Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Crack—

A crisp sound of bones breaking echoed in the air.

Uchiha Haruki withdrew his hand from the bandit's skull, his expression calm and unshaken, allowing the corpse to collapse to the ground without a sound.

Exhale—

Letting out a slow breath, Haruki turned to Ryosuke and Shizuko Mizutani.

"All scouts—both hidden and visible—have been eliminated," he said flatly. "Next, we proceed as planned. Shizuko?"

"Yes."

Hearing Haruki call her name, Shizuko instinctively stood up straighter.

"You'll guard the path down the mountain," Haruki instructed. "Take out any who try to escape."

"Understood."Despite still being visibly nervous, Shizuko nodded seriously to show she understood.

Then Haruki looked to Ryosuke. "Ryosuke, you're with me. We'll clear out the rest of the mountain."

"No problem."Compared to Shizuko, Ryosuke was noticeably calmer. Even though this task was far more dangerous, he showed no signs of fear.

As expected from a child born in the shinobi world, Haruki thought. He's already adjusted so quickly.

He gave Ryosuke a long look and then nodded. "Let's begin."

"Mm."Both Ryosuke and Shizuko responded at the same time.

Haruki immediately moved toward the mountain, with Ryosuke close behind.

Shizuko remained where she was for a few moments, then ducked into the forest, hiding her presence in the dense undergrowth.

At this point, three hours had passed since they'd arrived at Mount Kurokuro. They had spent the first two resting, and the last hour eliminating the scouts.

Now, with all obstacles cleared, it was time to launch the assault.

Well—calling it a "full assault" might've been an overstatement.

From the scouts' intel, Haruki knew there were only around fifty bandits on the mountain, and fewer than forty were likely still alive.

With those numbers, as long as there weren't any extraordinary fighters among them, this wasn't going to be a challenge—at least not physically.

The main hurdle would be psychological.

Fortunately, both Haruki and Ryosuke had adapted well.

Under the moonlight,Haruki and Ryosuke crept across rocks and branches, approaching the bandit camp in complete silence.

Calling it a "camp" was generous. It consisted of a single wooden watchtower and about twenty small wooden huts. There weren't even any fences around the perimeter.

Seeing the pitiful setup, Haruki finally understood why they'd stationed so many scouts: they were terrified of being ambushed.

He shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

He gave Ryosuke a series of hand signs, and the two split—flanking the camp from opposite sides.

The watchtower in the center likely belonged to the bandit leader. To avoid getting surrounded, Haruki and Ryosuke decided to eliminate the outer targets first.

If they moved fast enough, they wouldn't risk raising the alarm.

Squelch—

The sound of flesh being pierced echoed faintly.

Inside one of the huts, Haruki had a firm hand over a bandit's mouth while driving a kunai straight into his chest.

The man's eyes flew open—first dazed, then pained, then terrified, before finally fading into lifeless gray.

Haruki didn't look away for even a moment.He stared into the man's eyes the whole time—refusing to avoid, deny, or excuse what he was doing.

He was forcing himself to accept it, to adapt.

Until he had the power to reshape the world, he had no choice but to learn the rules of the shinobi world and survive by them.

Exhale—

Haruki took a breath. Once he confirmed the target was dead, he silently slipped out of the hut.

This hut, located on the farthest edge, was small and poorly built. As expected, it only housed a single person.

No need to worry about drawing attention.

After surveying the camp briefly, Haruki selected another similar hut and carefully crept toward it.

Peeking through the cracks in the door and confirming there was only one occupant, he gently pried the door open with a kunai and slipped inside.

Moments later, he emerged again.

That kill had gone even more smoothly—the bandit had been fast asleep when Haruki slit his throat.

He continued the process, slipping from hut to hut like a silent reaper, eliminating lives without a sound.

If things continued this way, they could finish the mission cleanly with minimal risk.

But unfortunately, reality rarely followed one's hopes.

When Haruki took the life of his tenth target—

A shriek of terror erupted across the camp.

Haruki paused for a fraction of a second, then swiftly finished off the man in front of him.

He dashed out of the hut and looked toward the source of the sound.

A bandit, clutching his bleeding neck, stumbled out of a building and screamed, "Enemy attack! We're under attack!"

He didn't get to shout a third time.

A figure burst out behind him—Ryosuke, of course.

With a quick dash, Ryosuke closed the gap and drove his kunai deep into the bandit's back.

The scream was abruptly silenced.

Still, the camp had been alerted.Haruki could hear sounds of stirring—doors creaking, footsteps shifting, voices whispering.

Making a split-second decision, Haruki rushed to another nearby hut. With a powerful kick, he shattered the wooden door.

Before the two occupants inside could make sense of what was happening, he darted in and ended them both.

Then he charged out again, headed to the next hut, and repeated the process.

He wasn't alone—Ryosuke had also stopped hiding.At this point, the only objective was to kill as many as possible before the bandits regrouped.

When the chaos finally began to settle, only twelve bandits remained.

The bandit leader stood at the center of the camp, face twisted with rage and disbelief, surrounded by the eleven survivors.

Thump, thump, thump—

Footsteps echoed as Haruki and Ryosuke emerged from separate huts, flanking the group from left and right.

Seeing the forehead protectors on their heads, one bandit shrieked in horror:

"N-Ninjas! We've been targeted by ninjas! We're finished—we're all finished!"

It was clear now—the war hadn't just drawn in the Hidden Villages, it had pulled in countless civilians too.

Perhaps in peacetime, the bandits wouldn't have recognized Haruki and Ryosuke's attire.

But after being steeped in the terror of the Shinobi World War, they recognized them instantly—and understood what that meant.

Slap!

A loud smack rang out.

"Shut the hell up!"

The bandit leader slapped the terrified man across the face and spat on the ground.His eyes glinted viciously as he glared at Haruki and Ryosuke.

"What are you afraid of? They're just two little brats! If we all attack at once, I don't believe we can't kill them!"

With that, he prepared to lead the charge.

But just then—

Haruki flipped his hands.

Six shuriken appeared between his fingers.

A heartbeat later, they flew through the air like bullets.

The bandit leader tried to dodge, but Haruki's Level 2 'Tool Throwing' skill was no joke.

Maybe a trained ninja could deflect or evade such precision, but a mere bandit?

Not a chance.

Before he could take even half a step, the leader collapsed where he stood.

"Aah! The boss is dead!"

"Run! Run for your lives!"

No one knew who shouted first, but all eleven remaining bandits scattered in panic, sprinting in all directions.

Haruki and Ryosuke exchanged a glance—

Then each picked a group to chase.

The only ones they didn't pursue were the ones who fled down the mountain path.