Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Improve my physique?"

Uchiha Haruki muttered, instinctively glancing at the "Swordsmanship" section of his skill panel.

Based on his past experience, leveling up Swordsmanship should also increase his Physique stat.

But ever since he merged the styles of Konoha-ryū Swordsmanship and Uchiha-ryū Swordsmanship to create his own unique form, he hadn't had the time to train it seriously.

As a result…

Not only had he failed to develop the finishing techniques he'd envisioned, even the level of the skill had barely advanced.

After two to three months of effort, his proficiency had only increased by about 1,000 points.

Currently, the skill stood at Lv5 (1025/5000).

At that pace, who knew how long it would take to reach Level 6?

Clearly, Haruki didn't have time to wait.

"Looks like I'll have to find another method..."

He fell silent, digging through his memory in search of other ways to raise his Physique stat.

The first image that popped into his mind was the Third Raikage, whom he'd encountered not long ago.

That man's towering figure barreling through enemy ranks, shrugging off attacks like they were nothing, had left a deep impression on him.

There was no way someone like that didn't have an incredibly high Physique.

But to build a body like that would require not only talent and unyielding perseverance, but also Kumogakure's secret taijutsu art—

the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

Talent and persistence weren't issues; Haruki had his proficiency panel, after all.

But acquiring Lightning Release Chakra Mode?

That was a different story.

Even though it was classified as a B-rank taijutsu, the secrecy level surrounding it in the Cloud Village was extremely high.

Ordinary shinobi couldn't even get near it.

What's more, even if he managed to obtain it, he'd still need to develop Lightning Release chakra, which would take considerable time.

So, for now, that plan was off the table.

He then thought of a similar taijutsu: Konoha's Eight Gates Technique.

It was pure physical combat, and when mastered, even more terrifying than the Lightning Chakra Mode.

Even Uchiha Madara himself had acknowledged its overwhelming power.

Granted, Madara's praise was mostly aimed at Might Guy, but that didn't stop the Eight Gates from holding the title of strongest taijutsu.

However, the technique was a forbidden jutsu.

Even in Konoha, it wasn't something most people had access to.

Haruki even suspected that the village didn't possess a complete version of the technique—perhaps only Might Duy and Might Guy truly knew it.

In these chaotic times, there was no way Haruki could find either of them, let alone get them to pass down their methods.

Not to mention, the technique inflicted massive strain on the body.

At early stages, it might even lower his Physique stat.

Haruki estimated that it would be impossible to balance that trade-off in the short term.

Too many uncertainties.

So for now, he shelved that option too.

"That leaves only one path."

With that thought, Haruki turned his gaze to "Healing Technique."

Of course, he wasn't hoping to increase his Physique just by using basic healing jutsu.

That alone wouldn't do it.

His real goal was a more advanced form of medical ninjutsu—

a technique rooted in Yang Release.

In the shinobi world, Yang Release symbolized physical energy, and that translated directly to Physique in his stat system.

So using medical jutsu to strengthen the body was definitely a viable route.

There were plenty of precedents.

Tsunade's Creation Rebirth,

Shennong's Cellular Activation...

All of them enhanced specific aspects of physical stats.

If Haruki could harness the natural regenerative power of Yang Release to nourish and stimulate his cells, then increasing his Physique would only be a matter of time.

As for whether it would be slow?

That wasn't a problem.

As long as he leveled up his medical ninjutsu enough, all problems would resolve themselves.

With this plan in mind, Haruki stopped overthinking it and returned his focus to grinding Mind Reflection Technique.

Improving Physique would come later.

For now, what he needed most was to boost his Sharingan's evolution progress.

He would rather delay the Physique gains than have his Sharingan fall behind when the time came.

Moreover, pushing his Sharingan to the brink of evolution now meant he'd have a trump card ready in case of emergency.

If things ever went sideways and he ended up trapped in the Land of Earth, he could just forcefully awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and break out.

Of course, that would be a worst-case scenario.

Unless absolutely necessary, Haruki had no intention of exposing his Mangekyō early.

After all, there's a saying:

"The tallest tree in the forest catches the wind."

Danzo and certain higher-ups in Konoha already had issues with the Uchiha Clan.

If they found out he had the same eyes as Uchiha Madara, they'd probably lose their minds.

God knows what kind of underhanded tactics they'd resort to.

Haruki hadn't forgotten how, after the Chūnin Exams, he'd been ambushed by two Root shinobi on his way to the battlefield.

Until Danzo was dealt with, Haruki wouldn't reveal his Mangekyō no matter what.

Shaking off those thoughts, Haruki cleared his mind and began casting Mind Reflection Technique again and again.

He had to admit—now that the technique was Level 7, the results were remarkable.

With every cast, he could feel tangible progress in his Sharingan, and the surge of special chakra in his mind was far greater than at Level 6.

Time ticked by.

Twenty minutes later, Haruki stopped his training and opened his eyes.

His chakra had dropped to just over 9,000.

He stood, walked over to one of the unconscious Cloud shinobi, formed hand seals in a blink, and placed his hand on the target's chest.

Chakra Absorption Technique.

Massive amounts of mental and physical energy were pulled from the man, converted into chakra, and poured into Haruki's body.

In mere seconds, his chakra rose by nearly 4,000 points.

He looked down at the now barely-breathing shinobi, let go, and moved on to the next one.

The nearest was a Stone shinobi.

Haruki didn't care about affiliations—he reached out to drain that one as well.

But just as his hand was about to make contact, he heard a faint noise beneath the Stone shinobi's body.

It sounded like something small crawling.

Instantly, Haruki's senses snapped to high alert.

His Sharingan activated, and his short sword flashed into his hand.

Carefully, he circled around to the side—

and spotted a pair of shiny black eyes staring at him.

"A rat?"

He murmured, relaxing slightly and lowering his blade.

But in the very next instant—he stabbed forward without hesitation.

The rat's wide, almost humanlike eyes filled with shock, but it was too late.

The blade pierced clean through its body.

Blood splattered as the rodent let out a shrill screech—

and then vanished into thin air.

"So it was a summoned beast after all…"

Haruki's expression turned grim as he stared at the spot where the creature had disappeared.