Kenji Kayuga

Kenji Kayuga (かゆが賢治 Kayuga Kenji) is the main protagonist of the series: Naruto: The Shadow Chronicles. He is a jōnin level shinobi from Kagegakure III. Kenji is noted for his prodigious skill in ninja arts, having mastered four elemental chakra natures, as well as being highly skilled in the Diamond Release.

Background
Kenji was born as the son of the head of the Kagegakure III Interrogation Force, Raiga Kayuga, and a Jōnin level shinobi of Kagegakure, Kasumi Kayuga. When Kenji was seven years old, his father implanted in him two Byakugan which he obtained from an unnamed member of the Hyuga clan during the Kagegakure III- Konohagakure War. Kenji was trained in the Gentle Fist by Raiga, until he was proficient in it to the point where he was a match for an actual member of the Hyuga Clan.

Even before Kenji entered Kagegakure's Ninja Academy, his father and uncle taught him high level Fire Release and Lightning Release techniques such as the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique and Lightning Release: Elecromagnetic Murder. Kenji showed a natural aptitude for these ninjutsu; his father remarked that he could easily be one of the most talented shinobi the Kayuga clan had ever produced. This led him to teach Kenji the clan's signature fire technique, three years in advance.

Kenji gained popularity as the number one student in his class when he entered the academy; he was looked up to and greatly admired for his prowess as a ninja. Kenji had the highest scores in both the performance and written tests. This made him somewhat arrogant and overconfident, and it was not until he met Daisuke that he began to lose some of these character traits.

When Kenji first met Daisuke Murakami in Kage's Ninja Academy, they were matched to spar against each other. Kenji was excited at the opportunity to fight with a worthy rival, however the match ended in a draw. By looking at Daisuke's eyes, Kenji realised that they were filled with hatred. They both refused to make the reconciliation seal when told to do so. Kenji became determined at that point to become stronger than Daisuke.

Personality
Kenji is most often portrayed as being good-natured, friendly, calm, and collected. He is also something of a pervert, as he likes to use his Byakugan to "peep" at women during his visits to hot spring baths. However, whenever someone dear to him is in trouble or the situation calls for it, Kenji can be very serious. According to Hiashi Nakamura, Kenji is a visual learner, as he possesses a fairly high degree of intelligence, and can usually master techniques if they are shown to him. Overall, Kenji possesses a great degree of confidence in himself.

Daisuke Murakami's defection from Kage had a profound impact on Kenji, but his resolve to bring him back to Kagegakure never wavered. However after meeting him in the Land of Rust, Kenji resolved that if he had to he would fight and potentially kill his friend to protect the world. When his teacher Iroku was killed in battle by the leader of the Crescent Moon Syndicate, he vowed vengeance against the man and left Kage to train in the Diamond Release.

Appearance
Kenji has black hair, which lengthens as the story progresses, and white eyes with no pupils, due to possessing the Byakugan. He is considered quite handsome by many girls near his age. At the beginning of Part I, Kenji's clothing consisted of a black, long-sleeved shirt with the Kayuga crest on the back, along with dark green shorts and blue sandals In the last stage of the Chūnin Exams and for the remainder of Part I, he wore a gray shirt with the Kayuga crest on the back, with black shorts. He also starts wearing black bandages on both his arms, but eventually stops wearing them.

In Part I, Kenji wore a short blue-clothed forehead protector with the Kage symbol on the metallic plate. After the time-skip, Kenji wore a black-clothed forehead protector. In the Shinobi World War Arc, Kenji receives a burgundy-clothed forehead protector with a longer cloth portion.

In Part II, Kenji has grown noticeably taller over the two and a half years and more muscular. He was first shown wearing a white shirt with a raised collar, with a smaller version of the Kayuga crest on the back, and long black pants. He wears black sandals instead of blue. During his battle with the Crescent Moon Syndicate leader, Mageta, he sported a black coat with red flame-like patterns on the hemline. After he battled Daisuke in the Land of Rust, Kenji reverts to a dark gray shirt similar to the one he had worn in Part I. He also begins wearing the coat he wore during his battle with Mageta occasionally.

In the Shinobi World War Arc, Kenji wears a Kage flak jacket over the grey shirt, and he starts wearing black fingerless gloves.

Abilities
Kenji is a natural genius, even amongst the highly skilled shinobi of Kagegakure III. He excels in all that he does and finds little difficulty in more challenging tasks. Scoring the highest in both performance and written tests, he graduated from the Ninja Academy at the top of his class. He has considerable prowess in Fire Release and Lightning Release techniques, even by the Kayuga Clan's standards.

By Part II, Kenji develops into a very powerful shinobi, strong enough to fight on par with skilled ninja such as Kakashi, who praised him saying that he would have been killed by Kenji's Raijū had he not used Kamui to send it away. He has been acknowledged by ninja such as Tobi and Kabuto, the former even saying that he is stronger than Sasuke.

Kenji possesses very large chakra and stamina reserves, due to being a member of the Kayuga clan. His normal chakra level is at least four times that of an average ninja and three times that of Kakashi Hatake. When Kenji gets enraged, an enormous amount of chakra will begin to leak out of him that he can manipulate unto forms such as a dragon. At the age of nine, Kenji had enough chakra to perform his clan's signature fire technique, a B-ranked technique which most Kayuga do not learn until age 13. He is able to use several S-Rank techniques in one battle, exampled by his use of the Raijū and Fire Release: Divine Technique against Daisuke during their battle in the Land of Rust, among other techniques like the Chidori.

Kenji has excellent chakra control; as noted by Kakashi, he has better chakra control that Sakura Haruno. This is evidenced by the speed with which he learned basic techniques such as the Tree Climbing Exercise and the Water Surface Walking Practice, mastering both techniques on his first try. This chakra control extends to his ninjutsu; he is able to weave hand seals with one hand, and requires few hand seals to perform techniques. Kenji has obtained a proficiency in the Gentle Fist surpassing that of a Hyūga clan member because of his adroit skill in controlling chakra. He was able to learn Hyūga Clan secret moves such as the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms due to the precise control he has over his chakra network.

Taijutsu
Kenji is very skilled with using the Gentle Fist style of taijutsu, having trained with it since he was seven. He is capable of simultaneously dodging and striking an opponent with no wasted movement. His attacks are fast and fluid, striking in rapid succession to leave very little time for his opponent to find an opening to counter, but also deliberate. He is also very talented in regular taijutsu, first showcased when he was able to knock out two Kumo-nin during Team 9's Mission to the Land of Silver. Kenji's taijutsu skills greatly improved during the Chunin Exams. Under Hiashi's tutelage, he was able to create several new taijutsu moves, as well as greatly increasing his speed. With this speed, he was able to outfight Roku Nakamura, his long-time rival who possessed the Kurogan, granting him incredible speed. During the time skip under Iroku's guidance, Kenji further improved his taijutsu, holding his own against Hiashi Nakamura. Later in Part II, he demonstrates the ability to use Chakra Enhanced Strength.

Kenji has had a high level of speed since the start of the series, but his speed drastically improved during the second stage of the Chunin Exams, when his sensei, Hiashi Nakamura, trained him to be able to match the Kurogan's speed and effectively use the Chidori in battle. With it, he was able to develop a new taijutsu combo called the Demon Combo, a devastating physical attack that Kenji still uses. This impressive speed extends to Kenji's forming of hand seals, being able to form many in a blur. After the time-skip, Kenji's already impressive speed saw a huge leap due to Iroku's training, allowing him to move great distances in the blink of an eye, as if by teleportation. By the middle of Part II, Kenji is able to match Sasuke Uchiha's speed, much to the amazement of Taka. He is even able to evade an attack from an extremely fast shinobi, Naruto Uzumaki in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

Summoning Technique
Kenji was first taught to use the summoning technique by Iroku. After allowing him to make a contract with the rhinoceroses of Mount Jūki, Iroku took Kenji through the execution of the technique in order to provide him with allies in future battles.

The type of rhino that Kenji can summon at any time is proportional to his chakra and skill. At first, Kenji had a hard time getting any specific rhino, as he summoned either Saikichi or Saitatsu. But when he was truly motivated, Kenji was able to summon the rhino boss, Saibunta.

Nature Transformation
Kenji is very skilled in manipulating fire, lightning, earth, and water. Proving himself a true genius ninja and member of the Kayuga, Kenji has repeatedly shown great proficiency in fire-based and lightning-based techniques. By the age of nine, he had already mastered his clan's rite of passage technique. Hiashi was not surprised, when, during their first training session, Kenji used the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique on him. Seeing as he was a member of the Kayuga Clan, Hiashi expected nothing less of him. Kenji has also shown the ability to combine his skills with Fire Release techniques with shurikenjutsu for techniques like Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.

Wanting Kenji to be able to defeat Roku, Hiashi taught him the Chidori. Hiashi himself had learned the technique after witnessing Kakashi Hatake use it during the Third Shinobi World War. Hiashi copied it with his Kurogan, and passed on the jutsu to his student. In Part I, Kenji can use the technique six times in one day, but by Part II, his chakra levels have increased to the point where he has been seen using it eight times in one battle, and having enough chakra to use techniques like the Raijū. During Part II, Kenji puts a great deal of effort into manipulating Chidori's form; using the diamonds created from his Diamond Release to turn the Chidori into a highly concentrated beam of lightning similar to a laser.

Over the time-skip, Kenji learns many new elemental techniques. He is able to use the Water Release, manipulating this element into forms such as a wall, and a dragon. With the Water Release: Human Marionette Technique, Kenji is able to manipulate the water present in the human body, and control an enemy shinobi like a puppet. He also creates an original technique; the Raijū. This technique uses real lightning as opposed to chakra. To perform it, Kenji first releases a large amount of lightning chakra into the atmosphere, in order to ionize air particles, thus giving them an electric current. Kenji then guides and shapes the static electricity in the atmosphere and brings it down on his opponent, creating a massive thunderbolt with a blast radius of up to half a kilometer. The power of this technique is comparable to Sasuke's Kirin.

The Fire Release: Divine Technique is Kenji's second signature technique. With it, he is capable of focusing and directing fire-natured chakra on an object, so that they will instantaneously burst into flames. He has mastered the technique to a point where he needs only to point at an object for it to burst into flames, a testament to his skill with the Fire Release.

Byakugan
Kenji obtained the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan when his father transplanted them into him, his father having taken them from a Hyuga he defeated. Kenji's father used a special technique on the Byakugan to make it compatible with Kenji's body; as a result, using the Byakugan does not require Kenji to use any more chakra to keep it active than the ordinary Hyūga. Because of this, Kenji is capable of maintaining the Byakugan constantly, although he chooses not to. The Byakugan grants him x-ray vision, nearly 360° vision, and the ability to see chakra networks. The Hyūga member that Raiga killed had a particularly strong Byakugan, even stronger than that of Neji Hyūga. As such, Kenji has telescopic vision that stretches up to 10 km. Kenji uses his Byakugan in Squad 9's first training session with Hiashi, using the Gentle fist to attack his sensei. He uses it in every one of his later fights, using it to determine an enemy shinobi's location and chakra level, as well as becoming a skilled sensor ninja.

Shadow Clone Technique
The Shadow Clone Technique was one of the techniques that Hiashi taught Kenji in preparation for the first stage of the Chunin exams. The Shadow Clone Technique takes advantage of the massive chakra and stamina reserves Kenji possesses due to being a member of the Kayuga Clan. Kenji can create upwards of one thousand shadow clones, each with a decent amount of chakra. He usually uses these clones in his fighting style, either using them to distract his opponents or to directly attack them. When Kenji trained to learn the Water Release: Hydra Bullet Technique, he created fifty shadow clones to aid in his training.

Diamond Release
Kenji has earned reputation as a truly powerful ninja from his use of the Diamond Release. With it, Kenji can create solid structures which are made from pure diamond, turning any conceivable object into a weapon. By coating himself in diamonds created from this nature, Kenji can create an extremely dense armor that protects him from most forms of ninjutsu and taijutsu. Kenji has also shown the ability to emit his Chidori from diamonds he creates, in effect turning the Chidori into a very concentrated beam of lightning that is capable of piercing almost any substance. His Diamond Release: Imprisonment is greatly feared throughout the shinobi world.

Intelligence
From a young age, Kenji has been able to easily learn various ninjutsu, scoring top marks in academy tests and being referred as a genius by several shinobi. His intelligence also allowed him to develop many powerful techniques on his own. He has mastered the principles of Fire and Lightning Release, and created many innovative techniques from his knowledge.

Intoduction Arc
Kenji, labelled as his class' top student, effortlessly passes the Kage Ninja Academy graduation test, displaying a high level of skill in basic ninjutsu, taijutsu, and shurikenjutsu. Upon passing the graduation exam and being placed in Team 9 with Haruka Sakumi and Daisuke Murakami, Kenji immediately protested being on the same team as the other two. The Academy instructors told him that the three of them had been placed on the same team because of their unique skills. They then met their jōnin-sensei, Hiashi Nakamura. The next day, Hiashi gave them the 'real' graduation test. In order to pass, all three members of the squad must show both a degree of teamwork and individual skill. Kenji, Haruka, and Daisuke were forced to work together in order to pass. The three of them devised a plan to have Kenji use his Gentle Fist and Fire Release techniques to distract their sensei. . The plan worked to near-perfection, with Hiashi grabbing Kenji's wrists and tossing him in a bush before passing the team, remarking that Team 9 was the strongest team of genin he had ever tested.

Land Of Silver Arc
After completing a number of simple, uneventful missions, Team 9 was assigned the somewhat more difficult C-rank task of escorting Kitsuna, a merchant, to the Land of Silver. Kenji showed exceptional skill when attacked by Kumogakure ninja along the way, who tried to kill Kitsuna, knocking them both out with taijutsu. Team 9 realized that there was more to that mission than a simple escort. Kitsuna revealed that his country was under the control of Mitsushi, who had left the people poor and unable to afford the more accurate A-rank mission payment. By importing goods from neighboring countries, Kitsuna hoped to free the country from Mitsushi, prompting Mitsushi to try to kill him. Team 9 decided to help Kitsuna, and act as his bodyguards to the Land of Silver.

They were soon attacked by Mitsushi himself, an A-Rank missing-nin from Iwagakure. Mitsushi engaged Hiashi in battle, and soon trapped in a powerful Earth Release technique. Kenji and Daisuke resolved to help Hiashi, in spite of their sensei's telling them to flee with Kitsuna. Kenji and Daisuke were able to distract Mitsushi long enough to allow Hiashi to escape. Hiashi was on the verge of killing Mitsushi when a girl named Hana intervened, using a teleportation technique to allow Mitsushi to escape.

Wanting to prepare his team for the upcoming battle, Hiashi gave his team a tree-climbing exercise, which Kenji mastered on his first try. One week later, Team 9 confronted Mitsushi and Hana again. Hana used her Glass Release kekkei genkai to trap Kenji and Daisuke in a dome of glass. When Hana attempted to kill Kenji with shards of glass, Daisuke stepped in front of him, taking the blow that was meant for Kenji. Enraged by Daisuke's apparent death, Kenji releases an enormous amount of chakra which he used to destroy the dome. Kenji stopped himself from killing Hana, however. Hana asked Kenji to kill her, and he refused, saying that she still had a reason to live. Hana responded that she had failed to protect the one person she was close to, and deserved to die. Giving in to his anger, Kenji attempted to electrocute her, but she teleported at the last second to protect Mitsushi from Hiashi's Thunder Dragon. Hiashi killed Mitsushi shortly afterwards. When Mitsushi's gang of bandits tried to attack and plunder the Land of Silver shortly afterwards, Kenji and Hiashi held them off, saving the Land of Silver. With a recovered Daisuke, Team 9 returned to Kage. On their way home, Kenji remarked that even though Hana was their enemy, he still liked her.