Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

After composing himself, Uchiha Haruki stopped thinking about what had just happened and turned to look at the two Kaguya clan Chūnin who had assisted Hotaro Kaguya in attacking him moments earlier.

At this moment, the two of them were still in shock over Hotaro's sudden death.

Compared to them, Hotaro held a much higher status within the Kaguya clan. He was far more powerful and had survived countless battles.

Yet such a man had just died right in front of their eyes, and they couldn't wrap their heads around it. It felt unreal.

But Haruki didn't care about their feelings.

The moment he locked onto the two of them, he immediately activated Shun Sword Technique, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of one of them.

Swish—

A flash of his blade lit the air.

The Kaguya ninja tried to resist, but Haruki's Instant Genjutsu: Sharingan locked him down in an instant.

The next moment, Haruki's long blade swept across the man's throat—killing him instantly.

Seeing his comrade fall, the second Kaguya ninja finally snapped out of his daze and instinctively turned to run.

However, before he could even take two steps, a long blade pierced through his torso.

Dark crimson blood dripped down, and intense pain wracked his body. Looking down, he saw the tip of a blade jutting out from his chest.

"Am I... dying?"

he murmured.

The next instant, a powerful suction force surged from the point of impact in his back.

His chakra rushed out of his body, as though a dam had broken. And without chakra to sustain him, his life force quickly diminished.

Within seconds, he was dead.

Haruki retracted his hand and muttered, "Not bad. That recovered some of it."

Just now, he had used Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, which consumed a large amount of chakra.

Now that he had a chance to replenish, of course he seized it.

Shink—

He pulled out his sword, letting the dead Kaguya ninja's body collapse.

After shaking the blood off his blade, Haruki surveyed the area.

The Mist Ninjas nearby had all backed far away. No one dared approach.

Before, they had likely stayed away to avoid being caught in Haruki and Hotaro's fierce battle.

But now… they were simply afraid.

Afraid of Haruki's strength.

But their hesitation didn't mean Haruki wouldn't come after them.

As he was deciding on his next target, a spiritual force suddenly entered his mind, followed by a voice.

This familiar feeling… this method… It's the Yamanaka clan's secret jutsu—Mind Transmission Technique!

Haruki thought to himself.

At this rate, if it happens a few more times, I could probably figure out how to replicate this technique myself.

It wasn't that he was some peerless genius—just that his foundations were incredibly solid.

With his current 19 points in Spirit, learning a mental-type jutsu like this wouldn't be hard at all.

Still, Haruki didn't rush. He focused his mind and listened to the voice.

A youthful-sounding voice spoke:

"Jōnin Haruki, the situation on the Eastern Defense Line is dire. The Commander requests that you take a team and support them immediately."

To better operate at sea and defend against the Mist Village's invasion, the Forward Base Konoha had established in the Land of Waves was positioned on the southeastern coast.

The base wasn't large, nor were its defense lines particularly long.

Still, it was divided into three sections: the Eastern Defense Line and Southern Defense Line on the wings, and the Southeastern Front in the center.

Among them, the Southern line faced away from the Land of Water, so pressure there was minimal.

The Southeastern front, wedged between the East and South, also bore little pressure.

Only the Eastern Defense Line, facing directly toward the Land of Water—was constantly under threat, since it was the first landing point for invading Mist forces.

And indeed, that was where the Mist Village had launched their invasion this time.

Now, that front was clearly in trouble.

As Haruki processed this, the voice in his mind spoke again:

"Also, the Mist ninja you defeated earlier—Mei Terumi and Ao—have returned. Based on their direction, it seems they're heading to the Eastern front too. Please be careful!"

"Mei Terumi and Ao, huh…" Haruki muttered, and replied mentally:

"Got it. Anything else?"

"That's all," replied the Yamanaka ninja.

With that, Haruki dispelled the psychic link.

Without lingering further, he immediately called over twenty-plus Konoha ninja nearby and began heading toward the other end of the base.

That's right—the area they were returning from was the Southern Defense Line, the furthest from the Eastern front.

This southern region had been targeted by the Mist as a feint.

Which was why their movements hadn't been discovered.

But that, in turn, showed just how strong the Mist's forces were this time.

Even the decoy assault had someone like Hotaro Kaguya stationed there.

If the feint was that well-defended, then what about the main attack on the Eastern front?

No wonder the Eastern line had fallen into crisis.

As for Mei Terumi and Ao…

To be honest, Haruki wasn't too concerned.

Ao was already severely injured by him—not likely to recover soon. His strength had plummeted and wasn't a real threat anymore.

Mei Terumi... her Lava and Boil Release were indeed powerful.

But for that very reason, she was actually less dangerous in a chaotic battlefield.

Those two types of jutsu were wide-range AOE attacks, especially Boil Release, which spread over large areas.

In such close-combat terrain, they were too risky to use freely. Just like when they'd fought near Watchtower No. 3—

Even with the vast sea as a buffer, Mei didn't dare unleash her full power out of fear of friendly fire.

And now, in a densely packed land battle? She'd be even more restrained.

So, what was there to be afraid of?

The real threat lay in the other Jōnin.

If several of them teamed up against him, that would be a problem.

Haruki didn't want to be forced into using his Mangekyō Sharingan again.

So this time, his goal wasn't to shine. He just needed to stall a few of their elite fighters.

The Eastern line was in trouble because of a lack of top-tier strength.

If Haruki could pin down some of the Mist's Jōnin, then the current Konoha forces at the forward base would be enough to hold the line.

Eventually, reinforcements from the Fire Country's border units would arrive and relieve the crisis.

In fact, they might not even need to wait that long. The Mist ninjas might retreat on their own.

After all, if they dragged things out too long, they'd risk being chased down by Konoha forces.

Even though Konoha's warships weren't as advanced as the Mist's, they could still close short distances easily.

And in naval warfare, things were very different from land battles.

If their ships were destroyed, they'd be forced into close combat at sea.

Plus, this area was closer to the Fire Country.

Konoha's reinforcements would arrive faster than Mist's could.

No way would the Mist Village dare fight a prolonged war here.

So as long as they showed that the base could hold, and made the Mist realize it wouldn't be easy to capture, the enemy would likely retreat on their own.

Which meant—Haruki only needed to buy time.

Having reasoned all of this out, Haruki found his pace quickening on its own.