Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Shrrrip—

Uchiha Haruki pulled his short sword free, letting Shō's lifeless body slump to the ground. The faint blue glow that enveloped his body faded away with it.

That glow wasn't anything unusual—it was Wind Style chakra.

This technique of coating his body in Wind Style chakra was something Haruki had mastered after developing his "Blink Blade Technique."

Back then, he'd created it to merge himself and his short sword into one, using Wind Style's power to achieve ultra-fast, short-distance movement.

But right now, the short sword in his hand was of average quality. It hadn't been forged with any chakra-conductive metals, which meant it couldn't effectively transmit chakra.

So, the Blink Blade Technique couldn't be used.

The reason he had cloaked his entire body in Wind Style chakra earlier was simply to resist the intense heat around him.

Shō believed he wouldn't dare approach through the firestorm—but Haruki did the opposite, relying on Wind Style's shielding ability to forcefully pierce through the flames.

This caught Shō completely off guard.

Once he was close, Haruki immediately cast Genjutsu: Sharingan, pulling his enemy's consciousness into an illusion—and successfully finishing the kill.

In truth, Shō died because of his own habitual assumptions.

But that wasn't to say Haruki came out unscathed.

While coating himself in Wind Style chakra did help block the flames to a degree, the scorching hot air around him still burned his skin.

Redness and swelling now covered large areas of his body. In some spots, he even had blister-like burns.

His lungs weren't spared either—inhaling superheated air had left his throat and windpipe with a raw, burning sensation.

Fortunately, none of this was a serious problem. Haruki had just reached Level 7 in Mystical Palm Technique, more than enough to heal these injuries.

Sensing his wounds, Haruki quickly formed a hand seal and activated the Mystical Palm Technique.

At once, vibrant Yang Release chakra flowed across his body, treating his injuries in order of severity.

Soon, the redness on his skin began to fade, the blisters disappeared, and the burning pain in his lungs and throat felt as though they'd been doused in cool water—incredibly soothing.

In that moment, he felt like a miniature Tsunade using Creation Rebirth, or even Hashirama Senju, known for his passive healing.

Of course, he wasn't actually on their level.

Still, Haruki estimated that with continued improvement in both his Mystical Palm Technique and his physical constitution, reaching that kind of regenerative ability was only a matter of time.

Once that happened, his survivability would increase dramatically.

With that thought in mind, time passed quickly. Within half a minute, Haruki had completed his initial healing.

Just then, a few Iwagakure shinobi finally approached his location.

Until now, the area had been overwhelmed by explosions and flames—forcing everyone to keep their distance.

But now that things had quieted down, it was natural for someone to come investigate.

Three Iwa Chunin cautiously crept closer.

Haruki showed no mercy.

With a Body Flicker Technique, he appeared directly in front of them.

Before they could react, he used a hypnosis jutsu to instantly subdue one of them.

Then, raising his left hand to draw another's gaze, he seized the opening to cast Genjutsu: Sharingan, successfully entrapping the second one as well.

As for the third—

Shhk—

The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed through the air.

The remaining Iwa-nin looked down in shock to see a short sword stabbing through his abdomen.

His strength drained rapidly. He gripped the sword, trying to speak, but blood gushed from his mouth before he could utter a word.

Haruki frowned slightly and slid his body back as he pulled out the sword, deftly avoiding the spray of blood.

Then—slash, slash—he precisely slit the throats of the two Iwa-nin who were still trapped in genjutsu.

It all happened in an instant.

Before anyone else could react, Haruki had already eliminated all three who came to investigate.

He looked ahead. Hyuga Hiiro and the others were still locked in intense combat. Surrounded by many Iwa-nin, and constrained by the narrow terrain, their situation looked difficult.

The Nara Jonin and Yamanaka Jonin were also being overwhelmed by enemy forces.

Only Minato Namikaze seemed to be faring well—he was pursuing Kuroki Ichirō and a few Jonin guards down another corridor.

There was no need to worry about that side. With Minato's strength, completing the decapitation mission should be no problem.

The focus now was on this battle here.

The Chunin and Genin weren't the issue—but there were several Jonin among the enemy that had to be eliminated.

They were part of the strategic leadership behind Iwagakure's assault.

This wasn't just about killing Kuroki Ichirō. While he was the main commander and most important, the other leaders couldn't be ignored.

To completely dismantle Iwa's command structure, multiple high-ranking officers needed to be taken out.

Only then would Iwagakure descend into chaos. Otherwise, they'd just appoint another commander, and the fight would drag on.

Having made up his mind, Haruki stopped wasting time.

He activated Body Flicker again, weaving through the crowd at high speed, and joined the battle where the Nara and Yamanaka Jonin were fighting.

They were facing off against over twenty Iwa-nin, including several Jonin at the core of the command.

"What?!"

Haruki's sudden appearance startled a few of the Iwa Jonin. Looking behind him, they saw Shō's corpse lying on the floor.

Their fear of Haruki grew tenfold.

But surprisingly, Haruki didn't attack them first. Instead, he turned his attention to the Chunin and Genin in the crowd.

Though they posed little threat to him, their sheer numbers were a nuisance.

Haruki didn't want to worry about them while fighting the elite Jonin later—so he decided to clear them out first.

With a flash, he charged into the group and began his assault.

Seeing this, the Nara and Yamanaka Jonin immediately understood his plan. They launched a counterattack against the Iwa Jonin.

Most of those Iwa Jonin were special Jonin, and they had no effective countermeasures against the Nara's shadow techniques or the Yamanaka's mind jutsu.

As a result, they couldn't stop Haruki's slaughter of their subordinates.

Yes—slaughter was the right word.

Facing nearly twenty enemies, Haruki relied on his Sharingan's superb perception and moved with absolute ease.

In his hand, the short sword resembled the reaper's scythe. Whoever it touched fell without resistance, as if welcoming death itself.

The sight horrified the Iwa-nin.

They tried every possible dodge and counter, but none could escape their fate.

This was the power of Haruki's Illusion Blade Technique.

Even if they avoided looking into his eyes, they couldn't avoid the sword flying toward them.

And as long as they focused on the blade, Haruki would project his Sharingan's genjutsu through it, ensnaring them in illusion just before the kill.

In this way, they could only fall into his traps—and wait quietly for death.