 the criminal organization Akatsuki . While his team manages to find their targets , the immortal Akatsuki member Hidan kills Asuma Sarutobi during the course of the battle despite Shikamaru 's best efforts . After Asuma 's funeral , Shikamaru sets out with the surviving members of Team 10 to avenge their mentor with the aid of Kakashi Hatake . As the other deal with Hidan 's partner Kakuzu , Shikamaru avenges Asuma by defeating Hidan and making sure the Akatsuki member 's body is never found . Following the fight , Shikamaru vows to protect Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma 's newborn daughter . He is later assigned to the Fourth Division alongside Temari and Chōji . He is named a proxy general under Gaara . In the series epilogue , stating his personal desire during the series of final battles , Shikamaru becomes advisor to the Seventh Hokage Naruto after marrying Temari and gaining a son in Shikadai Nara .   = = = Appearances in other media = = =   Besides the Naruto anime and manga , Shikamaru is featured in seven of the featured films in the series : in the second film , he aids Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno in fighting against Haido , a utopian idealist seeking to rule the world with a power called Gelel ; in the fourth , Shikamaru appears in a brief sequence , fighting against a large group of stone soldiers ; in the fifth , Shikamaru is sent alongside Kakashi and Sai in search of the base of the Land of Sky , who plans to invade Konoha ; in the sixth , Shikamaru , alongside Sakura and Sai battle the chimera beast summoned by Hiruko ; in the eight , Shikamaru participates in the battle against the demon Satori ; in the ninth , the Limited Tsukuyomi universe presents a portly Shikamaru , the exact opposite of his teammate , Choji , who becomes the team strategist instead ; and in the tenth , Shikamaru leads the team consisting of himself , Naruto , Sakura , Sai , and Hinata Hyuga that is sent to rescue Hinata 's younger sister , Hanabi , who was kidnapped by Toneri Otsutsuki . He is also present in the third original video animation , in which he participates in a tournament . Shikamaru is a playable character in nearly all Naruto video games , including the Clash of Ninja series and the Ultimate Ninja series . In some games , he utilizes variations of his Shadow Imitation Technique not seen in the anime or manga . Naruto Shippūden : Gekitō Ninja Taisen ! EX 2 marks the first appearance of Shikamaru in his Part II appearance in a video game .   A light novel titled Shikamaru Hiden : A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness , written by Takashi Yano and illustrated by Kishimoto , stars Shikamaru as the main character and narrator . The novel is set two years after the Fourth Ninja War , focusing on Shikamaru 's assignment as organizer of the newly formed Shinobi Union to capture a rogue ninja who rules over the distant Land of Silence and attempts to establish a new world order ruled by the common people . It also explores his growing relationship with Temari , culminating in him struggling to name his child with her , years after the end of the novel .   = = Reception = =   Shikamaru has ranked highly in the Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity polls for the series , continuously placing in the top ten and reaching fourth place in one poll . The last such poll was in 2011 , in which Shikamaru was in ninth place , behind Sasori and ahead of Hinata . Merchandise based on Shikamaru has also been released , including action figures , key chains , and patches in both his Part I and Part II appearance . NTT customers voted him as their sixteenth favorite black haired male anime character . CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama referred to Shikamaru as one of his favorite characters from Naruto .   Several publications for manga , anime , video games , and other related media have commented on Shikamaru 's character . IGN stated that Shikamaru was one of their favorite characters in the series , and referred to him as " the poster child for any card @-@ carrying member of Generation X " due to his general lack of enthusiasm and his unwillingness to utilize his potential . In a review of episode 110 , IGN praised how Shikamaru managed to transcend his lazy nature in order to take on the mantle of a leader when assigned to lead a team in order to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha and agreed that the decision to make him Chunin was fair . Anime News Network also commented on this development , calling Shikamaru 's emergence as " an unlikely hero " one of the highlights of the arc . In a subsequent review of episode 135 , in which the mission to retrieve Sasuke has failed and the members of Shikamaru 's
Ġthe Ġcriminal Ġorganization ĠAk atsuki Ġ. ĠWhile Ġhis Ġteam Ġmanages Ġto Ġfind Ġtheir Ġtargets Ġ, Ġthe Ġimmortal ĠAk atsuki Ġmember ĠH idan Ġkills ĠAs uma ĠSar ut obi Ġduring Ġthe Ġcourse Ġof Ġthe Ġbattle Ġdespite ĠSh ik amaru Ġ' s Ġbest Ġefforts Ġ. ĠAfter ĠAs uma Ġ' s Ġfuneral Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġsets Ġout Ġwith Ġthe Ġsurviving Ġmembers Ġof ĠTeam Ġ10 Ġto Ġa venge Ġtheir Ġmentor Ġwith Ġthe Ġaid Ġof ĠKak ashi ĠHat ake Ġ. ĠAs Ġthe Ġother Ġdeal Ġwith ĠH idan Ġ' s Ġpartner ĠK aku zu Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġaven ges ĠAs uma Ġby Ġdefeating ĠH idan Ġand Ġmaking Ġsure Ġthe ĠAk atsuki Ġmember Ġ' s Ġbody Ġis Ġnever Ġfound Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġfight Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġvows Ġto Ġprotect ĠK uren ai ĠYu hi Ġand ĠAs uma Ġ' s Ġnewborn Ġdaughter Ġ. ĠHe Ġis Ġlater Ġassigned Ġto Ġthe ĠFourth ĠDivision Ġalongside ĠTem ari Ġand ĠCh Åį ji Ġ. ĠHe Ġis Ġnamed Ġa Ġproxy Ġgeneral Ġunder ĠGa ara Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġseries Ġep il ogue Ġ, Ġstating Ġhis Ġpersonal Ġdesire Ġduring Ġthe Ġseries Ġof Ġfinal Ġbattles Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġbecomes Ġadvisor Ġto Ġthe ĠSeventh ĠHok age ĠNaruto Ġafter Ġmarrying ĠTem ari Ġand Ġgaining Ġa Ġson Ġin ĠSh ik ad ai ĠN ara Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠApp earances Ġin Ġother Ġmedia Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠBesides Ġthe ĠNaruto Ġanime Ġand Ġmanga Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġis Ġfeatured Ġin Ġseven Ġof Ġthe Ġfeatured Ġfilms Ġin Ġthe Ġseries Ġ: Ġin Ġthe Ġsecond Ġfilm Ġ, Ġhe Ġaids ĠNaruto ĠUz um aki Ġand ĠSakura ĠHar uno Ġin Ġfighting Ġagainst ĠH aido Ġ, Ġa Ġutopian Ġideal ist Ġseeking Ġto Ġrule Ġthe Ġworld Ġwith Ġa Ġpower Ġcalled ĠGe le l Ġ; Ġin Ġthe Ġfourth Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġappears Ġin Ġa Ġbrief Ġsequence Ġ, Ġfighting Ġagainst Ġa Ġlarge Ġgroup Ġof Ġstone Ġsoldiers Ġ; Ġin Ġthe Ġfifth Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġis Ġsent Ġalongside ĠKak ashi Ġand ĠSai Ġin Ġsearch Ġof Ġthe Ġbase Ġof Ġthe ĠLand Ġof ĠSky Ġ, Ġwho Ġplans Ġto Ġinvade ĠKon oha Ġ; Ġin Ġthe Ġsixth Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġ, Ġalongside ĠSakura Ġand ĠSai Ġbattle Ġthe Ġchim era Ġbeast Ġsummoned Ġby ĠHir uko Ġ; Ġin Ġthe Ġeight Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġparticipates Ġin Ġthe Ġbattle Ġagainst Ġthe Ġdemon ĠS ator i Ġ; Ġin Ġthe Ġninth Ġ, Ġthe ĠLimited ĠTsukuyomi Ġuniverse Ġpresents Ġa Ġport ly ĠSh ik amaru Ġ, Ġthe Ġexact Ġopposite Ġof Ġhis Ġteammate Ġ, ĠCho ji Ġ, Ġwho Ġbecomes Ġthe Ġteam Ġstrategist Ġinstead Ġ; Ġand Ġin Ġthe Ġtenth Ġ, ĠSh ik amaru Ġleads Ġthe Ġteam Ġconsisting Ġof Ġhimself Ġ, ĠNaruto Ġ, ĠSakura Ġ, ĠSai Ġ, Ġand ĠHin ata ĠHy uga Ġthat Ġis Ġsent Ġto Ġrescue ĠHin ata Ġ' s Ġyounger Ġsister Ġ, ĠHan abi Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġkidnapped Ġby ĠT oner i ĠO ts utsu ki Ġ. ĠHe Ġis Ġalso Ġpresent Ġin Ġthe Ġthird Ġoriginal Ġvideo Ġanimation Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġhe Ġparticipates Ġin Ġa Ġtournament Ġ. ĠSh ik amaru Ġis Ġa Ġplayable Ġcharacter Ġin Ġnearly Ġall ĠNaruto Ġvideo Ġgames Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe ĠClash Ġof ĠNinja Ġseries Ġand Ġthe ĠUltimate ĠNinja Ġseries Ġ. ĠIn Ġsome Ġgames Ġ, Ġhe Ġutilizes Ġvariations Ġof Ġhis ĠShadow ĠIm itation ĠTechnique Ġnot Ġseen Ġin Ġthe Ġanime Ġor Ġmanga Ġ. ĠNaruto ĠSh ipp Å« den Ġ: ĠG ek it Åį ĠNinja ĠTa isen Ġ! ĠEX Ġ2 Ġmarks Ġthe Ġfirst Ġappearance Ġof ĠSh ik amaru Ġin Ġhis ĠPart ĠII Ġappearance Ġin Ġa Ġvideo Ġgame Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġlight Ġnovel Ġtitled ĠSh ik amaru ĠH iden Ġ: ĠA ĠCloud ĠDr ifting Ġin ĠSilent ĠDarkness Ġ, Ġwritten Ġby ĠTak ashi ĠY ano Ġand Ġillustrated Ġby ĠK ish imoto Ġ, Ġstars ĠSh ik amaru Ġas Ġthe Ġmain Ġcharacter Ġand Ġnarrator Ġ. ĠThe Ġnovel Ġis Ġset Ġtwo Ġyears Ġafter Ġthe ĠFourth ĠNinja ĠWar Ġ, Ġfocusing Ġon ĠSh ik amaru Ġ' s Ġassignment Ġas Ġorganizer Ġof Ġthe Ġnewly Ġformed ĠShin obi ĠUnion Ġto Ġcapture Ġa Ġrogue Ġninja Ġwho Ġrules Ġover Ġthe Ġdistant ĠLand Ġof ĠSilence Ġand Ġattempts Ġto Ġestablish Ġa Ġnew Ġworld Ġorder Ġruled Ġby Ġthe Ġcommon Ġpeople Ġ. ĠIt Ġalso Ġexplores Ġhis Ġgrowing Ġrelationship Ġwith ĠTem ari Ġ, Ġculminating Ġin Ġhim Ġstruggling Ġto Ġname Ġhis Ġchild Ġwith Ġher Ġ, Ġyears Ġafter Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġnovel Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠRe ception Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠSh ik amaru Ġhas Ġranked Ġhighly Ġin Ġthe ĠWeekly ĠSh Åį nen ĠJump Ġpopularity Ġpolls Ġfor Ġthe Ġseries Ġ, Ġcontinuously Ġplacing Ġin Ġthe Ġtop Ġten Ġand Ġreaching Ġfourth Ġplace Ġin Ġone Ġpoll Ġ. ĠThe Ġlast Ġsuch Ġpoll Ġwas Ġin Ġ2011 Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich ĠSh ik amaru Ġwas Ġin Ġninth Ġplace Ġ, Ġbehind ĠSas ori Ġand Ġahead Ġof ĠHin ata Ġ. ĠMerch andise Ġbased Ġon ĠSh ik amaru Ġhas Ġalso Ġbeen Ġreleased Ġ, Ġincluding Ġaction Ġfigures Ġ, Ġkey Ġchains Ġ, Ġand Ġpatches Ġin Ġboth Ġhis ĠPart ĠI Ġand ĠPart ĠII Ġappearance Ġ. ĠN TT Ġcustomers Ġvoted Ġhim Ġas Ġtheir Ġsix teenth Ġfavorite Ġblack Ġha ired Ġmale Ġanime Ġcharacter Ġ. ĠCyber Connect 2 ĠCEO ĠHirosh i ĠMats uy ama Ġreferred Ġto ĠSh ik amaru Ġas Ġone Ġof Ġhis Ġfavorite Ġcharacters Ġfrom ĠNaruto Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSeveral Ġpublications Ġfor Ġmanga Ġ, Ġanime Ġ, Ġvideo Ġgames Ġ, Ġand Ġother Ġrelated Ġmedia Ġhave Ġcommented Ġon ĠSh ik amaru Ġ' s Ġcharacter Ġ. ĠIGN Ġstated Ġthat ĠSh ik amaru Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġtheir Ġfavorite Ġcharacters Ġin Ġthe Ġseries Ġ, Ġand Ġreferred Ġto Ġhim Ġas Ġ" Ġthe Ġposter Ġchild Ġfor Ġany Ġcard Ġ@ - @ Ġcarrying Ġmember Ġof ĠGeneration ĠX Ġ" Ġdue Ġto Ġhis Ġgeneral Ġlack Ġof Ġenthusiasm Ġand Ġhis Ġunwillingness Ġto Ġutilize Ġhis Ġpotential Ġ. ĠIn Ġa Ġreview Ġof Ġepisode Ġ110 Ġ, ĠIGN Ġpraised Ġhow ĠSh ik amaru Ġmanaged Ġto Ġtranscend Ġhis Ġlazy Ġnature Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġtake Ġon Ġthe Ġmantle Ġof Ġa Ġleader Ġwhen Ġassigned Ġto Ġlead Ġa Ġteam Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġretrieve ĠSasuke ĠU chi ha Ġand Ġagreed Ġthat Ġthe Ġdecision Ġto Ġmake Ġhim ĠCh unin Ġwas Ġfair Ġ. ĠAnime ĠNews ĠNetwork Ġalso Ġcommented Ġon Ġthis Ġdevelopment Ġ, Ġcalling ĠSh ik amaru Ġ' s Ġemergence Ġas Ġ" Ġan Ġunlikely Ġhero Ġ" Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġhighlights Ġof Ġthe Ġarc Ġ. ĠIn Ġa Ġsubsequent Ġreview Ġof Ġepisode Ġ135 Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġthe Ġmission Ġto Ġretrieve ĠSasuke Ġhas Ġfailed Ġand Ġthe Ġmembers Ġof ĠSh ik amaru Ġ' s