-Logic-
Kage in the Making 👑
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I've seen many threads arguing about Itachi's and Shikamaru's intelligence. I would like to clear things out once and for all so that the fanboys can be silenced. Let me start off by saying that I am indeed an Uchiha fanboy, however, I can acknowledge when any Uchiha would loose. I've admitted Itachi's defeat to several characters many a time, and with full confidence, and not out of reluctance. This will hopefully assure you that I'm not being too biased.
Let's start off with Itachi. We'll begin with some factual information:
- Itachi has a 5 in intelligence, as does Shikamaru.
- Itachi became an Anbu captain at the age of 13! A feat worthy of remark in a thread like this.
- Itachi was born into the Uchiha clan as the eldest son of Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha and was praised by all as the best of his generation, a genius above all others, even by the standards of the battle-adept Uchiha clan, Itachi's prowess far outshone their own. However, few could understand him. When he was only four, Itachi had already witnessed countless lives lost due to the Third Shinobi World War, which emotionally traumatised him and turned him into a pacifist. This is a brief summary of his intelligence. If you look at the parts in bold you'll notice that he was praised by many, and without a doubt already one of the most intelligent character introduced to the series.
- At age 7, Itachi graduated from the Academy at the top of his class after only one year, mastered the Sharingan at age 8, passed the Chūnin Exams at age 10, enrolled in ANBU half a year later and became captain by 13. I'm sure the parts in bold surprise you.
- When Itachi volunteered to fight Kakashi as they were coming for the Akatsuki in the early parts of the Shippuden, I'm sure he wasn't even scared. He managed to fend off Chiyo, Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto despite not having the Mangekyo Sharingan with him. Although he lost, he did his job, and if he wanted to I'm sure he could have done some serious damage.
- One of the greatest feats that Itachi has achieved is breaking out of the Edo Tensei. Although many might argue that it was a completely lucky event and had nothing to do with intelligence. I beg to differ. If that was anyone else they would not have known what to do with KA. KA isn't, and was never supposed to be used for the Edo Tensei. The fact that Itachi, so quickly realized that he could break out of it with KA is tremendous and is also a monument to his intelligence.
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Just look at Kabuto's poor face, and his reaction. "Uchiha Itachi... he's clearly on another level to the others!" I wonder if Kabuto had Shikamaru in his mind when he was saying this :noc:
- Here we see Itachi blocking Nagato's summon, so he can create a blind spot in the Rinnegan's shared field of vision! This is insanity, I don't know whether he figured this out on the spot, or he already knew about the Rinnegan's shared field of vision, but either way, Shikamaru would never have been able to do this. Some ask why this requires intelligence, it's a physical feat, no? That may hold some truth, but without intelligence such a feat could not have been executed.
You must be registered for see images - One of my favourite things I like to reminisce about is the time when Itachi analyzed Nagato's Chibaku Tensei. Something I doubt Shikamaru would have been able to do, please note that me saying Shikamaru not being able to analyze Chibaku Tensei properly is just my opinion, it holds no facts. Let's explore this feat.
- Here we see Itachi noting almost instantly that is has a gravitational pull! This is ludicrous! What a genius!
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- This is practically the same thing, he's analyzing it.
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- Within seconds Itachi's already figured out Chibaku Tensei's weakness. What a genius! Note how he also says that you do not have to aim as it's gravitational pull will simply guide the attack. Shikamaru has nothing on this. They seem to think that tactically he's better, which is false.
You must be registered for see images - Notice how direct, and official Itachi is. He asks the right questions, and gets the job done.
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- This is the final feat of Itachi that I'd like to get over with, as this thread has already become a wall of text!
Again, people seem to think that tactically Shikamaru has done more than Itachi, but they can't come up with a shred of evidence. In this fight Itachi teaches Kakashi about the Sharingan. IMO Kakashi got owned. Notice that in this picture Itachi is so calm, and seems to be formulating a plan.
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- On the next page look at how direct, and sure Itachi's facial expression is.
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- Here on the next page, Itachi absolutely trolls Kakashi. He performs a Water Style Jutsu without Kakashi even being able to see it even with the Sharingan.
You must be registered for see images - On the next page, I have to admit, even I was confused! Itachi creates a clone, before anyone can even notice it. It confused the living shit out of Kurenai.
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- Even Kakashi, the man praised as an intellectual among his generation pales in comparison the Genius of Uchiha Itachi. He admits it himself. He also comments that Itachi hasn't even begun to show his true power, and proceeds to imply that he's simply toying with them.
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May I ask what Shikamaru was doing at age 7? What was Shikamaru mastering at age 8? When did Shikamaru pass the Chūnin Exams? When did Shikamaru enroll to become an Anbu Captain? When did Shikamaru ever, ever, do anything on the scale that Itachi has? When has he ever done something worthy of mention? I'll applaud him for the fact that Tobi mentioned he was a pain to fight, but apart from that, what other big time things has he achieved? Oh yeah, he hasn't done anything extremely special. Never. He wasn't doing any of that. Itachi has been shown to achieve great feats even at a young age. One thing I'd like to point out is that he became an Anbu Captain at age 13. Kakashi became a Jōnin at the age of 13, so technically Itachi was his boss U_U I'm sure we can all agree that Itachi is more intelligent than Kakashi, and already Itachi has achieved a higher rank than him, at the same age. Itachi has also owned Kakashi many times in battle.
I've analyzed the feats Itachi has achieved that I deemed worthy of being mentioned in this thread. If anyone dares to cross me then begin, list any amount of feats that Shikamaru has achieved, and none will match Itachi's. None.
IMO, Itachi beats Shikamaru in intelligence, all round too. He has come up with better tactics, and in seconds. Shikamaru would poop his pants if he saw Nagato's Chibaku Tensei, haha, believe me U_U
Thank you to all who read, please share so that the Shikamaru fanboys may be silenced.
Edit: I believe that my interpretation of intelligence derives from my deep love for Philosophy. Itachi seems to me the philosophic type, and as a result of his personality I've dubbed him the most intelligent. Some of his quotes still interest me, even today. Thanks to all who read.
I think that they are both incredibly intelligent, Itachi has just always had more at his disposal, and he has had an infinitely larger amount of drive than Shikamaru, who as we all know is lazy lazy lazy.
Now, a fact is that whenever Shikamaru makes a plan in battle, he always succeeds as far as the goal of the plan was. Tobi complemented Shikamaru on his intelligence, singling him out. And to the whole "Kakashi is as smart as Shikamaru" thing, I'll admit Kakashi is smart, but honestly, Naruto is the one that said that, and I wouldn't trust Naruto's judgements much at all, he's pretty biased in Kakashi's favor. For instance, I doubt anyone would say that Kakashi truly has a better sense of smell than Kiba, even though Naruto said so. So I will stick with my belief that Shikamaru is smarter than Kakashi.
Overall, it's really hard to tell, because of the difference in their power levels. Shikamaru has made a lot out of a little because he is so weak. For him, the only way to battle is with his intelligence, because as a ninja himself he is always the less powerful one. Itachi however has the massive power levels to go with his intelligence, so we haven't seen him fight purely with his intelligence as Shikamaru does. But he's a thinker.
In my opinion, Shikamaru has more tactical intelligence. In battle, he can make the best use of what he has at his disposal, better than Itachi, because that's all he does and the only way he can hope to win. He can create the best strategies overall. However, Itachi is more intelligent philosophically. He thinks about things like feelings and what makes people do things on a psychological level. He has a drive because he has thought these things through and seems to understand what is really important. Shikamaru hasn't thought those things, and hasn't come to those conclusions, which is why he is so lazy. That shows that Itachi is a better "thinker" than Shikamaru, but I believe that Shikamaru is a better "tactician". Thoughts?
The part in bold was a post made by Fizzy Drink who changed my mind completely, you should read all of it. I agree that Itachi is more philosophical and is a better "thinker" and I actually agree that Shikamaru is a better tactician simply because he does not have the Ninjutsu pool that Itachi does. For this reason, I dub Itachi the greatest thinker of all time, and Shikamaru one of the greatest (his dad's intelligence he has yet to beat) tacticians of all time. I'd still like to know what you guys think overall. I'm still convinced that overall it's Itachi.
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