Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

When Uchiha Haruki arrived at the cavern, he first received the shadow clone's memories as usual. After confirming nothing had gone wrong, he headed straight for the innermost chamber.

After several days of imprisonment, the seven captured Sand ninja were all looking far more disheveled.

However, maybe because there were many of them, their mental states weren't too bad. No one had broken down from despair.

On the contrary, they were actively trying to find ways to escape. And to attempt that, the first thing they needed to ensure was their own survival.

So, when Haruki ordered them to refine chakra, none of them dared to refuse.

Still, Haruki couldn't guarantee that they'd remain cooperative once they truly began to lose all hope of escape.

Whatever, that's a problem for the future. For now, let's focus on getting the puppet techniques first.

With that thought in mind, Haruki walked straight up to Chiya, placed his hand on him, and cast Chakra Absorption Technique, draining him dry.

Just as the others were expecting Haruki to move on to a second person like usual, he suddenly untied the ropes binding Chiya.

That stunned everyone—including Chiya himself.

But Chiya quickly realized that his limbs were free and immediately raised his leg, aiming a kick at Haruki's right cheek.

Unfortunately, after being bound for so long and with his chakra just drained, his body was numb and powerless.

Haruki easily blocked the weak strike, then delivered a sharp uppercut, knocking Chiya out cold.

Without even glancing at the others' reactions, Haruki grabbed Chiya by the collar and started dragging him away.

Seeing this, the puppeteer subordinate of Sazanami, Kurosuna, immediately began struggling wildly. His mouth was sealed, but he let out muffled groans, desperately trying to get Haruki's attention.

Which was exactly what Haruki had been hoping for.

But I can't make it too obvious that this is what I wanted…

Thinking that, Haruki stopped walking. He let go of Chiya, then suddenly flashed over to Kurosuna, his expression dark.

"You trying to die?" he asked coldly.

Kurosuna writhed violently, groaning and nodding in Chiya's direction as if trying to say something important.

Haruki turned back to glance at the unconscious Chiya, acting along with the moment. Then, after a pause, he formed a hand seal and cast Chakra Absorption Technique, placing his hand firmly on Kurosuna's head.

A few seconds later, Kurosuna's chakra was completely drained. Only then did Haruki rip off the tape sealing his mouth.

Before Haruki could say anything, Kurosuna blurted out, "Where are you taking him?"

"Oh?" Haruki feigned interest. "You care about him?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Tell me—what's your relationship with him?"

As soon as Haruki asked, Kurosuna fell silent.

Haruki snorted coldly and reached for the tape to reseal his mouth.

Panicking, Kurosuna quickly said, "Wait! I'll tell you—I'll tell you…"

Haruki paused and gestured for him to continue.

Kurosuna struggled internally for a while. When he saw Haruki reaching for the tape again, he finally sighed in defeat and muttered, "He's my nephew."

"By blood?" Haruki asked.

"By blood."

As soon as he said those words, Kurosuna seemed to collapse inside. His whole body slumped against the stone pillar, drained of energy.

He clearly knew what this admission meant: that Haruki now had the perfect leverage to manipulate him using Chiya's life.

But what could he do?

Chiya wasn't just his blood nephew, he was also the hope of their clan. If Chiya died here, their family would fall into ruin. That was a future Kurosuna couldn't accept.

No matter what, he had to protect Chiya's life.

As for the boy having lost his hands—whether he could still carry the weight of the clan's future...

That might be a huge issue in other families, but not in theirs.

All he needed was a new pair of puppet arms, and the problem would be solved.

Haruki might not fully understand Kurosuna's obsession with reviving his clan's glory, but that didn't stop him from realizing something very important:

Kurosuna had surrendered.

Yes—surrendered.

Given how obviously he had exposed his weakness, anyone with half a brain could figure out what this meant.

And clearly, Kurosuna knew this as well.

But he still did it anyway.

That could only mean one thing—he was ready to cooperate.

The whole situation had gone so smoothly that Haruki found himself momentarily dazed.

Fortunately, he quickly regained his composure.

"Well then," he said calmly. "Since you care so much about where I'm taking him, why don't you come along too?"

With that, he untied Kurosuna's ropes, then turned and walked back toward where Chiya lay unconscious.

Kurosuna stared at Haruki's seemingly defenseless back for several seconds. His expression changed several times, but in the end… he didn't move.

He had no chakra, no hands, no puppets—his condition was rock bottom. Even if he were at full strength, he probably wouldn't last more than a few exchanges with Haruki.

Attacking now would only provoke him and accomplish nothing.

So after wrestling with himself for a moment, he gave up on the idea of striking back.

When Haruki heard the weak footsteps behind him, the corners of his mouth lifted in a subtle smirk.

He really does care about Chiya.

He's not faking cooperation just to earn freedom or escape. That means my chances of getting the puppet techniques just got a lot higher.

Soon, the two entered the room carved out by Haruki's shadow clone.

Haruki casually tossed the unconscious Chiya aside and sat down in a stone chair.

Kurosuna's eyelids twitched, but he forced himself to suppress the anger boiling inside.

"Alright," he said stiffly. "What do you want me to do?"

Clearly, he wasn't stupid.

If Haruki had brought him here, it could only mean he needed something from him. Otherwise, there'd be no need to untie him or even speak with him.

So, Kurosuna skipped the games and got straight to the point.

But Haruki didn't reply immediately.

Instead, he politely offered him a seat.

Kurosuna hesitated but eventually sat down across from him.

And then came a bombshell.

Haruki's next words made Kurosuna jump up from his seat in shock.

"I'm sorry, I must've misheard you. Could you repeat that?" he stammered.

Haruki raised a hand, gesturing for calm.

"Relax, you heard me right," he said with a serious look. "I want your clan's puppet secret arts."

The words weren't even fully out of his mouth before Kurosuna snapped, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Oh?" Haruki replied, unfazed. He glanced over at Chiya, who was still lying unconscious nearby.

The threat was unspoken—but clear.

Kurosuna's face went red, then pale, but he still clenched his teeth and said, "The puppet secret arts are the foundation of our clan. We cannot give them to you. Not even if you threaten Chiya's life."

Haruki made a show of thinking it over. He tapped a finger against the armrest—tap tap tap—the sound echoing through the stone room like a ticking clock.

Each tap was like a hammer pounding against Kurosuna's heart.

His pulse rose and fell with the rhythm, until the tension became suffocating.

Then Haruki suddenly stopped tapping.

Kurosuna's heart skipped a beat.

Before he could recover, Haruki calmly spoke.

"Fine then. I don't need all of it. Just the parts about chakra threads—how they're formed, split, and controlled."

"Th—"

Kurosuna tried to respond, but Haruki cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"That's my bottom line," he said coldly. "Don't try to bargain."

Kurosuna could hear the resolve in his voice. He knew that if he refused again, there would be consequences.

So, after a long inner struggle, he finally nodded. "Alright."

He didn't even bother trying to make a condition like "let Chiya go." He knew it would be pointless.

And just like that, Haruki and Kurosuna reached an agreement.

Chiya was returned to the cavern.