Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"What?" ×4

The four Iwagakure Jonin saw Uchiha Haruki suddenly complete a hand seal, and their expressions changed dramatically. They attempted to stop him by casting jutsu, but it was already too late.

'Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!'

In an instant, the world seemed to change!

A gust of wind erupted from Haruki's mouth, quickly expanding into a violent tornado in the blink of an eye. The whirlwind tore through the gap between the four Jonin, rushing straight toward the group of Iwa-nin behind them.

Yes, Haruki's target had always been those three hundred Iwa-nin in the rear.

The reason he had approached and only then unleashed this technique was precisely to prevent the Jonin in front of him from interfering with their jutsu.

Although doing so exposed his ability to form seals with one hand, the result was well worth it.

The sudden Wind Style attack took the Iwa-nin completely off guard. One by one, with no other option, they could only dodge; there was nothing else they could do.

Immediately, the formation of the three hundred Iwa-nin was broken.

And that was exactly Haruki's goal.

The enemy outnumbered them. To win, there were only two options: either increase the strength of one's own side or weaken the enemy.

Enhancing the strength of Konoha's shinobi?

That wasn't something Haruki could do in the short term.

So, there was only one path—weaken the enemy.

Thus, Haruki created an opening and expended a large amount of chakra to unleash Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, scattering the Iwa-nin's formation.

This gave the Konoha shinobi the upper hand in the ensuing clash.

And the Konoha forces didn't let him down. Seeing the disrupted Iwa-nin ranks, they immediately seized the opportunity and charged forward.

Seeing this, Haruki nodded with satisfaction, then raised his blade and met the four Iwa Jonin who were circling back for a second attack.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sharp sounds of metal clashing rang out repeatedly.

Wielding a short sword, Haruki fought one against four and showed no signs of being overwhelmed. In fact, he was even slightly suppressing the four Iwagakure Jonin.

Cold sweat dripped down their foreheads.

They suddenly realized something was off about Haruki today. He seemed far stronger than he'd ever been before!

At first, they thought it was just a momentary burst of strength or perhaps an illusion. But as time went on, it became increasingly clear—Haruki was indeed stronger than during their previous encounters.

"Had he been hiding his true strength all along?"

The four Jonin exchanged subtle glances, all seeing doubt and deep concern reflected in each other's eyes.

They had sacrificed many comrades just to tie down Haruki.

If what they were facing now was only Haruki's true strength, hidden until now…

They didn't dare imagine what would come next.

With doubt in their hearts, their actions naturally changed.

Unconsciously, their offensive slowed. They shifted to a more defensive stance, seemingly worried about something.

This change didn't escape Haruki's notice.

With his Sharingan spinning, he caught every subtle shift in their expressions and the flicker of worry in their eyes.

A thought flashed through Haruki's mind, and everything suddenly became clear.

"An opening!"

In just a moment, he realized this was a golden opportunity.

Countless thoughts passed in an instant, and Haruki quickly formulated a plan, altering his combat rhythm accordingly.

Among the four Iwa-nin, only one was a true Jonin; the other three were Special Jonin. Under heavy pressure, a weakness soon revealed itself.

Clang! Clang!

Haruki swung his sword three times. Two of the slashes deflected the kunai of two attackers, and the third forced back another Iwa Jonin.

Then, with a flash, he appeared beside the fourth.

Whoosh—

His short sword stabbed forward.

Shinya Shimazu, sensing danger, instinctively stepped back without hesitation, dodging Haruki's side attack.

But in doing so, he saved himself—while exposing the Iwa Jonin who had just been driven back by Haruki's previous strike.

Seeing this, Haruki muttered to himself, "Just as I expected."

Then, he pushed off with both feet, his charge growing even fiercer. The tip of his short sword shifted slightly in direction—aimed straight at the other Iwa Jonin.

From the fluid switch in targets, it was clear—his real target had never been Shinya Shimazu.

Indeed, everything he had done was simply to force Shimazu to move aside.

His goal had always been that one Iwa Jonin now standing isolated—Kawachi Onima.

After fighting for so long, Haruki had already discerned their habits and fighting patterns.

Using his Sharingan, he had pressured them step by step, finally creating this exact opportunity.

Now was the time to strike.

Kawachi Onima stared, stunned, at the short sword that suddenly appeared in his field of vision. He instinctively tried to retreat—

But it was too late.

That moment of hesitation exposed a fatal flaw.

Maybe such a small mistake wouldn't matter against others, but this was Haruki—wielder of the Sharingan.

And not just any Sharingan—he had already awakened the Mangekyō stage.

Though he was only using the Three Tomoe state at the moment, his insight was already far beyond that of most Uchiha Jonin.

What's more, Haruki had been planning this moment for a long time.

Genjutsu Sword Technique—activated!

Kawachi Onima, just as he retreated, was caught in a daze. His movement paused again.

Although Haruki's Genjutsu Sword Technique was only Level 3, and couldn't inflict massive illusionary effects, it didn't have to—because Onima had already revealed a weakness.

As the saying goes: "A step behind, and you're a step too late."

What started as a minor opening became a fatal one once combined with the genjutsu.

"Onima, watch out!"

The real Jonin among them immediately sensed the danger and shouted a warning while throwing a kunai, hoping to break Haruki's attack.

But Haruki had prepared for this. His blade tilted and deflected the incoming kunai effortlessly.

Seeing this, Nobunaga Kamihara—the Iwa Jonin—sighed in relief.

Though he hadn't hurt Haruki, at least he had stopped him from advancing. Onima's life should be safe now, right?

But… was that really the case?

Seeing the opponent relax, Haruki's eyes flashed with a trace of mockery.

In the next instant, he surged forward again, tilting his head to avoid Onima's last-minute counter-kunai.

Then—his left palm shot out and slammed against Onima's chest.

A burst of excruciating pain.

Kawachi Onima looked down to see Haruki's left hand gripping a light-blue, high-density chakra sphere—pressed tightly against him.

Boom!

A mouthful of blood spewed from Onima's lips as he was sent flying by the impact.

That's right.

The sword strike had never been Haruki's real attack.

His true trump card was the Rasengan, which required no hand seals.

After more than ten days of practice, his Rasengan had gone from Level 4 (1710/2000) to Level 5 (950/5000).

The increase in proficiency made his technique faster and more discreet.

And now, with a single move, he had taken down one of the Iwa Jonin.