Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Everyone, form a defensive formation!"

A loud command rang out from the front of the convoy.

At the order, the chunin in the team immediately sprang into action, organizing the nearby genin for defense based on proximity.

The special jonin also began to move according to their specialties.

Those skilled in combat rushed out of the formation to support the recon squads.

Those skilled in sensory techniques sat down on the spot and began casting detection ninjutsu to monitor the surroundings for sneak attacks.

The rest all went to their assigned roles.

Everything was efficient—almost as if they had rehearsed it hundreds of times. Every ninja instinctively found their place.

Only Uchiha Haruki and the other rookie genin were left clueless. They could only follow the instructions of nearby chunin like puppets on strings.

That feeling was awful—like your fate was in someone else's hands. There was no sense of safety.

Even so, Haruki didn't act impulsively.

This kind of situation wasn't one where a mere genin like him could take the lead.

Over the past three weeks, due to the large number of people and the exhausting pace of travel, Haruki had little time to grind skill proficiency. Even with minimized rest time, he could barely squeeze in three to four hours of training each day.

As a result, he only had about 1,500 chakra points at his disposal.

To avoid drawing attention, Haruki had devoted all of it to practicing Reflection Mind Technique (映心之术), raising its proficiency from Level 3 (683/1000) to Level 3 (875/1000).

This increase of 192 points in skill proficiency also raised his Sharingan's proficiency by 19 points, bringing it to (69/1000).

While the progress was minor, even a mosquito's leg is still meat, and Haruki had no complaints.

He had also been working on Chakra Refining Technique, and with daily training combined with three days of full effort before departure, its proficiency rose from Level 3 (346/1000) to Level 3 (454/1000).

As a result, his chakra capacity increased by 864 points—now totaling 4,074 chakra points.

At this point, Haruki began to feel the physical limit of his body.

He guessed that once he reached around 5,000 chakra capacity, his progress would likely stall.

Still, that was much better than he had originally anticipated.

Boom!

As Haruki's mind wandered, a massive explosion erupted from the side cliffs, followed by the sound of clashing metal.

Haruki looked up to see several ninja in Iwagakure jonin uniforms clashing with Konoha's jonin. Surrounding them were over a dozen Iwagakure chunin.

"Sharingan!"

Seeing no one paying attention to him, Haruki discreetly activated his Sharingan.

Instantly, the world around him became sharper, more focused.

In his enhanced vision, several Iwa chunin took advantage of the Konoha jonin being distracted. They rapidly formed hand seals and slammed their palms into the cliffside.

Seeing this, Haruki's face changed. He cursed inwardly, quickly deactivated his Sharingan, grabbed both of his teammates, and leapt backward.

Caught off guard, Ryosuke and Mizutani Shizuko stumbled from the sudden pull, nearly falling.

Still, trusting Haruki, they didn't resist.

A moment later, the sound of rock splitting echoed from the cliff.

Then—a barrage of rocks came crashing down, raining like a meteor storm right over the area they had just been standing in.

Panic broke out instantly.

Though ninjas were far stronger than ordinary people, their durability wasn't much higher. Getting struck by such falling boulders wouldn't just injure them—it could be fatal.

Everyone tried their best to dodge.

A few seconds later, the dust settled.

Raindrops fell gently on their faces, tracing lines through the muddy grime.

"Haruki, thank goodness for you!"

Ryosuke looked around at the mess and spoke with heartfelt gratitude.

That rockfall might have been nothing for the chunin, but for genin—especially fresh rookies like them—it was extremely dangerous.

Nearby, over a dozen genin lay buried in rubble, unmoving.

"Are they dead or alive?" the thought crossed Haruki's mind—but they had no time to find out.

Because their real trouble was just beginning.

At both ends of the canyon, nearly a hundred Iwa ninjas appeared, closing in on them from both flanks.

In sheer numbers, Konoha still had the advantage.

But in terms of quality—the difference was stark.

This Iwa force was clearly well-prepared. There wasn't a single genin among them—only chunin and higher.

Konoha's side?

Out of their nearly 400-strong force, more than half were genin—many of whom were new graduates like Haruki and his team.

This battle would be extremely dangerous.

"Let's just hope the main base reacts quickly... or else..."

Haruki glanced toward the cliff, where the jonin were still locked in intense combat. He took a deep breath and muttered to his teammates:

"Don't stray too far from me, either of you."

Ryosuke and Shizuko, their nerves frayed, visibly relaxed at his words.

Despite everything, Haruki wanted to protect them—as much as he could.

They had been together for almost four months now, and Haruki didn't want to see them die like this.

Of course, if it came down to life or death, he wouldn't force anything.

From the moment they were teamed up, Haruki had mentally prepared himself for that possibility.

Time crept forward.

The field went eerily quiet as everyone prepared for battle.

Finally, just as the two sides were about to clash—someone in the crowd shouted "Attack!"

That single word was like a trigger—the entire battlefield erupted in chaos.

Screams, cries, weapon clashes, explosions of ninjutsu—the battlefield became a thunderous storm of noise and destruction.

That one cry of "Kill!" had flipped a switch, and now there was no turning back.

Though Haruki and his group were near the center of the convoy, the falling rocks had scattered their formation, making them a prime target.

More than thirty Iwa chunin suddenly used Earth Release techniques to burrow underground and rush toward their location.

It was clear—they aimed to split the convoy in half, dividing Konoha's forces and maximizing the damage.

Haruki carefully focused on one of the approaching chakra signatures, quietly pulled out a kunai, and waited.

The moment the enemy ninja burst from the ground—

Thwip!

Haruki threw the kunai.

"Aargh!"

A pained scream followed.

The Iwa ninja had barely emerged when the kunai struck directly into his eye socket.

Blood ran down his cheek. The man instinctively turned his head, trying to see who had hit him.

But a second kunai flew through the air—slamming straight into his chest, piercing his heart.

With that fatal blow, the Iwa ninja collapsed, eyes full of unwillingness.

From the outside, Haruki's kill looked clean and easy—but in truth, it was anything but.

First, he needed precise sensory control to locate the enemy underground and time his throw the moment they emerged.

Second, the accuracy of the kunai throw had to be near-perfect. A slight miss and the enemy could survive—and fight back.

Finally, it required strong mental discipline. Amid chaos, Haruki had to stay calm and unaffected.

For instance, another Iwa chunin had already engaged Ryosuke in battle nearby. If Haruki had rushed to help, he never would've landed that perfect kill.

But he chose to focus, and because of that—the enemy fell.