Vader

Vader is a Dark Lord of the Sith and the main protagonist in *The Dark Fox*. He initially appears as a wild Zoroark named Zoku who escaped from a hospital, but was recaptured and later adopted by the Uzumaki family. After discovering his connection to the Force, he escapes from his captors and seeks out the help of Maul, another Sith Lord. Under Maul's tutelage, Zoku becomes a fearsome warrior who stops at nothing to achieve his goals, especially when he finds out that his owners knew about his escape. Later on, Zoku is killed by Maul after the latter severs all his limbs and slashes his throat. However, he is soon revived by the Sith Lord Palpatine, has his limbs replaced with cybernetics, and changes his name to Vader, having fallen to the dark side of the Force.

## General Information

### Aliases

Shintō Uchiha, Black Demon Fox, Illusionist, Rogue, Black Nine-Tails, Stupid Fox, Lord

### Affiliation

Galactic Empire (currently); Hidden Leaf (formerly)

### Classification

Tailed Beast, Sensor Type, Force-sensitive

### Type

Dark (as Zoku); Dark/Steel (permanent form)

### Abilities

Illusion (as Zoku); Intimidate (permanent form)

### Nature Types

Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning, Yin, Yang, Yin-Yang, Explosion, Magnet, Dark, Storm, Steel, Swift

### Bloodline Limits

Sharingan, Explosion Release, Magnet, Dark, Storm, Steel, Swift

## Appearances

### Voice Actor

Matt Stone (as Zoku); Paul St. Peter, James Earl Jones, Matt Sloan

## **Physical Appearance**

### **Initial**

As Zoku, he looked like a lean, scrawny, long-limbed Zoroark with yellow eyes, night-black fur and a long, bushy fox tail. A yellow bangle separated the upper and lower portions of his voluminous mane. His hands had five claws for fingers, and his feet had three claws for toes. He had a long snout and his ears have yellow insides. He got slashed in the face while hunting a *Nothronychus*, gaining three long vertical scars on the left side of his face.

### **Permanent Form**

His true form is a large anthropomorphic Kitsune with thick, spiky, pure black fur and nine long, bushy, swiping tails. He has long ears and a longer, wider snout with a mouthful of sharp, yellowish teeth. After turning to the dark side, Vader turns into his true form and loses the ability to shapeshift upon his death. However, he retains his Sharingan due to his deepened hatred. Therefore, his true form becomes his permanent form. During his revival surgery, Vader gets his severed limbs replaced with black cybernetics. The fur on the stumps of his limbs has been removed and the silver metal stitches holding the cybernetics in place are visible. Metal vertebrae with sharp spines (which grow out of his back after the procedure) are implanted in his damaged spine to reinforce it. He also gains a new voicebox, which is implanted in his throat after Maul removes his organic one. This grants him a deeper voice, as the voicebox itself possesses a voice filter that channels air through it whenever he talks.

## **History**

### **Early Life**

Long ago, before modern civilization came into existence, Zoku was born in a cave in the Black Woods near several villages and farms when the celestial being Kura (disguised as a female Zoroark) had sexual intercourse and then merged with an eight-tailed Kitsune named Mikane. Upon his birth, Zoku immediately learned who he was and who he was destined to be: a bringer of evil to all of mankind, whom he saw as invaders to his homeland. Since he was a tailless Kitsune at the time (tailless Kitsunes are extremely weak), however, he waited, quickly learning how to survive on his own when he was just a day old.

Because of his sharp wit and keen senses, he was able to live long enough to turn 100 years old, gaining his first tail. Upon his 101st birthday, Zoku taught himself how to transform into other animals just by observing their physical appearance. However, when he tried to wreak havoc upon the village Jinko, whose inhabitants were invading his territory for resources, he failed since he couldn't maintain his transformation disguise for very long. As a result, the people of Jinko drove him away, continuing to invade his territory afterward (though they didn't know whose land it was), and Zoku, infuriated, vowed to seek his revenge. Since he wasn't strong enough to fight large groups of opponents at a single time, Zoku trained himself relentlessly in the art of fighting, practicing on live animals like bears, large cats, and other animals and Pokémon he came across. Later on, he realized that he had all five basic nature transformations as well as a few bloodline limits, which he also practiced.

### **Rise to Power**

By the time he'd grown his third tail, Zoku became the apex predator of his domain, able to fight a horde of Beartic without getting a scratch. He'd also become excellent with utilizing his nature transformations, being proficient in the Fire, Lightning, Yin, and Dark Release natures. He was now able to fend off any villagers who entered his territory in search of resources, choosing to kill them so as to prevent them from spreading the word about him. 200 years later, Zoku became strong enough to be able to destroy entire villages, partly thanks to his learning and practicing the Tailed Beast Ball, the most dangerous and devastating attack of all Tailed Beast abilities. With this, as well as his newfound proficiency in fighting (both bare-handed and with weapons), he was able to decimate entire nations within hours. For the next 350 years, Zoku was a danger to all the villagers, who'd been warned not to enter the Black Woods and to flee immediately if they saw him.

### **Fall of a Tyrant**

65 years later, all the villages whose residents were being killed and eaten by Zoku joined forces to drive him out of his home. Seeing the people enter his territory in massive numbers, Zoku fought them, killing millions, but lost after a Reshiram arrived and hit him with a super-effective Moonblast attack, thus saving the people from further losses. Zoku was unaware of the fact that the Reshiram was the Pokémon that the people worshipped. In exile, he wandered for months before reaching a large, modern-looking town. Deciding to hide his true form, Zoku shapeshifted into a Zoroark, then entered the town in search of food. After finding no luck at multiple food stands, where he was supposed to pay but didn't have any money, he finally managed to satiate his hunger in the alleyways, where there were plenty of garbage scraps. However, after eating more than his fill, Zoku fell ill with severe botulism and ended up being taken to a hospital in the town nextdoor. He remained there for weeks on end since the garbage he'd consumed was ridden with large amounts of infectious bacteria. Because of this, Zoku had to be tube fed before being given plants and berries to help him recover. However, as he was mainly a carnivore, most of the plant foods only made him sicker, resulting in him becoming thinner and more malnourished. Finally, after another two months of agonizing treatment for his digestive system, Zoku decided to escape the hospital, doing so in the dark of night so that no one would know he'd disappeared.

## ***The Dark Fox***

### **Chapter 1: Confrontation**

Zoku, having been rogue for some time, wanders through a forest at night in search of food and also alert for danger, as he knows that word of his escape has spread and is afraid that someone might be tailing him. He is constantly hungry, and is desperate for a meal, even though it's the beginning of summer. At first, he doesn't hear anything, but then senses someone approaching him. He whips around and demands who's there, but doesn't get a response. Catching the other being's scent, Zoku snaps that he's aware of their presence and asks them rhetorically to show themselves. The stalker does, revealing themselves to be a man that Zoku has never seen before. The Zoroark notices a dead deer slung over the man's shoulder and drools at the sight of it. The man, who is hostile, taunts Zoku, but doesn't get to finish his sentence, as Zoku attacks him, aiming for his face and brutally wounding him with Night Slash. As the man yells in pain, Zoku grabs the deer he dropped and runs off with it, leaving his foe to wander blindly around in the wilderness.

### **Chapter 2: *Nothronychus***

Zoku lies contentedly in the bed of leaves and moss he made, having finished the deer and finally recovering without any pain. He then leaves the cave he's been sheltering in and wanders into unknown territory. Not having to worry about being followed for once, he continues walking in woodlands, before eventually entering to a swampy forest. He sees a hunched shape lying on the ground a few feet away from him and heads over to investigate. A horrible smell hits Zoku as he nears it, and he then discovers that the shape is an animal carcass, though he doesn't know what kind of animal it is. Mentally commenting that he only eats bug-ridden carcasses when he's half-starved, Zoku leaves the carcass when he sees a brown-striped tail vanish into the foliage ahead of him. Hungry again, he decides to follow the animal that the tail belongs to.

After tailing the unknown creature for a while, it stops to feed on some tree leaves, grabbing them with very long, vicious-looking claws. Zoku watches as it eats, thankful that it's unaware of his presence. He takes in its bipedal stance and other physical features and recognizes it as the dinosaur *Nothronychus* (which means "slothful claw"). The Zoroark stares at it in awe, wondering if he was ready to take down such a large animal in his current state. After hearing his stomach growl yet again, Zoku tells himself that he has to if he wants to survive, then attacks the *Nothronychus*.

He bites the dinosaur's left leg, drawing blood, and the *Nothronychus* bellows in pain and quickly turns on him, making Zoku let go in complete shock. The dinosaur then raises a clawed hand even faster and viciously slashes his face, leaving three bloody claw marks on the left side of Zoku's face and almost ripping his eye out in the process. Seeing the animal raise its other hand, Zoku quickly turns the tables by jumping up and grabbing hold of its neck before crushing it in his mouth. The *Nothronychus* falls to the ground dead, and Zoku eats his fill before lying down contentedly and falling asleep shortly afterward.

### **Chapter 3: A Close Call**

Later on, near sunset, Zoku is awakened from his nap by low grunting noises and a smell of milk. He gets up to see a family of domestic pigs (a mother and several piglets) approaching him and wonders what farm pigs were doing in a swampy forest. The mother pig immediately notices Zoku, but he turns away in disinterest. He then notices that the *Nothronychus* carcass has mysteriously disappeared. Indifferent, Zoku shrugs this off and wanders through the woods in search of water. After finding a river nearby, he manages to quench his thirst and ends up getting hungry again. Still smelling the pigs, he stalks them until he finds them sniffing around a dead tree, and is about to pounce when he senses a chakra rapidly approaching his location.

Zoku decides to make the hunt quick by grabbing one of the piglets. He does so and is about to run off with it when the ground underneath him suddenly opens up, tripping him and causing him to drop his prey. The pigs flee, and Zoku growls before seeing a blonde woman bent over with one finger in the ground. He notices another pig, wearing a pearl necklace and a crimson jacket. The woman glares at Zoku, who asks who she is. She asks him if it matters before inquiring if he is the rogue Zoroark who escaped from the hospital.

Deciding not to answer, Zoku launches a Flamethrower attack at both her and the pig, then uses Night Daze on the pig. He whips around and creates an inferno by launching Flamethrower attacks left and right, then shapeshifts into a Charizard and flies off to seek refuge elsewhere.

### **Chapter 4: Malcolm**

A week later, Zoku is wandering in a large city after sheltering in one of the alleyways. He is going hungry yet again since guard dogs have been chasing him off from garbage cans where he tries to find a meal. He picks up the scent of a young Zorua nearby while sniffing for food and stops to think, taking mental note of how Zoroarks rarely encounter their pre-evolved forms unless they're parent and child. Confused, Zoku asks himself why he smelled a Zorua and thinks that it could have been somehow separated from its parents. However, he shrugs this off, telling himself it isn't his business, and keeps up the search for food. Eventually, Zoku reaches a dark alley and enters it after seeing nobody watching him. He doesn't have to worry about being seen due to his black fur camouflaging him in the shadows. Seeing multiple trash cans, he quietly opens one of them, having to worry about being heard, and finds a feast inside. He quickly eats his fill, and has just finished when there is a loud clang, along with a grunt, behind him.

Startled, Zoku jumps and pivots himself towards the source of the noise. He smells Zorua again, this time determining it as a male, and makes out a small shape in the darkness. He then sees a pair of blue eyes staring back at him, hears a giggle, and sees the silhouette of a wagging tail. Zoku then realizes with outrage that the Zorua made the noise to get his attention, and asks what the Zorua wants, hissing the question so as not to attract attention from outside. The Zorua loudly yips how cool it is at seeing another Zoroark and introduces himself, revealing his name to be **Malcolm**, asking what the latter's name is. Zoku becomes more anxious as Malcolm's voice echoes down the alley, afraid that he's attracting unwanted attention. Zoku doesn't answer, but Malcolm sweeps on, saying that he saw Zoku going into the alley and asking what he was doing. Zoku hisses that it's none of his business and tells Malcolm to keep his voice down. Malcolm then sniffs the air and screws up his face in disgust, exclaiming loudly, leading Zoku to realize that he smells what he just ate. Malcolm asks if Zoku ate from the trash cans and states that he smells horrible. Puzzled, Zoku asks if it's his body that stinks, and Malcolm yells no and that it's his breath. The Zorua goes on to say that Zoku did eat from the trashcans and that it was gross.

Zoku stiffens as he hears voices outside, then glares as Malcolm and snarls at him to shut up. Immediately afterwards, he smells the scent and senses the chakras of two Zoroarks (a male and a female) rapidly approaching him and figures they must be Malcolm's parents. He glares at the Zorua, growling viciously, but Malcolm isn't scared. Frustrated, Zoku gnashes his teeth as he senses the two Zoroarks coming even nearer. He then hears the male shouting Malcolm's name and asks Malcolm if the voice is his fathers. Malcolm reluctantly confesses that it is, and that his parents hate it when he's alone with strangers. Zoku threatens to kill Malcolm if he keeps talking and goes over to the nearest wall, which he prepares to climb.

However, before Zoku can leave, the two Zoroarks he sensed arrive on the scene, with the female emitting a loud angry roar that pierces Zoku's ears. He claps his hands over his ears in pain and shuts his eyes until the noise subsides. When he opens his eyes, he sees the female Zoroark clutching Malcolm to her chest and the male glaring at him. He asks Malcolm what he's doing here and that he thought he told the latter to stay with his mother. Malcolm replies that he saw Zoku going into the alley and that he followed him since he was curious as to what Zoku was doing, describing him as black-furred and skinny on account of not knowing his name. His father asks if he said black and Malcolm says yes. Both parents glare at Zoku, who sees red and returns the glares, showing his teeth and growling. Malcolm's father asks Zoku who he is, to which Zoku replies that he is nobody before asking the former the same question. The other male Zoroark tells Zoku that he and the female are indeed Malcolm's parents, confirming the latter's suspicions, and that it's best if he stays away from them and their son. Zoku snaps at Malcolm's father to tell the Zorua to stay away from him before climbing up the alley wall and leaving the family behind.

### **Chapter 5: Shoot-and-Run**

Zoku, still wandering around the city two hours after encountering Malcolm and his parents, is now searching for weapons, as he spent most of his chakra fighting off multiple ninja. He finds a weapons store across the street from him and enters it. The clerk asks him if she can help him, and Zoku asks to confirm if there are guns in the store, to which she replies yes, pointing to the farthest aisle. Zoku thanks her and goes over to the aisle, where he finds all kinds of guns. He takes up a machine gun, a shotgun, two pistols, and four packets of ammunition and brings them to the clerk, laying them on the counter and asking for the price. The clerk is about to tell him when the door bursts open and an Obstagoon appears, armed with a rocket launcher. The clerk jumps up, demanding who he is. The Obstgoon doesn't answer and pulls out a pistol before firing. Zoku watches in shock as the clerk hits the floor, dead, grabs the shotgun and puts two bullets in before pumping the slide. Gasping, the Obstagoon pulls his pistol's trigger, but nothing comes out. Thinking it's either jammed or out of ammo, Zoku fires his shotgun, and the bullet goes right through his chest, killing him. Hearing a scream outside, Zoku quickly loads up his guns with ammo, grabs them, as well as the Obstagoon's rocket launcher, and runs out of the store.

He jumps onto the roof of a grocery store and senses 3 chakras behind him, making him glance over his shoulder to see that three ninja led by a tall man with spiky, yellowish-blond hair, are chasing him. Zoku fires his pistols at the ninja, knocking one of them to the ground, and keeps running until he reaches the roof of a museum, where he stops to rest. While laying low, he hears the other two ninja talking, with the leader telling his companion that he'll keep up the chase. The other ninja warns the leader, whose name is revealed to be Minato, about Zoku's weapons, and Minato confirms he's aware of that before telling his companion to get the wounded ninja, whose name is Tazo, some medical help. Zoku watches from afar as Minato turns and hurries in his direction.

### **Chapter 6: A Game of Cat-and-Mouse**

Minato, approaching Zoku, yells that he can see the latter. Zoku growls in annoyance before firing at Minato with his shotgun. However, Minato quickly dodges every bullet, then takes out a strange-looking, triple-pronged knife and throws it at Zoku. The knife lands at the former's feet, and he looks back up at Minato, only to find him gone. As Zoku puzzles over this, Minato suddenly appears directly in front of him, seeming to move at the speed of light. Feeling his blood rise with horror, Zoku's vision is suddenly tinged with red, and he can see the speed at which Minato moves. He fires at Minato again, but soon finds out his assailant is wearing a bulletproof vest. Seeing Minato's right hand reaching out for his arm, Zoku readies a Thunder Fang and jerks his head forward, aiming straight for Minato's face. Minato's eyes widen and he dodges away, giving Zoku a chance to escape quickly.

Zoku jumps off the roof and lands on the top of a passing bus heading to the highway. He sees Minato chasing him and launches a Hyper Beam at him. Minato avoids the attack, which hits a nearby building and causes it to explode. Seeing this, Minato glares at Zoku, who realizes he just made him angrier. The ninja then throws several more of his odd-looking knives at Zoku, one of which hits his left leg. Grunting in pain, Zoku yanks the knife out of his leg and is about to toss it away when Minato makes another sudden, startling appearance, and seizes his right arm. Zoku retaliates, and the two grapple briefly before the bus stops. This causes Zoku to lose his balance and fall onto his back with Minato on top of him. Snarling, Zoku bites at Minato's face, and throws him off with a kick. Minato falls over the front of the bus and lands on the pavement below.

Seeing another chance to lose Minato, Zoku tosses the bloody knife away and starts jumping from car to car. Minato quickly recovers from his fall and resumes the chase, which becomes more dangerous as the cars they're jumping on start moving again, this time at a faster pace. Zoku quickly loses all his ammo firing at his pursuer and disposes of the guns. He sees another traffic lamppost up ahead and hunkers down, waiting for the right moment to jump. That moment arrives, and Zoku launches himself upward, grabbing onto the post and flinging himself over so that the car Minato is standing on passes beneath. Zoku then drops down behind him and quickly kicks Minato off the car. Seeing him fall, the Zoroark whips around and leaps off the car, landing on the fence beside the highway before finally escaping.

### **Chapter 7: Caught**

Later that same day, Zoku is chased out of the alley behind *The Breadbasket*, a local suburban restaurant, by one of the cooks working there. He wanders through the streets in search of more garbage, but there is none. After a while, he finds himself next to the backyard of a large, green, low-roofed house, where he smells roasted meat and drools hungrily. Just as he starts climbing the fence, he hears the voices of a teenage boy and his mother coming from inside. Zoku hears a door closing and senses a bright gold chakra as the boy leaves the house. His mother incredulously shrieks "Seriously?!" as he does so. When the boy is out of sight, Zoku takes the oppotunity to sneak into the backyard via the gate and across to two trash cans standing next to the back door, which is slightly open. He removes the lid of the left can and finds the remains of steak inside. Licking his lips in delight, Zoku reaches out to grab it when the boy's mother, whom he didn't notice, slams her fist on his head with such force that Zoku is almost rendered unconscious. He falls to the ground, groaning, then weakly looks up to see the woman looking down at him with a mixture of fear and anger in her eyes. He tries to get back up, but the woman stamps her foot on the ground, yelling at him to stay where he is and threatening to call the police if he does otherwise.

Zoku complies, knowing he doesn't have a choice. He then hears a new voice and finds out that the boy from earlier has returned. The boy looks at his mother, then transfers it to Zoku and asks what happened. The woman, on the verge of tears, shakily replies that she saw Zoku sneak into the yard, adding that she thought he was going to break into the house. Zoku tells the boy that he was only trying to get food from the garbage. The boy sees his head wound and reassures his mother that she injured the Zoroark too much for him to be able to hurt anyone. He adds that she should call an ambulance. The woman, crying now, says she isn't sure, adding that her husband told her about the skinny black, yellow-eyed Zoroark that escaped from the hospital, and that he looked dangerous. The boy tells his mother that Zoroarks are only dangerous when they're half-starved or feeling threatened. Gesturing to Zoku, he continues with the fact that he looked exactly like the image seen on the news, and that he apparently had an eating disorder. The boy then approaches Zoku and bends down, reaching out a hand.

Thinking the boy is going to hurt him, Zoku lashes out with his claws, scratching his hand. The boy grunts in pain, and the woman gasps, raising her right fist, which is red with Zoku's blood. Seeing this, Zoku closes his eyes, bracing himself for the death blow. However, a new voice yells, then calls the woman's name, which is Kushina, and Zoku looks up. He is instantly horrified to see Minato arriving on the scene. The latter sees the woman's bloody fist and demands what happened. Kushina points down at Zoku, and Minato gasps before yelling the latter's name. He then takes out a white cloth and tosses it to his son, whose name is Menma, before ushering his wife into the house, leaving Menma to treat Zoku's head wound. Menma asks Zoku if he has any more injuries, and Zoku tells him about the one on his leg, letting the boy examine it. The latter deems the leg wound to have become infected and says that he hoped his dad called an ambulance. After a while, Minato returns, asking Menma about Zoku's state. Menma reports to him, saying that Zoku will need to be restrained before he gets any treatment. Minato then sees his son's scratched hand and glares at Zoku, asking if he did that. Zoku confesses he did, saying that he didn't know what Menma was going to do to him. Menma reassures his father he'll be fine, and Minato tells him to take care of his hand while he stays with Zoku, pressing the now blood-stained cloth down on the latter's head wound to staunch the bleeding. He bends down and whispers into Zoku's ear that he'll kill him if he does anything to harm his family, also telling the Zoroark to stay away from them. Zoku tells Minato that he believes him and asks why Minato was chasing him, to which the man replies by stating he wanted to bring Zoku in for questioning and adding that now he's caused more trouble by upsetting his wife.

Zoku tries to respond, but stops when he hears the sound of wailing sirens, which is a telltale sign an ambulance has arrived. Minato leaves him, greeting the medical personnel rushing into the yard with a stretcher and leading them over to Zoku. The Zoroark tries to get up, but is soon grabbed and hauled onto the stretcher, where the medics strap him down and put him on oxygen. Feeling himself getting sleepier, Zoku looks weakly at Minato, who glares after him, before falling unconscious.

### **Chapter 8: Tsunade**

Zoku wakes up in the hospital hours later and looks around, finding that he's been handcuffed to his bed and hooked up to two machines. He then hears the door opening and looks up to see a blond woman entering the room. The Zoroark then realizes with shock that it's the same woman he encountered in the forest. He asks who she is, and the woman looks at him impassively, revealing her name to be Tsunade. She asks Zoku if he's the Zoroark who escaped from the other hospital and then asks for his name. Zoku confesses to both. Tsunade then prepares for a medical procedure and approaches him with an NG tube. Realizing what's about to happen, Zoku tries to fight back, declaring his refusal to have another tube shoved up his nose. However, the attempt is fruitless, as Tsunade pins his head down, telling him to hold still, and starts pushing the tube up his right nostril. Pain flares through Zoku's nose as Tsunade continues inserting it, eventually reaching his throat and making him gag. She tells him to swallow, which Zoku does reluctantly, and the procedure is finished after another minute.

Tsunade then asks Zoku if he's eaten any meat or junk food lately, to which he answers no, hoping she'll believe him. However, Tsunade sees through the lie and angrily thrusts her face into the former's, hissing that she can smell the garbage on his breath even through her surgical mask. She goes on to add that she'll make sure Zoku doesn't disobey a doctor's orders again. Zoku swallows nervously, realizing she's serious, and watches as Tsunade restrains his limbs to the bed with leather straps and removes his handcuffs. She asks him if he's comfortable, and he says no. Tsunade snaps that it's too bad for him since he'll be living in the hospital for some time. She then informs Zoku that his next meal is in five hours and recommends he save his energy before leaving.

### **Chapter 9: Interrogation**

Sometime later, Zoku wakes up from sleep to hear voices outside his room. He watches as Tsunade enters, followed by Kushina, much to his surprise and shock. The Zoroark wonders why Kushina would want to visit him after she almost killed him. He listens as Tsunade asks Kushina if she needs any help with anything, to which the latter says no. Tsunade then glares at Zoku and threatens to punish him if he gives Kushina any trouble. Zoku reluctantly agrees, and Tsuande leaves the room.

Zoku is now alone with Kushina, who looks straight at him without giving any emotions away. Zoku feels the moment become awkward and calmly looks back at Kushina before asking what she wants with him. Kushina cheerfully says she wants to ask him a few questions, giving him a smile. Zoku, unnerved, growls at her as he sits up in his bed. Undeterred, Kushina pulls up a chair beside his bed before seating herself and teasingly hints at Tsunade's threat, adding that Minato is right outside the room. Zoku exclaims in shock and horror, feeling his body go completely numb. Seeing his reaction, Kushina says she could call her husband now if she wanted to. Knowing Minato's capabilities, Zoku calms down and faces Kushina, taking deep breaths. Kushina calls him a good boy, which infuriates Zoku to the point where his anger snaps. He springs up and roars so loudly that the room shakes, calling her a bitch after threatening to kill her if she calls him that again. Kushina is taken aback, but not because of the threat he made, as she mentions his eyes, staring at the Zoroark in shock.

Minato then bursts into the room, holding a sedative syringe, and demands what's going on. Zoku glares at him, and Minato gasps in shock, much to the former's confusion. The Zoroark's anger evaporates as he sees Minato and Kushina staring at him with shock and disbelief. He tries to figure out the reason for their reaction; he still sees a red haze in his peripheral vision, but doesn't know why, recalling that it was the same as the one he experience when Minato attacked him. Kushina takes a small mirror from her pocket and holds it up to Zoku's face, telling him to look at himself. Zoku does so and freezes in shock when he sees that his eyes are red, and there are three black dots in each eye in a triangle formation around the pupil. Finding the revelation to be a mystery, he asks Minato and Kushina what it is.

*More coming soon.*

## **Deaths**

Prior to becoming Vader, Zoku engaged in many tough situations, some of which got him killed. Here are his known deaths below:

* **Killed by Romi:** Zoku brutally injures her husband Marshall and kidnaps her son Malcolm, holding the latter hostage in an attempt to regain his freedom. He is only willing to release him if Romi, who has been sent to track him down and return him to the Leaf Village, abandons her mission. However, the infuriated Romi engages him in combat, and Zoku, already worn out from the fight with Marshall, is unable to defend himself. As a result, he is killed when Romi slashes his throat with Night Slash.
* **Hit by a car:** Zoku and his friends have a bike race through the Leaf Village and into the neighboring city. Brady goads Zoku into racing across a wide, busy intersection. Zoku foolishly does so, and is hit by a car in the process. The car that hits him then swerves into a nearby fire station and rams into the wall, crushing Zoku's ribs and back. Brady is the indirect cause of this death.
* **Electrocution:** While in the hospital due to stomach issues, Zoku sneaks into an operating room and gets caught trying to steal the unconscious patient's liver while the doctors' backs are turned. One of the doctors presses the button on a remote control connected to a metal pad in the floor that Zoku is standing on. The electricity's voltage is high enough to give Zoku a heart attack, which instantly kills him.
* **Poisonous mushroom consumption:** While out in the woods hunting for mushrooms, Zoku and his friends discover a mushroom-rich clearing. Curious, Zoku picks up a large white mushroom and decides to taste it. Finding it to be both edible and delicious, he consumes more of the white mushrooms. He later falls ill after returning home, unaware that the mushrooms were poisonous, then vomits up the half-digested remains and dies. Afterward, the forensics team examines his vomit and determines that the cause of his death was indeed the toxins within the mushrooms, informing his owners that Zoku ate too many of them for the antedote to work.

*More coming soon.*

## **Skills and Abilities**

* **Sharingan:** Vader can utilize the Sharingan, allowing him to see the speed of his opponents' movement like he could with Minato. This enables him to react quickly to oncoming attacks.
* **Fire User:** He is able to use a very wide variety of Fire-type moves and ninjutsu.
* **Force-Sensitive:** His sensitivity to the Force allows him to use it to his advantage, such as using it to grab hold of things.
* **Form Change:** As Zoku, he was capable of changing his physical form, such as manifesting multiple tails in his disguised form when in a rage. He could also cast illusions like a normal Zoroark.
* **Immortality:** He is incapable of dying permanently, instead coming back to life after being dead for a short period.

## **Known Moves**

**Night Daze:** A damage-dealing Dark-type attack where the user lets loose a pitch-black shock wave at the target. This move has a 40% chance of lowering the target's accuracy stat.

**Flamethrower:** A powerful, damage-dealing Fire-type attack where the user scorches the target with an intense blast of fire. This move also has a 10% chance of burning the target.

**Thunder Fang:** A damage-dealing Electric-type attack where the user bites the opponent with electrified fangs. This move has both a 10% chance of paralyzing the target and also a 10% chance of making them flinch, if the user attacks before the target.

**Hyper Beam:** A damage-dealing, extremely powerful Normal-type attack where the user attacks the target with a powerful beam. This move requires so much energy that the user needs to rest on the next turn in order to recharge.

*More coming soon.*