Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

A few breaths later, the violent wind stopped.

The people on the ship finally steadied themselves, and those who had fallen into the sea climbed back aboard.

By now, the surrounding area was completely clear—there wasn't a trace of the thick white fog left.

Obviously, Uchiha Haruki's full-powered Wind Release attack had thoroughly shattered the joint Hidden Mist technique.

However, this didn't mean the enemy had given up.

Almost immediately after the wind ceased, a massive wave surged rapidly toward them from afar.

Haruki activated his Sharingan, tracking the trajectory of the wave. In the distance, several Mist ninja could be seen standing together with their hands submerged in the sea.

Clearly, this wave was a Water Release jutsu they had jointly cast.

Even before it reached them, everyone could feel the immense pressure it carried—its force was overwhelming.

If it hit, not only would the ships be at risk of destruction, but their lives might also be in danger.

Fortunately, the Konoha forces weren't rookies.

The moment they saw the wave rushing toward them, a few stepped forward and quickly formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

In an instant, several towering walls of water rose up to block the incoming wave before it could strike the ships.

While Earth Release would be the best counter against Water Release, the open sea made that impractical.

Using water to counter water was much easier under the circumstances.

Boom!

The crashing wave slammed against the water walls, releasing a deep, thunderous sound.

The water walls held out for just a moment before collapsing—but they had served their purpose.

Though the wave had broken through, most of its momentum was gone.

By the time it reached the ships, it only caused them to rock slightly, without doing any real damage.

What followed required no order from Haruki.

On the other ship, a jonin immediately led more than a dozen chunin and leapt off the deck, racing across the waves toward the Mist ninja in the distance.

Meanwhile, Haruki's eyes turned toward the sea around their own ship.

Just moments ago, kunai had come from all directions, and Haruki didn't believe for a second that only a few Mist ninja were present up front.

The rest had to be hiding underwater.

But thanks to his earlier Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, their condition likely wasn't great.

Otherwise, they would've launched another attack already.

With his Sharingan fully activated, Haruki peered through the surface of the sea and caught faint glimpses of shadows moving.

They were rapidly swimming upward.

Narrowing his eyes, Haruki seized the moment, forming hand seals with lightning speed.

He opened his mouth and unleashed a jutsu:

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

However, unlike his usual approach—where he would rapidly form dozens of fireballs and bombard the enemy all at once—this time, he slowed down.

He generated the fireballs one at a time, controlling their trajectory deliberately, like a game of whack-a-mole, striking each Mist ninja as they surfaced from the sea.

With the Sharingan's keen vision, Haruki effortlessly divided his focus and struck most of the hidden enemies directly.

Not only did this crush their ambush plan before it even started, but it also revealed their positions to the rest of the Konoha shinobi and bought valuable time.

As a result, before the Mist ninja could even stabilize themselves, they were surrounded and attacked by the Konoha forces.

Yes—surrounded.

From Haruki's initial count, there were only about thirty Mist ninja in total.

That meant each one was facing two or three Leaf ninja at once.

Failure was only a matter of time.

However, Haruki didn't let down his guard.

Because he knew—the real threat hadn't revealed itself yet.

Why?

Simple.

They were in the open ocean, far from any islands or places to rest.

And the Mist ninja didn't appear to have just made a long journey.

Their equipment and condition were too well-maintained.

That could only mean one thing:

There was still at least one enemy ship hiding nearby.

But now…

Haruki scanned the horizon—and saw nothing.

This could mean either his guess was wrong… or the enemy possessed some unknown method of concealment.

If it was the former, no big deal—he had just worried unnecessarily.

But if it was the latter… that was dangerous.

The unknown is often the most terrifying.

While Haruki was observing his surroundings, far in the distance, a Mist Village warship was quietly floating on the sea.

Its surface appeared to be coated in a thin layer of frosted crystal.

From the inside looking out, one could see everything clearly—but from the outside, all that was visible was the sea below and the sky beyond.

It was an advanced camouflage technique, using the refraction of light through ice to make the ship nearly invisible.

And the best part—it didn't even require chakra to maintain.

No wonder even Haruki hadn't noticed.

As for the source of this ice—

Thud thud thud...

Rapid footsteps echoed.

A Mist ninja rushed to the bow of the ship, anxiously reporting to the man standing there:

"Lord Yukikaze, the ambush plan has failed."

The handsome man addressed as Yukikaze turned with a cold glare and snapped,

"Useless trash!"

With a flick of his wrist, chakra surged in his palm, forming a mirror of pure white ice, like freshly fallen snow.

The Mist ninja beside him couldn't help but show a flicker of jealousy and awe in his eyes—but he hid it well.

Yukikaze ignored the man. Holding the mirror between his hands, he quickly formed hand seals and tossed it into the air.

At once, the mirror displayed the scene from the battlefield in perfect clarity—even clearer than being there in person.

Seeing this, the Mist ninja immediately flattered him:

"No matter how many times I witness it, your mastery of Ice Release never ceases to amaze me."

"Haha~"

Yukikaze laughed proudly at the compliment.

"Of course! This is the secret technique of the Yuki Clan—not something ordinary ninjutsu can compare with."

That's right.

Yukikaze was none other than a ninja from the Yuki Clan of the Hidden Mist Village—one of the rare few who had awakened the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

Unlike during the reign of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, when Uchiha Obito manipulated him into persecuting all bloodline clans, the current Mist Village had toned down the blood mist policies.

Though still brutal, they no longer targeted bloodline users specifically.

As a result, clans like the Yuki—nearly driven to extinction in the past—had begun to reemerge.

Yukikaze was one such case, a rare Ice Release ninja active in the open.

But as his laughter faded and he glanced back at the mirror's image, Yukikaze's expression grew serious.

Because within the mirror, Uchiha Haruki suddenly raised his head…

And seemed to look directly into the sky.