Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-43599250-20200721235033/@comment-3523655-20200723031508

Quentin Jones wrote: Really lol, I like Shikamaru but he didn't get that many new abilities and has average chakra reserves. Sakura takes it

Yeah, well, he beat the Kazekage's daughter despite being severly outmatched and also younger, he fought and helped defeat one of the Sound Four, who are Jonin-level fighters. He killed Hidan, immortal that he was, who murdered two of the 12 guardian ninjas, and indirectly took out 2/5 hearts from Kakuzu.

You give Shikamaru enough preparation, he can take down a good % of the Naruto characters. It all depends on how much intel he has and the time of preparation.

Again, one-on-one? Sakura gets a win most of the time, if it's in, like, an open battlefield, in close quarters.

But if there's ANY way Shikamaru can distance himself, hide, and come up with a tactic, he's got it.

Also, he's got more plot armor. I've seen Sakura get her ass kicked in a fight plenty of times. Sure, she gets right back up, but stronger folks need to step in and take things from there many times, over the course of Naruto. Shikamaru never lost once. Against Tayuya, maybe. But he never got to the point of losing, Temari swooped in to save the day before that happened. Rest of the time, whatever strategy he comes up with is successful, as typically he is the underdog fighting a superior opponent.

Safe to assume that in this fight he's an underdog too, because if Sakura tapped him on the shoulder to ask for directions, that shoulder would be obliterated. So yeah. If he has prep & intel, and depending on the battlefield, he can beat her.