Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Are they treating me like a workhorse now?"

Uchiha Haruki inwardly grumbled upon hearing the request.

But he couldn't refuse.

Not only because his Palm Sage Technique had recently advanced to Level 8 and required plenty of practice to improve proficiency, but also because of the persona he had cultivated—a responsible and dependable shinobi. That image didn't allow him to say no.

Especially now, when he was still in relatively good shape—refusing simply wasn't an option.

This was the burden of reputation.

Sometimes, for the sake of long-term benefit, even someone like Haruki had to make temporary compromises.

Thankfully, it wasn't entirely a thankless job. Otherwise, he would've been reluctant to expend so much of his chakra.

Still, he couldn't appear too eager either. If he agreed too readily, people would come to him for every little thing, and that would be exhausting.

So, after staying silent for a while—long enough to make the Konoha Chūnin in front of him start fidgeting—Haruki finally got up and replied wearily:

"Treating the wounded, right? Lead the way."

"Huh? Oh—yes!"

The Chūnin blinked, surprised at first, but quickly nodded and motioned forward.

"This way, Haruki-senpai!"

—

The two quickly arrived at a large hall within the base.

Inside, there were twenty to thirty wounded shinobi lying down, while several medical-nin worked busily around them.

Haruki glanced around and commented,

"Doesn't seem like that many people."

The Chūnin walking ahead replied,

"This is just the first group. The rest are still stationed at the frontline outposts."

"I see…"

Haruki muttered. A quick thought told him what the base command was thinking.

Clearly, they were afraid Mist Village might double back for a sneak attack, so they didn't dare pull everyone off the front line.

Instead, they were rotating people out.

The injured gathered here were clearly the most severely wounded, those in urgent need of treatment—hence why they had called him in.

Otherwise, based on his battlefield performance, he would have been given a chance to rest.

With those thoughts passing quickly through his mind, Haruki moved beside an unconscious Konoha shinobi and rolled up his sleeves to begin treatment.

The man was in a coma, with multiple external wounds caused by standard ninja tools, as well as damage that looked like it came from explosive tags or Fire Release jutsu.

Fortunately, all of these injuries were within the treatment range of the Palm Sage Technique.

Without delay, Haruki cleaned the wounds briefly, formed hand seals, and activated the technique.

A vibrant green glow enveloped his hands, releasing a radiant life force.

He gently pressed his hand near the wound, guiding Yang Release chakra into the body, accelerating cellular regeneration and stimulating the production of essential proteins.

Time ticked by slowly.

About fifteen minutes later, Haruki withdrew his hand.

The final wound was healed, and the injured shinobi's condition had visibly improved.

However, due to massive blood loss, the man remained unconscious.

That would require time and rest.

Haruki waved to two nearby assisting Chūnin and said:

"Take him back to his quarters. Be careful."

"Understood, leave it to us!"

The two responded quickly, bringing over a stretcher and carrying the patient away.

Watching them go, Haruki shook his head slightly, took a short breather, and moved on to the next patient.

**Examination, diagnosis, treatment—**all familiar steps, all familiar motions.

Haruki quickly completed the second treatment.

After sending the second patient away as well, he began treating the third.

—

Like this, Haruki moved swiftly.

In just two hours, he had already treated ten patients—his efficiency nearly four to five times greater than the average medical-nin.

Nearly half the severely wounded in the hall were healed by him alone.

The reason?

Simple—his medical ninjutsu was just that good.

Whether it was the Master-level Healing Technique, the Level 5 Chakra Scalpel, or the Level 8 Palm Sage Technique, all were leagues above what regular medical-nin could manage.

The stacked synergy of those techniques allowed him to treat injuries with remarkable speed.

Of course, it helped that most of the injuries he treated were severe but straightforward—wounds that didn't require complex procedures.

If someone had something like bone fragments lodged in their nervous system, not even a perfected Palm Sage Technique would help.

In fact, even moderately complicated cases could push him to his limits.

Just like now.

Haruki placed his hands on the chest of another injured ninja, carefully sensing the condition inside—and soon frowned.

A fellow Konoha shinobi who appeared to be the patient's friend asked anxiously:

"Haruki-senpai, is there a problem?"

Haruki pulled back his hands and shook his head.

"There's a toxin spreading through his body. It'll take specialized medical ninjutsu to remove it. I can't handle this one."

Yes—despite all his powerful techniques, he was stumped by a simple poisoning case.

"Then what do we do?"

The other ninja asked in panic.

Haruki glanced around and spotted a medical-nin who had just finished a treatment nearby. He called out:

"Chiba-senpai, could you come over here for a moment?"

The man—Chiba Seihei—looked up when he heard his name. Seeing Haruki wave, he smiled warmly and walked over.

Chiba Seihei, age 40, was the head of the medical team stationed at the forward base. A Special Jōnin, his medical expertise was known to be flawless.

Most importantly, he possessed a wide range of specialized techniques—including one that could purge toxins from a ninja's body.

He approached and asked:

"Oh, Haruki. What's going on?"

His tone was friendly.

After all, technically speaking, Haruki was now part of their medical team—there was no reason to treat him coldly.

"It's like this…"

Haruki quickly explained the poisoned ninja's condition.

Chiba immediately understood and said:

"You want me to use the Pathogen Extraction Technique, correct?"

"Exactly."

Haruki nodded.

"The poison has already spread deep into his internal organs. You're the only one who can handle this."

Yes—what Haruki was referring to was the B-rank medical ninjutsu known as the Pathogen Extraction Technique.

It could sense chaotic chakra within a target's body, detect the harmful roots of poisons or pathogens, and precisely remove them.

And within the entire medical unit, only Chiba Seihei had fully mastered it.

In other words—only he could save this ninja.

"I see…"

Chiba rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully:

"Let me take a look first."

He stepped forward, placing his hands on the wounded ninja's chest and began to sense his internal condition—just like Haruki had done before.

After a short pause, he withdrew his hands and nodded.

"It should be manageable."

Before Haruki could reply, the injured shinobi's friend nearly leapt up in joy.

Haruki shot him a look, signaling him to calm down, then turned back to Chiba and asked:

"Is there anything I can assist you with?"