Chōji Akimichi

is one of the main supporting characters of the series. He is a chūnin-level shinobi of Konohagakure's Akimichi clan and a member of Team Asuma. Along with his team-mates, he makes up the new generation of Ino-Shika-Chō, just like their fathers were before them.

Background
Chōji was born as a member of the sixteenth generation of the Akimichi clan and is slated to become the next head of the clan after his father. When Chōji was younger, he was often put down for not being good at a child's game called "Ninja", which appears to be a cross between tag and hide and seek, often using shuriken made out of cardboard. His peers were always berating him, telling him that any team that he was on was bound to lose. One day, they simply refused to let him play at all. However, Shikamaru stuck up for him, saying that the teams would be uneven if Chōji didn't join them. This gave Chōji a little hope, although, in the end, they still refused to let him play.

Chōji and his father were later seen talking on the roof of a building where Chōji was still upset over the way he was treated by the other children. His father told him that few people have a heart as kind and caring as his, and one day he would meet someone who would see that in him and respect him for it, and that eventually they would be the best of friends. Soon after, Shikamaru walked up the stairs. Chōji recognized him as the one who had defended him earlier. He asked Shikamaru why he wasn't playing the game, to which Shikamaru responded that it was a drag. He then told Chōji that he liked to come up there to watch the clouds and that Chōji happened to be sitting in his spot. Chōji moved over to give him room. Shikamaru proceeded to lie down before telling Chōji that he should watch the clouds with him. This delighted Chōji, and he eagerly asked Shikamaru if he wanted to eat some snacks that he had brought. Shikamaru took him up on the offer, causing Chōji to be overjoyed, and then Shikamaru said "This is the best, watching clouds and eating chips". From that day on, the two became best friends.

During Chōji's time at the academy, he was often caught eating in class otherwise getting into trouble along with fellow 'Dead-Lasts' Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, and Naruto Uzumaki. Together, these four would cut class or otherwise be testing the patience of Iruka Umino, their Academy teacher. During the 'Search for Tsunade' arc, when Naruto was struggling to learn the second step of training for the Rasengan, he recalled how once, during his days at the academy, he, along with Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chōji were held back in class, and lectured about their all around lack in concentration - in Chōji's case, he was thinking more about food than about doing his school work. During the arc involving the trap master Gennō from the long-gone Kagerō Village, it was mentioned how Shikamaru, Chōji, Kiba, and Naruto would skip class together and hang out at the kunai practice course, which was situated under the academy, to hide from Iruka.

Personality
Chōji is a very kind, polite, and caring person. These characteristics are said to be his greatest strength by both his father Chōza and his teacher Asuma.

He is easily motivated by the prospect of food, and becomes highly agitated when somebody calls him "fat" (he refers to himself as "big boned", "chubby", or "pleasingly plump"). However, he does not hide his love for food and his near constant hunger is also an annoyance to his team-mates, as eating often comes before other necessities such as stealth and teamwork. Food can also make him over-react about silly things, such as who gets the last piece of meat, or when Akamaru tried to take his food, and he refuses to let anyone else eat the last chip in the bag. Chōji also tends to eat a lot when he is angry. Since Part II of the series however, his eating habits are more controlled and it no longer interferes with his duties as a shinobi.

Chōji has a long-standing friendship with Shikamaru. The two have complete trust in each other, with Shikamaru being one of the few people to look past Chōji's lack of athleticism, and see that he had a kind heart; recognizing Chōji's true strength. Because of this, Chōji has unconditional faith and loyalty to Shikamaru and, if necessary, would give his life for him, which nearly happened during his battle with Jirōbō. Chōji also cares deeply for his mentor, Asuma, and had a difficult time in fighting him during the Fourth Shinobi World War, due to not wanting to hurt his own teacher, even when Asuma called Chōji "fat" in an attempt to anger him.

Appearance
Chōji has brown hair, swirl marks on his cheeks, and like the rest of his clan, he has a much more robust physique than most other ninja. Since his childhood, he has always been quite husky, which is a necessity in his clan to perform their techniques since they convert calories to chakra. During Part I, Chōji's wore grey shorts, a rather long white scarf, a short-sleeved green jacket over a white shirt with the kanji for on it, ring earrings, and his legs and forearms were wrapped in bandages. His forehead protector was also worn on a bandanna around his head.

During Part II, he sports a red top with armour on his torso, arms, and upper legs, similar to his father. On the front of his chest armour is the obligatory kanji for. His brown hair has grown much longer reaching to his waist and he also changes his earrings from hoops to the studs that he got as a gift from his previous jōnin commander. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, he wears the standard Konoha flak jacket over his outfit.

Abilities
As an Akimichi, Chōji uses the calories he eats and converts them to chakra in order to perform his technique which is the primary reason for his as well as the members of his clan's physical size. Chōji's most pronounced ability is his tremendous physical strength, being the physically strongest member of the Konoha 11. Shikamaru hinted at Chōji's raw power during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, but it wasn't until he broke them out of Jirōbō's dome that the rest of Sasuke Retrieval Team believed him. He is also proficient in taijutsu, as seen when he flipped Jirōbō, a skilled practitioner of the art, over without seeming to use much effort. He is not, however, particularly fast in his movements.

In Part I, Shikamaru said that Chōji is the strongest member of the Sasuke Retrieval Team, but that he lacks confidence in himself. In Part II, he was able to provide assistance against Deva Path with his father, and helped Kakashi Hatake decipher the weakness of Shinra Tensei.

Akimichi Clan Techniques
As an Akimichi, Chōji knows various secret jutsu that allow him to expand body parts to several times their normal size, the most common of which is the Multi-Size Technique. He uses this to perform his Human Bullet Tank attack, where he turns himself into a giant ball and attacks opponents by running them over, shouting "roll" repeatedly as he does. He can also add spikes to this attack to make it more damaging with a chain of kunai. He can also use the Partial Multi-Size Technique to expand his arms and legs as well as other body parts.

After the time skip, Chōji's Spiked Human Bullet Tank does not involve kunai wrapped around him, but instead involves a technique that hardens his hair into extremely sharp spikes that cover his body, similar to Jiraiya's Needle Jizō technique, after which Chōji spins rapidly. Also, Chōji no longer needs to take any pills to perform the Partial Multi-Size Technique.

Three Pills
Chōji can take the Akimichi clan's Three Coloured Pills to greatly increase his strength, speed, and stamina for a short time. These pills convert the body's fat reserves into chakra, and are considered a last resort, since they take a tremendous toll on the body. The last pill is said to increase the clan member power 100 times than normal, but known to be always fatal, although Chōji survived the effects, thanks to the Nara clan's medical book and Tsunade's medical expertise. The one consuming it loses most of his bodily fat, which is converted in an enormous amount of chakra, so much that it manifests in two massive butterfly-like wings on the user's back.

Originally, Chōji requires to take these pills in order to use the more advanced Partial Multi-Size and Super Multi-Size Techniques. After two and a half years, however, he can rely on his own improved chakra to do so, without the pills forcing it out for him. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, when forced to fight the deceased Asuma, Chōji is able to replicate the effects of the red pill without actually consuming it.

Chūnin Exam Arc
During the second phase of the Chūnin Exams, Chōji was reluctant to join his team in helping Sakura Haruno fend off a team of Oto genin, fearing for his own safety, and continuously asking to run. However, when Zaku Abumi called Chōji "fatso", Chōji proceeded to go berserk as he defended his size, and yelled that Konoha and the Sound ninja were now at war. Properly motivated, Chōji fought against the Oto genin, but were unable to defeat them. His actions, however, bought time until Sasuke Uchiha awakened and forced them to retreat with the power of the Cursed Seal.

In the preliminaries of the exam, Chōji began feeling hesitant about fighting, but Asuma convinced him to fight, promising to treat him to barbecue if he won, and to intervene if he was in danger. In the last match of the preliminaries, Chōji was matched against Dosu Kinuta. At the start of the match, Ino yelled to him that he was fat, so that he would be spurred into fighting. Using his Human Bullet Tank to charge at Dosu, Chōji got lodged in a wall as a result of Dosu dodging the attack. With Chōji unable to fight back, Dosu sent a blast of sound into Chōji's bulk, its effectiveness increased as a result of Chōji's increased size, thus defeating Chōji. As a reward to Chōji for getting so far in the Chūnin Exams, and as a bribe to help with Shikamaru's training, Asuma took Chōji to a buffet, but Chōji ate too much and hurt his stomach, forcing him to spend some time in the hospital. He recovered in time to watch Shikamaru and Sasuke's matches, but was put to sleep during the ensuing invasion of Konoha.

Sasuke Retrieval Arc
Shortly after Shikamaru's promotion to chūnin, the team celebrated at Yakiniku Q. After a brief argument over the meat, Asuma told Chōji that he should eat less and train more. While Chōji was briefly depressed, Shikamaru convinced him to be himself.

When Sasuke Uchiha abandoned Konoha, Shikamaru asked Chōji to join the Sasuke Retrieval Team, to which Chōji refused. Determined to have Chōji come with them, Shikamaru and Naruto Uzumaki ate some of Chōji's favorite snacks in front of his house. When they got to the last chip, Chōji burst through the front door to eat it, saying that the last chip was sacred and he cannot let someone else have it. Having fallen for Shikamaru's trick, Chōji joined the team to retrieve Sasuke.

At the start of the mission, Chōji took on the Sound Four member Jirōbō. Jirōbō initially proved to be too strong for Chōji to beat, forcing Chōji to use the Akimichi clan's special Three Coloured Pills. Although reluctant to use the pills, Jirōbō's constant mocking of Shikamaru as a selfish and uncaring leader convinced Chōji to take all three pills. With the accompanying increase in strength, he was able to kill Jirōbō, but collapsed, and was left near death as a result. The Nara clan's medical guide and Tsunade's medical expertise allowed Chōji to evade death and make a full recovery.

Anime filler arcs
Chōji appeared for a few of the anime's filler arcs, one of which was to help rescue Ayame, the daughter of Teuchi. To save the daughter, Chōji and his team-mates were forced to create the perfect ramen, to which Chōji assisted by tasting the noodles and improving their quality when they didn't meet his approval.

During the filler arcs, Chōji demonstrated a working knowledge of the relationship between ninja and food: in Episode 158, Follow My Lead! The Great Survival Challenge, the Academy students were divided into teams of three, and were assigned a genin to lead them on a mission against the other teams. Chōji was assigned to lead a team of three academy students; Dango, Ame and Choco. On route, Chōji imparted to them the importance of being able to acquire food during a mission, introducing a plant called the "Ninja-Aid Plant", which is edible and nutritious. Chōji even stopped one of his team from eating the wrong plant, the "Ninja Blockage Plant", even though it looked similar to the Ninja-Aid Plant, it was in fact noxious, and Chōji identified the difference between their leaves.

In Episode 168, Mix it, Stretch it, Boil it Up! Burn Copper Pot, Burn!, it was Chōji who knew about the cooking-nin of the Land of Lightning, whose purpose was to provide their country's active ninja with food, as on a mission in the field, where food may be scarce, gathering food was such a chore that cooking-nin were supposed to do this job themselves, allowing for the other ninja to focus on their mission and not worry about gathering food.

Chōji made a number of cameos in other arcs, often aiding his fellow genin in accomplishing missions. In one arc, Chōji was teamed with Naruto in fighting a water-user, and the two were frequently able to save the life of the other. After Hinata defeated the second of the three ninja, and was badly injured in the process, Naruto sent her away with Chōji. The two were captured, but Shikamaru and several other ninja saved them.

Sasuke and Sai Arc
Chōji made his Part II debut shortly after Naruto returned from successfully rescuing Gaara. Like most of the Rookie Nine, he had reached the chūnin rank. Chōji had also improved his skills during the time-skip, and was now able to enlarge various parts of his body without much concentration. His reaction time had also increased, being able to immediately prevent an attack by Sai from harming Shikamaru or Naruto.

Chōji was then seen in Konoha together with the Team Asuma. Sai was surprised to see them after his encounter with them. Team Kakashi and Team Asuma then had to eat on a restaurant where they have bonded and developed friendship. Sai started giving nicknames to everyone. Sai is about to call Chōji fatty when Naruto covered his mouth to prevent his anger.

Twelve Guardian Ninja Arc
While Sora explores Konoha, he gets into a conflict with Kiba and Akamaru. Chōji then appears with Shikamaru while Sora and Kiba were arguing, telling them not to fight. Sora then insults Chōji calling him fatty which enraged him. After Lee and Naruto join the "fray" it is ended before it gets serious by Shikamaru and Asuma.

Later when a horde of zombie ninja attacked Konoha under the summoning of Furido. Chōji along with Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru, Rock Lee, Izumo and Kotetsu held the resurrected ninja at bay.

Chōji along with his team-mates then acted as back up for Team Yamato when the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's chakra was unleashed in Sora's body. Chōji then uses his Partial Multi-Size Technique to immobilize Sora but soon after the chakra cloak begins burning Chōji's hands.

Sora, now having four tails, attacked Chōji and the others, but Yamato was able to shield them with his Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall. Ino and Sakura then attempt to heal Chōji's burned hands and Sakura states that wounds caused by the Nine-Tails cannot be easily healed.

Chōji is later seen with the other ninja seeing Sora off.

Hidan and Kakuzu Arc
Chōji arrived with Ino as back-up for Shikamaru and Asuma in their fight with Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu. As the Akatsuki pair fled due to their arrival, Chōji prepared to take the fatally injured Asuma back to Konoha for treatment. Asuma, however, knew that he wouldn't make it back to Konoha, and gave some parting words to his team. He told Chōji that he was a kind-hearted boy, who thinks about his friends, and, therefore, may be a stronger ninja than anyone else, and to simply believe in himself. Asuma also told Chōji to diet a bit more, and Chōji said that, while it was difficult, he would try. Chōji then reminisces his memories with Asuma like the day when they were assigned to him as students and he treated them for a meal and Chōji had ordered a banquet, which hurt Asuma's economy. Chōji then cried. After smoking one last cigarette, Asuma died, leaving Chōji, Shikamaru, and Ino to set out in an attempt to avenge him.

When the remaining members of Team 10 distracted Hidan and Kakuzu, Chōji attacked the two with his Spiked Human Bullet Tank, its effectiveness increased with his new ability to grow and sharpen his hair. Later, when Kakuzu's masks charged at Chōji and his team, Chōji used Mega Palm Thrust to crush the masks and keep them at bay. His attempt was unsuccessful, and Kakuzu was able to pin him down.

Later, after Naruto arrived and defeated Kakuzu, Chōji returned to Konoha with the rest of his team, noting that Naruto's defeating Kakuzu made him "cool", even if not as much so as Shikamaru.

Invasion of Pain Arc
When Pain began his invasion, Chōji and his father arrived at the scene of Kakashi and Pain's fight, stunning Pain's Asura Path. After the Deva Path launched a counter-attack at them, Chōji and Chōza tried to distract the Path so Kakashi could land a finishing blow. Their effort failed, resulting in Chōza being gravely injured. Kakashi, unable to move, sent Chōji to tell Tsunade about the Deva Path's ability. Though believing his father to be dead, Chōji did as instructed, and was delighted to learn from Tsunade that his father was alive. But he quickly sobered after finding out that Kakashi died protecting him. He went to attend to his father, and stayed with him during the destruction of Konoha. After witnessing Kakashi returning to life, Chōji greeted Naruto as he returned to Konoha, supporting Shikamaru on his shoulder.

Konoha History Arc
Team Asuma, along with Team Kakashi, go off on a mission where they must save a headman's granddaughter from a gang boss named Baji. While fighting the bandits off, he uses his Human Bullet Tank to get to Shikamaru and the Headman's granddaughter's location. When he and Ino reunite with Shikamaru, they quickly apprehend Baji and save the girl, completing their mission.

Five Kage Summit Arc
Chōji is seen comforting Ino after Teams Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai agree that Sasuke must be stopped. He is also noted by Shikamaru to want revenge if Ino was to be killed. Along with the rest of Konoha 11, Chōji is prepared to kill Sasuke. Chōji was later seen with the rest of the Konoha 11, hearing Naruto's decision about Sasuke. When Naruto explained it wouldn't have been easy to defeat Sasuke, even at his current level, Chōji asks what he means by that.

Shinobi World War Arc
With the Fourth Shinobi World War underway, Chōji is assigned to the Fourth Division alongside his best friend Shikamaru and Temari.

Chōji joined the First Division along with Shikamaru and Ino. He struck Kinkaku dead on with his Human Bullet Tank but was tossed aside by Kinkaku's transformed state. Later, Kakuzu points out that Asuma is among the fray of the battlefield. At first, Chōji is reluctant to fight his former teacher, but with some reassurance from Ino and Shikamaru, he agrees to fight Asuma. During the battle with Asuma, Shikamaru managed to catch Asuma with his Shadow Imitation Technique, to give Chōji a chance to attack Asuma but Chōji couldn't attack his old sensei. Asuma then kicked Chōji and told him to get out of the way as he prepared to use the Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique, but before the technique hit Ino tackled Chōji out of it's path.

During the battle with Asuma, Ino saved Chōji using the Mind Body Switch Technique, fighting inside his body as he remembered the oath he took when he became the official 16th heir of the Akimichi Clan. After his father got badly wounded shielding him from Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning, he finally snapped out of his hesitation and created his butterfly wings without consuming the Red Pill, a feat which amazed his father.

Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds
Chōji played a short role in the movie with Shikamaru, Shino, Sai and Kakashi while they were trying to fight off the sky ninja.

Naruto Shippūden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire
Chōji was first seen eating barbecue with Shikamaru and the others celebrating Naruto and Sai's recovery. Later when Hiruko announced that a Fourth Ninja World War would occur once he gets the final Kekkei Genkai, Chōji was seen with the rest of Konoha 11 except Naruto assigned by Tsunade to secure the village. When Naruto and Sakura left the village to rescue Kakashi, Chōji, and the others left to stop him. While they encountered them, they got ambushed by San which caused them to fight while Sai took Naruto and Sakura ahead. Later when Hiruko finally approached them they all fought and defeated him.

Creation and conception
"Chōji" means "butterfly (Chō-)" and "the second son (-ji)" added together. Butterflies are insects known to eat sweets. Chōji also manifests butterfly wings made of chakra after eating the third red pill during his fight against Sound Four Ninja Jirōbō. The names "Ino," "Shika" and "Chō" are also a pun on the "Ino-Shika-Chō" winning combination in Hanafuda.

Trivia

 * While Ino has regularly ridiculed Chōji for his excess weight, in one filler arc, Ino also stated that his weight is essential to effectively use his clan's secret techniques.
 * Chōji was the only member of the original 15 genin to not be ranked within the top 30 characters in the sixth and most recent Naruto character popularity poll. He was not ranked among the top 30 in the fifth poll either. The only poll he placed in was the fourth where he was ranked 21st most popular character.
 * According to the databook:
 * Chōji's hobby is buying and eating snacks.
 * While Chōji doesn't wish to fight anyone in particular, Chōji will fight anyone as long as there is food involved.
 * Chōji's favorite foods are Korean barbecue and junk food, whilst his least favourite food is anything inedible.
 * Chōji has completed 39 official missions in total: 17 D-rank, 13 C-rank, 6 B-rank, 3 A-rank, 0 S-rank.
 * Chōji's favourite word is "meat".
 * Chōji is the only character to have a stat go down between databooks: his hand seal score goes down by half a point between the second and third databooks.
 * Chōji is left handed, as seen on episode 110.
 * According to the video game Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2, Chōji has a fear of lizards.
 * In the omake of episode 163, Chōji seemingly uses Wind Release by sucking up Potato chips, which angers Naruto questioning what kind of Wind Release was that.

Quotes

 * (To Shikamaru) "I won't let even you eat the last barbecue chip!"
 * "Fat!? I'm big boned!"
 * (To Jirōbō) "I can't forgive you for calling me fat! But even more than that... Not just for stealing the last chip... or calling me fat... most importantly I won't forgive anyone who insults my best friend!"
 * "I'm gonna eat until I can eat no more!"
 * (Chōji's oath) "I solemnly swear, that as the 16th head of the Akimichi family I will defend the oath taken by the 15th generation and raise the 17th generation to protect it! I, Chōji Akimichi, in order to protect the Yamanaka clan and Nara clan and Konohagakure... Do hereby emerge from my cocoon as a full grown butterfly... and take flight!"