Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

While Uchiha Haruki was still deep in thought, Furukawa had already begun putting some distance between them.

"You three can take your time and discuss strategies. I'll head out first," Furukawa said as he turned to leave.

However, just as the words left his mouth, Haruki sprang forward. In the blink of an eye, he had already drawn several shuriken from his ninja pouch.

Swish—Swish—Swish—!

The shuriken flew through the air. Most of them were aimed to block Furukawa's possible escape routes, while two flew straight for his throat and heart.

Haruki's attack was fast and fierce.

Against ordinary genin, his surprise assault might have caused serious injuries. But Furukawa was no ordinary opponent.

As Haruki had expected, although Furukawa had suppressed his strength to the level of a genin, his battle experience far surpassed that of any rookie.

With a metallic clink-clink, the two shuriken targeting Furukawa were deflected with precise strikes from his kunai.

But that brief moment gave Haruki the opening he needed.

Seeing Furukawa's guard lowered, Haruki pressed forward without hesitation, slashing his kunai directly at Furukawa's chest and abdomen.

Feeling the cold air from the kunai so close to his chest, Furukawa let out a small smile. With a single light step backward, he easily dodged the blow.

At that moment, the physical difference between an adult and a child was fully revealed. Despite Haruki's well-timed and accurate strike, Furukawa was able to evade simply due to his longer reach and stronger physique.

Haruki didn't complain. After all, no one on the battlefield would care whether you were an adult or not.

If your body was smaller, you had to find a way to turn that weakness into an advantage—not make excuses.

With this in mind, Haruki suddenly shifted, agile as a monkey, circling around to Furukawa's flank to avoid his counterattack.

He followed up immediately with a diagonal kick aimed at Furukawa's back.

Why not kick the back of the head?

Haruki wanted to, but unfortunately, he wasn't tall enough. His foot could only reach the opponent's back.

Even so, Furukawa wasn't about to give him that chance.

With a quick crouch, Furukawa dodged the kick and countered with an elbow strike aimed straight at Haruki's face.

"Not good!"

Haruki's heart skipped a beat. He quickly raised his arms to block.

Thud—!

A dull thump rang out. Haruki's arms went numb, and his body was flung backward from the force.

Mid-air, Haruki twisted to regain control and landed with a somewhat graceful posture.

"Haruki!"

"Haruki-kun!"

Only now did Ryo and Shizuko Mizutani react. They quickly drew their kunai and rushed to stand protectively in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Ryo asked, eyes locked on Furukawa.

"I'm fine," Haruki said as he slowly got up.

Furukawa sheathed his kunai and said calmly, "Haruki, your skills aren't bad. But trying to take the scroll from me alone is impossible."

With that, he leapt a few times and vanished into the dense forest.

"Whew—"

As soon as Furukawa disappeared, both Ryo and Shizuko let out deep sighs of relief. Despite their brave front, it was clear they had been scared stiff.

Haruki didn't mind. His earlier attack had been a calculated risk—if it worked, great. If not, it would at least help him gauge Furukawa's true "power level."

Now, he had a clearer idea of what they were up against.

"Haruki, what do we do next?" Ryo asked, turning to him for guidance.

Shizuko also looked to him for direction. Clearly, the two had begun to rely on Haruki as the team's core.

Which was exactly what he wanted.

Only by proving your strength could others be convinced to follow you. Without that, why would anyone listen to your ideas?

That earlier display had been enough to earn their trust. Haruki didn't care about being the official team leader, but if it saved him trouble, why not?

With that in mind, he said, "Since Furukawa-sensei said this is a test, that means it won't be life-threatening. Let's give it our all."

"Right! Why didn't I think of that?" Ryo clapped his hands. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Yeah, if only it were that easy… Haruki thought.

He was sure the road ahead wouldn't be so smooth. Still, it was better for team morale if his teammates remained optimistic.

He said, "Alright then, let's move out. I'll take the front, Shizuko stays in the middle, Ryo—you cover our rear."

"Huh?" Ryo blinked. "Didn't Furukawa-sensei say he won't attack us? Why do I need to watch the rear?"

"Better safe than sorry," Haruki replied simply.

"…Fine," Ryo grumbled but reluctantly agreed.

"What about you, Shizuko?" Haruki asked.

"I'm fine," she said softly, shaking her head.

"Good. Then let's go."

With that, Haruki took the lead, heading in the direction Furukawa had disappeared. Shizuko and Ryo followed close behind.

Unbeknownst to them, Furukawa had used Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique to bury himself underground and was now observing them from below.

When he heard Haruki say "better safe than sorry," Furukawa nodded with satisfaction.

Caution was an essential quality for a ninja. Even after being told there would be no offensive attacks, Haruki still remained alert. That spoke volumes about his mindset.

Yet, it wasn't just caution—Haruki had also displayed boldness and decisiveness in his earlier attack.

Cautious yet daring… decisive under pressure… this kid's a born ninja, Furukawa thought.

Haruki had no idea that his actions had earned such high praise. But even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared.

Praise was just someone else's opinion. Real strength was what truly mattered.

Let's return to Haruki and the others.

The three of them raced through the forest, applying what they'd learned at the academy to follow the deliberate trail Furukawa had left behind.

Along the way, they encountered numerous traps and hazards, which they managed to disarm or avoid through teamwork and quick thinking.

Just before noon, they arrived at the mountain peak and saw Furukawa already waiting for them.

He tossed the scroll lightly in his hand and said, "Not much time left. What are you going to do?"

Haruki and Ryo exchanged glances, then sprang into action—one from the left, one from the right, rushing at Furukawa.

At the same time, Shizuko gathered her courage and hurled a flurry of shuriken and kunai to restrict Furukawa's movement.

Furukawa deftly dodged her attacks.

Seizing the moment, Haruki moved in from the side, slashing his kunai at Furukawa's waist.

Clang—!

Furukawa blocked the strike with his own kunai.

Right then, Ryo charged in from behind, aiming a kunai at Furukawa's back.

It looked like a sure hit—until Ryo hesitated. Maybe he was afraid of hurting Furukawa… or maybe something else.

That moment of hesitation was all it took for Furukawa to dodge.

"Kid, in battle—"

Furukawa started to lecture, but suddenly noticed Ryo grinning.

In a flash, Ryo's left hand shot forward and reached for the scroll at Furukawa's chest—far quicker and smoother than before.

"Crap!" Furukawa cursed inwardly. "Sneaky brat!"

He bent backward to avoid the grab.

Because of their height difference, Ryo's hand just barely brushed Furukawa's chest—not enough to snatch the scroll.

Furukawa let out a long breath of relief. "That was close…"

But just then, Ryo's right hand, still holding a kunai, flipped and drove the weapon cleanly into Furukawa's abdomen.

"Ah!"

The moment the blow landed, the "Haruki" who had first rushed in let out a cry—and his form shimmered.

He transformed back into Ryo's appearance.

Furukawa looked down at the "Ryo" before him and smiled in admiration.

A second later, his body dissolved into a puff of chakra smoke.

The scroll fell from the smoke—exactly the item they had been tasked to retrieve.