The shinobi world may have a universal constant in its greatest tactician clan’s accomplished heirs, but long after Naruto has ended, they’ve been running into some trouble. Usually a family comfortably staying 10 steps ahead, the Nara clan’s most accomplished son appears to be hitting a brick wall in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex.

With Shikamaru Nara taking on the provisional duties of Acting Eighth Hokage in Boruto’s sequel manga, he’s had to take a somewhat more dialed-back, big-picture twist to his usual strategizing. Doubling down on dropping his usual daring gambits to ensnare enemies in his Shadow Possession Jutsu, Shikamaru has become an even worse type of predictable.

Shikamaru Appears to Be Losing His Touch as a Tactician

Once made famous for his dark horse turn in the Chunin Exams against Sand ninja (and future wife) Temari, Shikamaru hasn’t seemed to show the same 10-steps-ahead approach in his tactics as Hokage. Throughout Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, Shikamaru has made consistent unforced errors, seemed oddly too accepting of Koji coercing Inojin into their collusion, and worse, Shikamaru’s gotten predictable.

Some of the best fights ever made for Naruto were possible through Shikamaru’s mind, such as how he and a few Genin handled the Sound Five, or his incredible grudge match against Hidan. While they usually involve some application of his Shadow-oriented jutsu, they’re often wildly complex and far enough ahead his opponents can’t intellectually keep up.

But in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex starting with chapter #17, Shikamaru began a pattern in hatching plans against the Divine Trees that’s pretty transparent. Basically, he uses the individual targets of the humanoid Divine Trees as bait: using Konohamaru as a honey trap to exploit Matsuri’s feelings in chapter #17, and now Eida as bait for Mamushi in chapter #31.

While this latest iteration is labeled a last resort by Shikamaru, it seems pretty fair to assume it’ll be similar for future missions against the Divine Trees. When Hidari’s the next target, Sarada will be up to bat to draw him out. While Naruto isn’t free from Kawaki’s Daikokuten, there’s a non-zero chance Shikamaru could use Naruto to lure Jura.

Boruto Makes Shikamaru Look Bad Through Prescience

Koji Kashin’s return to the Boruto series in this sequel was welcome, but he is already proving ruthless and not above staging murders of high-ranking officials, at the hands of young, unwitting shinobi, to achieve his means. In many ways, he is operating as a resourceful, if extremely brutal and callous leader willing to sacrifice allies like Yodo.

Shikamaru would normally be the ranking commander in this situation, but is at the mercy of Koji’s Prescience (Jippō) shinjutsu, allowing him to see all possible timelines. Koji has all the cards, knowing all possible outcomes, and guides Shikamaru even through an interrogation he casually mentions could cost Shikamaru his position as Hokage.

Koji’s ability, while invaluable, allows him to upend Shikamaru’s chain of command, leveraging their common goal to beat the Divine Trees to get his cooperation. But instead of Shikamaru’s immaculate strategies with all intent to prevent casualties, Koji is pretty much running the show and guiding each mission where it counts. This includes luring a Divine Tree attacking Konoha.

Shikamaru Is Still Needed for Koji’s Plans to Work

As Koji has confirmed before, while he is able to see possible futures in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, sharing too much will cause a new, divergent path to follow. Koji is best-suited to see the outcomes available, but Shikamaru has always shined with his adaptability. So when Shikamaru’s station and freedom are threatened in Kobu’s investigation, Koji wanted Kobu killed.

Fans certainly aren’t seeing the benefits of this yet, but to be fair, Shikamaru is only now able to join the battle against Mamushi as of chapter #31. While his plan to use Eida as bait is annoying, he’ll also be far more flexible to contribute, and it might finally be time to see the new Hokage in action.

Shikamaru, regardless of how he’s been portrayed in the years since Boruto: Two Blue Vortex’s debut, has always been essential to Konoha. He was Naruto’s right-hand man and advisor, and he is an extremely formidable fighter, not for raw power compared to other Naruto characters, but through brilliant, lateral problem-solving against enemies far exceeding his weight class. Shikamaru’s simply irreplaceable.

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  First Film

  Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

  Latest Film

  Boruto: Naruto the Movie

  First TV Show

  Naruto

  Latest TV Show

  Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

  First Episode Air Date

  
  October 3, 2002
  

  Cast

  Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, Noriaki Sugiyama, Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue, Nana Mizuki, Hideo Ishikawa, Yûko Sanpei

  Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists’ children and returning faces.

  
  

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  Writer

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Writers

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Penciler(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Inker(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Colorist(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Publisher(s)

  Viz Media

  Years after fleeing his village with Sasuke, Boruto returns to confront the dark changes that have occurred. With memories altered and Kawaki now seen as the hero, Boruto faces a world where he is the outcast. The two rivals must settle their differences as their Otsutsuki powers grow more dangerous.