Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

A few seconds later…

A shockwave came rippling from the distance.

On the battlefield—whether Leaf or Stone ninjas—everyone instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces, blocking the blast.

Even Haruki, who was positioned on the western mountain peak, squinted from the sudden gust.

That Tailed Beast Bomb packed serious power.

From Rōshi's actions, it wasn't hard to guess that Iwagakure had planned to take advantage of the late-night hours to launch a surprise attack on Konoha, hoping to flatten Windwillow Town in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately for them, the Leaf's alertness was too high. The ambush had failed.

And an attack like that... there was no way Rōshi could unleash another one anytime soon.

As for Han, the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki—

With his current level of mastery over the Tailed Beast's chakra, he wasn't yet capable of firing off a Tailed Beast Bomb. Not unless he gave full control of his body to the beast and entered full Tailed Beast Mode.

But if he did that… it would be no different than releasing the Five-Tails itself.

And the Five-Tails wouldn't care whether someone was from Iwagakure or Konoha—it would rampage indiscriminately.

That's why Iwagakure didn't dare let Rōshi or Han go into full transformation.

In fact, they didn't even allow them to stay in half-transformed states for long, afraid the beasts would seize control of their consciousness and cause a disaster.

So yes, Jinchūriki were powerful, but until fully unleashed, they weren't enough to decisively change the course of a battle.

In terms of combat value, they were roughly equal to a few elite jōnin.

That was exactly why Konoha dared to stand their ground here against Iwagakure.

Otherwise, they'd have either retreated or sent in more heavy hitters.

"Attack!!"

Though the sneak attack had failed, the arrow had already left the bow.

A voice from the Iwa forces roared out from the front lines.

Immediately, waves of Iwa-nin, densely packed like swarms of ants, split into three groups and advanced in a fan-shaped formation toward Windwillow Town's base.

At the same time, Leaf shinobi began emerging from the buildings, quickly dispersing into small squads to intercept the attackers.

Combat erupted instantly.

In just moments, the battlefield descended into chaos.

Beneath the moonlight, Iwa-nin and Konoha-nin clashed violently, the sounds of jutsu, blade strikes, and battle cries filling the air.

Back on the western mountain, Haruki had initially planned to observe the battle for a bit longer—

But someone quickly ran up to report:

"Captain! A group of enemy forces is heading our way!"

"Which direction?" Haruki asked.

"Southeast!"

Haruki turned his gaze toward the southeast.

There, at the base of the mountain, he saw more than 200 Iwa-nin rapidly approaching.

At most, they'd reach the mountaintop in fifteen minutes.

No need to guess—

Their goal was clearly to seize control of the high ground.

And why did that matter?

After all, the ninja world's weapons of mass destruction weren't limited to just Tailed Beasts.

Never mind the chakra cannon from Kumogakure that could target the moon—that thing was a special case few villages could replicate.

But aside from that, every major Hidden Village had its own version of a wide-area destructive weapon:

"Offensive Sealing Arrays."

These were large-scale ninjutsu—destructive techniques sealed into scrolls via sealing arts.

When activated, and powered by several to even dozens of shinobi, these arrays could level fortresses and demolish entire towns.

For example, during Kakashi's battle using Chidori to evolve into Raikiri, Iwagakure had deployed one of these devastating jutsu arrays.

If Iwa managed to take this high ground, they could bombard Windwillow Town from above.

Of course, all this was just Haruki's guess.

Maybe Iwagakure had something else in mind.

But regardless of what they were thinking—

There was no way Haruki was going to let them take this strategic point.

"Alert everyone—prepare for battle!" Haruki ordered decisively.

"Yes, Captain!"

The reporting Leaf Chūnin responded and quickly dashed away.

Soon after, everyone at the rear base sprang into action, dispersing according to the defense plan, rushing to their assigned positions to intercept the incoming Iwa-nin.

Atop the tree canopy, Haruki glanced at his panel:

[Chakra: 28,506 / 36,500]

He thought for a moment—then began casting the Palm Sage Technique, deliberately consuming chakra.

Once every few seconds.

After about fifteen minutes of repeated use, he stopped when his internal chakra had dropped to roughly 20,000 points.

Of course, it wasn't because he had too much chakra to spare.

Rather, he was making space—

For the chakra he was about to harvest.

And where would that chakra come from?

No doubt—the Iwa-nin climbing the mountain.

In Haruki's eyes, these enemies were basically chakra supply units.

That said, he didn't drop his reserves too low—20,000 was still plenty to deal with most threats.

And if 20,000 wasn't enough, then an extra few thousand wouldn't help either.

So from here on out, he planned to maintain a steady reserve of 20,000 chakra, and burn off any excess when possible.

If he did that, his Palm Sage Technique should hit Level 7 pretty soon.

And when it did, the body enhancement effect would no doubt skyrocket.

BOOM!

Just as Haruki was envisioning his future gains, a thunderous explosion ripped through the air—

followed by the clang of clashing weapons and shouts from ninja.

Haruki turned toward the source.

The battle had begun!

Without hesitation, he leapt from the treetop, body flickering as he charged toward the combat zone.

The moment he arrived, a volley of kunai came flying toward him.

Haruki glanced lazily in their direction, mentally calculating their trajectories.

His figure flickered and shifted, effortlessly dodging the attacks.

Without slowing down, he charged directly into the Iwa formation.

More kunai and shuriken came flying.

He dodged what he could, and when avoidance wasn't possible, he parried with his short sword—

a crisp chorus of metallic clangs ringing out as he deflected the incoming weapons.

Then—

He broke through the Iwa front lines, arriving directly behind their formation.

There, even more Iwa-nin were gathered.

Leaf shinobi were scarce.

In an instant, Haruki found himself surrounded.

But he remained calm—this was exactly what he wanted.

Only here could he act without restraint.

Seeing a group of lower- and mid-rank Iwa-nin charging at him, Haruki's hands moved in a blur, forming seals with blinding speed.

His body spun, and from his mouth, he spewed a barrage of blazing fireballs—

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"

"Ahhhh!"

"Retreat! Fall back—now!!"

"Look out!!"

The fireballs, controlled precisely by Haruki, rained down upon the Iwa-nin, breaking their formation in an instant.

Some were struck directly, collapsing to the ground screaming and injured.

Haruki's eyes lit up.

In a flash, he dashed to their side—

Chakra Absorption Technique activated.

He grabbed them, using their bodies to shield himself from enemy attacks,

all while forcefully draining their chakra.

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