Shizune

is a jōnin of Konohagakure. An apprentice of the legendary Sannin Tsunade, Shizune became a talented medical-nin under her tutelage; also becoming her companion during her sabbatical from active shinobi duty. After Tsunade is persuaded to return to Konoha to become its Fifth Hokage, Shizune assumes the role of her assistant — a role she would retain long after Tsunade retired from the post.

Background
Shizune is the niece of Dan Katō, a renowned shinobi of Konoha. Some time after her uncle's death, Tsunade, his lover, left Konoha and Shizune went with Tsunade as her attendant and apprentice. The bond between Tsunade and Shizune is strong and, above all, the latter sees her purpose in life as caring for Tsunade.

During their time away from the village, Shizune often worried about Tsunade's constant gambling, losing money and then borrowing more. In the anime, on one such occasion when they were at a gambling den, they were approached by the Fourth Raikage and Amai who beseeched Tsunade to help their injured comrade. After Tsunade complied, Shizune was actually the one to conduct the surgery, and when she told the Raikage of her master's two great losses, upon hearing his response that her master was unhinged, she chided the Raikage, throwing the Exploding Insect. Recomposing herself, she told Amai who had been aiding in the surgery to finish up.

Personality
Shizune is always level-headed, practical and a rational thinker. As a result, she is the one who tends to stress over details, such as Tsunade's tendency to gamble and to think with her heart. She often gets comically worked up over any irrational decision Tsunade makes. Shizune also looks after Tonton, Tsunade's pet pig. She is a very kind and calm person but will immediately rush to Tsunade's aid and in contrast, will become fierce and somewhat ruthless; a testament of her loyalty to Tsunade. At the same time however, she is not timid and is not afraid of objecting to Tsunade's decisions or voicing her opinion as seen when she even alerted the Konoha Council to Tsunade's intention to send Naruto on a mission that Shizune thought would put him in great peril. She has a great sense of morale and ethics, as she tried to persuade Tsunade from accepting Orochimaru's offer to heal his arms in exchange of reviving Dan and Nawaki, believing the said two would not be happy to return at the cost of innocent lives.

She is not the type to tire easily and is very energetic and efficient while acting in her capacity of Hokage's Assistant, often urging Tsunade to finish the paperwork in order to avoid mountains of unsigned documents later on. She is often seen asking Tsunade questions about what to do with the village and the shinobi on missions. In an omake, she has shown she is a bit jealous of kunoichi like Tsunade and Kurenai Yūhi, complaining about their assets compared to her own.

Appearance
Shizune is a fair-skinned woman of average height and slender build with black eyes and hair. Her hair is straight and shoulder-length with bangs that cover her ears and frame her face. Normally, Shizune is seen in a long bluish-black kimono with white trimmings, held closed by a white obi, and open-toed sandals with low heels. Shizune has also been seen wearing the standard Konoha shinobi outfit complete with flak jacket, when deployed on missions which has distinct, extra-long sleeves. She, however, doesn't wear a forehead protector. Shizune also has the tendency to pin her hair up when working; a trait also shared by Sakura.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, she donned her standard shinobi attire, albeit with shorter sleeves this time. She also wore the forehead protector of the Allied Shinobi Forces and a band around her right arm signifying her position.

Years after the war, Shizune had gained vaguely noticeable creases around her eyes. She wears a black, one-sleeved kimono held closed with a with a sash. Beneath this she wears mesh armour which is partially exposed on her sleeveless left-hand-side.

Abilities
As Tsunade's first apprentice, Shizune is undoubtedly very capable kunoichi and a highly talented medical-nin. Her abilities were acknowledged by the Sannin, Jiraiya, who first went to her to counteract the drug that Tsunade had dosed him with, and later left Kabuto Yakushi up to her. A further testament to her prowess was her being put in charge of the Logistical Support and Medical Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Medical Ninjutsu
Shizune is noted to be a very talented medical ninja, surpassed only by Tsunade herself. Her prowess set a high standard for Tsunade's other disciples, as the Sannin noted that she had not seen someone with so much skill since Shizune while training Sakura Haruno. Shizune's chakra control is great enough to perform even the most complex medical ninjutsu, leading Tsunade to have the utmost confidence in her. It was due to her control that she was assigned to lead the sealing of the Three-Tails.

Shizune demonstrated her great medical knowledge when she lead a group of medical ninja in a complicated procedure that took over three hours while the slightest mistake could be fatal.

Poison Techniques and Weaponry
Shizune has rarely been seen in battle, but from what has been seen of her skills so far is that she incorporates the use of poison-related techniques during combat. During her battle with Kabuto, Shizune showed the ability to use the Poison Mist technique, creating a thick cloud of toxic gas, capable of being fatal even if only a mere whiff is breathed in, as noted by Kabuto in the anime.

Shizune is also skilled to use her poison in conjunction with her weaponry. She uses poisoned senbon in a variety of ways, like firing them from a concealed wrist-mounted device or spitting them out of her mouth in quick succession. Kakashi Hatake mentioned that Shizune is also able to imbue a kunai with poison.

Intelligence
Shizune is quite observant and has a keen intellect. This was seen when she was put in charge of the Konoha autopsy performed on the first Animal Path that Jiraiya had captured, where she and her team were able to find out the secret behind the black receivers embedded in the corpse after just a short amount of time. Likewise, during the Fourth Shinobi World War, she could find out the DNA-similarities between the White Zetsu Army and the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, something that she already presumed before.

Other Skills
In battle, Shizune is quite fast, and equally fierce and precise in her attacks. She is also very adaptable to the situation, and is able to perform immediate counters that are too fast for her opponents to react properly. Shizune is also a gifted teacher, as she instructed Sakura on how to imbue her weapons with poison.

In the anime, she has made use of the Shadow Clone Technique, and has been shown to be able to create at least 36 clones at once. She also demonstrated capable skills in fūinjutsu, able to lead her team in the process of sealing a tailed beast. It was also shown that she was adept at using taijutsu, able to fight and defeat many of Naruto's shadow clones.

Search for Tsunade
When Orochimaru came to Tsunade years later in an attempt to get her to heal his arms, Tsunade turned him down and when Orochimaru refused to leave in Tsunade's count, Shizune clashed with Kabuto Yakushi for a brief moment. Orochimaru bribed Tsunade that if she helped, he would bring her brother and lover back to life and was given a week to think about it, but Shizune attempted to persuade Tsunade against it, even trying to convince Tsunade to kill him with her assistance. When all attempts to persuade Tsunade failed, Shizune tried to use force to stop her from helping Orochimaru, although Tsunade easily defeated her. Later, she fought Kabuto again in an effort to protect an incapacitated Tsunade and Naruto Uzumaki. Despite Shizune's efforts, Kabuto proved too much for her, as he managed to dodge her attacks and incapacitate her as well. Shizune was able to heal her legs, and left the field of battle with the unconscious Naruto as the three Sannin prepared to conclude their battle. She then returned to Konoha with Tsunade after she accepted the office of the Fifth Hokage.

In the anime, the group stopped in a hot springs town. When Senta and Bunzō had stolen the First Hokage's necklace which was currently worn by Naruto, the two plot to blackmail Tsunade to give them the money she owes their boss. When Shizune found the note, she couldn't find Tsunade anywhere which left her the choice to use the Transformation Technique to pose as Tsunade. When Naruto and the Akagi brothers stole the bag, Shizune in Tsunade's form goes after them. After Shizune took down Naruto, the Akagi brothers discovered that there's no money in it. Just then, the real Tsunade arrived and recognised Shizune in disguise. With help from Jirōchō Wasabi (whom Tsunade encountered in the casino), Tsunade explained that she already paid her debt to the Akagi the year before.

Sasuke Recovery Mission
When Tsunade took on the title of Hokage, Shizune led a team consisting of Genma Shiranui, Raidō Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami to compensate for the lack of manpower caused by the Konoha Crush. While in a forest recuperating from the seemingly tiring mission, they detected a presence close by. As Raidō and Genma leave to check out what is was, Shizune and Iwashi waited for their return. When the duo took too long to return, Shizune and Iwashi went to see what was taking so long. Upon their arrival, she is shocked to see Genma and Raidō injured on the forest floor. Acting immediately, Shizune gave them medical attention but noted that they needed to be hospitalised. Later, when the Sasuke Recovery Team returned to the village, Shizune led a team of medical-nin including Kitō and Mogusa. As the operation went on, Shizune noted that even though they were using Neji's hair as a medium to heal the wounds, that every strand of hair had to be affected by chakra control. Later, though visibly tired, she happily reported the success of the operation to Tsunade.

Mizuki Tracking Mission
In the anime, Shizune was defeated by Mizuki, who used her guise to lead Naruto and Iruka into a trap.

Peddlers Escort Mission
In the anime, she was with Tsunade during the Land of Vegetables crisis. After the uprising in the Land of Vegetables and the caravan that Naruto Uzumaki, Chōji Akimichi, and Hinata Hyūga were guarding was connected, Tsunade sent Shizune to gather every available ninja and head over to the Land of Vegetables immediately. While Naruto was fighting Renga, Shizune, Shikamaru Nara and the other shinobi sent with her rescued Chōji, Hinata, and Yurinojō from the ninja on Renga's side.

In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths
About two years after Naruto and Jiraiya left the village for training, Tsunade decided to host an early Chūnin Exams to restore Konoha's reputation amongst the other villages. During a meeting between Konoha and the Suna in hopes of getting their support, Shizune presented the files from the previous exams. As Tsunade made her true intention revealed of luring out the Akatsuki, Gaara, now the Kazekage, insisted that the exams be held within his village. After it was decided to host the first exam in Konoha and the second in Suna, Shizune later voiced in privacy her concerns of using Naruto as a jinchūriki as bait for the Akatsuki, to which Tsunade said Gaara has by luck offered to do that himself.

Ultimately, the Chūnin Exams were ended early before starting the finals due to controversy happening in the second exam. Instead, it was decided by Gaara that a report on each participant would be sent to their respective village leader for them to decide if they would be promoted. Shizune then aided Tsunade in deciding which of the Konoha-nin would be promoted.

Part II
Shizune appears frequently in Part II, often being nearby Tsunade when she is issuing orders.

Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission
Upon hearing the information that Sakura had gained from Sasori, she objects to sending Naruto on the mission to the Tenchi Bridge. However, Tsunade tells her than she and Sakura are two of the few shinobi she can trust in completely so she had to send Team Kakashi. Shizune then insists if that's the case then her team could be sent instead, but Tsunade tells her that it wouldn't be the same as Sakura and Naruto had a personal stake in the mission. Still worried about Naruto's safety she tries once again to plea with her not to send him unbeknownst to her that he was eavesdropping on the conversation until Tsunade acknowledges his presence. Later when the Konoha Council asks to speak with Tsunade, it is revealed that Shizune had shared her uneasiness with Naruto constantly going up against members of Akatsuki that wanted to capture him. Shizune is present, carrying Tonton, when Team Kakashi return from their mission.

Akatsuki Suppression Mission
In the anime, Shizune was present at Asuma Sarutobi's funeral, mourning his loss.

Three-Tails' Appearance
In the anime, Shizune was assigned to help seal the Three-Tails, being in charge of the sealing team, her assistants were Ino, Sakura and Hinata. She instructed the other members in order to speed along the process. The sealing however, was repeatedly interrupted by Guren and her men, and the sealing was instead left to Anbu members.

Itachi Pursuit Mission
When Jiraiya comes in, he states that he has found the location of the Akatsuki's 'leader'. After hearing this, Shizune suggested that they formulated an immediate surprise attack, should Jiraiya's information pan out. While Jiraiya is fighting the Six Paths of Pain, Tsunade is in her office waiting for him to come back, Shizune assures her that Jiraiya will return alive. Tsunade tells her he won't as it was a part of her bet, Shizune agrees and leaves the room.

Six-Tails Unleashed
In the anime, Team Kakashi, while under Yamato's command, were sent to aid the near-extinct Tsuchigumo clan in guarding its dangerous forbidden technique from enemies, and later, while Shizune is doing her usual duties as Tsunade's assistant, Team Kakashi sends word to Tsunade about plans to destroy the forbidden technique with the clan's consent. Shizune wonders what Tsunade will do.

Pain's Assault
After Jiraiya was killed by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, Shizune was left in charge of examining the body he had captured. When Shizune discovered that the piercings on the body were black receivers, she was given Anbu escorts to ensure she could share the information with as many people as possible. She meets up with Inoichi, but before they could begin to collaborate, Shizune was captured by the Human Path. It read her mind to find out that Naruto was at Mount Myōboku, and then removed her soul, killing her. In the ensuing destruction, her body was kept safe, and was later revived through Pain's resurrection technique.

Five Kage Summit
Shizune was later seen with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi, looking down on Tsunade, who was now in a coma. She was later seen explaining to Samui that Tsunade was unable to take the letter meant for the Hokage, and was shocked when Danzō arrived and stated that he was the new Hokage. While later attending to Tsunade alongside Sakura, Shizune listens on as and is also present when Sai tells Sakura how Naruto feels for her.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown
Days later, Shizune senses a change in Tsunade. She sends one of the shinobi standing guard over them to announce Tsunade's awakening to the Konoha Council and the Fire Daimyō, who were about to appoint Kakashi Hatake as the Sixth Hokage. Shizune is then seen throwing herself on top of her recuperating master, crying in joy and "squeezing too hard". Shizune later watches on happily with Tonton as Tsunade consumes a large amount of food in order to regain her stamina and chakra reserves. As Tsunade demands more food, Shizune tells her that all the food in the Hokage barracks was finished and that more was on its way, Shizune after seeing Tsunade's gaze seemingly linger on Tonton. With relief she realises that Kakashi was behind her.

Power
In the anime, Shizune was alongside Tonton when Tsunade tasked Team Kakashi with the mission to investigate the massacre of the Tonika Village.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation
Shizune was appointed captain of the Logistical Support and Medical Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Shinobi World War. As she introduced herself and Tonton to the division, she explicitly told them that Tonton wasn't to be eaten. She later splits up her division in order to effectively aid all the wounded shinobi on the battlefield. When night fell, Shizune along with all the other medical-nin relocated to the medical compound where she later requested the aid of two jōnin-level medics in resuscitating one of the patients, before later healing Tonton's right front leg that had been sprained due to the piglet carrying too many heavy crates in her zeal to help.

After the transformed intruder that had infiltrated the compound and was killing medics had been uncovered by Sakura, the whole compound was locked down and strict orders given that no-one should go near Shizune nor enter without their identities being confirmed by HQ. Meanwhile in a tent Shizune and Sakura, guarded by an Akimichi conducted an autopsy on the White Zetsu Army clone that had been captured and realised the similarity in its DNA to those of Yamato and by extension, Hashirama's had gotten even closer since the events at the Kage Summit. They then began to piece together the truth behind the clones and later sent information to Tsunade at the headquarters.

The following day, Shizune and Sakura were approached by two Iwa-nin — one badly injured and the other begging them to save her husband. The Akimichi stationed at the gate however, told them to stay back because they were unable to tell who was who at the moment, and as such, he was wary of everyone. As she pleaded with them not to let her husband die in her arms, Sakura told them to come. The two are revealed to be White Zetsu Army imposters as they prepare to attack the two medics having slipped past the guard. As Shizune moved to aid Sakura who was being targeted first, the imposters are taken out by Naruto's shadow clone who had just arrived.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax
Later, Shizune and her division made their way to the jinchūriki's battlefield and lined up in position alongside the rest of the Shinobi Alliance. She then after announced that her division had arrived, and began healing Guy while the other members of her division tended to the other wounded shinobi in their ranks. She later stood alongside the other members of the Allied Shinobi Forces and prepared to face their opposition as Naruto vowed that the world would not end, with Obito Uchiha vowing otherwise.

When Team 7 reunited following the arrival of Sasuke and the previous Hokage, Shizune watched in amazement as Sakura revealed the Strength of a Hundred Seal, stating that such a technique requires tremendous chakra control and that even she was not able to achieve the Strength of a Hundred Seal. She later watched on, beaming with pride alongside Hashirama who commented that Sakura's strength might be greater than Tsunade's. As Sakura summoned Katsuyu and the pair began healing the wounded, noting to herself how skilled Sakura was to be able to use this technique after just forming the seal. When a shinobi within range to her reacted warily to Katsuyu's presence, Shizune simply informed them that the slug was there to help them.

Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki
Shizune was then seen as one of the few ninja from the Alliance that helped Naruto and the Konoha 11 in pulling the tailed beasts out of Obito successfully.

Though they are able to defeat Obito, the war was far from over as they are assaulted by a revived Madara Uchiha and his minion Tobi. Shizune soon runs out of chakra along with Tsunade and Sakura from attending to the casualties of the war, so much so that when Naruto was brought before them on the brink of death, Sakura was the only one left with enough chakra to perform medical ninjutsu any longer.

Shizune later fell prey to Infinite Tsukuyomi like the rest of the world.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes
Ultimately, Shizune and the rest of the world were freed from the genjutsu by Naruto and Sasuke after ending the war.

Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky
Shizune makes an appearance in this novel.

The Last: Naruto the Movie
Two years after the war, Shizune, alongside Tsunade, evacuated villagers to a safer area during Toneri Ōtsutsuki's attack. She later hears the worldwide announcement about the moon crisis being averted amongst many other villagers. She is last seen attending Naruto and Hinata's wedding with Tsunade to congratulate them.

Epilogue
Years later, she continued to work as the Hokage's assistant, serving under Naruto when he took the position as the Seventh Hokage.

Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring
Shizune takes care of her fellow disciple, Sakura Haruno, after Sakura fainted and sent to Shizune by Sakura's daughter, Sarada. Shizune told Sarada that her mother has fainted many times before. When she later talked to Sarada, who doubted her lineage, Shizune insisted her doubts were false. When Sarada called her on it, noting that she knew there were no records of her birth, Shizune merely kept quiet with a sad look on her face. She questions Sarada to why she brought this on, to which Sarada showed her the picture of Taka and particularly Karin and how she wore the same glasses as her.

Later, while discussing with Naruto and Shikamaru preparations for the upcoming Academy graduations, a letter was received from Sasuke, learning of a young boy with the Sharingan attacking the Uchiha. While Naruto decided to go handle things personally while leaving a shadow clone behind, Shizune was concerned on how this would conflict with the graduation exams. Later, as Sakura finally recovered, Shizune explained to her of Sarada's recent actions of going after her father.

Naruto Shippūden the Movie
When Team 7 is called up and Tsunade explained the mission, she tells Tsunade that she was concerned about Naruto going on a dangerous mission, then Tsunade told her not to worry, saying that Naruto is the kind of a person who never gives up which is something very rare to find in someone. When the Ghost Army is turning away from Konoha, she suggested that they were now safe, but Tsunade said it was the exact opposite.

Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Lost Tower
A young Shizune, along with Guy, Asuma, and Kakashi, is seen waiting in a long line at the grand opening of Ramen Ichiraku.

Road To Ninja: Naruto the Movie
In the alternate world, Shizune appears more like Tsunade of the real world, sporting a much larger bust. While her attire is essentially the same, her kimino is more loosely open, showing her cleavage, and has a long slit on the right-side of her kimino, reaching her hip. She also wears a red lipstick.

Video Games
In Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations, and Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution, Shizune is a support-only character.

Shizune is seen to be able to create swords out of chakra in a move called "Chakra Sword: Great Intersecting Wound", which causes both physical and internal damage to her opponent, and creates a huge explosion. In many games she is assisted by Tonton in battle; in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 4, Tonton is used as a partner to Shizune, helping her out in her "Tonton Combo" technique by transforming into an image of Shizune and attacking the enemy to distract them from Shizune's main attack.

Trivia

 * According to the databook(s):
 * Shizune's favourite food is cooked brown rice while her least favourite is pork.
 * Her favourite phrase is, an idiom of "the beauty of nature".
 * Her hobby is visiting cultural heritage sites.
 * It was shown in a post-credits omake of the Naruto: Shippūden episode 77 that she is also wary and insecure about her figure and being single way past the perceived marriageable age, even expressing jealousy of Kurenai's ample bust and relationship with Asuma.
 * Shizune shares the same voice actress in both English and Japanese versions of the anime as Tonton.
 * Studio Pierrot's Settei of Shizune shows that the high-heeled sandals she currently wears add 5 cm on to her height.

Quotes

 * (To Tsunade) "Lady Tsunade! You can't!! Don't listen to the offers of these liars. Your brother and my uncle wouldn't want you to do this either!!"
 * (To Tsunade) "Are the wishes of two people more… Tsunade!! Your dreams… your wishes… Have you forgotten them?"
 * (To Naruto) "You may think you're all healed, you may even look all healed, but you're NOT all healed!"
 * (To Naruto) "All in good time, just as soon as you're completely healed."