Manji Formation

The Manji Formation is a very basic formation that is used to protect a central point, to defend against multiple attacks coming from multiple locations, or to defend a group against an attack that could come from any unknown angle. Its name derives from the shape of a manji, 卍, as the formation requires a person facing outwards at all four points, where the four ninja's backs face each other. Each person is responsible to guard against the area straight ahead of them and to the left, as the manji suggests. The technique has one blind spot: the center.

When it is first used, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha gather around Tazuna. Tazuna, while not a ninja, functions as the fourth point. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke then act as the other three points, with Tazuna in the middle, demonstrating the formation's first use.

Kisame Hoshigake demonstrated another version of the technique. When Tenten, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyūga all attack from different angles, Kisame creates three Water Clones that then take the place of the formation, with the real Kisame as the fourth point. The clones then defended against the attacks, showing the formation's second use.

In the Fourth Great Shinobi World War, when the Surprise Attack Division and the Third Division are fighting against Zabuza Momochi, groups of four take the position to defend against Zabuza's silent killing, the formation's third use.