Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Shaking off distractions, Uchiha Haruki turned his gaze to Hozuki Zangetsu, who was still entangled with two of his shadow clones not far away.

After taking down two opponents in a row, Haruki's momentum had reached its peak. Even someone as strong as Hozuki Zangetsu felt uneasy under his focused stare.

With a flicker, Zangetsu dodged another coordinated attack from the two clones and quickly widened the distance between them.

He glanced around at the battlefield.

Thanks to their greater numbers and superior individual skills, the Mist forces clearly held the advantage across the field.

Confirming this, Hozuki Zangetsu made a decision: he had to keep Haruki pinned here.

As long as he could stall him long enough for others—or even other battlefronts—to secure victory, then even if they didn't manage to kill Haruki, it would still be a win for them.

After all, war was never about just one person.

But first—

Zangetsu turned back toward Haruki's two clones, silently thinking, "Before that, I need to deal with these two."

Though he was confident, he wasn't arrogant.

If Haruki could take down both Yamada Shinichi and Takeshima Ichiro, then his strength was unquestionable. And after their brief clash earlier, Zangetsu dared not underestimate him.

Therefore, it was crucial to deal with these shadow clones before engaging Haruki again.

First, removing them would ease the pressure. One-on-one was always better than three-on-one.

Second, defeating them would drain Haruki's chakra. While dispelled clones do return some chakra to the original body, it's not nearly as much as if they had been dispersed voluntarily.

So if possible, Zangetsu wanted to eliminate the clones before they had a chance to release themselves.

With that thought, Zangetsu didn't hesitate any longer and charged at one of the shadow clones.

Seeing him approach, the clone immediately formed hand seals without delay and unleashed a jutsu—Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!

In the next instant, a barrage of fireballs erupted from the clone's mouth, like a hail of bullets aimed at the rapidly approaching Zangetsu, attempting to force him back.

Meanwhile, the other clone began preparing to follow up the moment Zangetsu dodged.

This coordinated assault was a tactic they had used several times to pin him down.

But to their surprise, this time Zangetsu didn't retreat.

Facing the incoming hail of fire, he focused all his senses on tracking the trajectories of the fireballs, weaving and dodging with incredible agility.

Several of the fireballs barely grazed his skin—one wrong move and he would be scorched.

Yet, Zangetsu didn't back down.

He continued dodging while rapidly closing in on the clone who had cast the Phoenix Fire.

Seeing this, the clone also didn't flinch and launched even more fireballs.

Zangetsu had already been dodging at his limit, and with the distance closing, it only became harder.

Finally, after narrowly avoiding several fireballs, three of them struck him directly.

However, the expected scene of charred flesh didn't appear.

The moment the fireballs hit, the areas of impact—along with large sections of his flesh—transformed into liquid.

It was none other than the secret technique of the Hozuki Clan—Hydrification Technique!

The fireballs struck the liquid, causing only minor damage. Zangetsu furrowed his brow slightly but showed no further signs of injury.

Once he reformed his body, there was no visible damage at all.

Indeed, the Hydrification Technique not only granted complete immunity to physical attacks but also offered high resistance to various jutsu.

Even now, despite fire being the natural counter to water, the Fire Style couldn't inflict significant harm on Zangetsu.

At most, it forced him to expend more chakra than he would against other techniques.

Of course, that didn't mean the technique was flawless.

At the very least, Haruki knew that Lightning Style was an effective counter.

Not because it directly overpowered the Hydrification Technique, but because of its paralyzing effect—which prevented full liquefaction.

In other words, Lightning Release could interrupt the technique.

Unfortunately, Haruki had not yet developed Lightning-style chakra and had no such jutsu in his arsenal.

Knowing this, Zangetsu had dared to take the risk and charge the clone head-on.

Otherwise, even ten times the courage wouldn't have been enough to make him face the clones directly.

Especially with the second clone still lurking nearby, ready to punish any mistake.

Had he been caught off guard and paralyzed by Lightning Release, it would've spelled disaster.

Luckily, after several tests, Zangetsu confirmed that Haruki indeed knew no Lightning-style ninjutsu—and so, he gambled.

And it paid off.

Seeing the clone now just an arm's length away, Zangetsu didn't hesitate. He slashed out with his short sword, lightning-fast, cutting through the clone's throat.

Poof!

With a puff of chakra smoke, the shadow clone completely vanished.

All of this had happened in mere moments.

Neither Haruki nor the second clone had any time to intervene. They could only watch helplessly.

"Whew..."

Exhaling lightly, Zangetsu withdrew his blade and turned to face Haruki and the remaining clone.

His expression was calm, as if he'd done something trivial.

If Haruki hadn't noticed the dramatic change in Zangetsu's breathing before and after the attack, he might've actually been fooled.

But now—

It was time to act.

The remaining clone locked eyes with Haruki. Without needing any orders, it rushed forward.

Its intent was clear—it would engage Zangetsu in close combat.

Just earlier, Haruki had specifically instructed his clones to maintain ranged engagement.

But now, that had changed.

Haruki could only think, "Different times call for different strategies."

Back then, the goal was to stall Zangetsu and buy time. So long-range jutsu made sense—it kept the fragile clones out of melee.

Now, however, he needed an opening.

So there was no need to hold back.

After all, it was just a clone. If it could create the chance for Haruki to land a decisive blow—even at the cost of its destruction—it would be worth it.