Yamanaka Akihiko

Akihiko Yamanaka (山中明彦, lit. "Among the Mountains, Bright Prince"), is a renown shinobi of the Yamanaka Clan. He gained notoriety during his Chūnin Exams when he uncovered a ploy by Iwagakure to insert sleeper agents into the village. Through the course of this investigation Konoha first became aware of the threat that the organization Black Crown posed. Though he did admirably in the combat portion of the exam, his effort into rooting out the spies had earned him his place as a Chuunin. Once promoted he was immediately transferred to the Konoha Intelligence Division, where his skills in information gathering and espionage were put to further use.

Over the course of the next few years, Akihiko led numerous and highly successful investigations and espionage missions. During this time he was trained extensively covert operations, and intelligence gathering techniques which served him well when he was finally promoted to ANBU. The intelligence he helped gather served as the foundation for much of the intel that Konoha has on the movements of the infamous organization Black Crown and others like it who desire to see the shinobi system collapse. Recognized by the ANBU Commander, he was handpicked to lead a team of specialists into the start of a covert war between these shadowy factions. In this deadly game where one wrong move could have erupted into open war with every other ninja village, Akihiko became a living legend. He forged several profitable alliances with other countries, ended a war before it could even start between Kusagakure and Takigakure, and prevented the assassination of the Fire Daimyō.

Though many of his accomplishments remain hidden in the shadows, the underworld took notice of a figure of unrivaled covert tactics and espionage, working to further Konoha's interests. They called him, Mononoke Shinnou (物の怪親王, "The Phantom Prince"). His identity and cover was never revealed and to this day his legacy remains as a legend among the members of the various divisions in Konoha. Following Seireitou stepping down as Hokage and appointing Kasuga Sarutobi as his successor, Akihiko was brought out of ANBU and placed him in charge of a new special operations group. Under her orders their task was to covertly aid and help to make her vision of a unified country a reality.

Background
Early Childhood