{"id":"kagemane","name":"Shadow Possession","japanese":"影真似","category":"techniques","subtitle":"Reaching a shadow to restrict movement.","summary":"A Nara technique that links the user's shadow to the target's and imposes a restriction on their movement.","facts":[["Tipo","Nara hiden"],["Condición","Linking shadows"],["Límites","Chakra, range and resistance"]],"lvl":0,"sections":[{"h":"How it works","lvl":0,"ch":"naruto-55","t":"Shadow Possession is the Nara clan's signature technique. The user stretches their shadow along the ground and, once it joins the rival's, the rival is forced to imitate the user's every move. It is neither an illusion nor mind control: the target's body copies the posture, and if the user takes a step, so does the other. Shikamaru shows it in the Forest of Death, pinning down a Sound ninja so Ino can use her own technique. It depends on the terrain, the light and the available shadows, and it uses chakra while it is held.","pos":55},{"h":"Range, light and time","lvl":0,"ch":"naruto-108","t":"The fight against Temari in the Chūnin Exam shows its limits. The shadow only stretches so far, and Temari measures that range to stay out of it. Shikamaru widens the area using the shadow of his jacket turned into a parachute and runs the technique through a hole in the ground until he catches her. Changing the light changes the shadows: darkness does not mean unlimited range, and the sun and objects in the area shape the plan. In the end he gives up because he is nearly out of chakra, proof that holding the possession has a real cost.","pos":108},{"h":"Several targets at once","lvl":0,"ch":"naruto-119","t":"The technique can be split to catch more than one rival, but the more targets, the more chakra it demands and the less it lasts. During the invasion of Konoha, Shikamaru pins down eight pursuers at once and cannot reach the ninth; only Asuma's arrival saves him. On the Sasuke retrieval mission he catches the Sound Four together for an instant. The number of targets, the distance and the strength of those resisting determine how long it holds. That is why Shikamaru combines it with plans and traps instead of using it as a complete solution.","pos":119},{"h":"Variants and traps against Hidan","lvl":1,"ch":"naruto-339","t":"In the second part, Shikamaru combines the shadow with other resources. To avenge Asuma, he throws his teacher's chakra blades linked to the technique and manages to pin down Hidan and Kakuzu at once. Then he draws Hidan off to a forest prepared in advance, controls him into attacking his partner and ends up burying him in a pit. The clan also uses variants with other names, such as Shadow Neck Bind or Shadow Sewing. Shikamaru's strength lies less in the technique itself than in preparing the ground and combining his tools.","pos":339},{"h":"Shikaku and the Fourth War","lvl":1,"ch":"naruto-614","t":"Shikaku, Shikamaru's father, is another experienced user, and in the Fourth Ninja War he coordinates the Alliance from headquarters as its strategist. The Ino-Shika-Chō formation works again when Shikamaru, Ino and Chōji face the resurrected Asuma and pin him down to seal him. Shikaku dies alongside Inoichi when headquarters is attacked, after passing on his last instructions. The technique passes from father to son as clan training, but what makes it effective in the war is coordination with the others.","pos":614},{"h":"Shikadai and the Boruto era","lvl":2,"ch":"boruto-4","t":"In the Boruto era, Shikadai, son of Shikamaru and Temari, uses Shadow Possession in the Chūnin Exam. In the final round he uses it against Boruto, who only gets past him by secretly resorting to a forbidden scientific glove, something Naruto discovers and punishes. Shikamaru, for his part, keeps using the technique as the Hokage's adviser in operations against the village's enemies. Shikadai's fight repeats what his father's story showed: the technique is only as useful as the plan that goes with it.","pos":704}],"characters":["shikaku","shikamaru","shikadai"],"related":["nara","kage-kubishibari","kage-nui","chakra"],"reference":"Naruto, chapters 107–108 and 208–209; Boruto, the opening chapters of the Chūnin Exam.","sources":[{"title":"Shikamaru: sombras, Shikaku e Ino–Shika–Chō","url":"https://naruto-official.com/en/news/01_1910"}],"figures":["
USERLINKED TARGET
Kagemane · Original diagramThe shadow reaches the target's. The link represents a condition of the technique, not control of thoughts or unlimited chakra.
"]}