Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Uchiha Haruki's expression remained calm as he watched Kisame Hoshigaki swiftly retreat several meters away. With a flick of his wrist, he flung the blood from his blade, and in the next instant—he vanished.

Flash!

A streak of blue light shot out—Haruki had once again used the Flash Blade Technique, silently appearing at Kisame's side.

Whoosh!

The long blade in his hand swept out, aiming directly for Kisame's neck.

At the very last moment, Kisame stepped half a pace to the side and raised his longsword, perfectly parrying Haruki's slash.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal rang out clearly.

This time, Haruki didn't press the clash—instead, he immediately pulled back his blade and struck again. Kisame blocked. Haruki slashed. Kisame blocked again.

In an instant, the air filled with a relentless rhythm of blades clashing.

Haruki had to admit, Kisame's swordsmanship was impressive. Even without wielding Samehada, his technique alone was top tier.

Though he was clearly at a disadvantage in this duel, Kisame showed no signs of collapse.

This stirred Haruki's curiosity.

So, he began unleashing every sword technique he knew, curious to see the limits of his opponent—and to gauge his own current level.

Before long, five minutes had passed.

Flash!

Another Flash Blade Technique. Haruki closed in and slashed once more—though Kisame dodged in time, the blade still grazed his shoulder, leaving a cut.

Seeing this, Haruki's eyes lit up.

That's it—this is his limit.

It may have only been a light injury, but it marked a turning point. After five minutes of combat, Haruki had roughly grasped Kisame's habits and reactions.

With the aid of the Sharingan, his advantage would now only grow.

And what Haruki could figure out, Kisame surely realized too.

His expression darkened slightly.

Still, with ninjutsu as his trump card, he didn't panic.

But as he was thinking this—Haruki attacked again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Metal clashed over and over.

With his blade in hand, Haruki's offense became a raging storm. To Kisame, it was as though he were trapped in a whirlwind of slashes, real and illusory, impossible to distinguish.

Slice—

Three minutes later, Haruki's sword cut another wound into Kisame's body.

"Come on—again!" Haruki shouted, voice brimming with battle fervor.

With that, he blinked forward once more, blade slashing down.

Kisame had no choice but to defend.

But under the growing pressure, Kisame realized—he would lose in pure swordsmanship.

So, waiting for the right moment, he decisively sheathed his sword, formed hand seals, and released a ninjutsu:

Water Style: Water Prison Technique!

In a blink, a light blue water dome enveloped Kisame, surrounding him entirely.

When Haruki's blade struck it, it felt like plunging into mud—no force, no impact.

Though it appeared thin, the dome was filled with seawater, enhanced by a large amount of Water Release chakra. This made it the perfect buffer to absorb impact.

As a result, Haruki's strike was completely nullified.

Using the opportunity, Kisame formed more seals and cast another jutsu:

Water Style: Water Clone Technique!

Two clones immediately split from his body and charged straight at Haruki.

Though they only had one-tenth of his power, with reckless attacks, they could still stall Haruki for a few seconds.

And that brief delay—was all Kisame needed.

Just as Haruki sliced both clones apart, Kisame was already preparing his next technique:

Water Style: Four Sharks Rain Technique!

He slammed his right palm against the sea's surface.

Four water sharks burst forth, soared into the air, and then dove down toward Haruki—much faster than before.

Below, Haruki looked up at the descending sharks, analyzing quickly.

He remembered that these sharks, if attacked, would split into a thousand miniature water shark bombs, forming a devastating barrage.

So instead, he dodged.

The four sharks slammed into the sea, splashing violently—and instantly split into a thousand mini sharks that swam straight toward him.

Even though he hadn't attacked, they had still triggered the split.

Seeing this, Haruki cursed to himself:

"Of course. Past life memories are only references—you can't rely on them completely."

Shaking his head, he began rapidly slashing, slicing down each mini-shark with pinpoint precision.

But as soon as he cleared the last of them—

Kisame's second wave arrived.

Forming hand seals, Kisame's chest swelled unnaturally. Then, with a loud exhale, he expelled an enormous torrent of seawater, forming a towering wave over ten meters high rushing straight for Haruki.

The scene was even more dramatic than the massive tide he'd unleashed earlier.

Even Haruki couldn't help but feel a hint of awe at the sheer amount of chakra Kisame could expend.

He admitted:

"As they say—there are no wrong nicknames. 'The Tailless Tailed Beast'… truly lives up to it."

Haruki's thoughts shifted.

If I could capture him… and turn him into a 'chakra battery'—

Then wouldn't that give him the equivalent of a tailed beast, but without the drawbacks?

With that kind of massive energy reserve, all of his jutsu would improve exponentially.

The more he thought about it, the more Haruki's excitement burned.

His eyes lit up as he looked at Kisame—not with hostility, but like he was a priceless treasure.

But in Kisame's view, those eyes were full of greed, making him instinctively shiver.

Without realizing it, Kisame poured even more chakra into his jutsu.

As the overwhelming wave came surging forward, Haruki suppressed his desire and retreated rapidly.

Sure, he wanted to capture Kisame and turn him into his "chakra battery"… but he had to be smart about it.

He couldn't just take it head-on.

Not only was the impact force of this wave staggering, but showing resistance might scare Kisame away.

And that would ruin everything.

No—what he needed was to find a perfect opportunity, then strike with decisive force.

Everything else could wait.

The massive wave swept toward him, dragging seawater from behind and causing the water level beneath Haruki to plummet rapidly.

At the same time, the towering crest before him only grew higher.

Even Haruki, standing before it, felt small and powerless—like a mere mortal facing a natural disaster.

But then he thought of his Mangekyō Sharingan, and deeper still, the panel tracking his mastery levels.

And suddenly, his courage surged again.

Looking up at the wave once more, the fear in his heart was gone.