Naruto: My Progress in Konoha.

After locking eyes with Shisui for a few seconds, Haruki withdrew his gaze and forcibly calmed the stirrings in his heart. He began quietly waiting for the first round of battles to end.

A few minutes later, the 14th match of the first round concluded.

The fourteen victors were once again randomly paired for the second round of battles.

Whether it was sheer luck or intentional planning on Sarutobi Hiruzen's part to save the most exciting fight for last, Haruki and Uchiha Shisui still didn't face each other in this round.

Unsurprisingly, both of them easily defeated their opponents again.

By this point, anyone with even a bit of discernment could tell that Haruki and Shisui were far ahead of the others in terms of strength.

The top spot would undoubtedly be decided between these two.

Fortunately, chūnin promotion wasn't based solely on the results of this battle stage but instead on overall performance throughout the three phases of the exam. Otherwise, many of the remaining candidates might have started giving up out of despair.

Time ticked by.

An hour and a half later, the second round of the third stage ended.

The seven remaining victors were reshuffled for the third round, but since the number was odd, one person would receive a bye.

Haruki hadn't held out much hope when it came to luck.

To his surprise, he was the one who got the bye.

He blinked when he heard the announcement, but quickly returned to normal.

His calm reaction came from one thing: absolute confidence in his own strength.

Haruki believed that whether he received a bye or not, it wouldn't change his path to victory.

So this unexpected break didn't faze him.

Some of the others, however, couldn't help but glance at him with thinly veiled envy.

But no matter what anyone thought, the exam continued as scheduled.

Now in the third round, the remaining candidates were all quite strong, so each match took a bit longer than before.

It took nearly an hour for all three battles to conclude.

Without any rest time, the fourth round draw immediately began.

And once again, Haruki and Shisui were matched against different opponents.

Haruki's next opponent was a thirteen-year-old boy named Amano Kai, who had decent close-combat skills and could use Lightning Release ninjutsu. His overall strength wasn't bad.

But that was all it was—not bad.

Against the average genin, he might do fine. Against Haruki, he was completely outmatched.

Back when he was watching from the stands, Haruki had already observed and dissected Amano's abilities in full.

So when they actually clashed, it felt more like an open-book test than a fight—almost too easy.

Amano's decent taijutsu was laughably ineffective against Haruki's Level 4 Leaf-style Kenjutsu.

As for the Lightning Release...

He never even got the chance to use it.

Finally, when Amano began to grow agitated and mentally scattered, Haruki deliberately revealed an opening to bait him into attacking.

Amano took the bait—exactly as expected.

Haruki seized the moment and cast Genjutsu: Sharingan, ending the fight instantly.

By the time Amano came to, the proctor was already standing in front of him, having blocked the flying kunai aimed at his neck.

Haruki was officially declared the winner.

Having wrapped up what could barely be called a warm-up match, Haruki returned to the second-floor corridor and leaned against the railing, quietly waiting for the final showdown.

He didn't have to wait long.

Just a few minutes later, Shisui finished his own match with ease.

That's when the proctor's voice rang out:

"Final match: Uchiha Haruki vs. Uchiha Shisui!"

At those words, the previously eliminated candidates on the second floor lit up with excitement.

Everyone knew by now—Haruki and Shisui were the strongest in the exam.

But who would emerge victorious when these two titans clashed?

The genin weren't the only ones eager to find out.

The jōnin spectators watching from the side also leaned forward, their interest fully piqued.

As for Uchiha Jiren, he was absolutely beaming.

To have the top spot in the Chūnin Exams come down to two members of the Uchiha clan—what better proof of their dominance?

Soaking in the surrounding atmosphere, Haruki casually skipped the stairs.

He placed his right hand on the railing, flipped over it in a fluid motion, and landed gracefully on the ground.

He bent his knees slightly to absorb the fall, then stood steadily before Shisui.

The proctor looked between them and asked, "Are you ready?"

Instead of answering right away, Haruki turned to Shisui and asked in a cool, calm voice:

"Want to take a break first?"

Shisui looked momentarily surprised, as though he hadn't expected Haruki to say something like that.

Based on his observations these past few days, Haruki wasn't someone who talked unnecessarily.

It wasn't that Haruki was arrogant or showing off by offering Shisui a break. He simply understood that this match wasn't a life-or-death struggle. There was no point in exploiting someone's weakness under those circumstances.

That was why he asked.

But if this had been a kill-or-be-killed scenario?

Then Haruki would have attacked the moment the match started. Rest? Dream on.

Shisui didn't respond directly. He simply shook his head and said,

"No need."

With that, the proctor didn't waste another second.

He swung his right hand down and shouted,

"Begin!" — vanishing backward in a blur.

The very next instant—

Clang!

At the exact moment the words left the proctor's mouth, both Haruki and Shisui had already drawn their short swords and lunged forward.

Their blades clashed violently.

Haruki gripped his hilt with both hands and pushed forward with full strength.

Shisui mirrored the motion, resisting with both hands, but...

Haruki was two years older and had significantly improved his physical stats several times over.

In terms of raw power, Haruki had the edge.

After a few seconds of deadlock, Shisui was forced to retreat—and in doing so, he lost the initiative.

Haruki immediately seized the advantage and unleashed a rapid barrage of Leaf-style sword strikes, pushing Shisui into full defense mode.

The sound of steel on steel rang out repeatedly as their blades collided again and again.

Sparks burst from each strike—evidence of the fierce intensity of their fight.

The pressure on Shisui mounted rapidly. He tried several times to counterattack and regain control, but Haruki always cut him off before he could finish a move.

It felt like Haruki could read his every step.

Each time Shisui tried to strike, Haruki would break through with pinpoint accuracy.

After a brief moment of confusion, Shisui suddenly realized something:

Haruki was also an Uchiha.

And judging from his mastery of the Leaf-style swordsmanship, Haruki's natural talent with the blade was exceptional.

On top of that, he had awakened the Sharingan.

There was no way he hadn't also trained in the Uchiha-style kenjutsu, a technique known to pair seamlessly with the Sharingan.

In fact… Haruki's Uchiha-style swordsmanship might even be more advanced than his own.

That would explain how he could so precisely interrupt every one of Shisui's techniques.

"That's it! That has to be it!"

The more he thought about it, the more convinced Shisui became.

At the same time, he also came to another conclusion:

In close-quarters combat, he was probably no match for Haruki.

"Time to change tactics…"

With that in mind, Shisui kept defending as he quietly recalibrated his approach.