Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Whoosh—

A pair of pale blue chakra wings spread from Uchiha Haruki's back. With a mere thought, he controlled the wings and soared into the sky.

Seeing him attempt to escape the attack range, the two Mist Village jonin who had just finished casting their jutsu immediately ceased their techniques. They each reached into their ninja pouches, drew several shuriken, and hurled them toward Haruki in the sky.

Each shuriken flew at precise, tricky angles, essentially sealing off all possible escape paths.

But Haruki had no intention of dodging.

The moment the shuriken were released, he locked onto their trajectories. Clang! With a sharp sound, he drew his longsword from its sheath at his waist.

Swish swish swish—

His blade danced.

A flurry of clang, clang, clang followed as he cleanly deflected each and every shuriken aimed at him.

The two Mist jonin below clicked their tongues in mild frustration, though they weren't particularly surprised.

Given Haruki's previously displayed swordsmanship, combined with the power of his fully awakened Sharingan, this result was expected.

They never intended for a few shuriken to kill him. Their goal was simple: slow him down and buy time for their teammate.

The next second, they shouted in unison: "Hime!"

Almost as soon as the name echoed, a soft and melodious voice rang out—like a lullaby, or the whisper of a dream.

It slipped directly into Haruki's ears, diving into his brain and invoking a sudden, irresistible urge to fall asleep.

"Genjutsu? Hypnosis?"

Haruki's heart stirred. He swiftly summoned his immense spiritual energy, effortlessly expelling the invasive chakra and mental influence.

"Nngh…"

Below, the genjutsu broke. Kimpou Hime, who stood beside Morishita Nanase, let out a muffled grunt of pain.

Indeed, the attack Haruki had just experienced was a genjutsu—launched by the very Mist kunoichi who had first gone to assist Nanase.

At first, Haruki had thought she was just a concerned comrade. But now it was clear: there had been calculation in her actions.

She had been holding back, deliberately not revealing her genjutsu skills during earlier fights. But her timing and the execution just now had made it obvious—she was quite proficient in illusionary techniques.

Why had she concealed it all this time?

There was only one answer: she was waiting for the perfect moment to strike with a deadly blow.

This wasn't mere paranoia on Haruki's part. In all their previous clashes, she hadn't used genjutsu even once.

Clearly, she had been saving it.

And it had almost worked.

She had picked an effective strategy—using a sound-based genjutsu to target his mind.

But unfortunately for her, Haruki's spiritual energy was far too strong. A genjutsu of this level couldn't shake him in the slightest.

Had he already mastered the Uchiha clan's exclusive genjutsu technique, Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, he could have even rebounded the genjutsu back at her.

All these thoughts flashed through Haruki's mind as he looked down at the battlefield.

At that moment, the other three Mist ninja had just barely raised their hands to form seals.

Too late.

Freed from the illusion, Haruki shot upward, completely leaving their attack range.

Watching this unfold, Izumi Junichi froze mid-hand-sign, muttering: "How is this possible?"

Haruki had broken the illusion far faster than they had expected.

Their whole strategy was falling apart.

Junichi's mood soured. He immediately turned his piercing gaze toward Kimpou Hime, as if to ask: Why did your genjutsu fail so quickly?

After all, this wasn't their first time facing off against Uchiha shinobi. Even with a three-tomoe Sharingan, most of them would still need several seconds to dispel "Illusion: Sound Mirage."

Those few seconds were all the Mist team needed to seize control.

But this time, before they could make a move, Haruki was already back in control of his body.

All their calculations had crumbled.

If he didn't know Kimpou Hime better, Junichi might have suspected her of deliberately going easy.

Meeting his accusing eyes, Hime defended herself: "His spiritual power is far too strong—far beyond that of an ordinary Uchiha jonin. I couldn't influence him."

Junichi's face darkened. He said nothing, his gaze lifting back to the figure in the sky. The higher Haruki rose, the more grim his expression became.

Their mission had been simple: keep Haruki occupied.

Now, with him beyond their reach, it was nearly impossible to re-engage.

In short, their task was likely a failure.

"Damn it!"

Junichi cursed under his breath and threw a kunai at Haruki in frustration.

But from this distance, aiming from below, the kunai lost speed and accuracy as it traveled upward.

Haruki flapped his chakra wings lightly and easily dodged.

Yet he didn't strike back immediately.

Instead, he flew up another ten meters.

Only when he was sure he was safe did he begin forming hand signs and performed the Mystic Palm Technique.

A bright ball of Yang chakra formed in his palm and was pressed directly onto the wound in his abdomen.

Though the earlier shuriken strike hadn't hit a vital organ, it had still been the stomach. Even with his chakra control, he had lost quite a bit of blood.

It needed healing.

As for the gash on his left arm, Haruki merely drew some chakra to activate his body's natural recovery, then ignored it.

Once he had stabilized himself, he looked down again.

The four Mist shinobi remained, not retreating.

Seeing this, Haruki decided it was time for a counterattack.

But just then—his peripheral vision caught something far in the distance.

"What's that?"

He turned his head south.

Several kilometers from the Blackstone stronghold, a force of 200 to 300 people was rapidly approaching.

Haruki's eyes narrowed.

Realizing the potential danger, he decisively abandoned the Mist jonin below and took off toward the approaching force.

At a speed of 40 meters per second, it took him less than two minutes to reach the skies above the advancing group.

Then he saw them clearly.

"Mist ninja—just as I thought."

He muttered softly as he observed the troops below.

The direction they were approaching from had already raised suspicions in Haruki's mind. Only Mist shinobi from Feiyu Town would approach the Blackstone base from the south.

If they were Konoha reinforcements, they would have come from the west or north, deeper into the Land of Fire.

"Still, why are they only showing up now?"

Haruki frowned but didn't waste time pondering.

What mattered now was quickly warning the Blackstone base.

Everything else could wait.