Sanmai Clan

Sanmei clan originated with a scientist in the Land of Lightning who was trying to harness the power of the storms. He tried many different methods of absorbing electricity, and eventually found one that worked well. by drawing a large Fuuinjutsu seal on the ground, he could make lightning strike that point repetitively. He then placed a lightning rod in the center of the seal, and hooked it up to a large capacitor. He created a jelly from animal proteins that would hold a charge for an indefinate period of time, and use this jelly in the capacitor to increase its effectiveness. Then, after his apparatus had been running for a few short months, he made the greatest discovery yet. When an assistant accidentally dropped a lit match into a vial of the jelly, the fire went out. This was nothing unusual, except that the jelly had instantly gotten hot, and burned the hands of the assistant holding the vial. The sheer speed at which the jelly absorbed the thermal energy denoted further studying, and they discovered that the jelly was capable of absorbing and retaining any form of energy for an incredibly long time. One of the assistants was a retired shinobi, and he saw the value of this discovery. They worked with the protein compound, re-shaping it until it was non-toxic, and then they performed the first of many scientific experiments using people as test subjects. First, the subject was attached to an IV filled with the diluted protein compound. Then, after a month of absorbing the fluid, they had the same energy gathering fuuinjutsu placed on their body. The result was spectacular. The affected shinobi could gather energy from the surroundings into their body and store it for a short time. They adjusted the compound some more, and introduced a new chemical. The new cocktail was enough to weaken the storage capacity of the user, but it would allow them to discharge the pent-up energy. After this discovery, the group continued to work in secret, bringing in new subjects for new varieties of the protein strain. Over time, their descendants were born with this power, the ability to retain energy. But then had no way of efficiently absorbing that energy. For this reason, they developed the final version of the fuuinjutsu. The subjects gradually became one large family, and they reside in a secret village near the border of Oto and Kumo.

Clan Information
There are several hundred people in this clan, and they all get along well. They are not especially loyal to the Raikage, and many of them wander to new regions. They have settled in the wanderers' no-man's-land, and enjoy the privacy that they get there. They are introverts, and often scientists. They enjoy biology and chemistry, and use both tools to augment their ninja training. Their bloodline ability lets them harness elemental power, and this makes them excellent ninja. They are primarily loyal to the clan, and have small respect for their leaders and superiors. They value hard work, fearlessness, and determination, and look down on people with little backbone. The clan is run by a group of scientists who continue to study Fuuinjutsu and biology in an effort to further enhance their power. They get their funding through enlisting their young ninja as mercenaries, and they strive to evolve their clan to heights beyond even the Hyuuga or Uchiha.

Clan's Role Today
Taka is a quiet boy with little admiration for anyone. His father died when Taka was very young, and this drove Taka's mother into depression. She sent Taka away to study his ninja arts, instead of letting him learn at the clan's village. He still had time to learn most of thier genin level jutsu, but he feels shunned and outcast.

Clan's Secret Techniques or Bloodline traits
The bloodline of the Sanmai clan allows the body to retain energy at will and re-emit it later. Because they are so dependent on outside energy sources, over time they have lost their own natural storehouses. They have very high metabolisms, and very low chakra reserves. They eat constantly, and their bodies do not produce chakra efficiently at all. Their body contains only 32 tenketsu, as the chakra network is much smaller in them than in normal ninja. Usually 4 C-rank ninjutsu techniques will wear them out if they are relying on only their own chakra. The color of their iris fluctuates depending on skill, knowledge, and current elemental affinity. They haven't been able to master the absorption process, and lose a little energy when absorbing. They have a special fuuinjutsu placed on their palms to expedite the absorption of energy, and they have devised five new handsigns to help them control the borrowed power. When they abosrb a ninjutsu, they gain both an elemental charge and they refill most of their lost chakra. Their ability has four basic ranks, and it increases as they train.

Rank 1
• Irises change color to reflect the element of energy flowing through their chakra network. (Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Lightning) • Can absorb up to C rank elemental and chakra based jutsu. • Takes 1/2 damage when absorbing, but suffers 100% of the normal pain. • 25% energy loss on elemental energy. • Can hold absorbed energy for only five seconds.

Rank 2
• Gain first Doujutsu which allows them to identify an opponents elemental affinity and their elemental strength. • Can absorb up to C rank elemental and chakra based jutsu. • Takes minimal damage when absorbing, but suffers 100% of the normal pain. • 25% energy loss on elemental energy. • Can hold absorbed energy for only ten seconds.

Rank 3 - Chuunin Rank Required
• Gain second Doujutsu which allows them to see incoming elemental or energy jutsu before they are used. • Can absorb B and A rank elemental and chakra based jutsu. Takes 1/2 damage and 100% of the normal pain. • Takes minimal damage when absorbing C rank or less, but suffers 1/2 of the normal pain. • Can hold absorbed energy for only fifteen seconds. • Can hold up to two elements at once, but cannot mix them.

Rank 4 - Usually Jounin rank but some Chuunin
• Gain third Doujutsu which allows them to memorize elemental and chakra based jutsu after seeing it a second time. • Can absorb A rank elemental and chakra based jutsu but takes 1/2 damage and 1/2 of the normal pain. • Takes minimal damage when absorbing B rank or less, but suffers 1/2 of the normal pain. • Can hold absorbed energy for up to thirty seconds. • Can hold up to two elements at once, and can combine them into special level 2 elements. • Increased absorption efficiency increases output by 50%.