Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

"Everyone, stay alert!"

Below, within the eastern formation of the Mist forces, a jonin noticed Uchiha Haruki diving straight toward their group and immediately shouted a warning.

Instantly, every Mist shinobi halted and raised their kunai, bracing for impact.

But Haruki's face remained unmoved as he charged into their attack range, his crimson Sharingan eyes reflecting their steely glares.

"Release!"

A sharp cry rang out from the Mist squad.

At once, the shinobi broke into three synchronized waves and hurled their kunai in succession.

In an instant, a rain of deadly steel filled the sky, descending toward Haruki like an upside-down storm.

Haruki's Sharingan spun rapidly, his reflexes sharpened to the limit. He tracked every kunai with precision.

With a rapid twitch of his chakra-forged wings, he darted through the air like a butterfly weaving through falling petals, dodging the first barrage effortlessly.

However, the second wave proved more difficult.

The Mist shinobi had anticipated his moves better this time. They'd had more time to aim and coordinate.

Haruki managed to narrowly evade the second volley, but it demanded more effort and focus.

Still, he endured.

Then came the third wave.

Unlike the others, this one included kunai laced with explosive tags.

Haruki's eyes narrowed. He spotted the sizzling tags mid-flight—timed to detonate in the air.

Without hesitation, he changed trajectory, cutting through the air in a sharp V-shaped maneuver, pulling himself out of the blast radius.

The kunai, already losing momentum from gravity, couldn't follow.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of violent explosions echoed across the sky, fiery bursts warping the air with heat. Fireballs erupted mid-air, searing the surrounding atmosphere.

Haruki dipped just beneath the trailing shockwaves and banked in a wide arc.

Then, he dived again—this time from a different angle.

"Keep attacking!" the Mist jonin barked.

Obeying the command, the squad resumed their three-tier assault.

No—this time it was four.

After the third wave of kunai, several Mist shinobi completed hand seals and launched various elemental jutsu into the sky.

But Haruki had the aerial advantage.

He could see every movement clearly and dodged the moment he sensed chakra forming.

Before any of their techniques were released, he had already put distance between them.

All that preparation went to waste.

Meanwhile, the western Mist unit, observing from afar, realized that their eastern comrades couldn't pin Haruki down.

Without hesitation, they resumed marching at full speed.

From above, Haruki glanced at them briefly. He noted their progress but kept his focus on the eastern group.

Time passed.

Haruki initiated a third dive, fully assuming an aggressive stance.

Once again, the Mist shinobi dared not gamble and responded with volleys of kunai.

But it was a bluff.

Haruki veered off at the last moment.

He repeated the pattern—five times.

Each time, the Mist forces tensed and wasted resources trying to defend, while the western squad gained distance.

Then, when the western group had moved a few hundred meters ahead, Haruki finally made his move.

No more feints.

This time, his dive was real.

From above, he watched the eastern Mist formation's response. Their unity was fraying. The repeated harassment had worn on their nerves.

Some hesitated.

Haruki seized the moment.

After dodging the first wave of kunai, he didn't slow down.

He reached into his gear pouch and pulled out several kunai tied with explosive tags.

Then, he hurled them toward the genin in the back lines.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thanks to his elevation, the kunai gained speed after release, becoming nearly impossible to intercept.

The targeted genin didn't even react in time.

Nearby chunin tried, but even they struggled.

Only a few jonin managed to intercept the projectiles mid-air.

Even so, interception didn't mean defusal.

BOOM!

The explosive tags ignited violently.

The Mist shinobi were too close. Heatwaves scorched the air, and shockwaves rippled outward.

Breathing became difficult, and their formation broke.

Haruki's eyes lit up.

Without pause, he flapped his chakra wings again and circled back—this time, directly above the disoriented formation.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

He formed hand seals at lightning speed and released a massive ball of fire from his mouth—over ten meters in diameter.

It plummeted downward like a meteor.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!" ×3

Three Mist shinobi immediately responded. In perfect unison, they cast their own jutsu.

Three colossal water dragons surged upward, spiraling toward the flaming orb.

The two forces collided—steam hissed into the air.

A thick white fog rapidly enveloped the battlefield, obscuring visibility.

The Mist jonin smiled.

This environment favored them.

They began to regroup, ready to exploit the terrain.

But just as they prepared to reissue orders—

A fierce wind erupted.

"Wait… no! That's—!"

The realization hit the jonin too late.

Haruki had summoned a powerful wind technique to disperse the fog.

The mist cleared in seconds, and the gusts continued, buffeting the shinobi and throwing them off balance.

Their entire formation collapsed.

"Damn it!"

One of the jonin cursed, only for his instincts to scream in alarm.

Without thinking, he dove forward, slamming into the ground face-first.

Shing!

A sharp, unnatural sound sliced through the air behind him.

He looked back and froze.

A narrow gash had appeared exactly where he'd been standing—its edges clean and mirror-like.

His heart pounded in his chest.

Had he reacted a split second later, he would've been sliced in two.

Cold sweat dripped from his brow.

He had just narrowly escaped death.