Chōza Akimichi

was the father of Choji Akimichi and former teammate of Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka, and together they were the Previous Ino-Shika-Cho trio. The kanji on his chest armor means "food".

Background
Not much is known about this man or his past other than that he is the head of the Akimichi clan and was part of the first "Ino-Shika-Cho Trio" alongside Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka, his name being the Cho part of the Group Name. His first known appearance in the story was, as seen in a flashback during the Sasuke Retrieval arc, when he was sitting alongside his son trying to cheer his son Choji up because he felt sad for not having any friends. He said to him "Someday you'll have a group of real friends who see your kind heart inside of you and respect you for it. You'll find friends who believe in you, who trust you with their lives. Cherish those friends, Choji." At that moment the son of his former team-mate Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru Nara, arrives and tells Choji that he is sitting in his favorite spot. There Choza watched his son make a friend and smiles.

Personality
He seemed to be a gentle and caring man with great wisdom and understanding of the world, even sage-like at times, and has deep love for his son, Choji, as seen in the on several occasion during the Sasuke Retrieval arc. Like the rest of his clan, he had a large appetite, and was prone to eat everything on an entire page on the menu. It can also be speculated that he had the same bad temper as his son, should someone call him any fat-related names.

Chunin Exam
He made his official appearance, during the Chunin Exam Festival, sitting alongside his former team-mates who were talking about the fact that Inoichi had a daughter, and how troublesome that is, according to Shikaku, while Choza was looking at the menu only to order everything on the page that he was looking at. When Shikamaru came to pick up his dad he offered him to come and eat with them.

Konoha Invasion arc
He made his next appearance during the end of the Konoha Invasion arc using the Super Multi-Size Technique, to trample some Sound Shinobi and later met up with Inoichi and Shikaku; agreeing when Shikaku, he called it the reunion of the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio.

Sasuke Retrieval arc
During his battle with Jirobo of the Sound Four, Choji thought back on his childhood when he was persecuted by his peers for being overweight, and when he spoke to his father Choza about this, Choza responding that Choji had a kinder heart than anyone appreciated at the time, and that one day he would have friends who would see that quality and respect him for it. Immediately following this prediction, the pair were joined on their rooftop by Shikamaru Nara, son of Choza's old friend Shikaku, who spoke with Choji and soon became friendly with him, to Choza's delight. After the Sasuke Retrieval Squad returned home unsuccessfully, Choza spoke with Inoichi's daughter Ino Yamanaka about a recovering Choji, informing her that he was still unconscious but that he would pull through. Choza also expressed his gratitude for Tsunade's return to the village, as without her Choji would likely have perished.

Pain Invasion arc
He and Choji are seen during the Pain Invasion arc, helping the people around him together. They also squashed one of Pain's bodies. He and Choji helped Kakashi in the battle against Pain. However, they were both knocked down by Pain. Choza is seemly killed, protecting his son from Pain and providing him with a chance to get information back to Tsunade. Later it is discovered that Choza is still alive but needs to be brought to the hospital immediately, which causes Choji to cry in joy.

Abilities
Like his son and the rest of his clan, Choza used the special technique that allows him to change calories into chakra. As the leader of his clan, it is highly logical that he is skilled in all his clan's secret techniques. With this he has been seen using both the Super Multi-Size Technique, the Human Bullet Tank and the Partial Multi-Size Technique, which all revolved around the clan's special ability to increase the size of their various body parts.