Time flowed like a river, slipping through the fingers unnoticed.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed, and it was now mid-August.
Ever since the beginning of August, the offensive from Kirigakure had grown increasingly ferocious.
Not just the Eagle's Beak Cliff outpost guarded by Uchiha Haruki, but the entire northern defense line, and even parts of the central and southern lines, had come under intense assault from the Hidden Mist.
Some outposts had even been breached, and sections of the defensive line torn apart.
Haruki himself had already been dispatched several times to support other positions.
This was telling, because the outpost he guarded was supposed to be the most vulnerable point in the entire line. If even he had to move out, it spoke volumes about how dire the situation truly was.
The root of the problem?
Konohagakure was currently locked in a decisive battle with Sunagakure, which meant they had no capacity to reinforce this front.
Kirigakure seized this opportunity to launch a full-scale assault, attempting to break through Konoha's defenses and invade the Land of Fire.
Unfortunately for them, their overall military strength fell short.
And Konoha had spent two to three years fortifying these lines. They weren't exactly impenetrable, but certainly not something a few weeks of attacking could bring down.
So, the warfront became a deadlock—Konoha couldn't drive the Mist ninja out, and Kirigakure couldn't break through entirely.
This made a massive invasion into the Land of Fire nothing more than a fantasy.
Still, small infiltration squads from Kirigakure managed to slip past, and their presence was felt deep within the defense perimeter.
Supply convoys were constantly being attacked.
But when you tread too long along the riverbank, you're bound to get your feet wet.
Kirigakure's sabotage teams, emboldened by success, finally met their match.
Just a few days ago, Haruki heard a shocking report—Might Duy, the eternal genin, had killed five members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist by himself.
The news stunned the entire Leaf Village—and Haruki as well.
He had previously believed that his killing of Raiga Kurosuki and Jūzō Biwa would have changed history enough to prevent this event from happening.
Yet, it still happened.
After Raiga and Jūzō were killed, Kirigakure simply appointed two new wielders of the ninja swords.
And then… they got kicked to death by Might Duy, who had opened all Eight Gates.
Haruki couldn't help but marvel, "The momentum of fate really is hard to stop."
Still, there were some differences from the original timeline.
In the original story, three of the Seven Swordsmen had survived:
Raiga Kurosuki (Lightning Blade: Fang)
Jūzō Biwa (Executioner's Blade)
Kisame Hoshigaki (Samehada wielder)
But now, only two remained:
Kisame Hoshigaki, wielder of Samehada, and
Kurikaramaru, wielder of Nuibari (Longsword: Sewing Needle)—whom Haruki had even fought once.
So, some things had changed after all.
This shocking defeat caused Kirigakure's aggressive attacks to grind to a sudden halt.
In recent days, the front lines had been unusually quiet.
This gave Haruki a rare opportunity for peaceful cultivation.
Though he had never stopped training over the past few weeks, the frequent missions had slowed down his progress.
Now, with relative calm, he could fully focus on self-improvement.
In a forest clearing, Haruki finished another round of Mind Reflection Technique, and with a thought, dispelled his Shadow Clones.
Poof!
Each of the clones vanished in a puff of chakra smoke, and a flood of experience and training memories surged into his mind.
In the past, receiving this much information all at once would have given him a headache.
But with his Spirit stat having broken past the 20-point mark, his mental strength had grown so much that he could now absorb it with ease.
Haruki closed his eyes and carefully digested the experience, locking the gained proficiency into his memory.
As the seconds passed, a moment came where Haruki opened his eyes—a gleam of insight flashing in his gaze.
He raised his right hand and extended his palm.
Wisps of chakra gathered, forming into a small shuriken-shaped object.
It rapidly expanded, spinning at high speed, creating a howling wind as it shredded the surrounding air.
No doubt about it—this was the S-rank forbidden jutsu,Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
After more than two weeks of dedicated practice, Haruki's skill had leveled up again—from Lv6 (1900/10000) toLv7 (1/20000).
At this level, he could use the technique with smooth control.
Haruki wanted to throw the Rasenshuriken immediately, to test his control.
But after several failed attempts, he sighed and muttered,
"So it's still not enough…"
Lv7 was the cap for B-rank techniques, but not enough for an S-rank jutsu like this.
So it was natural that he couldn't perform a full ranged throw—something that required perfect mastery.
Still, his understanding of Wind Release had significantly improved.
Haruki had a strong feeling that, given just a little more time, he could finally complete his Flight Jutsu.
Yes—it had been over half a month, and he still hadn't finished it.
The difficulty had far exceeded his expectations.
But after today, he believed it would be close.
Turning his attention back to the panel, Haruki reviewed his other progress.
Half a month might not seem like much, but it was enough to produce results.
Aside from his Rasenshuriken, the following skills had also leveled up:
Shadow Clone Technique: Lv4 (1930/2000) → Lv5 (385/5000)Now he could create up to 20 clones, up from 15.Chakra cost had also decreased: from 1/7th of the user's chakra per clone to 1/6th.And clone stability improved—very helpful for long-term skill grinding, especially in Flight Jutsu development.
Chakra Absorption Technique: Lv5 (4700/5000) → Lv6 (250/10000)Now absorbed 2000 chakra per second with 100% conversion rate (up from 1000 per second and 90%).
Chakra Scalpel: Lv5 (2500/5000) → Lv6 (100/10000)No major change—just more refined and precise use.
Rasengan: Already upgraded to Lv7 earlier, now surging toward Lv8.
Delicate Extraction Technique: Lv4 (950/2000) → Lv5 (30/5000)
Lastly, one other technique was on the verge of a breakthrough:
Illusion Sword Technique: Nearing Lv7, the realm of mastery.After numerous battles and relentless practice, he was just one step away.Once it broke through, his close-quarters combat power would surely advance again.Maybe not a huge leap, but still worth looking forward to.
With that, Haruki closed the panel, performed the Shadow Clone Technique, and resumed training.
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