Kinkakubō

**Kinkakubō** (金 (きん) 閣 (かく) 坊 (ぼう) ) was a jōnin-class shinobi of Iwagakure.

## Appearance

Kinkakubō was a large, stocky man. He was hairless, had wide eyes with dilated pupils, a very noticeable flower tattoo on the middle of his face, whiskers, and a small nose. Kinkakubō wore the standard Iwagakure shinobi uniform, which is a black robe with long sleeves that are frayed, a black tattsuke bakama, and a white sash tied at the waist. He also wore a mask.

## Personality

Kinkakubō had great respect for the current Gabimaru since he was looked as Iwagakure's strongest shinobi, even after his abandonment of the village. As such, Kinkakubō insisted on referring to him as "most revered Gabimaru". After reuniting with the rogue shinobi, Kinkakubō prostrated himself and became obedient in providing him with information on past events. Nevertheless, Kinkakubō kept in mind of his duties as a Iwagakure shinobi and followed the village chief's orders of killing him, however, Kinkakubō's respect for the young man made him sought out a more suitable method. Rather than trying to use force, Kinkakubō begged Gabimaru to consume Ginkakubō's toxic salvia that would kill him painlessly in order to fulfill the promise the village chief stated in preserving his honor in Iwagakure if he were to kill himself.

## History

### Lord Tensen Arc

After the shogun hired Iwagakure to capture the Elixir of Life from a mystic island, Kinkakubō departs with a shinobi squad with a secret mission given by the village chief to eliminate Gabimaru, who has joined the first expedition team, while following the orders of the four Yamada Asaemon.

The team makes their arrives on the island but are met with confrontation by a Dōshi commanding a group of Monshin. The team manages to put a swift end to the monsters and makes their way to Hōrai.

### Hōrai Arc

Upon the second team's arrival to Hōrai, Kinkakubō and Ginkakubō finds Gabimaru and transform their faces to match the Iwagakure chief and Yui to fool him, however, Gabiamru tells them that their strategy was ineffective against him since he is a shinobi. Kinkakubō and Ginkakubō then became cooperative by telling him everything they know so far since coming to the island and pleaded to him to take his own life by consuming Ginkakubō's toxic saliva. Gabimaru refuses since he will not allow anyone to stand in his way of returning home, leading Kinkakubō to tell him that his return would be pointless since Yui does not exist. Gabimaru says that he does not believe in his words since he knows how Iwagakure operates. Although he declined their offer, Kinkakubō says that he is delighted with his decision since this allows the Iwagakure shinobi to fight him to the death. He commands the genin to attack Gabimaru but sees that he has gotten stronger after quickly killing each and everyone. He then decides to face Gabimaru himself using his ninjutsu but is immediately killed by him.

## Abilities and Powers

As one of Iwagakure's elites, Kinkakubō was a shinobi of higher caliber and had authority over the low-ranking genin.

### Physical Abilities

Kinkakubō had shown to be strong enough to carry one of the Monshin's large shakujō on his shoulder.

### Ninjutsu

Kinkakubō was taught Transformation Jutsu by Shija and received praised by Gabimaru for pushing the ninjutsu even further by imitating the body structure and voices of the person they transform into, however, he also noted that their inability to hide their killing intent could not fool an experienced shinobi such as himself.

#### Ninpō

* **Henge no Jutsu** (変化の術, *Literal meaning:* Transformation Technique): Kinkakubō restructured his face to have it look identical to the person he was trying to impersonate. He was also able to imitate the person's musculature and voice to add to the deception.
* **Ninpō: Tekki Buyō** (忍法 鉄 (てっ) 騎 (き) 舞 (ぶ) 踊 (よう) , *Literal meaning:* Ninja Art: Iron Knight Dance): Kinkakubō hardens his body to the point where it becomes rocks to increase his offensive and defensive power.

## Trivia

* *Kinkaku* (金閣) translates to "Golden Pavilion", while *bō* (坊) can translate to either "monk" or "boy".
* In an omake of Volume 10, it is revealed that Kinkakubō was a 201st generation Iwagakure shinobi.
* Kinkakubō's birthday is on the same day that marked the conclusion of the *Jigokuraku* manga.

## References

1. ↑ *Jigokuraku Kaitai Shinsho*, page 72