Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Night fell.

Windwillow Town.

Inside the base, Uchiha Haruki once again completed a full cycle of practicing the Mystic Palm Technique.

A wave of clarity instantly surged in his mind.

In that moment, Haruki felt he had reached a deeper understanding of the Mystic Palm Technique.

That familiar sensation told him clearly—

his Mystic Palm Technique had just leveled up.

He quickly opened his status panel for confirmation.

Sure enough, it was there:

his Mystic Palm Technique had risen from Level 6 to Level 7.

This made it the second skill he'd upgraded to Level 7, after Mirror Heart Technique.

And the improvement from Level 6 was substantial.

Haruki figured—there likely weren't many ninja in the world who could use the Mystic Palm Technique better than him.

Right now, if he were treating physical injuries—so long as they weren't too severe—

he could easily heal them, and without heavily reducing the target's lifespan.

After all, most medical ninjutsu, including Mystic Palm, functioned by stimulating cellular division to accelerate healing.

But human cells can only divide a limited number of times.

Overstimulating them eats into that limit—reducing life expectancy over time.

But now that Haruki's Mystic Palm Technique had reached Level 7,

that issue had greatly improved.

No, it didn't actually increase the number of divisions cells could perform.

Instead, the technique now allowed each division to heal more efficiently by consuming more chakra.

This significantly reduced the number of cellular divisions needed for healing—

and in turn, minimized the strain on the patient's lifespan.

And that was just the healing enhancement.

The technique's body-strengthening effect had also been boosted.

Haruki formed a hand seal and activated the Mystic Palm Technique again.

He immediately sensed that the Yang-style chakra he gathered this time

was far purer than before.

Controlling the chakra, he let it flow through his chakra pathways,

infusing every organ and tissue in his body.

A wave of blissful warmth spread through him,

and Haruki couldn't suppress a low, involuntary moan of comfort.

Three minutes later, he opened his eyes.

Silently, he calculated…

If he repeated this kind of enhancement eight thousand more times,

his body should accumulate enough foundation for a physical breakthrough.

Each activation of Mystic Palm required 150 chakra points.

Eight thousand times meant 1.2 million chakra.

Right now, he could recover 42,000 chakra per day.

Which meant—

even with no outside help, he could complete this physical evolution in less than a month.

By then, his Constitution stat would rise from 13 to 14,

and he'd finally be able to attempt unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan.

And if he could get extra chakra from other sources,

the process could be accelerated even further.

Just thinking about it made Haruki's heart burn with anticipation.

He suddenly felt a strong urge to go hunt down a few Iwa-nin and drain their chakra dry.

"Calm down! Calm down!"

Smack–smack!

Haruki slapped both cheeks to bring himself back to reality.

Sure, capturing some Iwa-nin was tempting.

But even if the timing was perfect, and he somehow absorbed all 1.2 million chakra right now—

it would still be useless without the time to process it.

Doing the math:

At one enhancement every 3 minutes, with 4 hours of rest per day,

he would still need at least 20 days to complete the transformation.

That meant 60,000 chakra burned per day.

Subtracting his natural recovery of 42,000,

he'd need to supplement 18,000 chakra daily.

That wasn't a small number—

but it also wasn't impossible.

Which meant there was no need to rush.

Especially because he'd soon be executing a mission to infiltrate enemy territory.

There was no time to run off chakra-farming Iwa-nin right now.

That would have to wait.

Two more hours slipped by in a flash.

It was now deep into the night.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle pierced the air—

and Windwillow Town came alive once again.

Fatigued Konoha shinobi trudged out of their rooms,

expressionless and worn down, gathering in formation

before heading out into the darkness to once again clash with Iwa-nin in life-or-death combat.

This was Iwagakure's tactic.

They leveraged their greater numbers to launch near-constant assaults—

rotating teams to keep up day and night attacks, wearing down Konoha's will.

It was a simple strategy.

But highly effective.

They'd used it for two days straight now.

And tonight—Haruki had been waiting for this exact moment.

After one final gear check to ensure everything was in place—

especially the special kunai Minato had given him—

Haruki slipped into the crowd and quietly exited the town.

A few moments later, three more figures joined him.

These were his mission teammates—

two special jōnin skilled in stealth and assassination,

and a Hyūga clan reconnaissance ninja.

Haruki nodded to them, then took the lead,

heading toward the eastern perimeter of the Iwa camp as planned.

The others quickly followed.

One hour later—

The team of four arrived at a ridge not far from the enemy base.

Thanks to Haruki's Sharingan and the Hyūga's Byakugan,

they had managed to avoid numerous traps and detection on the way here.

Now it was time to test their execution.

Haruki watched the heavily guarded Iwa encampment from a distance.

Their defense was tight—

breaking in unnoticed was nearly impossible.

He turned to the Hyūga kunoichi beside him and signaled her with a hand gesture,

instructing her to search for a possible infiltration route.

The kunoichi—Hyūga Crimson—nodded firmly.

She pressed her hands together and focused.

In the next instant, her Byakugan activated.

Immediately, everything in front of her—people, terrain, movement—was laid bare.

Crimson began scanning the enemy's defensive layout,

mapping out patrol routes and searching for the exact location of the Iwa command center.

Minutes passed in silence.

After about fifteen minutes, she was still observing.

A few patrol teams had passed uncomfortably close to their position,

which made the two special jōnin grow visibly tense.

Haruki noticed their breathing quicken.

Without a word, he flashed a quick hand sign—

Control your presence. Stay calm.

Realizing their error, the two immediately composed themselves and focused again.

Another quarter hour slipped by.

As another Iwa patrol passed just ahead of them,

Crimson finally deactivated her Byakugan and turned back toward Haruki.

Haruki raised an eyebrow, silently asking for a report.

Crimson gave a confident nod,

then signaled that she needed a few minutes to rest.

Haruki noticed the sweat trickling down her forehead.

She'd clearly overextended herself with the prolonged Byakugan usage.

Understanding her condition, Haruki agreed to let her rest.

After all, they would still need her eyes for the actual infiltration.

Better to let her recover now than risk everything later.