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The Shunsoku Clan (俊足一族, Shunsoku Ichizoku) was a powerful clan from Uzushiogakure. Widely known by their moniker “Clan of Zero-Tailed Beasts” (零尾獣の一族, Reiojū no Ichizoku, Viz: Zero-Tailed Beast Clan), they possess a unique and ancient kekkei genkai called the Rōtasumāku which grants them incredibly strong life-forces and chakra akin to the Uzumaki along with being renowned for their battle prowess, lightning-based techniques, and being the original wielders of the Six Paths Sacred Treasures before they were stolen by Kumogakure during the Second Shinobi World War. The clan was nearly wiped out defending Uzushiogakure; however, Toshirō Shunsoku, the clan’s leader, fled to Konohagakure with his wife and Kushina Uzumaki who was handpicked by the dying Mito Uzumaki to be the next jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. In Konoha, Toshirō lived alongside the Uchiha clan on the outskirts of the village, perishing years later alongside the Uchiha at the hands of Itachi Uchiha and Tobi, leaving only his son, Shindō, as the last of the Shunsoku clan. After the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Shunsoku and Uchiha clan were brought back to prominence, and Shindō recovered the Six Paths Sacred Treasures, passing them down to his daughter.
Overview[]
According to the Shunsoku clan’s Sacred Scrolls, the Shunsoku are direct descendants of the Sage of the Six Paths through one of his sons, Asura Ōtsutsuki. During the Warring States Period, the clan’s progenitor, Raikō Shunsoku, who was a disciple of Ninshū and stumbled upon Land of Whirlpools and earned the trust of the Uzumaki clan and was the only outsider to marry into it and creating a close alliance with the senju clan. The subsequent fear and respect from both the Uchiha clan and all nine tailed beasts.
After the establishment of Konohagakure and ending the Warring States Period, the Shunsoku and Uzumaki clans protected their village and territory while helping Konoha during the First Shinobi World War against other nations before declaring a twenty-year-long ceasefire.
During the Second Shinobi World War, three nations banded together and successfully destroyed Uzushiogakure, resulting in the near-extinction of the Shunsoku clan destroyed and their Six Paths Sacred Treasures stolen by the Gold and Silver Brothers from Kumogakure, their distant relatives. Toshirō and his wife Mina escaped with Kushina Uzumaki, unknowingly leaving remnants of the Uzumaki clan alone underground when a deadly plague ravaged the Land of Whirlpools and killed most of the invaders who were forced to abandon Whirlpool Country, leaving the country’s surface untouched for decades.
Meanwhile, Toshirō, Mina, and Kushina sought refuge in Konoha for the rest of their lives. Mina retired, becoming a housewife, while Toshirō became a Konoha shinobi, earning the moniker Tailed Beast Without a Tail (王モタナイビジュー, O o Motanai Bijū, Viz: Zero-Tails, Meaning (English TV): Tailless Tailed Beast) after defeating Kisame Hoshigaki, the Monster of the Hidden Mist (霧隠れの怪人, Kirigakure no Kaijin), twice. During the Third Shinobi World War, Toshirō and Minato Namikaze, Konoha’s Yellow Flash (木ノ葉の黄色い閃光, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō), singlehandedly defeated a battalion of Iwa shinobi which forced the Tsuchikage to surrender. Afterward, Minato became the Fourth Hokage after Toshirō turned the position down, and his son, Shindō, was born.
Months later, Konoha was attacked by the Nine-Tails and Toshirō fought alongside Hiruzen to keep the Nine-Tails at bay. Once Minato arrived, Toshirō helped Minato and Kushina seal the Nine-Tails into their son, Naruto, at the cost of their lives.
Trivia[]
- “Shunsoku” (俊足) means speedster and is another way of saying “Sokudo” (速度, speed).
- The clan’s symbol is made up of six lightning bolts in a circular pattern, inspired by the six magatamas used by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. This establishes their descendants from him through his son Asura, being related to the Senju and Uzumaki clans, respectively.
- At the end of the Warring States Period, the first Shunsoku clan leader, Raikō Shunsoku, was able to move so fast that not even lightning could touch him and developed a specific taijutsu that needs the Rōtasumāku to have the amount of chakra necessary to even attempt it called the Thunder Dance.
- According to the Nidaime Hokage, the typical speed of a Shunsoku is equivalent to lightning and will appear as a lightning bolt to the naked eye. After mastering the Thunder Dance, Shindō could travel so fast that Sasuke Uchiha described him as a big white lightning bolt, even with his Sharingan activated.