Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Once the lightning faded, Uchiha Haruki returned to the scorched battlefield.

Before long, he spotted Raiga Kurosuki's corpse.

His entire body was charred like coal—even worse than the squad leader who had died earlier.

Seeing this, Haruki couldn't help but mutter,

"Guess I got revenge for him too, huh?"

Shaking his head, Haruki didn't linger and instead turned his gaze toward Jūzō Biwa.

By now, Jūzō was dead as well.

Judging by the location of his body, it looked like he had tried to struggle for survival, managing to stumble some distance before succumbing.

Thinking about how he had sliced open Jūzō's carotid artery, Haruki found himself admiring the man's sheer willpower to live.

Unfortunately, strength matters more than will. No matter how determined you are, if you're weak—it's pointless.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Haruki noticed something was off.

"Where are the two swords?"

Indeed, both of the powerful weapons—Raiga's twin blades "Fangs" and Jūzō's "Executioner's Blade"—were gone.

Haruki scanned the area but couldn't find even a single fragment.

He had originally planned to temporarily use those blades until he acquired the legendary Kusanagi Sword, especially the "Fangs," which, despite being dual lightning-elemental weapons, would've made fine substitutes.

But now—they'd completely vanished.

Recalling what he knew from his past life about the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist, Haruki's eyes narrowed.

Then, a realization struck him—Mangetsu Hōzuki, one of the second-generation Seven Ninja Swordsmen, was said to have a summoning scroll that allowed him to summon all seven swords.

As the only person who could wield all seven swords fluently, Haruki had previously assumed Mangetsu had crafted the scroll himself.

But now—it seemed likely that the scroll had existed from the beginning, possibly created at the same time as the seven blades. It had simply ended up in Mangetsu's possession later.

Makes sense. If the summoning scroll was created afterward, how would the second generation have replaced the original Seven Swordsmen after they were wiped out by Might Duy opening the Eight Gates?

Four of the swords were lost after that battle. If there was no scroll, how could Mangetsu have practiced with all seven swords?

As for the idea that the remaining three survivors carried away the other four swords—

Don't kid yourself.

They were so traumatized by Might Duy that they ran for their lives. Who would've had the mind to collect the others' weapons?

So the truth must be that once a sword's owner dies, some kind of condition is triggered, and the weapon is automatically recalled by the summoning scroll.

Or—perhaps the scroll's holder noticed the situation and actively summoned the swords back.

Just like now—Raiga and Jūzō had just died, and the swords vanished immediately.

As for why the Executioner's Blade didn't disappear after Zabuza Momochi was killed by Kakashi...

Haruki guessed it was because Mangetsu, the scroll's last known owner, had already died—and took the scroll with him.

That would explain why Kirigakure was unable to retrieve it afterward.

"What a pity…"

Haruki sighed after figuring this all out.

At that moment, a familiar figure appeared beside him—it was none other than the shadow clone he had used to lure in enemies earlier.

Haruki didn't immediately dispel the clone. Instead, he let it continue posing as him to clean up the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Haruki himself once again concealed his presence and went into hiding.

This time, Haruki didn't just leave the main battlefield to finish off Raiga and Jūzō quickly using Amaterasu's Protection.

It was also part of a trap—to draw out the hidden enemy.

Since their true targets were him and Uchiha Shisui, Haruki didn't believe they'd simply allow him to slip out of their control.

Most likely—they would follow him.

And that was the opportunity he'd been waiting for.

Time passed minute by minute.

After about a minute, a group of sesame-seed-sized insects buzzed through the air.

Because they didn't approach too closely, the shadow clone didn't notice anything.

But Haruki, hidden nearby, wasn't fooled.

Lurking in the shadows, he kept a close eye on the wind, rustling leaves—everything around him.

Even though the insects were tiny and inconspicuous, they still caught his attention.

Why?

Because insects, while not intelligent, have incredibly keen danger senses.

After the terrifying burst of Raiga's Lightning Style: Thunder Burial, any ordinary bug would've fled in panic—yet these actively came closer.

That raised some serious red flags.

To confirm, Haruki spread out his spiritual sense, scanning the insects carefully.

Soon enough, he discovered something unusual:

Despite their size and weak presence, these insects had far stronger vitality than ordinary bugs.

More importantly, they contained traces of chakra.

Which meant—they couldn't be ordinary insects.

And when it came to chakra insects…

Haruki immediately thought of the Aburame Clan of the Leaf, especially the parasitic beetles they raised.

"If I remember correctly… around this timeline, Danzo has an Aburame ninja under him."

"Aburame Ryoma… is that you?"

Haruki muttered silently.

Although he had a good guess, he didn't act rashly.

So far, he'd only detected the bugs.

What he wanted was the people behind them.

He withdrew his aura further, concealing himself completely.

The shadow clone finished cleaning up the battlefield, glanced around briefly, then turned back toward the main area—just as it was supposed to.

The bugs wobbled after it, following closely.

Soon, both the clone and the bugs had left the area.

But Haruki remained.

He believed that if the watchers were truly Root operatives, they wouldn't miss the chance to collect intel.

After all, a battlefield filled with corpses reveals a lot of information—especially to trained professionals.

They might not have dared reveal themselves earlier, but here—they'd have fewer concerns.

So, Haruki waited patiently.

And he didn't have to wait long.

After just two or three minutes, five masked, black-robed figures appeared on the scene.

The moment he saw them, a sinister smile crept across Haruki's face.

Except—the smile wasn't warm at all. It was… unsettling.

"Who's there?!"

Suddenly, one of the five shouted, throwing a kunai toward a tree.

The kunai flew directly toward Haruki's hiding spot.

Clang—!

A sharp metallic sound rang out.

Another kunai flew from behind the tree, deflecting the incoming one in mid-air.

Then, a short figure stepped out from behind the tree, finally revealing himself.

"Uchiha Haruki?!"

Yes—it was him.

He looked at the five masked individuals, still smiling eerily.

"So, you're the ones who've been spying on me these past few days, huh?"

"Hiding your faces… who exactly are you?"

But the five didn't answer.

Instead, they exchanged glances, then suddenly scattered and surrounded him from all sides.