Seireitou Kawahiru (Puppet)

"He who uses great power will find his heart isolated; thus he plummuts into the abyss that lies between good and evil. But if a man can climb out of that abyss, and into the light... then that man has the soul of a king."

- Seireitou Kawahiru

Seireitou Kawahiru (瀞霊冬川平, Kawahiru Seireitō; "pure soul of the surrounding daytime"), reknowned by his moniker "Seireitou of the Black Sun" (純粋な魂黒太陽の, Kurotaiyō no Seireitou) is the former recognized leader of Akatsuki and was a major antagonist in the series, but soon became an anti-hero. He was a former student under Madara Uchiha, and soon seeked tutelage from Rikudō Sennin. He works alongside Shiori Miyamoto, as well as is one of the four Yonkou; even once holding the title of strongest Yonkou in his prime. He is the current container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Background
Born in Konohagakure during the Third Great Ninja War, Seireitou was orphaned at a very young age, where he never even knew his parents at all. He had to fend for himself, and soon found a small girl named Shiori Miyamoto during this time. Both were in similar situations, though Shiori had only a father who was very abusive to her. Hating this life of theirs, the two made an attempt to leave the village and ended up wandering into unknown enemy territory.

With no fear for their lives, they were attacked by Iwagakure ninja, but then were suddenly saved by a hooded man. This hooded man addressed himself as Madara Uchiha. He took the two under his wing, and trained Seireitou in the Ninja arts. Quickly learning much jutsu, including a mysterious teleporting technique and summoning foxes as well as obtaining his Rinnegan, he vowed to use his knowledge to protect Shiori. However, Madara soon revealed his true motive, to use Seireitou's power with Rinnegan to sync him with the Demonic Statue (Before Nagato was used). Seireitou soon realized this beforehand, and defected with Shiori before it was too late.

With no place to go, they wandered aimlessly north. They had heard rumors of a ninja village up north that would take in any missing nins. They had arrived in Otogakure, during Orochimaru's reign. The two became students under him, which allowed Seireitou and Shiori to further their powers. Orochimaru began to take a liking to Seireitou, and planned to use his body as his replacement. He wanted the Sage of Six Paths' power, but Seireitou, being used to betrayal, was able to deny Orochimaru and fled the village. They arrived in Otogakure 2, with other Orochimaru runaways. He joined the resistance, and met Kenji Takomade, who became his closest friend along with Shiori. Quickly rising through the ranks, Seireitou became the leader of the resistance force, and led a war between them and Orochimaru's army. During the struggle, however, Kenji was caught by Manda and ripped to shreds in his teeth, right in plain view of Seireitou. Angered, he ordered his resistance back, and summoned the Nine Tailed Demon Fox; Something of this event was unheard of, since it was said only the Sharingan could control this mighty beast. Kyuubi attacked and ripped through the village, even forcing Orochimaru to retreat. However, Seireitou lost control of Kyuubi, as it run away after Otogakure was torn to pieces.

Appearance
Seireitou is a fairly tall, slim, and fit man with a rather youthful face despite his age. He, unlike all members of his clan, possesses striking yellow eyes while inactive, and also had long silver hair that hung near his cheeks to frame his face. His skin is notably darker than it once was back three years ago; he also has red markings on his cheeks, as well as red eye shadow. He also had the addition of a long ponytail in the back of his hair. He wears a white Shihakushō uniform but it is customized and partly resembles a korean-style taekkyeon uniform with an upturned collar and hakama. His hakama are also slightly different from normal, as the legs are rather close-fitting and lack the creases normal hakama have. The lining of the robe and edges or layers of the under-robe(s) appear to be black. From other examples, it is likely he is also wearing black tabi with white waraji. His sakabatō (逆刃刀?, lit. "reverse-blade sword"), a katana that has the cutting edge on the inwardly curved side of the sword, is not visible with this outfit; however, it is revealed that he wears it on his back at an angle, similar to Sasuke Uchiha.

Personality
Despite being a member of the once proud Kawahiru clan, Seireitou is not very boastful of his lineage; he believes that one's reputation must come from their own actions, not their birthrights. He is seen as cool and calm, and able to process any information he may recieve, no matter how shocking or disappointing it may be. Seireitou often appears aloof and indifferent, and rarely shows any emotions other than slight annoyance or dissatisfaction. He thinks highly of himself and is cruel to others, though he is protective of his teammate Shiori. He cares little for others, and thinks that humans, while at times amusing, are merely mortal and ultimately expendable. With the ambition to walk the path of conquest, he desires to become stronger, (although he is incredibly strong already, proven by his status as one of the four Yonkou) even at the expense of others. He believes that struggle is the only way for survival. He repriminds Riyan for this constantly, and believes the latter is naive. Although Seireitou maintains a cool, uncaring exterior, the presence of Riyan's constant will to never give up and protect his friends affecting the way he defines power, is proof of his growing compassion.

In addition to being an extremely powerful shinobi, Seireitou has equally impressive intelligence, and is shown to be very wise. He is exceedingly sharp and observant to any situation at hand, as he is rarely ever surprised or caught off guard. He also displays great intuition, as he has almost never deceived and even then almost instantly realized the truth. He refuses to fight in the presence of a child or even with a child. Nonetheless, he is seen to be quite respectful, particularly to the fallen and the dead. Seireitou is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal, even if it means lying to his followers and using people as bait for the outcome he desires. However, he has trouble putting those he is close to in harms way for the sake of his goal, which is a weakness as a commander but a remnant of his humanity and sanity. Gradually, however, he has come to embrace the fact that he has to destroy before reconstruction can occur. He views equality and justice as an evil that must be dispelled and encourages social battle to maintain evolution within society. Perhaps as a consequence of his old age, Seireitou seems to enjoy sitting down and taking his time with things, especially when telling stories.

His staggering power is simultaneously reigned in and enhanced by his fierce unshakeable conscience and indomidable spirit. His most remarkable ability is his will to succeed, pushing himself beyond his limitations, and never giving up even when the odds are stacked against him. When someone close to him is in danger, Seireitou has no qualms about putting himself at risk to save them, if necessary; as seen when he prioritized the safety of Shiori first, over confronting Riyan head-on when his group confronted his entourage. He appears to dislike light, as he complained when he exited the cave behind a waterfall to find that the sun had risen. As a supremely talented shinobi, Seireitou showed numerous examples of extraordinary powers. His abilities as a shinobi were combined with a kind of cunning and subtlety of mind that allowed him to comprehend human nature and turn the better aspects of humanity (trust, love, and friendship) to Echo's disadvantage in particular. He almost constantly gave off and aura of calmness and composure, rarely displaying intense emotions of anger or fear; instead he appeared content and whimsical throughout. Yet despite his many talents and accomplishments, Seireitou was never in the least arrogant or pompous, and in this he stands above the other great shinobi of his day. Despite this fact, however, Seireitou was quite aware of the fact that his power outmatched those under him and would not hesitate to remind others of this fact, if the situation demanded it.

Powers & Abilities
Most of Seireitou's abilities are still unknown. He is thought to be the strongest Kawahiru to ever live, and one of the most gifted ninja in history; noted by his status as a Yonkou. He was described as a "very powerful ninja" by Riyan Uchiha himself. He has also been noted to have been born with particularly powerful chakra, which he states is the reason for his "stubborn refusal to die". Seireitou also shows to have vast knowledge and intelligence; just from analyzing his opponents using a jutsu once, he can identify that person as well as recognize and understand how their jutsu work. Drawing from his unique abilities and years of experience, he is able to fight several high-level opponents while generally controlling the pace of the fight. Itachi Uchiha notes that Seireitou is a special case, whose unique abilities put him at the same level as a jinchūriki, and must not be taken lightly. Though he hasn't shown the extent of his abilities in this field as of yet, Seireitou has shown to rely mostly on hand-to-hand combat, rarely drawing his sword at all. When he does draw his sakabatō, he shows immense level of skill in swordplay. Seireitou prefers to wield his sword with his right hand, leaving the other hand free though it usually remains hanging. He is quite adept at blocking while his offense is capable of great precision.

Seireitou's incredible power stemmed mainly from his Kekkei Genkai, the Yóngqíyǎn; originally being the Rinnegan. Being trained by Madara Uchiha, he learned to utilize the it's power, even going as far as to obtain techniques beyond Nagato's reach. Using his natural gift, he can overcome even the most powerful genjutsu, and use his chakra to instill fear in his opponents. It also enhanced his vision of chakra in a similar manner to the Uchiha clan's Sharingan and the Hyuga clan's Byakugan, allowing him to see the chakra of barrier techniques around the perimeter of his location, and the chakra gathered at a shinobi's feet.

Relationships

 * Shiori Miyamoto: Originally a childhood friend, Shiori admired Seireitou from afar until he met her after academy graduation. They have become closer since then and Seireitou has shown to be able to talk to Shiori about things that trouble him as revealed when he was unable to stop Orochimaru from killing his childhood friend Kenji and spoke to Shiori about it in order to get it off his chest. She cares about Seireitou greatly and later confesses that she is in love with him, but Ichigo has not yet revealed similar feelings. However, he has shown several instances where he holds very strong feelings for Shiori; not making it strange for these feelings to be love.


 * Riyan Uchiha: Seireitou and Riyan have had a rivalry throughout the series. Riyan and Seireitou both have a certain respect for each other, despite the ferocity of their fights. During their first fight, after Riyan was defeated and scarred, Seireitou grabbed his wrist and gently put him on the ground, with pity in his eyes, and chose not to finish him off. Additionally, after Riyan arose from the ground and attacked Seireitou again, he pleaded with Riyan to "let it go" and stop fighting, now that he has been defeated. However, their next fight resulted in the opposite extreme, with Seireitou's own defeat.

Trivia

 * Seireitou Hyuga and Future Seireitou was actually Prototype characters created to try out several ideas all at once. This article is actually the completed final result of my Seireitou character.
 * Seireitou's Name comes from two places:
 * "Seireitou" came from the words "Pure" from Sei, "Soul" or "Spirit" from rei, and tou being a popular ending given to a male's name.
 * The surname, "Kawahiru", comes from kawa (カワ, lit. "daytime") and hiru (昼, "surrounding") which comes together as "Surrounding Daytime", relating to Seireitou's mysterious ability to make anyone reveal their inner light.
 * Seireitou and Shinsuke have a lot in common. Both possess a female friend of whom they vow to protect at all cost (Shiori and The Ninth). They both had a poor childhood, and were feared by those around them. And they both experienced pain and loss of those close to them.
 * Seireitou's relationship with Shiori has been hinted to be on the verge of romance, though both refused to admit it. Reactions from both of them over certain events and statements have shown this, again reflecting the parallels between Seireitou/Shiori and Shinsuke/The Ninth.
 * According to the Naruto Omega Databook:
 * Seireitou's hobbies include meditation and martial art training.
 * Seireitou's wishes to test his strength out against Hikaru and Echo.
 * His favorite food is imagawayaki with grape filling, along with a side of miso soup. His favorite drink is hot oolong tea.
 * Seireitou has never completed an official mission because he defected from Konohagakure at a young age with Shiori.
 * Seireitou's registration number is 2082023 (Which is my official registation number in South Korea's Kukkiwon).
 * Seireitou's favorite phrase is "nankurunaisa" (なんくるないさ, Everything will turn out alright in the end).