Shadow Clone jutsu is a staple jutsu in Naruto's arsenal, woven into almost every aspect of his ninja life and fighting style. Shadow clones have been used to help Naruto speed up the training of a new jutsu, and also help with reconnaissance around Konoha. Naruto has mastered the jutsu, but an often overlooked fact is that everyone is capable of creating shadow clones, and that even one is more effective than anyone realizes.

Shadow Clone jutsu is a forbidden jutsu that can be very dangerous when used carelessly. It works by dividing the user's chakra equally among each clone, and therefore overuse can quickly lead to a chakra depletion resulting in death. Thanks to the massive chakra reserves of Kurama, Naruto can create shadow clones (though he recently lost that power) without too much risk, but the same can't be said for others. Most ninjas can only produce three or four.

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Even though the jutsu comes with a high level of risk, there is a great deal of potential that comes with it. When a shadow clone is dispersed, the experiences and memories of the clone are transferred back to the caster. This is why they are able to help with the aforementioned training and reconnaissance. However, despite everyone being able to use the jutsu, Naruto is the only one seen taking advantage of this aspect. There have been several other situations that could have gone a lot differently if shadow clones were involved.

One instance of shadow clones being helpful is the current happenings of Boruto, where Shikamaru is dealing with Eida, Amado, and Code. Eida has the power to infatuate all those in her presence, save for family members and Otsutsuki. This makes dealing with her not only difficult, but incredibly dangerous as well, but that can be avoided with shadow clones. First and foremost, shadow clones are simply chakra, so Eida's ability shouldn't work on them, but if they did succumb to it, dispersing them would alleviate the infatuation, and any knowledge gained would go back to the caster, who is assumedly far away from Eida. Granted, Shikamaru's genius plan in Boruto to draw out Code wouldn't have worked with shadow clones and Eida was a monkey wrench in that equation, but from here on out, any interaction with Eida should be conducted with shadow clones.

That's just one example based on the current events of Boruto, but it's not hard to imagine how shadow clones could have benefitted a number of other characters throughout the Naruto franchise. There are several ninjas intelligent enough to be aware of the risk and use the jutsu tactfully, but it seems that the true strength of the Shadow Clone jutsu is overlooked for Naruto's flashy combat style.

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