Shikamaru Nara
Name: Shikamaru Nara
Gender: Male
Age: 13
Height: 4'
Weight: 86 lbs.
Hair: Black, pony tail
Eyes: Brown
Alignment: Good
Right or left handed: Right handed
Clothing: Open short sleeve shirt, fishnet shirt, baggy shorts, shinobi sandles, shuriken holster, and a scroll pack
Weapon: Kunai
Clan: Nara
Village: Hidden Village of Leaf
Jutsus:
1.)Substitution Jutsu- Replaces the user with a log and they appear somewhere else.
2.)Shadow Clone Jutsu- Creates a shadow clone that looks exactly like the user. When struck it disappears in a puff of smoke.
3.)Shadow Possession Jutsu- The users shadow stretches across the ground into the target and connects making the user able to control the target but only for a limited time.
History: Originally a Genin level ninja that graduated with Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru is a lazy, easy going genius who was promoted to Chunin level after the Chunin Exam Arc. He is from a family of shadow manipulators and deer herders. His main technique is Shadow Imitation Technique. Later in the series, his father teaches him his second jutsu, Shadow Neck Bind Technique, an extension of his first technique. Shikamaru is the sort of unenthusiastic person who would rather take a nap than get excited over something and likes the thinking games that older men are usually into, such as Shogi and Go. A testament to that is the fact that Shikamaru even decided to sleep during the attack of Konoha by Suna and Oto, as he thought it would be too troublesome to get up and fight, and end up getting attacked, after he had dispelled a sleeping genjutsu cast by the enemies. This was found out after Sakura was about to cancel the genjutsu and found out he was in fact aware of his surroundings, much to her annoyance. Another example is before he was supposed to fight Temari. Shikamaru contemplates forefiting, but is pushed into the arena by Naruto. When thrust into action-laden situations, uncomfortable situations, or indeed, any situation at all that would require him to exert himself, he tends to remark "what a drag" the whole thing is (the Japanese dub uses a similar phrase, though the meaning more closely resembles "this is troublesome"). He is fully aware of this side of his personality and even dubs himself "the number one at running away" or "the number one coward". However, when duty calls, Shikamaru has a strong moral compass and sense of commitment to 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 without a second thought, such as when he stayed in back to confront the Sound Ninja, giving Naruto enough time to catch up with Sasuke. Since he has been promoted to Chunin, his responsibility for the lives of his friends has weighed very heavily on him on occasion. Shikamaru is a brilliant strategist, and though his sensei, Asuma Sarutobi, often plays Go and Shogi against Shikamaru, he has never actually managed to beat him. Asuma got suspicious upon realizing that Shikamaru was so good at board games despite his abysmal grades, which were almost as low as Naruto's. As a result, Asuma administered an IQ test disguised as a game to Shikamaru, which revealed that Shikamaru was a genius with an intelligence of over 200. Shikamaru had felt that even moving his pencil in class was a bother and always slept through tests, resulting in his low grades. Shikamaru has a habit of putting his fingers together to create a square and closing his eyes so he can concentrate and come up with a strategy. Once he does, which often takes only a few minutes, he is often already thinking ten moves ahead of his opponent with over a hundred strategies already planned out.
Shikamaru has a longstanding friendship with Choji Akimichi, in whom he has complete trust. Before they were promoted to Chunin rank, Shikamaru, Choji and Ino Yamanaka were on the same Genin team under Asuma. Their fathers were on the same team as well. Their teamwork is unparalleled. Shikamaru finds all women troublesome. He considers Temari to be the most troublesome one, followed closely by his mother. Even though Shikamaru finds women annoying, bossy, and troublesome (due to his mother's personality), he has expressed a notably mature interest in marriage and raising a family. (Shikamaru: "Marry someone who is not ugly, or beautiful. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after his daughter is married, and his son has a job and spend the rest of his life playing Shogi. And to die before his wife.")
His favorite dish is mackerel and kelp; his least is boiled eggs. His hobbies are napping, Shogi (a Japanese game similar to chess) and cloud watching. His favorite phrase is "Live each day quietly".
Shikamaru facing Temari in Chunin exam.Initially introduced as nothing more than a lazy person who is always complaining, it is during his organized matches in the Chunin exam that Shikamaru earns acclaim as a keen strategist. In one battle, he defeats Kin Tsuchi by sneaking his shadow under the thin strings she is using to control her bells; she does not notice that a string that thin and that far from the floor should not be making a shadow. Shikamaru's shining point during the arc is his battle with Temari, where although it seems as if he is just futilely attempting strategy after strategy, and that it is only a matter of time until one of her wind attacks catches him, he is in fact manipulating her into a position where he can guarantee she is caught in his shadow bind from behind. He then simply forfeits the match, remarking that despite having thought of about 200 different strategies, he'd run out of chakra due to the extensive use of his shadow techniques. Moreover, he says he does not like to hurt or hit women. Plus, to his testimony, continuing would've been troublesome anyway, so he decided to give up. Despite having forfeited, Shikamaru's brilliant strategy impressed everyone, including the Hokage. As a result of his decisive tactical skills, he is the only Genin to become a Chunin after this Chunin exam.Later, when the attack by Sunagakure and Otogakure on Konohagakure commences, Shikamaru is one of only three Genin (along with Sakura and Shino) who successfully dispels the sleeping genjutsu cast on the Chunin exam third stage stadium. However, he pretends to be caught in the illusion so that he can lie there and not do anything, only to be 'awakened' by Sakura attempting to dispel the genjutsu for him. Shikamaru, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi's tracking dog, Pakkun, head off to find Sasuke, who has followed Gaara's trail, determined to end their battle. They are pursued by eight Sound Chunin, however. At this point he refers to the ninja with him and himself as "An idiot, a kunoichi with no special abilities, a dog, and the village's number one coward." But Shikamaru chooses to stay behind so he can stall them while the others continue to pursue Sasuke. Using a clever strategy, he is able to trap all eight with his shadow. However, a ninth Sound ninja hides in the trees, protecting the captured eight against Shikamaru's attacks. Despite correctly predicting the presence of the ninth ninja, he cannot fight off the Sound ninjas after being drained from his earlier match in the Chunin exam. Fortunately, his sensei, Asuma, comes in to help him and defeats all nine Sound ninja himself. Shikamaru leading his team in the Sasuke Retrieval arc.Shikamaru's first job as a Chunin is to lead the team of Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuga, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru (also known as Team Shikamaru) on a mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha when the latter flees Konoha. The mission fails due to interference from the "Sound Four", a special team of ninja who are specially sent by Orochimaru to ensure that Sasuke arrives at the Hidden Sound Village safely. Shikamaru demonstrates intelligent tactical skills when it comes to formations and avoiding and placing traps for the team's foes. In the end, the team ends up splitting up one by one and taking on fights individually. Shikamaru's opponent is Tayuya, a ninja who specializes in long-range sound attacks using her flute. She uses her flute to control three demon-like creatures, and to create genjutsu to bind the opponent. Shikamaru once again demonstrates amazing strategy in his attacks, and successfully binds Tayuya with his shadow. However, when Tayuya releases her second-level cursed seal power, she is able to resist it with sheer brute force. She traps Shikamaru in a genjutsu, where he is unable to move and it seems as if he is finally through. However, just as she attempts to kill him, he uses his own shadow to break his finger, using the pain to escape the illusion, counter her attack, and bind her in his shadow, this time at point-blank range, where he can keep a stronger grip. However, her brute strength still outmatches his, and just as he runs out of energy, he is again saved, this time by Temari, as it's revealed that Suna is allies of Konoha once again. Although Shikamaru tried his best as team leader, upon his return he is very hard on himself for the results; not only did the mission fail, but most of his team's members were in one point or another during the mission in mortal peril, and it was practically a miracle that they all came back alive. If it hadn't been for the Sand siblings arriving in time to save them from their clearly superior opponents, they probably would have perished. Shikamaru's initial reaction is to quit being a ninja altogether. After being scolded by Temari for being such a coward, his father arrives and explains to him that if he quits being a Chunin there will still be missions and somebody else will lead them; and if Shikamaru truly believes in his own strategic ability, he will only experience worse pain when somebody else leads his friends to their deaths and he would have been able to prevent it by remaining in charge of them. Shedding tears of relief when a report arrives that his friends are all right and taking his father's advice to heart, Shikamaru resolves to do better next time for their sake. In the anime, Shikamaru is also appointed an academy instructor. This remains consistent after the timeskip, since he helps to coordinate the Chunin Exams.
