Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Haruki, I remember you know medical ninjutsu, right? Quick—check on Hinata!"

Minato Namikaze's voice rang out again beside him.

Upon hearing this, Haruki looked toward Hinata Hiura, who was slumped a short distance away. Her face was pale as a sheet, and she sat collapsed on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds. Her entire body was in a state of extreme weakness.

Of course—two elite jonin who were stronger than her had died in the siege. The fact that she even survived must have come at a cost.

She had only managed to hold it together earlier out of sheer willpower. But now, having escaped the underground space, that willpower had finally given way, and her condition was rapidly deteriorating.

Haruki examined her injuries carefully and found that three main wounds were threatening her life—on her chest, lower abdomen, and back. In addition, there were a dozen or so surface wounds scattered across her body, all causing heavy blood loss.

Fortunately, most of the wounds were caused by kunai and shuriken. There were no toxins or other troublesome elements involved. With Haruki's current Level 7 Mystical Palm Technique and Level 4 Chakra Scalpel, treating them wouldn't be difficult.

With this reassurance in mind, Haruki nodded and said confidently, "Nothing too serious."

Upon hearing this, Hinata, who had already slipped into a semi-conscious state, finally let go of the last bit of awareness and completely passed out.

Seeing this, Haruki couldn't help but silently admire her strength of will. "Her survival instinct is seriously impressive."

"Then I'll leave her to you," Minato said again.

Haruki gave a calm reply. "Yeah."

He didn't say anything humble like "it's my duty" or "leave it to me". As a member of the Uchiha clan, he could afford to be somewhat approachable—but he would never let go of that inner pride.

Otherwise, where's the soul?

…Well, he was only half-joking.

The real reason for his aloof demeanor was twofold: first, to seem like a proper Uchiha and avoid standing out too much; second, to minimize unnecessary complications.

Bonds are a double-edged sword.

Sometimes, they bring unimaginable rewards—but just as often, they're chains that bind you. The deeper the bond, the tighter the web of obligation becomes, until it completely entangles you.

Haruki didn't want to be restrained like that. So he always kept some distance from others. A touch of cold detachment was necessary.

While thinking this, Haruki activated his Chakra Scalpel.

With swift, precise strokes, he sliced away the necrotic flesh from Hinata's abdominal wound, thoroughly cleaned the injury, and stopped the bleeding.

Next, he activated the Mystical Palm Technique. A gentle green glow enveloped his right hand as he placed his palm on her abdomen.

The green chakra radiated over and into the wound.

The refined Yang Release chakra flowed through Haruki's palm into her injured tissues, stimulating rapid cell regeneration. At the same time, the chakra encouraged the accelerated synthesis of proteins and hormones essential for the human body.

Hinata's condition began improving visibly with every passing moment.

Her tightly drawn face slowly softened in her sleep, and the pain was gradually replaced by a sense of peace and comfort.

Seeing such incredible effects, Minato couldn't help but glance at Haruki a few more times, a trace of amazement flickering in his eyes.

He wasn't someone who failed to recognize talent.

Haruki's use of the Chakra Scalpel was competent—above average compared to most medical-nin, but not exactly dazzling.

But this Mystical Palm Technique?

That was another level entirely.

Minato couldn't think of anyone in Konoha who could match it.

Powerful, skilled in medical ninjutsu, and still so young—it was no wonder Minato found himself more and more impressed by Haruki.

Unknowingly, Haruki had left a lasting impression on him.

Just then, Yamanaka Kii suddenly perked up, as if sensing something. He tilted his head slightly, as if listening.

Although the movement was small, it caught Minato's attention.

A moment later, when Kii returned to normal, Minato immediately asked, "What is it?"

"Roshi and Han have appeared on the front lines. Captain Yuito has ordered you to provide immediate support," Kii replied gravely.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than two overwhelming chakras erupted just outside the town. It was unmistakably the chakra of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails being released.

Sensing those massive chakra waves, Minato didn't waste a second. He activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished on the spot.

Kii and Nara Seifu exchanged glances, nodded toward Haruki, and then dashed off toward the town's edge.

It was obvious—this was Iwa's retaliation for the earlier raid on their command center.

Previously, Captain Yuito had launched a large-scale counterattack to support Haruki's decapitation mission, drawing Iwa's main force away from the command post.

Now, Iwa was trying to strike back while Konoha's strike team hadn't yet fully withdrawn—hoping to wipe out their remaining forces.

To that end, they had even dispatched Roshi, Jinchuriki of the Four-Tails, and Han, Jinchuriki of the Five-Tails.

If Minato failed to stop those two, and they began a rampage, the losses for Konoha would be catastrophic.

In that case, Iwa wouldn't suffer a total loss despite the earlier defeat.

But—that's only if Minato fails to stop them.

And did he?

Of course not.

Most Kage-level ninja wouldn't be able to hold off two Jinchuriki simultaneously. But Minato Namikaze was different.

With the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could fight on two fronts at once, blocking both Roshi and Han's attacks.

Naturally, this kind of battle consumed a great deal of chakra.

However, Minato could enter Sage Mode, so chakra wasn't an issue for him.

Moreover, his mastery of the Flying Thunder God was so advanced that each use cost him only a small amount of chakra. This allowed him to maintain a two-front battle for an extended time.

On the other hand, Roshi and Han—though significantly stronger after partially transforming into their tailed-beast forms—couldn't maintain that state for long.

If they stayed transformed too long, their wills would be overpowered by the Tailed Beasts.

At that point, the ones in real danger wouldn't necessarily be the Konoha shinobi.

After all, there were far more Iwa shinobi on the battlefield than there were Konoha shinobi. Statistically, the Iwa side had more to lose.

And let's not forget—Minato was still holding the field. If the Four-Tails and Five-Tails lost control, he would definitely turn it to Konoha's advantage.

When that happened, the casualties on the Iwa side would skyrocket—a risk they simply couldn't afford.

In other words, from the very start, their counterattack was doomed to fail.

As long as Minato Namikaze remained on the battlefield, the two Jinchuriki couldn't achieve their full potential.

The real battle would be determined by the lower-level fights.

And in such conventional warfare, leadership played a decisive role.

That's why, after this counterattack, Iwagakure would likely be forced to lie low for a while.

After all, assigning a new commander and reorganizing the front lines would take time.

It was clear that after tonight, Konoha would finally get a rare opportunity to rest and regroup.