Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The crisp clash of metal echoed nonstop throughout the battlefield.

Uchiha Haruki gripped his short sword tightly, holding his own against the combined assault of three Iwagakure Jonin. Despite being outnumbered, he showed no sign of falling behind.

But that was now.

Just a few minutes ago, he had been pushed to the brink multiple times by their coordinated and seamless attacks. During those moments of crisis, he had several times been tempted to break the stalemate with ninjutsu—but each time, he gritted his teeth and held back, relying solely on his swordsmanship and Sharingan to weather the storm.

And it worked.

Under the relentless pressure of a life-and-death fight, Haruki's sword skills had improved rapidly. The final bit of mastery was quickly accumulating.

"Almost there! Just a bit more!"

Haruki muttered under his breath as he parried and countered the three Jonin's synchronized strikes.

Almost there? What does he mean?

The three Jonin exchanged glances, utterly confused by his mumbling. Without realizing it, their rhythm slowed, and their gazes began to scan the surroundings, on edge.

Haruki immediately sensed the drop in pressure. He frowned—but when he saw their reactions, he couldn't help but smirk slightly in amusement.

Seriously? I'm just muttering to myself, and you guys get this paranoid?

Still, he had to admit—this was the perfect opportunity.

Clang! Clang!

Haruki's blade deflected the attacks of two Jonin.

Then, as Kotani Hikaru attempted a sneak strike from the gap, Haruki didn't dodge entirely. Instead, he avoided the vital spot and launched a sudden counterattack.

"What?!"

Kotani was caught completely off guard by the abrupt change in tactics.

He hesitated—should he pull back to avoid falling into a feint? If this was a trick to break their formation, retreating might save them. But if he continued forward, he risked serious injury… or even death.

In that split-second of indecision, an image flashed in Kotani's mind: Kurota's sacrifice—a death that had occurred because of his earlier misjudgment.

His hesitation vanished.

Clenching his jaw, he pushed forward without flinching. He would trust his teammates to cover for him—to block Haruki's strike and keep him alive.

Once again, Haruki's eyes flashed.

He had assumed Kotani would retreat and defend, giving Haruki the chance to strike cleanly.

Instead, Kotani chose to risk his life in a reckless charge. A bold move—but the right one.

Had he tried to defend, Haruki was confident he could have ended him within a few moves.

This, though… made things a little more complicated.

But only a little.

Haruki slightly slowed his sword, shifted his body just enough to avoid Kotani's blow, letting it whiff harmlessly past.

However, that split-second delay was enough for the other two Jonin to react. One of them rushed forward to block Haruki's strike aimed at Kotani, while the other swung a kunai at Haruki's neck.

Feeling the sharp intent, Haruki didn't take the risk—he vanished with a blur, dodging cleanly.

At the same time, he pulled back his short sword and deflected Kotani's follow-up slash.

In that brief moment, the Jonin who had just protected Kotani from Haruki's earlier attack lunged forward, kunai thrusting toward Haruki's throat.

Haruki twisted midair to evade, then immediately countered with a sweeping slash, aiming to strike both Jonin at once.

Clang! Clang!

His strike was blocked, but it didn't matter.

He had reclaimed the initiative.

Haruki's sword flashed rapidly. Every attack was both offense and defense—his strikes not only blocked incoming blows but also targeted multiple opponents at once.

Even while surrounded by three Jonin, it looked as if he was suppressing all of them simultaneously.

One strike. Two. Three...

Dozens of exchanges later, the trio finally managed to break free of Haruki's rhythm.

As planned, Haruki deliberately loosened his control and let Kotani Hikaru regain the lead.

Kotani, fueled by determination, immediately resumed his assault.

Watching the blade streak toward his heart, Haruki murmured in his mind:

"As expected…"

He withdrew from suppressing the other two, pulled back his sword, and met Kotani's strike head-on.

Seeing his tactic of "attacking Wei to save Zhao" work, Kotani went all in—his assault becoming even more aggressive, hoping to create an opening for his comrades.

But he'd forgotten something critical.

The more aggressive the offense, the weaker the defense.

Haruki's Sharingan spun—three tomoe rotating at high speed—instantly analyzing the trajectory of Kotani's strike.

He even anticipated how Kotani might adapt if it failed.

Just as predicted, Haruki sidestepped to avoid the first attack.

Kotani had expected this and twisted his wrist, preparing to change form and follow up.

But before he could finish the motion, Haruki had already evaded preemptively.

The moment Haruki confirmed there was no danger, his short sword lunged forward like a venomous serpent, striking with lethal precision.

"Watch out!"

One of the Jonin noticed and immediately shouted a warning, hurling his kunai to intercept the blow.

But unlike before, Haruki wasn't interested in pulling punches anymore.

He snapped his head around with perfect timing and locked eyes with the defender.

In that instant—the Sharingan's hypnotic power activated.

The fully evolved three-tomoe Sharingan's innate genjutsu wasn't something an average Jonin could resist.

In the blink of an eye, the Iwa Jonin froze, consciousness sinking into an illusionary abyss.

Seeing this, the third Jonin abandoned his sneak attack, sending a warning strike toward Haruki to delay him, then rushing to awaken his fallen comrade.

But that left Kotani Hikaru completely exposed.

He had gone all in on his attack—there was no time to defend himself now.

Desperation filled his eyes as Haruki's blade pierced straight into his chest.

Kotani tried to twist his body, attempting to avoid a fatal wound.

But Haruki's sword moved as if it had a mind of its own, adjusting mid-strike.

By the time it made contact, the blade buried itself right in his heart.

Splurt—!

A mouthful of blood sprayed from Kotani's lips.

Haruki sidestepped the spray, withdrew his sword in one fluid motion.

Kotani staggered, took a few shaky steps, then collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

At that very moment, a wave of clarity surged through Haruki's mind.

He didn't need to check his system interface—he knew instinctively:

His swordsmanship had leveled up.

His Swordsmanship skill had reached Level 6.

As the sensations of mastery flowed through him, Haruki couldn't help but smile.

The past fifteen minutes of pushing himself to the limit had all been worth it.

Now, even if he had to face all three Jonin again, he believed he could defeat them head-on with swordsmanship alone.

Unfortunately… there were no longer three of them.

Haruki glanced at Kotani's corpse on the ground, wiped the blood off his blade, and turned to the remaining Iwa Jonin.

The one he had hypnotized earlier was now awake—and this time, his eyes were full of caution and fear.

Haruki couldn't blame him.

He'd fought many Uchiha before, but to be taken down by a single hypnotic glance? That was unheard of.

Fukui Ichiro's instincts screamed at him—there was something about Haruki's Sharingan that was far from ordinary.