Tokihakiri Taisei

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Tokihakiri Taisei (時葉切蟻体制, lit; Timecutter of Order), renowned as the Goddess of Kenjutsu (剣術の女神, Kenjutsu no Megami), is a Shogun hailing from the Land of Iron and the leader of the samurai sect turned empire Akeyuki. After a blizzard separated her from her parents and brother, she was encountered by another group of samurai who took her in and raised her as one of their own. Following their tutorship, her incredible skills had allowed her to become the first female Shogun of their samurai order. With her skills in kenjutsu and yarijutsu, she has proven to be a dangerous combatant against anyone who has fought her and her army. She has taken control over large portions of the Land of Iron with her army, and she continues to expand her influence over the land.

Background
Tokihakiri was born a year before her brother was on a fairly cold March. Kyouko trained her first in the skills of kenjutsu, teaching her the majority of the basics, while Hataraki taught her the more advanced methods of the skill. She helped raise her brother after he was born, showing him how to best behave in public and demonstrate honorable mannerisms. When Tokihakiri turned ten, a blizzard engulfed the samurai stronghold while she was out gathering supplies with Hataraki. Having been separated by the blizzard, she was found unconscious by a group of wandering samurai who were also out looking for supplies. Taking the supplies she had gathered, they brought her to their encampment. From there, she was looked after by their shogun, who began training her in the elite caliber arts of both kenjutsu and yarijutsu. For the next six years, she was poised to become the next Shogun, which she became after the death of her master. Under her command, the army she led fought through minor incursions as she began to cut a swath of control into the Land of Iron, slowly gaining portions of the land under her command, expanding her ever growing army. She never dared touch the samurai stronghold, though, as she knew it was where her family resided, and thus had some of her samurai sent there to watch over it as silent guardians, completely unknown to the samurai within the stronghold. As the time passed, her empire grew greater and greater until she eventually convinced the Land of Iron to follow her rule. This influence would expand into the Land of Waterfalls, where she offered protection to the country, keep them safe from potential attacks. From there, she approached the Land of Lightning, speaking with the Daimyo and the Raikage, convincing them to lend the Akeyuki her power in exchange for a fallback defense should their primary defenses fail. Her influence has expanded through the entirety of the northern territories, word of her goals of equality for the people spreading throughout the land.

Appearance
As a Shogun, Tokihakiri has many unique factors in her appearance. Her hair is long and white a snow, seeming to blend in with the snow that covers the Land of Iron. Within her hair is a Shogun's crown, adorned in many patterns of red, black and gold with two, golden horns on both sides. Her eyes are a determined shade of red, which has been considered a source of morale amongst her army, who bore the shade of red after her eyes. Below her eyes are three, red markings on each side that resemble falling petals from a rose tree. Below the neck, she is adorned in a unique set of armor, all patterned in red, black and gold. Over her armor is a red and gold patterned kimono that helps keep her warm within the colder regions of the Land of Iron. Upon her back are two large spears, both of which she puts to use with her yarijutsu. She also wields two, highly decorated katanas embroidered with unique markings upon the blade. Upon her waist is the pelt of a tiger, held together by leather straps and thick rope. When she's not in combat, she wears a more simpler attire. Consisting of a tan shirt, she wears a pair of red hakama pants with suspenders that rest over her shoulder. She commonly wears a bow in her hair when wearing her simple clothes.

Personality
Despite being a Shogun, Tokihakiri shows emotions of respect and gratitude amongst her fellow samurai. She treats them all as equals, since in her eyes, they are all equal to her as brothers and sisters. She still bears sternness amongst her enemies, though, and does not hesitate to strike down upon them with unbridled ferocity within a moment's notice. Ever the intelligent one, Tokihakiri has studied centuries worth of history regarding different societies from around the world, including one particular group; The Rouma (ローマ, Lit; Romans). She has studied their culture inside and out from their military structure, to their mythological beliefs. Despite her dominant, samurai heritage, it's easy to see her incorporation of Rouma society in her soldier's ranks, even giving them special names made after their culture, including Houmu (法務, lit; Praetorian) and Hyaku (百卒長, lit; Centurion). As such, she has developed some of their more modest mannerisms while disregarding their lesser qualities such as slave keeping. She does not keep her soldiers in slave like environments, instead ensuring that they have a safe place where food and water are plentiful, even helping build small settlements around the Land of Iron to give them shelter when she does not need their aid. Tokihakiri sees her empire as her extended family and knows the names of each member who has joined the Akeyuki. As such, she keeps them safe to the extent of her powers, putting the safety of her soldiers before her own.

Though as the war with the Nankoku dragged on, Tokihakiri found herself slipping into a spiral of regrets, anguish and anger. She has seen the loss of many of her comrades, and it continues to pull her deeper and deeper into despair. She sees the world as a dark and cold place, and it makes her angry. She has seen the loss of both her long time mentor, and a person who she saw as a sister, one she knew for many years since being recruited into the Akeyuki. With the former awakening her Mangekyō Sharingan, the latter sparked even more anger and darkness into her heart, enough so that she threw reason to the wind and openly fought the Hokage, blaming him for her death due to evidence being used to frame him for her death. She has distanced herself from most of her forces, seeing herself as a threat to Akeyuki, fearing that if she gets anywhere near them, she'll only cause more unnecessary deaths that she felt could have been prevented.

Abilities
As a Shogun, Tokihakiri was trained thoroughly and diligently in the arts of the bow, sword and spear. Her incredible skills has gained her undeniable influence within, and away from the Land of Iron. With her bow, she can land incredible shots while on horseback, tracking her target no matter what the conditions may be. With the spears at her side, she cuts a swath of devastation to any who dare try to match her skill. She uses both her swords with such ferocity, her army has called her the Centurion of Iron (鉄の百卒, Lit; Tetsu no Hyaku). Her skills in leadership have shown that she can lead her army expertly, even when said army consists of different tribes of soldiers that dotted the Land of Iron.

Kyūjutsu


Kyūjutsu is Tokihakiri's main line of attack. Upon her horse, very few can escape the skills of her bow. She has landed shots that were considered impossible with relative ease. Thanks to training in some of the most unforgiving weather the Land of Iron had to offer, her skills in shot placement are above everything else in her skills. By leading her targets, she can hit them dead on no matter how far they may be. Her long bow allows her to get as much range out of her arrows as possible. With such a careful application of the bow and arrow, her army follows this tradition by using kyūjutsu as their first line of attack. Her razor sharp reflexes have been tuned to perfection, allowing her to pull off truly incredible shots. Feats like shooting arrows out of the air have been witnessed by those around her countless times, and she has even caught enemy arrows to use as her own. The skills she possess hasn't been seen in centuries. Her skills in the way of the bow are legendary; She has fired off shots considered impossible by using the elements around her to set up the perfect shot. Tales speak of her firing an arrow from a mile away and hitting her target square in the back, giving him a headstart despite the inexplicable deeds he had committed. Thinking he was safe from her, he was proven wrong when the arrow struck him clean in the center of his back. Her arrows are finely tuned, crafted by hand from the branches of ironwood trees. This gives it an incredibly durable, but light shaft that can easily move with the wind, even bounce off objects and keep moving. By using her Wind Release, Tokihakiri can wrap the arrows in wind, creating a sharpened head with an edge several thousand times sharper than a razor. This allows the arrow to cut through even the thickest material, all while the arrow remains protected by both the wind and its structure. The arrows she uses are the only thing special about her archery; Her bow is but a simple long bow, designed for precision at any range. Made from simple birch, the bow is flexible, light and durable, allowing it to resist a wide array of punishment. She's rarely ever stationary when taking her shots, choosing to be as mobile as possible to make sure she isn't a stationary target. Despite her tendencies of constant movement, she can deliver shots from any angle, no matter how unconventional they may be.


 * Custom Quiver

Realizing the importance of keeping a varied set of arrows, Tokihakiri has designed a special quiver that helps organizes different heads into different slots. Each slot can carry multiple arrowheads at any given time, which are screwed onto the arrow shafts when she pulls it out of her quiver. Depending on the arrowhead in the slot, she can provide a wide array of different supports, from using explosive arrows by using heads packed with gunpowder and an impact sensitive primer, to arrow heads packed with an ultra-corrosive material that activates upon the arrowhead hitting an object or person. The wheel that organizes the arrowheads can be rotated, and each slot has a symbol on it that can be recognized by touch, making it easy to identify what arrowhead she is going to use. To prevent the arrows from flying out of the quiver, they are held securely in place by a flexible material that flexes and shrinks depending on the amount of arrows in the quiver. This allows the arrows to stay in place until she pulls one out.

Sōjutsu
When her kyūjutsu cannot be utilized, Tokihakiri falls back to her secondary method of attack; The spear. Not slouching in any form with this style, Tokihakiri's sōjutsu is above most warriors she has encountered. By using her spear as a range finder, she can keep her opponents kept at the spear's length and manipulate them into moving how she wants them to. Even at close range, she can sweep an opponent off their feet with the length of her spear. By utilizing two, she is even deadlier; With a balanced stance, she can keep several opponent's at spear's length and pick them off one at a time, even knocking back those too close for her spear. Tokihakiri can also use her spear to maneuver out of the way of an attack by using it as an impromptu pole vault to move out of the way of an attack. By pushing her spear between an opponent's limbs, she can catch them off guard by locking their arms or legs in the most painful manner possible.

Kenjutsu


As a Shogun, Tokihakiri's kenjutsu is elite caliber. When her kyūjutsu and yarijutsu fail, her kenjutsu is her last line of defense, but not her worst. Though, since awakening her Sharingan, Tokihakiri has been are more active with kenjutsu. With the swords she keeps with her at all times, she utilizes a direct and up close method of kenjutsu, pushing her opponent back with her intimidation and raw strength, eliminating most of their defense. This allows her to pick her foes apart while they try to fight a losing battle. With six years of intensive training, her skills in kenjutsu are above most samurai her age. By using feints and change of stance, she can confuse her opponents by forcing them to adapt to an ever changing style of swordplay. Her speed with a blade is exemplary. In an instant from unsheathing her sword, Tokihakiri can deliver countless strikes that can render a mountain to pieces. The most important aspect of her kenjutsu is her posture. Utilizing the posture control known as Kamae, Tokihakiri positions herself properly to ensure each and every swing is as powerful as possible. To follow up on her swings, she uses the momentum of her previous swing to push herself into the next, necessary posture position to ensure her next swing is as powerful as the last. With her mastery over stance control, Tokihakiri can reposition her swing while in the middle of it with subtle movements of her arm and wrist. This gives her enough room to swiftly move the blade in an alternate direction through small changes. A master in the arts of Aikido, Tokihakiri knows the maai, or interval, of her opponents at any given time. This allows her to adjust her stances to help close the distance in as little time as possible, taking into account the environment in her adjustments, as well.

By utilizing Aiki, Tokihakiri can completely turn the tides against her opponent. If she's forced into a defensive position, she can blend herself without clashing against the attacker. By using her opponent's momentum against them with proper stance adjustments, Tokihakiri can then begin to dominate her opponent, using that window of time where their stance is thrown off, using her internal strength to bunt off the attacker's offense. Her ability to adjust stances to evade an attack is known as tai sabaki, something Tokihakiri knows by heart. Even extremely small adjustments in her posture can allow her to evade virtually any attack. Her calmness in battle is known as zanshin, a state of relaxed awareness. It also refers to the body's posture after a technique is executed, which Tokihakiri takes advantage of by using the momentum of her changing posture to move into the next attack.

Taijutsu
Even if her main methods of attack should fail, Tokihakiri has one last physical skill in her disposal; Taijutsu. She's no slouch in this department, either. By using a more western style of taijutsu, Tokihakiri grapples her opponents and tosses them around like ragdolls thanks to her tremendous, physical strength. Strong punches and kicks that are enough to dent metal are all part of her disposal in taijutsu, ever relentless in her assault to either beat her opponent down, or push them back enough to fall back to another of her skills. Despite it being used as a last resort, Tokihakiri has proven how proficient she can be in taijutsu, subduing even a Hyuga who excels in taijutsu with little effort.

Sharingan
After trying to save her lieutenant, Tokihakiri's left eye was severely damaged from an explosion that threw shrapnel into her eye. To prevent further damage, the eye was removed and a Sharingan was transplated in its place, having been given to Toki by an Uchiha who was breathing his last breath. With the Sharingan, Tokihakiri became adept in the Eye of Insight, allowing her to detect chakra at an even greater level. This also allows her to detect chakra differences around her, letting her detect and retaliate against genjutsu. She is granted incredible clarity of perception, allowing her to read lips or mimic some subtle movements, like that of a pencil. In combat, this allows her to see fast-moving objects and offers her some amount of predictive capabilities: She can anticipate an opponent's next move based on the slightest muscle tension in their body and act accordingly to dodge or intercept. With these skills at her disposal, Toki can also imitate a wide variety of jutsu by seeing how they work with her Sharingan. But she can't deactivate it, so she wears an eyepatch over the Sharingan when she doesn't need to use it.

Quotes
''Time is the overseer of all things. It sees man plan their dreams. Sees them build their kingdoms. It sees them become legendary. Time shall be my overseer, it shall watch over me as I plan my dream. Time will be the guardian that ensures I will build a kingdom and forge an empire the likes few have ever seen before.''

''Never cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in. An equal mind rests alongside an equal heart. The two form together as one to create harmony.''

''Those who know how to lead should do so without fear, but should also lead with the intentions of the people in mind. For it's the people who help the leader rise up. In this, my finest hour, I shall lead these people to prosperity. It's time for me to rise up, grasp destiny by the wings and take flight.''

''You can break me, you can throw me aside, you can beat me within an inch of my life. But as long as I'm still breathing, as long as I can still get up, I'll be damned if I'm going to stop fighting for what's right.''

''We wake up every day and run the risk that it might be the last thing we ever do. Cherish the moments you have, don't let them go. If you do, you'll lose everything you wanted to live for.''

I want to build a world where heroes don't have to make pitiful excuses in front of graves. - Tokihakiri speaking her wishes following the loss of her two closest friends.