Who really killed Asuma Sarutobi?

Hidan, a member of the Akatsuki, by means of his curse ritual: he ingests a drop of Asuma's blood, then stabs himself, passing every wound on to his victim. It was not Kakuzu, who was only his teammate.

What does "Ino-Shika-Cho" mean?

It is the trio pairing the Yamanaka (Ino), Nara (Shika) and Akimichi (Cho) clans. The name takes up a card combination from the hanafuda game — the Boar, the Deer and the Butterfly — whose sounds echo the members' names.

What is the connection with their fathers?

Ino, Shikamaru and Choji are the 16th generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho. Their fathers — Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza — made up the 15th and brought their children together to carry the formation on. Ino is its first kunoichi in sixteen generations.

Who does what in the formation?

Contrary to what the order of the name suggests, it is Shikamaru who first immobilizes the target with his shadows; Ino can then project her mind into it, since her mind technique requires a motionless target; Choji finally finishes it off by growing giant. As for Asuma, he is not in the trio: he is its sensei.

What becomes of Team 10 after Asuma's death?

The trio sets out again to hunt down their sensei's killers, with Kakashi temporarily taking the lead of the team in Asuma's place. Shikamaru isolates Hidan and buries him alive in a Nara clan forest, while Ino, Choji and Kakashi face Kakuzu, finished off after Naruto arrives as reinforcement. The team comes out of this mourning closer than ever: Shikamaru, in particular, takes up the Will of Fire and the hopes his master had passed on to him.

L'Équipe 10 : le trio Ino-Shika-Chô d'Asuma

Team 10: Asuma's Ino-Shika-Cho Trio

July 12, 2026

1285 words | Reading time: 7 min

UniverseIno-Shika-ChoTeam 10

Ino, Shikamaru and Choji form the sixteenth generation of a trio. Their own fathers, Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza, were the fifteenth, and the name Ino-Shika-Cho comes from the hanafuda cards, boar, deer and butterfly. Each one has his role: Ino on the mind, Shikamaru on the shadows, Choji on expansion and his Three Pills, of which the red one is lethal. Above them, Asuma Sarutobi, son of the Third Hokage and uncle of Konohamaru, whose death will change everything for the team.

Konoha's most iconic trio, inherited from their own fathers: Ino, Shikamaru and Choji make up the Ino-Shika-Cho, under Asuma's wing. This is Team 10.

Ino, Shikamaru, Choji and Asuma
The Ino-Shika-Cho Formation
Three Clans, Three Roles
Asuma Sarutobi, the Sensei
Asuma's Death and the Revenge
Summary Table
FAQ

Ino, Shikamaru, Choji and Asuma

Team 10, or Team Asuma, brings together three genin — Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi — under the leadership of the jonin Asuma Sarutobi.

These three are not brought together by chance: they carry on a tradition going back several generations, the Ino-Shika-Cho formation.

The Ino-Shika-Cho Formation

The Ino-Shika-Cho always pairs one member from each of three allied clans: Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji are its 16th generation.

Their own fathers — Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza — made up the previous generation and brought their children together to pass the formation on. The name comes from a combination in the hanafuda card game: the Boar, the Deer and the Butterfly.

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Three adult ninja standing side by side in fighting stances, each beneath his clan symbol: a blond man with a long bang, a dark-haired man with spiky hair and a heavyset red-haired man in chest-plate armor — The previous generation of the formation: Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza, the fathers of Ino, Shikamaru and Choji.

Three Clans, Three Roles

Each clan has a precise role, in an order that comes as a surprise: Shikamaru first immobilizes the target with his shadow manipulation, which lets Ino project her mind into it — her mind technique requires a motionless target —, then Choji finishes it off by growing giant.

The Akimichi clan also has the Three Colored Pills, which convert the body's reserves into chakra: the red one, the most dangerous, multiplies strength tenfold at the cost of the user's life.

Two enormous arms, wrapped in white bandages, come crashing down on a clearing while a blonde girl forms a hand sign and a crouching boy stretches a long shadow across the ground — The trio's chain of attacks: the Nara's shadow freezes the target, the Yamanaka projects her mind into it, and the enlarged Akimichi strikes.

Asuma Sarutobi, the Sensei

Asuma Sarutobi is the son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, and the uncle of Konohamaru. A former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, he wields Wind Release chakra blades.

Careful: Asuma is not a member of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. He is its sensei — he belongs to the Sarutobi clan, separate from the three clans of his students.

Asuma, wearing a Konoha forehead protector with his teeth clenched, holds a bladed knuckle duster wrapped in a bluish aura in front of his face, in a forest — Asuma's chakra blades: he charges them with his Wind Release affinity to extend their cutting edge.

Asuma's Death and the Revenge

Asuma's death is a turning point: he is killed by Hidan of the Akatsuki, through a curse ritual — and not by his teammate Kakuzu.

Shikamaru then leads the revenge: he lures the immortal Hidan into a forest of the Nara clan, foils his ritual, blows him apart with explosives and buries him alive at the bottom of a chasm. A plan worthy of Konoha's sharpest strategist.

In a dark forest crisscrossed with wires strung between the trunks, Shikamaru, seen from behind in a chunin vest, holds out his fist toward Hidan, whose torso and legs are completely covered with explosive tags — Shikamaru lures Hidan into a Nara clan forest, where terrain and traps count for more than raw power.

Summary Table

Aspect	Details
Members & sensei	Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi; sensei Asuma Sarutobi (not a member of the trio)
Generation	16th Ino-Shika-Cho; fathers = 15th (Inoichi, Shikaku, Choza). Name taken from hanafuda (Boar-Deer-Butterfly)
Roles	Ino = mind; Shikamaru = shadows; Choji = expansion (Three Pills, the red one being lethal)
Asuma	Son of the Third Hokage Hiruzen, uncle of Konohamaru; Wind Release chakra blades; partner of Kurenai
Death & revenge	Killed by Hidan (not Kakuzu). Shikamaru traps the immortal Hidan, blows him apart and buries him alive

FAQ

Who really killed Asuma Sarutobi?
Hidan, a member of the Akatsuki, by means of his curse ritual: he ingests a drop of Asuma's blood, then stabs himself, passing every wound on to his victim. It was not Kakuzu, who was only his teammate.
What does "Ino-Shika-Cho" mean?
It is the trio pairing the Yamanaka (Ino), Nara (Shika) and Akimichi (Cho) clans. The name takes up a card combination from the hanafuda game — the Boar, the Deer and the Butterfly — whose sounds echo the members' names.
What is the connection with their fathers?
Ino, Shikamaru and Choji are the 16th generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho. Their fathers — Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza — made up the 15th and brought their children together to carry the formation on. Ino is its first kunoichi in sixteen generations.
Who does what in the formation?
Contrary to what the order of the name suggests, it is Shikamaru who first immobilizes the target with his shadows; Ino can then project her mind into it, since her mind technique requires a motionless target; Choji finally finishes it off by growing giant. As for Asuma, he is not in the trio: he is its sensei.
What becomes of Team 10 after Asuma's death?
The trio sets out again to hunt down their sensei's killers, with Kakashi temporarily taking the lead of the team in Asuma's place. Shikamaru isolates Hidan and buries him alive in a Nara clan forest, while Ino, Choji and Kakashi face Kakuzu, finished off after Naruto arrives as reinforcement. The team comes out of this mourning closer than ever: Shikamaru, in particular, takes up the Will of Fire and the hopes his master had passed on to him.

In summary

Heir to a century-old clan alliance, Team 10 unites mind, shadow and strength. And when its sensei falls, that entire collective intelligence turns into relentless revenge.