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In the final round of the Chuunin Exams, when the match between Neji and
Naruto starts, Neji is surprised when Naruto uses Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He
had seen Naruto use the same technique in the match against Kiba in the
preliminaries. So he should have known that they were solid clones that can
fight unlike the clones created by the Bunshin no Jutsu.

Why was Neji surprised when he saw Naruto's shadow clones? Was Neji unaware of
the Kage Bunshin Jutsu, which is a very popular jutsu used by the shinobi?


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naruto
Why was Neji Hyuuga surprised to see Naruto's Kage Bunshin no Jutsu in the Chuunin Exams?


I'm **not sure if Neji was exactly surprised, or if it was more of a
realisation** of the how the technique worked and of its potential. But
anyway, my take is that this is something like a "minor plot hole". I say this
because although, as you said, Naruto performed this jutsu in his fight
against Kiba, no one seemed to give any attention to it. **In that fight** ,
**Naruto's accomplishment** (somewhat) was the fact the he mastered **the
Henge no Jutsu**.

In the beginning of the fight, Kiba remembers watching Naruto at the academy
trying to perform Henge no Jutsu and completely failing it. Then, during the
fight, Naruto is able to transform into Akamaru, and that seems to be the main
focus of the battle. This flashback and transformation are shown in chapter
75, called "Naruto's Growth". **In this chapter** , although everyone sees the
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, **only Shikamaru seems to notice that it is Kage
Bunshin no Jutsu**. He is the only one that makes a remark about the
combination of this jutsu and the Henge no Jutsu. Plus, in this scene, **Neji
does not have his Byakugan activated** , a relevant piece of information for
the point I'm about to make.

Naruto's fight with Neji begins in chapter 100. In this chapter, Naruto begins
by realising he cannot get near Neji to attack him, so he'll have to attack
from a distance, and thus he creates some clones with **Kage Bunshin no
Jutsu**. Here, this technique **plays a central part in the actions about to
occur** , which is accentuated by the fact that **shinobi in the audience**
(unlike what happened in Naruto's fight against Kiba) **take notice of the
fact that Naruto is able to use a Jounin level jutsu**. Plus, here **Neji has
his Byakugan activated** , which means he can **see chakra flow and tenketsu**
and all that. Possibly, this was the **first time he laid eyes upon such a
technique** with his Byakugan. I say this because, unlike what you say in your
question, the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is not such a popular technique** ,
taking into account that **it is a[forbidden
jutsu](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/2145/whats-the-difference-
between-kage-bunshin-no-jutsu-and-taj-kage-bunshin-no-jut?rq=1)**. It may be
used often in the battlefield, but back then, Neji would probably never have
seen it in action.

Neji's realisation that it is Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is used to **make the
reader understand** (or to remind him, since I cannot recall if it was
explained before) **the difference between this jutsu and the Bunshin no Jutsu
in terms of chakra flow** and its physical properties. Also, **strategically**
, the fact that Neji understands this is essential, which leads him to, after
being surprised, state that **"In the end, there's only one true body"**.


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I think he was surprised to see Naruto's intellect that he had put equal
chakra in each body so that Neji's eye cannot see the real one.


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Kage bunshin isnt a popular jutsu..its actually one of the lesser known jutsus
because it requires high level of chakra and not everyone can do it..even most
jonins dont prefer doing it unless they go on jnfiltration or spying mission.


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