Naruto: 9 Characters Who Would Easily Outsmart Shikamaru Nara

Shikamaru Nara is one of Konoha's most important shinobi in the Naruto world. As a member of the Nara clan, he has the ability to manipulate shadows and use them in ways that are unimaginable to the enemy. However, his biggest strength remains to be his mind.

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Shikamaru is considered to be a genius and even as a 13-year-old, he was said to have an IQ of over 200, which is incredible, to say the least. Over the years, he's only grown smarter, however, there are quite a few who can outsmart him in battle.

9 Madara Uchiha

Known to be one of the greatest Uchiha clan members of all time, Madara was among the most fearsome characters in the entire series. Not only did he possess incredible strength but his mind was equally good.

He was smart enough to plan his revival decades before it happened and used countless people to his advantage in the process. In combat, he could outsmart anyone, and a showing of that was given during the war, where even Shikamaru couldn't make a difference.

8 Tobirama Senju

The Second Hokage of Konohagakure, Tobirama was among the smartest characters in the series and an incredible shinobi. His prowess as a ninja was said to be unmatched during his time as the Hokage.

Using his creative mind, he created hundreds of Jutsu, such as the Impure World Reincarnation and the Shadow-clone Jutsu. In battle, he only struck when confident and could launch surprise attacks on anyone and finish them before they even knew what had occurred.

7 Sasuke Uchiha

Another legendary Uchiha such as Madara Uchiha himself, Sasuke was a member of Team 7 who later went down his own road in the story. As he matured, Sasuke learned to rely on not just power but his intelligence as well.

As an adult, Sasuke was considered to be a bigger threat by Isshiki Otsutsuki than Naruto Uzumaki despite being weaker due to his intelligence. In a fight, he could quite easily outsmart Shikamaru.

6 Orochimaru

Like Tobirama, Orochimaru is considered to be one of the geniuses of the series. His thirst for knowledge made him quite a dangerous guy to fight and he was someone who even the strongest remained wary of back during his days as a villain.

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The Professor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, held Orochimaru in quite a high regard and that just goes to show that his mind was praiseworthy indeed. He always appeared to be a step ahead of the enemy and that's certainly something that gives him the edge over Shikamaru.

5 Kakashi Hatake

Also known as the Copy Ninja, Kakashi is an elite shinobi who has quite easily been one of the greatest prodigies in the series. He advanced to the rank of Jonin by just 13 years of age and had mastered techniques that even the most experienced ones failed at.

According to Naruto, he has an IQ greater than that of Shikamaru, and in combat, he is far more adaptive, as seen several times in the story. Kakashi is very versatile and needs far less preparation for his strategies.

4 Hiruzen Sarutobi

Hiruzen was one of the Konoha greats famed as the "God of Shinobi," and "The Professor," all thanks to his incredible power and knowledge as a ninja. He is said to have had a great grasp over every single shinobi art, which is what separated him from the rest.

Even someone as smart as Orochimaru looked up to him and acknowledged that he was indeed the all-knowing shinobi. Although the story didn't flesh out his character properly, by reputation, he remains to be one of the smartest and would easily beat Shikamaru at his own game.

3 Itachi Uchiha

Another prodigious shinobi, Itachi Uchiha was born with terrific skill and blessed with great intelligence. By the age of 7, he is said to have acquired the wisdom of a Kage, which just goes to show that he was truly in a league of his own.

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He was too smart for even the likes of Kakashi, Orochimaru, and Sasuke to deal with. In battle, he saw through every single move of his enemies and was capable of beating even the strongest just by being calm and figuring out a way around the adversity.

2 Minato Namikaze

The Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure, Minato Namikaze an extremely smart shinobi with sky-high potential. His genius was praised by the likes of Jiraiya and even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Although he died quite young, by the time he had become Hokage, he was already an incredibly intelligent fighter. This was evident during Obito's attack on Konohagakure, where he was able to figure out his weakness within a matter of minutes and even separate the Nine-Tails, all the while planning to rescue Kushina and Naruto and preparing to stop Obito in the future by sealing half of Kurama inside his son.

1 Shikaku Nara

Shikamaru's father, Shikaku was an excellent shinobi and just like his son, he was quite intelligent. He served as an advisor to the Fifth Hokage, which shows he was respected by the strongest of the village.

Shikaku's own intelligence surpassed his son's and it is a known fact that the only person who Shikamaru could never beat at shogi was his father. Shikaku's whole character could be summed up as him being a smarter version of Shikamaru.

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