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Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: "With great power comes great responsibility."
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Shikaku Nara is a supporting protagonist of the Naruto series. He is the head of the Nara Clan, the father of Shikamaru Nara, and is renowned for his genius intelligence, which was stated by the Fourth Raikage to be a strong factor in the Hidden Leaf Village's durability. He was once again trusted for his genius intelligence and made Chief Strategist of the Allied Shinobi Forces, where his role proved to be virtually resourceful in protecting the world from the dangers of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Together with Inoichi Yamanaka and Chōza Akimichi, they formed the famous triad of Ino-Shika-Chō, playing a key role in protecting the world from Madara Uchiha.
He is voiced by Jonathan Fahn in the English Dub and by Hiroshi Yanaka in Japanese.
Personality
He was more or less the adult version of his son Shikamaru Nara. He was suggested to enjoy drinking alcohol and reading adult magazines, and was the originator of Shikamaru's famous "What a drag" catchphrase, but was actually a genius among geniuses with a hardy mental fortitude. He is usually seen as a serious man who shows mental resilience when chaotic situations erupt, such as the surprise attack of the Nine-Tailed Fox and the entire scope of the Fourth Shinobi World War. As the father of a natural born genius, Shikaku was expectedly even smarter and more mature than his son. When Shikamaru was a teenager, he was distraught at witnessing his master's death and not being able to prevent it. This is when Shikaku was shown to be a very empathetic father, giving advice to his son on multiple occassions.
He was one of the few parents who did not show any discrimination towards Naruto Uzumaki, and thought it was fine that Shikamaru had wanted to be friends with him. This proves that Shikaku is wise and is a good parent. He taught Shikamaru the Nara clan's Hiden (秘伝, Secret Technique) teaching him to use the Shadow Immitation Technique. Shikaku's favorite hobby is playing shogi, a game that he is incredibly skilled at due to his extremely high mental caliber. Although taking the role of a non-action hero in Part II, in Part I he was briefly shown to be a ruthless ninja with the meanness to take another person's life. Overall, Shikaku is a diligent man who is loyal to those he cherishes and a caring and wise father.
Appearance
Shikaku had a rather stern appearance that implied experience. He noticeably has two scars on the right side of his face and a smaller scar the left side of his forehead, near the temple. He had black hair which was tied into a spiky ponytail and a goatee. In Part I, he wore a dark green flak jacket with a meshed shirt underneath, occassionally seen in with a deer skin coat as well. In Part II, he wore a standard Konoha Jōnin outfit, but with a darker shade of green to denote his status as Jōnin Commander.
Abilities
Shikaku was well-respected in the Hidden Leaf, and was trusted enough by the representatives of the Five Great Nations to lead and command the entire Allied Shinobi Forces. His genius is undoubtedly his most resourceful trait, and paired with his jōnin-level training and battle experience, was a very resourceful shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village. His son, Shikamaru Nara, would grow up to assist the Hidden Leaf Village in the same way he did, by filling in roles of strategy. The Fourth Raikage applauded Shikaku's intelligence, stating that he must be why the Hidden Leaf has always been so hard to take down. The Nara Clan's secret technique, the Shadow Immitation Technique, is mastered by Shikaku, another reason he is to be respected.
Ninjutsu
As head of the Nara Clan, Shikaku has high control over the clan's secret technique, Shadow Possession Jutsu. The techniques used by Shikaku include:
- Shadow Possession Jutsu (Shadow Immitation Technique)
- Shadow Strangle Jutsu (Shadow Neck-Binding Technique)
- Shadow Stitching Jutsu (Shadow Sewing Technique)
- Black Spider Lily
These techniques all involve manipulating his own shadow to reshape and elongate and move towards someone else to take over their shadow and successfully bind them. The basic technique that does exactly that is the Shadow Immitation Technique, which can be used to either immobilize an opponent or make them mimic Shikaku's movements. Shikaku is not an offensively oriented shinobi, but with his skill, developed the Shadow Neck-Binding Technique to bind and suffocate targets with increasing strength the closer they are to him.
The Shadow Sewing Technique is a more advanced technique where his shadow is formed into thin tentacles that (inexplicably) rise above the ground to form needle-like threads that bind a person in place. Shikaku can form the Black Spider Lily which binds multiple targets around Shikaku and pulls them towards him, used in conjunction with his teammmates abilities.
Intelligence
Shikaku's most promising ability is his intelligence. He was trusted with commanding the entire Allied Shinobi Forces in its fight to save the world, a monument to his intellect. He was a champion of analyzing data and using it to form shrewed strategies in the heat of the moment, even giving the army hope when the Ten-Tailed Beast was summoned. He devised an ultimate team jutsu that utilized the specific techniques of the ninja of various villages to form an attack of such as grand scale that it briefly binded the Ten-Tails, despite not being aware of their abilities until just then. Even away from battle, he commonly defeated his son Shikamaru at shogi, the latter of which is also a genius. His son would grow up to have intelligence comparable to his own.
