Shikamaru Nara

**Shikamaru Nara**is a member of Konohagakure's Nara Clan and a member of Team Asuma. He is also a member of the current Ino-Shika-Chō generation, alongside Ino Yamanaka and Chōji Akimichi, and Konoha representative of the newly formed Shinobi Union, as well as it's head representative and chief organizer.

## Physical Appearance

To further emphasize his personality, Shikamaru is regularly seen with a lazy or irritated expression. He is a fairy tall, slim young man with shoulder-length black hair tied in a spiky ponytail and narrow brown eyes. He also wears a pair of stud earrings given by Asuma Sarutobi, which acts as a symbol of Team Asuma.

Shikamaru wears a simple chest-guard with only one pocket on the left side of it. The chest-guard has a forest-green coloration with clipped-on shoulders pads and a high collar, along with a black long-sleeved shirt paired with matching pants and black, calf-high sandals, and green lined mesh armor on his wrists. He wears the metal part of his forehead protector on the left side of the shirt, which is sewed on. He is also equipped with a chūnin's tantō, horizontally strapped onto the back of his chest-guard via a brown strap and a light-brown utility belt for special occasions.

## Personality

Shikamaru is a relaxed, yet unenthusiastic and apathetic individual who likes to watch clouds and sleep when ever he feels like it. He preferred not to get involved in "*troublesome*" activities, pretending to be busy to avoid responsibility. He also does not like fighting, deeming it, as he does to most things, "troublesome". He is fully aware of this side of his personality. Due to his laziness and sometimes cowardice, Shikamaru commonly uses his word phrase "*How troublesome* (*What a Drag* in the English Dub)".

However, when duty calls, Shikamaru has a strong moral compass and sense of commitment towards his comrades. Even though, by his own testimony, he lacks bravery, he will sacrifice himself and face almost certain death, for the sake of his friends and/or villagers without a second thought. Even in the face of imminent death, Shikamaru's unwavering laziness was demonstrated when he described death as a drag. Because of his raw leadership skill, he was the first genin from the Rookie Nine to become a chūnin. The weight of the decisions he must make as a chūnin and, thus, team leader have caused Shikamaru to mature rapidly. This was most evident after the death of Asuma. He vowed to protect and later mentor Asuma's child, so that the child could grow up to be a "cool adult" like Asuma. Shikamaru's sense of duty and commitment to the future of his village is also reflected in his willingness to enforce Konoha 11's recent decision to stop Sasuke Uchiha at all costs, even in the face of potential objections on behalf of the original members of Team 7, in order to prevent Konoha from getting caught in a devastating war between the nations, albeit somewhat regrettably. He also resolved to be Naruto's adviser in the near future because he never wanted Naruto to suffer the same loneliness he suffered in his childhood again.

Chōji Akimichi is Shikamaru's best friend. He respects and trusts him. He said that if he had to fight Chōji in the Chūnin Exams he would give up. After he left Chōji to fight Jirōbō, he told the rest of the team that Chōji is stronger than anyone else in this team.

Shikamaru enjoys playing thinking games, that older men are usually into, such as shōgi and Go, something Asuma even points out.

Shikamaru's most distinctive character trait is that he considers most women bossy and "troublesome", particularly Temari, his mother and Ino. He usually defines them as aggressive, demanding, and sometimes even scary. Given his mother's tyrannical personality, this isn't too surprising. Shikamaru's father also acknowledges the severity of his wife's personality, even though he married Yoshino in the first place. When Shikamaru questioned his father about why he would marry such a severe woman, his father responded that even a severe woman like Yoshino has times she smiles kindly. This ties into their earlier conversation when Shikamaru expressed his opinion on women being troublesome, and Shikaku commented that even the toughest woman will show her gentle side to the man she loves. Despite thinking they're troublesome, Shikamaru is generally courteous to women, doing them favors and avoiding fights with them. He feels that men, like him, should be the ones protecting them and not the other way around.

He has expressed a notably mature and modest interest in marriage and raising a family. He hopes to "*marry a regular girl who isn't too ugly and not too pretty. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after my daughter is married and my son becomes a successful ninja, and spend the rest of my life playing shōgi or Go. Then die of old age before my wife*."

## Abilities

**Genius Intellect**: Shikamaru's greatest trait despite his adolescent age and low grades in the Academy (mainly due to his laziness) is his mental capacities; great enough to outsmart an entire squadron of Oto-nin of chūnin-level or above. As such, he was the first person of his generation to be promoted to chūnin on his very first Chūnin Exam due to knowing his own strengths and weaknesses compared to the rest of his peers. His intellect has earned praise from noteworthy shinobi like Kakashi Hatake, who is also considered a genius, and Tobi, who openly expressed regret that Shikamaru had to be an enemy with such prowess. Chōji stated that even geniuses like Sasuke and Neji pale in comparison to Shikamaru's intellect. Well-noted for his strategic and tactical skills, he is most commonly seen winning in games requiring a methodical approach like shōgi, having never lost to Asuma. Realizing his potential, Asuma tested Shikamaru (disguising it as games to keep Shikamaru focused) to discover the young Nara member is an astonishing genius with an IQ of over 200. Sakura Haruno once stated that Shikamaru was the smartest person in the Land of Fire.

* **Master Strategist and Tactician**: Well-noted for his strategic and tactical skills, he is most commonly seen winning in games requiring a methodical approach like shogi, having never lost to Asuma. Stemming from his naturally calm nature and rare loss of composure, Shikamaru is surprisingly astute for his age, well-aware of his surroundings and able to see through most deceptions and from that can make accurate choices during intense moments. From these traits, Shikamaru can easily focus on all data acquired to quickly and effectively analyze the situation to discern how handle it, anticipate enemy actions, and quickly form effective plans. Once completely focused (seen from his habit of closing his eyes and cupping his fingers) he can quickly think ten moves ahead of his opponent and devise over a hundred strategies plus chose the best one from them. Likewise, he is highly adaptable, regularly able to out-think his opponents, even manipulate them into a pre-set trap with various misdirections. Shikamaru is very resourceful, able to easily adjust or switch his plan and use the most random of tools to his advantage to minimize injuries to himself or allies if not avoid a direct fight completely.

**Nara Clan Techniques**: Shikamaru's primary battle tactics involves using his clan's secret techniques of shadow manipulation. His signature move is the Shadow Imitation Technique. Even while child who just started in the Academy, he was already proficient enough in this technique to subdue three Anbu, a considered a prodigy by Ino (although he was noted too inexperienced to consider its weakness). Later, he learned the various more advanced techniques including to physically harm enemies by means of shadow hands and tendrils. Similarly, he can use his shadow to pick up and throw objects like explosive tags, and attach them to a trapped opponent. He can also use the Shadow Clutch Technique, which, proportionate to the amount of chakra used, is strong enough to grab and manipulate massive objects, capable of even lifting them in the air. After Asuma's death, Shikamaru inherited his master's Chakra Blades, learning how to flow his chakra into them and use them in tandem with his clan's abilities. This allows him to "pin" his opponent's shadow to the ground, without connecting his own shadow, giving him greater range, flexibility, and freedom of movement.

**Nature Transformation**: Shikamaru has shown some skill with Earth Release nature transformation, having been able to create earth walls after being taught the hand-seals by Kitsuchi.

**Kenjutsu Practitioner**: Shikamaru is shown to be skilled in kenjutsu. At one point, Shikamaru started carrying a tantō, and appears to be competent in swordplay as seen when he attacked Hidan, leaving a gash in the side of his target's neck.

**Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant**: Even though it is not his preferred fighting style, Shikamaru is a capable close-range combatant and most often uses it as a method to employ the use of his shadow, seen when he attacked Hidan with a punch that came as such a shock to the latter that he could not evade Shikamaru's secondary, shadow attack.

**Enhanced Speed and Reflexes**: Shikamaru is quick and agile, able to dodge when he senses an attack coming when others aren't looking, as well as keep up with even jōnin-level shinobi.

**Enhanced Endurance**:

**High Chakra Power**: As a member of the Nara Clan and an experience ninja, Shikamaru boasts a high level of chakra energy.

## Relationships

### Family

* Shikaku Nara (Father; Deceased)
* Yoshino Nara (Mother)