In Naruto, Shikamaru Nara is known to be one of the smartest characters. He even became Naruto’s advisor when the protagonist finally achieved his dream of becoming the Hokage. Shikamaru also displayed his high intellect during the Ninja War as he helped create strategies for them to win. But just how smart is Shikamaru?
Can he beat his own father, Shikaku Nara, who has been the advisor of three different Hokage? Can we say that he deserves to be Naruto’s advisor?
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How Smart Is Shikamaru?
According to Shikamaru’s teacher, Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru has an IQ of more than 200, which is considered "profoundly gifted" and a genius-level score.
This is not surprising though as his father, Shikaku Nara, was known to be smart as well, having been an advisor to three different Hokage himself, while his mother, Yoshino Nara, was in charge of the Nara Research Lab.
Having smart parents clearly shows where Shikamaru got his intelligence.
His father also trained him to play Shogi or Japanese chess, through which he learned about the different battle defenses used by Konoha.
The game further improved his strategic thinking skills which he eventually used during the Ninja War.
It came to a point where creating strategies became a part of his daily life.
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Can Shikamaru Beat His Own Father?
Sadly, no one can beat Shikaku. He was known to be the smartest out of all the characters, which is why it was truly unfortunate that he died.
When he was alive, no one was able to beat him, even at Shogi, so we can safely assume that even Shikamaru cannot beat his dad if the latter was still alive.
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Does Shikamaru Deserve to Be Naruto's Advisor?
Yes, Shikamaru is deserving and fitting of his position as Naruto’s advisor. With his training and rare intellect, Shikamaru has proven from time to time that he is a huge asset to Konoha.
People have depended on him for his strategies and combat thinking skills which have saved a lot of people in the past.
What makes Shikamaru even more interesting is that despite his high intellect, he can be perceived as lazy.
He doesn’t like to do things that he knows are troublesome (even though he ends up doing them anyway).
At the end of the day, he uses his intelligence to be of service and help the people around him.
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