Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

Zzzzz~~

Suddenly, a sharp, screeching sound pierced the battlefield.

At the position forming a pincer with Uchiha Haruki, one of his shadow clones raised its right hand high. In its palm, it held a massive shuriken—but this shuriken wasn't physical; it was entirely formed from chakra.

Indeed, it was the S-rank forbidden technique—Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!

The one casting it was, of course, Haruki's other shadow clone.

The piercing noise in the air came from the Rasenshuriken's violent spin, ripping through the air as it unleashed its overwhelming power.

Sensing the terrifying force, ninjas all across the battlefield—whether they were from the Leaf or Mist, whether they were Chūnin or Jōnin—all turned their heads in shock.

And instinctively, they backed away, as if fearing the explosion would swallow them whole.

However, a few didn't retreat—notably, the Three Swordsmen of the Mist and the two Mist Jōnin, who stood their ground with grim expressions.

The clone didn't dare hesitate. Knowing delay would lead to trouble, it charged directly toward Kaguya Morinosuke.

They were already close, so in a blink, the Rasenshuriken was almost upon him.

As the technique approached, a massive sense of danger engulfed Morinosuke, jolting his mind into awareness. He forcefully shook off the effects of Genjutsu: Sharingan and regained full control of his body.

But... it was still too late.

Staring at the massive chakra shuriken bearing down on him, Morinosuke's face twisted in fear. As if sensing the inevitable outcome, he let out a scream:

"No—!"

But the shadow clone didn't hesitate.

With no words, it pressed the spinning Wind Release: Rasenshuriken directly onto him.

The moment it made contact, the grotesque bone spikes on Morinosuke's body began to disintegrate, ground into dust by an invisible force.

His expression was filled with horror, yet he refused to give in. He frantically activated his Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse), trying to rapidly thicken the bone armor covering his body.

But the Rasenshuriken wasn't a conventional physical attack—it was more like a corrosive, microscopic poison, and not one of an ordinary kind.

Its chakra compressed into countless microscopic chakra needles. Using extreme rotational force, they penetrated the target's body and attacked from the cellular level, tearing through all 130 trillion human cells from the inside.

Yes—Morinosuke's bone armor was incredibly tough and dense. But at the microscopic level, it still contained tiny gaps.

And those gaps were all the opening the chakra needles needed.

In essence, Haruki's Rasenshuriken bypassed the armor entirely, striking Morinosuke's true body directly.

The resulting damage was... unimaginable.

Morinosuke's body was engulfed in a swirling vortex of wind, lifted high into the air.

Then—BOOM!

The Rasenshuriken exploded, forming a massive chakra sphere, completely surrounding Morinosuke.

On closer look, the energy sphere was actually made up of countless chakra needles, ricocheting violently within, bypassing the bone armor and ravaging his internal organs and systems.

"AAAAHHH!!"

Morinosuke's agonized scream echoed through the battlefield, sending chills down every spine.

After a dozen seconds, the Rasenshuriken dissipated. Morinosuke fell limply to the ground, completely motionless.

At that moment, Haruki's shadow clone also disintegrated, consumed by the massive chakra cost of the Rasenshuriken's detonation.

Haruki's true body instantly flashed forward, appearing beside Morinosuke.

With his medical ninjutsu expertise, it took him mere seconds to determine the outcome.

There was no chance Morinosuke could survive.

The countless chakra needles had shredded his cells, his internal chakra network torn to shreds. Not only could he no longer move, he couldn't even circulate chakra.

His chakra pathways had been pierced a thousand times over—there was simply no way for him to recover.

Even if Haruki didn't deliver the final blow, Morinosuke was finished—likely reduced to a lifeless husk.

But...

Why would Haruki let him live?

He was an enemy. And enemies must be eliminated—completely. Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of survival, he would never risk it.

"The enemy... is better off dead."

With that cold murmur, Haruki flung the kunai in his hand.

Splat!

The sound of blade piercing flesh echoed. The kunai embedded itself precisely in Morinosuke's heart, extinguishing the last trace of his life.

Only when he saw his enemy dead with his own eyes did Haruki truly relax.

The kill looked clean and decisive—but in truth, it had been anything but simple.

From the early stages of stalling for time, gathering intel, analyzing behavior, to building a full strategy and manipulating Morinosuke's responses, it had required tremendous planning and mental energy.

It had taken a great deal of setup to allow the shadow clone to deliver the Rasenshuriken at the perfect time.

Without that setup, Haruki's level 1 Rasenshuriken wouldn't have hit its target. Its power was immense—but it was difficult to land without a trap.

This result was entirely thanks to Haruki's cunning.

The moment he identified Morinosuke as a Kaguya clan member and witnessed his Shikotsumyaku, combined with the opponent's rich combat experience, Haruki had known: there were only two ways to win.

Option one—unleash his Mangekyō Sharingan and crush him with overwhelming force.

Option two—find a way to land a Rasenshuriken for a one-hit kill. As an S-rank forbidden jutsu, it was more than capable of that.

In the end, Haruki chose the second route—and meticulously built a plan around it.

There had been a moment earlier where he landed a genjutsu and created a brief opening...

But at that time, his shadow clones were out of position, and he himself wasn't ready to unleash the Rasenshuriken.

Not wanting to alert the enemy prematurely, he chose to wait.

And that patience had paid off.

By following through with his full plan, he had created a perfect opportunity—and executed a flawless, lethal blow.

Haruki withdrew his gaze from Morinosuke's corpse.

He ignored the surrounding onlookers—some in awe, some in fear, some in shock—and calmly walked to where Morinosuke had dropped his short sword.

He bent down and picked it up.

In that moment, Haruki's entire aura shifted.

Before anyone could react, he vanished in a flicker, appearing before the nearest Mist Chūnin.

Splat!

The short sword stabbed into the enemy's abdomen.

Though the Chūnin didn't die instantly, Haruki released the weapon and quickly formed hand seals. With one hand, he gripped the enemy's throat.

In the next second, a terrifying suction force erupted from his palm, and massive amounts of chakra flowed out of the Mist ninja's body, surging into Haruki's own.

Within seconds, Haruki had drained him dry.

He tossed the body aside and immediately dashed toward another Mist Chūnin.

In that brief moment, the two Mist Jōnin realized exactly what Haruki was doing.

They abandoned their current opponents and rushed toward Haruki at full speed.

Haruki's strength was already overwhelming—if he was allowed to fully recover his chakra, things would become even worse!

In their eyes, Haruki must have used up too much chakra and was now desperate to replenish it.

So now was their chance to finish him off...

But was that truly the case?