Tōji Namazu

is the of The Hidden Stone Village (lit.岩隠れの里, “Iwagakure no Sato”). Born to a once great clan, the clan eventually met its collapse, ruins all that remain where they once settled. Their descendants are few and far in between, Tōji being the first within a century of the clan’s fall to inherit the Mud Release Kekkei Genkai. Stubborn and arrogant to a fault, he is famous for having absolutely no sense of direction, earning him the moniker, one of the many things he seems to be oblivious to.

Appearance
Tall and large with a muscular build—his tan skin often causes one to mistake him as a native from the Kumogakure at first glance. Tōji has a thick head of dark blue hair that’s fashioned into strips jutting out in every which way, sometimes pulled back into a ponytail, and long sideburns which join his hair to form a prominent goatee. Each of his ears is adorned by a large earring shaped like a round crescent moon pointing down. Tōji is known to forego ever wearing a shirt or top, though often wearing the red collared, green and gold coat seen worn by high ranking officials of Iwagakure, though Tōji’s seems more styled into an almost scarf for him given his large size. This special coat along with the earrings and his dark complexion give him an almost tribal appearance. He wears red pants with a charcoal colored sash that holds his brown armored lapels in place, falling to the sides. His pants end in mesh armour. Appearances alone, he is known to be intimidating to look at, especially as he dwarfs most others around him.

Early Years
Born the son of Tōki and Kurē Namazu, the eldest child out of him and his younger sister Jiki Namazu, neither he nor any of his family could predict that he would one day don the mantle of Tsuchikage. The Namazu were a small clan within the Land of Earth, having long since become little more than shadows of their former selves. Tōki and Kurē however ensured that their tribe's history would not die out, the tales of their people depicted on various old ceramics that have bested the test of time; tales woven on the ceramic vases made by the hands of those that came before them within the tribe. Through this Tōji alongside his younger sister learned of the secrets of their people, their untimely downfall, and the dark nature of mankind along with the horrors of war. Tōji's parents never pressed him or his sister into becoming shinobi, nor did they discourage their children, instead ensuring they stressed the value of life. As a tribe of hunters and gatherers they believed greatly in a symbiotic relationship with nature, never taking more than what was required to survive, and relying on skill and ability. To this end the Namazu siblings were often trained with restrictions on the amount of chakra they could use in their training, to ensure that the usage of chakra did not corrupt them, giving them a sense of superiority with those that might have less than them. By the time he graduated the academy and become an official Genin of Iwagakure he had begun displaying signs of inheriting Mud Release, a Kekkei Genkai that rarely appeared within those of his tribe. Sticking true to the foundation and beliefs instilled into him as a child he began training and honing his skill with the advanced nature in a means to subdue his opponents, much to the chagrin of his teammates, often furious with not only his terrible sense of direction, but his adamant refusal to kill his enemies. Still, the child went through great lengths to ensure that his friends and comrades were not harmed due to his unorthodox beliefs, going so far as to use his own body as a shield to protect them. Despite his repeated acts of devotion towards his team there were some that simply felt the boy was defective, after all what good is a shinobi that doesn't kill? As he was larger than others of his same age group his pacifistic nature made many feel that his size was wasted on him. Dejected, ridiculed and ostracized by his peers his resolve began to waver. How much simpler would it be to surrender and be like those around him? His sister would often console her older brother, but he knew their parent's teachings were a chore for her too, she was the little sister of. Jiki tried to hide this fact from her elder brother, but to no avail. The cruelty of children knows little bounds after all.

Tōji's father would console the boy in the only way he knew, he would spar his son without holding back. Though he lacked the rare Kekkei Genkai of their tribe he could still easily thrash his son who by all rights, should have been at an advantage. ''If you wish to change their perception of you, then you must first obtain the strength to support your resolve! Prove your strength to them!'' Words that echoed through his very core, words that gave him the strength to strive for the power to uphold his beliefs.

The Horrors of War
At the age of 17 Tōji had been a Chūnin for little over a year. Peace had begun to dwindle further between nations, wars and rumors of wars spread throughout the continent. Strife had risen between Iwagakure and Kirigakure not unlike the days of old, and soon war was declared. As a Chūnin of the Hidden Rock Village Tōji was of course expected to participate. His heart beat in his chest like a drum, he had trained hard, harder than most to obtain the power and strength he needed to protect not only those around him, but his very beliefs as well. Through repeated selfless acts of heroism during missions he had earned the respect of many of his peers and even began to bury his childhood nickname. Still there was fear in his heart, this was War. He had heard and read stories, but it was completely different from hearing the tales and living in them. In the beginning all was hardly well, but he had yet to lose those close to him. With the aid of his Mud Release and the talents of his team they accomplished much, he began to believe that he had truly reached the level of strength he had always been aiming for. Soon the reality of war would overtake him, the tide of battle had shifted. Friends, comrades they fell by the droves all around him. He tried, and struggled, and mustered every ounce of power within his body to save all that he could, but to no avail. For the first time Tōji had truly experienced it; death, loss, the horrors and tragedies of war. They had taken lives, and now their lives were being taken. It was the ultimate law of reciprocation, a life for a life, death for death, blood for blood. The war went on for three years before both sides yielded, calling a cease fire. In that span of time he thought he would go mad. His heart demanded vengeance for those that were taken from him, cried out for the spilling of their blood, but he knew what that would result in. He would kill them for vengeance, and their friends and families would in turn lash out seeking vengeance in kind. This was the second time he had come to that familiar emotional fork, his resolve questioned and threatened by the ghosts of war that haunted him.

Bijū Suppression
Two years after the war with tensions still strained between the Hidden Rock and the Hidden Mist, Tōji displayed his abilities as a shinobi, having become a skilled and reliable Jōnin he suppressed his enemies with his display of overwhelming strength and through the use of his Mud Release, restricting them and robbing them of their movement. He would even come to develop several techniques for the sole purpose of petrifying his opponents in lieu of killing them. This would mark the beginning of his habit in collecting the statues of those he turned into stone, their numbers quickly growing to the point he was forced to create a secret space set aside solely for his petrified victims. The Five-Tails (五尾, Gobi) would eventually come to lose itself after years of going without a suitable host. Many years had passed since it connected with Naruto Uzumaki and learned to trust humans. Its memories here muddled and it acted only on its most basic and primal of instincts. The elders of the village and the Kage at the time called for Tōji. He had shown a talent for subduing his foes, perhaps he could stop the Gobi before it decimated the village. When called, he answered pitting himself against the tailed beast in a battle that lasted a span of several days. Ultimately the beast was subdued using his Mud Release. His strength of character and resolve,his merits during war, and his kekkei genkai that allowed him to subdue a tailed beast all garnered the man much respect from those around him, far more than what was shown to him in his early youth.

A New Kage
"Easy?! You think its easy for me to deny my rage in the heat of battle?! To stay my hand?! It is always a struggle! What would be easy is surrendering myself to my emotions and doing what my most basic of instincts tell me. No, killing is easy, it is always the easier path. My path is one of thorns, of pain. It is a constant test, a battle of conviction with myself, of which there is no end."

- Tōji to a Shinobi

Personality
Appearance wise Tōji comes off as stoic, distant, incredibly domineering and aggressive—this is anything but his true nature. Despite being usually portrayed as serious and stern Tōji is actually quite down to earth, strongly believing that fun should come before work and as a result is often caught procrastinating work; ducking and dodging his many responsibilities to travel, indulge in his craft of pottery or any other small indulgence he may stumble upon. This often leads to his subordinates chastising him, forcing him to settle down and adhere to his responsibilities.

The Namazu has shown himself to be deceptively insightful, noticing subtle little traits in people, uncovering their true nature as well as the motive behind their actions. Despite this almost unnatural level of insight, as well as his sharp perception both in and out of battle he has a terrible sense of direction. Tōji is perhaps the only man able to easily get lost even if traveling on a straight path. During missions his former teammates would often go through great lengths to ensure that Tōji was not allowed to lead them, the team drawing straws with every mission to determine who would be his chaperon just to make sure he didn't stray from the team and get lost. Even now the village ensures that there is someone watching him at all times to guarantee he makes it home safely—Tōji having gotten lost walking home several times, once getting so far off track he was nearing the borders to a neighboring nation, causing mass panic in the village as they sent out several search parties to find and retrieve him. As terrible as his sense of direction is, Tōji appears to be the only one completely unaware of his broken inner compass, genuinely believing that its everyone else who can't seem to navigate or follow directions, once going so far as to argue that they had even somehow moved the village to play a prank on him. To date, should Tōji ever declare that he is leading an expedition a sense of terror seizes the hearts of everyone set to be included in the party, knowing that he will refuse to listen to or ask for directions. Described as stubborn and bullheaded, once Tōji has set his mind on something there is no changing it, becoming an unshakable stone—a mountain which refuses to be moved or scaled. This trait of his is somewhat of a double edged sword, loved and admired by his subordinates and allies alike, willing to protect them going as far as using his own body as a shield. This fact has garnered an indescribable act of love and devotion towards him, on the other hand his stubborn streak has caused him to intervene with the actions of those under him on more than one occasion. It is well known that Tōji is a pacifist, having never taken the life of another, stopping the shinobi who serve under him from killing to the best of his ability, much to their aggravation.

He has shown himself to be a capable leader, bold charismatic he can easily rouse the hearts and spirits of the men and women under his watch whenever he rallies the troops. Though stubborn, bullheaded, with an average level of intellect he is a capable leader, loved by the people.

Abilities
When one thinks of Iwagakure, of strength and power, their mind cannot help but to gravitate towards Tōji Namazu. Like an earthquake or a landslide, Tōji is often times likened to a natural disaster on the battlefield by his enemies.

Confident and, borderline arrogant in his strength, it is certainly not unwarranted. Having plowed through platoons of enemy shinobi during times of war, as well as subduing a on his own, one would be hard pressed to find someone who could argue the might and prowess of the man. Through his own strength and ability he has successfully ended every conflict he has ever been in without being forced to break his self imposed restriction of no killing—a feat in and of itself. Such restriction over his entire life time, with a success rate of 100% speaks volumes of not only the man's strength of will, but his level of physical, emotional, and mental discipline and control needed to exercise such restraint.

Chakra and Physical Prowess
As vast as the earth, and as domineering as the tallest of mountains, Tōji is said to have a startling amount of chakra even by Kage standards. His chakra when released can be felt over vast distances—often producing the apparition of a giant while the earth trembles and quakes in obedient response to its power. Such startling reserves of chakra have caused many to perceive the man as some manner of monster. The sheer strength and potency of his chakra has been noted to cause a constant oppressive pressure exerted from Tōji on to those around him. It is these very same astonishing reserves of power that permit the man to utilize a number of otherwise, chakra costly techniques with little worry of succumbing to chakra exhaustion.

There have been many credible sensors that have been muted by both sheer fear and awe, claiming that "no man should have such frightening chakra". Shinobi both near and far have all either heard the tales of the man's chakra, or experienced its horrors first hand. Those actively seeking to observe and study his chakra find their senses dulled as if trudging through a bog of thick mud, forcing them to swiftly retract their consciousness for fear of mental fatigue. The man has succeeded in unintentionally neutralizing an entire of an opposing force, simply from its members detecting the man and—in an effort to try and assist their allies by attempting to map out the man's movements, lost themselves within his chakra. It is also ill advised for one to attempt to siphon the man's chakra, his chakra having a tendency of petrifying nearly any and everything or one brazen enough to do so. This aspect alone has led many to speculate that either the man or his chakra—or even both have some connection with Natural Energy

Earth is the element of substance, Tōji’s body having been proven to be both strong and enduring like the element of both his village and nation. Befitting his size and stature the man boasts enormous physical strength and durability, able to smash through walls and rock alike bare handed, rend through stone and even tear asunder his surroundings from even his restrained blows. He has on more than one occasion, been shown picking up and tossing large boulders with little to no signs of discomfort, all without adjusting the weight of the object to lighten the toll and burden. Tōji has commonly displayed his great strength multiple times from his ability to push back his opponent's attacks with a single arm, even if the opponent's weapons and attacks are massive in size. Though nothing like that of Kumogakure’s Raikage famed for their sturdy bodies, Tōji’s body is still strong enough to ignore a great deal of physical trauma with very little actual harm being done to him. On multiple occasions others have commented that his body is tough like stone. Through channeling the earth his physical parameters are further enhanced to startling levels. Increasing his weight on top of this (or in lieu of channeling the earth) only serves to empower him further though at the expense of his speed. Kokuō (穆王, Kokuō), more commonly known as the Five-Tails (五尾, Gobi), known to possess great physical strength remarked how each blow from Tōji shook him to his core when recalling their battle. Never one to shy away from a test of strength, the man continues to test the limits of his body with reckless abandon.

In terms of speed, the man's hulkish frame belies his speed—having proven to be deceptively fast for his size and build. Thanks to the tremendous raw strength within his legs, Tōji’s natural acceleration more than allows him to move fast enough to instantly close a huge gap of space between him and his opponents, and even seemingly disappear from sight. When utilizing the body flicker technique his speed grows further, and further still when choosing to reduce his gravity though at the expense of his natural strength. Movement aside Tōji has a tendency to utilize his Mud Release kekkei genkai, shifting the earth beneath him to mud to move about with great expedition.

As a man who has given his everything to protect those around him, multiple times he has been seen foregoing the limits of his body—battling through a day's worth time, enduring tremendous and grievous blows and injuries, all without surrendering, regardless of the cost to his own well being. These qualities have planted seeds of fear in the hearts of his enemies on more than one occasion, believing him to be an insurmountable obstacle against them. His natural physical capabilities and heavy chakra reserves permit him to better ignore fatigue— staving off mental and physical exhaustion all while immersed in the heat of combat. In the past there have been times where he should have, by all means fallen, his body accumulating a number of wounds—even suffering several fractures and broken bones, yet the man remained surprisingly coherent.

Ninjutsu
Befitting a shinobi of his rank and caliber, Tōji is a shinobi of remarkably astonishing aptitude for the ninja arts. Able to utilize the Fission Technique of the Mū, Tōji's usage and application of the technique seems to surpass that of its pioneer. Not unlike the Nidaime, Tōji is able to split himself into two identical yet independent duplicates of himself. Unlike Mū however, Tōji has displayed such mastery over the technique that he is able to partially activate the technique. As the duplicate is independent of the original it acts as a fail safe, or a hidden partner of sorts to help awaken himself should he be forced into a genjutsu. The duplicate more often than not, partially emerges from his back stopping its emergence at its torso. From here the duplicate will either free Tōji from the illusionary world and submerge itself back into him, or complete the fission process fully emerging from the original body.

Further testament to the Jūsandaime ninja prowess is his mastery over the Light Weight Rock Technique and its counterpart the Added Weight Rock Technique. Using the former he, like those before him is able to lighten himself and others to allow them to simply move faster or soar through the air, unimpeded by gravity's restrictions. He has shown frightening mastery over the latter, exploiting its use and his mastery over Earth Release, using the very ground as a medium—foregoing the technique's prerequisite of making physical contact to increase the gravity of his target as the earth becomes an extension of himself. Tōji seems to favor using the technique in conjunction with his Mud release jutsu, causing the mud, and those unfortunate enough to be within it, to become heavy. This method of use has shown to help make it easier to restrain his targets, the mud already forcing their movements to become sluggish, the added weight furthering their difficulty to move or escape.

Trivia

 * Tōji's name comes from the Kanji 陶磁, meaning Ceramics and Namazu (鯰) which means Catfish. It can also be mistaken for Tō-ji (東寺, Tō-ji) meaning East Temple.
 * His name is pronounced TO-JEE
 * His image comes from the character Azuma from the Anime/Manga Fairy Tail
 * Tōji's almost tribal appearance is meant to emulate Mayan aesthetics
 * Like the Namazu in lore, Tōji's mud release is similar to the Namazu dwelling in mud.
 * As a child he would have random tangents which caused earth tremors, something that needed to be addressed in Iwa's academy when he enrolled. This is similar to a stone being used to suppress the Namazu in lore.
 * His tendency and ability to cause quakes shares a relation to both Namazu in japanese lore and Cabrakan in Mayan lore.
 * Despite having an aversion for killing he does enjoy battles and tests of strength.
 * His favorite food is ironically Catfish.
 * He loves pottery and mud wrestling, while he dislikes the thought of taking a life.
 * His theme song is This is the Fight to Change the World
 * His favorite Phrase is:

Quotes

 * "Some things may only be learned from sacrifice."
 * "No lesson is truly learned until it has been purchased with pain."
 * "Train yourself to let go...of everything you fear to lose..." 
 * "Let me explain something to you. You, are by no means weak. I'm just too strong."
 * "Flimsy techniques like these to stop me? Where am I, and who are you, that you don't know of my strength?"
 * "Hnn. Very well, I shall show you a portion of this excessive power. Come!"
 * "You who know no better, you covet power, the seat and title of Kage without understanding what that entails. I'm buried under people's expectations of me, at all times. People see in me only what they need—only what they want to see. As you are now, it is a burden that would crush you beneath its weight of responsibility, and isolation."