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[SIZE=4][B]Basic Information[/B][/SIZE]
[IMG2=RIGHT]http://i.imgur.com/mdCrhll.png[/IMG2][B]Name:[/B] Shikamaru Nara
[B]Nickname:[/B] N/A
[B]Gender:[/B] Male
[B]Age:[/B] 17
[B]Clan:[/B] Nara[/TD]
[TD][RIGHT][SIZE=3]Appearance[/SIZE][/RIGHT]
[JUSTIFY][SIZE=2]To further emphasise his personality, Shikamaru is regularly seen with a lazy or irritated expression. He has shoulder length black hair tied in a spiky ponytail and narrow brown eyes. Initially he wore a simple pair of silver hoop earrings given to him by his father as a way to pass on his will to him. Upon becoming a chūnin, these were replaced by a pair of stud earrings which were given to him — and the other members of Team 10 — by Asuma Sarutobi. During Part I, his attire was rather plain, consisting of a green lined mesh T-shirt under a short sleeved grey jacket with green edges, adorned on both the sleeves and the back with a circle with a line through it, his blue forehead protector worn around his left arm, brown pants, and blue sandals. After his promotion to chūnin, he also wore a flak jacket over his outfit.
During Part II, he has grown noticeably taller. His hairstyle remains the same, but he changed his earrings from rings to studs. He has also undergone a costume change, and among the members of Konoha 11, he is the only one to sport an attire more mirroring the standard Konohagakure's one: he retains his flak jacket, along with a black long sleeved shirt paired with matching pants and sandals, and green lined mesh armour on his wrists and ankles. The placement of his forehead protector is the same as before, but only the metal part is visible, seemingly sewn onto the shirt itself. He is also equipped with a chūnin's tantō, horizontally strapped onto the back of his flak jacket via a brown strap. During the second part of the Akatsuki Suppression Mission, he wore a utility belt around his slim waist with pouches attached to it.[/SIZE][/JUSTIFY][/TD]
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[TD="colspan: 2"][JUSTIFY][SIZE=2]In The Last: Naruto the Movie, two years since the Fourth Shinobi World War has passed, Shikamaru's appearance, excluding height and a more mature facial structure, hasn't changed much. His ponytail is further out and much more spiky. He dons a more simple chest-guard with only one pocket on the left side of it. The chest-guard is a forest green with clipped-on shoulder pads and high collar. He also wears taller sandals reaching more past his calves.
Years later, Shikamaru's appearance becomes very much like his father, including a short chin goatee, but without any facial scars.[/SIZE][/JUSTIFY]
[SIZE=3]Personality[/SIZE]
[JUSTIFY][SIZE=2]As a genin, Shikamaru Nara was the sort of unenthusiastic kid who liked to watch clouds. 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. He even named himself "the number one at running away" or "the number one coward". In fact, his most commonly used phrase is "how troublesome" in the Japanese version, and "what a drag" in the English version.
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. This was demonstrated even from a young age when he, Sakura, and Naruto were being followed by Oto-nin while on the way to tracking Sasuke, he realised a decoy was needed to ensure success of the mission and without hesitation offered to sacrifice himself. 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 because he never wanted Naruto to suffer the same loneliness he suffered in his childhood again.
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 favours and avoiding fights with them. He feels that men, like him, should be the ones protecting them and not the other way around. Despite the latter point, he almost exclusively fought against women during Part I of the manga, albeit because of circumstances that were mostly out of his control. His nihilistic view on women also extends to marriage, as in his dream in the Infinite Tsukuyomi Shikamaru dreamed himself seeing his parents and his sensei's different marriages as Shikamaru views marriage as too troublesome for himself. Ironically, he would later go on to marry Temari (a woman with similar personality to his mother, if not scarier), who would give birth to their son, Shikadai. This suggests Shikamaru took his father's advice to heart when he stated even women scary like Temari and his mother have moments that make the marriage worth it.[/SIZE][/JUSTIFY]
[CENTER][SIZE=3][I][B]"What a drag."[/B][/I][/SIZE][/CENTER][/TD]
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[TD="width: 225"][CENTER][SIZE=2]Village of Birth[/SIZE]
Konohagakure[/CENTER]
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[TD="width: 225"][CENTER][SIZE=2]Village of Alliance[/SIZE]
Konohagakure[/CENTER]
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[TD="width: 250"][CENTER][B][SIZE=4]Village Information[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]
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[B][SIZE=4]Rank & Chakra Information[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]
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[TD="width: 90"][SIZE=2]Ninja Rank[/SIZE]
Jounin
Chakra ➟ 800
Health ➟ 850
[SIZE=2]Specialties[/SIZE]
None[/TD]
[TD="width: 125"][SIZE=2]Elements
[/SIZE]火 Katon ➟ Needs Training
風 Futon ➟ Needs Training
雷 Raiton ➟ Needs Training
土 Doton ➟ Needs Training
水 Suiton ➟ Needs Training[/TD]
[TD="width: 130"][SIZE=2]Ninjutsu
[/SIZE]忍 Ninjutsu ➟ Needs Training
幻 Genjutsu ➟ Needs Training
体 Taijutsu ➟ Needs Training
剣 Kenjutsu ➟ Needs Training
影 Nara Tech ➟ Needs Training[/TD]
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[TD="width: 350"][CENTER][B][SIZE=4]Background Information[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]
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[TD="width: 350"][CENTER][SIZE=3]History[/SIZE][/CENTER]
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[TD="colspan: 2"][IMG2=LEFT]http://i.imgur.com/WY2CotB.png[/IMG2][JUSTIFY][SIZE=2][B][I]Background Title[/I][/B]
Shikamaru was born into the Nara clan to Shikaku and Yoshino. He has a long-standing friendship with Chōji Akimichi. They met even before joining the Academy, when others ridiculed Chōji for his weight, Shikamaru soon abandoned the game and ended up hanging out with Chōji instead. Because of the kindness Shikamaru has always shown him, Chōji has unwavering loyalty to him, and will gladly give his life for Shikamaru.
Once they entered the Academy, Shikamaru and Chōji were among their classes' dead-lasts, along with Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki, spending their day pursuing what they deemed to be more interesting pastimes. In Shikamaru's case, he would spend all day sleeping; to Shikamaru, even the very effort of putting pen-to-paper was just too much effort for him to put into it unless he had to. Iruka Umino, their instructor, would give them all the same lecture. In the anime, around this time, Shikamaru, along with Chōji and Ino Yamanaka went searching for a set of kunai Chōji lost. During their search, they met a mysterious young boy named Yota. They soon learned to their amazement that Yota had the ability to manipulate weather, especially through his emotional state. Fearing how the village would respond to an outsider considering how much turmoil it had with the other nations, Shikamaru and the others decided to hide Yota's existence, giving him shelter in a treehouse and regularly bringing him food.
Later, Naruto and Sakura also learned of Yota's existance and soon join Shikamaru and the others in secretly being his the stranger's friend. One day while playing, Yota became very sad from a misunderstanding with Naruto and caused it to rain, which alerted the Anbu. As they took Yota captive, Naruto and the others tried to stop the Anbu, but to no success. Determined to save his first ever friend, Shikamaru and the others staged a plan with Naruto acting as a diversion. Despite finding Yota, the Anbu easily foiled their plan. Seeing how much Shikamaru and the others cared for him, Yota summoned bolts of lightning to knock the Anbu out. Greatly weakened by the act, Yota was carried out of the village, determined to bring him to freedom. Upon reaching a river, unable to walk over it yet, they chose to swim. Their attempts proved futile and nearly drowned, only to be saved by Yota. Having overtaxed himself, Yota felt his life fading. Happy to have had friends, Yota didn't want them to suffer with this sad memory and erased all knowledge of him from their minds.
[B][I]Part 1[/I][/B][SPOILER][B][I]Prologue — Land of Waves[/I][/B]
Having graduated from the Academy, Shikamaru was first seen in the anime to be surprised by Naruto's graduation despite the latter failing the graduation exam. He was later assigned to Team 10 along with Chōji and Ino, who said moments earlier that she would not want to work alongside someone as lazy as Shikamaru, much to his amusement.
[B][I]Chūnin Exams[/I][/B]
Shikamaru, along with the rest of the Rookie Nine, participated in the upcoming Chūnin Exams, commenting that it was "such a drag" that they were up against many candidates. During the first phase, Shikamaru had already figured out the true purpose of the written exam and was glad that Ino had figured it out as well when she used her Mind Body Switch Technique on Sakura. As the exam finished, Ibiki Morino announced to the genin who didn't quit during the exam that they all passed, regardless of their test results. Afterwards Team 10, along with the rest of the Rookie Nine, proceeded onto the second phase of the Chūnin Exams.
During the second phase of the Chūnin Exam in the Forest of Death, Team 10 stumbled across Sakura Haruno along with her unconscious team-mates being attacked by some Oto genin. Although he said he didn't want to get involved, Shikamaru dragged Chōji along once Ino joined the fray. The team then initiated the Ino–Shika–Chō battle formation, with Shikamaru immobilising Dosu Kinuta. Soon after, Sasuke Uchiha awakened, his newly received Cursed Seal activated. As Sasuke prepared to attack the Oto genin, Shikamaru told Ino and Chōji to join him in abandoning their roles in the battle as Team 10 retreated and watched from a distance as Sasuke's onslaught ensued.
In his preliminary battle, Shikamaru fought against Kin. He defeated Kin by sneaking his shadow under the thin strings she was using to control her bells; she did not notice that a string that thin and that far from the floor could even make a shadow. Shikamaru then took a shuriken from his pouch, with Kin, caught in his Shadow Imitation Technique, doing the same thing. Because of Kin's increased proximity to the wall of the arena, she knocked herself unconscious as Shikamaru ducked under her projectile.
When Chōji was hospitalised due to rupturing his stomach when he ate too much after his battle, Shikamaru brought him a basket with fruits, but Chōji was forbidden from eating it. Shikamaru then found out that Naruto Uzumaki also in the hospital and decided to give him the basket. Later, the two encountered Gaara, who was about to kill an unconscious Rock Lee in his hospital bed. The two young men, however, ambushed Gaara and Shikamaru bounded him with his shadow and they listened as he told them about the demon sealed within him and his life and then threatened to kill them, but he was stopped by Might Guy's arrival.
In the anime, one day before the final round, Chōji overheard Guy and Naruto talking about the "Fourth Hokage's legacy". Chōji then told Shikamaru and Ino about this. Later Naruto and Sakura met with Team 10 at the entrance. They ended up teaming up with Sakura and Naruto to find the "Fourth Hokage's Legacy". Through out their adventure Shikamaru showed his intellect solving multiple puzzles and ending up saving the other four multiple times. In the end he decided to give the "Fourth Hokage's Legacy" to Naruto realising that as long that someone from the Konoha gets it it will be okay. However, they realised that this whole mission was made up by Guy and, partially, by Kakashi as a sort of extra special training.
In the final round, Shikamaru was matched against Temari, where it initially seemed as if he was just pointlessly attempting strategy after strategy. Temari assumed that he was simply buying time for the sun to set, furthering the range of his shadow. He was in fact manipulating her into a position in front of the exit to a tunnel which was dug out by Naruto during an earlier match, where he could guarantee that she was caught by his shadow from behind. However, after Temari was actually caught in his shadow imitation, he then simply forfeited the match, claiming to have spent too much chakra to proceed with any additional matches. Moreover, he said he did not like to hurt or hit women. Despite this, the rest of Team 10 could easily tell that his forfeit was purely out of his own laziness, but this may not have been true, as shown below. Despite having forfeited, Shikamaru's brilliant strategy impressed everyone, including the Hokage.
[B][I]Konoha Crush[/I][/B]
When the Konoha Crush began, Shikamaru was able to dispel the genjutsu that swept through the stadium, though he pretended to be asleep to avoid taking part in the battle. Sakura noticed this and forced him to help in pursuing Sasuke. As they pursued Sasuke, they discovered that nine Oto ninja were following them, and Shikamaru chose to stay behind so he could stall them while the others continued to follow Sasuke. Using a clever strategy, he was able to trap eight with his shadow. However, the ninth Oto ninja hid in the trees, protecting the captured eight against Shikamaru's attacks. Despite discovering the ninth's hiding place, he could not fight off the Oto ninja, after being drained from his earlier match against Temari. Asuma arrived in time to save him, and defeated all nine Oto ninja single-handedly. Shikamaru is later seen attending the Third Hokage's funeral.
[B][I]Sasuke Recovery Mission[/I][/B]
Because of his performance during the Chūnin Exam finals, Shikamaru was the only Konoha genin that was promoted to the rank of chūnin. Shikamaru was given his first assignment of forming and leading the Sasuke Recovery Team to stop Sasuke from defecting from the village. Because Konoha suffered heavy casualties during the failed invasion by Sunagakure, Shikamaru was forced to limit the members of his team to genin. He immediately recruited Naruto and Chōji, and then added Neji and Kiba to the team. Upon setting out, Shikamaru formulated a plan on how to approach Sasuke's escorts, the Sound Four. Their presence was detected, and they were trapped by Jirōbō. However, Shikamaru was able to find a way to escape. He was ultimately forced to leave Chōji behind to fight Jirōbō, but had no concerns that Chōji would lose, and marked the team's path so that Chōji could follow them.
The team continued to break apart, one member of the Recovery Team engaging one member of the Sound Four. To give Naruto a chance to go after Sasuke, Shikamaru fought Tayuya. Tayuya summoned three demons, that she controlled with her flute and easily gained the upperhand against Shikamaru. Counting his remaining weapons, Shikamaru devised an elaborate plan. He threw eight kunai at Tayuya to see what finger movements she would use to protect herself with. Being unable to read her music he eventually took control of the three with his shadow, telling her how he found shogi fun because he could take over his opponent's pieces. Shikamaru then attacked with the three demons prompting Tayuya to remove the demons but she was still caught by his shadow. By activating the second stage of her cursed seal, Tayuya was able to resist Shikamaru's shadow.
Picking up a kunai that had missed her earlier she tried to slit his throat but was suddenly punched in the gut and caught by his shadow again, revealing that he only pretended to fall prey to her genjutsu, as he had used his shadow to break his finger to escape it. Shikamaru then explained about his plan and how he missed with that kunai on purpose to get her close while he then prepared his Shadow–Neck Binding Technique. As he was about to run out of chakra, he was saved by Temari. After Shikamaru gave her a tactical update she blew away her sound based genjutsu with her wind and then used a summon to finish her off.
Temari accompanied him back to Konoha, where they learned that Sasuke had escaped, and that everyone on the team suffered injuries despite being helped by Temari's two siblings, Gaara and Kankurō. Shikamaru's initial reaction to the failed mission was to quit being a ninja altogether, but his father scolded him for being such a coward, explaining that his friends would then only be led by some other ninja. If they were to die under that ninja's command, Shikamaru would feel worse for not having been there to try and save them. When he was informed that everyone on the team would make a full recovery, Shikamaru cried out of joy and relief, and resolved to do better next time.
He later saw Temari and the Sand Siblings off and, in the anime, was appointed as an Academy instructor.
[B][I]Mizuki Tracking Mission[/I][/B]
In the anime, he appeared with Chōji and Ino when they helped Naruto to pursue Mizuki and dealt with the Legendary Stupid Brothers. They performed their version of the Ino–Shika–Chō pattern to hold the brothers. They were able to stall them until Tsunade appeared and defeated the two brothers.
[B][I]Konoha Plans Recapture Mission[/I][/B]
In the anime, Shikamaru was assigned to lead the other primary genin in the investigation of a man named Gennō. Gennō had stolen blueprints that could be used to plan a potentially devastating attack during Konoha's period of reconstruction. Shikamaru proved to be a shrewd detective, quickly catching onto seemingly minor clues and predicting the enemy's plans. He also proved more comfortable in his role as leader, though not without complaining to Tsunade first about having to do anything at all. In the end, he led his team to victory and beat Gennō at his own game, leading to the old man's death.
[B][I]Sunagakure Support Mission[/I][/B]
In the anime, he appeared again when Gaara was challenged by the Four Celestial Symbols Men, a group of ninja wielding strange and powerful weapons. When they kidnapped one of Gaara's students, Shikamaru led the Konoha 11 (minus Tenten) to provide assistance, and repay their debt from the Sasuke Recovery Mission. Shikamaru rescued Temari from Kujaku, another wind-user. He then worked with Temari to defeat Kujaku. After the mission, he sees the Sand Siblings and Matsuri depart from Konoha.[/SPOILER][B][I]Interlude[/I][/B][SPOILER][B][I]In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths[/I][/B]
About two years after Naruto left the village to train with Jiraiya, Tsunade contacted Gaara as the newly appointed Kazekage, asking him to meet in Konoha. When Gaara arrived, Shikamaru was assigned to greet and lead them to the meeting. At the meeting, which Shikamaru joined, discussions were in place for Konoha to host an early Chūnin Exams. In hopes of getting approval from other villages, Tsunade asked for Sunagakure to co-sponsor this event. After Tsunade revealed her hopes of luring out the Akatsuki with this event, Gaara agreed to the plan. After the nature of the exams was decided, Shikamaru helped see the Sand Siblings off as they left the village, with Temari once again teasing Shikamaru's previous crying.
Later, as Team Asuma began discussing their joining the exams, it became noted that with Shikamaru already a chūnin and therefore ineligible to join, the team was one member short. Offering a solution, Ino came up with the idea of having Sakura fill in for the exams. Shikamaru would then be chosen as the supervisor and designer for the first phase of the exams. He had each team be separated and situated in different rooms. Once done, he explained what the first exam entailed, stating that each team must answer one of three questions with their combined score equalling 100, testing their teamwork. After surveying the exams through monitors and time was up, he announced to everyone a bonus question that asked the teams to choose a member to sacrifice, stating that the person picked would be eliminated. He later congratulated the participants who passed the first round, leaving the rest up to Temari, who was in charge of the second round held at her homeland.
Ultimately, the Chūnin Exams were ended early before starting the finals due to controversy happening in the second exam. When discussing with Gaara how to handle things, it was decided by Gaara that a report on each participant would be sent to their respective village leader for them to decide if they would be promoted. Shikamaru then aided Tsunade in deciding which of the Konoha-nin would be promoted.[/SPOILER][B][I]Part 2[/I][/B][SPOILER][B][I]Kazekage Rescue Mission[/I][/B]
About a half a year later, at the beginning of Part II, Naruto ran into Shikamaru and Temari soon after returning to the village. Naruto initially thought that Shikamaru and Temari were a couple, although both denied this, explaining that they were working on planning for the next Chūnin Exams. This later prevented Shikamaru from helping with Naruto's first attempt to look for Sasuke, but he was able to help during Naruto's brief scuffle with Sai.
[B][I]Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission[/I][/B]
Shikamaru met up with Naruto with Chōji, where both reconciled with one another. An unknown ninja suddenly attacked, prompting Shikamaru and Chōji to assist Naruto against him. Sai escapes from the fight, although he and Shikamaru befriend each other at a later point.
[B][I]Twelve Guardian Ninja[/I][/B]
In the anime, Shikamaru helped Asuma stop a fight between Kiba, Akamaru, Chōji, Rock Lee and the temporary replacement for Team Kakashi, Sora. Later, when Konoha was invaded by Furido and his team, Tsunade put Shikamaru in charge of Konoha's defence. He grew frustrated that his friends were fighting on the ground while he was on the back lines. Shikamaru stated that a strategist must lead his troops from the front line, and not be afraid to take risks. After getting Ino, Shikamaru led the counter-attack against the undead, ordering an attack plan which drove the enemy back. Later, Shikamaru used his Shadow Imitation Technique to bind a transformed and out of control Sora, only to prove to be futile as he managed to break hold of his grasp. Afterwards, Shikamaru watched with the others as Naruto dealt with Sora.
[B][I]Akatsuki Suppression Mission[/I][/B]
Shikamaru was revealed to be a member of the Nijū Shōtai, where he was teamed up with Asuma, Izumo Kamizuki, and Kotetsu Hagane in an effort to track down and eliminate any and all members of Akatsuki. Eventually, the team found one such member: Hidan, and, as Shikamaru restrained Hidan with his Shadow Imitation Technique, the rest of the team were able to co-ordinate a finishing attack on Hidan. When it was revealed that had done little to stop Hidan, Hidan's partner, Kakuzu, appeared, forcing Shikamaru to release Hidan. As Asuma battled Hidan, Hidan began a ritual that caused all damage done to himself to be inflicted on Asuma as well. Because of Hidan's apparent immortality, Hidan was able to use this to his advantage, giving himself injuries to easily harm Asuma while not being affected by the debilitating blows himself.
To help Asuma, Shikamaru captured Hidan with his shadow once again, and began analysing Hidan's actions and words up to that point. He quickly realised that the "link", created when Hidan consumed Asuma's blood, could only be maintained by Hidan remaining within the blood seal that he had earlier drawn on the ground, so Shikamaru pulled him out of it. With damage done to Hidan no longer harming Asuma, Shikamaru tied Hidan down with his Shadow Sewing Technique, allowing Asuma to decapitate the Akatsuki member. However, even this was not sufficient enough to kill Hidan. After Kakuzu reattached his partner's head, he joined the fight and pinned down Izumo and Kotetsu, while Hidan managed to bind Asuma to his curse jutsu again by stepping back into the blood seal. Shikamaru rushed to the aid of his sensei just as Hidan impaled himself with his spear, delivering the final blow to Asuma.
Chōji and Ino arrived as back-up, and Hidan and Kakuzu were driven off. Ino tried to heal Asuma, but there was nothing she could do, and the students were only able to listen to Asuma's final words. To Shikamaru, Asuma said that he had great potential, perhaps enough to one day become Hokage. After Asuma died, Shikamaru began smoking his first cigarette, blaming its smoke for his tears. Shikamaru did not attend Asuma's funeral, instead coming up with a plan to defeat the Akatsuki duo. This was drawn out considerably in the anime, where his father made an attempt to comfort him with a game of Shogi, though Shikamaru could only blame himself and was too invested in revenge. When he finished his preparations, he set out with Ino and Chōji. They were stopped by Tsunade, who insisted that they stick to the usual four-man team. Kakashi appeared, and volunteered to help, so Shikamaru quickly modified the plan to accommodate for his presence.
Upon finding Hidan and Kakuzu, Shikamaru used Asuma's trench knives, swelling with his shadow, to restrain the Akatsuki members by pinning their shadows. With the two unable to fight back, Shikamaru prepared to trap the two with his Shadow Imitation Technique to allow him more of an advantage, though Kakuzu was able to escape before Shikamaru could ensnare him. With Hidan under his control, Shikamaru used Hidan to attack Kakuzu, forcing him into a corner where Kakashi attacked him with his Lightning Cutter. This destroyed only one of Kakuzu's four extra hearts, and, surprised by this turn of events, Kakashi and Team 10 regrouped. After being left on the defensive for a while, Shikamaru concluded that they must separate Hidan and Kakuzu if they were to win. To this end, Shikamaru again caught Hidan with his shadow, and led him away.
Once far enough, he covered the area in explosive tags to corner the immortal. The time limit on his Shadow Imitation then ran out, so Hidan was able to attack him, get some blood, and initiate his ritual. Hidan quickly stabbed himself in the heart, causing an apparently dead Shikamaru to keel over. Shikamaru was, however, alive and well; the blood had been Kakuzu's, Kakashi having taken a sample when he earlier used Lightning Cutter. In effect, Hidan stabbed Kakuzu in the heart. With Hidan oblivious, Shikamaru tried to decapitate him with a short sword. The cut was too shallow to sever the immortal's head, prompting Shikamaru to capture him in a Shadow Imitation instead - albeit a much weaker one at this point, with his chakra running low.
As Hidan tried to attack Shikamaru, Shikamaru used his Shadow Gathering Technique to cover Hidan with the explosive tags in the area. With Hidan tied in place, Shikamaru activated a mark he had prepared before the battle, causing the ground beneath Hidan to collapse into a pit. Hidan cursed at saying once he was free he would kill him, but Shikamaru explained that the surrounding forest was the property of the Nara clan; only they were allowed to enter or leave the forest, thus ensuring that Hidan's remains would never be found while one of his clan's deer, Rikumaru watched on. In the anime, after lighting a cigarette, Shikamaru flicked Asuma's lighter at Hidan, setting off all of the explosive tags at once. Hidan's remains fell into the pit and, as he swore vengeance against Shikamaru, Shikamaru forced a cave-in. With the battle won, he regrouped with his team escorted by Rikumaru, Kakuzu having also been defeated by Naruto, and returned home. When he got back, Shikamaru stated to Kurenai that it is now his ambition to protect and train the next generation of ninja.
[B][I]Pain's Assault[/I][/B]
Shikamaru was left in charge of deciphering Jiraiya's dying message about Pain. When informed by Shiho and Mitoku that the Konoha Cryptanalysis Team couldn't break the code without some sort of key, Shikamaru approached Naruto for help. Using his own experiences with Asuma's death, he helped him to get over Jiraiya's death, pointing out that they would someday both have students, and would also go to great lengths to protect them and Konoha, just like Asuma and Jiraiya. Revitalised, Naruto helped to decipher the code which revealed the message: "The real one is not among them." Shikamaru proceeded to figure out what this meant, but was interrupted by Pain's assault on Konoha.
In the anime, Shikamaru immediately goes to check on Kurenai, arriving in time to kill the Giant Centipede attacking nearby. He then helped Kurenai to an underground passage to evacuate. After the village's destruction, he and his father were shown to have survived, although Shikamaru received a broken leg. In the anime it was stated to be because he was shielding Shiho from harm. Shikamaru and the others regrouped with Ino and her father, and pooled their knowledge of Pain to try and figure out his secret. They discovered that Pain had a main body that must be nearby, so Inoichi and Shikaku went looking for it. Because his leg made it difficult to move, Shikamaru stayed behind, later joining in on the celebration of Naruto's victory over Pain.
[B][I]Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha[/I][/B]
In the anime, during Iruka's flashback of Naruto as a young prankster, Shikamaru was shown to be curious as to why Naruto was hated by the majority of the village. At one point he and Chōji witnessed a shopkeeper assaulting Naruto while the latter was harmlessly browsing for a face mask. Seeing everyone glaring at Naruto with hostility, Shikamaru asked his father why Naruto was viewed like a disease. Shikaku did not answer his son's question but told him to follow his own feelings. When Shikamaru and Chōji next saw Naruto heading off to the back hills on a dare of three boys, he remembered that a battle had taken place there quite recently and bearing no hostility towards him, tipped Iruka off of the danger Naruto was unknowingly walking into.
Back in the present Shikamaru, along with Shiho, was looking at a table filled with salvaged photos of villagers. They were trying to sort them out to give them back to their rightful owners.
Later, Shikamaru remembers a time when Team Asuma, along with Team Kakashi, went on a mission where they had to save a Village Headman's granddaughter from a gang boss named Baji. After analysing the situation, he recommends Kakashi and Asuma to take an alternate route to the boss' fortress. After infiltrating the boss' fortress, he agrees for a hostage exchange between himself and a man named Tōfu. He is then taken up to a secret room where the Headman's granddaughter is being kept. Moments later, Ino and Chōji catch up with him, apprehend Baji and save the girl, completing their mission.
[B][I]Five Kage Summit[/I][/B]
When news reaches Konoha of Sasuke's recent dealings with Akatsuki, Team 10, Team 8, and Team Guy decide that they should personally kill Sasuke before he involves the village in a war. Shikamaru volunteers to approach Team 7 on the group's behalf and inform them of their decision. Sakura reluctantly agrees with him. Because Naruto is in the Land of Iron, Sakura offers to tell him for Shikamaru. When Naruto returns to Konoha he meets with Shikamaru and the others to tell them he understands their reasons, but asks that dealing with Sasuke be left to him.
[B][I]Power[/I][/B]
In the anime, when Hidan's Triple-Bladed Scythe was stolen from the Nara Clan Forest, Shikamaru and a group of shinobi went there to investigate. Upon receiving news that Kabuto is responsible for the massacre in Tonika Village, Tsunade sends Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Might Guy to assist Team Kakashi.
[B][I]Paradise Life on a Boat[/I][/B]
Shikamaru and his father attend a war council to discuss the village's preparations for the looming Fourth Shinobi World War. Although Shikaku believed his son too young and inexperienced to be there, Shikamaru resolved to use every brain cell he had to memorise everything during the meeting. In the anime, before attending the meeting, he sees Naruto being chased by Konohamaru and he can't seem to get Naruto and the Nine-Tails out of his mind and remembers of what Hinata and Yamato said to him earlier, resolving to doing everything possible to protect him.
[B][I]Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation[/I][/B]
When the war begins, Shikamaru is placed in the Fourth Division alongside Chōji. Although Gaara is technically the commander, Temari tells Shikamaru that, as Gaara's proxy, he is effectively in command. Shikamaru, Chōji, and other members of their division are later sent to provide support for the First Division. They meet up with Ino - sent as backup from her own division - and they team up to help Darui fight Kinkaku. Shikamaru restrains Kinkaku with his shadow but only barely holds him long enough for Ino to use the Mind Body Switch Technique on Kinkaku, leading to Kinkaku's capture within the Kohaku no Jōhei. Ino–Shika–Chō next engages the reincarnated Kakuzu. As they prepare to face him yet again, he points out that he is not the only ninja to have been reincarnated: Asuma is on the battlefield too.
As Asuma's students and thus experts on his fighting style, Shikaku leaves fighting him to Ino–Shika–Chō. Shikamaru goes after Asuma with his shadow to create an opening for Chōji to attack him, but Chōji is reluctant to attack their late teacher. While Chōji struggles to find his resolve, Shikamaru tries to hit Asuma with his Shadow Imitation Shuriken Technique. Asuma blocks it with a kunai and goes after Chōji, forcing Ino to transfer her consciousness to Chōji's body and fight for him. Shikamaru looks after her unconscious body, using his shadow to make it imitate defensive actions against white Zetsu. With encouragement from Shikamaru, Ino, and even Asuma, Chōji finds the resolve to fight. Shikamaru again uses his shadow to create an opening, allowing Chōji to fling Asuma into a cliff wall. Shikamaru pins him there with Asuma's old Chakra Blades. Defeated, Asuma congratulates them on their perfect teamwork before being sealed.
The battle continues into the night and Shikamaru assists Chōji in mopping up the rest of the reincarnated ninja. Before they can claim victory, Tobi appears on the battlefield with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. While the Statue wreaks havoc, Tobi goes after the Kohaku no Jōhei and the Benihisago. Remembering information given to him by Temari about the Statue and the tailed beasts, Shikamaru deduces that Tobi plans to use the brothers' Nine-Tails-chakra. Tobi calls Shikamaru a worthy adversary for figuring out what he had planned and has the Statue attack him. He is saved by Chōji while Tobi escapes with the brothers. After the attack subsides, Shikamaru is seen planning with the rest of his team and Tenten.
The next day, the Allied Shinobi Forces are in turmoil over who to trust thanks to the White Zetsu clones that had infiltrated their ranks. In the anime, things grow even more difficult when the Sound Four are summoned to the field. Still shaken over his last encounter with the personal guard of Orochimaru, Shikamaru has his allies stay back. Telling them that they still can't be sure of who to trust, Shikamaru instead faces Tayuya personally as only he knew the methods behind her attacks. While noticing that her genjutsu-range had grown considerably, Shikamaru easily countered her sound-based technique with ear-plugs. Shikamaru then impales the Sound ninja to subdue her. However, his victory is short-lived, as Tayuya engulfs them in a strange technique. Shikamaru's body was left in a comatose state while his soul was sent to a new location where it was reanimate within a large barrier. Inside, the inhabitants are able to battle normal. However, the Sound Four inform their enemies that in time, their actual bodies' halted chakra flow will eventually cause them to die. In addition, killing the Sound Four will not undo the technique. Despite the initial stalemate, the Sound Four's enhanced Cursed Seals grow even stronger from their accumulated malice, quickly overwhelming the Konoha ninja. Seeing that, Shikamaru begins to intentionally provoke them, knowing that Naruto's new senses would pick up on it. Eventually, Naruto finds them and breaks through the barrier, allowing Inoichi, through a telepathic connection, to release the technique and restore Shikamaru and the others to their bodies. Upon awakening, he is tearfully hugged by a relieved Ino.
Later, in order to counter the mayhem of the White Zetsu Army clones until Naruto arrived to differentiate them, Shikamaru has everyone draw circles around themselves that they were not allowed to leave or enter another one. When Ino asks him if they couldn't just ask questions to confirm each other's identity, Shikamaru tells her that's there too big a chance that an enemy could simply guess the right answer. He later tells Dan who Naruto was and his dreams of becoming Hokage after Dan initially mistakes him for Nawaki.
After being informed by Inoichi from HQ that Naruto and B were fighting the "masked Madara", Shikamaru and the rest of the Konoha 11 rush to his aid. As he runs, he tells Chōji that he'd expect nothing short of Naruto overdoing things on the battlefield and because of his short temper, he wasn't one to calmly think a plan through, so Naruto should wait for him.
[B][I]Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax[/I][/B]
Upon arriving at the battlefield, Shikamaru noted that with the Hiding in Mist Technique and Insect Jamming Technique working in tandem, it would make it harder for the opposition to sense them. He later relayed that the rest of his division had arrived before standing alongside all the remaining members of the Allied Shinobi Forces to face their opposition. When it later proved that their efforts had been futile as the fully-matured Ten-Tails emerged from the hole it had been trapped in and began going on a rampage, a visibly saddened Shikamaru listened to what would be his father's final battle strategy for the Alliance as a Tailed Beast Ball hurtled towards HQ. He thanks his father for everything telepathically, and accepts the role of master strategist in his father's place. Chōji tries to comfort Shikamaru, but Shikamaru reminds Chōji and Ino that they are still in the midst of battle, and that they didn't have the time to grieve. He later learns of Neji's death.
After Kurama had accumulated enough chakra, Naruto sent a shadow clone to give Kurama's chakra to Shikamaru, Ino, Chōji, and the rest of the Allied Shinobi Force. As Kurama's chakra surrounded him, he began the strategy that his father imparted to them. With Chōji and several other Akimichi stopping the beast's tails, Ino took control of Obito Uchiha once again, veering another would-be-fatal attack off course. Working with several of his own clansmen, they and Shikamaru immobilised the beast, and signalled to Ino that she could release her technique now that they had rendered it immobile.
With the situation on the battlefield getting dire when the Ten-Tails creates an even larger Tailed Beast Ball, Shikamaru formulated a strategy and requested that Ino connect him to Kitsuchi. Once connected, he requested that Kitsuchi teach the entire division the seals for the simplest of earthen defences. Explaining that they were going to attempt to fight quality with quantity in an attempt to deflect the attack, Shikamaru then requested that Ino connect him to the remainder of the Alliance where he imparted the hand seals to be used in his plan. Their valiant efforts as well as Killer B's, however, prove to be little hindrance to the attack. The Alliance was saved, however, by the arrival of the Fourth Hokage on the battlefield.
With Sasuke's subsequent appearance, Shikamaru, along with Chōji, stops Ino from approaching him, warning her that he's a criminal and an enemy. He denounces Sasuke, stating with Shino that he cannot be simply forgiven after all he has done. Shikamaru and the rest of his peers are then left dumbfounded after Sasuke claims that he will become Hokage. He then comments on the reunion of Team 7, saying that he doesn't want to trust Sasuke but they have a war to worry about. He then charges at the Ten-Tails with his friends. Ino then rallies her own team together, for them to perform Formation E. While Chōji uses his Multi-Size Technique, and Shikamaru uses the Shadow Clutch Technique on him, Ino uses her sensory abilities to lock onto all of the clones in the surrounding area, before putting her own sensing perception into Shikamaru's mind. With Ino acting as the mind, Shikamaru as the body and Chōji as the yo-yo, the trio perform the Human Bullet Yo-Yo technique, obliterating all of the surrounding clones. As Chōji prepares to double in size to strengthen his assault, Shikamaru states that the team has a lot more to show, with Ino then berating him for his sudden competitiveness with the other teams. He then watches Naruto and Sasuke as they attack the Ten-Tails, quietly cheering them on. His mood, however, changed severely and he became very contemplative after seemingly hearing Sai's question Sasuke's motives, although he told Ino when she asked what was bothering him that it was nothing.
Later when the shinobi began to lose morale watching the titans on the battlefield clash, Shikamaru had Ino link him to the Alliance once again where he told them to watch diligently as no matter how small, they could exploit an opening presented with their combined power. Later after Obito launched another attack, Shikamaru willed himself to remain calm while he analysed the situation and create a strategy to counter the attack. Drawing a blank on how to counter this attack, Shikamaru and the others soon found themselves shrouded in the previous Version 1 mantles again. Believing that Naruto intended to shield them with the shroud again, Shikamaru subsequently found themselves on the outside of the barrier, escaping the near-fatal attack thanks to Naruto and Minato's action.
Ready to begin the final stages of his plan, Obito unleashes the Ten-Tails' tree form. It began unleashing countless branches, attacking every living target to absorb its chakra, killing the victim in the process. One of the few survivors of the ordeal but severely drained of nearly all his chakra, Shikamaru collapsed in Chōji's arms. Drifting in and out of consciousness, the young man apologised to his parents for his failings. Shortly after when Hashirama had Ino link everyone telepathically to inform them of what his original had learned about the Eye of the Moon Plan and the Ten-Tails, Naruto's senjutsu-enhanced Tailed Beast Mode combined with Ino's telepathy causes his emotions and personal memories to be conveyed to everyone. Still weak, but conscious, Shikamaru sympathised with Naruto over the loss of Asuma.
As Naruto joined Sasuke in attacking Obito, the residual chakra still inside Shikamaru expanded and began to aid in healing him. While Sakura believed that Naruto was splitting his attention between fighting and healing, Ino explained that it was actually Naruto's chakra acting off his subconscious will. Thinking back on his time with Naruto, Shikamaru drew strength from his belief in him and the hardships Naruto had faced. Shikamaru resolved to stand by Naruto's side as his adviser when he became Hokage, believing he needed someone intelligent around him, similar to the role Tobirama had played with his brother Hashirama. This way, Naruto would never be alone again. Finally recovering enough to sit up, Tsunade later appeared on the battlefield and expedited his recovery with her abilities.
[B][I]Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki[/I][/B]
Later mobilising alongside his comrades when Naruto called for them, Shikamaru and the others were shocked when they are enveloped by Naruto's Tailed Beast Mode mantle. Using the Rasengan formed in Kurama's tails, Shikamaru and the others were able to break down Obito's defences giving Naruto and Sasuke the opportunity to land a fatal blow. He and his other comrades later assisted Naruto with wresting the control of the tailed beasts' chakra from Obito in order to stop the Ten-Tails' tree form from blooming. Shikamaru once again used the telepathic link to rally the forces telling them that no matter how small, their combined efforts would help greatly in the long run.
Though they are successful in stopping Obito, Shikamaru and the rest of the Alliance are soon faced with the fact that Madara was able to revive himself. Before they can even contend with Madara, the Alliance is confronted by Tobi who overwhelms them with his massive animate statue. After a timely save by Hiruzen, Shikamaru noted as the Alliance was running out of chakra, Hiruzen was the only one left able to contend with the enemy.
He later watched on as meteorites once again fell to the ground close by him. He noted that not only had Naruto's chakra had disappeared, but the holy tree had also disappeared. His feeling of foreboding is realised after they all fall victim to Madara's Infinite Tsukuyomi. Inside the genjutsu, Shikamaru dreamed of his sensei and father still alive with their respective spouses, watching along with Temari the different possibilities in marriage and wondering if it is worth the trouble.
[B][I]Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes[/I][/B]
Ultimately, Shikamaru and the rest of the world were freed from the genjutsu by Naruto and Sasuke after ending the war. Sometime afterwards, Shikamaru was promoted to jōnin status.[/SPOILER][/SIZE][/JUSTIFY]
[CENTER][B][SIZE=4]Other[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]
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[FONT=Avenir Next][SIZE=1][BORDER=Ending Notes]
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Despite being loaded with weapons, Sasori kept them (and his true form) hidden within his Akatsuki robes, which were large enough to conceal them without problem. Curiously, when using "himself", Sasori's eyes were always wide open, giving him a somewhat insane look. In contrast, prior to revealing his puppet body, Sasori's eyes were always half-closed, making him appear calmer and more aloof. Sasori has claimed that he has not used "himself" since joining Akatsuki, until his last battle with his grandmother and Sakura Haruno.
Name: Shikamaru Nara 