutsu.

The past few days had been filled with travel, so he hadn't had time to practice. Now, he could focus again—and if he pushed hard enough, maybe he could level it up to Lv4 before the exam too.

Haruki had a gut feeling—

Once both Leaf-Style Kenjutsu and Uchiha-Style Kenjutsu reached perfection, he might be able to merge them into something entirely new.

A sword style that would be stronger, more fluid, and better suited to him.

Maybe he could even develop his own signature finishing moves—techniques akin to "Crescent Moon Dance".

Fueled by that idea, Haruki returned home and dove right back into training.