Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Did we get him?"

One of the Mist Village special jonin squinted through the swirling dust clouds and asked the question everyone was thinking.

The other four didn't respond. Their eyes remained locked on the last spot Uchiha Haruki had been standing.

By all logic, the Water Dragon Bullet jutsu should've hit that area dead on. Even if it didn't kill him, it should've left him gravely wounded.

And yet, their instincts screamed otherwise.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a sharp wind blade, nearly a meter long, shot out of the lingering smoke and sliced toward the waist of the very same Mist special jonin who had just spoken. It aimed to cut him clean in two.

"Watch out!"

A nearby Mist jonin noticed first and shouted a warning.

Luckily, the special jonin had remained on edge. The moment he heard the alert, he dove to the side.

The wind blade only carved through his afterimage, leaving a narrow trench in the earth where he'd just stood. He was unharmed.

In that same instant, the other three Mist shinobi locked onto the direction the wind blade had come from and hurled their kunai.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three sharp metallic echoes rang out from within the dust cloud.

The kunai were deflected—slapped back as if struck by something unseen—embedding themselves uselessly in the ground.

Swish, swish, swish—

The five Mist shinobi immediately spread out, forming a loose formation as they kept their eyes on the thinning smoke.

Moments later, the dust cleared—revealing a lone figure standing tall amidst the chaos.

It was none other than Uchiha Haruki.

He looked slightly battered. His clothes were torn in multiple places from flying debris, and shallow cuts marked his skin.

But overall, he was still very much in fighting shape.

Clearly, he had dodged the Water Dragon's main impact.

The Mist shinobi's eyes narrowed, their pupils contracting.

No hesitation.

They prepared to strike again.

But Haruki had made a decision.

He had held back long enough. As a member of Konoha, he couldn't continue sandbagging so blatantly.

This time, he would strike first.

A flash of blue light burst from his body, and in the blink of an eye—he vanished.

Shun-Kenjutsu—The Instant Blade Technique.

"Damn!"

Morishita Nanase, the weakest of the five Mist shinobi, felt a surge of dread. His instincts screamed danger.

Almost reflexively, he spun around and raised his kunai to guard his side.

Clang!

A crisp metallic ring rang out as his kunai met Haruki's long sword.

"Hmm?"

Haruki was quietly surprised.

He had already figured out from earlier exchanges that Morishita Nanase was the weakest of the five Mist shinobi.

That was why he had targeted him with both his Wind Blade earlier and this sudden ambush.

Yet the man had managed to react—twice.

'As expected. Even a lower-tier special jonin is leagues above the average chunin,' Haruki thought.

This strike would've killed 90% of chunin outright.

But Haruki had no time to dwell on it.

He flickered away again, dodging a barrage of shuriken from the other four Mist shinobi, then instantly reappeared on Nanase's other side.

A gleam of cold steel flashed.

Haruki's long blade arced toward Nanase's neck.

The Mist shinobi ducked just in time.

Haruki didn't miss a beat.

He twisted his wrist mid-swing, converting his horizontal slash into a downward cleave.

The blade, laced with wind chakra, sliced through the air with terrifying force. Even before it landed, the pressure tore Nanase's clothes open at the shoulder.

Blood splattered.

He was injured.

Nanase bit back a scream, fighting through the searing pain and panic. With trembling hands, he hastily formed hand signs and executed one of the fastest jutsu in his arsenal—

Water Release: Water Substitution!

Splat—

Haruki's blade landed... and Nanase's body burst into a splash of water.

Haruki didn't even glance at the puddle.

Before his sword had fully withdrawn, his gaze shifted to a spot in the distance—where Nanase had just reappeared.

An opening!

Haruki's eyes lit up.

Without hesitation, he raised his left hand and swiftly formed seals with one hand—a testament to his precision.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

A massive fireball erupted from his mouth and surged toward Nanase.

"AHHHHHHH!!"

The scream was gut-wrenching.

The fireball hit directly, engulfing Nanase in flames. His body twisted in agony, writhing as his clothes and skin burned.

"Nanase!"

A female Mist special jonin screamed his name.

She immediately formed hand signs and released a Water Release jutsu, aiming to douse the flames engulfing her comrade.

Meanwhile, the other three Mist jonin seized the moment to attack Haruki while he was casting.

One pulled a kunai with an explosive tag attached and hurled it straight at him.

The other two began forming hand signs—one preparing a Water Release jutsu, the other a Lightning Release—coordinating a joint attack.

Haruki's Sharingan spun rapidly, instantly spotting the explosive tag.

He didn't bother trying to deflect it.

Instead, he sheathed his blade and dodged to the side.

But just as his feet hit the ground again—

A column of electrified water came surging at him.

A joint jutsu—Water Release + Lightning Release.

He had no choice.

Haruki activated Body Flicker Technique again, flashing away.

But his hesitation while attacking Nanase had cost him time.

He dodged the first kunai and its explosion.

He didn't dodge the second wave.

The electrified water hit the ground where he'd been, then exploded outward in a spreading layer of water.

Even with Body Flicker, he wasn't fast enough to escape its expanding reach.

The moment his foot touched the water membrane, a crackling streak of lightning surged through it—

BZZZT—

A sharp, piercing hum echoed through the battlefield.

Haruki's legs went numb instantly, locking him in place.

Seeing this, the Mist jonin who had thrown the kunai lit up with excitement. He knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Without hesitation, he pulled out three shuriken and threw them in quick succession.

Whish! Whish! Whish!

The deadly projectiles flew toward Haruki's throat, chest, and stomach—three vital areas.

Haruki's Sharingan rotated violently.

He locked onto all three shuriken.

Confirming that none were laced with hidden tricks, he canceled any thought of counterattacking with a jutsu.

Instead, he twisted his body.

The shuriken aimed at his throat missed completely.

The one targeting his heart clipped his upper arm, tearing a deep gash.

The last shuriken struck his abdomen—painful, but not fatal.

Still, staying here any longer would be suicidal.

I have to get out—now!

Ignoring the pain, Haruki forced himself to move.

He quickly formed seals and unleashed a new jutsu:

Wind Release: Wings of the Wind!