Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Meanwhile—on the other side.

At the Eastern Coast Command Center, Uchiha Haruki had just been granted a three-day break, allowing him to freely explore and adapt to the new environment.

It wasn't just Haruki; every shinobi who had arrived as part of the support forces was also given a three-day leave. Those who had sustained serious injuries were allowed even longer recovery periods.

Early morning.

After washing up and eating a full meal, Haruki left the coast behind and headed off in search of a quiet place to train.

Unlike the battlefield in the Land of Rain, this region was bordered by the sea, making it easy to find training grounds. Even a remote island or a patch of reef would suffice.

And since the area was so vast and isolated, he could go all out without worrying about drawing too much attention.

After all, the ocean was boundless. Without exact coordinates, no one could find him unless by sheer luck.

So, Haruki immediately summoned six shadow clones.

Two of them were assigned to continue grinding the proficiency of Wind Style: Blade of Wind and the Rasengan, with the goal of reaching mastery as soon as possible.

One was focused entirely on the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.

During the last battle, because this technique was still at a low level and couldn't be reliably used in combat, he'd been forced to rely more often on the Mangekyō Sharingan.

For the sake of his eyes, Haruki had to raise its level quickly.

Another two clones were tasked with leveling up his Water Style: Water Formation Wall and Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu.

The former was barely past the beginner stage, while the latter had only just begun to show signs of progress.

Since future battles with the Mist Shinobi were likely to occur at sea, Haruki knew he had to master these Water Style techniques fast—or risk being at a disadvantage.

As for the last clone, it was assigned to train in Kenjutsu (swordsmanship).

After last night's battle, Haruki's skill in Kenjutsu had reached the brink of leveling up.

There was no reason to delay further—he planned to grind it all the way to mastery using his proficiency panel.

Once the assignments were handed out, the clones dispersed to begin their individual training sessions.

Meanwhile, Haruki himself found a secluded spot and began training his Mystic Palm Technique and Reflection Mind Technique.

These two jutsu directly affected the body and therefore couldn't be practiced via shadow clones—they had to be trained by his main body.

Hours passed.

By late afternoon, just as Haruki activated the Mystic Palm Technique once more, a surge of inspiration suddenly bloomed in his mind.

When he fully processed the insight, he felt that his understanding of the Mystic Palm had taken another leap forward.

"It leveled up?"

Haruki muttered and opened his status panel.

As expected—Mystic Palm Technique had advanced to Level 8 (1/50000).

"I wonder how effective the healing is now?"

With that thought, Haruki focused a bit of chakra into his fingertip.

Using his index finger like a blade, he slashed open a thin cut on his left arm.

Crimson blood flowed freely from the wound, but Haruki didn't even flinch.

In a flash, he weaved the hand seals for the Mystic Palm Technique.

A glowing mass of Yang Release chakra gathered and flowed into the wound.

The gash immediately began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Haruki quietly observed the process, and sure enough—the healing was faster and more efficient than before.

Not only that—the chakra consumption was lower than it used to be.

For him, this was a huge win.

As for its enhancement effect on the body—

Haruki activated the jutsu again, channeling Yang chakra throughout his body.

After three minutes, the enhancement effect wore off, and he opened his eyes.

Just as he'd expected—the body enhancement was stronger than ever.

At this pace, he estimated that in just three or four days, his physical body would undergo another transformation.

By then, his constitution stat would see yet another boost.

Filled with excitement, Haruki finally calmed his mind and resumed training.

But today wasn't done surprising him.

Just a few hours later, nearing sunset, his Kenjutsu also advanced.

Center of the deserted island.

Haruki had just absorbed the experiences and memories of the clone practicing swordsmanship.

He felt his understanding of Kenjutsu deepen yet again.

"Panel."

With a thought, Haruki summoned the familiar light-blue interface:

[Status Panel]

Name: Uchiha Haruki

Age: 12

Constitution: 15

Spirit: 19

Chakra: 13,500 → (57,780 → 60,596)

Bloodline: Sharingan - Mangekyō (2,689/50,000 → 3,201/50,000)

Skills:

Chakra Refining Technique: Lv5 (1027 → 1115/5000)

Wind Style: Blade of Wind: Lv6 (765 → 875/10000)

Wind Style: Rasenshuriken: Lv1 (35 → 100/200)

Water Style: Water Formation Wall: Lv1 (84 → 119/200)

Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet: Lv0 (1 → 36/100)

Shadow Clone Jutsu: Lv4 (165 → 190/2000)

Chakra Absorption Technique: Lv5 (3550 → 3650/5000)

Rasengan: Lv6 (902 → 1015/10000)

Mystic Palm Technique: Lv8 (1 → 101/50000)

Chakra Scalpel: Lv5 (1200 → 1550/5000)

Reflection Mind Technique: Lv7 (12950 → 14486/20000)

Phantom Sword Technique: Lv4 (701/2000)

Instant Blade Technique: Lv1 (162/200)

Chakra Control: Lv5 (2160 → 2320/5000)

Mastered Skill:

Kenjutsu: Lv7 (0/0)

It was clear that over the past week, most of his gains came only from a few areas:

Mystic Palm,

Reflection Mind Technique,

Chakra Refining,

and the increased chakra capacity and Mangekyō Sharingan progress they brought.

Other skills—

Aside from Chakra Scalpel (from healing wounded allies) and Kenjutsu (from combat), the rest had only seen minor gains.

But Haruki had expected this.

Now that the immediate crisis was over, he could finally focus on training properly.

At least for the next two days, he'd have peace.

After that—well, it depended on how fiercely the Mist Village would press the attack.

Haruki closed the panel, glanced at the setting sun, and decided not to linger any longer.

He turned and returned straight to the command post.

Three days later.

Haruki's break came to an end, and he received his latest orders.

Due to the shifting situation on the frontlines, he was now being dispatched to the forward base.

As previously explained, Konoha had established three coastal defense lines and one forward base to counter the Mist Village invasion:

Northern Line

Central Line

Southern Line

Each was positioned along the Fire Nation's shoreline.

But the forward base was different—it wasn't inside the Fire Nation.

Instead, it sat across the sea, on the territory of the Land of Waves.

Haruki's new mission was to head there and stand guard.