Kisui Iyoku

"In order to live, you must be willing to die. I'm not afraid to die if it means protecting those that I care most about. I'm afraid of living knowing the ones I care most about died under my protection."

- Kisui Iyoku

Kisui Iyoku (きすいいよく) is a Shinobi hailing from Kumogakure. The older brother of legendary kunoichi Shinzui Iyoku of the Hundred Fist art, Kisui is renowned for his own uniqueness. Within Kisui's soul lies another, the spirit of an ancient shinobi that guides him towards morally good paths, ensuring that the things he does leads to good for the people of the world. This has led him to traveling around the world, looking for ways he can do good deeds that help people.

Like Shinzui, Kisui is a bearer of Yin-Yang Release. Only difference is Kisui has a much more powerful grasp of it, capable of creating mountainous barriers with Yin-Yang Release: Blueprint, even creating mobile barriers that move according to attack patterns. This has given Kisui a reputation of being a shinobi to be feared by those who try to battle him.

Kisui's Nindō is working towards the brightest possible future. He wants to one day see a world where suffering and wars are a thing of the past, and he'll fight for that future to the death if he has to. Death is something Kisui never feared, it's living with the knowledge that the ones he tried to protect ended up dying. He constantly strives to improve himself every day, making sure he's always strong enough to protect the ones he cares most about.

Kisui has traveled the world for eleven years, always finding something new, though it's usually in the form of increased political tension. Still, he doesn't let those get to him, not like he used to. His path is towards a path of peace and happiness, as such, he chooses to remain confident in the future. He wishes to find the one who gave him that new outlook all those years ago one day and thank her for giving him something to believe in.

Early life
Kisui's life was average, for the most part. At least, average for him, despite him being one of the most smartest individuals in Kumogakure. He graduated from the academy at age ten and became a Chuunin at twelve, using his book and battle smarts to land him into the spot of a young elite. By the time he turned fifteen, he was ranked up to Jounin, making him one of the youngest members to reach that rank. During one of Kisui's missions, he stumbled upon an old tomb outside of Kumogakure. The tomb was ancient, easily four hundred years old. Having found a seal on one of the graves, he peeled it off. The moment he did, a spirit emerged from the tomb and made its way inside of Kisui. This spirit had unfinished business, with the goal of wanting to spread peace in the world. By using Kisui, the spirit figured he could achieve this goal and finally rest in peace. The soul gave Kisui a mental voice that guides him, while also teaching him ancient forms of combat. During this time, Kisui began making preparations to start a personal journey, one that will hopefully led him find some answers to his questions. He wouldn't take the journey until he finished his missions, though, and held off on it until the time was right. During that time, he taught his sister, Shinzui, some of the basics of combat, hoping that it will help her with her dreams of making an impact in the village.

A lot of the missions Kisui was a part of had him traveling around the world, seeing each of the great villages firsthand. All he saw was political unrest between each of the villages, all of them having some sort of distrust with one another. The more he saw these villages, the more his tolerant views of political powers started to fade. How could they be so stubborn as to have such distrust with one another? It was something that weighed heavily on Kisui's mind. The more he was sent to these villages, the more pessimistic he became, doubting that peace could ever come between the villages. As long as they were willing to fight each other, he believed peace was nothing more than a folktale. Every mission that sent him to a village he hated, but he swallowed his pride and went through with them because even though he hated it, it was the "right" thing to do.

Kisui's travels and new friend
When Kisui finished his last mission, he packed his essentials, leaving Kumogakure after his promotion to Jounin. He has seen just how much political tension exists in the world. From the ever growing tensions between Sunagakure and Kumogakure, to the increased political unrest within Konohagakure. From his viewpoint, the world was preparing for war. But despite this, the ancient spirit within him believed that despite this potential oncoming war that peace could still be achieved. His viewpoint of the world was grim for most of his life because of the missions he had to undertake. All he saw was the darkness from the political tensions growing between the villages. It took just one person to change all of that; a girl he met on his travels. He could see that she had been through a lot, but she still looked... joyous, almost carefree. The spirit within him noted that her actions could potentially bring peace to the world one day one day.

As the two talked to each other, Kisui learned more about her. Her past, her pains, the things she gone through. He began to understand her and admired that despite what she had went through, she was willing to show joy to be within the world. When she began to clean her equipment, he noticed how much care she took in keeping them polished and refined. He could tell the tools she used had some age, but the way she kept them cleaned made them look almost new. That's when he felt a motivation; To fix the present, one must find a way to clean it for the future. By watching her clean and inspect her equipment, even though it was something small, that difference gave Kisui a new viewpoint of the world. He was so focused on seeing the dark that he forgot to see the light, but this girl changed all that. He was thankful for being introduced to that new viewpoint, but he never got the chance to thank her.

Later life and present
While Kisui continued searching for the girl who turned his life around, he began to learn many things. He got more in sync with his ancient spirit, forming a sort of student-teacher bond with the spirit. He was always being taught new things, despite the techniques being older than the spirit himself, but he took them to heart. Having more confidence than he did when he started his journey, Kisui was ready to see the world again, but this time with new eyes. As ten more years passed, Kisui saw the world with a new, more confident and optimistic viewpoint. Even through the political tensions growing stronger within the village, he saw opportunities for them to strive for peace. He learned that all the Kage were going to attend a summit meeting to discuss an even bigger threat, one he did not know of, but chose not to think about it, instead looking towards a brighter future. This was his new path; to strive for a world of peace, one where suffering and wars are a thing of the path.

He began visiting the villages again during his travels, but rather than think about the political powers that ruled them, he went there to talk to the people, get to know them more. He learned that there were quite a good number of people in each of the villages who were optimistic that the villages could one day see peace. It made him feel more confident in his goals and it gave him much more optimism. He took this time to view the villages from their humbler portions; He visited their shops, ate at their restaurants and talked to their people. He learned it's not just the Kage that makes the village unique, but the people who live there and help it grow commercially and economically.

Personality
Unlike Shinzui, who is hyperactive and care free, Kisui is laid-back and somewhat cautious. He's kind, but only to those he trusts. To others, he sides with an err of caution, making note that a lot of the people one can trust can end up stabbing him in the back. As such, he keeps a careful eye on people he meets on his journeys, having the voice within him letting him know whether or not the person can be trusted. He had trust issues with the spirit, until he learned of the spirit's intent. Having learned about the spirit's goal for peace, Kisui began to trust it to guide him on that path.

Kisui had initial pessimistic views of the world because of his travels, seeing only intense political tensions between each of the villages. It made him see only the bad in the world, even with the spirit's guiding words of peace. It wasn't until he met a certain individual, one who was joyous and carefree about the world around her, that he finally saw something; Even when the world is grim, there's still people out there who will look past that and live their life the way they want to. Kisui always wanted to thank her for showing him a new viewpoint in life, but he hasn't seen her since, which was years ago, when he was just starting out in his travels. Kisui has traveled the world several times over looking for the individual that changed his life, but he's never found her. During that time, even as the political tensions between the villages grew larger, his viewpoint was much stronger, all thanks to that one girl.

Kisui's laid back, but very protective, even when he's yet to find someone in his travels worth protecting. He chooses to protect them however he can with his ninjutsu, making sure that nothing happens to them as long as they are under his protection. Though he doesn't show it often, Kisui's feelings for the ones he cares about are strong. He has a big heart with the personality to match, even when it's laid back most of the time. All he wants to do is keep those close to him safe, and he will go to whatever lengths he has to in order to do so. If he's not pursuing these feelings, Kisui likes to read a good book every now and then. He enjoys delving into the story a good book can tell, almost feeling like he's one with the book itself. Reading also helps calm his nerves whenever he's stressed and it helps just keep him level headed.

When Kisui travels, he travels with a steady mind and calm demeanor. Going through the villages, he greets people with a respectful abearance, always inquiring about their day and just trying to converse with them in any way possible. Though he enjoys conversation, Kisui makes sure to avoid any negative topics, choosing more to converse in causerie topics. He's grown to be well known by people he's talked to throughout the villages he's visited, even enough where some of the shops give him a discount whenever he visits. Years of talking to people in the villages has earned him a reputation as kind but stoic individual who strives for peace.

Appearance
Kisui has some physical traits he shares with his sister. Their hair is the same in shape, but not in color. Kisui's hair is a flat black. His eyes take on a sort of lazy look, small and blue, but still show a caring disposition. He's fairly tall and slim, choosing to wear a hoodie that bears the insignia of Kumogakure on the back. When he has bonded with his spirit, his physical attributes are greatly increased. His body mass increases nearly four fold, his face thins out and his hair grows quite long. His hoodie is replaced with leg platings and four bows are tied into his hair, two red, two yellow. He has a certain aura of free spirit that his appearance seems to take on, one that gives him his unique, laid back disposition.

He wouldn't normally stand out with how he looks, choosing to dress in a style that makes him feel comfortable. He never liked the feeling of a flak jacket, considering them to be too bulky and cumbersome. He wanted to wear something that didn't restrict his movement and allowed him room to breathe. As such, he prefers light clothes such as light jackets and pants, anything that doesn't restrict his movements or feelings of comfort.

Abilities
Kisui's abilities revolve solely around support for his allies. By utilizing Yin-Yang Release: Blueprint, Kisui can alter the landscape to give his allies an advantage. He can also buffer the landscape to better react to their ninjutsu should they choose to use it. Another thing Kisui can do with Blueprint is create defensive structures to protect his allies, like portable fortress walls. His structures can also react to an opponent's ninjutsu, reacting to the chakra signature of the technique in order to intercept and block it. By utilizing his Yin-Yang Release: Complete Weapon Summoning, Kisui can arm his allies with a weapon of their choosing, ranging from anything that his chakra can handle. Having learned the Flying Thunder God technique, Kisui's speed on the battlefield has been considered mythical, capable of being in several places at once.

Ninjutsu
Ninjutsu is Kisui's dominant skill. All of his skills are support based ninjutsu techniques made solely to benefit himself and his allies, giving them a strong edge over their opponents. By utilizing Blueprint, Kisui can alter the landscape to give the advantage to his allies, creating choke points they can utilize to cut off their opponents from their allies. By utilizing it for defensive purposes, Kisui can create large structures that serve as protective barriers to defend his allies from attack. These structures can either be stationary to serve as temporary fortifications, or mobile in order to provide autonomous cover. Kisui can also create barriers that react to a technique's chakra signature, allowing it to intercept and block the attack from getting through. By utilizing his Complete Weapon Summoning, Kisui is capable of arming his opponents with whatever weapon they request, as long as he has the chakra to summon it. These ninjutsu skills make him an invaluable buffer that can be the defining advantage his allies would need.

Years of intense training has given Kisui a strong ninjutsu base while having only a handful of techniques. Despite his little amount of techniques, Kisui uses them beyond their normal potential, using them for newer purposes. Intense chakra reduction training has ensure that utilizing his techniques use up as little chakra as possible, allowing him to create many powerful weapons and barriers without having to worry about overusing his chakra. He's constantly improving himself, and his techniques become powerful as each day goes by as Kisui continues to break new boundaries for his techniques. There is no such thing as a plateau for Kisui, as he is endlessly expanding the usage of his techniques far and beyond what they were created for.

Intelligence
Kisui's intelligence is incredible. Constantly thinking of his next move, he watches the battlefield very carefully, watching for even the most subtle change in surroundings. If he sees a change, he reacts to it in an intelligent and calm manner, using his ninjutsu to change it over to his allies' advantage. Every battle is like a game of chess to Kisui, and he is the rook that protects his allies with powerful buffer techniques that give them an offensive and defensive advantage against their opponents. His strategies rely solely on teamwork, and as long as he has a team to cooperate with, he can see them through as efficiently as possible. Kisui also utilizes his Flying Thunder God technique intelligently, using it to great lengths for when he has to go on the offensive. Prior to battle, Kisui places several formulas, each marked with a numerical symbol and an elemental or trap seal close to the formula, allowing him to create an area of effect entry attack.

When Kisui fights on his own, he takes everything into account; The playing field, the opponent he'll be up against, and even the weather during that fight. Everything is a factor for Kisui's strategies and he puts every factor to full use. When Kisui's formulating a strategy, they can be intricately drawn out. Nothing is left out when Kisui formulates a strategy, taking note of even the smallest details for his strategies. He never runs out of ideas and can improvise on the fly should his original strategy go awry. By focusing on how his opponent fights, he can develop a midfight strategy from there and figure out how to defeat his opponent as intelligently as possible. Every fight is like a chess match for Kisui, and all he's looking for is the check mate. All he needs is one of his pawns to trap his opponent's king or queen and he can emerge victorious.

Speed
Having spent years of speed training, Kisui's speed was already at a high peak. This would be further increased by learning the Flying Thunder God technique, which allowed him to travel at even more incredible speeds. By utilizing his Flying Thunder God technique, his roles as a support nin were increased, allowing him to teleport to his allies and pull them to safety should one of his barriers fail to stop a technique. Constant chakra reduction training has allowed Kisui to use the Flying Thunder God technique without it putting a dent in his chakra supplies. His speed and almost apparitional usage of the Flying Thunder God technique has earned him the moniker of "Wraith of Kumogakure" (生霊の雲隠れ, Ikiryō no Kumogakure). Those that have fought him say they saw a spirit, one of large build with silver hair that took over him moments before Kisui used the Flying Thunder God technique to deliver a powerful finishing blow.

Kisui's base speed was already high from years of speed training, and learning the Flying Thunder God technique essentially quadrupled his speed capabilities. Since using the Flying Thunder God technique no longer requires a large amount of chakra for Kisui, he can use it constantly without worrying about his chakra supplies dwindling. This lets him take control of the battlefield with his speed, setting up traps for his opponents as he flashes from one formula to the next at speeds faster than the human eye can blink. By using his technique intelligently, Kisui ensures that the Flying Thunder God is enough to create an opening against an opponent that he can take advantage of.

Chakra Supply
Kisui possesses a massive amount of chakra thanks to having both his spirit and the spirit of an ancient shinobi. This allows him to push his techniques to their limits. It's what allows him to create such powerful structures and landscape changes with his Yin-Yang Release: Blueprint technique. This also ensures that he can outperform his opponent in more ways than he could ever think of. On his own, his chakra levels are rather small due to his physical energy far surpassing his spiritual energy. Despite his small frame, his physical energy is very high. The ancient spirit introduces more spiritual energy to equal both the physical and spiritual energies, increasing his chakra.

Spiritual Bonding
During times of duress, Kisui can combine his spirit and the ancient spirit together with Yin Release. When the spirits bond, Kisui uses Yang Release, giving him a completely transformed body; His physique is greatly increased, his hair becomes long and formed into front tails, and he dons an ancient suit of leg platings. He essentially takes on the form of the ancient spirit's original body, with some of his physical attributes combined into the body. The form is temporary, but helps replenish his body's chakra levels while also giving him a boost in his other abilities.

Kenjutsu
When bonding his spirit with the ancient spirit, he gains most of the knowledge the spirit had during life. One of the skills the spirt was proficient in was kenjutsu. Capable of quick, precise strikes, Kisui can utilize combos to leave his opponent open for one well timed and powerful strike to bring down his opponent. By utilizing it with his Flying Thunder God technique, Kisui puts his moniker of Wraith of Kumogakure to good use, being the last thing a person sees before their fall.

Quotes
"Don't ever mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance, or my kindness for weakness."

"We can't just expect to find our path in the world by doing nothing. Footprints aren't made without walking through the sand."

"We all need something to believe in. Otherwise our lives are just dull, monochromatic events."

"Wisdom comes from years of listening when you'd have preferred to speak."

"Don't let anyone throw you off your path. Follow wherever your arrow points and don't stop, no matter what."