Whether it was standing still to endure the combined ultimate techniques of three people at the beginning, or deliberately feigning an opening to see how Naobito Zenin would deal with him, Naruto had been using Shadow Clones all along.
It was just that, thanks to the Nine-Tails' terrifying Chakra, the Tailed Beast Cloaks on these Shadow Clones were able to directly withstand the damage from all three of them—a feat considering that a normal Shadow Clone would disappear after taking any injury.
Did that mean the three of them couldn't even break through his passive defenses?
Of course, even so, Naruto remained cautious. He knew his own lack of experience meant he couldn't outwit these old foxes, just as Kakashi-sensei could easily teach him a lesson.
The solution, then, was obvious. Since he had plenty of Chakra, he might as well use Shadow Clones for everything.
As it turned out, this probing tactic yielded a miracle. He didn't know what Naobito Zenin's Cursed Technique was, but it was the only one that could actually harm him—that Shadow Clone had indeed been destroyed.
The real Naruto stood at a high vantage point. The view from the rooftop of the commercial building was incredibly open, allowing him to see all the action across the battlefield.
No wonder so many powerful individuals liked to stand on high ground; not only could you survey everything beneath you, but it also gave a sense of commanding the entire situation.
Losing one clone was no big deal. He formed the hand seals at any moment, and the number of Shadow Clones was once again replenished to three, each engaging one of the three opponents.
If Naobito Zenin hadn't discovered the vulnerability, the three of them combined wouldn't have been able to destroy a single Shadow Clone, to say nothing of the three they now faced.
Seeing this, Naobito Zenin's expression darkened.
His injured arm, reinforced with Cursed Energy, could barely move, but his combat effectiveness was clearly far from what it had been. Moreover, Naruto was not about to give him another chance to use his Cursed Technique.
This was truly a desperate situation. The three were once again forced together, helpless in the face of Naruto's clones.
"Well, old man, do you have a plan? Can you take them out like you did just now?"
Uro Takako asked in a low voice. She had seen Naobito Zenin's performance and hoped he could pull off another burst of power.
"That was just an opening the enemy deliberately created to test my abilities. Now that he's on guard, there's no way I can land a hit."
Naobito Zenin knew his own limits. He didn't understand the principles behind his opponent's cloning technique, nor did he know how many clones could be created.
This meant they would all be exhausted to death by the clones without even being able to find the real body.
"Tch, I can help. My Cursed Technique is 'Sky.' I can grab the 'surface' of the sky, which means I can affect space."
"By pulling on space, I can create a one-sided opening for you to get in close."
The boost in Cursed Energy from revealing one's technique was a timely relief. Without hesitation, Uro Takako grabbed the space beside her.
As if pulling a blanket, a 'curved arc' of space stretched past Naobito Zenin and enveloped Naruto.
Naobito Zenin immediately followed up with a punch, his Cursed Energy attempting to dissolve the Chakra of the Tailed Beast Cloak, but... he was repelled!
"Wrong! The amount of Chakra has changed!" he realized instantly. His Cursed Energy output was too great, and the resulting force repelled him instead of perfectly dissolving it.
The Shadow Clone Technique was a jutsu that evenly divided the user's Chakra. With Naruto having created three clones, the amount in each was naturally different from when there were two.
Just as he failed, Naoya Zenin, who had been silent all this time, suddenly charged forward, crossing paths with his repelled father.
"Don't underestimate me, old man."
He had already figured out the principle. At the instant of contact, output an amount of Cursed Energy identical to the Chakra, and the Tailed Beast Cloak would dissolve, exposing Naruto's body.
Naoya Zenin never considered himself inferior to anyone. His target was the Tyrant of the Heavenly Pact; there was no way he would die here!
His fist, covered in Cursed Energy, passed through the Tailed Beast Cloak. He had succeeded. The purely physical blow that followed landed on Naruto's body, blasting it apart.
'I did it!' Naoya Zenin looked at his hand excitedly. He had actually succeeded...
"BOOM—"
Another Naruto seized the moment of distraction, kicking him straight into a building. While losing a Shadow Clone was nothing to cry about, it would have been impolite not to return the favor when his opponent left such a wide opening.
"Brat! Getting distracted in the middle of a fight! Is this how you normally train?!"
Naobito Zenin roared, clearly angered by Naoya Zenin's performance, before smashing the clone that had kicked his son with a single punch.
He, too, quickly realized that although Naruto's clones looked powerful, they would dissipate as long as they took a solid hit. They weren't as terrifying as he had imagined.
However, watching new clones from Naruto descend from the rooftop, it seemed that at this rate, they would not be leaving here today.
Was there any other chance, anything they hadn't yet utilized? Naobito Zenin frowned, hoping to find a path to survival.
Naruto's one hundred thousand points were too terrifying; even all the Jujutsu Sorcerers combined couldn't match him... No, wait. There was another, even more powerful monster in this city!
"Hey! Uro Takako! I have a plan..." He suddenly called out to her, taking advantage of the brief moment when Naruto's Shadow Clones were cleared to speak quietly.
This entire battle had been a gamble from the start. His final hope for survival, then, would also be a gamble. Naobito Zenin could only hope his luck would be good enough to find that sliver of a chance.
Not giving them a chance to escape, several new clones landed and surrounded the trio. Naruto was using a very simple and unadorned tactic: draining their Cursed Energy and stamina.
The clash between the two sides seemed perilous, but in reality, only a dozen or so minutes had passed. In the distance, Kakashi and the others regrouped. They had also suffered casualties, with Kakashi's injuries being the most severe, of course.
"Stop playing around, Naruto. Finish them off. If possible, leave them for Sasuke. We need his Mangekyo Sharingan to awaken Gojo Satoru."
Kakashi didn't think Naruto could maintain this state indefinitely; he must have struck a harsh deal with the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails: Bullshit!
And Gojo Satoru's strength was enough to dominate the Culling Game—at least, as long as the administrator didn't intervene.
"Okay, I get it, Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto readily complied. Looking down at the figures entangled with his Shadow Clones, he thought for a moment and decided to try out a new ability.
As the most fundamental and representative power of the Nine-Tails, a large amount of Yin and Yang-natured Chakra was mixed in a two-to-eight ratio.
He didn't know the principle behind it, but almost instinctively, with the assistance of the Nine-Tails inside him, he condensed a sphere with lightning-like energy patterns on its surface—a Tailed Beast Bomb!
I hope they can survive this, he thought.
Naruto was holding back the Tailed Beast Bomb's power, but if someone who wasn't incredibly durable got hit by this thing, they would surely be blown to pieces.
His movements naturally drew the attention of the three below as a miniature Tailed Beast Bomb began to form in front of him.
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