Gaiden: Uchiha Itachi versus Shikamaru!!!

I was talking to someone about what character I would be in Naruto, and I decided that I want to be Uchiha Itachi. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a rundown of the manga.

Basically, Uchiha Itachi is this super genius ninja who was promoted to the highest rank in the village at the age of 12. Now, this is rare, since most other ninjas only graduate and begin their career at that age. So, anyway, in the flashbacks of his brother, we see that Itachi was a pretty nice guy, stood up to his father for his kid brother and all that. In the end, in order to make a new breakthrough in his abilities, he decides to kill those nearest and dearest to him, as a way of cutting off all ties to the mortal world, or something like that. So he goes off an massacres his entire clan, parents, servants, retainers. He leaves his brother alive as a potential challenger in future, since the brother has the same ability as himself.

Now, this doesn't sound like a very nice guy, does he? Why would I want to be someone like that? Well, if you think about it, this is a person who finds that his natural talent sets him above everybody else, and there seems to be no way forward, since there isn't anyone who can push him further. So he casts aside his morals and sets out to do whatever is necessary to achieve greater heights. Even the one vaguely nice thing he does, leaving his brother alive, is motivated entirely by selfish motives. To make the most of himself, he allowed nothing to get in his way.

While I doubt I will ever attempt to massacre anybody in a physical sense, I want to emphathise with this fellow. I want to be so enamoured of my own natural talent that I will do whatever it takes to maximise my achievements. Also, he's really powerful, so that's pretty cool.

The thing is, I think I'm more of a Shikamaru type. Shikamaru is a shinobi with little actual power, but an extraordinarily high level of intelligence. When he does fight, he strategises and plots constantly, so he usually wins, even with his very limited repertoire of skills. However, he's incredibly lazy, and spends most of his time lazing and watching the clouds.

Somehow, Shikamaru seems quite a lot like me. I have little natural talent, nothing along the lines of sport or music or oration or math or science or letters or anything like that. All I have is this raw, uncomfortable intelligence. Many things I can simulate using this unfocused intelligence. For example, while I am quite uncomfortable speaking to crowds, I find that I can do it fairly effectively, simply because I can react quickly enough and read the audience. I sound smart because I am. So with limited natural talent, I compensate quite adequately with my mind.

I am also pretty much a bum. I am one of the laziest people I know. I lack motivation to do pretty much anything, and really, the only reason I'm studying and all that is because it's the easiest thing to do. School is pretty easy, and it'll give me the highest rate of return in terms of money in future. I want money for all the cool things I can buy, so I can't just settle for mediocrity. I have to be rich, or I will be miserable.

The last point aside, I find myself terribly similar to Shikamaru. This bites. At least he's kinda cool though. I wish I were Itachi.