Shikaku Nara

Background
Shikaku Nara is the father of Shikamaru Nara. "Shika" means "deer" but "shikaku" can mean "assassin." Like his son, he was part of an Ino-Shika-Cho trio, together with Chouza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka. He is married to Yoshino Nara who, as his son says, has him whipped. Despite his claim that "a woman is always tender to the man she loves," his son is never convinced. As a member of the Nara clan, he raises deer, whose antlers can be used to make a medicine which halts the destructive effects of the Akimichi clan's three colored pills. When he is first seen he is portrayed as a bit of an alcoholic, and at times uses some of Shikamaru's catchphrases ("What a drag" in English, "How troublesome" in Japanese). In Part II, Shikaku proves to be much better than Asuma Sarutobi when playing Shogi, as he could easily beat his son at the game while Asuma never could.