Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

It had to be said—copying and mastering Wind Release: Blade of Wind from Kohara Shuuji had proven to be a brilliant decision.

Whether in terms of stealth or lethality, the technique was perfect for finishing battles swiftly and cleanly.

Just now, he found an opening and used Wind Release: Blade of Wind to directly slay Fujita Eita.

Seeing Eita fall, "Kusaka Kōju" halted for a moment, nodded to Uchiha Haruki, and was about to rush toward another part of the battlefield.

But before he got far, Haruki noticed him suddenly stop again. His expression began to flicker and shift wildly, as though two souls were wrestling for control of one body.

Haruki instantly realized what was happening.

Clearly, the Yamanaka jōnin who had taken over Kōju's body could no longer suppress his host's consciousness. Now the two were struggling for control.

It made sense. The Mind Body Switch Technique of the Yamanaka clan was primarily used for espionage. Ideally, one would possess a target of lower rank to maintain control for longer periods.

But in this case, the Yamanaka jōnin had forcefully seized the body of another jōnin—someone of equal rank.

Even though he had poured his entire mental strength into the jutsu for stability, the intense combat had reawakened Kōju's original consciousness.

More importantly, this body had sustained too many serious injuries. The natural survival instinct was triggering Kōju's mind to resist, or he wouldn't have lost control so quickly.

As for how he got injured—

Well, that swift takedown of Fujita Eita in under two minutes hadn't come without a price.

During the fight, "Kōju" had made no effort to defend himself, purely to create an opening for Haruki. As a result, he had been left riddled with wounds.

If it weren't the Yamanaka jōnin controlling the body, Kōju himself might've long since collapsed from blood loss or trauma.

But now it was clear—the jutsu couldn't be maintained any longer.

Just as Haruki was debating whether to eliminate Kōju before he lost full control, the man unexpectedly reached into his tool pouch and pulled out an explosive tag—which he promptly slapped onto his own chest.

The next moment, his expression contorted with fear. His hands reached for the tag, clearly trying to rip it off.

But his arms moved with conflicting intentions, as though still being controlled by two separate minds, locked in internal combat. One tried to tear it away; the other fought to keep it in place.

That slight hesitation proved fatal.

As the explosive tag neared its ignition threshold, the Yamanaka jōnin released the technique at the perfect moment, returning his spirit to his real body.

"No—!"

Kōju, regaining control of his body in that final instant, let out a desperate cry of rage and despair.

Boom!

The explosive tag detonated point-blank.

The blast consumed Kōju entirely. His body, like a broken sack of cloth, was hurled away by the force of the explosion.

Splat—

Haruki looked down at the ruined corpse that landed near his feet.

What a tragic end. Forced to strike down his own comrades—and then ultimately forced to die by suicide.

If Haruki had been in his shoes, he doubted even death would bring him peace.

But then again, in the Pure Land, all thoughts and attachments cease. There would be no rage left to fester.

Shaking his head, Haruki pushed the thoughts aside. He glanced over at the Yamanaka jōnin, who had earlier been slumped unconscious against the wall.

Sure enough, the man had just woken up.

Haruki didn't spare him any more attention.

Instead, he launched himself toward the three Iwagakure jōnin still being held up by the Nara clan's shadow tendrils.

If he could eliminate these three, their mission would finally be complete.

Once that was done, they only needed to wait for Minato Namikaze to finish off Kuroki Ittou, and the entire decapitation operation would be considered a complete success.

But time was of the essence.

Haruki could already sense it—reinforcements from Iwagakure were undoubtedly rushing in. If they failed to complete the mission and evacuate in time, things would become dangerously complicated.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With Haruki's arrival, the pressure on the three Iwa jōnin spiked.

And with the Yamanaka jōnin harassing from afar, the enemy quickly fell into disarray.

It didn't take long for one of the Special Jōnin to break under the pressure.

Haruki seized the moment and drove his blade through the man's back, piercing his vital organs.

The enemy spewed a mouthful of blood, convulsed briefly, and then went limp—lifeless.

Shh—

Without pause, Haruki yanked the blade free and immediately lunged at the remaining two.

A few minutes later, the battle ended.

One of the Iwa jōnin had half his head sliced clean off by Wind Release: Blade of Wind, while the other was impaled by multiple shadow spikes via the Shadow Sewing Technique from the Nara jōnin.

At last—their mission was complete.

Right then, urgent footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Hiura Hinata turned the corner, drenched in blood and gasping for breath as she sprinted toward them.

"The enemy reinforcements have arrived!" she shouted.

The Yamanaka jōnin immediately closed his eyes, focusing his chakra to sense the surroundings.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and nodded toward Haruki and the Nara jōnin.

"There's a large number of enemies converging in this direction."

Haruki's expression relaxed slightly.

He motioned for Hiura Hinata to join them, then quickly asked, "Can you locate Jōnin Minato's position?"

Without wasting a second, Hinata activated her Byakugan and began scanning the area.

A few seconds passed.

"I found him—wait, huh?"

"What's wrong?" Haruki and the other two jōnin immediately tensed, fearing something had gone wrong.

But Hinata quickly continued, "Minato-senpai seems to be heading this way!"

Haruki didn't hesitate. "Hinata, take point and lead the way—move toward Minato now!"

"Got it!" she replied, already taking off down the corridor.

Just then, Haruki asked, "Where are Daisuke and Genkō?"

Noda Daisuke and Murashita Genkō—his two Special Jōnin teammates skilled in stealth and assassination.

Hinata hesitated for a split second.

"They… they were killed."

"I see."

Haruki went quiet for a moment, then said nothing more.

Truthfully, he had already anticipated this outcome.

In fact, he had mentally prepared himself for the loss of all three of them.

Yes, the three jōnin on their side had absorbed the bulk of the enemy's elite forces, but many Iwa shinobi had still targeted Hinata's group.

And those three—though capable—were still only Special Jōnin. Under a full assault, their chances of survival were always slim.

Hinata was simply the lucky one who made it through.

Haruki had no interest in knowing how the weakest among them had survived. In a situation like that, survival itself was enough—there was no need to dig deeper.

Seeing that Haruki no longer questioned her, Hinata turned and dashed forward, guiding the rest of the team onward.