Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Twenty minutes later.

Uchiha Haruki led his team to the forward base.

At once, the sounds of metal clashing, agonized screams of wounded shinobi, and the deafening roar of exploding tags surged into his ears—an overwhelming symphony of chaos.

Haruki and the dozen Konoha ninjas behind him instantly sharpened their focus.

Activating his Sharingan, Haruki quickly scanned the battlefield. Without hesitation, he ordered:

"Follow me. Stay close and don't fall behind."

"Yes, Captain!" the group responded at once.

Raising three fingers, Haruki slowly curled them in one by one. The moment his hand clenched into a fist, he sprang from their hiding spot—launching a surprise attack from the flank.

The Konoha ninjas followed closely behind.

The nearby Mist shinobi were caught completely off guard. In the blink of an eye, several were slain, throwing their formation into total disarray.

Meanwhile, the Konoha ninjas who had been locked in combat with them were freed from their engagements.

Seeing Haruki's momentum, they immediately regrouped with him—joining the ranks of the survivors from Watchtower No. 3, forming a pincer force at his flanks.

And just like that, a sharp spearhead with Haruki as the tip pierced straight into the battlefield.

Wielding his level 7 Swordsmanship, combined with level 5 Illusion Sword Technique, and the three-tomoe evolved Sharingan, Haruki was like a war god unleashed, rampaging across the battlefield with unstoppable force.

Any Mist ninja in his path—chūnin or genin—were no match for him.

As for jōnin?

Even though Mist had deployed their elites, jōnin weren't everywhere.

Haruki had strategically selected his attack point ahead of time—avoiding areas dense with enemy jōnin.

Besides, those enemy jōnin were already occupied with Konoha jōnin.

That meant Haruki had free rein to tear through enemy lines.

"Agh!"

"Urgh—!"

"No—!"

The screams of dying Mist shinobi echoed continuously.

Haruki struck down enemies one by one, cutting through them like a scythe through wheat.

Meanwhile, he didn't forget to replenish himself—forming hand seals to cast Chakra Absorption Technique, restoring the chakra he'd expended.

Although he had rested for half an hour at Watchtower No. 3 and spent the twenty-minute journey channeling his Chakra Refinement Technique, his overall chakra reserves were still not fully recovered due to the non-stop combat.

Now, presented with fresh targets, he didn't waste the opportunity.

With his chakra-cloaked right hand, he grabbed the throat of a Mist chūnin.

In the last few seconds of the man's life, Haruki drained him dry, siphoning out every drop of chakra.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, Haruki flung the corpse at a Mist special jōnin charging toward him.

That's right—after Haruki had slain nearly ten enemies, a special jōnin finally broke free from his own skirmish and came to stop him.

Unfortunately, a single special jōnin wasn't much of a threat.

Seeing the corpse fly toward him, the Mist jōnin instinctively dodged to the side.

But when he turned back to focus on Haruki, he was too late.

A flash of green chakra flickered across Haruki's blade and body.

The next instant—Haruki was right in front of him.

"Huh?!"

Startled, the jōnin leapt back, creating distance and hurling a kunai at Haruki as he moved.

Whoosh—

The kunai whistled through the air, aiming straight for Haruki's heart.

But his Sharingan spun rapidly, instantly locking onto the projectile's path.

Another green flicker—Shun Sword Technique activated.

Haruki dodged the kunai effortlessly and closed the gap again.

This time, he didn't appear in front of the enemy—but at his side.

Just as the Mist jōnin turned to step in that direction—he was met with Haruki's genjutsu, already prepared in advance.

Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!

Pain exploded through his entire body.

It felt like massive iron stakes had impaled him from every direction, freezing him in place.

"Uchiha Haruki—!"

Realizing his fate, the special jōnin shouted Haruki's name with a mix of fury and resignation, as if both warning his allies and expressing final defiance.

But Haruki didn't care.

Schlkk—!

His blade pierced cleanly through the man's abdomen.

It wasn't an instant kill, but the wound was deep enough to incapacitate him.

Haruki wasted no time—forming hand seals to activate Chakra Absorption Technique again.

Chakra swirled visibly in his palm.

He grabbed the man's throat, and a massive torrent of chakra surged into Haruki's body like floodwaters.

Opening his skill panel briefly, Haruki noted that his Chakra Absorption Technique was 70% of the way through Level 5.

Just a bit more—roughly a thousand proficiency points—and it would advance to Level 6.

At that point, the absorption speed would increase even more.

Perhaps, it might even become an offensive technique in its own right.

Imagine—draining an enemy's chakra in mere moments upon touch. Just the thought was terrifying.

Still, Haruki guessed that such an ability would only be effective against low- or mid-level opponents.

No jōnin worth their salt would let him maintain physical contact for several seconds during battle.

These thoughts flickered through his mind.

Then Haruki released his grip.

The enemy's chakra had been drained to the point that even life support failed—his body collapsed, lifeless.

Schlkk—

Haruki pulled his blade free and scanned the battlefield.

He noticed several Mist jōnin had already turned their attention toward him.

A few were even trying to shake off their Konoha opponents and make their way toward him.

Haruki understood: time was running out.

Without delay, he dove into the next combat zone—his blade dancing once more, reaping Mist lives.

More and more Konoha shinobi were freed by his efforts.

Together with his flanking forces, they formed a new offensive unit, charging into various parts of the battlefield to support their comrades.

Two minutes later.

Haruki halted his charge.

Ahead of him stood a Mist jōnin, whose appearance looked vaguely familiar.

A hint of caution flickered in Haruki's eyes.

"So you're the little Uchiha punk who killed that loser Morinosuke," the Mist jōnin said with a chilling grin, revealing perfectly white teeth.

"Time for me to see what you're really made of."

"Remember this name—Hotaro Kaguya!"

With a deep shout, the man's bones suddenly lengthened and erupted from his body, forming countless bone spikes that enveloped him from head to toe.

That's right.

He was a jōnin from the Kaguya Clan.

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