Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Thanks to the convenience of his Sharingan, Uchiha Haruki instantly caught the hesitation in Mei Terumi's eyes—but he didn't care about any of that.

By now, he had returned to the surface of the sea, standing at the same height as his opponent.

Without a second's pause, he charged forward at full speed, forming hand seals mid-run, and in an instant, unleashed a ninjutsu:

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

The next moment, clusters of flame resembling phoenix blossom seeds shot from his mouth like falling stars, pelting toward Mei Terumi.

And to increase the lethality of the jutsu, Haruki skillfully threw several shuriken, blending them into the flames to strike Mei Terumi amidst the barrage.

Blazing fireballs spun through the air, the hidden shuriken whistled menacingly—it all seemed destined to hit Mei.

But a sudden wall of water surged upward, blocking everything.

Just as Haruki launched his attack, Mei had reacted swiftly, retreating rapidly while simultaneously forming hand seals at lightning speed. Right before the fireballs closed in, she cast:

Water Release: Water Formation Wall!

With this, not only did she block the ninjutsu flames, but she also stopped the shuriken hidden within them.

Haruki, however, didn't mind—this technique was meant to pin her down, to buy himself the opportunity for close combat.

Now, his goal had been achieved.

Clang—!

His longsword was unsheathed.

Haruki closed the distance and slashed once more, the glint of cold steel reflecting in Mei's eyes, making her falter momentarily.

"Not good!"

Suddenly realizing something, Mei quickly snapped back to focus, no longer tracking the blade with her eyes, instead relying on instinct to dodge and block.

In a flash, the two were entangled in another fierce melee.

Seeing that the situation was again slipping out of her control, Mei gritted her teeth and, at the cost of taking a hit to her left arm, managed to break away from Haruki.

In the next moment, moving at the fastest speed of her life, she completed a new set of seals and unleashed a kekkei genkai technique—

Lava Release: Melting Monster Jutsu!

Splurt—!

A large mass of pungent, sticky fluid shot toward Haruki's face.

He dared not take it head-on, immediately sidestepping to avoid a gruesome fate of being melted alive.

'Shunkenjutsu!'

Almost as soon as he evaded the attack, Haruki channeled Wind Release chakra and activated his movement-based sword art again, rapidly closing in on Mei Terumi.

But Mei wasn't one to be underestimated.

With a flick of her hands, she somehow produced several kunai, which she launched in a scattered, fan-like pattern—targeting all of Haruki's vital points.

Upon seeing this, Haruki's Sharingan spun rapidly, calculating the flight paths and trajectories in an instant.

A burst of azure light surged from his body as he activated Shunkenjutsu repeatedly, dodging all the attacks with precision.

While he evaded her assault, Mei had bought herself enough time to widen the distance between them once again.

Without a word, she launched another Lava Release: Melting Monster Jutsu.

Once more, Haruki had no choice but to dodge.

Thus, the battle turned into a deadly game of cat and mouse—her keeping him at bay, him forced to pursue.

Time passed, minute by minute.

Gradually, Mei began to falter.

While Haruki mostly relied on swordsmanship with the occasional ninjutsu or genjutsu to support, Mei leaned heavily on ninjutsu to fight to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses.

As a result, the difference in chakra consumption between them became glaringly obvious.

And beyond that, the mental and physical pressure each endured was vastly different. The outcome was clear.

Huff—huff—

Standing on the sea, covered in wounds and gasping for breath, Mei stared at Haruki in the distance, eyes full of unwillingness.

In contrast, Haruki looked nearly the same as when the fight began—aside from some torn clothing, there was hardly a scratch on him.

That wasn't to say he hadn't been hurt.

He had—many times.

But thanks to the enhanced version of his Mystic Palm Technique, he had already healed during combat.

This contrast in appearance also reflected the stark difference in their current states.

That was the real reason for Mei's growing despair.

Still, regret wouldn't change anything now.

If she had felt conflicted earlier, she now had no choice but to retreat.

She quickly scanned the battlefield's perimeter—more than ten minutes had passed, and any advantage she had seized before Haruki arrived was long gone.

If this continued, not only would she die here, but the rest of her troops would follow.

At that realization, Mei made her decision.

With a few quick body flickers, she retreated to the edge of the battlefield, near Ao. She gave him a retreat signal.

Though Ao was still in bad shape, the bleeding on his chest had been temporarily stopped, and his strength had somewhat recovered.

Seeing Mei's signal, Ao didn't hesitate. He pulled out a whistle and blew sharply.

A piercing sound rang across the battlefield.

The Mist ninja, who had all been keeping an eye on the situation, immediately recognized the retreat command and began falling back.

Seeing the enemy retreating, Uchiha Tekka and Kanda Yinghe rushed to Haruki's side.

"Captain, should we pursue?" they asked.

Haruki looked in the direction Mei and her people were fleeing—toward the Mist warships. It was also the direction of Konoha's forward base in the Land of Waves.

Clearly, Mei intended to regroup with the main Mist forces.

That made sense. On the open sea, there was nowhere else to go. Only those four warships could guarantee their safe return.

Coincidentally, Konoha's current mission was to launch a surprise attack from the Mist's rear.

Well... that plan was mostly a bust now, but they still needed to reach the main battlefield.

So technically, they could pursue along the way.

But first—

Haruki surveyed the battlefield.

Only twenty-one Konoha ninja had survived, and all of them were wounded.

In this condition, launching an immediate pursuit would be reckless.

Even if they caught up, they might not be able to stop the enemy—and if they ran into enemy reinforcements, the consequences would be dire.

After weighing the risks, Haruki decided they needed to rest first, then pursue.

When he shared his decision, both Uchiha Tekka and Kanda Yinghe visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Clearly, neither wanted to rush blindly into danger either.

Noticing their subtle expressions, Haruki gave his orders:

"Go tally the losses from each squad and check everyone's injuries. If anyone's condition is too serious, bring them to me first."

"Yes, Captain!" the two responded in unison before rushing off.

Watching their backs, Haruki said nothing more.

He used Body Flicker to reach a rocky watchtower.

Without bothering to clear the blood or bodies on the ground, he found a relatively clean spot, sat down, and closed his eyes to meditate and recover.

The constant travel and combat had completely drained him. He needed rest—urgently.

That, too, was one of the reasons he hadn't led an immediate pursuit.