Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.

The three-day leave officially came to an end, and Uchiha Haruki finally received his new assignment.

Just as that Uchiha elder had said, he was indeed placed on the support squad for the Kirigakure battlefield.

Not only him—Uchiha Shisui had also been assigned to the same mission.

Looking at the mission credentials in his hand, Haruki let out a cold snort and headed directly toward the mission assembly point.

···

At the main camp.

Southern side.

Inside a dense forest.

Dozens of Konoha ninja were either sitting or standing, gathered together.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in their midst without making a sound.

Startled, everyone tensed up, but upon seeing the person's face clearly, they relaxed again.

Then, whispers began to spread.

"Is that Uchiha Haruki? He looks so young!"

"Young? He's one of the Twin Stars of Konoha! I heard he's stronger than most jōnin!"

"The Ghost Blade Haruki—who doesn't know of him?"

"…"

Yes, the newcomer was none other than Haruki.

Ignoring the chatter, Haruki walked straight toward an unoccupied corner, formed hand seals, and activated Mystic Palm Technique, beginning to reinforce his body.

Time was precious. He had no intention of wasting even a second.

Seeing his clearly unapproachable demeanor, no one dared to disturb him.

Time flowed by. More and more ninja arrived.

At one point, another figure entered, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

Haruki's ears twitched slightly—he heard someone mention Uchiha Shisui's name.

Opening his eyes and looking in that direction, he saw a shorter figure standing in the clearing.

Who else could it be but Uchiha Shisui?

As Haruki looked over, Shisui also noticed him. After exchanging greetings with a few familiar shinobi, Shisui approached Haruki.

Haruki raised an eyebrow. "You need something?"

"Yeah." Shisui nodded seriously, then gestured to the nearby woods. "Let's talk over there."

Haruki thought for a moment and didn't refuse. Nodding in agreement, he walked toward the deeper parts of the forest, with Shisui following behind.

Soon, the two disappeared from the others' sight.

Among the crowd, a few squad leaders, all jōnin, noticed but said nothing.

After all, it wasn't time to depart yet. The two were from the same clan—if they wanted to have a private conversation, who were they to stop it?

Besides, the strength of those two might already surpass their own.

Which made them even more reluctant to interfere.

Once out of sight, Haruki stopped and turned to face Shisui. "Say what you want to say."

Truthfully, Haruki had already guessed the topic—it was likely about the unusual nature of their mission assignment.

That Uchiha elder had told Haruki some things; it made no sense that he wouldn't have clued in Shisui as well.

Sure enough, Shisui went straight to the point:

"Haruki, Elder Kazen said that our sudden reassignment to the Kirigakure front was Konoha's way of suppressing the Uchiha clan. Do you believe that?"

Kazen—that was the elder Haruki had spoken with earlier, full name Uchiha Kazen.

Haruki raised an eyebrow, not answering directly. Instead, he asked, "And you? Do you believe it?"

"I do," Shisui said with certainty.

Haruki was briefly surprised.

He had assumed that Shisui was one of those Uchiha who had been brainwashed by the "Will of Fire," someone who had abandoned clan loyalty.

But now it seemed Shisui wasn't a fool—in fact, he had his own views.

Thinking about Shisui's future actions in the original timeline—how he planned to use Kotoamatsukami on Uchiha Fugaku to prevent a rebellion, and gradually resolve tensions between clan and village—it became clear that Shisui had found a balance between the two.

That wasn't brainwashing. That was clear-headed pragmatism.

By contrast, Uchiha Itachi had massacred his entire clan to "protect the village from civil war."

But what about those Uchiha he slaughtered—weren't they part of the village too?

As the saying goes: "Where you stand determines what you think."

You're an Uchiha first, a Konoha ninja second.

Even if you reject clan supremacy, you can still follow Shisui's approach and work to resolve issues—instead of resorting to mass murder.

You have a Mangekyō Sharingan. You had the power to control things. If that wasn't enough, then just eliminate the few ringleaders—it would still delay the conflict.

But no, you chose genocide.

No matter how you justify it, it remains a wildly irrational choice.

As Haruki was lost in thought, Shisui's voice brought him back:

"Can't deny it—Konoha really is targeting the Uchiha lately. But I think it might be the result of certain higher-ups intentionally pushing things that way."

"Oh? You've got something to back that up?" Haruki asked with interest.

Shisui nodded. "After you told me about Root and Elder Danzō last time, I did some digging. Turns out, they really are suspicious—especially in how they view the Uchiha. It's pretty blatant."

Last time?

Haruki paused—then remembered. After the Chūnin Exams, during their return to the front lines, they had been ambushed by Root ninja. Haruki had mentioned Danzō and Root to Shisui, partly to annoy the higher-ups and partly to open Shisui's eyes.

And it looked like it had worked—at least a little.

Unaware of Haruki's thoughts, Shisui continued, "I suspect this mission was orchestrated by Elder Danzō. If I'm right, we could be in trouble."

"Trouble?" Haruki chuckled darkly. "Heh… if it's trouble, then we just kill them all."

Though his tone was calm, the chill in Haruki's voice made Shisui's scalp tingle.

He stared at Haruki, momentarily speechless.

By the time he snapped out of it, Haruki was already turning to leave.

"Haruki, wait," Shisui called out. "What do you think of the conflict between the village and the Uchiha clan?"

Haruki paused briefly but didn't look back. "Just a power struggle. What's there to think about?"

And with that, he walked off.

Watching his retreating figure, Shisui murmured, "A power struggle, huh?"

Haruki hadn't been trying to brush him off—that truly was his opinion.

The so-called conflict between the Uchiha and the village was, at its core, a matter of unfair power distribution.

As one of the founding clans of Konoha, the Uchiha had too little influence in village affairs. A proud clan like theirs couldn't accept that.

So the tension built up over time, until it reached a breaking point.

As for things like Madara's betrayal, or the myth that awakening the Sharingan caused mental instability—those were just excuses.

Haruki had spent the past two years among Uchiha clan members. He hadn't seen a single one who seemed genuinely insane.

No, it all boiled down to one thing: the seductive taste of power. Too hard to gain, too tempting to let go.