On the Sabaody Archipelago, the battle between Naruto and the Marine's Admiral, Akainu, is still raging.
Meanwhile, 10,000 meters above sea level, in the holy land of Mary Geoise, the 'descendants of the creators' looked down upon the world below.
At that moment, several figures could be seen sprinting rapidly up the side of a wall.
Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Naruto, who was still fighting with Akainu.
Of course, to be more precise, these are all Naruto's shadow clones.
The greatest flaw, or rather, the defining characteristic, of the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique is that it evenly divides the user's Chakra.
This means that if the user lacks sufficient proficiency and creates too many clones at once, their main body's Chakra reserves can drop to dangerous levels, potentially even causing them to collapse.
Of course, this was never an issue for Naruto.
After all, during the twenty-plus years he had spent in this world, the only Ninjutsus he could train in were the basic three, like Transformation Technique, Clone Technique, and Substitution Technique, the Sexy Technique, which technically falls under Transformation Technique, and this Forbidden Technique.
By now, he had mastered the ability to precisely control the number of clones, keeping it in the single digits.
In the Ninja World, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique is indeed powerful, as each clone possessed the same Chakra as the original and could deliver physical attacks.
However, the Ninja World also operated on the principle of 'total Chakra capacity'.
Increasing the number of clones without increasing the total Chakra Reserves, or even reducing it, made the technique somewhat ineffective against truly powerful enemies.
After all, large-scale Ninjutsu that required massive amounts of Chakra couldn't be used repeatedly.
However, while the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique divided Chakra, it didn't divide 'physical strength'.
Each clone retained the same physical power as the original, with no reduction whatsoever.
For Ninja who relied on Chakra to enhance their bodies, this might not have made much difference. But for Naruto, it was an undeniable advantage.
At this moment, every clone here possesses physical strength on par with the [Great Hero] himself!
The only slight drawback was that Haki, a power derived from one's spiritual energy, was also divided among the clones.
This is also the reason why Naruto did not create thousands or tens of thousands of clones at once. He still needed to keep Akainu occupied at Sabaody Archipelago.
But it didn't matter. This was enough.
Akainu was busy fighting a criminal who had attacked two Celestial Dragons, which naturally drew the attention of the World Government's higher-ups.
As a result, few were paying attention to whether someone was scaling the Red Line.
Ever since Fisher Tiger had climbed it over a decade ago, numerous warning mechanisms had been installed along the cliffs of the Red Line.
Fortunately, these were nothing more than decorations to Naruto's clones.
They didn't need to climb slowly.
After all, there's Chakra Adhesion.
In this short time, they had nearly reached the top.
Infiltration into Mary Geoise wasn't particularly difficult for Naruto, who could conceal his presence.
The real challenge was escaping before the guards could react… though, for Naruto's clones, that wasn't an issue either.
Several figures arrived within the dense cluster of buildings and immediately scattered in all directions, disappearing without a trace.
'Since I was already here…'
'How can I not recreate some classics?'
"You're free. Head in that direction and seize the flying ships and cargo transports used by the Celestial Dragons."
Naruto said as he removed the collars from a group of slaves of various races, who stared at him in stunned silence.
"Wait for the right moment. I'll draw their attention."
Similar scenes played out in multiple locations across the holy land.
This is the outskirts of Mary Geoise. Most of the people living here are ordinary Celestial Dragons, far from the core.
Naruto's clones moved swiftly, seamlessly transitioning from knocking out guards, killing Celestial Dragons, to freeing slaves… all in under twenty seconds.
Clearly, he had experience in this sort of thing.
"Huh? This is… an unexpected windfall."
While freeing a group of slaves, Naruto happened to witness a Celestial Dragon preparing to force-feed a Devil Fruit to one of them.
This was one of the Celestial Dragons' favorite pastimes.
Devil Fruits, which could cost hundreds of millions, or even billions of berries in the outside world, were nothing more than toys for their slaves.
There were five fruits in total, two of which Naruto recognized immediately.
The first was the one he had been longing for… the Baku Baku no Mi.
He hadn't expected these guys to acquire it so quickly. The fruit must have only recently respawned, yet they had already gotten their hands on it.
However, considering the possibility that 'if a clone eats the fruit, the original might not gain the ability after the clone disperses', Naruto's clone didn't consume it right away.
The other one he recognized was the Purin Purin no Mi. (T/N: Pudding Pudding Fruit.)
'Hmm...it's useful. This would make a perfect gift for Big Mom.'
After all, he wanted to ask for a favor, so it was important to show proper etiquette.
This was the unspoken rule among adults!
As for the remaining three fruits, Naruto's clone wasn't sure what abilities they granted. Since the clone didn't carry any sealing scrolls, he'd just have to take them for now.
So, this particular clone chose a different path from the others… it sprinted straight back to the cliff's edge and leaped off.
After liberating roughly 30-40% of the slaves in the outer areas of Mary Geoise, someone finally noticed Naruto's presence.
Alarms blared instantly, and in Naruto's perception, several powerful auras surged rapidly from the core of Mary Geoise toward his location.
'Perfect. I needed to divert attention to cover the slaves' escape anyway.'
'Since I've been spotted, there's no point pretending anymore.'
Naruto's clones decisively drew the katana at their waists and unleashed several sweeping slashes toward the surrounding buildings and Celestial Dragons' gathering areas.
These clones' Mushoukou were essentially the same as the Shuriken Shadow Shadow Technique… constructs made of Chakra.
Their durability was limited in actual combat, and after a few swings, they dissipated.
But even that brief usage was enough to cause devastating damage.
These were sword slashes from a master swordsman. The ordinary Celestial Dragons, like the 'lowly commoners' and 'ants' they so despised, were effortlessly bisected without any chance of resistance.
Every single Celestial Dragon here deserved death ten times over.
Even moments before Naruto struck, some of them had still been torturing others in various ways.
Not just slaves, but even their own subordinates weren't spared.
Perhaps, there are some people among the Celestial Dragons who had reformed, but Naruto's Observation Haki hadn't detected a single one.
After a while, one of the clone's Mushoukou disappeared with a bang, unable to hold on.
But it doesn't matter if he doesn't have weapons.
Naruto's clone looked at their empty palms, and huge Chakra Sphere instantly condensed in his palm.
A Rasengan infused with an enormous amount of Wind Attribute Chakra materialized in an instant.
Not just that… this time, Naruto remembered his earlier idea and decided to test it out.
Jet-black Haki flowed from his palm, merging into the Rasengan.
The violently spinning blue core of the Rasengan was immediately tinged with darkness.
The black hue rapidly spread through the rotation, and in no time, the entire Rasengan was dyed in shadow.
At the same time, Naruto's clone could clearly feel the 'weight' of the Rasengan multiply several times over.
The Haki seemed to enhance the Rasengan's stability… at the very least, Naruto was sure it wouldn't instantly explode if released now.
But like a ticking bomb, he could keenly sense the terrifying destructive power contained within.
It was strong enough to harm even himself.
If he didn't throw it soon, it might backfire.
'But no worries… this place was basically a garbage dump anyway.'
With that cynical thought, Naruto's clone hurled the blackened Rasengan toward the distance with a surge of overwhelming force.
The other clones naturally witnessed this.
Since they all shared the same thought process, they immediately understood this clone's intention.
In the next moment, several more massive black Rasengan were launched in unison.