I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 97 We must swatt the flies, and we must swatt the tigers too.

Tatsuma knew his strengths and weaknesses at this moment. His strength lay in his physical attributes, which had been enhanced in multiple stages and amplified in several ways, bringing his physical attributes to the level of a Jonin.

Moreover, due to the Nine-Tails' chakra, his physical abilities at this time are not just at the level of a Jonin after the basic multiplier is 4, as can be seen from his fight with that Sand Village Jonin.

The Nine-Tails' amplification was so overpowered, reflecting its inherent strength. No wonder Hashirama Senju felt the Nine-Tails was too dangerous and therefore sealed it away.

Even with so many buffs, Tatsuma still has a disadvantage: he only improves his physical abilities, such as strength, speed, resilience, and chakra reserves.

However, his own skills did not improve. His ninjutsu, genjutsu, sealing techniques, etc., did not improve, so he did not have a way to defeat multiple enemies in one blow.

Even though he could use an enormous amount of chakra compared to the past to increase the power of his ninjutsu, he didn't have time to form hand seals or find a position to unleash his ninjutsu under the siege of so many Sand Ninja.

Therefore, since Tatsuma returned to battle, he has been using the advantages of his enhanced body to fight and make his mark.

Except for one technique!

Once again hiding behind the boulder, Tatsuma took a few deep breaths to regulate his breathing, then raised his hands and began to form hand seals.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Bang bang bang bang~"

The smoke appeared and disappeared, and four shadow clones identical to Tatsuma appeared around him. In fact, this was the first time Tatsuma had used shadow clones in battle.

This technique is not very practical for Tatsuma at this stage. Tatsuma's chakra is only at the Chunin level. He is very careful with his chakra when using ninjutsu. How could he possibly spare chakra to assist his shadow clones in battle?

He usually uses this technique for learning, and he also made an agreement with Jiraiya that the number of shadow clones could not exceed four, and each shadow clone could not study for more than two hours a day.

Jiraiya knew that Tatsuma would be unable to resist "abusing" this technique, so he used a somewhat frivolous agreement to restrain Tatsuma's use of this technique, and Tatsuma has always abided by it.

Tatsuma himself had almost forgotten that the Shadow Clone Technique was an excellent ninjutsu to aid in combat. It wasn't until today, when he had an unimaginable amount of chakra within him, that he dared to boldly use this technique.

"I hope the shadow clones won't be classified as friendly units, that would be ridiculous."

After a moment of musing to himself, which brought a strange kind of pleasure to his weary spirit, Tatsuma exchanged a glance with his four shadow clones, and then together they rushed out of the boulder and attacked the surrounding Sand Ninja.

"Shadow Clone Technique?!"

Seeing that Tatsuma's clones actually caused a real attack, Sha Xing was surprised, astonished that Tatsuma had actually learned the Shadow Clone Technique.

The Shadow Clone Technique is not a common ninjutsu; in fact, it can be said to be exclusive to Konoha. Apart from Konoha ninjas, only a handful of people from other villages know the Shadow Clone Technique, as depicted in the original manga.

Upon closer examination, only Hiruzen and Deidara from Iwagakure learned the Shadow Clone Technique; no other village produced a ninja who knew it.

Even within Konoha, there aren't many people who know the Shadow Clone Technique, but this technique is quite famous.

The Wood Clone Technique, derived from Hashirama Senju, possesses a physical form and can perform ninjutsu. After the shadow clone disappears, the memories recorded by the shadow clone are also transmitted back to the original body. It is a sophisticated ninjutsu that gives headaches to all the major villages.

Seeing that Tatsuma, a mere genin, could use this technique, Sha Xing was extremely surprised. Although Tatsuma's strength was clearly beyond what a genin should be, he was still a genin after all.

Moreover, he was an excessively young genin, around nine years old. If he could learn the Three Body Techniques, ninja tool throwing, and basic taijutsu and ninja skills, he could be considered a genius.

But what about Tatsuma? The first time Sha Xing met Tatsuma, Tatsuma used an unknown ninjutsu that could destroy a puppet. The second time they met, Tatsuma gave him a second surprise with his scheme and skillful throwing of ninja tools.

This is our third meeting today. I thought Tatsuma's taijutsu was already impressive enough, but he countered with Shadow Clone Jutsu and his strength has increased to the point where he can easily defeat a Jonin.

Although the Jonin that Tatsuma defeated was neither a legendary Jonin nor a veteran Jonin, his genuine Jonin strength cannot be faked.

Moreover, he was extremely skilled in taijutsu. Before being promoted to jonin, he was promoted to special jonin because of his exceptional taijutsu skills. However, this jonin who was skilled in taijutsu was defeated by Tatsuma using taijutsu.

Sha Xing himself didn't even realize that he suddenly felt a sense of relief, thankful that he hadn't taken the initiative to join the battle from the beginning, but instead used the lives of his subordinates and comrades to obtain information about Chen Ma's true strength.

But such a price, paid with so many lives, only to gain information that Tatsuma could be even stronger and more astonishing, made Sha Xing feel for the first time that it wasn't worth it.

For the first time, I understood what Tatsuma meant when he said he was a blasphemer, because the life that was about to be blasphemed was himself.

One Tatsuma was already difficult enough to deal with, but now there are five Tatsuma on the field. Even though the number of Tatsuma is dozens of times greater, the Sand Ninja team is still losing members.

Furthermore, as the number of Sand Ninja's combat personnel decreased, their resistance against Tatsuma became increasingly futile, and they were reaped by Tatsuma at an even faster pace.

"Damn it, what kind of martial arts technique is this guy using?!"

As his subordinates dwindled one by one, Sha Xing felt a surge of anger and shock. He couldn't understand what style of martial arts Chen Ma had displayed.

It looked like the Gentle Fist of the Hyuga clan of Konoha, which targets pressure points and weaknesses, but Tatsuma's attack was incredibly fierce, much like the Hard Fist of the Konoha style.

But this unprecedented martial art, in Tatsuma's hands, is becoming the most powerful weapon in battle.

Finally, the commotion on the battlefield subsided, and Tatsuma's shadow clones disappeared. Tatsuma, who had landed on a tree, staggered slightly before crouching down to steady himself.

Sha Xing also knew that the reason why Chen Ma left him at the end was because he had done the same thing to Chen Ma, and the ultimate goal was probably the same: to kill the other!

"Huff~ Huff~"

Tatsuma was panting heavily, his body covered in numerous wounds. The faded red chakra cloak covering his skin was constantly repairing his injuries.

As his injuries healed, the color of his chakra cloak faded, and it is now almost invisible, but the forest has become completely quiet.

Looking down at Sha Xing, whose face was extremely gloomy, Chen Ma said, "Now, it's just you and me left."

(End of this chapter)