Board Thread:Versus Debates/@comment-26537507-20151003105148/@comment-734582-20151004203144

TheOneWhoLovesNaruto wrote: shikamaru would have no time to think before he get's ko'd. The forest of Death is a pretty big place, with plenty of space to hide. It's fairly easy for someone like Shikamaru to hide while the hot-headed ninja are busy taunting each other. It also assumes they're all dropped off next to eachother at the center. However, what if each enters via a different gate? Furthermore, considering their ties, it's unlikely that some characters would engage in certain 1v1's, and it's likely that the original teams would quickly cooperate to defeat at the very least the other teams and at least die with the pride of the team.

Only a handful of people have the capacity to see the bigger picture, or backstab at the right time. Sasuke can definitely backstab at the right time. Neji's been an a-hole his entire life, pretty sure that he can kill his heart just by remembering how he used to be. Kiba's not to be underestimated considering that tracking, sensing enemy's chakra levels and engaging at the right time are his specialty. Same for Neji, Hinata, Shino and Sasuke (via the Sharingan).

Especially Shino would be a force to be reckoned with, considering that the setup heavily favors him. He could lay traps all across the place, fight with perfect information and pick and turn around fights however he likes, ensuring the right people take each other out so he can backstab whoever's the last man standing. His major weakness is getting caught, which is why i originally didnt really mention him (that and he's pretty forgettable).

Hinata doesn't have the heart to kill, not even close. However, her Byakugan and Gentle Fist would allow her to stay alive for very long, evading battles and only disabling people.

Neji also has the Byakugan and can keep track of enemies, traps, and fight with near-perfect information. He should be able to defeat Naruto simply by using 64 palms and then instantly finishing Naruto in stead of standing around, gloating about his superiority.

Naruto is strong and strong-willed so he could definitely go far, and his Kyubi would allow him to fight anyone, but it's not something he can access. Gamabunta is immensely unreliable as a summon, and the Kyubi is immensely unreliable as a hail mary. In fact, i'd say that Naruto can easily lose full control at which case it just as easily could be considered a loss for him.

Kiba at this point is still pretty strong and largely can do the same as Shino, though he's much easier to taunt into making mistakes.

Shikamaru can fight with his intellect. he lacks tracking skills so if he stumbles upon the wrong person he's dead, but he can definitely hide, gather information and play the waiting game while coming up with the necessary strategies.

TheOneWhoLovesNaruto wrote: Naruto couldn't really unleash or use the nine-tails Agreed. Naruto needs to become angry to unleash the Kyubi. If someone traps or kills him quickly, there's no way a Kurama-ex machina is going to work. Even Neji could've defeated Naruto during the Chunin exams by finishing him in stead of standing around gloating,