Masashi Kishimoto has crafted some truly gut-wrenching scenes in Naruto. There are several major tragedies like Jiraiya and Neji’s death or the Uchiha clan massacre, but the author has also included several scenes that hold significant symbolism for the plot.
The scene in discussion is the one concerning Asuma’s death. The smoking addict mentor has been a constant support system in Shikamaru’s life, and his death had a major impact on the boy. After Asuma passed away, Shikamaru took it upon himself to avenge his sensei.
Masashi Kishimoto Didn’t Expect Shikamaru’s Smoking Scene to Make it to the Final Draft
In an interview with Kobayashi, Masashi Kishimoto began to talk about manga censorship in Japan. Kobayashi brought up the scene in which Shikamaru is smoking Asuma’s cigarette, claiming that the panel portrayed the moment a boy becomes an adult.
Shikamaru saw his sensei, Asuma, die in his arms and could not do anything to save him. Warm memories of the mentor haunted him. As his last wish, Asuma wanted to smoke one last cigarette before he left personal messages to each of his team members. Once Asuma passed away, Shikamaru picked up Asuma’s cigarette and lit it, followed by a fit of coughing and hatred for it.
However, Shikamaru was underage at the time. While smoking the cigarette carried symbolism as he took on the responsibility of defeating the enemies, Kishimoto was afraid it would be audited.
Kishimoto said that he thought he’d be told he can’t show a minor smoking [in the manga], since manga regulations are very strict. He had a meeting with his editor about whether he should change it or not.
In the end, Kishimoto’s editor told him to go through with the plan anyway, and if the people above wanted to edit out the scene, they would.
If Shikamaru’s Smoking was Censored, Naruto Fans Would Have Missed Another Great Scene
Hidan was the one who had killed Asuma, Shikamaru’s mentor. Shikamaru was finally able to exact revenge on Hidan despite the latter being immortal. In the Akatsuki Suppression Arc, Shikamaru created an elaborate plan to trap and hopefully kill Hidan.
When Hidan was ensnared in Shikamaru’s traps, the latter covered him in explosive tags while tying him to a spot. Shikamaru then caused the ground underneath Hidan to break away. Finally, the shinobi lit Asuma’s cigarette and tossed it at Hidan, which caused all the explosives to detonate.
Hidan was blown to bits, and his remains fell inside the pit. On its way down, his severed head promised to kill Shikamaru no matter what. Shikamaru then made the pit collapse into itself, trapping a screaming Hidan. While Hidan did not die, since he is immortal, he was trapped for an eternity to die from a lack of nutrition.
Kishimoto also commented that the scene in which Hiden’s head was lopped off had to be censored by black bars. But without the scene of Shikamaru smoking after Asuma’s death, Naruto fans would not have received the scene in which Shikamaru flicked it to trigger the explosives surrounding Hidan.
You can read Naruto on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
