Oonakayama Takato

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==Personality==
Noted for his sense of justice and honor, Takato is a man of principles. Since the start of his career as a Shinobi he has been observed to be loyal and dedicated, possessing a dry sense of humor and a sarcastic wit that has been observed to take by surprise many. He grew to be cynical through wise beyond his years developing a humble and soft-spoken demeanor that belied his prowess as a Shinobi.
A skilled negotiator and strategist led him to gain a reputation of diplomat and negotiator, a rarity in a world that preferred to swing the sword rather to think things through. The name of the negotiator became one of his nom de guerre years after.
A patient man, he understands that to undo the damage his predecessor did would take years, thus advocating great part of his reign into restoring honor to the standing that Sunagakure had in the past.
Despite his sense of honor he does not allow this to cloud his judgement if he believes something will benefit the village, showing a highly pragmatic mindset. This does not mean that he does condone outright massacre as he thinks that Shinobi are to protect the weak and innocent. 
He holds high esteem for his advisers, understanding that a wise leader is not one who believes to hold all the answers but one that listens and adapts to the situation at hand. For him, the best legacy he could leave, is a flourishing village and country. One that hold a good standing in the world and into which the problems of the past are only a faint mirage.
While not desiring war, should it ever lead to that he would fight to protect all he holds dear including his family, the village and his homeland from a certain doom. His family, specially his wife, are his great support and the one things that brings more joy into his life and he would go great lengths to protect them, even sacrificing his own life. 
==Appearance==
Shrouded behind the shade of his hood some would consider him a menace and while part is true the man wears the hood is more than menacing aura. Takato is a tall man with a well shaven handsome face. His dark gray eyes are said to reflect how his mood, turning soft a fog or hard as the coldest of stones. His dark hair is short and spiked, in lieu of the inclement weather of his village, usually concealed under his hood. Despite looking like a thin man from the distance his body has evidence of the contrary. The once soft features of youth were melted by the fires of war and has made him hard and athletic warrior that has earned his renown in battle. Several scars, reminders and souvenirs from battles he fought doth his olive skin, one of these located in the right corner of his mouth.
His normal attire consists is made up of plain white hooded robes with dark gray trousers. A cuirass made from boiled leather provides additional protection to the already in place mesh armor. The bracers as well made from boiled leather and riveted with battle grade metal. Two knee-length boots are his footwear and have decent damage resistance even against explosions. Around his waist several leather pouches hang from a belt. The fabric the robes are made of does nothing more than provide shelter from the inclement weather that one may encounter in the scorched desert of Kaze no Kuni or even from other lands. It also provides a valid way to maintain an incognito status as no symbol of the village is displayed on his attire. Away from duty the man decides to discard his elaborate outfit for a more basic white or dark long tunic to keep him comfortable even from the searing atmosphere that dominates the desolate landscape where he grew older. He wears the Kazekage uniform only in official ceremonies
==History==
Takato was born to a wealthy aristocrat, owner of a successful banking and trading business all over Kaze no Kuni, and a descendant of Shinobi. While they choose to live in Sunagakure, partially to the safety that the village represented, both weren't fond to Shinobi and considered them to be beneath them. Since their parents marriage was an arranged one it was far happy one with his Father seeing his son as a mean to prolong his legacy.
His parents expected him to study and become a banker to maintain the family business. However curious as he was, he enrolled in the ninja academy much to the chagrin of his parents. For a time his father allowed him to continue, reasoning that this had more to do with a tantrum that with an actual desire to become a Shinobi. While at the academy he was seen by his peers as an introvert and with a sense of snobbishness which suited him ill. 
Due this he was teased by his classmates, specially from a rowdy girl with lavender hair that constantly picked on him, her name was Kasumi. While many of his classmates had expected him to be a total failure he proved to be academically adept, earning top marks in conventional studies and Ninjutsu, while holding his own in Taijutsu but always been pummeled by Kasumi. The days in the academy marked a change within him as the boy became more sociable, leaving that snobbish attitude behind, and more willing to trust in teamwork than before. After two long years he graduated from the Academy at the age of twelve being moved to a team under a Jounin. 
While for other children this was to be a happy time upon returning him he was confronted by his father. Declaring that it was enough for him to play Shinobi he demanded the boy to resume his studies as a banker immediately. Being stubborn as he was he refused which prompted his father and mother to kick him out and disown him. 
For a time the boy looked out for himself, living out from the money he had earned from the menial missions. Still he remained the same, working hard and eventually discovering his ability to control and manipulate metal. It was during this time that a man approached him. The man claimed to be his uncle on his mother side. While initially weary he accepted to be trained while retaining the independence he had gained since becoming a Shinobi, but in a show of gratitude he took the family name of his uncle, therefore severing ties with his family. 
Dividing his time between missions and the training under his uncle. With his guidance, the boy changed his fighting style, that while at first proved difficult it became easy as training session passed by. By watching in the distance the training of the current Jinchūriki he wondered if he could replicate the same thing. By using his magnetic chakra to manipulate iron powder he achieved this and in after a long process the use of Iron Sand became on of the staples of his fighting style. 
While sensing that he was fully prepared to take the Chuunin Exams, he obeyed the decision of his Jounin Sensei to not partake in the exams, as since the last war Sunagakure had lost a great number of Shinobi and they needed to recoup the losses with quality over quantity and they could not afford to lose their brightest hopes. For him and his teammates the only thing they could do to make time past was to train, refine their skills, and do missions for the sake of the village, so for when the time came they would ready. 
By the time he was fourteen he and his team was deemed ready to partake into the dangerous exams. Truly despite all the training he had received he found the exams difficult but nevertheless his team managed to emerge victorious from the relentless test, raising to become a Chuunin in the process. 
When he was fifteen he experienced how awful could the Shinobi world be, as his cousin and adoptive older sister, Arashi was lost on a mission, something which he feared had ended with her demise. While to his happiness she returned, but she had changed, becoming ill and weak. In due time he learned that she had become pregnant, although neither he or his family knew who was the father of the child. 
In the next year he would slowly see as the once beautiful and powerful woman that his sister was, would deteriorate into something similar as a pale corpse. It was painful for him to see that as with time he was her only relative to look after her. And while he did his best to make her feel loved everyday she was slowly further lost in the madness she had experienced. Finally her breaking point had being reached once she gave birth to a girl. Taken out by some maddening force the frail woman turned feral and lashed back against anyone that dared to take the child from her. But in her final moments of sanity the woman rushed through the village, tearing streets as she made her way to the market she found him.
Surprised to see her there, knowing that she had to be in the villages hospital her next words took him by surprise, as she tearfully pleaded him to kill her and free her mind, body and soul from the torment she had being living for the past nine months and for she had done recently. At first he refused to injure her but as she pleaded to him that this was the only way, Takato with a heavy heart directed his Iron Sand to envelop her, all while muttering sorry and in a swift move the Iron Sand crushed the woman, reducing her into a paste. 
While in the eyes of the village his action was seen as a proper one he could not forgive himself for what he had done. Even while it was a mercy kill, he had taken the life of someone close to him and for many years to come he would truthfully regret having killed someone who he believed it might had been saved from such a terrible fate. Years later he would learn who she had being sent to kill and the presumed fate of those that partook in the mission. 
While devastated from the loss of his cousin her forced himself to push onward and be the best Shinobi he could be, as he knew that was what she wanted truly the most. It was during this period of relative peace and stability for the village that saw the Third Kazekage strengthening the village forces for yet another war or at least he presumed. It was also during this time that he started to notice girls after being so focused in his training as a Shinobi. Specially a girl that had enjoyed to beat him during the Taijutsu classes at the academy when they where young. Kasumi. 
Fearful that she might retaliate, he spend several months building the courage to ask her out but after he did she simply said yes. While not sure whether the girl liked him or was about to punch him he was cautious, not trying to anger her in any possible way. As their relationship progressed further for him it became hard to think a future without her and he was sure she held the same belief. 
It was for him a time of blissful happiness as not only his relationship with Kasumi progressed but also as he was deemed by the village to be fit to become a Jounin. However by the time he was seventeen he was faced with the challenge of fatherhood as through their union the young woman had become pregnant. 
While for anyone of his age that would become a trouble he didn't backed away from the situation, instead he pledged his love to the young woman, determined to support both her and their child showing a remarkable set of principles despite his young age. Despite delighted that he would become a father he still was scared as he feared he would turn to be a bad parent like his own father. However after nine long months he would hold a child, his daughter, who both, Kasumi and Takato would name Arashi, in honor of his adoptive elder sister.
However that peace would soon be halted by the expansionist plans of the leader of Sunagakure. Still not in his early twenties he would see himself away from his beloved family as the Suna-Ame conflict erupted. It was during this conflict that he would make a name for himself. 
While reluctant to carry his orders, fully believing that this conflict was pointless and would carry only defeat and shame for Sunagakure he served dutifully with many Ame Shinobi recognizing the young man as a dangerous opponent. But even despite the harshness and what detriment lay on him as the battle progressed he did not chance in essence. 
For he was noted to treat the prisoners of enemy forces humanely and would often negotiate to take positions rather than obliterate the enemy. Gaining a grudging admiration on part of his foes for his cunning in battle and honor out of the conflict. But in the end he only wanted to see that the men under his command returned home to his family, a thing he also longed. 
As he had believed the war came to a sour end for Sunagakure as the Third Kazekage fell in singular battle against the Ame Lord. With the war over the forces of Sunagakure returned defeated. It was a bittersweet moment as he was reunited with his family but his country and village suffered from the madness of man. 
The next years proved to be difficult, as food shortages, struck the country and the Shinobi from Sunagakure would not be hired as they were in the past and it was also a time into which his extended family suffered as his cousins, the remaining children of his uncle, brothers and sister, had perished before or during the war, with the old man falling ill shortly. 
By the time he was twenty-four, he had married Kasumi and the couple expected another child, and while life was hard it was a happy one where he had all he would have ever wished in the love of his family. It was also during this time that Sunagakure, that had been ruled by the village council for the past years was ready to choose another Shinobi to take the mantle of the Kazekage.
One day he was called to the audience chamber of the council. There he found both the council and the Wind Daimyo. What he heard from the august body and the ruler of the vast desert land shocked the man as he was informed that he was selected by the village leadership, with approval of his appointing by the Daimyo, to become the Fourth Kazekage. 
While initially hesitant and feeling unworthy of title, he took the mantle of Kazekage and with it the responsibility of returning honor to the village that had been damaged by so much senseless slaughter. After his crowning as the leader of the village he was forced to make one of the toughest decisions of his life. Shortly before his crowning the current Jinchūriki of the Ichibi had died and thankfully the beast had being sealed. However Sunagakure would need it's weapon. To ensure that the Jinchūriki and it's power were kept loyal to the village the council decided it would be his daughter the one that would have the Bijuu sealed into. With a heavy heart and fully aware that he would gain the resentment of his daughter he had the beast sealed into Arashi .
For the years that came he worked tirelessly trying to change the perception the world had of the village. And for a short while all seemed to work as he had intended. However as fate would have it, the food would soon become scarce due the even harsher inclemency of the desert, creating riots and fights due the rationing in the village that would be quelled by the Shinobi with great assistance of the Monks of Bishamon. 
While not all problems have been solved under his reign, he nevertheless is seen as a symbol of what the country and then the world could become, something that as Kazekage feels is his duty, for the future of the village belongs to his children and those that have not been born yet. 
==Abilities==
Jiton Mastery:
Being an Oonakayama in more than name, Takato is master of Jiton, by combining both Raiton and Doton he can create magnetic fields through which he can control and manipulate any metal he touches, namely in his case Iron Sand, for which he is renown in the world. His ability to give shape to the Sand into various weapons and defensive constructs are a testament to his tremendous skill, that make him a difficult opponent to fight due the nature of the Iron Sand.
Enhanced Reflexes:
Despite not being a great Taijutsu user, Takato has developed keen reflexes and sharp eye to hand coordination. This allows him to react faster to attacks in order to prevent him from sustaining injuries. In tandem his attacks and counterattacks are also shown to be rather fast as well and effective with just a quick look he knows where his next move will be directed at. 
High Chakra Reserves:
Born with a powerful chakra, Takato was blessed with greater chakra reserves than those of a normal Shinobi. With this he can fight longer than most and use chakra taxing techniques with greater frequency than most fighters. While this means that at the same time that he cannot use chakra in a more precise way the quantity he has compensates for the finesse he lacks making prolonged battles something he can endure. 
Fūinjutsu Expert:
While he is a master of Ninjutsu. Takato has proven to be an expert in Fūinjutsu, often combining his Fūinjutsu with his Iron Sand based techniques to entrap enemies and keep them on check should they close on him by springing traps. His skills are so extensive that he can use the seal to keep the Ichibi on check should it decide to rampage or to let it loose on his enemies if he deems so necessary. 
Tactician:
Takato is a man that keep his calm during combat. Whether it is on the defensive or offensive he always has in mind a back up plan for where things don't go as he had foreseen. It was his tactical mindset that allowed him to lead the men and women under his command during the Ame-Suna conflict to achieve victory. During combat he tends to analyze the abilities of his opponent to find a weakness and then exploit it while also understanding and using the environment to his advantage. While for the normal observer his defensive and offensive patterns are hopelessly random for others his tactics are brilliantly conceived. 
Leader:
To be a leader is something more than just be appointed. You have to earn it. It was due his own charisma and humility that saw him rose within the ranks of Shinobi of Sunagakure, becoming one of the most prominent figures during the conflict with Ame. Soft spoken and with a great demeanor he inspires those under his command to perform admirably. A man of action he is one to lead from the front lines rather from the seat of power, never asking his subordinates to do something he can't. 
Category:Village Leaders
Category:Males
Category:Sunagakure Shinobi
Category:Characters