Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"A long-range surveillance ninjutsu of some kind?"

—Battlefield.

—Top of the passenger ship.

Uchiha Haruki looked up at the sky and murmured to himself.

Just moments ago, as he was scanning for hidden enemies in the surroundings, he suddenly had the distinct sensation of being watched.

It felt just like when Aburame Ryoma had used his Secret Technique: Destruction Bugs to secretly observe him.

That sense of intrusion was eerily familiar—so Haruki immediately noticed it.

Frowning slightly, Haruki closed his eyes.

At that moment, he unleashed the full force of his formidable mental energy—boosted by a 19-point "Spirit" attribute.

In an instant, everyone around felt their hearts sink as if a heavy, invisible pressure had suddenly settled over them.

When they turned to look for the source and saw it was Haruki, no one dared to speak.

Ignoring them all, Haruki focused his chakra perception, scanning the surrounding atmosphere.

Any long-range surveillance ninjutsu had to rely on chakra as a medium.

In theory, the one being observed could trace that connection back to the caster.

That's exactly what Haruki was doing now.

Moments later, his eyes snapped open, and he looked toward a section of the sea to the northwest.

"Found it," he murmured.

With his Sharingan fully activated, Haruki could now see strange irregularities in that direction.

Maybe the Crystal Ice Concealment Technique worked well from a distance when no one was paying close attention.

But now that Haruki knew something was off and was actively looking for flaws—his Sharingan made it almost impossible for the illusion to hold.

And as he stared in that direction with his blood-red eyes, it was as if his gaze pierced straight through an ice crystal mirror and locked eyes with the one observing him.

—

On the Mist warship, Yukikaze's expression shifted dramatically.

Staring into those crimson, blood-like eyes, he felt a chill run down his spine and a wave of dread settle over him—as if a catastrophe were approaching.

As the saying goes: "A man's name casts a shadow like a tree."

Haruki had slain too many powerful opponents.

Even someone like Yukikaze, confident in his own Ice Release bloodline, couldn't help but feel a sense of fear when facing such a dangerous master.

"Wasn't he supposed to be a sword master? How can his perception be so sharp too? And how the hell did he spot me?"

For a moment, Yukikaze's mind was in complete chaos.

Just then, the Mist ninja beside him broke the silence:

"Lord Yukikaze, has he discovered us?"

The words jolted Yukikaze back to reality.

As he wiped his forehead, he realized cold sweat had already formed.

He hadn't even fought yet, and he was already scared like this?

A surge of embarrassment and anger welled up in him.

"Damn it!"

He growled, immediately removing the warship's concealment.

Then he barked:

"Everyone—full speed ahead! Prepare for battle!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The Mist ninja beside him was momentarily stunned but responded quickly, passing the order to the rest of the ship.

Meanwhile…

Haruki watched as the warship suddenly appeared in plain view and immediately understood.

They've realized I've discovered them—so they're done pretending.

He noted their course of movement.

Instead of trying to flank or escape, they were heading straight toward him.

This pleased Haruki even more.

Now I don't even need to close the distance myself.

Still, preparations had to be made.

With that in mind, he immediately called out to several Konoha shinobi on the field, pulling them away from combat to prepare for the incoming enemy.

But what he hadn't anticipated was this:

Before either side could even exchange blows, the Mist side launched a long-range attack.

As the Mist warship closed within a hundred meters, the air temperature plummeted.

Then—snow began to fall, followed by howling winds.

In the blink of an eye, the entire hundred-meter radius was engulfed in a blizzard.

Visibility dropped to almost nothing, and the freezing wind made everyone shiver uncontrollably.

If it had stopped there, the Konoha shinobi could have endured it.

Despite being physically fragile, their chakra would've kept them safe against a normal storm.

But that wasn't the end.

Within seconds, the falling snowflakes transformed into snowflake-shaped crystal shuriken.

Many Konoha ninja were caught off guard and were badly wounded.

Even those who reacted quickly could only dodge one or two—not hundreds or thousands.

As the sky filled with an overwhelming number of icy shuriken, Haruki didn't hesitate any longer.

He formed hand seals at once and activated his jutsu:

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Yes—the same jutsu again.

Ideally, Fire Release would be more effective in this situation. Raising the ambient temperature would naturally melt the ice.

But the Fire Release techniques he currently knew couldn't cover this large of an area, and he didn't have time to melt them one by one.

So instead, he opted for raw power: using a tornado of wind to scatter the storm and clear the air.

And it worked.

The blizzard vanished instantly, like an illusion shattered.

The terrifying snowstorm was completely blown away.

Now, for the first time, Haruki turned his full attention to the handsome man standing on the Mist warship's deck.

He quickly searched his memory for intel.

If his guess was correct, this man must be a member of the Yuki Clan of the Hidden Mist.

Only someone who had awakened the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai could conjure such a snowstorm.

Thinking of the Ice Release technique "Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals" used by Haku, a descendant of the Yuki Clan in the future, Haruki couldn't help but sigh.

True power is forged in war.

Compared to this man's blizzard that blanketed an area of over a hundred meters, Haku's Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals now seemed almost quaint.

Still, the two techniques weren't directly comparable.

Their functions were entirely different.

Yukikaze's technique was a massive area-of-effect attack, perfect for overwhelming lower-ranked shinobi.

Haku's, on the other hand, was a precision single-target technique that could remain lethal against even powerful opponents if the user was strong enough.

To use game terms:

Yukikaze's ability was an AOE skill, while Haku's was a single-target DPS.

What Haruki still didn't know was how skilled this Yukikaze was at single-target combat.

But as he pondered this, Yukikaze suddenly brought his hands together, forming seals at blazing speed.

In the next moment—

A crystalline ice dragon materialized out of thin air!

Yukikaze leaped onto its head, guiding the dragon as it charged straight at Haruki.

Feeling the biting cold radiating from the creature, Haruki reacted instantly.

He raised both hands and unleashed his own jutsu:

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

A blazing fire erupted from his mouth, forming into a fire dragon that surged forward to meet the ice dragon head-on.

Seeing this, Yukikaze had the ice dragon open its mouth and spew a concentrated blast of icy mist, like a piercing arrow.

It struck the fire dragon, causing its temperature to plummet and its color to dim noticeably.

And yet—the fire dragon held its form.

Yukikaze's expression twisted slightly.

He immediately directed the ice dragon to dodge sideways to avoid a direct clash.

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