Shinja Shiba

Shinja Shiba (芝信者, Shiba Shinja) is a male ninja from Konohagakure as well as a member from the Shiba clan. He is a major protagonist of Naruto Raijuu: The Beginning in Riyan Uchiha's part of the story.

Appearance
Like his twin brother, Shinja is a little shorter than the average males of his age. He has pale skin and long, straight hair that is dirt-brown. Shinja's eyes are onyx in color. He has very short eyebrows as well. He has two very notable traits in his outward appearance: firstly, he has his hair in ponytails, making him a victim of being thought of as looking like a girl. Secondly, he has created the kanji "petal" (花弁, kaben) on the left side of the back of his tunic, having it since he became a Chunin. Shinja is often seen to stand straight, with his arms crossed over his chest.

In the past, during his academy days, Shinja has been seen in three different costumes. When he was seen for the first time, he wore black green body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, ¾-length legs, and an open neck. With this, he wore a crimson red cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. In his childhood flashbacks, he was seen wearing

In his Chunin Exam flashbacks, he switched his previous green overalls to a whitish-black one with longer sleeves and an upright collar.

In his first appearance in Raijuu, battling against Riyan, he wore full-length white trousers, a long-sleeved white coat with a flaring hemline, and a forest green vest. He is also seen wearing Kage-like robes, and a simple black tunic-trousers suit, the latter one greatly resembling Gaara's suit. All the time, he has been seen wearing some sort of green shoes.

Personality
Shinja is an extremely mature and calm individual, a state that is slightly at odds with his somewhat punk-like appearance. He usually takes responsibility and tends to avoid violence when possible. He seems to be virtuous, much like his village's image. He is often seen in the company of the of his twin brother, Kaze Shiba. He comes from the lower class, but when he is pressed for cash, he is ready to rely on any free food source available. He is also just as perverted as other male shinobi, usually where Tsunade is concerned.

Despite being from a lower class clan, Shinja acts in an aristocratic manner — he seems always serene and apathetic towards other people. He is also extremely calm, and is noticably quiet, rarely speaking unless to make his intentions known or make a point. He is noted at being extremely patient and not given to rash actions and disdains it as a flaw in others. He believes that power must be respected and mastered and that those incapable of knowing their own heart are not capable of mastery of their own power.

Shinja is a very perceptive man, despite being so young, and is fully aware of the limits of his abilities and can see the skill or potential in others and what they must do to attain that fullness of that potential.

Flower Petal Control
As a member of the Shiba clan, Shinja possesses the ability to manipulate chakra shaped like cherry blossoms or flower petals, typically moving it through the air to serve various purposes. The amount of these blossoms he can control at one time is fairly immense, as in his older age he is able to gather enough petals to cover and restrain Riyan's Susanoo. If these petals are lacking in abundance, Shinja can break down the the chakra and life force of nearby plants and animals to create more. While he can still control these, petals formed in this way require more chakra to manipulate them, tiring him at a rapid rate. As a result, Shinja keeps his own chakra-enhanced petals with him at all times, in a summoning scroll which he keeps in the weapons pouch on his waist. Because these petals are already infused with his chakra, Shinja has a great deal more control over it, enabling stronger and faster attacks with it.

Puppets
Shinja is a master of puppetry and created a number of ingenious puppets as well as being the first puppeteer ninja in Konohagakure; he created the three puppets that he currently uses, and has around one-hundred and fifty other puppets in his personal collection, stored in summoning scrolls. His status as a master puppeteer offered him a tremendous advantage against other puppeteer shinobi. Skill-wise, Shinja could manipulate puppets at an incredible speed, to the point where his finger movements become blurred. As puppets are usually installed with long-range weapons, Shinja is an expert at fighting at long distances. These skills were at such a level that Riyan himself often admitted that Shinja was a "troublesome opponent". Shinja's creativity and skills in the Puppet Technique is so great, that he turned the mere technique into an actual jutsu art.

Wind Release Ninjutsu
Shinja is a wind-natured chakra user, like Riyan and Fusuma. He is able to manipulate wind to form powerful gusts capable of lifting and pushing away objects, or create chakra-infused wind blades capable of cutting through most materials. The pinnacle of his wind manipulation is to create a powerful claw composed of chakra-infused wind that he controls as an extension of his own arm.