Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Clang!

Once again, Shafū blocked Uchiha Haruki's short sword with his fan. Swiftly opening his three-star war fan, he skillfully deflected the shuriken Haruki had thrown as a follow-up.

Then, channeling Wind Release chakra into the fan, he swung it forcefully, driving Haruki back as he attempted another close-range assault.

Taking the opportunity, Shafū rapidly formed hand seals and unleashed a wide-range Wind Release technique with his fan, covering a large area where Haruki stood.

At moments like these, Haruki generally had two options:

If the windstorm was relatively weak, he would use his Sharingan's heightened perception to forcefully push through.

If the storm was too strong, he would temporarily retreat and wait for a better opportunity to strike.

For the past fifteen minutes, this had been their rhythm—an intense back-and-forth of offensive and defensive maneuvers.

Both sides had already revealed most of their techniques. Now, it came down to timing and the depth of their reserves.

In terms of experience, Shafū did edge out Haruki slightly. However, with the two-tomoe Sharingan and several of his skills mastered, Haruki was able to neutralize that advantage.

In fact, Haruki had even started to pressure Shafū.

As a result, Shafū was forced to frequently use high-level Wind Release techniques just to buy breathing room—techniques that were extremely chakra-consuming.

In contrast, Haruki's methods were efficient, consuming minimal chakra.

If the stalemate dragged on, Haruki would clearly come out on top. And he knew it.

Even when one of his subordinates was killed by the puppeteer—who seemed to belong to the same clan as Chiya—Haruki didn't flinch.

During the ongoing battle, Haruki also identified the abilities of the young female Suna kunoichi in her early twenties—she was a rare genjutsu specialist from Sunagakure.

She used sonic genjutsu proficiently, to the point that one of Haruki's comrades was forced to disable his own hearing to escape the illusion.

But in doing so, that teammate's combat effectiveness plummeted, leaving him overwhelmed and completely on the defensive against someone not even skilled in close combat.

The only one holding his ground was Yōichi Kamijō.

Yes, Haruki's most competent subordinate was still alive—and his opponent was a muscular seventeen- or eighteen-year-old Suna ninja skilled in taijutsu, just as Haruki had guessed.

However, the boy's taijutsu wasn't as impressive as expected and he was consistently outclassed by the more well-rounded Kamijō.

Unfortunately, the addition of the puppeteer quickly erased that advantage.

Unless Haruki stepped in, it was only a matter of time before both of his remaining subordinates fell.

But even after giving them a glance, Haruki showed no concern.

He had already locked down the strongest enemy, a jōnin. The remaining three were all just chūnin, like his own teammates.

If they still couldn't hold their ground, that was on them. Haruki wasn't going to play babysitter in the middle of a deadly battle.

Besides, his situation wasn't as dominant as it looked. A moment of carelessness and the tide could turn instantly—after all, he was still facing a jōnin. He couldn't afford to get complacent.

So for now, his comrades would have to rely on their own luck.

That said, Haruki also couldn't drag this out forever. If his teammates all died and the remaining Suna chūnin surrounded him, it would become a hassle.

With that in mind, Haruki picked up the pace and began to press harder in his assault.

At the same time, he stopped holding back his chakra, unleashing a series of ninjutsu attacks to force Shafū into spending even more of his own reserves.

He also looked for any opening to use genjutsu.

Unfortunately, Shafū played it safe, taking a few minor hits rather than giving Haruki any opportunity to set up his illusions.

Once again interrupted mid-sign, Haruki mentally sighed:

"As expected, my genjutsu levels are still too low."

If his Genjutsu: Sharingan had reached Level 5, he could cast illusions with just a gesture or glance.

In that case, a one-on-one battle like this would've been over quickly. A single subtle movement would've been enough to trap the opponent in a powerful genjutsu.

That's why there's an old saying about fighting a Sharingan user:

"One-on-one? Run. Two-on-one? Flank from the rear."

That wasn't some exaggerated boast—it was the hard-earned reputation forged by generations of Uchiha jōnin wielding the three-tomoe Sharingan in life-and-death battles.

Unfortunately, Haruki hadn't reached that level yet, so he could only rely on chipping away at Shafū's chakra.

But while Haruki was annoyed by how long this was taking, he didn't realize that Shafū was already at his wit's end.

Feeling his chakra drop below half, Shafū looked at Haruki—still calm, composed, and seemingly brimming with energy—and felt his hope of victory vanish.

"Can I really keep this up?"

He asked himself.

Their mission from the village was simply to eliminate as many enemies as possible—there wasn't any specific target or quota.

Which meant... retreating wouldn't count as failure.

And that thought finally convinced him.

No longer hesitating, Shafū deflected another strike from Haruki, then spun around and fled into the distance.

Seeing this, Haruki's eyes lit up.

"Finally… he moved."

Yes—this was exactly what he had been waiting for.

Whether the enemy attacked or fled didn't matter—as long as he stopped trying to win by attrition, it was good.

Why?

Because movement meant opportunity.

The opportunity to take him alive.

That's right. Once Haruki realized he could defeat Shafū, he had started planning how to capture him and turn him into his second "chakra battery."

But doing that here, in front of everyone? Out of the question.

Even though the intense battle had pushed most Suna and Konoha ninja toward the outer edges of the battlefield, they were still watching.

If Haruki beat Shafū half to death and captured him on the spot, he'd have to turn him in—unless he wanted to silence everyone who saw.

And while Haruki didn't feel particularly attached to Konoha and wasn't the type to babysit his comrades, he also wasn't someone who would kill allies just to protect a secret.

He had principles, after all. Without them, power would eventually corrupt him completely—and Haruki had no intention of becoming a monster driven only by power.

So the only viable plan was to move the battlefield elsewhere—away from prying eyes.

That way, whatever happened afterward... would stay unknown.

That was why Haruki had been waiting for Shafū to retreat.

And now that it happened, he didn't stop him. He simply gave chase.

As the two of them moved off the main battlefield, the dynamics at the two outer battle zones changed as well.

The Konoha ninja, seeing Shafū flee, gained a sudden boost in confidence, while the three remaining Suna shinobi started thinking about retreating.

After all, their strongest member had lost. If Haruki returned after finishing him off, they'd stand no chance.

So retreating made perfect sense.

But it wasn't an easy decision.

The final result of the jōnin clash wasn't known yet. If they fled too early, they might be punished.

On top of that, the three Suna chūnin still had the upper hand—walking away now would mean throwing away hard-earned merit. A bitter pill to swallow.

And then there was the puppeteer. His goal wasn't just accolades. He was also here to gather intel on a certain younger clan member.

Regardless of whether that person lived or died—he needed to know the outcome.