One of the most important factors in naruto, especially in the early genin days before Kishimoto nuked his storytelling, was the way he'd use strategy and quick thinking to determine the course of a fight.

In this chapter I'm going to define intelligence by shinobi standards and analyse strategic concepts. In the next chapter I will analyse IQ tests and how to implement intelligence into writing.

WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE?

Intelligence is a non quantifiable and inexplicable concept, however, by shinobi standards I think intelligence can be defined.

Intelligence is the thought that goes into completing a mission or defeating an enemy with as little casualties as possible. It's how quick a thinker your character is, how much information they can retain and use against their enemy, how they can analyse a situation and provide the best possible solution or way out.

STRATEGY

THESE ARE A LIST OF STRATEGIC CONCEPTS FROM WIKIPEDIA. I will try to relate them to the shinobi world and storytelling as much as possible.

I'm writing these bc there are so many ways to write fight scenes/missions in your story that isn't your OC suddenly getting a power buff and sweeping all their enemies pls.

GENERAL STRATEGIC CONCEPTS

1. Centre of Gravity : the point in a battlefield where all energies should be directed to. An example of this being Obito during the Fourth Great Shinobi War

2. Decisive Point : a place, specific event, system or function that allows one to gain an advantage over an enemy.

3. Golden Bridge – To leave your opponent an opportunity to withdraw in order to not force them to act out of desperation. This can be seen as an act of weakness, however, in some cases where the opponent has a trump card (like naruto with the nine tails) giving them a golden bridge (withdrawing) can save you and your forces.

4. OODA loop : Decision-making occurs in a recurring cycle of observe-orient-decide-act. An entity that can process this cycle quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than an opponent, can thereby "get inside" the opponent's decision cycle and gain the advantage. This is basically any character who can outsmart or act quicker than their opponent.

5. Positive ends – The possibility of taking advantage of a new security environment to create conditions for long-term peace. An example of this is Hashirama's peace treaty with the other villages using the tailed beast, for he probably saw them as positive ends.

6. Tipping point – The point at which "the momentum for change becomes unstoppable." An example of this being when Naruto and Sasuke got their dragon ball a boost from The Sage Of Six Paths

7. VUCA – Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity which characterise the strategic environment, and which your character should prepare for.

DEFENCE STRATEGIES

1. Boxing maneuver – A strategy used to "box in" and force an attack on all sides at once. Example being Gaaras sand shield.

2. Choke point – A use of strategic geography, usually in a narrow area, intended to concentrate the enemy into a confined area where the defender can maximize his forces

3. Defence in depth – A strategy to delay rather than prevent the advance of the attackers by buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space so that the momentum of the attack is lost and the attacking force can be attacked on its flanks.

Naruto's Talk no jutsu done right, to be honest. Also any character who can withstand long periods of battle.

4. Elastic Defense - A strategy to flexibly absorb then repel the advance of attackers through carefully planned integrated fighting positions.

5. Fortification – A semi-permanent or permanent defensive structure that gives physical protection to a military unit.

6. Fabian strategy – Wearing down the enemy by using attrition warfare(made to wear the enemy down) and indirection, while avoiding pitched battles or frontal assaults.
An example of this would be characters who fight from a distance, use summons or shadow clones to wear their enemy down, or who fight with lots and lots of kunai throwing and running around.

7. Scorched earth – Destroying anything that might be of use to the enemy while retreating, or advancing

8. Turtling – Continuous reinforcement of the military front until it has reached its full strength, then an attack with the now-superior force.

9. Withdrawal – A retreat of forces while maintaining contact with the enemy

10. High ground - An area of elevated terrain which can be useful in combat. Can provide structural advantages for positions of troops and weaponry which can be thrown or fired from above. Doubt this works for shinobi effectively since they can practically fly tbh, but Deidaras bomb and Madaras giant fucking meteor come to mind.

OFFENSIVE STRATEGY

1. Bait and bleed – To induce rival states to engage in a protracted war of attrition (overdrawn battle) against each other "so that they bleed each other white", similar to the concept of Divide and conquer

2. Bellum se ipsum alet – A strategy of feeding and supporting an army with the potentials of occupied territories

3. Coercion – Compelling the enemy to involuntarily behave in a certain way by targeting the leadership, national communications, or political-economic centers.
Talk No Jutsu is an example.

4. Counter-offensive – A strategic offensive taking place after the enemy's front line troops and reserves have been exhausted, and before the enemy has had the opportunity to assume new defensive positions. Tactic is usually implemented through surging at the enemy after their attack.

5. Countervalue – The opposite of counterforce; targeting of enemy cities and civilian populations. Used to distract the enemy.

6. Decapitation – Achieving strategic paralysis by targeting political leadership, command and control, strategic weapons, and critical economic nodes. Basically killing the boss.

7. Deception – A strategy that seeks to deceive, trick, or fool the enemy and create a false perception in a way that can be leveraged for a military advantage

8. Denial – A strategy that seeks to destroy the enemy's ability to wage war. Eg, the Uchiha Massacre.

9. Distraction – An attack by some of the force on one or two flanks, drawing up to a strong frontal attack by the rest of the force

10. Encirclement – Both a strategy and tactic designed to isolate and surround enemy forces

11. Feint – A maneuver designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or even none, will.

12. Flanking maneuver – Involves attacking the opponent from the side, or rear

13. Human wave attack – An unprotected frontal attack where the attacker tries to move as many combatants as possible into engaging close range combat with the defender. Eg, The Fourth Great Ninja War

14.Maneuver warfare - a military strategy which attempts to defeat the enemy by incapacitating their decision-making through shock and disruption

15. Penetration – A direct attack through enemy lines, then an attack on the rear once through

16. Persisting strategy – A strategy that seeks to destroy the means by which the enemy sustains itself. An example would be taking away a village's tailed beast.

17. Pincer ambush – A "U"-shaped attack with the sides concealed and the middle held back until the enemy advances, at which point the concealed sides ambush them

18. Pincer maneuver – Allowing the enemy to attack the center, sometimes in a charge, then attacking the flanks of the charge

19. Punishment – A strategy that seeks to push a society beyond its economic and physiological breaking point

20. Raiding – Attacking with the purpose of removing the enemy's supply or provisions. Some of your character's missions can be raids (I will talk about types of missions in another chapter)

21. Shock and awe – A military doctrine using overwhelming power to try and achieve rapid dominance over the enemy. Example being Naruto and his OP ass.