#bukijutsu

[ronnansink-blog]

Kancho Hatsuo Royama introduces, Taikiken basics Han zen and Ritsuzen also used in Iken (Yiquan.)

They say age is just a number in sports. In the realm of martial arts—especially within the Kyokushin tradition—that sentiment rings truer than ever. If you ask Kancho Hatsuo Royama, one of the leading figures in Kyokushin-kan, real karate training doesn’t begin until after 50. He’s not suggesting you wait until the big five-oh to throw on a gi, but rather pointing out a universal truth: as we grow older, we often find ourselves searching for deeper reservoirs of power than we ever needed in our physical prime. Muscles tire. Bones protest. In that second phase of our martial journey, we no longer rely solely on brute strength. Instead, we tap into something more subtle, something that can feel downright mystical: Ki—known as Chi in Chinese. The powerful subcurrent of energy that flows through us all.

It’s in this quest that Kyokushin-kan members have found themselves stepping back to the origins of the art, when Sosai Mas Oyama was first forging his groundbreaking blend of karate styles. One of his inspirations—integral to early Kyokushin—was Taikiken, also known in Chinese as Iken or Yiquan. It’s a martial discipline emphasizing “intention” and the cultivation of internal power. Some outsiders glance at it and see echoes of Tai Chi, with its focus on harnessing energy rather than just muscle. Others recognize that, despite the smooth, patient training methods, Taikiken practitioners develop a truly destructive power when used for self-defense. For Kancho Royama—and for Kyokushin-kan in general—this dimension of training is more than just a novelty. It’s a return to fundamentals.

Kyokushin-kan’s Vision: More Than Meets the Eye

Kyokushin-kan, under Royama’s guidance, has sought to refine and expand upon the building blocks of Kyokushin karate. That includes the usual cornerstones: kata, bunkai, and tournament kumite. But it also means reintroducing several core training elements that had, over time, become overshadowed by the explosive growth of Kyokushin worldwide. One of these is Taikiken (or Iken-Yiquan) training. Others include Bukijutsu (weapons training), head/face-punch kumite (expanding beyond the typical ruleset limiting strikes above the collarbone), and a revitalized standard for etiquette and grading. The idea is simple: keep the Kyokushin flame burning hot by staying true to the original inspirations and methods that defined Sosai Oyama’s vision.

And Taikiken was, in fact, part of that original vision. Master Sawai Kenichi, who also taught Mas Oyama himself, shaped many of the early lessons that became cornerstones of Kyokushin. It might surprise some karateka to learn that when Royama started training for his first All-Japan Tournament, he practiced Taikiken extensively. For him, it wasn’t an experimental footnote—it was essential.

Youthful Power vs. Mature Power

Royama’s viewpoint about training “after 50” might seem radical. After all, conventional wisdom suggests that you’ve hit your prime earlier in life and gradually fade as the years progress. Yet, Royama insists that’s where Taikiken becomes your secret weapon. Instead of relying on biceps and quadriceps that may no longer respond the way they did at 25, you begin to channel Ki, that deep reservoir of energy that comes from proper alignment, breathing, and focus.

What’s more, those who begin Taikiken at a younger age—like Royama’s own top uchi-deshi, including Okazaki Shihan and Koyama Shihan—experience exponential growth. Not only do they gain an earlier appreciation of Ki, but they can combine it with their still-thriving muscle systems. The result is power that’s not just formidable, but also enduring—a well that doesn’t run dry with age.

A Closer Look: The Standing Practice Called Ritsuzen

If you were to drop into a Taikiken session without any prior introduction, you might wonder: “Why is everyone standing still for so long?” That stillness is known as Ritsuzen—standing zen meditation—and it’s the core kihon of Taikiken. Think of it as the foundational drill, just like you would consider basic stances or punches to be the building blocks of karate.

But, much like zazen (the seated meditation practiced in Zen Buddhism), Ritsuzen is deceptively complex. On the surface, yes, you’re simply standing, arms in certain positions, knees slightly bent, spine straight. The deeper aim, however, is to align the body so that you become intimately aware of how you’re using (or misusing) your muscles. In so doing, you discover how to release tension and tap into your Ki.

Posture and Visualization

In Ritsuzen, posture is everything—and it’s guided by mental imagery. Imagine that a cord attached to the top of your skull is gently pulling you upward. Now, lower your stance just a fraction by bending your knees, but keep your spine tall. Your weight should be balanced on the balls of your feet, never sinking into your heels. The arms hang naturally, your palms facing inward, fingertips down. If you moved them outward just a little, about a fist’s width away from your hips, you’d keep that straight posture while also creating a kind of subtle, outward space of awareness around you.

It’s all about relaxation—and paradoxically, effort. You relax your shoulders, arms, and torso so thoroughly that when those muscles inevitably begin to burn from standing in one position, you teach them to let go. Instead of forcibly “powering through,” you let your Ki take over, so to speak. An old Zen adage says it best: “Doing work while not doing any work.” You’re using your mind, breath, and alignment to keep your body upright, rather than defaulting to your typical muscular-skeletal effort.

Staying Afloat with Ki

The imagery often used in Taikiken practice is that you’re standing on a small plank of wood floating atop a still lake. If you shift even slightly in one direction or the other, you’ll lose your balance and topple into the water. Meanwhile, imagine elongated needles—from each fingertip—reaching down into the depths of that lake, anchoring you. The push-and-pull sensations remind you to remain rooted while simultaneously lifting upward, bridging heaven and earth.

Over time, as your thighs tremble and your shoulders protest, you begin to realize that the more you engage your muscles in a forceful, tense manner, the more fatigue you feel. Yet, as soon as you “hand that load off” to your Ki—to your aligned posture, mental focus, and breath control—the tension dissipates. In a sense, your body is no longer fighting itself. It’s letting internal energy do the heavy lifting.

Unleashing This Power in the Dojo

So, what does all this mean for your actual karate? Quite a lot, as it turns out. In Kyokushin, we have kata like Sanchin, revered for teaching the principle of full-body coordination. Every inch of you, from your heels to your fists, is engaged, delivering power backed by intention. Now imagine adding the refined sense of Ki you develop through Taikiken. It’s like pouring rocket fuel into an engine already designed for high performance.

Taikiken isn’t just about “going slow.” The end goal is to unleash devastating power in self-defense. Once you’ve internalized the Taikiken principle of using Ki, you’ll generate strikes that feel surprising even to yourself—power that appears out of nowhere. Some compare it to how boxers learn to snap punches, generating explosive force not by flexing bigger biceps but by leveraging perfect timing and alignment. Taikiken takes that concept even further, tapping into an internal reservoir.

Not Just for the Black Belts

Beginners in Kyokushin might find this all a bit intangible. Yet Taikiken can benefit the white belt just as surely as it does the seasoned fighter. In the early stages, Ritsuzen training alone helps improve balance and posture. It offers an isometric-style workout, building stamina in the thighs and hips. For advanced practitioners, of course, there’s the added layer of Ki awareness. You don’t need to fully grasp it on day one. Like Zazen or Sanchin, Taikiken reveals its secrets gradually. The longer you practice, the more profound your understanding becomes.

Back to the Future of Kyokushin

Kyokushin-kan’s emphasis on Taikiken, or Iken-Yiquan, underscores a broader movement within martial arts: the desire to honor tradition while forging new paths. At first glance, it might appear that Royama is introducing something foreign to Kyokushin. But, historically, Taikiken was always in the mix. It simply receded into the background during the explosion of Kyokushin’s popularity, overshadowed by the more visibly dramatic elements of the style—like bone-crunching tournaments and hallmark knockouts.

But behind the scenes, Ki has never left. Ask any master who has trained for decades, and they’ll tell you that raw muscle only carries you so far. At some point, you evolve, or you fade. Kyokushin-kan’s renewed focus on internal power ensures that future generations of karateka won’t miss out on what made Kyokushin revolutionary in the first place.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Taikiken practice represents more than a simple training method. It’s a reminder that martial arts are as much about the spirit—and the energy within us—as they are about technique. For those in Kyokushin-kan, the lesson is clear: If you want to carry Kyokushin into the future, you must remember its past. Stand still long enough to feel your body protest, then learn to let go. That’s where the real journey begins—whether you’re 18 or 80.

[zealctry]

casual reminder that Hidan’s build is athletic.

he’s not bodybuilder buff like, let’s say, Kisame or Kakuzu, but he has enough muscle on him to break a few bones if he sets his mind to it. physically, he’s anything but weak.

[epefanio]

'·.,¸,••,¸,.·''·.,¸,••,¸,.·'Menpo'·.,¸,••,¸,.·''·.,¸,••,¸,.·'

Some information on Menpo because I love him and am going to be talking about him a lot so I want one post to link back to

✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧ Basics ✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧

✧Menpo Jirolu✧

⁂ His name “Menpo” is the name of a samurai’s mask and follows the naming convention of his team; Kabuto (helmet) Yakushi, Yoroi (armour) Akadō, and Misumi Tsurugi (sword) ⁂ The surname “Jirolu” is a shortened version of the solmization scales “Siji-Loro-Telu” as a small tie to the Sound despite not being a sound ninja himself ⁂ His old teammate Sabishii Patma’s surname follows the same solmization rule ⁂

✧He/Him✧

✧25 years old as of the chunin exams arc✧

⁂ he was 21 at the time of getting his genin team ⁂

✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧ Jutsu ✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧

✧Creator of the Temple of Nirvana technique✧

⁂Menpo specializes in large scale Genjutsu techniques most of them being sleep based ⁂ Due to his specific set of skills he’s ranked as a Tokubetsu Jōnin ⁂ He normally works with Aoba Yamashiro or the interrogation force ⁂ He was switched over to a Team Leading Jōnin due to Misumi’s proficiency ⁂

✧Medical Knowledge✧

⁂Menpo started off as a medical ninja in his youth but switched over to a genjutsu path due to finding he was better in that position ⁂ Due to having knowledge of medical jutsu he was asked to lead Team Kabuto due to Misumi showing promise in medical jutsu (Kabuto was kinda just added because he’s the adopted son of the leader of the medical corps but due to being labeled as a failure of a ninja by most he was also put on Yoroi’s team due to him having better grades) ⁂

✧Menpo is known as The Anesthesiologist✧

⁂The was given to him due to him knowing both medical ninjutsu and specializing in sleep based genjutsu ⁂ The name is mostly a joke amongst the Tokubetsu Jōnin since they like to hype him up and make him sound super intimidating and then he comes in and he’s super sweet ⁂ he’s the embodiment of (*´꒳`*) ⁂

✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧ Genin teams ✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧ ⁂ ✧

✧Team Orochimaru✧

⁂As a genin he was on Orochimaru’s team with Anko and Sabishii ⁂ After becoming chunin Menpo and Sabishii both went onto individual training; Menpo in medical jutsu and Sabishii in Bukijutsu ⁂ Sabishii would later join the Sound while Menpo stayed loyal to the Leaf ⁂

✧Team Kabuto✧

⁂Menpo would grow closest to Kabuto over the years ⁂ Kabuto kept up the failure act so Menpo would spend the most time with him training while Yoroi and Misumi trained with eachother ⁂ He picked up on Kabuto having more skill than he lets on pretty quickly so he taught him his original technique The Temple of Nirvana ⁂ Due to being a spy Kabuto would study Menpo’s mannerisms so a majority of his personality when working with Team 7 in the chunin exams came from mimicking Menpo ⁂ Menpo had the hardest time with Misumi due to being told he was proficient in medical jutsu but it became clear his technique where he can disconnect his joints isn’t a medical ninjutsu so they had to work back from there ⁂ He had no involvement in Orochimaru’s plans but had some suspicions ⁂ He could never prove fully his team wasn’t loyal to the Leaf so be chalked it up to him being paranoid ⁂

[archer3-13]

i find myself drifting over naruto fanfics every once and a while, but recently I was reminded about an observation @agoddamn pointed out to me on the nature of one particular element of narutos "power system". namely seals and sealing, and what the fandom often calls a 'storage seal' and how it actually functions [and how its kinda disappointing in reality compared to the physics bending coding its often portrayed as in fanfiction]. namely that you write the seal, your write the kanji of what you want to store on the seal, and then you seal that object specified by the kanji.

and i kinda put it out of my mind after that, but its reared its head again after reading fics where sealing is presented in ways that the author is trying to subvert cannon ideas on what sealing is. portraying it as poetry, or fluid networks stuff like that. So i decided to take a look again as to what cannon actually describes sealing as.

so imagine my suprise to find out that the common fanon idea of storage seals and explosion seals/tags... aren't actually distinct sealing things.

as far as i remember, having looked into it again, sealing scrolls, as in the unique idea of a scroll that has a specific arrangement of sealing jutsu for sealing things in like a hammer space pocket dimension thats very common in fannon, aren't ever actually mentioned in the manga as a thing. and in fact, in terms of source listing the wiki gives here the name of "enclosing jutsu", is unique to the anime apparently.

regardless though it is admittedly not too much of a leap of logic. as seen above with things like sasukes wrist seals being applied directly to his skin with the kanji within the seal being a component of whats sealed within, the enclosing jutsu becomes a far more almost disappointingly mundane thing then as its often made out as in fannon material. it isnt a 'sealing scroll' with a complex array to create a hammer space written on it [and thus the domain of dedicated specialists/artisans], rather its a scroll with a basic sealing jutsu slapped on top of it that even genin can learn [which makes a lot more sense for tenten, a BUKIJUTSU expert as a recently graduated genin to know even if the anime apparently threw in a thing about her having a talent for fuinjutsu]. it also makes the whole thing more economically viable instead of special inks or complicated production manners, but thats a whole different discussion.

then i was reminded that the enclosing jutsu can also work on... ninjutsu

well this also further demonstrates that the enclosing jutsu is just kinda a common thing for shinobi to learn, enough so anyways that kisame a shinobi that well more intelligent then he seems is also a shinobi that prides himself as a physical fighter kinda type would pick up and use. but thats not the important thing here, what is important is what this tells us about exploding tags.

namely, exploding tags aren't unique sealing arrays to create explosions as again fanon would have you believe/often portrays as. rather an exploding tag, is just an enclosing jutsu used on an explosion.

which ya know, makes a lot more sense when you actually look at an exploding tag and its visual depiction and compare it to an enclosing seal and notice that like an enclosing seal, it has the kanji for what its storing inside it centred at the heart of the seal. literally baku or 'explode'.

heres tenten in the anime storing things in her scrolls for comparisons sake and you can notice that each seal has the kanji for whats stored in it at the centre. truly fanfiction has made fools of us all.

that isn't to say theres no complexity to things, its just things you never really see talked about or expanded upon in fanfiction. which partly speaks to how messy internal continuity often is within naruto as a narrative, but also not the main point.

firstly, fuinjutsu or sealing jutsu seems to be a lot more literal then what people make it out to be in fanfiction. specifically that it is a jutsu for sealing things into other things. in fanfiction for instance people will often have things such as privacy seals as catchall privacy bubbles or barrier seals that erect barriers. as far as the manga alone is concerned these aren't things you can do with sealing jutsu, rather they would likely fall under the category of 'barrier jutsu' which, as we see with kisame sealing ninjutsu into an enclosing seal, can be stored in a seal as seen with the barrier tags but could likely not be created by a sealing jutsu alone

for an example of what barrier ninjutsu can do incidentally, consider the barrier that the sound four erected around orochimaru and hiruzens fight

this brings us to the next important factor which is the squiggly lines seen in relation to all fuinjutsu. one would think these are, if we accept that these aren't just squiggles kishimoto threw on to make the seals look cool, unique to the function of fuinjutsu. they aren't however, because we also see these squiggly lines used in relation to other jutsu. the summoning technique for instance which is, officially, not classified as fuinjutsu but rather ninjutsu

we also see these squiggly lines used in relation to medical jutsu, importantly in my opinion when neji is getting surgery post sasuke retrieval mission and when tsunade is using long distance healing on people with katsuya during peins invasion of konoha

this i think suggests that the squiggly lines themselves are not what constitutes or helps constitute what sealing jutsu is. certainly i would say its an important factor, but it seems to be applicable in other branches of jutsu as well. therefore that suggests that these 'chakra arrays' as it were are not applications of fuinjutsu but rather fuinjutsu is a specific application of these chakra arrays, with the arrays themselves being techniques to control and apply chakra in specific ways. tsunades long range healing array sending the chakra outwards like a radio signal for instance, moulding it into what it needs to do and where it needs to go.

so what is essential to fuinjutsu outside of 'it seals something within another thing'. at first i was tempted to say kanji but then i nejis surgery and another thing ill mention came to mind, but then i remembered that an important aspect of fuinjutsu seems to be how it can interact with other jutsu such as storing ninjutsu. and nejis surgery is suppose to be a complicated risky one so combining different jutsu to achieve the desired effect seems reasonable. and kanji seemed the most likely culprit as to what was essential to sealing, despite not all seals looking initially like kanji, because

a] seals often change shape especially the more powerful or complicated ones. considering seals mainly function in the literal sense of sealing things within other things, i think it makes sense that you can seal seals within seals or the full complexity of a seal within itself.

and also b] one of the most distinctive seals we see actually being applied in real time is the five elements unseal, which is still fuinjutsu cause its about unsealing things from within other things, and what features prominently in the fire elements unseal?

kanji for the five elements. so were done right? seals are about applying kanji with chakra arrays to seal things within other things? only were not because we also have to acknowledge danzo and the unique seals he uses.

these dont look anything like any other seal we see in naruto. at most the second 'self cursing seal' share similarities with orochimarus curse marks [which apparently aren't officially classified as seals, but i feel would atleast in part fall under a fuinjutsu classification], but even then as i noted seals seem to store parts of themselves internally all the time before expanding [including hypothetically whatever kanji is being used to fuel the seal].

but the naruto wiki provided an interesting alternative. chinese hexagrammic symbols. i wont claim to be an expert on them, but the important factor to know is that hexagrams are formed by combining the eight trigrams [the bars that ya sometimes see combined with the yin yang symbol as part of the ba gua which represents physical reality, and which mean their own individual things] to create new symbology and meanings as part of a taoist belief system. the important thing being how each hexagram can represent both a number and a word. meaning in essence, danzos unique sealing method [outside of being cryptic as hexagrams are intentionally designed to be cryptic] is also still rooted in language just a more chinese influenced spin on things. even danzos final deadman seal the reverse four symbol seal seems to be based on that same principle only instead of hexagrams it uses the si xiang which are also derived from yin and yang and part of the ba gua. only instead of the trigrams 3 bars the si xiang only use two bars.

and as already noted, seals especially complicated ones seem to store parts of themselves within themselves. so overall, what seems to be essential to sealing is combining language with the universally applicable array lines to derive functions. language being the most important point in this matter when it comes to sealing itself.

also as a side note, narutos own seal is also named after the eight trigrams but visually does not use the trigrams and instead uses the standard for naruto chakra arrays and symbols.

and for some bonus information on sealing

the concept of even and odd seals, and how those apparently dont mix causing interference with each others function. what exactly it means by even and odd never really gets expanded on as this is more a quick fix moment, but given the seal interrupting narutos EIGHT trigrams seal is a rough FIVE elements seal, would suggest that seals not only can but should [atleast at a complex level] have distinct points or parts in their constructions.

[kankuroplease]

Can we learn a bit more about Katsura and Aori’s senseis? You mentioned that Katsura’s sensei was related to them, is he Isamu’s first cousin? Do these men have names yet, and what their techniques besides fuuinjutsu and kenjutsu?

They’re side characters to my side characters, so there isn’t much too them beyond interactions with their students 😅

Aori’s Senei (Miran Uzumaki)

Technique(s): fūinjutsu, bukijutsu, taijutsu, water release, and fire release

Alias: Ranran, Miran-kun, Sensei

Orphaned at a young age

Ex Anbu forced into retirement selected to be the sensei of other ex anbu members children

He was unsure about becoming a sensei because he didn’t have a pleasant experience with his own as a child

But he felt like he lucked out with his first team being all extremely talented subordinates

He found it hard to believe Aori was Isamu’s (one of his old superiors) daughter because she was the polar opposite of her old man and much more enthusiastic than any child that man could’ve raised

He’s pretty antisocial, but he does enjoy watching festivals as he didn’t experience them much before leaving the anbu

He loves the sweets there too so that is a part of why he likes festivals. They make good cheat days

Despite her undeniable growing talent, Aori is the only student of his he didn’t recommend to join the anbu as he didn’t believe she was a good fit

It was his way of stirring Aori towards a path where she could actually take care of her sister and keep that optimistic outlook about life

Miran himself retained some of his gentler qualities from before becoming part of the anbu, but very few people see past his permanent scowl

The same scowl his students who try to randomly play matchmaker try to excuse with “I know he looks mean, but he’s a nice guy if you don’t count the times he’s made us over train”

Absolutely not a morning person and has gotten in trouble for reporting in late. That’s the main downside to being a sensei, a little less structured

If you asked him what his ideal life would be, he’d say what he’s doing now, but add a wife and dog

Katsura’s Senei (Shinra Morita)

Technique: Kenjutsu specialist, earth release

Alias: Shin, Shinra Sensei

He was a laid back man in his mid 30’s with a Husband and a child (Aoka)

Aoka is his shining star and he talks about them often to his students

His husband is his more aggressive other half (coming from the bloody mist, it’s to be expected). Everyone knows that if they mess with him, they’ll have to answer to his hubby

He is Isamu’s 2nd (younger) cousin on his mother’s side

He didn’t want to be Katsura’s sensei because he didn’t want his own kin’s blood on his hands if the worst came to pass

Despite his concerns about her, he treated her like any other shinobi because she earned the right to be one

Okami’s sensitivity was a problem as she had a massive ninken that reacted to her emotions. So he was the kindest to Okami and had to defuse any arguments the girls had in the beginning for everyone’s sanity/safety

He knew Yuuta’s mother and about how unmotivated he was. To say he was the last student he wanted to complete his team was an understatement

He was pleasantly surprised that Yuuta not only could follow commands and complete missions with little difficulty, but he was fiercely protective of his teammates and patient with them as they attempted to catch up with them

As someone that knew his mother and the tale of her mission with the Kaguya. This boys bloodlust accompanied with him not breaking bones that should have definitely broken from hits/falls, made him suspicious of his parentage. But being a parent himself made him keep his mouth shut about it

Doesn’t have a problem paying for the kids meals and occasionally letting them goof off when they’ve completed a mission ahead of time

[rozaceous]

Road to Ninja!Mariko? Or maybe a zombie apocalypse au Mariko? I’m sorry I only have very stupid ideas.

An AU where she is reincarnated earlier in canon? Like around 2nd or 3rd war?

anon, you had no way of knowing this, but my original naruto oc was not in fact mariko, though the two share any number of traits! i ended up abandoning that line bc i couldn't wrangle the amnt of foreknowledge required to make canon come out vaguely canon-like, my ideas about canon kept evolving, and there wasn't a plot so much as a few scenes i had in mind.

but here, have nohara yua, who got assigned to uchiha shisui's genin team. (yes, that nohara) she's end-of 3rd war era, approximately, bc kishimoto's timeline is...flexible. i know this isn't quite what you were poking at, but it's what i've got so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yua all but slams down the last of the dishes on the puny dining table in Sasuke's puny apartment before slamming herself down in front of it all.

"All right, kid," she says, starting to serve herself from the pot of stew. Sasuke warily follows suit. "We're gonna have a talk, and it'll be a bit gross because feelings are a thing, but bear with me. Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu."

Yua prods her stew until it's fully mixed with her rice. "Right. So, excepting my older sister with whom I do not get on most days ending in a y, and a friend who's probably crazier than me, I've basically lost everyone I've ever loved. Family, friends, mentors--my heart's a graveyard. And this isn't my idea of attempting compassion," she says warningly, not missing Sasuke's sudden curled lip. He frowns at her instead, caught out. "I'm telling you this because you should know from the get-go that I'm not what you might call emotionally stable. On the other hand, most shinobi aren't, but then again, most aren't quite the level of fucked up I've attained. Though I can name a few. Whatever. That said, I'm also really fucking good at my job."

She shovels a couple of bites into her mouth while Sasuke looks on with an expression of vague disgust at her lack of manners. Yua doesn't give a shit.

"The Academy's probably going to be doing away with early graduation entirely pretty soon since we aren't in wartime and no one wants to chance repeating your precious brother--" Sasuke flinches almost imperticibly and Yua tramples on "--but with that caveat, I graduated at the age of nine, got promoted to Chunnin at ten, and was a jounin by the time I was fourteen. I made the bingo books when I was twelve, and right now I'm listed anywhere from B to S rank. Depends on the country, but Suna's shit and practically lives to piss me off, so the day they give me the satisfaction of treating me like a real threat is the day they get snow in their forecast. They're just bitter that I'm better at wind jutsu than them anyways. Iwa and Kiri are better, though, they take me seriously and have a pretty accurate take on my abilities between the two of them.

"My honest self-assessment is that I'm A to S rank, depending on what type of work you're looking for. I'm not an all-rounder by any means. My taijutsu is decent, bukijutsu is acceptable, and my genjutsu are good but my repertoire is pretty small. I'm ninjutsu type, through and through, and that much I'm damn good at. There's maybe two ninja in the village that can give me a run for my money in ninjutsu, and one of them's the Hokage."

Sasuke has virtually abandoned his stew to stare at her beadily, interested despite himself.

"Now I did all that without any bloodline bullshit, without clan techniques, and almost exclusively being self-taught. And since you're clearly wondering why the fuck I'm telling you my résumé, I'll say: if you wanna learn, I'll teach you."

Sasuke's eyes flare wide and, never one to miss an opportunity to pause dramatically, Yua takes another couple bites.

"Why would you teach me?" Sasuke demands as soon as it's clear that she's not immediately going to explain herself. "I barely even know you."

Yua chokes on a laugh while mid-chew and then starts coughing. She ends up having to gulp water to clear her esophagus.

"Yeah, that's true enough," she admits once she has herself under control. "I've got no credentials as a teacher, either; I've always sort of brushed off taking on a genin team even though I'm sure I'd like it. Partly it's because once you teach someone something, even though you're technically responsible, you've got no control over how they use what you've taught them. Students go errant all the time. And partly it's that I'm an emotionally stunted softie who would imprint all over a bunch of baby genin and mother them within an inch of their lives.

"But I'm still hoping that you'll take me on, kid. Itachi wants to fuck up our lives? Fuck that, I say. He wants you to get strong, to live like shit, all full of unhappiness and hate just to have the chance of taking him in a fight?" Sasuke's hand is white-knuckled over his spoon. "Fuck that," Yua says passionately. "Fuck that asshole and fuck what he wants. I'll make you strong enough that there won't be a damn person in the world, not Itachi or anybody, who can tell you how to live your life. Because if I can give you my skill set, your eye magic baloney combined with the fact that you've got talent in spades and a damn good work ethic will mean that you'll be virtually untouchable."

It's true, too. A Sharingan user with perfect chakra control would be able to steal and then duplicate any jutsu like Kakashi on steroids because of the lack of chakra drain from being able to properly turn off the doujutsu and the efficiency in performing those jutsu. A Sharingan user with perfect chakra control who can use substitution jutsu so well that it's basically teleportation? Unmatched versatility in attacking, superior speed, evasion, illusions-- the word invulnerable comes to Yua's mind.

---

Yua decides that it's time to step in when Naruto is unconscious at Sasuke's feet and the transformation granted by the curse mark starts to recede from his body. She substitutes from her place in the trees to a spot atop the water in his line of sight, just far enough away that he isn't going to feel provoked. Nonetheless, he jolts when he sees her, and she feels the chakra rising in him as though to attack.

"Calm down," she says quietly, words nearly lost in the crashing rush of the waterfall behind her.

Sasuke's hands return to his side, but they're clenched into fists and he regards her warily.

"Yua." His voice is raspy, a little dull. And no wonder, if he's just finished attempting to beat the life out of his best friend only for his tutor to show up. "I'll fight you, too, if I have to."

There's no relish in the words.

"No," she says, still quiet, feeling like the moment deserves her solemnity. "I'd say you've demonstrated your resolve to leave. I won't be the one to drag you back."

---

Sasuke stares at Yua, feeling something almost like panic climbing up his throat.

"The--your mission--"

"Fuck the mission, Sasuke," she says gently, and her expression is sad but not accusing.

He doesn't understand. He'd steeled himself as soon as he'd seen her, knowing that for her to show up at such an opportune moment meant that she'd likely been watching the fight between him and Naruto and that she now has a perfect grasp of her surroundings and Sasuke's condition. And Sasuke knows that even if he were in top shape and had the full use of the curse mark, even if his chakra wasn't as weak as the flame of a candle, he would stand little chance against Yua. She'd shown him the gap in their skills often enough, after all, and she's the one that he's closest to ever since everyone died, the one who made sure he ate well and did his homework and got enough rest, who taught him chakra control and how to shunshin, who calls him things like Little Duck and ruffles his hair no matter how much he protests. Naruto may be his friend, but Yua is the closest thing to family that he has left, is the person with the strongest claim to him, the one most likely to make him return, either through force or personal ties.

Even so, he'd been willing to fight.

So for her to stand before him now and announce that she's abandoning the mission that so many of his peers have hurt themselves over, that she'll ignore the orders of her Kage with ease, and all of it without the faintest trace of judgment on her face after he's tried to kill his best friend--he's just like Itachi who stole Shisui from her--

Yua must understand whatever his features are telling her without words, because she says, "I told you at the beginning that the danger of teaching is that the teacher has no control over how the student uses what they're taught."

Students go errant all the time, his memory echoes, as if summoned by her reminder. He feels it like a punch to the gut. He'd known, before, that he was essentially betraying her by leaving Konoha for Orochimaru, but now he knows it the same way that he knows one of his ribs is fractured.

"But I also told you," she says, "that I wanted you to be strong enough that no one could tell you how to live your life. And that's what I want, for you to have the power to make your own destiny. And you think that Orochimaru has something that no one else does. That his offer of power is unique, superior. So, as the one who promised that to you initially, I apologize for failing you."

And she inclines her head--Yua bows her head--

"Stop," he says in a gasp, and there's moisture building in his eyes. If it sounds like he's begging, it's because he is, because if Yua keeps talking, keeps forgiving him, then his resolve will fail him and everything will have been pointless.

"No," she says, with sudden firmness, and she stares him straight in the eye. "You're choosing your own fate, Sasuke, and I won't resent you for it. This is the path you're walking now, and you can't turn back, you can't be swayed. That's what it means to tangle with destiny--there's no room for regret. And if you're going to Orochimaru, there can't be a single doubt in your heart."

"But why?!" The question rips out of him in his desperation to understand. "After all of this, after everything, why would you let me go?! How can I--how--you--"

"Because I love you," she says without hesitation, even though he sees the glossy film covering her eyes and starting to stick to her lashes. The ferocity of her words takes him aback as much as the content. Literally, too; Sasuke takes a half-step back. "Love is the tie that binds us to one another, but it's not a chain. And anyways, I promised you freedom."

Yua starts to walk towards him, and he stands frozen beside Naruto's unconscious form until she's right in front of him. He thinks, somewhat hysterically, that he really doesn't stand a chance against Yua in a fight if all she has to use is a few words before he's as paralyzed as a fearful rabbit. Naruto--and he forces down an absurd giggle--could stand to learn from her.

She pulls him into her chest tightly and he's helpless against her. No matter that she's only barely taller than him now, no matter the muscle and experience he's gained; she overpowers him.

The hand she has pressed to the back of his head trembles. And then, before he's had time to relax into the embrace, she releases him.

"Take care," she says, and a pair of tears streak down past the purple marks on her cheeks. Sasuke studiously ignores the damp spot he's left on her shoulder.

"I--I will," he says.

They stare at each other for a long moment, each aware that they won't be seeing one another any time soon, and that the next time they meet they may very well be on opposing sides. Sasuke feels something burning deep in his chest, something that's been aflame ever since he'd started fighting Naruto in earnest. It hurts him, warms him; he feels like he's going to choke.

"Now get outta here, kid."

Still helpless against her, he listens.

---

Yua's washing her parents' and sister's headstone like she has every fourth Friday for the past several years when Kakashi finds her. She hands him a soft brush; she's learned to bring more than one.

Kakashi, faintly smudged with dirt and smelling of tree sap and algae and sweat, takes it from her wordlessly, crouching and dousing the brush in her bucket of water. His strokes across the stone are precise and thorough, practiced, and they work in quiet symphony for several minutes.

Finally, he leans back on his heels and says, "I thought you were going to talk some sense into him."

If it's not anything to do with work, Kakashi tends to say only exactly as much as he has to, speaking in bare thesis statements without the supplementary paragraphs that show how he's reached his conclusions, and as such, Yua has become extremely good at reading between Kakashi's lines.

Sasuke is gone, and Kakashi doesn't know why she didn't do more to stop him.

She exhales slowly and with purposeful evenness, offering respectful attention to the characters of her mother's name as she washes them. "I think Sasuke is operating from a different definition of sensible."

Kakashi's snort lacks humor.

"He's no fool, Kakashi," she says lowly. "Rash and impulsive, sure, but not stupid. I'm sure he knows exactly what he's walking into. Orochimaru's made no secret of wanting Sasuke's body for his own."

"I fail to see how giving Orochimaru the precise thing he wants fits any definition of sensible," Kakashi says dryly.

"There's a three-year timeline before Orochimaru can take another body," Yua contradicts. "And I think that for Sasuke it'll be plenty of time."

"For?"

"Becoming strong enough to kill Orochimaru and eliminating the threat against him altogether." Kakashi's head turns to her slightly, but Yua only notes the motion in her peripheral vision. "For better or worse, Konoha's changed since either of us were genin. At his age, I was a chuunin in the bingo books of all the major countries and you were a jounin. Don't get me wrong, in terms of comprehensive skill level, Sasuke is above where I was, but I would've won in a fight because of experience. Experience is a hard teacher, but if you manage to survive it, there's nothing better. And with that stupid curse mark and the certain knowledge that he's targeted by Orochimaru, how much field work could Sasuke really have been guaranteed?"

Kakashi's gaze on her is wary, but he doesn't interrupt.

"If he'd stayed, Sasuke would've been trained to the bone, but he would've been coddled from the world outside the village," Yua says. "And Orochimaru's already breached Konoha's defenses, has killed the Kazekage and the Sandaime Hokage. There's no guarantee that he wouldn't do something equally drastic again for the chance of getting at Sasuke, with no attention to collateral damage. And besides, if we were truly capable of keeping him safe, he wouldn't have that curse mark in the first place. So I'd say Sasuke is taking a lot of factors into account."

Kakashi sighs, running a hand through his messy stack of hair. Yua glances over, intrigued as always at the sight. If his hair is stiff and voluminous enough to defy gravity as it does, how does his hand not get caught?

"Then I guess I'm having a hard time accepting that my student is relatively safer in the hands of the S-class nuke-nin that wants to throttle his soul and possess his body," he bites out. "Especially since I like to think that between the two of us, even Orochimaru wouldn't be too much to handle."

"I'm retired from field work," Yua reminds him, though in truth she's warm at the open expression of respect at her abilities considering how long it's been since they've worked together.

Kakashi gives her a flat look. "I seem to remember you holding your own during the Crush just fine."

"I suppose," she says blandly. "But the fact of the matter is that Sasuke doesn't think that he has anything left to learn from me. And maybe he's right; there's only so many chakra control exercises I can give him. I'm in no position to offer field work."

"There was an easy way to change that and you know it."

Yua drops her brush and pours the remaining water over the stones. Some of it splashes at her bared toes. Kakashi offers his brush back and it clatters into the bottom of the bucket.

She joins Kakashi in resting in a squat, butt nearly touching the ground and her arms crossed over her knees, chin resting upon them.

"My goal in teaching Sasuke was to make him strong enough to choose his own destiny. And what he does with what I've taught him has always been his decision."

"Yua--"

"Was I supposed to drag him back?" Yua interrupts, surly. "He's demonstrated his resolve to leave, I'd say. I couldn't love that boy more if he were my own flesh and blood, but I'm not going to chain him down based on some hypocritical idea of what I think is best for him. I can only trust that I've taught him well enough that he'll make it. The other option is despair and agony and I've had enough of that for my lifetime, thanks very much."

She presses her eyes into her forearms. "I've made, Kakashi. I kept him as safe as I could all this time, I trained him and made sure he ate properly, I taught him how to keep house for himself, asked about his grades in school and what he learned in class. But never once did I tell him about my true motive in retiring to hospital work. I wasn't as honest as I should have been, and part of me--I want Sasuke in my life forever, but part of me is glad he's gone so I don't have to worry as much about the fallout of my actions. And part of me is scared of what he'll do when he finds out what I've kept from him."

There is, for a long moment, silence.

"You've always acted according to Sasuke's best interests." Kakashi's voice leaves no room for rebuttal. "If you weren't honest with him, it's because it wasn't safe. You know that as well as I do--better, even, so don't go beating yourself up about it. No one expected you to take care of Sasuke and no one would have asked it of you, but you stepped in where no one else did. You've done a good job with him, Yua, and if you're saying that you think he's strong enough to make it on his own, I'm sure he'll come out on top. Though I don't like it.

"And as for what'll happen when he finds out the truth…" Yua dares to peek up from her arms as Kakashi pauses, and he treats her to an eye smile. "Maa, don't underestimate how much that brat loves you, too."

"Tch." But despite the lingering sense of anxiety, Yua does feel comforted. And then she snickers. "Look at us, having a conversation about feelings like emotionally competent adults. Is there snow soon?"

"You can speak for yourself," Kakashi says primly. "I am certainly not and never plan to be something so dull and mature-sounding as emotionally competent. It's likely dreadful and far too much work. Besides, I have an image to maintain."

"Yes, heaven forbid that I mar your reputation as the Angst Lord of Konoha."

"Precisely."

"My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I like the gloom. My dislikes are sunshine and good cheer. Hobbies include brooding over my tragic past and staring moodily off into the distance. I have no dreams for the future because hope is a delusion for those too afraid to engage with the despair that is reality."

"You know me so well."

Yua laughs.

---

Tsunade hasn't been back in Konoha for very long, but she's been around long enough to hear about how Konoha's once-notorious Nohara Yua, whose fame had reached even derelict pubs and casinos, had turned into the sweet-mannered, harmless-looking woman barely past girlhood that had first greeted Tsunade upon her arrival in the village hospital. Well, Tsunade has nothing against sweet manners or looking harmless, acknowledges their advantages, even, but Nohara Yua had embodied those qualities to the extent that Tsunade had started to think that the girl who had been renowned as the Windwalker and internationally feared as a ninjutsu master had been the result of overblown rumor, carefully planted misdirection, and willful blindness.

Initially, Tsunade had found her to be a competent enough doctor, and generally inoffensive. Upon learning who exactly had briefed her on her new patients' statuses and given her the rundown on current hospital procedures, the cognitive dissonance had been so great that she'd had to be assured that yes, it was that Nohara Yua. No, really.

And the nurse assuring Tsunade had, with the reluctance born of politeness and the thoroughness born of a love for gossip, told an astonished Shizune and skeptical Tsunade in an undertone why the Windwalker was working as a member of hospital staff. And then Tsunade had been well aware that she was in no place to make comments about lifestyle choices after losing a lover.

Still, that the woman apparently took on D-rank home repair missions as a hobby did not inspire Tsunade to believe that Nohara was ever anything other than a reasonably talented kunoichi whose offensive abilities had been rather exaggerated, both out of strategic convenience and a desire by other kunoichi for a female figure to look up to as the next--well, her. And even if Nohara had been as lethal as her reputation had painted her, Tsunade had been sure that that person was as dead as Uchiha Shisui, replaced by someone content to live out the rest of her life in a much quieter fashion.

But Tsunade only had been sure because right now the woman in question is standing in front of her desk next to Hatake Kakashi, explaining oh-so-succinctly about the steaming pile of shit that Hiruzen-sensei had left her to inherit, the ooze and stench of which is still far from stale for all that the rug has been thrown over it for almost half a decade. The same festering dung heap that Nohara has apparently been investigating secretly and under her own initiative, with no one but Hatake in the know, for the last four years.

"So let me get this straight," Tsunade says, in the full knowledge that she'll be getting absolutely plastered later this evening no matter what Shizune has to say about it. "The Uchiha were planning a coup against Konoha leadership."

"Yes."

"And the Sandaime was aware of this."

"Yes."

"And not only did Itachi not go insane and kill his entire clan, but he was acting under orders. From Danzo. Whom Itachi believed to have the Hokage's approval."

"Yes."

"And Itachi is now acting as an undercover agent without a handler in the international terrorist organization known as Akatsuki."

"That's correct."

"While Danzo is currently operating a secret military organization within Konoha itself, which answers only to him, and which the Sandaime falsely believed to have been dissolved as he ordered several years ago."

"Yes."

"And this organization has infiltrated Konoha's active forces on every level with no one the wiser, and has been taking and executing missions without official sanction."

Nohara's gaze slides to the alcove of Tsunade's office, where the ANBU agent on duty is hidden under seal--oh fucking shit--

"ANBU Cat is someone I trust with my life," Hatake inserts smoothly.

"What a fucking relief," Tsunade snarls. "Cat, get over here."

Cat is crouched in front of her in a flash.

"Get that decorative plate off your face, Cat," she snaps. Cat follows her instruction with admirable speed and Tsunade looks into the unassuming features of a man approximately Yua's age who is clearly struggling to master some kind of emotion that makes him look extremely nauseous. "Your name, Cat. Not ANBU designation."

"Tenzou, Hokage-sama."

"Right. Tenzou. How long have you served in ANBU?"

"Seven years, Hokage-sama."

"Long enough to have known Uchiha Itachi."

"We were briefly on the same ANBU team, Hokage-sama, along with Kakashi-senpai and Yua-senpai."

"And do the events that Nohara has just finished describing sound plausible to you?"

Tenzou's eyes lower momentarily before conscientiously returning to meet her gaze. "They sound as plausible as Itachi having a violent mental break, Hokage-sama."

"And do you know of this organization called ROOT?"

In response, Tenzou opens his mouth and sticks his tongue out as far as it will go. For one horrible second Tsunade flounders, wondering if this is some faddish gesture she's too old to understand, and then she sees the seal.

"That bastard," Tsunade whispers.

Nohara snorts. "Yeah, he likes to seal up the tongues of anyone who does work for him so they can't blab. Most of my investigation into ROOT has been looking at what should be there, not what is. You find it by spotting the empty space.

"I know that he has shinobi that he's trained specifically for years, and then there are others who have engaged in missions with him thinking that they're partaking in some extra black black ops, not aware that they're doing anything that isn't perfectly legitimate, if secret beyond all reason. Kakashi got sucked in years ago, before he realized that Danzo was operating off books, and Danzo dropped him like a hot cake and left him to fester under that godforsaken seal. Recon work has been a bitch."

"If your goal was to squirrel out ROOT, why didn't you return to ANBU?" Tsunade questions narrowly. "Surely it would have been easier to gather intelligence while on Danzo's recruiting grounds."

Nohara stills, looking discomfited for the first time. "There were several reasons," she says finally. "Part of it is that I wanted to be there for Sasuke, and having a set schedule at the hospital and no missions taking me out of the village made that considerably easier. Part of it's that I want Danzo to think I'm none the wiser to his schemes, and I'd say I've done a good job of being soft and overly emotional, exactly like he hates in shinobi. And then, well, I honestly wasn't in any shape to take on ANBU work." Nohara clenches her hands at her sides, and her stare is borderline defiant. "My partner had just died under suspicious circumstances, my friend and captain had killed his clan and turned missing-nin. Not to mention, I'd just finished recovering from a mission that I'm pretty sure was supposed to off me. Bluntly, I was a fucking mess."

Hatake slides Nohara a look and Tenzou does the same, though Tenzou's look has the distinct tinge of pity whereas Hatake's is merely assessing.

"Mostly though," Nohara continues, "I no longer had faith in the Hokage. Shisui went to the Sandaime about the coup, and the next thing I knew, Shisui was dead and the Uchiha clan was gone. Things had gone extremely and terribly wrong and I knew that either the Sandaime was in on it, or he'd been too ineffective to prevent it. I could never betray the village that Shisui loved so much, that my family died to protect, but neither could I serve under Sarutobi Hiruzen."

Tsunade understands her phrasing perfectly. The village that her entire family--barring one estranged sister--had died for. The village that Shisui had loved. Not Yua.

"I can understand using Sasuke's departure from the village as the the impetus for bringing this to my attention," Tsunade says slowly. "But I have to ask the question: what do you plan to do if I don't pursue your investigation? What if I decide to leave things buried, or even to silence everyone in this room?"

Hatake freezes entirely, expressionless, and Tenzou's eyes widen.

Nohara merely blinks.

"I came to you with this information because I think that you have a sense of justice," she says. "The Sandaime was too focused on mercy, not realizing that mercy without justice is nothing but weakness. Honestly, I think the man was a coward. But you know the pain that I know, Tsunade-sama, and you left Konoha because you couldn't abide the senselessness of the loss, and I think that you're back because you want to see that loss made meaningful. And if that's the case, if what I hope and think about you is correct, then I'm ready to serve you in whatever capacity you think best without reservation.

"But if not." Nohara's voice doesn't harden or raise, her face doesn't shift. Even so, the room feels a degree colder. "Even heaven won't stop me, Tsunade-sama. I'm not interested in revenge, but if you deny justice to me, to Sasuke and Itachi and all the dead, then there will be no stopping me. I won't let anyone demean the ideal that every shinobi on the Memorial Stone died to honor and uphold. I won't let the Konoha that so many have fought and hurt for turn into an empty shell, devoid of meaning. I've done my best these last few years to work so that this wrong can be resolved as peacefully as possible. And even if I let it be a convenient face, I've genuinely tried to live gently and kindly. But in the end, I'm a shinobi. If it means that I can look the boy I raised in the eye, if it means I can take my friend's hands and let him put down his sword, and if it means that when I die I can say to my parents and my sister and my partner that nothing they suffered was in vain, then I will use every scrap of knowledge and strength I possess for violence, and I won't hesitate to cut down you or anyone who stands in my way."

Silence reigns, and Tsunade doubts that her left eyebrow has ever strained so high. Yes, the woman before her is certainly no accommodating doctor. This is a woman who is every bit the efficient killer of her mythology and then some, crafty and slippery and with a diamond will.

She scoffs. "I'll consider myself warned, then."

[primnroses]

I meant your top 10 all female characters in naruto and boruto

Oh okay, that gives me more room because there are some female characters that have retired in Boruto so I had to write them out. My final list would be the following and I will repeat the reasons I said in the original post with a few new comments.

10. Sarada Uchiha: I've said before than I'm not the biggest Sarada fan but she's decent. She's the daughter of the strongest couple of Konoha so she's a brilliant student with a lot of potential. I only like how Kishimoto writes her, I have mixed feelings about her in Boruto because sometimes she says really weird stuff that really doesn't make sense. Also, she could be used much more better currently than she is. She stays in my top 10 female characters of the series nonetheless.

9. Chōchō Akimichi: I don't need to say anything because this girl is amazing and it helps a lot that she looks just like her mother. An icon. She needs to learn kenjutsu by the way.

8. Tenten: Truly sad that she's the same background character as ever but I've always liked Tenten. For me, the real ninja of the show who became powerful because of her own hard work. Not enough credit for her when she's Konoha's master of bukijutsu (among hundreds of ninja that use bukijutsu too), and she's the best of them. This girl is the top of something despite being sidelined, yes! She even started her own business from zero and is a proctor for the Chūnin Exams so Tenten is one of the most accomplished kunoichis.

7. Hanabi Hyūga: She has become one of my favorites since Boruto started and I watched it from time to time. First of all, she really surpassed her sister despite being from the branch family (although she never got the curse) at just 3 years old. Starting with the fact that she was a determined Gentle Fist machine, as genin she had the Byakugan perception of an adult and she became the new heiress for the title of head of clan. Those qualities made her a jōnin with her own genin team and she's now in charge of passing down all the jutsu of the clan. It's also described in novels that she still trains to succeed her father as the Head of the Hyūga Clan, one of the noble families with the Akimichi, Uchiha and Aburame; she's a promising character. If they don't show and write this great woman it's because they don't want to.

6. Konan: I've said before that my favorite type of female character is one that can fight for herself and oh my God if this woman isn't op. Konan is one of the coldest females ever, the female of the Akatsuki that ranked above the rest, fought the almighty Obito Uchiha and she delivered the best fight of the show by a female character.

5. Karui Akimichi: Putting her in the fifth place is totally biased because I absolutely love her design. Karui is the most beautiful Naruto girl for me, she's stunning and she's super powerful. Her Lightning Release and kenjutsu are so op for me because they were attributes that I only related to Sasuke but this girl can pull it off too! Also she's fierce and strong, kinda reminds me of Temari in that aspect so she gets all the points for me. I seriously wish she goes on missions again and joins inosakutema's girlfriend group.

4. Tsunade: The first woman Hokage is among the best characters in Naruto ever. She's pretty, she's the most powerful woman in the world and she raised a beautiful and strong daughter that she's proud of. If there's a standard for the job of Hokage that's Tsunade. She demonstrated to be the best leader for Konoha in its history, from protecting each and every single one of its villagers when Pain attacked, to joining her fellow Kage to fight none other than Madara Uchiha. And she taught him a lesson! One of my favorite moments is when she's with Sakura and I'm so sad that they act like complete strangers in the sequel. Tsunade is really proud of the woman and kunoichi Sakura has turned out to be and that's the best feeling a master like her can experience.

3. Kurotsuchi: The combination of can fight for real + boss is my favorite but putting Kurotsuchi over Tsunade is biased in my case. There's something enticing about her that I don't understand, she's so attractive to me as a female and I'm sad that she's a background character. She gives me Temari and Karui vibes with Sakura's style and color so that solidifies her best girl status for me. Also, she's the current only female Kage so she's amazing; and she really punched an Ōtsutsuki just like Sakura so she's great.

2. Temari Nara: She's my favorite Naruto girl but this time she gets the second spot because she's not very present in Boruto, although it's not important for me, and because compared to my top 1 she's a little bit behind. Shes's still fierce, powerful and beautiful; and one of my most favorite things is that she's close with Sakura and she makes a cute trio with her and Ino too. One of the best things for me was that she was the Kazekage's main pillar, but for obvious reasons she had to leave Sunagakure. Nonetheless, she's still their Ambassador and a jōnin of Konoha too, which is more powerful than the majority of girls in this list so she's an icon. I'm pretty sad that her involvement in the series is through fillers because she's one of the most useful female characters in my opinion, and with a lot of experience.

1. Sakura Haruno/Uchiha: She's my favorite character ever so of course she's my number one female. From zero to hero, she's the same as Tenten in terms of becoming powerful through hard work and dedication, but this girl only had intelligence and perfect chakra control that couldn't flourish by herself, so Tsunade helped and raised her to become the strongest kunoichi and best medic-ninja in the world. She faced one of the most powerful Akatsuki members and made a fool of him by countering his poison at just 16, demonstrated her full potential and unmatched strength. Her personal moments are so angsty and realistic, a woman in love but also a fierce fghter that cares about everybody around her. She punched the Goddess of chakra!!! I'm sorry but nobody was doing it like manga Sakura. She rose to the top, was promoted to jōnin (the only kunoichi of her class to achieve this) and still completes difficult long-term missions, is a pioneer in mental health and opened new facilities dedicated to medicine like the Children's Therapy Center in her village and the others too, became the Head of Konoha's Medical Department, directs the main hospital, teaches medical ninjutsu and is considered the only female pillar of Konoha too (and is the Hokage's bodyguard too). My girl can multitask! All the while she raised the most brilliant new gen kid practically by herself. That's an accomplished female character. She might not be in Boruto these days, but to me she still remains the most useful and promising kunoichi that is sidelined because the writing is terrible. Being the face of medicine of Konoha and a scientist expert in many fields like poison, she's not written the way she should. She's in charge of the most important sub-division of the village, one that maintains the shinobi of the Konoha and the citizens in top condition to continue their job and takes care of the main cast after every fight. But despite the bad writing, Sakura grew to be an amazing woman.

[atoasttotheendoftheworld]

More specific facts/headcanons about some characters/OCs from "My brother is an only child" ('cause I'm actually writing, miracle!) for testing the waters, sorry

The Neji-Tenten-Lee trio + Kakashi's regency as Kage

after the 4th Great Shinobi War ended, Tenten and Lee insisted that Neji must be given the honor and respect he has always deserved; expressing blatant disapproval and harsh criticism toward the Hyūga Clan

Tenten openly suggested to the whole Shinobi Council to go to hell, as a response to their denial to support and approve new legislation for non-conventional marriage and adoption rights

Lee is one of the most enthusiastic supporters, organizers and frequently leader of protest parades, organized by the newly founded Organization for Equal Civil Rights

one of Konoha's largest public parks is the new Wakamono Kōen, commissioned by the Hogake and inaugurated by him during the first spring after the end of the war, it was named in Maito's honor and features a long promenade route with aerobic exercises functioning as an open-air gym

the Seishun no Hi dōjō has been established by Lee, with the purpose of providing public lessons to all age groups and social classes, both civilian and not; to ensure free lessons for those who cannot afford it, some funding is provided by the Konoha local administration as well as by those who can afford to pay a monthly fee

Tenten recently entered the newly modernized Department of Investigation and Forensic Science, in the ANBU Commando, as a bukijutsu and kenjutsu specialist

Kakashi granted, for whomever applied, official advancement to jōnin to survivors of wartime

also privately financed the recently established Center for Mental Health in Konoha Hospital, promoting and pushing for Congress and Council to acknowledge the need to educate specialists in neuroscience and psychology

through private studies and support from Kakashi and Tsunade, Tenten is now officially recognized as an expert in fūinjutsu

recently Lee and his singular inability to mold and master chakra are subject to medical and scientific research, based on the premise that he is essentially capable of using minimal chakra flow unlike most civilians who cannot at all, yet his chakral flow becomes unsteady and unmanageable, effectively shutting down, whenever he tries to use it for any techniques involving large amounts of it

The Aburame reforms, Shino & Shujin

the orphanage facility, formerly in the ownership of private businessmen, transitioned to public management and specifically to the Fund for Juvenile Psychophysical Healthcare headed and initiated by Aburame Shujin

the Aburame Clan financed the establishment of a facility operated by highly qualified medical staff and teachers both civilian and not, alongside a complex of family houses, for all war orphans and families in socio-economic difficulties

Shino recently pursued specific studies in education and signed up as a teacher for civilians and the Academy; he also theorized about the necessity of changes in the learning approach offered at the Academy

the No-Profit Organization Yellow Ladybug has been founded, by the Aburame Clan, with strong support from Councilor Aburame Shujin, to collect donations and funds to allow the proper maintenance of all facilities offering help for minors and adolescents, in addition to promote initiatives for equal rights and better social inclusion for youngsters with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses

after many years, through Shujin's persistence in the Council of Shinobi, the first Counseling Centers for students who feel in need of any kind of support have arisen in the Konoha Academy and in all civilian public schools

recently Shino is working to ensure that specific courses for teachers, both Academy and civilian, are instituted for the purpose of understanding that not all students experience the same learning patterns and therefore it is imperative to identify the strengths of each individual to advance as a group

in assistance to Shujin and other teachers monitoring Naruto's progress in learning about bureaucracy and administration, Shino proposed to help by implementing his recent theories about individual learning patterns

Shino is currently working both as a teacher in a Civilian Public School and as an assistant teacher at the Academy

The misfits, Ryouga & Yumiko

both slaves of the Yasome Clan, grew up in Ishigakure, fatherless children, they lived purely by the law of survival of the fittest

son of a woman who had to sell herself to provide for their survival, Ryouga underwent genetic experiments in the Yamagumo Clan before he sold himself to the Yasome Clan

a mercenary and killer, he is one of the Clan's most proficient, his status as a slave is marked with the Cursed Seal applied to his pectoral

daughter of a concubine of the previous Yasome Clan Leader, Yumiko bears the Cursed Seal on her back and has been a slave since birth

occasionally used as a mercenary, but mostly exploited as a entertainer for men

Yumiko's childhood memories are mostly confused and vague, the clearest ones are from her thirteenth year; frequently experiences nightmares and suffers from insomnia and night terrors

Ryouga recalls vividly that he was born elsewhere and was raised alongside other orphans, older than him, and he knows all of his mother's sacrifices to raise him well; he considers her an hero and idolizes her

Yumiko's natural beauty and prosperous physique brought her to be overly sexualized by the clansmen and exploited for her appearance as she grew up

Ryouga would probably be the richest man in the Clan if it weren't that all his mercenary gains go solely to the Leader's vaults

of all the forced aberrant deeds, the most unpleasantly memorable was, for Ryouga, a slaughter of innocents in the proximity of Kusagakure

of the few times Yumiko was used as a mercenary, one in particular, in a village on the border of the Land of Fire, stuck with her

both got caught up in the 4th Great Shinobi War, unaligned, purchased by some Land, as many other villages akin to Ishigakure

[sarutobi-mirai]

@tentaiiled asked:

It was a coincidence that the teacher he was covering for this week was the little Nara's. What Obito had assumed was her last name but instead it was Sarutobi. This he had just come to find out after taking attendance on his first day. He recognized it almost immediately as it had belonged to not only that old fart of a Third Hokage, Hiruzen, but one of his former classmates Asuma. Trying to figure out how Mirai ended up with that name or if there was any direct relation to him was like never being able to satisfy an itch on your back you couldn't reach. It was annoying, but it also wasn't his business to pry. Unless..? Yeah no… Wasn't his business, but it so was since it would answer so many questions he had refrained from asking for the longest time. Just as Obito finished up a lesson about the three main types of jutsus that exist (Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Bukijutsu), the bell for lunch rang, freeing the students from sheer boredom. As the students got up and began rushing toward the door, Obito sat at the desk and rummaged through the bottom drawer for something. ❝ Oh Mirai! Come here real quick. I have something for you. ❞

"For me?" The girl then waved at her friends to not wait for her as they ran out of the classroom. She'd catch up fast enough. Besides! That Obito was their substitute teacher was just super amazing and fun, to her! She had been most excited seeing him enter their classroom. He really took all kinds of jobs, didn't he? He must really like people!

Mirai gathered her things in her little backpack and skipped down the small stairs to the teacher's desk and Obito. "Yes, se~n~sei?" he smiled at him.

[uglymane]

Is there an anime character stronger than Madara Uchiha? And I'm referring to Rinne Tensei Madara Uchiha with the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and Rinnegan doujutsus (with the rikidou paths ability) equipped with his Gunbai and control of the juubi and Gedou Mazou, a complete Susano'o, with Hashirama Senju's DNA implanted in his chest so he can perform Mokuton kekkei genkai and yin-yang release ninjutsu as well as being extremely skilled in taijutsu and bukijutsu

[epefanio]

♫•*¨♪♫•*¨*•.¸Sabishii¸.•*¨*•♫♪¨*•♫

Some information on Shibashii because I love him and am going to be talking about him a lot so I want one post to link back to

♡*+”:♡.•♬✧♡*Basics*+”:♡.•♬✧♡

♝ Sabishii Patma ♝

⟢ The name “Sabishii” is an Ideophone following the naming convention of Team Dosu ⟢ The surname “Patma” is based on the solmization scales “Patpat-lima” following the naming convention of Menpo ⟢

♝ He/him or any ♝

♝ 26 years old at the time of the chunin exams arc/death ♝

⟢ 19 years old at the time of joining the Sound and getting his genin team ⟢

♡*+”:♡.•♬✧♡*Jutsu*+”:♡.•♬✧♡

♝ Master of Hertz ♝

⟢ Sabishii uses frequencies in his attacks and is accounted for creating most if not all sound-based modern attacks ⟢ Due to this he was tasked with training Team Dosu with their sound-based weapons and was the one who helped design them ⟢

♝ Bukijutsu Usage ♝

⟢ Sabishii uses chakra infused weapons for the most part and is where he’s proficient ⟢ His main weapons are Buzzers ⟢ His chakra is unstable at times so he uses weapons to control and channel his chakra better ⟢ He has the most chakra in any of his teams but it’s also very hard to control meaning if he’s disarmed and tries to pull off an attack there’s a chance he will be injured from the inside ⟢ He lost one of his eyes in an accident relating to his chakra where the lines bursted and the blood vessels in his eyes exploded ⟢

♝ Buzzing Magnets ♝

⟢ He infuses his chakra into his buzzing magnets which amplifies their vibrations and directs them ⟢ The vibration enter his opponent’s body and bursts their blood vessels and muscles leaving them with wounds that resemble the way sand makes patterns on a Chladni plate ⟢ the more hertz / intense the frequency he uses the more chakra it uses ⟢

♡.•♬✧♡*Genin Teams*+”:♡.•♬✧♡

♝ Team Orochimaru ♝

⟢ As a genin he was on Orochimaru’s team with Anko and Menpo ⟢ After becoming chunin Menpo and Sabishii both went onto individual training; Menpo in medical jutsu and Sabishii in Bukijutsu ⟢ Sabishii would later join the Sound while Menpo stayed loyal to the Leaf ⟢

♝ Team Dosu ♝

⟢ After becoming a Jonin and joining the sound Sabishii would get Team Dosu as his genin team ⟢ Sabishii would train them in sound based attacks (the RES,tubes,and bells) ⟢ He was closest to Kin ⟢ He would not get to see his team participate in the chunin exams due to being killed by Orochimaru for his body ⟢ He put up a fight before his death and left notes for his team and Menpo though neither ever got to read them ⟢ He was valuable due to his sound jutsu knowledge but was ultimately killed due to planning to betray Orochimaru upon learning Team Dosu were no more than pawns ⟢

[kusuyama1975]

『#MasOyama #BukiJutsu #TheArtOfWeapons』 (#YusukeKusuyama X #BusinessMultiMedia !!!!!) #NewsPicks

[kankuroplease]

What are Yuuta’s skills? From the giant fan, it’s safe to assume he can use wind techniques. Also, does he have a last name?

He is a Yamanka but he dropped the Yamanaka name after accidentally finding out his biological father was a Kaguya. So he’s just known as Yuuta by everyone outside the Yamanaka clan.

Yuuta specializes in Bukijutsu and Taijutsu. While he is fully capable of using the Mind Transfer Jutsu technique, but he would rather have the satisfied of “real” combat (it’s that Kaguya bloodlust speaking).

[kobayashinm]

Ninjamanager: Beginner Mode

First of all, hi! This is a walkthrough based on my experiences with Ninjamanager, or more specifically: "Link".

I learned a lot from my month-long journey through Beginner and now Easy mode, as well as from my interaction with Discord community, and of course, my lovely clanmates. I wanted to standardise the experience and to make sure we're all on the same page, please check out the "Help" section in the Discord, as well as the Academy on the website.

Waffle over, walkthrough begins!

================================================

Q: Which village and starter should I pick?

Your starter genin and jounin don't matter on Beginner. Once chakra becomes an issue, 0 chakra ninjas will become more relevant. But for Beginner, I recommend picking "Leaf" or "Neo Leaf" to skip the village tax on the genin you unlock in the Forest of Death.

I'd pick "Neo Leaf" to use the Ino and Shikamaru you unlock in the Forest of Death. As for why, let's move on to our next section.

Q: Which ninjas should I use?

On Beginner, you main priorities are stamina and damage. Stamina determines what % of damage you lose after each hit, which is translates to extra attacks on the World Map. Very important.

Damage however is complicated. We have taijutsu, ninjutsu and bukijutsu.

Taijutsu is a flat 0.5 damage per point. It's solid, consistent and that makes progress slow unless you scale your Critical Chance, then Critical Damage. Every crit gives you 25% more tai (woah!)

Ninjutsu is a range between 0~1 damage, scaling down until it's a simple 0.5 damage depending on your ninjas seal. At a high seal, it's Taijutsu that can't crit and a low seal, it's a gamble. This and the fact it doesn't require any support stats like Critical Chance makes it ideal for progressing (at a low seal) because you only need to win once.

Bukijutsu is 0.3~1 damage that uses ammo. Don't worry, the ammo is free, but you'll run out if you don't have enough Bukijutsu Recovery to support your Bukijutsu Boost, which determines what % of your Buki pool you use. It requires a lot of investment to use and while Bukijutsu growth is generous, it can't crit or highroll and will deal much less damage until you have the items to utilise it.

In short, pick someone with decent Stamina and a decent Tai or Nin growth. I recommend focusing on Ninjutsu because you can highroll your way through everything.

Q: I can't get past this area. What do I do?

Farm. Not for experience, but for the Legendary Weapon and Bloodline you want to bring when you reset. You can find all your options on the Codex however for recipes, use this spreadsheet: "Link". For Legendary Weapons, I recommend: Bahamut's Mane (for Tai), Python Robe (for Nin), Abaddon's Armory (for Buki) or Snakeskin Seal if you're not sure.

For Bloodlines, I recommend: Boil Release (for Tai), Lava Release (for Nin), Kidomaru's Curse Seal (for Buki) or Swift Release if you're not sure.

Remember, you can only take one with you when you reset! However you can strip the abilities (genjutsu's) from your items and Legendary Weapons, and keep those abilities forever.

Q: Which summon should I use?

Katsuyu if you're low seal. Gamabunta if you're tai. Gamaken if you're high seal.

================================================ And that's the end of my walkthrough. Yes, yes, I know. I should've given you a full team but that's the fun of it. Beginner mode is the realm of exploratation and experimentation, so long as you have a decent Summon that is. Armed with knowledge, you're more than ready to tackle it yourself! Believe it!

[authorsoundlesssleep-blog]

So, I looked at the stat wheels again, and I can’t help but think they’re incomplete for the data book. So I added two new stats for the stat book. So let me add a brief description for each stat.

Ninjutsu: Variety and Quality of Ninjutsu that can be used.

Genjutsu: Variety and Quality of Genjutsu that can be used.

Taijutsu: Quality of unarmed combat.

*New Stat* Bukijutsu: The ability to use weapons and ninja tools in combat.

Intelligence: Ability to analyze the field and retain information.

Strength: Physical power and lifting capability.

Speed: Mobility on the battle field, speed of casting jutsu.

Stamina: Chakra pool and physical endurance.

*New Stat* Chakra Control: The efficiency and precision that chakra can be used.

Seal Knowledge: Knowledge of hand seals as well as physical sealing as well as the ability to use and make paper seals.

For some comparison I’ve made new stat blocks for Team Seven and Team Guy (I added stats for both Sakura from canon, and Shikako from Dreaming of Sunshine).

I should point out the new stats are probably stats that were previously pushed under two different stats. In this case I believe chakra control was put under Genjutsu and Bukijutsu was put under Taijutsu, which is completely inaccurate honestly. The way shinobi specialize especially when it comes to tools makes them very different. Tenten wouldn’t have the same stat in Taijutsu as Lee after all, since Tenten’s specialty is weapons (by the way, Gai has high weapons stats cause in the anime he trains with Tenten using nunchucks), the same being a medical ninja who would have high chakra control wouldn’t nessissarily use genjutsu as well (medical jutsu is after all, ninjutsu not genjutsu).