Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Thud, thud, thud—

Heavy, rapid footsteps thundered through the forest.

Every time Rōshi stepped, the ground beneath him burned black, leaving behind scorched craters. The surrounding grass, flowers, and even nearby trees ignited on contact.

In that moment, Rōshi resembled a fire god descending upon the battlefield, exuding a terrifying presence.

Looking at the molten lava armor covering his body, and sensing the searing heat radiating from it, Uchiha Haruki frowned deeply. He had absolutely no intention of making direct contact with that armor.

Sheathing his short sword, Haruki used Body Flicker Technique, charging straight into the Iwa shinobi crowd.

Seeing this, Rōshi shouted, "Move aside!"

With that, he bolted after Haruki.

None of the surrounding Iwa-nin dared to get in the way. Like frightened rabbits, they scattered in all directions at high speed.

But Haruki wasn't about to let them off the hook that easily—he intended to use them to hold Rōshi back.

So, with a swift pivot, he dashed straight toward the fleeing Iwa shinobi.

Nagashima Tomohisa instantly recognized Haruki's plan. While commanding the Iwa-nin to counterattack, he formed seals and used Earth Style Ninjutsu to block Haruki's advance.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Sharp earthen spikes shot up from the ground, targeting Haruki's vital points and sealing off his escape routes.

It looked like there was no way out.

But Haruki hadn't charged in recklessly—he was fully prepared.

His Sharingan spun at full speed, slowing down every motion around him. The rising spikes appeared to be moving in slow motion. Haruki dodged them effortlessly with a series of flickers.

Not just the spikes—he dodged every single kunai and ninja tool thrown his way with pinpoint precision.

In the chaos of the battlefield, the true power of the Sharingan was on full display.

Whoosh—

Haruki slipped into the crowd once again.

Instantly, panic broke out among the Iwa ranks.

Rōshi, several times, wanted to launch a full-scale attack, but each time, seeing his comrades so close to Haruki, he hesitated.

As a Jinchūriki, many within the village already viewed him with suspicion. If he now unleashed indiscriminate attacks that harmed his own allies, the public backlash would be catastrophic.

Just thinking about that made Rōshi shiver.

They say words are sharper than blades—and if public opinion turned entirely against him, even with all his inner strength, he wouldn't be able to bear it.

More importantly, Iwagakure wasn't without ways to suppress him.

Forget everything else—Ōnoki alone was more than capable of bringing him to heel.

If he ever truly enraged the village, and forced Ōnoki to act, the consequences would be disastrous.

This fear shackled Rōshi's movements. He held back.

Haruki, who was on the receiving end, immediately sensed the change in Rōshi's behavior.

A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

Everything was going exactly as he had predicted. The presence of the Iwa shinobi was indeed restraining Rōshi, keeping him from going all-out.

Now all Haruki had to do was stall for time—wait for Minato Namikaze to arrive.

Time continued to tick by.

The Iwa shinobi grew more scattered, and it took Haruki longer and longer to move from one group to the next.

At the same time, the windows for Rōshi to attack grew wider.

Gradually, Haruki began to feel the pressure.

BOOM—

Another lava sphere smashed down toward him.

Haruki flickered out of the way and retaliated with:

"Wind Style: Blade of Wind!"

Among all his jutsu, this was the only one that could hurt Rōshi.

Its sharp, focused energy was capable of cutting through the lava armor.

The first time Haruki used it, it had caught Rōshi off guard, leaving a shallow mark on his armor.

Now, though—it could only serve to buy time.

As the wind blade surged toward him, Rōshi reacted immediately—channeling more chakra and thickening the lava armor in the direction of the attack.

Ssssssshhh—

The wind blade slashed into the armor, letting out a piercing screech, but ultimately couldn't penetrate it.

Once the jutsu faded, Rōshi secretly exhaled in relief and resumed his pursuit of Haruki.

Why didn't he dodge?

Simple—the lava armor enhanced both his offensive and defensive capabilities, but at the cost of mobility.

And Haruki's wind blade was known for its speed.

Dodging was simply not an option.

So he had to endure it.

That was exactly why Haruki could keep using it—to stall for time.

A few more minutes passed.

Suddenly, the battle intensified.

There were no more Iwa shinobi nearby.

Haruki now had to face Rōshi alone.

And with no one around, Rōshi finally let loose—backed by his vast chakra reserves, he launched massive Lava Release techniques one after another.

In no time at all, the area around them was transformed into a hellish landscape—flames and molten rock flowed everywhere, greatly limiting Haruki's ability to dodge.

Fortunately, Haruki's Sharingan allowed him to anticipate Rōshi's movements, dodging during the small gaps between his techniques.

Otherwise, he truly might have been taken down.

But killed?

That was out of the question.

With Haruki's current strength, there were only a handful of people in the shinobi world who could kill him—and Rōshi wasn't one of them.

If it weren't for Lava Release being such a hard counter to his current combat style—and the lava armor's ability to neutralize his genjutsu—Rōshi would never have pushed him this far.

Still, this gave Haruki something to think about:

"Maybe… it's time to start developing a third chakra nature."

Until now, he had been planning to unlock Lightning Release, to strengthen his body further.

But now…

Haruki had changed his mind. He was going to pursue Water Release.

Without it, future encounters with similar opponents would continue to put him at a disadvantage—and that was something he refused to accept.

Moreover, Water Style was well-known for its wide-area coverage.

With enough chakra, he could use it as an opening move, reshaping the battlefield into something favorable for himself.

These thoughts flickered through his mind quickly, but Haruki pushed them aside for now and focused back on fighting Rōshi.

The Sharingan's insight and Haruki's agility allowed him to narrowly avoid each of Rōshi's massive attacks.

He couldn't fight Rōshi head-on, but he also wouldn't be caught.

Likewise, Rōshi couldn't land a decisive hit—nor did Haruki's attacks trouble him.

Thus, the battle reached a stalemate.

Time continued to pass.

Just as Haruki was starting to grow impatient, a sudden commotion broke out among the outer ranks of Iwa shinobi.

And then—

A figure flashed into the battlefield.

It was none other than Minato Namikaze.

He glanced around at the devastated terrain and said to Haruki:

"Sorry I'm late. Things in the north got pretty bad—I had to handle that first."

Haruki wasn't surprised.

Not long ago, he had sensed the violent chakra of the Five-Tails in the north. And Minato hadn't shown up since. At that point, Haruki had already guessed what was happening.

That was the only reason he had held out for this long.

Otherwise, he would've been long gone—no way would he have stuck around to risk his life fighting Rōshi.

Take the fall for someone else?

No way in hell.