शिकामारू Nara (奈良シカマル, Nara Shikamaru) is one of the main supporting characters of the series. He is a Chunin-level Shinobi of Konohagakure, and is a member of the Nara clan, as well as a member of the Chunin team, Team Asuma, which was formerly led द्वारा Asuma Sarutobi. Along with his teammates, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka, he is a member of the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, just like their fathers before them.

शिकामारू has a long-standing friendship with Choji Akimichi. They met even before joining the Ninja Academy. When others ridiculed Choji for his weight, शिकामारू instead chose to recognize his strength and worth as a person. Because of the kindness शिकामारू has always shown him, Choji is unquestioningly loyal to him, and will gladly give his life for Shikamaru.

Once they entered the Academy, शिकामारू and Choji were, among their classes, "dead-lasts", along with Kiba Inuzuka and नारूटो Uzumaki, spending their दिन pursuing और interesting pastimes. In Shikamaru's case, he would spend all दिन 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, their instructor, would give them all the same condemnation.

As a Genin, शिकामारू 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 is fully aware of this side of his personality, and even named himself "the number one at running away" या "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, शिकामारू has a strong moral compass and sense of commitment to his comrades. Even though, द्वारा his own testimony, he lacks bravery, he will sacrifice himself and face almost certain death for the sake of his फ्रेंड्स या villagers without a सेकंड thought. In short, he is the very definition of how a leader should be like, and it is for his raw leadership skill why he was the first Genin from the rookie 9 to become a Chunin. The weight of the decisions he must make as a Chunin and, thus, team leader have caused शिकामारू to mature rapidly. This was most evident after the death of Asuma; he vowed to protect and later mentor Asuma's unborn child, so that he 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 हाल का decision to stop Sasuke at all cost, even in the face of potential objections on behalf of the original members of Team 7.

शिकामारू loves to play thinking games that older men are usually into, such as Shogi and Go (His teacher, Asuma, even कहा at one point "That kid is like an old man. He likes to take things slowly"). He is a brilliant strategist, and the Hokage often seeks his सलाह on defense strategies[1] and though his former sensei, Asuma Sarutobi, often played against Shikamaru, Asuma had never actually managed to beat him. Asuma became suspicious upon realizing that शिकामारू was so good at board games, despite his abysmal grades. As a result, Asuma administered an IQ test disguised as a game to Shikamaru, which revealed that शिकामारू was beyond a genius, with an IQ of over 200. Sakura once states शिकामारू as being the smartest person in the आग Country.[2] During the Chunin exams, even the Daimyo was impressed द्वारा his intelligence and offered him to शामिल होइए his personal guard. शिकामारू had felt that even moving his pencil in class was a bother, and always slept through tests, resulting in his low grades. Nevertheless, his great wisdom and strategic expertise balanced his shortcomings.

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. दिया his mother's tyrannical personality, this isn't too surprising; however, his father shares the exact same attitude, despite marrying her in the first place. When शिकामारू questioned his father why he would marry such a domineering woman, his father responded that even the toughest woman will दिखाना her gentle side to the man she loves. Nevertheless, शिकामारू is generally courteous to women, doing them favors and avoiding fights with them. Despite the latter point, he exclusively fought against women during Part I of the manga.

Besides this attitude, he has expressed a notably mature interest in marriage and raising a family; on the subject, he hopes to "marry someone who is not too ugly and not too pretty. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after my daughter is married and my son becomes a successful ninja, and spend the rest of my life playing Shogi या Go. Then die of old age before my wife."

To further emphasize his personality, शिकामारू is regularly seen with a lazy या irritated expression. He has fairly long jet black hair tied in a spiky ponytail and narrow brown eyes. During Part I, his attire was rather plain, with his forehead protector worn around his left arm. During Part II, he has grown noticeably taller. He has also gone under a costume change, sporting a different undershirt and pants, and changing his earrings from rings to studs, though the placement of his headband is the same place. He starts wearing a flak जैकेट when he becomes a Chunin.