A (Third Raikage)

**A** (*Ay* in the English Dub) was the **Third Raikage** (*Literally meaning*: Third Lightning Shadow) of Kumogakure, renowned to be the greatest Raikage the village has ever had to possess the greatest spear and shield. He is also the father of the Fourth Raikage.

## Physical Appearance

A was a tall, dark-skinned man with a largely muscular and well-defined build. He had a full head of white hair which flowed into his back along with a long beard. He had unusual eyes, which had green irides, dark sclera and no pupils. His face has pronounced cheekbones and tear troughs under his eyes, and a prominent crease across his forehead with a mole above his right eyebrow. His top lip also had a darker pigmentation than the bottom one. His canine teeth were also slightly elongated. He has the kanji for "lightning" tattooed on his right shoulder. Following a battle with the Eight-Tails, A also gained a lightning bolt-shaped scar that runs across the right side of his chest.

His typical attire consisted of Kumogakure's distinctive, single-strap flak jacket with no other clothing underneath, a dark green cloth around his waist, and a thick rope tied around his waist; with this he also wore dark blue sweat pants and black sandals.

## Personality

A is a calm and seemingly level-headed person. He is also a man of honor as seen when he became outraged when Mū tells Ōnoki to take advantage of the Allied Shinobi Forces after it is disbanded. He is also a very proud and caring individual who will readily use himself as a shield or "go-between" to protect his comrades. This was also exemplified when it was revealed that after he received a scar from fighting the Eight-Tails, not even his son asked him about it in detail, out of his respect for his father's pride. A was also a firm believer of children being destined to surpass their parents, so much so he told his fellow Kage who were reincarnated not to worry about being forced to fight against their fellow shinobi as their children would be able to defeat them.

He, like the other Kage, was upset that he has to fight people from his own village but at the same time he had a lot of confidence and believed that the new generation would be able to surpass and defeat them. He cared greatly for the people of his village, as he made it a personal responsibility to subdue the Eight-Tails whenever it would go on a rampage, as well as fought against ten thousand enemies single-handedly just to allow his comrades to escape to safety. A also greatly admires ninja who are very skilled as seen when he congratulated the Fourth Kazekage for having such a strong son.

## Abilities

**Taijutsu Master**: Like his son, A battled mainly with taijutsu, demonstrating such might he could quickly strike down several members of the Allied Shinobi Forces in one move.

* **Vast Durability**: Even more impressive, A was renowned for his tremendous level of durability, such that his body gained the name the "**strongest shield**" because it could withstand nearly any type of technique. Any enemy attacks that managed to damage him, if at all, would only have very minor effects. With this trait, he was the only person of his time capable of being transported by the Heavenly Transfer Technique without being torn to shreds because of his tough body. A true testament to his resilience was seen from how he withstood a direct impact of a Rasenshuriken from Naruto in his Kurama Chakra Mode with little to no damage despite his Lightning Release Chakra Mode being neutralized. Ultimately, the only attack that was seen as strong enough to seriously injure him was his own, which resulted in the scar on his chest.
* **Immense Strength**: A possessed tremendous strength, with the threat of a single punch prompting Dodai to encase Naruto Uzumaki for protection. Even more impressive is the fact that A launched the ball several meters away and crashing through solid rock.
* **Immense Speed and Reflexes**: A also possessed great speed and honed reflexes, being able to dodge Naruto's extremely fast Wind Release: Rasenshuriken twice, despite being half blinded by the sun the first time, and attacked from his blindside the second time. Naruto even noted that his speed was on par with that of his son's, who was known as the fastest shinobi alive.

**Nature Transformation**: A has great prowess in Lightning Release famed him as a powerful user of the nature. He was also known for his unique Black Lightning. Likewise, A was seemingly a skilled teacher in Lightning Release, as he passed on his knowledge to Darui. Like his son, he is also capable of using the Lightning Release Chakra Mode to supplement his taijutsu and further augmenting his already renowned physical prowess. According to Dodai, only powerful, long-range Wind Release attacks could break through this defense. Similar to the Chidori, A can focus his lightning chakra into his fingers, creating a strong piercing effect. He can make it even more powerful by focusing the lightning chakra by reducing the number of fingers used. The technique's sharpness was such that he could penetrate and slash through rubber despite its resistance to electricity. Dodai states that it is his strongest ninjutsu, referring to it as the "**strongest spear**". With this power, A could cut off all of Gyuki's tails at once, and even pierce his own body.

**Immense Chakra Power**: Much like his son, A was gifted with enormous chakra reserves. With them, he could use the Kohaku no Johei to seal Gyūki each time the beast went berserk during his time. He had equally immense reserves of stamina and endurance, being able to fight nonstop effectively for three consecutive days and nights before finally collapsing - something normal shinobi could only achieve with drug enhancers. He could also battle Gyūki to the point that they both collapsed from exhaustion.