Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

'Genjutsu: Sharingan!'

Using the pressure created by his two shadow clones, Uchiha Haruki seized an opening once again, raising his hand and unleashing a genjutsu technique that he had already mastered to perfection.

However, Kaguya Morinosuke was no pushover.

He had long operated on this battlefield, which happened to be a hotspot for Uchiha activity. Naturally, he had developed methods to counter the Sharingan's illusions.

Not to mention—he'd already fallen for it once earlier, and now his guard was up.

So, the instant he sensed the genjutsu creeping in, he immediately reacted.

The bone spikes covering his entire body suddenly contracted and bent inward, transforming in the blink of an eye into a menacing, snow-white bone armor that enveloped his whole body.

This was a situation Haruki had never encountered before, and for a moment, he was at a complete loss.

If they were just ordinary bones, he could've broken through them easily.

But the issue was—the bones forming this armor were anything but ordinary.

They were created using Morinosuke's control over osteoblasts and osteoclasts, making them incredibly dense, with a hardness that rivaled steel. A simple kunai was absolutely useless against them.

Haruki could only sigh internally.

And in that brief pause, Morinosuke broke free from the genjutsu and quickly regained consciousness.

What could be said?

This clan was truly born for battle.

Their sheer willpower—or rather, their madness—was terrifying. Even Haruki's instant-cast 'Genjutsu: Sharingan' couldn't trap Morinosuke for long.

Stronger genjutsu would require more time to prepare or activating his Mangekyō Sharingan for enhancement.

The former was out of the question—Morinosuke would never give him that kind of opportunity.

As for the latter...

Haruki subtly glanced around.

Just now, that unsettling sensation of being watched had returned.

Clearly, other enemies were still lurking nearby.

In that case, he absolutely couldn't afford to reveal his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Fortunately, Haruki had never expected to defeat Morinosuke easily just by creating two shadow clones.

That earlier opportunity had been a pleasant surprise, nothing more.

Now that the chance had passed, he had to get back on track.

With that in mind, Haruki and his two shadow clones launched another coordinated assault on Morinosuke.

For a while, the sound of clashing metal rang out endlessly.

It had to be said—the Kaguya Clan's 'Shikotsumyaku' (Dead Bone Pulse) really was perfect for battle, especially in close combat.

Those bone spikes that covered their bodies and could freely grow or retract turned them into living killing machines.

Haruki's taijutsu skills, while not the absolute best among Jōnin, were certainly above average.

Even so, despite working together with two clones, they still couldn't fully suppress Morinosuke, who constantly launched vicious counterattacks.

If not for the Sharingan's powerful insight and tracking ability, Haruki might have already been wounded.

During the battle, he also witnessed several of the Kaguya clan's unique taijutsu techniques, such as:

Dance of the Willow

Dance of the Camellia

Dance of the Larch

Dance of the Clematis: Vine

Dance of the Clematis: Flower

Each technique had its own style and method of execution. Morinosuke had expertly blended them together, making them deadly in combination.

If it weren't for Haruki, any other Jōnin might have been eliminated already.

However, maintaining this kind of battle pace was also a major drain for Haruki.

Sure, his Shadow Clone Technique had reached level 4, and under normal circumstances, each clone only consumed about 7% of his chakra when recalled.

But that only applied if the clones didn't fight.

With the kind of intense combat happening now, the chakra drain was massive.

This was precisely why almost no ninja used shadow clones in direct combat.

And it was also why Morinosuke mocked him at the start of the fight.

When he'd said, "You couldn't beat me alone. What makes you think three of you can?", he was probing Haruki's intentions—but deep down, he really believed that.

And truthfully, he wasn't wrong.

If your main body can't win, adding two more clones won't magically change the outcome.

Unless...

You had a trump card, like Hiruzen Sarutobi, the legendary Professor.

Otherwise, using shadow clones in combat was more of a burden than an advantage.

So then, why did Haruki still do it?

The answer was simple—

He had a trump card too.

Now that the timing felt right, Haruki began subtly influencing Morinosuke's battle behavior, using the habits he had analyzed over time, and manipulating him with the help of his clones to fight exactly as Haruki wanted.

Time ticked away second by second...

Finally, Morinosuke found an opening and unleashed Dance of the Willow once more.

In the blink of an eye, the bones inside his body seemed to vanish, and his figure moved like a willow branch swaying in the wind, effortlessly dodging Haruki's attacks.

He immediately launched a counterattack—his bone blade slashing with flawless precision, completely disrupting the coordination between Haruki and his two clones.

"Hm?"

Morinosuke suddenly noticed that one of the Harukis seemed to react half a beat too slow, exposing what looked like a weak point—not a big one, but just enough.

Seizing the chance, he followed up instinctively, slicing down at Haruki's waist and abdomen.

Sensing danger, Haruki moved to dodge.

But Morinosuke, relentless as ever, unleashed four to five follow-up strikes in an instant, his body moving with serpentine flexibility.

For a moment, Haruki was in real danger.

The two other figures rushed in to help—

But it was too late.

Morinosuke's sharp battle instinct capitalized on the rare opportunity. Before the clones could reach him, he cut down that version of Haruki.

Poof!

A burst of chakra smoke scattered.

"Not the real one?"

Morinosuke muttered, sounding vaguely disappointed.

At that moment, he noticed—the Haruki clone rushing in to help had suddenly stopped moving, and was now standing at eye level, directly in front of him.

'Genjutsu: Sharingan!'

"A trap?!"

In that instant, Morinosuke realized the entire thing had been a setup—that "slow clone" had been acting as bait, luring him into a position where Haruki could launch a successful illusion attack.

The goal was to create an opening for this Haruki—the real one.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind as he became keenly aware of the genjutsu's assault.

He didn't hesitate—closed his eyes immediately.

At the same time, he manipulated his body's bone spikes—some rapidly formed protective armor to guard his vital spots, while others elongated into sharp spears a meter long, extending outward to prevent Haruki from approaching.

Though he trusted his bone armor's defense, and Haruki had yet to show any real method of piercing it...

The fact that Haruki had gone to such lengths to set up this trap made Morinosuke wary. So he added another layer of protection, just in case.

To react so quickly in such a short time—it had to be said, his combat instincts were terrifying.

But...

Was this enough to stop Haruki?

Of course not.

After all the effort he had spent creating this opportunity—and after preparing for a longer-genjutsu cast time—how could it be blocked by just two layers of bone armor?