Ijō

Ijō (異常, literal translation, Abnormality) is a Courier Ninja, and an ex Jōnin hailing from. Fleeing from the fear of losing his allies and the death of his friend, Ijō intentionally botched a series of missions in order to demote himself a position of relative safety and to further himself from the stress of missions. Coining himself a term from his own village, Mockery of the Grass (草の嘲笑, Kusa no Chōshō) for his failures as a Shinobi, and for his cowardice. With so much of his potential lost, Ijō became a symbol of dishonor and shame for the youth and his peers. While still no longer worth keeping as a regular Shinobi, his actions allowed him to continue aiding his village in a way he saw fitting.

Going to and fro from nation to nation, village to village, discreet meeting locales, and hiding holes for many of the Shinobi, Ijō took out his orders with an unparalleled speed and in absolute secrecy. A superb agent that went uncaught, Ijō found himself in a growing number of situations that would place him in imminent danger in the future. One of these threats would lay Kusagakure on the edge of war, his friends, family, loved ones, all in the potential chaos that would ensue.

To absolve his fears of the dire threats ahead, Ijō began to make slight alterations to the letters sent, hidden and encrypted, silent cries for help in a world with war and danger on the rise. Placing himself on the forefront, Ijō vowed that no one would endanger his comrades ever again, so that no one would make the mistakes that he did and bring harm. Even if it were to mean eliminating all other Courier Ninja and rerouting the information he needed, to orchestrate the line of time ahead, and turn it to save his village, the Hidden Grass.