A (Fourth Raikage)

**A** (エー, *Ē*, *Viz:* Ei, *English TV:* Ay) is the **Fourth Raikage** (四代目雷影, *Yondaime Raikage*, *literally meaning:* Fourth Lightning Shadow) of Kumogakure.

## Background

A is the son of the Third Raikage, who groomed him for the position of the Fourth Raikage. At some point in the past, due to A not having a blood sibling who could be his tag-partner, try-outs consisting of young children were gathered in order to determine one, in keeping with a long-standing Kumogakure tradition of the Raikage having a tag-team partner. After many attempts, they found only one child who was able to successfully match A's power and use the Lightning Release: Double Lariat on a training dummy.

As a result, that child was given the name "B", and A stated that they would be brothers from that day on. He and B would eventually be teamed together on a mission with A's cousin, the jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails. While on the mission, he told A that Killer B would need something to fill the void that would be created if he was chosen as the beast's next jinchūriki.

Some time later A's cousin Blue B lost control of the beast and it went on a rampage. A was made part of a special team tasked with subduing the rampaging Eight-Tails. After A and the Third Raikage arrived to deal with the matter, A was instructed to restrain the beast as his father prepared to use the Kohaku no Jōhei. As the team attempted to bind the Eight-Tails, the beast impaled Furui with its horn, leading A to cutting it off. With enough preparation, the Third sealed the beast away temporarily. After B became the beast's jinchūriki, A, remembering what his cousin had said to him, tried his best to fill that apparent void.

At some point during the Third Shinobi World War, A would clash with Minato Namikaze for the first time. Before Minato retreated he recognised Killer B as the jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails and told A that next time they met it would be to put the title of "Kage" on the line and also offered A the advice of making sure his brother knew who he was before becoming neither human nor jinchūriki. They would clash many more times after that. A was once even told by Jiraiya that he believed Minato was the "Child of Prophecy". When A's father died during the third war, he inherited the title of Raikage. Afterwards, out of fear of losing him, he forbade B's continued training in the Lightning Release: Lariat and ordered him to complete his training in the Tailed Beast Ball at the Valley of Clouds and Lightning and restricted him to the confines of the village. At some point, he forbade B from fully transforming into his tailed beast due to its extreme power.

In the anime, after an encounter with the Nokizaru Group, A crossed paths with Tsunade and requested her aid in removing the Exploding Insect implanted in his subordinate. After accepting her arm wrestling challenge, realising that he could not beat Tsunade in terms of strength, but at the same time, he needed to help his subordinate, A used speed to defeat her. After Tsunade diagnoses the situation and realises that one of the insects was also inside A, she decided to conduct the surgery. However, when she had Shizune conduct the surgery and later left after blood splattered on her. Shizune explained Tsunade's haemophobia caused by the loss of her two great loved ones, A dismissed her state of mind as a weakness and would not trust his mens' lives to her with Shizune, who had successfully completed the surgery, defending her mistress.

Two years after Tsunade returned to her village to become the Fifth Hokage, she sent A an invitation to join an impromptu Chūnin Exams hosted by Konohagakure and Sunagakure. He immediately rejected the offer, believing it to be a joint effort by the two villages to attack Kumogakure. A instead sent a response saying the village was too busy to prepare and had C and Darui make sure B wouldn't sneak off to this event.

## Personality

A is generally characterised as stern, outspoken and decisive. It also becomes surprising when someone manages to convince him to change his mind. After becoming Raikage, A grew humbler as he referred to himself as "washi", a humble term used by old men, instead of "ore", a prideful way of saying "I" or "me". He believes that actions and strength mean everything and that ninja should never compromise or bow down in front of each other. Similarly, he views jinchūriki not as individuals, but as tools of villages that have no right to speak for themselves. He can also be somewhat hypocritical, voicing his disdain at the other five Great Nations for letting their finest ninja go rogue, while denying his own village's shameless acts, such as kidnapping and stealing secrets from other villages' secrets, and going back on promises.

However, he rationalises his actions on the goal of wanting to protect his village, willing to sacrifice allies for the greater good. Despite his militant demeanour, A has quite an emotional side; his short temper and eagerness can cause him out to act recklessly with regards to certain matters, including bursting through his office window to attend the Kage Summit and smashed the table when the conversation. Many people are left exasperated by A's rash behaviour, commenting that it undermines his position as Raikage. However, A has shown a loyal and responsible side, telling Darui not to blame himself over his lost arm and that Darui is his right-hand man.

Serious as he can be, A also loves and deeply cares for his family, especially his adoptive brother Killer B. Since the day they became partners, A and B bonded deeply as they completed missions and honed their skills together as the **A–B Combo** (エービーコンビ, *Ē Bī Konbi*). When B became Gyūki's jinchūriki and A's father died, A became determined to keep his village and B safe, confining his brother's movements to the village even if it went against B's personal wishes. As such, he is upset by his younger brother's capture by Akatsuki, and even more so upon discovering it was a ploy for B to have a vacation, swearing to punish him with his "Iron Claw". At the same time, A claims he has resolved to kill his brother if the situation ever called for it.

When confronting his older brother during the Fourth Shinobi World War, B points out the flaw in A's viewpoint: his over-protection of B prevents him from acknowledging and believing in B's own strength. When B and Naruto prove their worth by surpassing A in strength and speed respectively, A realises they are truly essential in ending war and lets them pass. A benefits greatly from serving in the Allied Shinobi Forces as well. He was initially distrustful of other villages for their connections to Akatsuki, but now accepts them as comrades, expressing care when they start to over-exert themselves or when they save him on the battlefield. A and Tsunade have somewhat of a rivalry and he is often critical of her, but he concedes her as a valuable comrade and shows concern for her during their battle against Madara. A is also capable of forgiveness although rarely. Despite his hatred towards Sasuke for his attempt to kidnap Killer B and his desire to kill him in retaliation, as well as the loss of his left hand from their battle, A recognises Sasuke's remorse for his crimes and decides to forgive him.