Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

After parting ways with Yōichi Kamijō, Uchiha Haruki began tracking the three Suna chūnin in the direction Kamijō had indicated.

Thanks to his familiarity with the terrain—and the sharp insight of his Sharingan—he quickly found clues to their whereabouts.

Following those signs, Haruki gave chase. Finally, after half an hour, he caught up with them.

At that moment, the trio was still heading toward the E12 sector.

Combined with what the squad leader, Ukyo Tashiro's ninja dog, Kiya, had reported—that many enemies were in the E12 area—Haruki concluded that E12 was the focal point of Sunagakure's offensive.

"But why have so many Suna shinobi suddenly appeared?"

This question had Haruki deep in thought, but no answer seemed obvious.

After all, whether it was the E12 zone, their current E11 sector, or even the surrounding region, all of it technically counted as a secondary line of defense.

The occasional infiltration team was understandable. But a large-scale invasion like this? That was highly unusual.

Unless...

"The front line has collapsed!"

The thought startled Haruki, but he quickly steadied himself.

If the front line had truly collapsed, there wouldn't just be a handful of enemies here.

In that case, forget the E12 area—the entire region they were stationed in would already be under assault.

But Haruki had seen no such signs.

Which meant the front line hadn't been completely overrun.

Still, the number of enemy shinobi present was far too many to be explained by simple infiltration squads.

That left only one plausible theory:

Several forward bases had been taken, creating gaps in the defensive line. The Suna shinobi slipped through those gaps and launched a surprise attack.

"Yeah, that has to be it."

Although he hadn't received any confirmed reports, Haruki was confident in his reasoning.

If that were true, the Suna shinobi wouldn't be able to stay long.

As long as the entire front hadn't collapsed, Konoha would eventually retake those forward positions.

And when that happened?

The scattered Suna forces would find themselves trapped—like dogs behind closed doors.

To avoid that fate, they'd have to retreat before Konoha struck back.

Thinking it through, the gloom in Haruki's mind vanished, and a subtle ease settled into his expression.

For him, stability was the most favorable outcome.

Because time was on his side. The longer this dragged on, the stronger he would become.

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Looking down at the three figures below, Haruki suddenly raised his hands and quickly formed seals for:

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!"

Opening his mouth, he spat out a massive stream of superheated flames. In the blink of an eye, the fire broke apart into dozens—no, hundreds—of fireballs.

Clearly, as Haruki's proficiency with Phoenix Fire grew, the time it took to split the flames into fireballs had drastically shortened.

Now, it was almost impossible to see the transition—it was as if the fireballs emerged the moment the flames left his mouth.

It resembled the jutsu's early form—but don't be mistaken.

Back then, the fireballs came out one at a time.

Now, his enemies had to face a relentless barrage of hundreds of fireballs simultaneously.

It might seem like a small difference, but in combat, it massively increased the difficulty of evasion.

Just like now.

Had these three Suna chūnin been dealing with a Level 2 or lower Phoenix Fire, they might've dodged it cleanly.

But at this level?

Unless they sacrificed something, there was no escaping Haruki's assault.

Sensing danger, the three immediately tensed up.

"Who's there?!" one of them shouted.

But before they could locate Haruki's position, the storm of fireballs was already raining down on them from all angles.

The speed and angles were unpredictable, leaving them with only one option: dodge like mad.

However, in Haruki's Sharingan-enhanced eyes, their movements were full of flaws. Without hesitation, he manipulated the fireballs to surround and target the trio.

The first to be hit was the taijutsu user, around seventeen or eighteen years old.

Fast as he was, it wasn't fast enough.

His retreat path was blocked by a dozen fireballs. Unable to escape, two hit him squarely, burning his chest and right arm black.

He collapsed on the spot, completely out of commission.

The second was the early-twenties kunoichi skilled in sonic genjutsu.

She managed to use a Substitution Jutsu at the last second and avoided serious harm.

As for the puppeteer...

Haruki had targeted him specifically. Even with his puppet defending him, one fireball still landed a solid hit, leaving him severely burned.

His puppet also took a direct blast, suffering structural damage.

Seconds later, the fireballs dissipated, and the battlefield fell silent once more.

The kunoichi and the puppeteer stood side by side, eyes locked on the direction the fireballs had come from.

But—they saw nothing.

Their expressions grew grim.

After a brief pause, the kunoichi gave the puppeteer a subtle nod—a silent signal.

He nodded back and quickly pulled out a pair of earplugs, jamming them into his ears.

In the next moment, the kunoichi raised her hands and began forming hand seals at high speed.

Her lips parted slightly—she was preparing to unleash a sonic genjutsu, hoping to force their unseen attacker out of hiding.

But before she could finish—

A silhouette appeared directly in front of her, faster than her eyes could register.

And then—

Two crimson, blood-like Sharingan eyes filled her entire vision.

"Sharingan?! Genjutsu?!"

Her heart trembled in shock.

She tried to break the illusion immediately.

But as soon as she moved, she felt her chakra draining rapidly. Then, a sharp pain struck the back of her neck—and she lost consciousness.

The one who had attacked wasn't anyone else.

It was Uchiha Haruki, who had been observing them silently in the shadows.

Because he wasn't sure how effective the Sharingan was against sonic-based genjutsu, he chose to strike before she could act.

And the plan worked.

With perfected Body Flicker Technique and exceptional stealth, Haruki appeared in front of her without making a sound.

Distracted by her own jutsu, she had no time to respond.

Haruki hit her with Genjutsu: Sharingan, absorbed some of her chakra, knocked her out, and secured her body—clean and efficient.

During the entire exchange, the puppeteer was too busy saving himself to intervene.

Not because he didn't want to—but because he was too afraid.

He had already recognized Haruki and knew full well how dangerous he was. He wasn't foolish enough to stick around.

Unfortunately for him, Haruki wasn't letting anyone go.

After finishing off the kunoichi, Haruki did the same thing to the taijutsu user—draining his chakra and knocking him out.

Then he turned and gave chase.

Even though the puppeteer summoned a formidable puppet in desperation, it was no use.

He fell quickly, just like his teammates.

Now, standing before the three unconscious bodies, Haruki remained calm.

He knew their quick defeat wasn't solely because of his overwhelming strength.

It was largely due to his successful ambush.

If he hadn't caught them off guard from the start, the battle might have lasted longer.

Also, they had just fought against three Konoha shinobi, so they were likely already worn out.

That said, the decisive factor was still Haruki's sheer dominance.

Even if they had been fresh, their chances were slim.

And as far as Haruki was concerned—they were enemies.

He had no intention of showing mercy.