Shizune (シズネ, Shizune) is a kunoichi of Konohagakure. She is the first apprentice of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade and a very skilled medical-nin. She currently acts as the Seventh Hokage's assistant as well as performing her duties as doctor in Konoha Hospital.
Background[]
Shizune is the niece of Dan Katō, a renowned shinobi of Konoha. Some time after her uncle's death, Tsunade, his lover, left Konoha and Shizune went with Tsunade as her attendant and apprentice. The bond between Tsunade and Shizune is strong and, above all, the latter sees her purpose in life as caring for Tsunade.
During their time away from the village, Shizune often worried about Tsunade's constant gambling, losing money and then borrowing more.
Personality[]
Shizune is always level-headed, practical and a rational thinker. As a result, she is the one who tends to stress over details, such as Tsunade's tendency to gamble frequently, and to think with her heart. She often gets comically worked up over any irrational decision Tsunade makes. Shizune also looks after Tonton, Tsunade's pet pig. She is a very kind and calm person but will immediately rush to Tsunade's aid and in contrast, will become fierce and somewhat ruthless; a testament of her loyalty to Tsunade, including losing her temper when anyone insults her. At the same time however, she is not timid and is not afraid of objecting to Tsunade's decisions or voicing her opinion as seen when she even alerted the Konoha Council of her intention to send Naruto on a mission that Shizune thought would put him in great peril. She has a great sense of morale and ethics, as she tried to persuade Tsunade from accepting Orochimaru's offer to heal his arms in exchange of reviving Dan and Nawaki, believing the said two would not be happy to return at the cost of innocent lives.
She is not the type to tire easily and is very energetic and efficient while acting in her capacity of Hokage's Assistant, often urging Tsunade to finish the paperwork in order to avoid mountains of unsigned documents later on. She is often seen asking Tsunade questions about what to do with the village and the shinobi on missions. In an omake, she has shown she is a bit jealous of kunoichi like Tsunade and Kurenai Yūhi, complaining about their assets compared to her own.
Appearance[]
Shizune is a fair-skinned woman of average height and slender build with onyx eyes and jet-black hair; her hair is straight and shoulder-length with bangs that cover her ears and frame her face. Normally, Shizune is seen in a long bluish-black kimono with white trimmings, held closed by a white obi, and open-toed sandals with low heels. Shizune has also been seen wearing the standard Konoha shinobi outfit complete with flak jacket, when deployed on missions which has distinct, extra-long sleeves. She, however, doesn't wear a forehead protector. Shizune also has the tendency to pin her hair up when working; a trait also shared by Sakura.
During the Fourth Shinobi World War, she donned her standard shinobi attire, albeit with shorter sleeves this time. She also wore the forehead protector of the Allied Shinobi Forces and a band around her right arm signifying her position.
Years after the war, Shizune had gained vaguely noticeable creases around her eyes. She wears a black, one-sleeved kimono held closed with a with a sash. Beneath this, she wears mesh armour, which is partially exposed on her sleeveless left-hand-side.
Abilities[]
Although at first glance she doesn't seem like a fighting type, as a jōnin and apprentice of Tsunade, Shizune is undoubtedly a very capable kunoichi. Jiraiya had enough faith in her abilities to leave her to fight Orochimaru's right-hand man, Kabuto Yakushi[1]. A further testament to her credibility is being put in charge of the Logistical Support and Medical Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Shinobi World War[2].
Ninjutsu[]
Medical Ninjutsu[]
Shizune uses poison weapons against Kabuto.
Shizune is a very talented medical-nin and her skills are said to be second to Tsunade's. Her abilities set a high standard for Tsunade's other disciple, as she stated that she had not seen such skill when comparing Sakura Uchiha to her[3]. Shizune's refined chakra control allowed her to perform even the most complex medical ninjutsu, such as leading a team in regenerating a person's injured body with new cells; a task that took over three hours to complete, while the slightest mistake could be fatal[4].
Poison Techniques and Weaponry[]
Shizune's main tactic in battle involves incorporating poison into her attacks. She can emit poisonous gas from her mouth, capable of being fatal if even a whiff of it is inhaled, as noted by Kabuto[5]. Shizune also imbues her senbon with poison, and kunai as well that can paralyze the enemy with just one scratch[6]. She can either fire senbon from a concealed wrist-mounted device, or from her mouth in quick succession[7].
Intelligence[]
Shizune is quite observant and has a keen intellect. She was able to figure out the secret behind the black receivers embedded in Pain's First Animal Path during an autopsy with her team after just a short amount of time[8]. Likewise, during the Fourth Shinobi World War, she could find out the DNA-similarities between the White Zetsu Army and the First Hokage, something that she already presumed before[9].
New Era[]
Shizune was the representative of the Medical Department before Sakura Uchiha was named head. She also continued to work as the Hokage's assistant during Kakashi Hatake's rule and now with the Seventh Hokage. Her medical ninjutsu skills are still useful in the hospital, where she works aiding Sakura and providing care.
Sarada Uchiha Arc[]
Main article: Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring
Shizune takes care of her fellow disciple, Sakura Uchiha, after Sakura fainted and sent Shizune by Sakura's daughter, Sarada. Shizune told Sarada that her mother has fainted many times before. When she later talked to Sarada, who was looking at a photo of her father with team Taka, the girl talked about her doubts on her parentage. Shizune insisted her doubts were false. When Sarada called her on it, noting that she knew there were no records of her birth. Shizune merely kept quiet with a sorrowful expression on her face. She questions Sarada to why she brought this on, to which Sarada showed her the picture of Taka and particularly Karin and how she wore the same glasses as her.
Later, while discussing Naruto and Shikamaru preparations for the upcoming Academy graduations, a letter was received from Sasuke, learning of a young boy with the Sharingan attacking the Uchiha. While Naruto decided to go handle things personally while leaving a shadow clone behind, Shizune was concerned on how this would conflict with the graduation exams. Later, as Sakura finally recovered, Shizune explained to her of Sarada's recent actions of going after her father.
Naruto Shinden: Parent and Child Day[]
Main article: Naruto Shinden: Parent and Child Day (novel)
Shizune offered Naruto medicine to help him stay awake as he was forced to stay late to work before the Parent and Child Day holiday, but he refused saying the medicine smelled like fish. When he arrived home, he regretted not taking the remedy Shizune had offered him.
Versus Momoshiki Arc[]
When the Ōtsutsuki Clan invaded Konoha and the Chūnin Exams were put to a stop, Shizune and the Medic Corps were tasked with healing Mitsuki in the emergency room after he had been severely injured by Urashiki.
Kara Actuation Arc[]
Shizune visits Sakura in her office.
In the anime, Shizune visited Sakura during her medical ninjutsu class to see the results of the training. When Sarada pointed out her mother's skills, Shizune revealed that Sakura wasn't as skilled when she was learning.
After Team 7 was defeated by Deepa, they wee brought back to Konoha in a bad state. Shizune took care of them in the hospital, where she was tasked with healing Boruto, resulting in success. When he woke up from the operation, he asked for Mitsuki, but Shizune told him that Orochimaru was taking care of him. After leaving him, she visited Sakura in her office and expressed concerned about Team 7's defeat to her.
Ao Arc[]
In the anime, Shizune attended the memorial service for the fallen people of the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Trivia[]
- According to the databook(s):
- Shizune's favourite food is cooked brown rice while her least favourite is pork.
- Her favourite phrase is "The flowers, the birds, the wind, and the Moon" (花鳥風月, Kachō Fūgetsu), an idiom of "the beauty of nature".
- Her hobby is visiting cultural heritage sites.
- Shizune has completed 139 official missions in total: 74 D-rank, 44 C-rank, 18 B-rank, 3 A-rank, 0 S-rank.
- Shizune shares the same voice actress in both English and Japanese versions of the anime as Tonton.
- Studio Pierrot's Settei of Shizune shows that the high-heeled sandals she currently wears add 5 cm on to her height.
Quotes[]
- (To Tsunade) "Lady Tsunade! You can't!! Don't listen to the offers of these liars. Your brother and my uncle wouldn't want you to do this either!!"
- (To Tsunade) "Are the wishes of two people more... Tsunade!! Your dreams... your wishes... Have you forgotten them?"
- (To Naruto) "You may think you're all healed, you may even look all healed, but you're NOT all Healed!"
- (To Naruto) "All in good time, just as soon as you're completely healed."