Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

As Uchiha Haruki observed the enemy, the four Sand shinobi were also watching him closely.

After all, it couldn't be helped—the Sharingan was legendary across the ninja world.

Just by standing there, Haruki's presence overshadowed his three teammates, making him the only threat the Sand shinobi could focus on.

After a short moment of standoff, the thin man leading the Suna squad finally spoke.

"Sharingan? A ninja of the Uchiha clan?"

Haruki responded with an arrogant smirk, countering,

"And who are you supposed to be?"

His tone held zero respect, even though the thin man was clearly a jōnin. Whether he was a special jōnin or a full-fledged jōnin, Haruki couldn't be sure.

"Tch! Arrogant brat!"

The man scoffed. "Let me enlighten you, boy. The one who's about to kill you is Suna jōnin—Shafū!"

As he spoke, he snapped open his three-star fan, simultaneously forming hand seals and unleashing his jutsu:

"Wind Style: Vacuum Scythe Jutsu!"

In the next instant, a raging windstorm, laced with countless invisible wind blades, surged toward Haruki.

Haruki narrowed his eyes, the tomoe of his Sharingan spinning rapidly.

Without even turning around, he instructed,

"The jōnin is mine. You three handle the rest."

Whether his team heard or not, Haruki didn't wait—he drew the short blade at his waist and charged straight into the gale.

Though vacuum blades were invisible to the naked eye, they still left subtle traces in the air. To most, they were imperceptible—but with his two-tomoe Sharingan, Haruki could see them clearly.

Coupled with his Level 5 Swordsmanship, Haruki was able to slice down the blades with near-perfect precision, even as the storm howled around him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each blade struck was met with the ringing of steel.

While deflecting the incoming blades, Haruki quickly closed the distance toward Shafū.

Seeing this, Shafū's pupils contracted in surprise. He tugged sharply on his fan, opening another segment—revealing a second black dot—then poured more chakra into it and unleashed another jutsu:

"Wind Style: Great Vacuum Scythe Jutsu!"

A storm even fiercer than before roared out, its embedded wind blades now densely packed and faster.

But Haruki didn't flinch. He charged headlong into it, blade dancing through the air, not letting a single wind blade come within a meter of him.

Meanwhile, the other six combatants had also begun their battle.

However, perhaps due to the intensity of the clash between Haruki and Shafū, they all unconsciously moved their fight toward the outskirts, giving the central battlefield space.

Haruki stole a glance at the others—no one had a clear upper hand.

"The outcome of this fight… will depend on me," Haruki thought.

With that, he focused again, increasing his speed as he lunged toward his opponent.

Shafū didn't hesitate. He fully opened his three-star fan, forming hand seals with lightning speed, clearly preparing an even more powerful jutsu.

But this time, Haruki didn't give him the chance.

Seeing the gap close, Haruki instantly activated Body Flicker Technique, exploding forward with a burst of speed.

For most, this would be a suicidal move—charging headfirst into a windstorm. But Haruki was not most people. With his Sharingan, he could see and react to even the fastest of wind blades.

Taking a few minor hits as the price, Haruki pushed through the jutsu's range and appeared directly in front of Shafū.

At that moment, Shafū hadn't yet completed his jutsu.

Caught off guard, he stared in shock as Haruki slashed his short blade toward him.

Shafū's reactions weren't slow. Without hesitation, he aborted his hand seals and ducked behind his massive fan.

Clang!

The blade struck the fan, producing a heavy metallic ring.

Haruki didn't relent. He instantly pulled back his blade and shifted position, attacking from another direction.

Sensing danger, Shafū snapped his fan shut and swung it forcefully, attempting to bat both Haruki and his weapon away.

But Haruki was too quick. The moment Shafū moved, Haruki withdrew his blade and flickered again—striking from yet another angle.

This time, Haruki was confident—if not enough to injure the opponent, the strike would at least force him to dodge.

But to Haruki's surprise, Shafū calmly countered.

He reopened his fan and, using one corner as a pivot, rotated it sharply ninety degrees, blocking Haruki's thrust perfectly.

The blade scraped along the fan, emitting a painful, nails-on-chalkboard screech.

Taking the opportunity, Shafū rapidly formed hand seals and slammed his palm outward before Haruki could regroup.

Though his hand was nearly a meter away from Haruki, the force still sent Haruki flying.

Or more accurately—blew him away.

Haruki realized this was the C-Rank jutsu—Wind Style: Gale Palm.

While basic, this wind jutsu had many uses. Blowing someone back was just the simplest.

Its true utility lay in its ability to amplify the speed and power of projectile weapons like kunai and shuriken using wind pressure.

Just like now—Haruki was still midair when Shafū pulled out a kunai, preparing to launch a follow-up strike.

Fast as he was, to Haruki, his movements were still visible—the Sharingan saw everything.

He had time to counter.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, Haruki pulled out three shuriken from his pouch and threw them without even looking.

What seemed like a careless toss caused Shafū's instincts to scream. He immediately dodged sideways without thinking.

But the three shuriken collided mid-air, changing trajectory—trapping him.

"What!?"

Shafū was startled. He hastily raised his kunai and managed to deflect one of the shuriken just in time.

But the other two?

He couldn't stop them.

With no choice, he twisted his body as much as possible, trying to avoid them.

Slash—!

A clean slicing sound echoed as one of the blades ripped through Shafū's shoulder, leaving a gash nearly an inch deep.

Blood oozed out and quickly soaked his clothing.

Shafū glanced at the wound, then looked back at Haruki with newfound caution.

Because those seemingly simple shuriken throws had demonstrated high-level skill.

To land that throw, Haruki had to perfectly time the release and predict his opponent's dodge to the smallest detail.

And he nailed both.

In other words, given enough distance, Haruki could easily outmaneuver and kill him with sheer technique.

But only Haruki knew the truth—his prediction had actually been a gut feeling.

He hadn't had enough time to study Shafū's habits or movement style.

He just guessed.

And somehow—it worked.

Even Haruki himself was surprised.

But he didn't let that show.

Instead, he stood there calm and confident, projecting an aura of complete control—to further pressure his opponent.As Uchiha Haruki observed the enemy, the four Sand shinobi were also watching him closely.

After all, it couldn't be helped—the Sharingan was legendary across the ninja world.

Just by standing there, Haruki's presence overshadowed his three teammates, making him the only threat the Sand shinobi could focus on.

After a short moment of standoff, the thin man leading the Suna squad finally spoke.

"Sharingan? A ninja of the Uchiha clan?"

Haruki responded with an arrogant smirk, countering,

"And who are you supposed to be?"

His tone held zero respect, even though the thin man was clearly a jōnin. Whether he was a special jōnin or a full-fledged jōnin, Haruki couldn't be sure.

"Tch! Arrogant brat!"

The man scoffed. "Let me enlighten you, boy. The one who's about to kill you is Suna jōnin—Shafū!"

As he spoke, he snapped open his three-star fan, simultaneously forming hand seals and unleashing his jutsu:

"Wind Style: Vacuum Scythe Jutsu!"

In the next instant, a raging windstorm, laced with countless invisible wind blades, surged toward Haruki.

Haruki narrowed his eyes, the tomoe of his Sharingan spinning rapidly.

Without even turning around, he instructed,

"The jōnin is mine. You three handle the rest."

Whether his team heard or not, Haruki didn't wait—he drew the short blade at his waist and charged straight into the gale.

Though vacuum blades were invisible to the naked eye, they still left subtle traces in the air. To most, they were imperceptible—but with his two-tomoe Sharingan, Haruki could see them clearly.

Coupled with his Level 5 Swordsmanship, Haruki was able to slice down the blades with near-perfect precision, even as the storm howled around him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Each blade struck was met with the ringing of steel.

While deflecting the incoming blades, Haruki quickly closed the distance toward Shafū.

Seeing this, Shafū's pupils contracted in surprise. He tugged sharply on his fan, opening another segment—revealing a second black dot—then poured more chakra into it and unleashed another jutsu:

"Wind Style: Great Vacuum Scythe Jutsu!"

A storm even fiercer than before roared out, its embedded wind blades now densely packed and faster.

But Haruki didn't flinch. He charged headlong into it, blade dancing through the air, not letting a single wind blade come within a meter of him.

Meanwhile, the other six combatants had also begun their battle.

However, perhaps due to the intensity of the clash between Haruki and Shafū, they all unconsciously moved their fight toward the outskirts, giving the central battlefield space.

Haruki stole a glance at the others—no one had a clear upper hand.

"The outcome of this fight… will depend on me," Haruki thought.

With that, he focused again, increasing his speed as he lunged toward his opponent.

Shafū didn't hesitate. He fully opened his three-star fan, forming hand seals with lightning speed, clearly preparing an even more powerful jutsu.

But this time, Haruki didn't give him the chance.

Seeing the gap close, Haruki instantly activated Body Flicker Technique, exploding forward with a burst of speed.

For most, this would be a suicidal move—charging headfirst into a windstorm. But Haruki was not most people. With his Sharingan, he could see and react to even the fastest of wind blades.

Taking a few minor hits as the price, Haruki pushed through the jutsu's range and appeared directly in front of Shafū.

At that moment, Shafū hadn't yet completed his jutsu.

Caught off guard, he stared in shock as Haruki slashed his short blade toward him.

Shafū's reactions weren't slow. Without hesitation, he aborted his hand seals and ducked behind his massive fan.

Clang!

The blade struck the fan, producing a heavy metallic ring.

Haruki didn't relent. He instantly pulled back his blade and shifted position, attacking from another direction.

Sensing danger, Shafū snapped his fan shut and swung it forcefully, attempting to bat both Haruki and his weapon away.

But Haruki was too quick. The moment Shafū moved, Haruki withdrew his blade and flickered again—striking from yet another angle.

This time, Haruki was confident—if not enough to injure the opponent, the strike would at least force him to dodge.

But to Haruki's surprise, Shafū calmly countered.

He reopened his fan and, using one corner as a pivot, rotated it sharply ninety degrees, blocking Haruki's thrust perfectly.

The blade scraped along the fan, emitting a painful, nails-on-chalkboard screech.

Taking the opportunity, Shafū rapidly formed hand seals and slammed his palm outward before Haruki could regroup.

Though his hand was nearly a meter away from Haruki, the force still sent Haruki flying.

Or more accurately—blew him away.

Haruki realized this was the C-Rank jutsu—Wind Style: Gale Palm.

While basic, this wind jutsu had many uses. Blowing someone back was just the simplest.

Its true utility lay in its ability to amplify the speed and power of projectile weapons like kunai and shuriken using wind pressure.

Just like now—Haruki was still midair when Shafū pulled out a kunai, preparing to launch a follow-up strike.

Fast as he was, to Haruki, his movements were still visible—the Sharingan saw everything.

He had time to counter.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, Haruki pulled out three shuriken from his pouch and threw them without even looking.

What seemed like a careless toss caused Shafū's instincts to scream. He immediately dodged sideways without thinking.

But the three shuriken collided mid-air, changing trajectory—trapping him.

"What!?"

Shafū was startled. He hastily raised his kunai and managed to deflect one of the shuriken just in time.

But the other two?

He couldn't stop them.

With no choice, he twisted his body as much as possible, trying to avoid them.

Slash—!

A clean slicing sound echoed as one of the blades ripped through Shafū's shoulder, leaving a gash nearly an inch deep.

Blood oozed out and quickly soaked his clothing.

Shafū glanced at the wound, then looked back at Haruki with newfound caution.

Because those seemingly simple shuriken throws had demonstrated high-level skill.

To land that throw, Haruki had to perfectly time the release and predict his opponent's dodge to the smallest detail.

And he nailed both.

In other words, given enough distance, Haruki could easily outmaneuver and kill him with sheer technique.

But only Haruki knew the truth—his prediction had actually been a gut feeling.

He hadn't had enough time to study Shafū's habits or movement style.

He just guessed.

And somehow—it worked.

Even Haruki himself was surprised.

But he didn't let that show.

Instead, he stood there calm and confident, projecting an aura of complete control—to further pressure his opponent.