Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Before they knew it, the second afternoon had already arrived.

Uchiha Haruki and Hyūga Rinhi finally reached their target location—a small town roughly a hundred kilometers behind Fūryū Town called Shuanghe Town.

The town sat on an open plain, with two rivers intersecting just outside its borders—hence the name Shuanghe, meaning "Twin Rivers Town."

Their next assignment was to defend the entire front line anchored on this town.

Of course, they weren't the only ones responsible. There were already second-line troops stationed here.

Standing on a hilltop and gazing out at Shuanghe Town from a distance, Haruki didn't immediately approach. Instead, he turned to Rinhi and said,

"Rinhi, check the area. Make sure everything looks clear."

Even though Haruki could use his Sharingan to get a general read on the situation and felt pretty confident there was nothing wrong, he still preferred to be cautious—this was what the Byakugan was made for.

Rinhi didn't say a word. He simply nodded, then raised his hand and focused his chakra to activate his Byakugan.

In an instant, blue veins bulged beside his eyes, and a faint azure light glowed in his pure-white pupils. Subtle black markings even began to appear—the telltale signs of an awakened Byakugan.

Haruki gave him a glance, then turned his eyes away.

Rinhi quietly scanned the town with his enhanced vision. After a few moments, he deactivated his Byakugan and nodded at Haruki.

"No problems."

Hearing that, Haruki let out a breath and said,

"Good. Then send a message to the main force. Tell them everything's clear."

"Got it."

Rinhi quickly pulled out paper and pen, jotting down a detailed report of the area.

Then, from his pouch, he retrieved a palm-sized green messenger bird. He placed the message into the bird's leg-mounted scroll tube, tossed it into the air, and watched it soar.

The bird flapped its wings, circled a few times, let out a sharp chirp, and then flew off in the direction they had come from.

This was the personal summoning beast of one of the Konoha shinobi in the main force. It wasn't built for battle, but when it came to message delivery, it was top-notch.

Once the bird vanished into the distance, Rinhi turned to Haruki and pointed at Shuanghe Town.

"Haruki, should we head in?"

Haruki thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"No. Let's wait for the main force. We'll go in with them."

He wasn't worried that Shuanghe Town still had hidden threats.

If something had managed to escape both his Sharingan and Rinhi's Byakugan, then those ocular jutsu might as well be useless.

The real reason? Haruki simply didn't want to deal with the hassle.

Sure, they had clearance to enter, but even with valid credentials, there would be identity checks. All of which would waste time and energy.

He figured: Why bother? The main force would be arriving soon anyway.

And sure enough, about two hours later, just as dusk was settling, the rumbling of wheels echoed through the valley—the main force had arrived.

Only shinobi could travel this far, this fast.

If this had been a regular military caravan moving with such a massive amount of supplies, it would've taken two to three full days just to cross the hundred kilometers from Fūryū Town.

But Konoha's forces? They did it in less than fifteen hours.

As the convoy approached, Haruki and Rinhi stepped out to reveal themselves, verified their identities, and merged back into the unit.

The main force continued onward and was soon spotted by Shuanghe's patrols. Negotiations began immediately.

One benefit of blending in with the main unit was that Haruki didn't have to deal with logistics or procedures—someone else would always handle that.

Before long, the negotiations concluded, and the entire force—Haruki included—entered Shuanghe Town without issue.

Looking around the town, which was slightly larger than Fūryū, Haruki couldn't help but wonder:

"I wonder how long we'll actually be able to hold this place..."

······

Time passed swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by.

Ever since they arrived in Shuanghe Town, it was as if the war had faded far into the distance.

For two full weeks, Haruki hadn't received a single combat mission.

But he knew—that peace was just an illusion.

This half-month of calm was only because Iwagakure was still busy digesting their newly claimed territory and restructuring their defensive lines.

Once they were done with that, the next phase would inevitably bring an even fiercer wave of assaults.

Still, for the moment, Haruki had been gifted a rare window of peace for training.

And he wasn't about to waste it.

Day after day, Haruki was either training, on his way to train, or resting just enough to keep training again. His schedule was relentless.

The others weren't even surprised anymore. If anything, they just sighed in admiration:

"No wonder he's so strong at such a young age... He worked for every inch of it."

In fact, Haruki's intense focus even inspired other shinobi to take their training more seriously.

But that wasn't his concern.

Haruki stuck to his own regimen, executing every step of his training plan with precision, and steadily improving each of his jutsu skills.

That evening.

On a small hill just outside Shuanghe Town—

Haruki sat cross-legged atop a massive boulder, repeatedly practicing the "Reflection Technique", pushing his Sharingan toward its next stage of evolution.

Not far behind him, four shadow clones were spread across a small grove, each occupying a separate area, diligently practicing Wind Release: Wind Blade and Rasengan.

Unlike Haruki's serene stillness, the clones' side of the mountain was anything but quiet.

Every few moments, a wind blade would whistle through the air, or the explosive roar of a Rasengan would echo out as it struck its target.

The surrounding forest—trees and ground alike—had long been torn to shreds, as if a small battle had been fought here repeatedly.

And yet, Haruki sat motionless, entirely unbothered by the chaos around him.

The contrast between absolute calm and wild destruction was so striking that any painter witnessing the scene would feel compelled to immortalize it on canvas.

Unfortunately, no one dared spy on Haruki while he trained—so no artists were coming near.

滴答滴答

Time trickled by.

Eventually, Haruki paused his "Reflection Technique" and turned his head to glance at his clones in the woods.

With a single thought, he dispelled all four clones.

In an instant, they burst into four puffs of chakra smoke.

Immediately afterward, an immense stream of experience and memory surged into Haruki's consciousness.

Clenching his teeth and using his willpower to withstand the mental shock, Haruki quickly began sorting through the flood of insights.

As he absorbed it all, the proficiency meters for both Wind Release: Wind Blade and Rasengan on his internal skill panel began to skyrocket.

Time continued ticking away.

Then suddenly, a wave of clarity washed over him.

Haruki's eyes narrowed.

His understanding of Wind Release: Wind Blade had just jumped to the next level.