Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

A dozen thoughts flashed through Haruki's mind in an instant. Without hesitation, he flung three kunai toward the enemy.

Clang! Clang!

The kunai launched by the middle-aged Iwa Jonin were all intercepted mid-air.

Then, Haruki quickly formed hand seals and unleashed a high-speed jutsu:

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique!"

His mouth opened slightly, and he exhaled a stream of over a hundred small fireballs. Under his precise control, the flames split into two waves:

Two-thirds rained down directly toward the middle-aged Jonin.

The remaining third veered off toward the heavily injured Aikawa Sukai lying beside him.

Based on the man's earlier reactions, it was clear that he highly valued Sukai—otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to protect him.

Naturally, Haruki intended to exploit that weakness.

"Damn it!"

The middle-aged Iwa ninja cursed through gritted teeth as he watched the flames descend, but he still had no choice—he grit his teeth and moved to shield Sukai.

He couldn't let Sukai die.

After all, Sukai was the rising star of their clan, and his loss would be an unacceptable blow.

Yes—they were family.

That's why this Jonin had been the first to rush to his rescue.

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

The Jonin's hands flashed into seals. Right before the fireballs struck, he activated a B-rank Water Style jutsu, raising a shimmering wall of water to block Haruki's flames.

The fireballs collided against the water with sharp hissing sounds—"Zzzzzz…"

A thick curtain of steam instantly erupted, blanketing the battlefield and obstructing Haruki's vision.

Seeing this, Haruki frowned. He quickly formed another seal:

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

A violent gust burst from his mouth, instantly sweeping away the steam cloud—and even blowing away the lingering dust and smoke in the area.

Once visibility returned, Haruki's eyes narrowed as he looked ahead.

But there was no one there.

The place where the Iwa Jonin and Aikawa Sukai had stood was completely empty. Only a circular hole about 70 to 80 centimeters wide remained in the ground.

Clearly, they had escaped using some kind of Earth Style jutsu.

"So that Water Style defense was just a deliberate distraction?"

Haruki felt a surge of irritation—he'd been played.

He activated his Sharingan and scanned the area.

Not far away, he spotted the middle-aged Jonin emerging from underground, carrying an unconscious Sukai in his arms.

As if sensing Haruki's gaze, the Jonin turned and looked back—a mocking smirk stretched across his face.

He even made a provocative gesture, taunting Haruki as if daring him to chase after them.

But Haruki wasn't stupid.

Though annoyed by the trick, he wouldn't let himself get baited. Not when there were multiple Iwa Jonin lurking nearby.

If he chased after them and those Jonin suddenly broke from their battles and surrounded him, he'd be in real trouble.

Haruki wasn't reckless.

He took a deep breath and withdrew his gaze, turning instead to the chaos unfolding around him.

Immediately, his eyes locked onto the youngest member of his squad.

The boy was being swarmed by two Iwa Chūnin, his body soaked in blood—it was unclear if it was his or someone else's.

Haruki didn't hesitate.

"Body Flicker Technique!"

In a flash, he arrived at the scene. Before the two Iwa ninja even noticed him, Haruki unleashed two rapid Genjutsu spells, instantly putting them under.

Then, with a flick of his short sword, he ended both of their lives.

"Captain!"

The young shinobi finally realized what had happened, calling out in a shaky voice.

"Yeah."

Haruki gave a quick nod. No time for chatter—he launched himself toward the next battlefield.

Since the enemy was willing to let him move freely to protect Sukai, then Haruki wasn't going to show mercy.

He unleashed his fury on the weaker-ranked enemies.

In just two short minutes, Haruki had already slain seven Iwa Chūnin across different battlefields.

Finally, the Iwa Jonin could no longer ignore him. Two more split off from their fights and moved in to intercept him.

But to Haruki's surprise, they weren't aiming to kill him.

Their focus was entirely on defense. Unless Haruki tried to break away from the fight, they barely attacked.

But whenever he tried to disengage, they immediately moved in to block him—and once he retaliated, they'd retreat into a defensive posture again.

It was annoying, but it also made their intentions obvious.

They weren't trying to defeat him—they were just trying to tie him down and stop him from killing more Iwa shinobi.

As for actually killing him?

They probably weren't even thinking about that right now.

So, Haruki decided to just go along with it.

"Why not kill them too?"

He could.

If he went all out, he could absolutely kill the two of them.

But then what?

More Jonin would just take their place.

This mission had brought out Iwagakure's elites—they had no shortage of Jonin. Was Haruki supposed to wipe them all out?

He was realistic. He'd already done enough.

By now, he had killed nearly ten Chūnin, two Special Jonin, and two full Jonin, plus he'd severely wounded another.

That kind of record was more than enough.

Anything beyond this would only attract unwanted attention.

"The tall tree attracts the wind."

Until he had absolute power, Haruki wasn't looking to stand out too much.

Yes—he'd already performed better than 90% of all Jonin. But it was still within an acceptable range.

If he pushed further, it would no longer be justifiable.

So, instead of pushing his luck, Haruki followed the Iwa Jonin's lead and stalled, using the opportunity to quietly grind more Sword Mastery experience.

As for whether the other Konoha shinobi lived or died…

That wasn't his job.

He wasn't their babysitter. He wasn't responsible for keeping them alive.

Besides… something about this situation felt off.

By now, the battle had dragged on long enough that Nara Suiwa—the mission commander—should have gotten a handle on the situation and ordered a coordinated counterattack.

But instead?

Suiwa kept sending in small squads, one after another, like drip-feeding reinforcements.

With no concentrated push, Konoha could never outnumber Iwa, and their casualties would only continue to rise.

Haruki didn't believe for a second that Nara Suiwa didn't see that coming.

Which meant… he must have had a reason for continuing this strategy.

There were only two likely explanations:

Either the base was under attack from other directions, and they simply didn't have extra forces to send…

Or… Nara Suiwa was deliberately using them as bait, keeping Iwa's attention locked here to stall for time or set up a larger move.

And in Haruki's mind, the second option was far more likely.

Why?

Because if it were the first, Suiwa would've ordered a retreat, pulling everyone back to form a tighter defensive line and reduce casualties.

Only if he had a deeper plan in motion would he risk lives just to hold the enemy in place.

"I just wonder how ambitious that plan really is…"

With that thought lingering in his mind, Haruki continued to stall and spar with the two Iwa Jonin in front of him.