Yamato/Tenzou/Kinoe

[sunshinehistory]

Country/Village: Fire, Konohagakure
Rank: Jounin, ANBU Captain
Age at Game Start: 26
Birthday: August 10th

Appearance

Yamato stands at 5’10, with pale skin, short, messy brown hair and dark, almond shaped eyes. He wears the standard blues/flack jacket combo of most Konoha ninja but forgoes the traditional headband in favour of a Konoha insignia forehead protector that frames his face (similar to that of the second Hokage). His under shirt also differs in that it is form fitting from the neck up; covering bottom half of his jaw, and he continues to use the Anbu standard of two equipment pouches over just the one.

As an Anbu captain he wears the standard uniform; his face guard fits under a red and green striped cat mask, the Anbu insignia tattoo visible at his left shoulder, equipped with two pouches and straight edge katana. The only visible change in Yamato since leaving Root to join Anbu has been his hair length; starting at past his shoulders on his first mission and getting progressively shorter with cuts as he aged.

Abilities/Powers

Kekkai Genkai: Mokuton (Wood Release)
Due to experimentation by Orochimaru when he was a child, Yamato possesses the fabled wood release bloodline limit of the first Hokage. This involves combining earth and water chakra in equal amounts and he has developed it to such an ability that it features heavily in most, if not all his combat encounters.

Ninjutsu:
Although a Shinobi of well rounded skill, Yamato’s clear strength is in his ninjutsu. The combination of his wood, water and earth release techniques gives him a clear advantage in his offensive, defensive and stealth/tracking abilities.

Due to his mokuton ability, Yamato can defensively transform part or all of his body to wood, make structures, form keys, create shields and also grow a wood clone from his own body that shares his chakra, making it traceable and also take more than one hit in combat. mokuton also gives him the ability to control or warp wooded areas around him, track others via an ingestible wooden pellet and blend completely with trees or other wooden structures for stealth/covert situations. He also shows incredible control of water and earth, using both offensively and defensively alongside his wood release technique.

Genjutsu:
He is listed as competent in genjutsu, but has rarely shown much use of the ability, preferring to fall back on his greater ninjutsu and taijutsu abilities.

Taijutsu:
Though not above average in strength, Yamato is quick on his feet and has little to no trouble defending himself in close quarter combat. He fights smart; using his opponent's strength against them and takes on multiple targets unphased. He also has a tendency to deflect attacks rather than use physical combat offensively, saving that primarily for his wood release technique instead.

Kenjutsu:
Yamato’s Anbu career has made him exceptionally skilled in the use of swords and as with the rest of his fighting style, he combines this strength with his mokuton to create openings and defend himself while he finishes off an opponent with his blade.

Fuuinjutsu:
In canon, Yamato can make use of his mokuton ability by sealing/suppressing the Kyuubi’s chakra. He could only do this with the help of the First Hokage's necklace amplifying his powers as, without it, he is not able to do so, and this is the position he is in here. This being said, the mokuton does allow him to completely suppress and seal a regular beings chakra with little extra effort. As an extension of this, he is also shown to be competent in the sealing and summoning of item scrolls and triggers.

Personality

Yamato is a cautious and well prepared individual. Know for his ability to keep a cool head under pressure; he excels in reading and defusing combat or high tension situations. He takes a diplomatic approach to most of his social interactions, but when a mission is at stake, he is not beyond using fear to control those around him and will do everything in his power to reach a successful and favourable outcome. He is a stickler for the shinobi rules of combat, but a long career and much experience have kept him flexible in the interpretation of these tenants and he strikes a careful balance between a model shinobi and team player.

Yamato has a great love of architecture and this manifests in his mokuton structures; the style and shape of which change depending on what he’s been studying/admiring most recently. Outside of missions, Yamato has few other hobbies, preferring to train and refine his abilities, read or quietly explore the forests/towns of wherever he is stationed. Seemingly happy in his routine and his solitude, Yamato is close to few people; preferring to dedicate himself to the mission and the well being of his village.

Despite this, he is an otherwise very approachable and overly polite person; socialising easily when it is called for and assisting/protecting those around him without a second thought for how close their relationship with him is.

Though level headed in his work and amongst those he considers acquaintances; with those he truly respects or holds in high esteem, Yamato can be somewhat of a pushover emotionally. He is easily flattered and goaded, often times finding himself at the butt of pranks or jokes and will either respond in kind, or fall back on his impressive temper or scare tactics. He is quick to smile and joke with the few people he is actually close too and tends to never pass up the opportunity to get his own back; resorting to a childishness that few ever really expect of him. Yamato’s overall kind nature leaves him holding few grudges but he has been known to sulk or bristle if pushed too far or treated unfairly.

History

The majority of Yamato’s history remains unchanged from canon up until the point before Danzo disbands Root. He still graduates the academy and achieves Chuunin at the age of 6, then is subsequently abducted by Orochimaru along with 59 other children for implantation and experimentation using the First Hokage's cells in the attempt to create another mokuton user.

When the experiment is abandoned by Orochimaru, Yamato witnesses the deaths of the children around him and as the sole survivor, finally escapes when the lab is discovered by Danzo who immediately takes him under his wing. Naming him Kinoe (as he has no memory of his life before), he is trained personally by Danzo in the use of his mokuton, growing up under his direction and tutelage and is assimilated into the ranks of Root soon after.

At the age of 10 he is ordered to track down a fleeing Orochimaru; encountering the Iburi clan and the young girl, Yukimi, who mistakes him for her younger brother Tenzou (also another of Orochimaru’s test subjects) and works both against and alongside Kakashi Hatake to stop the rogue sannin. As in canon, the clan is killed by the sannin (Yukimi being the sole survivor) to allow him passage through the village wide barrier using their special ability. Kinoe and Kakashi are unable to stop his escape in time and it is agreed that they never discuss the details of the mission or each others involvement and report back simply that they both failed to stop the escape.

Three years later, Lord Danzo disbands Root and for lack of a better place for him, Kinoe is transferred to regular Anbu under Minato’s direction. There he is assigned his first mission with Kakashi Hatake as his captain; ordered to investigate one of Orochimaru’s many abandoned laboratories, Kinoe (now Tenzou after Kakashi’s own suggestion in canon) experiences latent PTSD in the familiar environment and though it is a close call, manages to prove himself worthy of continued service in Anbu.

From then on, Tenzou distinguishes himself as a competent and experienced member of Anbu; working his way through innumerable missions and at the age of 21, is promoted to Captain and takes on his own team. Five years on and Tenzou has excelled in a roll of leadership, continuing an exemplary mission success record.

Now in the present day, Tenzou has been summoned by Obito to discuss his future career as a Shinobi; the Hokage showing signs of concern over a service record of some 16 years in Root and Anbu combined. Though Tenzou has showed no signs of trauma, he is carefully convinced by Obito to take a step away from active service and take on the role of mentor to Neji Hyuuga and the younger generation of Anbu operatives.

After an unexpected prompting from a fellow Shinobi for his new codename, Tenzou distances himself further from his solitary days in Anbu and takes on the name Yamato (chosen for his favourite period in architectural history), signifying his commitment to take on a more active role in village proper and the next stage in his life. after all, it has become somewhat of a tradition.