Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Ssshhk—!

A short sword and kunai clashed, letting out a harsh screech as metal scraped against metal. Sparks burst between the blades, a clear sign of the force both sides were using.

During the standoff, Uchiha Haruki lifted his eyes.

Beneath the black cloak, he spotted a pale white mask etched with four wavy lines resembling flowing water—the unmistakable insignia of Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village.

Combined with the attire, it wasn't hard to guess: the man before him was an ANBU ninja from the Hidden Mist.

As Haruki sized up his opponent, the Mist ANBU was doing the same.

At the moment their eyes met, Haruki suddenly activated his Sharingan, unleashing its hypnotic ability at the same time.

That's right—until now, Haruki hadn't been using his Sharingan at all.

It wasn't that he was purposely holding back just to trick the Mist ANBU. The real reason was that once the Sharingan evolved to Three Tomoe, simply keeping it active no longer provided progress toward evolution.

To avoid wasting chakra, he had stopped maintaining the Sharingan for extended periods long ago.

Of course, it wasn't completely without strategy either.

Haruki had thought hard about how to best utilize the Sharingan.

The answer? Surprise.

So apart from saving chakra, not activating the Sharingan was also part of a plan to catch enemies off guard.

And it worked.

Just like now, his sudden activation and hypnosis left the Mist ANBU no time to react—he was caught immediately.

Haruki seized the moment. With a flick of his wrist, his short sword slid past the kunai, its tip aimed directly at the ANBU's chest.

Truthfully, Haruki could have targeted the jugular for a killing blow—but he held back, aiming instead for a non-lethal spot.

Ssstch—!

The sound of a blade slicing through flesh echoed as Haruki's sword drew a shallow wound across the Mist ANBU's chest.

Yes—just a shallow wound.

Haruki saw it clearly. At the very last moment, the ANBU shook off the Sharingan's hypnosis, retreating half a step on pure instinct.

That small move was enough to reduce what could have been a severe injury into a mere graze.

The Mist ANBU ignored the pain in his chest. He stared at Haruki, his voice muffled by the mask.

"Sharingan? A member of the Uchiha Clan?"

Haruki said nothing. He immediately dispelled the Transformation Jutsu, reverting to his original eleven- or twelve-year-old appearance.

The Mist ANBU's eyes flickered with surprise at Haruki's young age, but he quickly concealed it.

Then he asked, "You disguised yourself as an Iwa-nin to lure me here—why?"

"Why? Obviously… to use you as a chakra battery."

Haruki scoffed inwardly but didn't answer. Instead, he lunged forward, short sword flashing toward the Mist ANBU's vital points.

Despite the casual conversation moments ago, the ANBU had never dropped his guard.

So the moment Haruki made his move, he reacted instantly—his kunai met the blade with equal precision.

The cavern rang with the clash of metal as Haruki, armed with Level 5 Swordsmanship, unleashed a storm of swift and deadly strikes.

And with the Three Tomoe Sharingan assisting his perception, it took just a few dozen exchanges to force the Mist ANBU into a defensive corner.

Whoosh—!

Another thrust. The ANBU was a fraction too slow to dodge, and Haruki left a deep gash on his shoulder.

But that wasn't the end.

In the instant their eyes met again, Haruki sheathed his sword, made hand seals, and cast Genjutsu: Sharingan at lightning speed.

Although the genjutsu lacked full power due to the rushed casting, it briefly stunned the Mist ANBU.

Haruki wasted no time. A single slash tore off a large chunk of flesh from the ANBU's left arm.

Had the opponent not regained awareness and dodged slightly at the last second, he might have lost the entire arm.

Haruki had clearly been aiming to sever it.

"I can't keep fighting like this..."

The Mist ANBU grew anxious.

He had realized that Haruki's swordsmanship was exceptional—he simply couldn't keep up in close combat.

With the Sharingan thrown into the mix, he was outmatched.

If this continued, there was only one outcome: death by attrition.

He also couldn't shake the feeling that Haruki was holding back.

If the Uchiha boy had truly wanted to kill him, he'd had multiple chances already. Yet each blow had landed in non-lethal areas.

"What is he trying to do? Take me alive?"

The Mist ANBU had no answers. After a long moment of doubt, he stopped trying to figure it out and focused on using this to escape.

"I'll have to take a gamble."

After weighing his options, the ANBU made up his mind.

Two minutes later...

When Haruki lunged again with a sword strike...

The ANBU did not dodge to either side as expected. Instead, he took the hit head-on, using the moment of impact to forcefully pull back and gain distance.

Haruki's eyes narrowed—he was about to give chase—

—but the Mist ANBU was already prepared. He pulled three smoke bombs from his pouch and slammed them onto the ground.

BOOM—!!

Smoke exploded outward, instantly obscuring Haruki's vision.

By the time Haruki cautiously moved forward, the ANBU had already finished forming hand signs and released one of Kirigakure's signature techniques—

Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!

In an instant, thick white mist rolled through the area, blanketing the battlefield and heavily limiting the range of Haruki's Sharingan.

Clearly, this ANBU wasn't lacking in experience fighting against Uchiha.

Which lined up with what Haruki had heard.

Most of the Uchiha clan's mid- and high-ranking shinobi had been deployed against Mist and Sand forces.

Both these factions had methods specifically designed to counter the Sharingan—the Mist used Hidden Mist Jutsu, while the Sand relied on mechanical puppets.

There was no way this wasn't intentional.

Haruki didn't believe for a second it was coincidence.

It was clear the village was deliberately trying to weaken the Uchiha.

Did the Uchiha higher-ups know?

Of course they did.

But with the war in full swing, they had no grounds to refuse. And since most Uchiha warriors were never ones to back down from a fight, they followed orders.

This, however, only worsened the rift between the Uchiha and the village.

When the Nine-Tails incident happened, and they were forcibly relocated away from the village center, that was merely the final straw.

Haruki shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside. He turned his attention back to the heavy mist around him.

He couldn't see, but he could feel it—that Mist ANBU was nearby, waiting like a seasoned hunter for the moment Haruki slipped up.

But Haruki had no intention of playing hide and seek.

After all, they were still within the Land of Earth, not far from the battlefield. If this dragged on, something unpredictable could happen.

Better to end it quickly.

With that thought, Haruki raised both hands and rapidly formed hand signs. Taking a deep breath, he gathered Wind Chakra and exhaled forcefully.

This wasn't just any jutsu—it was the Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, currently at Level 3 (410/1000).

The moment the jutsu was unleashed, the dense mist was instantly blown apart.

By the time the gust died down, not a wisp of fog remained.