The Best Naruto Moment Was Never Even In The Manga (2025)

The Naruto franchise has long been renowned for its poignant and emotional storytelling, beautifully capturing the themes of friendship, loss, and resilience, in addition to its exciting action sequences. While many of the emotional scenes in Naruto and Shippuden focus heavily on the titular character, the series also does a phenomenal job of fleshing out its supporting cast. While some fans often skip Naruto's filler episodes, one of the most touching moments in the series never happened in the manga.

In Naruto: Shippuden Episode 82 ('Team 10'), a scene between Shikamaru Nara and his father, Shikaku, gives viewers a rare glimpse into the tender bond the father and son shared -- and the scene never took place in Naruto's original manga story. The simple interaction between the two characters added a new layer of emotional depth to the episode and also helped flesh out Shikamaru's character in an endearing way. Although technically not canon, this Naruto filler moment remains one of the series' best moments, highlighting the anime's strength when it comes to its ability to emotionally resonate with viewers in ways that differ from the manga.

Asuma's Death Set the Stage for the Filler Moment

Her Loss Greatly Affected Shikamaru and the Anime's Pacing Highlighted This

Asuma Sarutobi was one of the jonin, highly skilled shinobi who worked as military captains in Naruto. He was the leader of Team 10, a group of ninjas that included Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi. Because of the close bond that Team 10 shared, his death hit all of them incredibly hard, but the Naruto anime focused heavily on Shikamaru's response to the character's death.

Throughout the series, Shikamaru was portrayed as lazy but incredibly smart, and he was particularly fond of his team members on Asuma's team, determined to prove himself to his master. When the S-rank missing-nin Hidan proved particularly difficult to beat, Shikamaru worked with the other members of Team 10 to try and kill him, with Asuma cutting the villain's head off.

In a tense moment during the fight, Shikamaru found himself exhausted from the intense battle, and he could only watch as Team 10 failed to kill Hidan, and the villain's head was reattached, buying him time for backup to arrive as Asuma lays dying. In his final moments, Asuma parted important knowledge to Shikamaru and the rest of the team, but it wasn't enough to stop the young ninja from feeling personally responsible for his master's death. When the team returned to Konoha, Shikamaru took the blame and refused to attend Asuma's funeral, instead choosing to plot his revenge.

Shikamaru and His Father's Tender Moment Was Profound

A Simple Game of Shogi Highlighted the Bond Between Father and Son

The 'Team 10' episode of Naruto: Shippuden began with the funeral service being held for Asuma. As Shikamaru decides to mourn the loss of his leader at home, he spends day and night watching the sky until his father, Shikaku, comes and invites him to play a game of shogi. The two discuss Asuma's death and Shikamaru even lashes out as his father in a fit of rage. The scenes offer a heartbreaking moment in Naruto where viewers can almost feel Shikamaru's pain, with the young ninja feeling completely lost without Asuma there to guide him on future missions.

Surprisingly, Shikaku isn't bothered in the slightest by Shikamaru's fit of rage; he encourages his son to let out all of his pent-up emotions. He eventually leaves Shikamaru alone when his son begins to cry uncontrollably, fully encompassed by the grief he is feeling over Asuma's death.

Going forward, Shikamaru uses the shogi pieces to help him formulate a new plan to defeat Hidan and Kakuza. He channels his grief and rage into getting revenge for his fallen master, and he's even surprised when he realizes Choji and Ino are also expecting to enact vengeance, too. Thanks to the tender moment Shikamaru shared with his father, he is then able to get up the courage to visit Asuma's grave, where he apologizes to his sensei for not coming sooner.

The Anime Changes Add Emotional Depth to the Story

Viewers Could Feel Shikamaru's Pain More So Than in the Manga

In the manga, Shikamaru plays shogi by himself while his father watches over him. By slightly changing the scene and having the two characters interact more, Naruto: Shippuden was able to deliver a scene with incredible emotional resonance that really highlighted the turmoil that Shikamaru's character was experiencing. The dialogue between the two characters perfectly captured the emotions of grief and maturation, highlighting a pivotal moment in Shikamaru's journey.

Rather than playing a backseat role like in the pages of the manga, Shikaku was able to give his son subtle encouragement, fostering him to grow and deal with his grief in a healthy and mature way. This moment allowed viewers to see the familial relationship between the two, reinforcing Shikaku as an important figure in Shikamaru's life, aiding him through one of his toughest experiences in life so far.

The anime's changed moment provided a more personal look into Shikamaru's family dynamic, and the show was smart to add this filler moment. It proves that when filler is done properly, it can elevate the source material to a better version of itself. This wasn't a Naruto filler moment that wildly changed Shippuden's story or deviated very far from the source, but the subtle changes Shippuden made had an incredible pay-off, making it even easier for viewers to root for Shikamaru as he sought revenge for Asuma.

Shikamaru's Game of Shogi Helped Develop His Character

The Young Ninja's Grief Led Him to Become a Fierce Leader

Shikamaru's game of shogi with his father was more than just a tender moment between the two characters. It also proved to be an incredibly symbolic moment in Naruto, and as the two played the popular Japanese board game, Shikamaru found himself becoming a better ninja with every move. The game against Shikaku showed Shikamaru's developing strategies as a ninja, and as he took the game seriously, it highlighted his character development. In the wake of Asuma's death, Shikamaru was forced to transition from a lazy and carefree ninja into a determined, strategic leader for the rest of Team 10.

By playing shogi with his son, Shikaku was able to use his role as the young ninja's father to pass on his own wisdom and leadership. Shikaku was the Jonin Commander of Konohagakure, and he was without a doubt a very strong shinobi respected by the village. By subtly instilling some of his own wisdom into Shikamaru over the game of shogi, Shikaku helped set his son up to get the revenge he knew he'd be seeking.

The scene solidified the bond between Shikamaru and his father, proving that they have one of the most touching relationships in Naruto. Emotional impact aside, Shikamaru and Shikaku's game of shogi was a pivotal moment that set up Shikamaru to muster up the courage he needed to lead his allies against Hidan and Kakuzu. While he still was able to gather the courage in the manga, the anime's decision to increase Shikaku's role in the scene beautifully highlighted the two's love for one another in a way that fans were happy to see shown on screen.

Shikaku Helped Set Up Shikamaru For Greatness

The Young Ninja Fought Hard to Avenge His Sensei

After his touching game of shogi with his father, Shikamaru sets out with Choji and Ino to find Hidan and Kakuzu. The anime's decision to add the moment between Shikamaru and Shikaku made Shikamaru's rapid growth and maturity feel much more believable, with the young ninja feeling ready to take on such a monumental task. The three young ninjas are confident about getting revenge for Asuma's death, and they allow the fan-favorite Naruto character Kakashi Hatake to join them as the fourth member on their mission. Once the group locates Hidan and Kakuzu's hideout, Shikamaru is the first to launch an attack on them -- proving that he has easily matured past his days of being a lazy and carefree ninja.

Relentless in his efforts to avenge Team 10's leader, Shikamaru uses his abilities to force Hidan into attacking Kakuzu. It's an incredibly intense battle that sees Kakuzu and Hidan having to use every trick in their arsenal to cheat death, but Shikamaru and his friends absolutely refuse to leave the battlefield without getting their vengeance. In a clever fake out, Shikamaru and Kakashi were able to trick Hidan into killing one of Kakuzu's hearts, thinking he was killing Shikamaru instead.

With Hidan assuming Shikamaru was dead, the young ninja was able to attack him from behind, trapping Hidan in a pit and getting his revenge for Asuma. In a particularly poignant moment, Shikamaru ignites a series of explosive tags with Asuma's lighter, blowing Hidan up and defeating him once and for all. After the battle, Shikamaru takes a moment to visit Asuma's grave and reminisce about his beloved leader.

Naruto: Shippuden

TV-PG

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Naruto Uzumaki, is a loud, hyperactive, adolescent ninja who constantly searches for approval and recognition, as well as to become Hokage, who is acknowledged as the leader and strongest of all ninja in the village.

Release Date

February 15, 2007

Creator(s)

Masashi Kishimoto

Cast

Alexandre Crepet , Junko Takeuchi , Maile Flanagan , Kate Higgins , Chie Nakamura , Dave Wittenberg , Kazuhiko Inoue , Noriaki Sugiyama , Yuri Lowenthal , Debi Mae West

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

21

Creator

Masashi Kishimoto

Main Characters

Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake, Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, Orochimaru, Tsunade Senju

Production Company

Pierrot, TV Tokyo, Aniplex, KSS, Rakuonsha, TV Tokyo Music, Shueisha

Number of Episodes

500

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu