Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Just when Uchiha Haruki finally received news about the Kusanagi Sword, the lead suddenly vanished again—leaving him deeply frustrated.

As he sat there stewing in disappointment, he noticed the Uchiha elder in front of him wearing an expression of calm assurance, as if everything was under control. He suddenly remembered—the elder had added the word "temporarily" before saying they hadn't obtained the sword yet.

In other words, they likely already had intel on the Artisan Ninja Village's leader.

However, judging by the elder's demeanor, Haruki realized he'd probably have to make a promise of some kind to get that information.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Haruki spoke directly:

"Elder, is there anything you'd like me to do?"

Upon hearing this, the Uchiha elder gave Haruki an appraising look and smiled in satisfaction.

"Now that's a kid with potential!"

Then he let out a hearty laugh before finally saying,

"Actually, just recently, Granny Cat sent word. The ninja cats of her clan spotted someone who might be the Artisan Village's leader. The information isn't confirmed yet, though."

Granny Cat—

Haruki's mind instantly pulled up everything he knew about her.

Granny Cat was a righteous black market merchant who lived with a group of ninja cats and operated a ninja tools shop. Her family had always maintained a strong relationship with the Uchiha clan.

She was both a source of intel and the exclusive weapon supplier for the Uchiha.

"If the intel came from her, then it's probably legit."

Haruki thought to himself, then asked:

"Where's the target located?"

"The Land of Craftsmen,"

replied the elder.

"What?"

Haruki was stunned.

"He's still in the Land of Craftsmen?"

"Why wouldn't he be?"

The elder asked with a curious look.

Haruki froze for a second before realizing: the Five Great Nations weren't worried about a single man—they were concerned the entire Artisan Ninja Village might throw its support behind one of the great villages.

As long as the Artisan leader didn't do anything suspicious—like trying to regroup his ninja—then even if the spies of the major villages found him, they likely wouldn't make a move.

After all, when the war ended, the great nations would need the Artisan Village again to supply ninja tools. So they wouldn't want to act too rashly now.

Thinking it through, Haruki realized it made perfect sense for the Artisan leader to remain in his homeland—maybe even deliberately staying visible from time to time to ease suspicions.

"Elder," Haruki said with renewed determination,

"Please notify me as soon as the target's location is confirmed."

"You plan to go after him yourself?"

The elder furrowed his brows slightly, but recalling Haruki's combat record, he eventually nodded.

"Fine. When the time comes, I'll make sure someone informs you."

The two chatted a bit longer before Haruki took his leave.

Interestingly, the elder never asked him to do anything specific—just as Haruki expected.

What the elder truly wanted wasn't a task completed—it was an attitude. At least for now.

That was precisely why Haruki had openly asked what he could do—he wanted to send the right signal.

Otherwise, did they really think he'd jump through hoops for just a Kusanagi Sword?

To Haruki, the Uchiha clan—whether radicals or conservatives—were little more than familiar strangers.

If he wanted to, he could do anything. He could even help them overthrow Konoha's leadership.

But if he didn't want to, then no threat or bribe would make him move.

With a Mangekyō Sharingan and rapidly growing power, Haruki had earned the right to choose his own path.

The next day.

As the sun rose and morning light spread across the camp, Uchiha Haruki arrived at the familiar training ground in the northwest corner of HQ.

For once, he didn't create any shadow clones. Today, he would personally practice the jutsu:

Water Release: Water Formation Wall.

After spending the entire afternoon and evening studying the book he'd received, he had gained a basic understanding of how to develop water-style chakra.

Now, if he could successfully perform the Water Formation Wall, it would mark the true beginning of his water-style journey.

Compared to the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough he used when developing wind chakra, the Water Formation Wall was definitely more difficult.

But—

Haruki had confidence.

His chakra control had vastly improved since back then. And more importantly, he now possessed the dōjutsu ability: Eye of Man (Hito no Go).

In essence, different chakra natures were just different manifestations of the same energy.

Since most Jonin could develop a second or even third chakra nature, it meant every ninja theoretically had all attributes.

The difficulty simply increased the further you went.

But for Haruki, that wasn't a problem.

As long as the transformation was theoretically possible, he could use Eye of Man to guide his chakra, and with enough knowledge, it would work.

With that resolve in mind, Haruki activated his Sharingan and scanned the area to confirm he was alone.

Then, with a thought, his three-tomoe Sharingan evolved into a Mangekyō Sharingan.

A slight stinging sensation hit him, and blood trickled down from his right eye. The power of Eye of Man surged through his body.

Haruki closed his eyes briefly, recalling everything the book had taught him about water-style chakra—concepts, theories, visualizations—and began guiding his chakra accordingly.

After a short moment, he raised his hands and started forming seals, carefully and precisely:

Tiger → Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger

Boom!

A burst of chakra smoke erupted.

A wall of water suddenly shot up from the ground, forming a vertical shield about a meter in front of him.

However, it lasted less than half a second before collapsing into a puddle at Haruki's feet.

Deactivating his Mangekyō Sharingan, Haruki wiped the blood from his face—eyes gleaming with excitement.

His theory had been correct.

With the help of Eye of Man and solid knowledge, he had successfully awakened the water attribute in his chakra.

And more than that, he had managed to perform a B-rank water-style jutsu on the first try!

Even though the wall collapsed quickly, this was a major step—from zero to one.

Haruki opened his proficiency panel and was not surprised to see a new entry:

[Water Release: Water Formation Wall – Lv0 (1/100)]

Now all he needed to do was grind it.

The more he trained, the more the technique would level up. And with that, his understanding of water chakra transformation and nature manipulation would deepen.

Eventually, the wall wouldn't collapse at all.

He could even start working on Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.

However, this time, Haruki would not rely on the Eye of Man for acceleration.

Now that he had awakened water chakra, all he had to do was practice the technique dozens of times to master it naturally.

Then—just keep grinding.