Bonus release: A shadow clone frenzy, a torrent of ninjutsu, and Naruto's stunning performance

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

Dozens of shadow clones suddenly appeared around the Arena, surrounding Neji.

"Heh heh heh~" the great ring of Narutos cackled.

Every shadow clone struck a different pose. Some clenched their fists, some formed hand seals, and some even picked up pebbles from the ground and pretended they were shuriken—

This was the "confusion tactic" Naruto had learned from Qingwu: using large numbers of shadow clones to throw off an opponent's judgment.

Even if it didn't do much.

Bringing out a whole crowd would at least overwhelm the opponent with sheer presence.

Every one of them stood tall, chest out, looking fierce.

Qingwu was amused and speechless (ー_ー)!! So this brat only remembered how to show off, huh? He hadn't learned any of the other tactics, had he?

Neji, however, showed no sign of panic.

His Byakugan remained fixed on the flow of chakra in the arena, a faint smile curling his lips. "Naruto, you know shadow clones at this level won't work on me."

"What?!" Naruto was about to ask more.

But the moment Neji finished speaking, he moved.

He darted among the shadow clones like a phantom, his hands open, pale blue chakra coating his fingertips as he struck each clone squarely in the chest. "Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

In just a few seconds,

more than a dozen shadow clones vanished in puffs of white smoke.

Neji finished and stood where he was, his gaze still calm. "Uzumaki Naruto, your shadow clones' chakra is spread too thin. Once I find the chakra flow of your real body, these clones are nothing but eyesores."

"Your real body's chakra shines like a torch. That is an enviable amount of chakra—a hundred times mine."

Looking at his vanishing clones, Naruto didn't panic. Instead, he grinned. "So