The Nara Clan is among the most influential families of the Hidden Leaf Village in Naruto, and have been devoted to its protection for generation. Its members have a reputation for extreme intelligence and many are gifted tacticians. Shikamaru Nara currently has an important position as the Hokage's assistant, making him one of the most influential people in the village.
Aside from their political and intellectual track record, the Nara Clan are known for their mastery at manipulating shadows in battle, to serve a wide variety of purposes. Here's a breakdown of their applications and how they work.
Shadow Possession Jutsu
The Nara Clan use Yin Release chakra in order to manipulate both enemies' shadows and their own in battle, for a variety of different effects. The most fundamental of these is the Shadow Possession Jutsu. By connecting their own shadow with that of one or more enemies, the user can paralyze their opponents. The user must also maintain the jutsu while using it, rendering their movements limited as well. That said, experienced users can force their targets to imitate their movements, which allows them to attack their enemies with the jutsu indirectly. Because it doesn't harm opponents directly, it also works on enemies like Kara's Ada, who is impervious to nearly all attacks. Shikamaru's son Shikadai has also used a more advanced version of the jutsu which emits a giant circular shadow around him, and captures anything in its path.
The Shadow Possession Jutsu also has a variety of weaknesses. First, users can only maintain the jutsu for a short time (around five minutes in Shikamaru's case), because keeping an enemy paralyzed drains a large amount of chakra. This is amplified when the technique is used on multiple targets. Second, its range is limited and enemies who see the moving shadow coming can dodge it (Shikamaru found a way around this weakness by infusing his chakra into chakra blades). Third, strong enemies can resist its effects to a certain degree, or even break free of it. Finally, the jutsu can be absorbed by the Kama of Otsutsuki Clan members, and can't be used in complete darkness because the targets don't cast a shadow.
Offensive and Cooperative Shadow Jutsu
In addition to the Shadow Possession Jutsu, more experienced members of the Nara Clan can also use their shadows to attack enemies in a variety of ways. The first of these to be introduced was the Shadow Strangle Jutsu. As its name implies, this technique allows the user to strange enemies with their shadow, and it becomes more effective at close range. Like the Shadow Possession Jutsu, which it is often used in conjunction with, the Shadow Strangle Jutsu drains a significant amount of chakra.
Shikamaru has also used the Shadow Stitching Jutsu, which mobilizes the shadow into multiple sharp tentacles which can both bind and stab opponents. This jutsu is more effective at long range. Once the tentacles hit someone, the Shadow Possession Jutsu can immediately be turned on, allowing it to serve multiple functions in battle. Shikamaru's father Shikaku has also used an upgraded form of this jutsu called Black Spider Lily, which can forcibly pull in close targets ensnared by the jutsu, making them more vulnerable to attacks from allies.
The Nara Clan's Shadow jutsu are at their greatest, however, when used in conjunction with allies. The Shadow Clutch Jutsu is similar to the Shadow Possession Jutsu in that it involves merging the users shadow with a target to control their movements, but in this case is used to throw and lift them. Shikamaru has used this technique to control Choji's Human Boulder technique like a yo-yo, making it far more accurate than usual.
There is also the Loose Shadow Possession Jutsu, in which the user merges shadows with an ally. Unlike other forms of the jutsu, the ally retains their full range of motion, and this is actually used as a Sensory Jutsu, allowing the user to sense when their ally comes in contact with enemies. They can then use their ally's shadow to esnare enemies with the Shadow Possession Jutsu.
The sheer versatility of the Nara Clan's Shadow Jutsu makes them stand out among the various clans that call the Leaf Village home, making them indispensable on the field of battle. With Shikamaru and his son Shikadai continuing to be major characters in Boruto, time will tell if even more Shadow Jutsu will eventually be revealed.