Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Watch out!"

Nagashima Tomohisa shouted sharply as he quickly pulled out several kunai and hurled them at Haruki.

That's right—the person who had just spoken wasn't some ordinary Iwa ninja. It was Uchiha Haruki, who had used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself and blend in during the chaos.

Originally, Haruki hadn't expected to encounter Rōshi, the Four-Tails' jinchūriki, under such circumstances.

But the moment he saw him, he immediately recognized an opportunity.

Unfortunately, a flicker of killing intent escaped from him—just enough to alert Rōshi.

Rōshi sensed the threat at once and locked onto the source, leaving Haruki inwardly frustrated.

Poof—

Haruki canceled his transformation, revealing his true form.

He ignored the startled Iwa shinobi on both sides, activated his Sharingan, and with a flash of movement, dodged all the incoming kunai.

Not only that—he took the chance to close in on Rōshi.

Shing—

Drawing the short sword from his waist, Haruki drove it straight toward Rōshi's heart.

"Watch out!"

Nagashima Tomohisa shouted again in alarm.

But Rōshi didn't move.

Just as the blade was about to strike, a layer of dark red chakra flared over Rōshi's body, and a wave of intense, oppressive energy rolled off of him.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, Rōshi struck—grabbing Haruki's blade with one hand.

No matter how hard Haruki pushed, the sword couldn't advance even an inch.

They were locked in a deadlock for a moment—until Rōshi growled and suddenly hurled Haruki away with a powerful swing of his arm.

Spinning in mid-air several times, Haruki tensed his core and adjusted his position, landing on a tree branch.

He narrowed his eyes at the figure below, now cloaked in a glowing tailed-beast shroud, remembering how Rōshi had effortlessly caught his blade. His brow furrowed.

BOOM—

A thunderous sound echoed.

Rōshi launched himself like a cannonball off the ground, charging straight toward Haruki on the branch.

Haruki had no intention of clashing directly.

He sheathed his short sword and, with a flicker of movement, leapt to another tree, avoiding Rōshi's charge.

But Rōshi refused to let up.

Even before landing, he extended an arm toward Haruki—and in the next instant, a chakra claw, shaped from that same dark red energy, shot out toward him.

Haruki quickly formed hand seals and performed a jutsu:

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

A blazing dragon of fire shot from his mouth, colliding with the chakra claw.

BOOM—

The resulting explosion sent a fiery shockwave through the forest.

The fire dragon was instantly torn apart, turning into a rain of glowing embers.

The chakra claw flickered slightly, but continued pressing forward.

Haruki's eyes narrowed.

He had fine-tuned that jutsu specifically to counter the chakra of the tailed beast. It had consumed a significant amount of chakra.

And yet—even with all that, the fire technique had been instantly overwhelmed.

This wasn't just about chakra quantity—it was a matter of chakra quality.

The tailed beast's chakra was simply on another level.

Without factoring in elemental affinities or technical finesse, a basic clash of raw power left Haruki at a disadvantage.

To match this kind of strength, he'd have to use far more chakra just to keep up.

It was a major weakness—one he couldn't afford to ignore.

To strengthen his chakra, there was only one path Haruki could think of: mastering Sage Mode.

Sage chakra could counter even Yin-Yang Release—it was among the most refined and powerful forms of chakra in existence.

But that was for the future.

Right now, he had to deal with Rōshi's onslaught.

As the chakra claw rushed toward him, Haruki didn't hesitate.

With a burst of movement, he vanished from sight.

BOOM—

The chakra claw smashed into the tree he'd just been on, leaving deep gashes in the trunk.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"

Before Rōshi could retract the claw, Haruki unleashed another jutsu.

Dozens—no, hundreds—of small fireballs shot from his mouth like a meteor shower, raining down toward his opponent.

"Hmph! Showy nonsense."

Rōshi sneered as he prepared to swat the fireballs aside with his chakra claws.

But then—

From within the flaming barrage, a few shuriken shot out, aimed straight at his face.

"Wha—?!"

Caught off guard, Rōshi tried to dodge.

Shhh—ZZZZT—

The sound of steel slicing flesh, followed by the hiss of burning skin.

One of the superheated shuriken grazed his cheek, leaving behind a blackened scorch mark.

The searing pain on his face sent Rōshi into a fury.

"You brat! Are you looking to die?!"

With a roar, he formed hand seals, inhaled deeply, puffed out his chest, and released:

"Lava Release: Scorching River of Molten Rock!"

Massive magma fireballs materialized and flew toward Haruki like burning meteors.

The intense heat they radiated made it clear—Haruki couldn't afford to take them head-on.

Not only did they emit crushing heat, they were actual molten lava, capable of both physical destruction and elemental damage.

Haruki immediately flickered away and began sprinting toward the nearby Iwa forces.

"Everyone, attack him! Don't let him get close!"

Nagashima Tomohisa shouted in alarm.

Whiz-whiz-whiz—

A torrent of kunai and shuriken flew toward Haruki—some of them even embedded with explosive tags.

But the Sharingan in Haruki's eyes spun rapidly.

Everyone's movements appeared in slow motion to him.

He saw it all—every projectile, every motion.

The only real threat were the explosive tags.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—

Multiple explosions erupted.

But with the Sharingan's precision, Haruki deftly avoided every danger zone, dodging the attacks as if dancing between raindrops.

"Ahhh!"

"Careful!"

"He's coming! Retreat!"

Panic erupted among the Iwa ranks as Haruki charged into their midst.

Shing—

His short sword gleamed.

In the blink of an eye, he slashed down two Iwa genin.

The group instantly fell into chaos.

Seizing the moment, Haruki formed seals again.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"

Target: Rōshi—once again.

This time, Rōshi was fully prepared.

But Haruki didn't follow up with any hidden shuriken.

Realizing he'd been baited, Rōshi fumed with rage.

And it wasn't just a metaphor—steam literally began rising from his body.

Rōshi formed seals again—this time unleashing Lava Chakra Mode.

Lava began materializing around him, coiling around his body like a serpent, forming a thick, glowing magma armor.

Steam hissed from his body as the heat distorted the air around him.

Even from a distance, Haruki could smell the scorching scent of molten rock.

"RAAAHH!"

With a fierce roar, Rōshi charged straight at Haruki.