Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Half an hour later.

As Uchiha Haruki's sword pierced through the chest of the Iwa Jonin before him, he had now successfully eliminated five Iwa Jonin and Special Jonin.

At this point, the only high-level combatants left on the Iwa side were Ichiro Kurokawa, the commander, and the sensory-type Special Jonin who had relayed messages to him earlier.

Now, both were surrounded and under siege by several Konoha Jonin.

Given the situation, their defeat was only a matter of time.

And so, Haruki didn't feel the need to join in.

After all, if he took all the kills, what would be left for others? He had to leave at least some "soup" after eating all the "meat," didn't he?

Still, just because he didn't join that fight didn't mean he stood idle.

While Konoha's forces were riding high on the morale boost from his string of victories against enemy Jonin, the truth was—they were still outnumbered.

So even though they were pressing Iwa back hard, a decisive victory remained elusive.

Worse, due to overexertion, some of the Konoha shinobi were starting to show signs of fatigue.

If their momentum faltered, the tide could shift.

Haruki wouldn't allow that to happen.

So he decided to target the troublemakers among Iwa's lower and mid-rank shinobi.

As for the unspoken battlefield rule about not attacking weaker enemies…

Sorry—but Iwa no longer had the power to retaliate in kind.

Which meant Haruki was free to ignore the rules.

With that thought, Haruki leapt several times and landed atop a nearby building.

He activated his Sharingan and scanned the battlefield. In an instant, every corner of the chaos came into view.

An Iwa ninja failed to react in time—his throat slashed open by his Konoha opponent.

Elsewhere, a Konoha shinobi was overwhelmed and killed by an Iwa attacker.

Other clashes were suddenly interrupted as kunai or shuriken came flying from the shadows, killing one side mid-fight.

In short, wounds and death occurred every moment.

The battlefield around the Kogaku Village was like a giant meat grinder, mercilessly consuming life.

And this was just one tiny, remote battleground.

Right now, all over the shinobi world, how many such battles were taking place? How many more lives were being lost?

Haruki raised his head and gazed into the distance. His eyes seemed to pierce through mountains, rivers, and even the curtain of night, as if he could see all the wars raging across the world.

He saw shinobi from the Five Great Villages, minor villages struggling to survive in the cracks, rogue bounty hunters, wandering mercenaries…

Everyone was involved in this war in one way or another—some willingly, others dragged into it—but no one could escape.

"Sigh…"

After a long silence, Haruki sighed and withdrew his gaze.

"Without transcendence, we're all ants. Against the tides of fate, all we can do is drift."

With a quiet lament, Haruki collected his emotions. His eyes sharpened with resolve.

He didn't want to waste any more time.

"It's time to end this pointless battle."

With that thought, Haruki scanned the field and instantly locked onto several aggressive Iwa Chunin.

He vanished in a blur, using Body Flicker to appear behind one of them.

Whoosh—

His short sword stabbed forward.

A sense of danger surged in the mind of Kohei Chiba, who was currently pressuring two Konoha Chunin. His expression changed instantly as he shifted to the side—barely dodging a fatal strike to his heart.

Squelch—

The blade pierced his back instead, slicing through his lung.

Kohei felt a wave of suffocation but clenched his teeth through the pain. He yanked himself off the blade and quickly formed hand seals to activate Body Flicker Technique.

But before he could move more than a few steps—another short sword strike came flying at him, cutting off his path.

Kohei slammed to a halt just in time, narrowly avoiding it.

But that was just the beginning.

Seeing his first attack miss, Haruki immediately followed up with a second, a third...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Kohei felt the shadow of death surrounding him. Every second, every breath, he was one step from the grave.

He couldn't even see where Haruki's attacks were coming from—only his instincts allowed him to narrowly dodge.

After more than a dozen strikes, he was still alive.

This was his innate gift—since becoming a shinobi, Kohei had shown exceptional combat instincts.

It was this gift that gave him superior combat ability and allowed him earlier to suppress two Konoha Chunin on his own.

And it was this same gift that helped him survive Haruki's relentless attacks.

But that's as far as he'd go.

Haruki had just been toying with him out of curiosity.

Now…

Haruki's expression turned cold. His blade moved even faster.

Immediately, Kohei could no longer keep up.

He didn't even need to use any special techniques—just a light thrust, and Haruki's blade pierced through Kohei's back, killing him instantly.

Chunin were still Chunin. Their ceiling was low. Maybe if he had become a Jonin someday, he might have been able to counter Haruki's line-of-sight tactics.

But now? He was far too green.

Too bad… he'd never get that chance.

Slick—

Haruki pulled his sword out, letting Kohei's body collapse to the ground.

Just then, two nearby Konoha Chunin approached him and said respectfully, "Thank you for your assistance, Captain!"

Haruki was a full head shorter than them, yet both men were deferential.

There was even a faint air of reverence in their tone.

Not just because Haruki had killed Kohei and saved them—but because they had personally witnessed him kill five Iwa Jonin earlier.

That strength alone commanded their respect.

Hearing their voices, Haruki turned around and recognized them as members assigned to him by Yuito Omura.

He nodded slightly and said, "Go help the others."

"Yes, Captain!"

With that, the two men ran off to join the other battle groups. Haruki, meanwhile, rushed toward another aggressive Iwa Chunin.

This one was sharper—he had been watching Haruki ever since he took down Kohei.

Seeing Haruki approach, he quickly gathered several Iwa shinobi to face him together.

But unfortunately, none of them were at Jonin level. Numbers didn't help.

In less than thirty seconds, Haruki had already killed one, severely injured another, and broken the coordination between them.

Within two more minutes, he finished them all off.

And that time was only because one of them fled, and Haruki had to chase him down.

Once finished, he immediately moved to another part of the battlefield.

In this manner, Haruki weaved through multiple fronts, targeting every standout Iwa shinobi.

In just a short while, he had shattered the morale of the entire Iwa force.

In contrast, thanks to his presence, the Konoha shinobi were energized. They fought with increasing momentum, pressing Iwa back at every turn.

Time ticked by.

Seeing his side couldn't hold out any longer, Ichiro Kurokawa finally issued the retreat order.

A sharp whistle echoed across the battlefield.

To the Iwa shinobi, it sounded like the voice of salvation. Relief swept across their faces.

Without hesitation, they turned and rushed toward the edge of the battlefield.

Without Jonin to coordinate, their retreat was chaotic, every man for himself.

And the Konoha Chunin weren't about to waste that opportunity.

Without needing orders from Haruki or the other Jonin, they gave chase.

Haruki didn't follow.

He turned his gaze toward Ichiro Kurokawa and saw that the sensory-type Special Jonin at his side was already dead.

As for Kurokawa himself—he had lost half an arm and was fleeing in complete disgrace.

At this point, the Iwa surprise attack had completely failed.

And Haruki could now look forward to a brief period of peace for cultivation.