Shikaku Nara

The pair of scars running down the right side of Shikaku's face is his most striking feature. He shares the dark, spiky ponytail worn by his son and grandson, along with dark eyes, a goatee, and pierced ears. In Part I he pairs a mesh shirt with a flak jacket, adding a coat of deer skin and a set of hand guards, while in Part II he switches to the standard Konoha uniform, his flak jacket rendered a deeper green to mark his rank as Jonin Commander. Off duty at home, he prefers a plain light kimono and a haori stamped with the clan's crest.

In the anime Shikaku is first shown as something of a drinker who borrows his son's habitual gripes about how troublesome things are. He believes women ought to be gentle, yet by Shikamaru's account his own wife keeps him firmly in check, and he hides a few things at home that he would rather she not find. His resolve, though, runs far deeper than his son's; even in the bleakest moments he holds onto determination and perspective, repeatedly steadying Shikamaru when the younger man's confidence falters.

On the battlefield he can be merciless, showing no hesitation about choking invading Suna shinobi to death during the Konoha Crush. He is also notable as one of the few parents who never ordered his child to keep away from Naruto, instead trusting Shikamaru to decide for himself, and he shows deep care for his son, urging him to release his grief so that he can avenge Asuma.

As a genin, Shikaku was paired with Choza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka, a bond between their clans that would last for life. As the Third Shinobi World War drew toward its end, their trio was sent to arrange a peace treaty with Iwagakure, and they later helped defend the village during the Nine-Tails' attack. Having mastered his clan's shadow-based hiden, Shikaku bound and killed several invaders during the Konoha Crush and could wield the Black Spider Lily to ensnare many foes at once, even lifting a comrade to safety with a tendril of shadow.

His mind, however, is what set him apart. He kept the family's medical encyclopaedia, whose research on the Three Coloured Pills later let Tsunade save Choji, and he regularly beat Shikamaru at shogi so completely that his son never noticed the game was lost. Kakashi held that his gifts would have made him an outstanding Hokage. After steadying Shikamaru following the failed Sasuke Recovery Mission and the death of Asuma, Shikaku lived through Pain's leveling of the village and, at the Five Kage Summit, put Kakashi's name forward as Hokage.

When the Fourth Shinobi World War arrived, he was appointed Chief Battle Strategist and remained at headquarters, feeding the Kage tactics for use against the White Zetsu Army as well as the reincarnated dead. His plans consistently handed the Alliance the advantage, earning even the Fourth Raikage's respect. As the enemy at last turned its attack toward headquarters, Shikaku calmly relayed one last plan for halting the Ten-Tails and said farewell to his son moments before the base was destroyed. He died childless of any surviving parent but not of legacy: years later his son's marriage to Temari gave him a grandson, Shikadai.