Jōshō Adashino

 "Joy fades, wealth fades, friends leave and family dies, but legacy lives on. Your legacy determines what you were, so make what you were, what you are, what you wish to be."

- Josho Adashino

Josho Adashino (上昇化野, Adashino Jōshō; literally "Risen From the Graveyard"), is the last of a clan who swore never to fight. He was born to pacifists in a small village within the mountains. When he was young, his village was destroyed, and his savior died shortly after bringing him to Konoha. He was taken in by the Sixth Hokage, Jūjika Kushizashi, and later became his student. He is currently a Jonin of Konohagakure, and a skilled ninja, specializing in Rashomon and related techniques. He is the main character of User:Thepantheon.

Due to his proficiency with Rashomon, he is known by two names signifying his advanced skills with the technique. The first, used by those who fear his wrath, is Rashomon no Tenshi (羅生門天使, literally Angel of the Rashomon), and the second, used by his allies and friends within Konoha who respect his power, is Tenmon (天門, literally The Gates of Heaven).

Appearance


Jōshō's look is that of a man still in his youth, and with the weathered appearance of one much older than he. His hair is red and swept back, and it spikes up or to the side slightly in some areas, but falls back to his head whenever he moves swiftly. His eyes are dark blue, almost black, and can shine or darken depending on the light. He has a hunting look to his face, with a hooked, handsome nose, and a harrowing look. His scars make him sometimes appear somewhat elderly, but at others hint at his incredible inner force, the destructive determination and peak of athleticism which he embodies.

Jōshō's physical build is the hallmark of one near his athletic pinnacle. He stands tall, with a well-muscled yet not grotesque chest, and powerful lines showing in his limbs. His arms have considerable length, but do not go so far as to be gangly. He bears marks from battle all over his body, with the most noticeable being a scar that starts as but a mere line on his chest, and becomes a piercing scar across his upper arm. All of this is the result of his years of strenuous training, and arduous battles, which allow him to be at the top of his abilities.

Personality
Unlike some of his fellow ninja, and utterly opposite to those who hunger for blood, Jōshō is not overtly aggressive or insidious. He shows extreme disdain for those who cannot control themselves, or use violence their minds and panacea, never utilizing any skills beyond that, or indeed any aspect of themselves. He considers these people the ultimate failure on the part of evolution, and the abysmal flaw in the argument of human supremacy over animals. He also seems rather easygoing, although more out of confidence than lightheartedness, always secretly on his guard, and does not bother with unneeded composure, enjoying himself when he can. He has been shown to constantly be game for nearly anything, and commonly engages in somewhat risky activities, saying he gets a kick out of it.

Despite this, he is, at the same time, a ferocious and ingenious opponent, as shown when he easily destroys several enemies when told to deal with them by his leader. He often duels other elite ninja, at full explosive force, in order to keep his abilities sharpened. However, he is still somewhat lacking concentration when fighting those who are obviously no threat, or whom he believes to not be a real issue to begin with. It is only when he is actually confronted with an enemy of serious power, even if it is not completely at his level, or when he is convinced by others that his mission has importance or urgency, that he truly unleashes his full, unrivaled potential.

Jōshō, when approached by someone with whom he has no other relation, such as accomplice or enemy, is more open, acting easygoing yet at the same time displaying a devil-may-care attitude, being almost impossible to control when his mind is set to something, with a determined ferocity and implacable devilishness that cannot be put aside. He is rather like a punk, with utmost confidence in himself, but always the perfect control of the situation and overall maturity that allows him to continually better himself, and remain at the top of the food chain. He is somewhat cocky, but is rarely overconfident, enjoying himself in a daring way, but without the foolish risk that most others with such an attitude take, never stretching beyond his abilities, and always able to come out on top.

Origins
Josho was born in a small village of pacifists in the mountains, hidden away from the rest of the world, with only a single path leading to and from the village. They called their brand of pacifism, their philosophy and way of life, the Way of Nature. They believed that they should live as a leaf, or fruit of a vine, did in nature, that is, to do no harm, and to nurture those that come after. Even in death, they did not struggle, and fell from the vine at their appointed time. This was the Way of Nature. He was raised in their way, not being told of the existence of wars, or of murders, but taught that violence was the choice of the one it was inflicted upon, and so the decision to harm others was not his own. He followed this, and was praised for being able to do so in spite of the fact that he was quite obviously a youth born to be a ninja. However, one day that all changed, when missing ninja entered the village, and, hoping to gain notoriety, slaughtered every last inhabitant, with only Josho escaping, by hiding in a wine barrel. His elder brother, however, had all his life read books of war and swordsmanship, and so knew the ways of battle despite never having fought, and was able to slay some of the invaders and drive off the rest, though he received severe injuries as a result. Knowing that a six year old with no knowledge of violence could not survive, Josho's brother carried Josho on his back out of the village, revoking the Way of Nature further by eating animals to survive. After a long, agonizing journey, made longer by avoiding bandits and missing ninja, they arrived at Konoha, and, after gasping out their names and origins, Josho's brother succumbed to his wounds, too far gone even for Konoha medical ninja to save.

After Josho recovered in the hospital, he was asked to describe for himself what had happened in his village. After he had finished, giving them a description of the escaped attackers, a four-man squad was sent out to the area to capture or kill the missing-nin. Following this, he was taken in by the Sixth Hokage, Jūjika Kushizashi, as his adoptive son, but due to Josho's own desire to be independent, he stayed with him for only a few years before living by himself, though he still treated Jūjika as his father. When he was nearly eight, he enrolled into the academy, having been judged by doctors and the Hokage physically and psychologically recovered. He trained in the academy for several years, doing poorly at the beginning, at first due to his conviction in pacifism, and later due to his inexperience, but became skilled over his time in the academy, and managed to graduate as the last person in the top half of the class. Following this, rather than being incorporated into a normal ninja team of three, he was trained personally by the Hokage, as his protege.

As a genin, Josho was an average ninja for his age, advancing in his skills but not learning much ninjutsu, and having no affinity for creating genjutsu. Besides the basic academy techniques, he only learned one technique early on, the Redirection Technique, which allowed him to block many of the opponent's attacks, even high level ones. He was especially skilled at quickly moving to an enemy's position and striking, then getting out of range. Despite his lack of techniques, when the Chunin Exams arrived, Jūjika submitted Josho to the exams, confident in him. In the first written exam, Josho managed to cheat by using the Redirection Technique to created a sheet of chakra on top of an opponent's sheet of paper, and then copy the writing from the chakra. Before the second exam, there was an overnight break, because the written exam had gone over time and the proctor for the second was in bed, and during this time, Josho expressed fears that without more ninjutsu, he would be unable to match up in the second exam. Jūjika, hoping to stop this from happening, went through the jutsu lists of the Hokage, and discovered the Summoning:Rashomon technique hidden away in it. Realizing that this could be the perfect defensive technique for Josho, as it would disguise his movements, he spent the night teaching Josho the hand seals and proper chakra control to summon the gate. The next day, in the Forest of Death, Josho managed to easily ward off an incompetent first attacker and took his scroll, but fell into the territory of a vicious giant panther. As the beast proved easily able to shrug off bodily attacks and shuriken, it charged at Josho, preparing to maul him. However, he summoned the Rashomon Gate for the first time in battle, and it proved enough to not only stop the charge of the panther, but also to knock it out, so ferocious had been its assault. Following this, he made his way to the tower, with little trouble avoiding or defeating the other beasts he came across, and passed the second exam with flying colors. During the third and final exam, he won two battles using his Rashomon and taijutsu skills, but lost the third to a ninja from Kumogakure. Despite this, he was still passed by the Council, and became a Chunin.

Powers & Abilities
A very skilled ninja, Josho is said to be the only follower of the Way of the Leaf ever to become a shinobi. He was described as a "very skilled ninja" by Jūjika Kushizashi himself. He has also been noted to have been born with particularly powerful chakra, as shown by its occasionally forming new jutsu and variants without his conscious will. Josho also shows that he has access to have knowledge and intelligence; just from seeing his opponents using a technique, he can determine from their style and reaction what they are like and will likely do next, as well as their most probable village and clan. Drawing from his unique abilities and self-training, he is able to fight several high-level opponents while overall controlling the flow of the battle. He is also noted to be a genius in evaluating and expanding the potential of a jutsu, as shown by his expansion of the Rashomon into many techniques. Josho has shown to rely mostly on armed melee abilities, though he can use his hand to hand skills quite proficiently when it is appropriate.

Rashomon
The signature jutsu of Josho, and the cornerstone for many of his other techniques, is the Rashomon Gate. Originally developed by Orochimaru as a basic defensive technique, Konoha learned of its basis through interrogation of captured minions of Orochimaru, and it was recorded in the jutsu lists of the Hokage. After having it tought to him by Jūjika, his teacher, as his first non-basic technique, Josho became obsessed with it, inventing many variants and training with it until it became his primary jutsu. When using these techniques, Josho is highly formidable, to the point where has been called the Rashomon Angel.

Quotes

 * (To a young boy in his village) "Joy fades, wealth fades, friends leave and family dies, but legacy lives on. Your legacy determines what you were, so make what you were, what you are, what you wish to be."

Trivia
If Josho had a Databook page, it would say: Josho's hobbies are learning, sparring, and reminiscing. Josho's favorites foods are pork and mochi. His least favorites are bananas and sushi. Josho has completed no official missions, having become a ninja after becoming a wanderer. Josho's favorite word is "heartlessness" (薄情な, Hakujōna).