Ichigo Ishikawa

Red Hood, Singing Stone River of Iwa

## Chakra Natures

Earth Release, Yang Release

Tonton: Carbon FortressTonton: Carbon Armament

Tonton: Carbon Surge

Tonton: Carbon Onslaught

Tonton: Carbon Character Creation

TonTon: Carbon Coffin

Chakra Sensory: Singing Stones Style

## Canon Techniques

Doton: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent NothingnessDoton: Bottomless Swamp

Doton: Earth Style Wall

Doton: Hiding Like a Mole Technique

Doton: Light-weight Rock Technique

Doton: Sandwich Technique

Doton: Shadow Clone

Chakra Sensory Technique

Chakra Suppression Technique

## Tools

Hunting Horn

**Ichigo Ishikawa** is a widely known artist of Iwagakure who has sold music and literature world wide. As a semi-celebrity Ichigo has been placed in a unique role within the Anbu as more of an intel gatherer and has forced him to take extra care that his affiliation with the organization is hidden leaving most in the village to believe he is merely a Jounin. He finds stealth to be less effective for him and much prefers to cause distractions. Because of this as well as his compassionate nature he has become a guardian symbol in the village. Where Endō Ishikawa brings reassurance to the village by watching from the shadows, Ichigo brings peace with his soothing words and his warm presence. He will often be found out in public, usually entertaining the passing crowds as he watches the village with his keen senses. Ichigo's chaotic good nature and history in poverty allows him to connect with the less fortunate while struggling with authority figures. It is believed he wears his red jacket as a nod to his favorite character Robin Hood from a book Itami Yamazaki gave him as a boy. The Tsuchikage is one of the few individuals who's authority Ichigo is known to concede to as he often has faith that Itami has better judgement, even coming to odds with Endo at times though the Anbu leader has a reputation for being able to get the fellow Ishikawa in line when needed. Renown with the public at large has allowed Ichigo to collect a number of civilian spies to act as his eyes and ears that has helped further extend the network of intel for Iwagakure, though a vast majority of these, "spies" have no idea who they are feeding the information to as the network has grown too vast and complicated for most to tie it back to Ichigo. Many of his unwitting informants are merely loudmouths or lovers of gossip, but the network has been rumored to included many with power and influence. People are not his only eyes and ears as Ichigo has also used his bird summoning to out stretch his reach leaving little intel across the world out of his hands without enough time and preparation lest it be a truly well and guarded secret. Though he is known to try and avoid combat as often as possible he is not a coward and has the strength and will to defend himself and those in need. Instead he merely knows his role, the support and thus focused on developing a fighting style that tries to stun and hinder the targets so that him and others may be given an opening to either flee or attack. When he is not out entertaining the public with his music while using his senses to keep an eye on the village Ichigo can often be found shadowing either Endo or Itami while using a special transformation technique to hide his otherwise famous identity. Any other ounce of time he seems to get is dedicated to training and practice be it in his shinobi arts or artistic ventures.

## Appearance

Ichigo has ruby red eyes with dark auburn brown hair and fair skin with only a few scars. His clothes are often loose but not too baggy to allow easy movements and generally consists of a few extra pockets such as with his cargo pants. Typically the color scheme consists of black, red, brown and or white with his red hooded jacket sported more times than not though it is at times replaced with a scarf. Being 6 feet and 6 inches, he is fairly tall though he doesn't tower over the known giants of the shinobi world. His toned body he had built under the training of the Tsuchikage and Endo allows him to be stronger than even his wide muscular frame would first suggest, which is proven by the giant weapons he prefers to wield.

## Background and Personality

Ichigo was born to parents who were far from noteworthy. His Ishikawa father was Iwa born and raised and had worked most his life as a weapon smith, using his mediocre skill with the clan's carbon release to barely make do most months. Sadly weapons and armor wasn't and still isn't something most people would cheap out on, leaving the savings to other areas in supplies which made business rough for the old man. Ichigo's mother had been born in Kumo and had met his dad when her family finally decided to move back to the hidden stone village. As a civilian she tried to help with money with her music and literary efforts. Though a few of her books were published and a couple sold well, much of her time was wasted chasing after music which was the stronger of the two passions for her yet sadly the less potent of her two talents. Struggling artisan meets struggling artist and falls in love. It wasn't a very unique fairy tale but both had been ecstatic after giving birth to Ichigo and quickly seeing him show signs of having all the talent they ever wanted and more. One might have expected the usual story of them trying to shove their dreams down the poor boys throat so that they might live through him but truthfully, Ichigo practically fell into with joy. He had been relentless in his questions and requests to join in practicing.

Childhood had been rough with ryo being short and having to see his parents crushed by reality, but eventually with his skills growing and his name spreading Ichigo would amass enough wealth so that him and his parents wouldn't have to struggle anymore. It was at his most famous as a civilian from his music and literature that the hard work him and his father had done together would finally start to get noticed as well. His intuitive understanding of Carbon release would catch the attention of Endo shortly after and upon hearing of the Anbu leader taking an interest in the boy, it would not be long before Itami himself would take notice and advise the boy to join the academy and become a shinobi.

   At first Ichigo had been hesitant to accept the Tsuchikage's offer to become a shinobi as he had disliked fighting unnecessarily, usually only turning to it when dealing with bullies. But it would have been untruthful to say the story didn't inspire him. The man's compassionate and courageous personality eventually earned him an even greater reputation than that of his novels or requiems. His future is bright, Iwagakure's future brighter still along with it and that light casts ever reaching shadows that protect it diligently, and desperately.

## **Abilities**

* **Sensory -** Ichigo was born a sensory type with a natural talent for the sixth sense. It is the one and only technique he has trained since childhood, even before becoming a shinobi. His father spent good money having a shinobi teach the young boy how to use the technique despite him not being a part of the academy at the time. It was his father's hope that the boy could use it to protect himself as Ichigo had shown exceptional talent in music and writing which he had inherited and further more exceeded from his parents. Fame was something that the man was sure to be in his son's future and he knew that the Sensory technique would help him immensely in his civilian life. Nothing helps you avoid shady contracts like using chakra to know when someone is lying to you after all! It was never in his wildest imagination that the old weapons smith would dream see his son become a famed shinobi as well as artist. None the less those early lessons before joining the academy later on along with his natural born talent set Ichigo on a path for what kind of ninja he would become and what kind of combat style he would develop and prefer. Through years of rigorous training with the skill as his primary focus Ichigo has been able to be able to distinguish many different details from one's chakra signature including what clan and village they belong to provided he has come across similar signatures before just like the famous Tsuchikage Mu once could. However it must be noted that Ichigo has not yet reached the level of the kage when it comes to being able to stretch one's senses out for kilometers on end. Trying to achieve a similar feat in Ichigo's current skill level would very swiftly and drastically reduce his chakra reserves. Ichigo has also almost achieved a similar skill level of Mu in that of the chakra suppression technique, however without water release like the kage the Ishikawa shinobi has yet to be able to completely erase his presence.

The one sensory ability Ichigo has developed which sets him apart from other sensory types is his capability to sense and "see" everything around him by surging his chakra through the ground and allowing it to flow out into the surroundings. The waves of chakra appear to be unimpeded by physical barriers such as walls, allowing Ichigo to sense inside interiors. However it does require a physical medium for the chakra to pass through, making flying targets and certain chakra barriers capable of escaping or blocking out its sight. Though it is a sensory type technique, it cannot be used at the same time as the basic chakra sensory technique in the same way that neither can be used while using the chakra suppression technique. This technique was created after Endo and Itami expressed to Ichigo that the world's best and most renowned sensory shinobi had a sensory technique that set them apart from their peers and encouraged him to find his own path in expanding his senses. It is rumored that the spark of inspiration that gave Ichigo what he needed to come up with it was the vibrations he could feel surging through his body during an earthquake.

* **Ninjutsu -** Ichigo's skill in Ninjutsu mostly flourishes in his carbon release manipulation as he has shown remarkable skill in making armor and bladed/blunted weapons. However he currently has a lacking understanding of the more explosive style his teacher Endo sometimes uses with his guns. This makes his usage of Carbon Release much simpler and "barbaric" in nature. But what he lacks in complexity Ichigo makes up for in a stronger understanding of the release's foundations making it refined in its own way. His skill in the clan's ability can be a tested not to just this but as well as the hand full of custom techniques he invented for Carbon Release in tandem with Endo Ishikawa during training sessions. Because of his focus on Carbon Release, Ichigo's basic nature of Earth Release has been left lacking for someone of his rank. However what few Doton techniques the man has learned were carefully chosen and cultivated for his hit and run combat style his support build has demanded. Though many alone are not lethal in nature, the earth release techniques Ichigo has honed has helped him trap targets long enough to give him and his allies the openings they have needed.
* **Genjutsu -** Ichigo's skill in trapping others in Genjutsu is far from noteworthy as he hasn't spent any time developing such traps to be added to his arsenal as of yet. However, as a Chakra Sensory Specialist Ichigo has an advantage when detecting if himself or others are under such influences. This keen sense has helped him developed his skill in breaking out of such illusions. His enemies may not have to fear being trapped in Genjutsu by him, but they certainly will have trouble trying to do the same to him should they really to heavily on the illusions in the fight. He has expressed a desire to learn how to cast Genjutsu in the future in hopes that it may better teach him how to break out of them. For now though his skill relies mostly in protecting himself from the illusions and not so much in their use. Because of this he is more vulnerable to those who possess a higher Genjutsu skill than that of his Chakra Sensory skill as he will have a harder time noticing he is under the effects and how to break out of them.
* **Taijutsu -** Being trained by Endo and Itami has left Ichigo with a decent skill in Taijutsu, however most of his training boiled down to raising his strength and stamina enough to be able to wield his custom weapons and armors. Such rigorous routines has left him as one of the strongest in Iwa pound for pound when it comes to sheer lifting power. His cardio does not fall behind either and has proven to allow him to fight and perform for a few days and nights.

    **Bukijutsu -** Ichigo's favored weapon is his custom made *Tansō Kōrasu* which is a multilayered instrument. As a weapon it typically is wielded as a hammer however it has three spikes on the opposing ends so that it may be flipped and used to stab or cut to some degree as well. The main middle shaft is hollowed out to make for a giant horn that can be heard across the entire village without enhancements with a few holes along side to allow for changes in pitch. Both hammer heads so to speak on opposing ends of the main shaft are slightly hollow as well though to a much lesser degree to allow for impact in use and sturdiness in design. However neither of the two have any noticeable entrances to the compartments. The left most hammer head has some sort of *suspicious* filling inside which makes a multitude of rattling, booming and banging sounds that often serve as percussive and bass background sounds. The right most hammer head is rumored to be filled with bells and strings as its has been known to chime, strum and almost *sing.* The red binding that holds the instrument together is carbon infused which allows Ichigo precise control over it. He has been seen suddenly unwinding the binding partially so that the two hammer heads can swing much wider to hit the unsuspecting victims. Though somewhat hilarious looking in practice, this hammer/nunchaku hybrid weapon can be vicious and potentially lethal. Altogether the instrumental weapon can make almost any musical sound known to humanity even without chakra enhancements. But with enough chakra control, something a chakra sensory master such as Ichigo has managed, the *Carbon Chorus* can deliver one the most beautiful requiems one has ever heard, all before sending them to their grave as the dirge demanded its dues. The weapon is wild in design but simple in its utility and is often carried around by Ichigo as a form of stamina and strength training. Most times of the day he will be found around the village playing it while he sings for the village. Though it can make a variety of sounds it currently lacks the ability to perform sound based techniques such as the instruments in the hands of shinobi from Kusagakure. Ichigo chose it despite its unwieldy nature due to his love of music he has had since before he became a shinobi. It has been of far more use to him in his civilian life than it has in his shinobi life leaving many to not even know it can function as a weapon any more than one would think to smash a guitar over someone's head.

## **Summoning Contract: Birds - Robin/Thrush Variant**

Ichigo holds the bird contract which consists mostly of the Turdidae. Most common among the thrushes is the widely known Robin. It is not an accident that Ichigo holds the summoning contract for the namesake of his favorite literary character. No what is more interesting is the sheer volume of contracts he holds with them. Very few are unique and combat worthy, maybe a handful that know fire release and a couple that can use a couple wind techniques. The vast majority however are ordinary and are only special in the fact that they help cast a vast net for Ichigo to gather intelligence for his village. Their recon missions extend world wide and a few have been known to hold the ability to talk and act as messengers when needed. They are his eyes and ears, when all else fails. There is a saying in Iwagakure now because of them.

"***If you can hear the birds singing, they can hear you too."***