Nekoma Family

The **Nekoma Family** (猫魔族, *Nekoma-zoku*) is one of the few families of Sunagakure. They are known for their borderline worship of felines and their ability to disguise themselves within, and assimilate with, shadows through the use of Yin Release. It's members are touted to be exceptional, cat-like killers under the cover of night.

## Overview

Quiet, and somewhat reserved by nature; the Nekoma family are known primarily for their reverence of felines and all cat-like creatures. With house-cats themselves being a scarcity in the Land of Wind, the Nekoma family live with the only cats in the entirety of Sunagakure, treating them as if they were family members. Although they possess no kekkei genkai, secret family techniques mimic the sneaky and and deadly movements of a hunter cat.

### Background

It is suggested that Nekoma family members are descendants of a group of people that worshiped felines as their gods in ancient times. Numerous depictions of humans bowing to cats have lead many Nekoma to believe that the animals have something of a royal status; especially so in the Land of Wind. Today, most Nekoma have at least a mutual respect for cats comparable to that of a family member, though few actually revere them as god-like beings anymore.

Prior to the establishment of Sunagakure, the Nekoma family was largely unknown. It wasn't until rumor spread of the village's creation that the group came out of hiding to offer their services in exchange for safe living inside of it. Despite being a generally quiet family, the Nekoma abilities earned them the watchful eye of the Second Kazekage, whom partly feared their exemplary killing and assassination skills.

### Appearance

Nekoma family members can often be identified by their almost prudish dress style. Typical attire consists of extremely lightweight and maneuverable gear, primarily black with accents of dark purple and midnight blue. When using their enhanced night vision technique, their eyes appear to glow a faint blue; a result of the chakra radiating from them. Despite its close resemblance, their enhanced night vision technique is not a dōjutsu kekkei genkai. The color of their hair is often intentionally dyed black, if not naturally colored so, and is cut in a traditional Japanese way.

## Abilities

### Shadow Assimilation

A Nekoma family secret technique; the **Shadow Assimilation Technique** (影同化の術, *Kagedōka no Jutsu*) is performed by channeling Yin Chakra into and through any shadow cast by moonlight. The user merges themselves with, and hides within, the shadow allowing them to enter and pass through it at will. Family members that truly master the technique are able to perform it on shadows cast by any light source.

Considered to be the greatest weakness of the technique; should a light source be removed, and by extension any shadow it casts, users of the technique merged within any of those shadows are dragged out from within the darkness and sustain heavy internal damage - like a crushing force applied directly to their organs.

### Shadow Matter Carving

The ultimate weapon of the Nekoma family, true masters of their Yin Chakra are able to perform a secret technique called the **Shadow Matter Carving Technique** (影切るの術, *Kagekiru no Jutsu*, *literally meaning:* Shadow Severing Technique). The user forms and shapes chakra into sharp claws and/or paws, resembling those of a tiger, either around their hands or feet - this allows them to physically damage any target by attacking its shadow using the animalistic chakra limbs.

The chakra is, in actual fact, materialized spiritual energy comprised almost entirely of Yin Chakra, and appears purple in color. Because the chakra lacks physical energy, it is constantly in an unstable state; therefore, it craves physical matter, which it consumes via the shadows of objects and or living beings.

It should be noted that this technique is rarely, if ever, performed in combination with the Shadow Assimilation Technique, as damaging a shadow that the user is inside of will also cause considerable damage to the user.

### Cat-like Stealth

In general, Nekoma family members are gifted with a knack for stealth; something essential for any good ninja. Particularly under the cover of night, many Nekoma family secret techniques give their users an edge within darkness. **Crystal clear night vision** and **trackless movement** allow the Nekoma to function exceptionally well as killers when the sun goes down.

## Trivia

* Following the theme of Egyptian Gods among the families and clans of Sunagakure; the Nekoma Family is heavily based on the Egyptian God of Cats; Bastet, and the royal status that cats held in Ancient Egypt.
* "Nekoma" (猫魔) is a jukugo (*compound word*) roughly translating to "cat demon", and is derived from a combination of 猫 (Neko) meaning "cat" and 魔 (Ma) meaning "demon" or "evil spirit". 魔 (Mó) can also mean "magic" in Chinese.
* The Shadow Assimilation Technique is based on the abilities of Vento Aureo's *Black Sabbath*.