Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

More than four hours passed in the blink of an eye.

The starlight had faded, and a pale whiteness began to stretch across the eastern horizon.

Uchiha Haruki stood on the deck, gazing at the vast sea ahead.

The cool ocean breeze and the openness of the scene calmed his mind considerably.

After a moment of quiet observation, ensuring there was nothing unusual nearby, he turned and returned to the cabin.

Splash... splash...

The rhythmic sound of waves lapping against the hull echoed softly.

Haruki slowly closed his eyes, forming hand seals as he resumed his training.

Time ticked by, second by second.

At some unknown point, a faint layer of white mist began to rise around the ships.

At first, the ninja on watch didn't pay it much attention—after all, it was normal for a light sea mist to form at dawn.

However, as time passed, the fog grew thicker and denser.

Eventually, the guards realized something was wrong and quickly sounded the alarm.

Suddenly, a piercing whistle rang out from both ships, jolting all the Konoha ninja awake.

They immediately rushed to the deck.

Knock knock knock!

Inside his room, Haruki's eyes snapped open.

He glanced at the door and said calmly, "Come in."

The next moment, a familiar figure pushed open the door.

It was Uchiha Tekka, the subordinate Haruki had deliberately brought along because he was someone he could trust.

Tekka looked slightly uneasy and spoke up,

"Haruki, something's wrong outside."

"What happened?" Haruki asked.

"A thick white mist has surrounded the area. It feels like we're trapped."

"White mist?"

Haruki's heart stirred. He stood up immediately and followed Tekka out to the deck.

There, the deck was already full of Konoha ninja, all looking nervously at the surrounding fog.

Just as Haruki arrived, he saw a chunin attempting to blow away the mist using a Wind Release technique.

But the white fog merely churned and then quickly reformed, covering the area once again.

Seeing this, Haruki narrowed his eyes.

Then, he closed them entirely, focusing his senses.

As he expected—the fog was saturated with Water Release chakra.

As someone who had already mastered the basics of the Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique, Haruki could tell almost immediately—this was definitely that exact jutsu.

And more importantly, it had been cast by multiple users simultaneously.

No single ninja could spread mist across such a vast range on their own.

Given the mission they were currently on, it didn't take much to guess who was behind this ambush.

"Heh…"

Realization sparked a cold chuckle from Haruki.

He had almost believed the unlikely outcome would occur—that the Mist ninja wouldn't show up after all.

But clearly, he had overthought it.

They'd come.

And this also meant the Mist forces attacking the northern front could not retreat easily, implying that a major battle was inevitable.

In a way, Haruki welcomed it—better to fight than to have come all this way for nothing.

Then, his gaze subtly shifted toward the two special jonin he had forcibly assigned to his team.

'Maybe I can use this chance to get rid of them.'

The thought crossed his mind only briefly before he pushed it down.

With their level of strength, if he really wanted them gone, he could eliminate them easily.

No need to waste unnecessary effort right now.

For now, solving the immediate crisis was the priority.

With that, Haruki leapt several times and landed on the top of the ship.

He raised both hands and swiftly completed a set of hand seals.

Taking a deep breath, he unleashed a powerful Wind Release jutsu—

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A massive amount of chakra surged through his body, transforming into wind.

With a roaring exhale, a violent gust exploded from his mouth.

In an instant, a howling windstorm erupted!

A swirling tornado surged forward like a natural disaster, sweeping through the sea mist with unstoppable force.

The fog was ripped apart in its path, and the sea below was churned into massive waves crashing outward.

"W-What the...?"

The Konoha ninja on the deck gaped at the display.

They were left speechless.

Most of them had seen Haruki in combat before—but he had always relied on his swordsmanship.

Few knew he was also highly skilled in ninjutsu.

This new display left them stunned in awe.

However, Haruki himself didn't look pleased.

As the whirlwind subsided, he watched as the fog began to gather once again.

Within moments, it had returned, just as thick as before.

Clearly—the enemy was well-prepared.

Just as Haruki prepared to use another jutsu to scatter the fog again, a sudden barrage of sharp sounds pierced the air.

He looked up—dozens upon dozens of kunai shot out from the mist in all directions, aimed at the two passenger ships.

Upon closer inspection, he saw explosive tags attached to many of them.

It was obvious—the enemy wanted to sink their ships.

In that moment, Haruki shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Everyone, protect the ships!"

They were still more than an hour away from their destination.

If the ships were destroyed, they could technically run the rest of the way.

But not everyone had the chakra reserves he did.

Not everyone could sprint across the sea for hours and then still be battle-ready.

Most of the ninja accompanying him were chunin and genin.

Forcing them to run that distance was the same as crippling them before the battle even began.

The ships must be preserved.

And what Haruki thought, the lower-ranked ninja understood even more clearly.

So at his command, everyone began throwing their own kunai, intercepting the incoming projectiles mid-air.

Fortunately, Haruki's earlier Wind Release jutsu had already dispersed the fog once, and though it had returned, it hadn't yet reached its full density.

The improved visibility dramatically increased the ninja's accuracy.

In the end, only a few scattered kunai struck the ships.

As for those with explosive tags—none made it through.

They were all knocked away.

Those kunai detonated on the water's surface, setting off fiery explosions and again scattering the mist.

Seeing this, Haruki's eyes lit up slightly.

He quickly performed another set of hand seals and once again unleashed—

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

This time, he burned nearly 3,000 chakra points, pushing the jutsu to its absolute limit.

The result?

As soon as he completed the jutsu, the sky and sea seemed to change color.

A tempest-level hurricane surged from his mouth, strong enough to match a typhoon, tearing the fog to shreds.

Not only the mist—even the ninja on the ships were sent stumbling and tumbling in all directions.

Some were even blown off into the sea.