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In our world, a "genius" is someone who is extremely smart, analytic or a fast
learner.

Although there are similarities between our and the Naruto universe definition
of "Genius", I still feel that it's not the same.

What is considered a "Genius" in the Naruto world? Is Naruto a genius? Is
Sasuke a genius? Itachi? Nagato? I don't see it as strictly being smart.


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2013-01-18T17:55:42.973
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naruto
In Naruto, what makes a person a genius?


Genius can be defined as [a single strongly marked capacity or
aptitude](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genius). Characters are
called geniuses because they don't need to work as hard others to become good
at something.

For example: Compare Sasuke and Rock Lee. Sasuke is considered by a lot of the
cast to be a genius. He learns techniques easily, and has been shown to
improvise in combat better than others. On the other hand, Rock Lee has to
train very hard to keep up with his peers.


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Sasuke is a genius, he's gifted, comes from a gifted clan (one of the most
gifted in the Shinobi world).

Naruto is not a genius. He doesn't excel in his first years: while Sasuke did
everything easily and without making mistakes, becoming the most popular kid
in the Academy, Naruto, in plain terms, sucked.

When he was asked to do the clone he completely failed:

![Naruto clone fail](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7BBEq.jpg)

I don't think however that being a genius is necessarily a matter of being
born in a powerful clan. Naruto's father was powerful, yet Naruto sucked.
Hinata is weaker than Neji yet she comes from the main family.

I think that genius, after such considerations, is a union of, at least,
**clan** and **environment**.


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2013-01-18T19:46:01.193
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I would assume that in Naruto terms it's much more to the **perceptiveness**
and the **analytical** nature a character shows in adapting to a tougher
battle scenario, which rules out characters like Naruto and Rock Lee. I can
make a point with respect to Kakashi's quotes about Naruto because Kakashi
always remarks to him that he can surpass 4th Hokage but never really
compliments him on being a genius. Kakashi is sure that Naruto can surpass him
through sheer hardwork and training.

Secondly the characters who I really think standout for genius terms are
_Sasuke_ , _Shikamaru_ and _Itachi_. As for Shikamaru, there are plenty of
scenarios all over the manga, most notably the one where he first assumes task
as squad leader to retrieve Sasuke where he formulates the best formation to
go after the Sound Four with the squad which was put up as quickly as possible
and his attention to detail outlines that. Also in the very first fight he is
shown on the anime in the chunnin exams against the sound girl, he deceives
her with the landscape easily and he claims that ninja should be very
perceptive to their surroundings and where they fight.

Sasuke always has been shown to be a battle genius in all his fights. The most
notable to re-iterate my point would be his fight with Deidara where he
quickly nullifies all strategies of Deidara (who himself was shown to be a
very good tactician the way in which he approached his fights with Gaara and
Naruto and Kakashi prior to that as well) and beats him with a technique to
spare as well. (Although Sasuke after Mangekyou started spamming Susanoo
greatly he is still shown having a great battle prowess.)

Itachi even though we never get to see him in so many fights throughout the
series, he is shown as the guy who sets very high standards for Sasuke to
follow when he was a kid. The most notable thing I can think of is how he gets
out of the Edo Tensei from Kabuto very easily.

All these characters can fight harder as much as everyone else but most
importantly they fight smarter. They look for the loop holes in the enemy's
weakness rather than attack the enemy head on.


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I'd define "genius" by breaking down and analyzing the concept of
"proficiency".

I like to think that for any skill, people are born with varying levels of
ease in picking up the skill and/or developing it ( _nature_ ). Extreme
examples include people who feel like "I've done this before", which have some
parallels with the awakening of Kekkei Genkai in the Naruto universe. From
"baseline" level of ability, people can work to raise or lower their
proficiency in proportion to how much effort they spend ( _nurture_ ).

I would say that a "genius" is someone who was born with an extremely high
level of baseline proficiency. Hence, with regards to your question, does a
genius have to be **smart** , **analytical** or **a fast learner**? These
three qualities differ slightly in character:

  * Concerning the skill of _intelligence_ , people who are born **smart** are geniuses, but people who became smart after studying/practicing very hard need not be.
  * Concerning the skill of _analyzing the battle situation_ , people who are born **analytical** are geniuses, but people who became analytical with decades of battle experience need not be.
  * **Fast learners** "develop their skill abnormally quickly" so they can be all considered geniuses ( _very_ fast learners, that is).

According to my definition, Jinchuuriki and lineages of powerful Kekkei Genkai
(such as the Sharingan or Rinnegan) automatically qualify as geniuses.
Interestingly, in the real world we don't have that much of "inherited genius"
to be unleashed, so this is unique to the Naruto universe. Thus, to answer
your question, Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi and Nagato are indeed geniuses; from
Morpheus's answer, Shikamaru is one too.

However, it is important to define the scope of one's genius; different types
of genius cannot be compared.

  * Shikamaru is a genius when it comes to "being smart" or "analyzing the battle situation".
  * Byakugan users are sensor-type geniuses.
  * Rock Lee is a proficient Taijustu user but is not a genius; he simply worked extremely hard to attain that level of skill.
  * Naruto and other Jinchuuriki are geniuses in chakra-intensive (and thus powerful) techniques.
  * Naruto is also a sage mode genius (being able to perfectly balance natural energy with his own chakra).
  * Regarding JNat's comment to the question, Naruto's proficiency in many other skills ( _walking on trees_ comes to mind) came from extensive training due to his spirit of "never giving up", but he cannot be considered a genius for those.
  * However, Naruto may be a genius at learning and picking up most skills quickly; coupled with his determination, that is a potent self-improvement skill in itself.


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