Takewa Sōzō

* The Crane Prince
* Director Hideo
* Takewa Of Twin Peaks
* Darkbeast Laiden
* Zombie Takewa
* Number 8

## Chakra Natures

* Yin Release
* Yang Release
* Wind Release
* Fire Release
* Lightning Release
* Template:Chemical Release
* Cosmic Release

**Yin Release/Style** * Cosmic Style: Celestial Body Endowment

**Yang Release/Style**

* Dark-Matter Hyper Density Control
* 7 Virtues: Crane Great Yielding Technique

**Chemical Release**

* Flesh Clone Technique
* Bio-Electric Conductivity
* Bio-Electric Synaptic Flow
* Chemical Release: Senschal Chastising Gaze
* Artificial Lightning Technique
* 7 Virtues Hematological Oxygenation Relinquishing
* Seven Virtues: Hematoxic Hypoxia Gaol
* Hayabusa Grass-Cutter
* Steganographic Bacterial Sealing

**Lightning Release**

* Lightning Style: Livewire
* Lightning Style: Defibrillator

**Cosmic Release**

* Earthly Star
* Cosmic Release: White Aspected Helios
* Cosmic Release: Black Aspected Helios
* Cosmic Release: Mass Gravity Wave
* Cosmic Release: Umbral Virture
* Cosmic Release: Coronal Mass Wave
* Cosmic Release: Shooting Star
* Cosmic Release: Star Shower
* Cosmic Release: Starwave Blitz Gallery
* Cosmic Release: Divination Observatory
* Cosmic Release: Twilight Gap
* Cosmic Release: Earth Shaker
* Cosmic Release: Meteor
* Cosmic Release: Meteor Shower
* Cosmic Release: Dirty Fireworks - Gas Giant
* Cosmic Release: Collective Unconscious
* Cosmic Release: Astral Projection
* Cosmic Release: Lucid Dreaming
* Cosmic Release: Eternity

**Fuinjutsu**

* Crane School: Repugnant Mind Subjugation
* Crane School: Repugnant Soul Subjugation
* Seven Virtues: Faith
* Seven Virtues: Hope
* Seven Virtues: Charity
* Seven Virtues: Temperance
* Seven Virtues: Justice
* Seven Virtues: Prudence
* Seven Virtues: Fortitude
* Steganographic Bacterial Fuinjutsu

## Canon Techniques

* Limelight
* Seering Migraine
* Fireball Jutsu
* Great Fireball Jutsu
* Nirvana Temple: Feather Illusion Jutsu

Jutsu Cancellation

* Snake Authority Spell

## **Background**

Born of two extremely gifted members of the famous Sozo clan Takewa lived the early parts of his childhood well taken care of. His mother an extremely ingenuitive and ambitious pharmecutical engineer and his father an extremely passionate Doctor the two did everything in their power to make sure that their dear Takewa had everything that he could ask for. However it didnt take long for that to change and tragedy to root its way deep into the life of the young boy. Takewa's father, was a hard man - and ever protective, having not been able to protect his direct family during a an unfortunate incident years ago - he hounded over Takewa to extreme degrees; stressing the value of discipline, loyalty, honor, and protection to one's family and clan. Years passed and as Takewa got older his life grew darker - losing his mother in an horrible turn of events that he would later find out were only self-incited when she attempted to use Takewa for experimentation with a new pharmecutical development she had discovered...and killed by the hand of her own husband. Takewa did not go long not knowing the truth, as previously stated his father was a hard man and very beholden to his principles. He could not lie to his son and as such he informed him to the nature of his mother's death and the reason for such; but he was only a young boy - and could not understand the intricacies as to why his father had to do what he did...and started to grow cold and rebellious to his father's parental authority and principles. This being said, Takewa took to his friends for comfort and found himself under the tutelage of the clan lord at the time, the esteemed Lord Heiwa whom treated him as if one of his own - soon fostering a kind of surrogate parental role for the lost boy. It was discovered that Takewa had a gift for the medical arts and ninjutsu most different from others whom had come along in the time. This was due to the fact that Takewa had a very unique chakra type known only as Cosmic Chakra. Not only was this said to be true but the sheer amount of chakra that he had as well as the healing potency of his Igaku Chakra were exponential to say the least. It turns out that the young boy not only wanted to be able to help and heal others to extreme proportions - but he resented his father, wishing that he could have brought his mother back to life. The boy was intelligent beyond his years - and had even so much as in his unempathetic youth rendered his father to be...inefficient and wished to surpass him.

 **Project Zetchouki**

Time passed and whilst it did the list of things that bothered Takewa went on and on. He was making great progress in his studys and training however his long time childhood friend Tenwa and his family had been exiled from the clan - someone that he had considered to be like family to him and the troubled boy felt like if he was stronger, older, wiser - perhaps there would be something that he could have done to stop this from happening. Wisdom, Intelligence, and efficiency couldnt be spoken against if it was undeniably irrefutable...could it? It was a question that burned in the back of his mind for a while, and after too long the young boy missed his dear friend - leaving the village to attempt to go make contact with him and learn the truth of the situation that managed to warrant such strict adjudication to the boy's family. It was on this journey to the outskirts of Land of Carrots that the boy was kidnapped, never to be heard from by the clan again. Believed to have been killed while out on his own the boy woke up in the custody of a man by the name of Hideo Kuroshima, a member of The Black Market in a time which it was in its infancy. The man sought to make a meal ticket out of the boy - noting his unique chakra nature and exquisite healing ability in the confrontation that lead up to his capture. Then, just like with his father - Takewa was interred into a training regime that would be sure to push him to the brink, just to break him so he can pull himself back and do it all over again. He did exactly that, spending much time as the man's medical advisor and insurance policy - using his abilities to ensure that he could do whatever risky job he needed to do with no worry for his health...after all, as Takewa was held if he died - then he had no one anymore; taken and held in a location within The Land Of Fire that surely no one would find him otherwise. After a prolonged period of proving himself - Takewa was introduced to other members and the general infrastructure of the criminal underworld, seeing that the world that this man Hideo came from, was much larger then he had thought. It turned out that Takewa was only one victim, of an overall small squad of other unique young candidates taken from each village by another member much like Hideo. Among them he was able to connect with others again outside of the rather toxic relationship that he and Hideo had, and formed a sense of closeness with the other twelve potentials there. That is, until they found out the sinister nature of the reason that they were there. Members chosen for a project known as "Zetchouki" (Pinnacle), they would be trained and pushed through an experiment in which the unique candidates are forced to compete against each other in an exam taking place in the form of a lethal "Talent show" where each candidate is given a set amount of time before their "round" begins and they are chosen to compete against another member and display how their unique abilities and skill set would be better for the world's development. This tested Takewa in ways that he could not have imagined, being pushed by his handler as well as himself to achieve astronomically in order to keep them both alive, though he did so in reluctance and pain. He'd come to know these people, they were like him in many ways which initially made him reluctant to the events at first attempt. Though shortly into it he learned a hard lesson, what it means to be put in a situation where it is either the mission, the job and objective....or you. Tearing his way through the upper ranks it came down to the finals with the last candidates being Takewa (#8) vs Nyogeru Fuuma (#2), the only other candidate that he had not grown connection to nor liked at all. This match was much different then the talent show that it had been before and resulted in direct combat between the two. During such it was revealed to Takewa that the reason Nyogeru was so unlikable was the fact that he was steeped in the truth of the world, having been exposed to the way that the world was and the way people sacrificed each other just for an advantage in life. He never wanted to make friends, he never wanted to bridge connections...he felt they were all just distractions or positions in life in waiting to be stabbed in the back...he was strong - undeniably his strength showed the profit of his years. Wisdom, intelligence and efficiency couldnt be spoken against when it was so undeniably irrefutable...could it? Up to this point - Takewa had done something unprecedented in the entire history of the project, and that was defeating each competitor up to this point with either non-lethal means or recucitating them after everything was said and done. Nyogeru...he killed, marking the first life he had actually taken and his succession as the winner of the eighth Zetchouki Project Tournament. His reward? A foundation position in the Black Market for his handler - and the promise of similar future and access to The Black Market's pool of resources so long as he remain ever faithful to their ranks.

**Vindication**

The time after the tournament was spent with Takewa trying to adjust to his new life and not let the way that he had previously lived overshadow who he was now. He had resources, collogues, obligations and a life - truly had a life...he couldnt let past trauma staple paranoia onto the back of his mind. The words and lessons of Nyogeru were always whispering in the back of his mind and it took everything in his power to deny that this was the truth of how things were. Looking to the friends he had made within the project that remained as assurance that everything wasn't just a guessing game of who would try and make a profit off of you in the next moment. That turned out to be...not so much the case. Over the time his relationship with those around him started to grow more and more shaky. He was starting to be trained on the princples of being a fence for the Black Market during the time that his fellow Zetchouki survivors started to turn on him and in manners that just seemed so much out of the blue. Their handlers had already been killed due to being the ones to blame for not being able to train their selected candidates to par - so he knew this was not a ploy by another handler to knock Hideo's golden boy off the stage. So what could it be? He started to become numb, not knowing who to trust and what was real anymore he became increasingly more okay with the idea of killing those that meant him great harm, starting to rationalize that his passion to heal and protect life could not be met without an understanding of the necessity and inevitability of death...at least for most things. It was something that his mother taught him in his early youth, she was on his mind a lot these days....the first person to betray him by technicality. He started to have no issue killing more and more of his fellow survivors till none stood with him. He then began to start socializing with the upper council of members - the much older and foundational members of the Black Market like his handler, Hideo and started to be thoroughly educated on the nature of things around him. Shortly after things started to calm down - he met with his former handler at observatory, ironically enough Takewa's favorite place to think. They had tea - and discussed the nature of things and the unfortunate circumstance in which his friends had turned into his enemies. To which Takewa informed him that the most painful thing about it to him - was that he too had turned into his enemy. Informing Hideo that he had been told by the other higher members about Hideo's ploy to use espionage and genjutsu to turn the others against him in hopes that they would eliminate him and he would have no equal to surpass him and take his position. That the higher members revealed this to him because they much rather have someone like Takewa in his seat - then a man that would backstab his own and could not be trusted. Hideo tried to retalliate but it was far too late, Takewa had poisoned the man by now and had covered it up by poisoning the entirety of the tea, and hence himself as well. . . but unfortunately for Hideo - he was no Sozo. Healing the poison in his own blood. With this, Director Hideo died in that observatory yet somehow on paper - still managed to walk out perfectly fine, having his identity assumed now by Takewa as an alias for his new operations as the Land Of Fire region's Fence and intelligence director.

 The Yellow Crane Tower

A lot of things had gone on behind the scenes with Takewa and Hideo before the point that he started to assume his role as "Director Hideo" more fluently. For a long time he fought with the idea that maybe he had actually loved the man that had become his former handler in the totality of events that had happened. It was always something that he was told that you can only really hate someone if you had loved them or something about them at a point - and he most certainly had hated him in the time that he killed him; enough so that he had violated one of the key rules that he lived by and that was that no one should be killed with the use of medical jutsu or pharmaceutical techniques. The two had spent much time together and shared many positive moments as well as negative - even after a time going so far as to share stories with Takewa about his past, informing him of his time being trained in taijutsu at The Yellow Crane Tower, where the Crane Authority trained potential sages. With his new position being solidifed with the death of Hideo and his subsequent replacement - he truly had freedom so long as he remained a benefit, which was no problem to him...especially if he could use their resources to discover the truth about his mother, the whereabouts of his father, and what had become of Tenwa and his other childhood friends. One of the main reasons that he needed to resort to the measures that he did to kill Hideo was not only did he want him to die in as painful a manner as he could think of at the moment (though it played a strong point) but he knew that as far as direct combat with the man, he did not stand a chance. Takewa had learned when he was initially captured, as well as periodically in his time with him questioning his orders that where as he can outlast the man by healing, toppled him in reflexes and reactive capability and had far more chakra to spare - Hideo's taijutsu, raw physical power, and array of ninjutsu would put him down quickly had he slipped. The risk was too much. He had to know where he had aqcuired such a skill set. Venturing out into Kogeta Province near River Village he eventually found the Temple that Hideo had spoken of - Yellow Crane Tower, and the grounds were all but barren. He remained there for several hours, thinking to himself that this could not have been the case, something was not right and his intuition told him that there was something more to this then what he was in the know of. Days, he remained there at the grounds - cleaning them and self reflecting till someone showed up. meditating and fasting as he cultivated his patience till finally he started to doubt - and even become enraged thinking to himself that after all this time Hideo was still lying to him, leading him on goose chases and giving him false stories to push him into madness and waste his time. Had this been just another story with no viable merit? He started to become disheartened when he started to contemplate leaving, taking a last look around the grounds when a group of young kids arrived at the grounds to vandalize and trash the abandoned temple. Takewa could have just walked off and let it happen - not a care in the world to defend the sanctity of some abandoned place that he had wasted so much of his time. However he did not, and reprimanded the group of young kids as to the error of their ways and the disrespect that they were indulging in. When asked why it was that it even mattered to him he explained: "It doesn't in entirety, but a person should have principles. Integrity. A belief system that defines what it means to be that person and stick by it, never compromising for less even if it seems like no one would be the wiser. I would be the wiser, and this place is sacred even if abandoned. Your act of vandalism is not just disrespect to these grounds but disrespect to yourself, and you should value yourself better then just a air-headed hooligan too lazy to toss our trash where it belongs.". This sparked inspiration in the young boy - and subsequently they revealed themselves to be Sages of The Yellow Temple. Takewa's respect and value for principle and honor had earned their trust and they decided that they would take him on as a student. And so it was that Takewa went under training that tested his mind, body, and surprisingly his heart to the brink of their ability. He came to learn that The Yellow Crane Tower was just one school in the area that was in conflict with other animal authority. There was also the school of The Ox, The Snake, and The Phoenix. The Ox, had been allied with the Crane for quite some time and the pairing rivaled that of the Phoenix and Snake. After much time spent venturing to each school, and performing a series of tasks for each one he was able to learn why it was that they were fighting and even so much as make friends between some of the members there. Takewa had befriended a protege from each of the schools, and among the four of them they were able to combine their efforts and unify each of the schools together - ending the fued that had gone on for many decades. Takewa was named the Crane Prince and given the title of Crane sage and the teachings that come with, respected as a man of nobility, honor, loyalty and devotion. With this - he returned to his hideout and full time duties in the Black Market with new objectives and tasks in mind for the future. Two of the most central ones being uncover the full story behind why his mother was killed by his father and track down his fellow Sozo clansmen.

**This is your life.|siht si ruoy efil no sgurd**

Takewa's time spent as a fence and director for many of the inner-dealings of the Black Market in Konoha came with shockingly a lot of time for reflection and tranquility. Sometimes he was guilty about it, by now having picked up track of Tenwa and many other Sozo he had learned that Heiwa was dead...he felt ashamed. Here he was this entire time living in luxury and going about things in his own personal way at his own personal pace...when he could have been there - maybe just maybe one other presence among him would have caused things to go differently. Takewa was by this point an incredibly gifted healer and Physician also well versed in the study of psychology and Sociology. On the inside, he knew that he couldnt blame himself. He had been separated when he was just a naive young boy and through the course of his life things were in a manner that he could not have done anything differently....but he was here again after all these years - much the same way as he had blamed himself when his mother died, when Tenwa's family was exiled, and when he could not spot out the ploy going on behind his back with Hideo - he had known better, but chastised himself with his thoughts because on the inside he felt like he needed to...he felt like he deserved punishment. It was then that he started to question his own personality and sense of self. After so long still there were things that had happened in his life that bothered him so much. It was time to reconcile. The way things were getting In the Black Market with this Red Tongue organization. At first when he had been introduced he thought that they were just a fanatic religious group - in fact they had shared a lot of the same world views, especially the fact that humanity, and shinobi if gone unchecked, were far too two-dimensional of thinkers to put side differences and unite for the betterment of the world. They would destroy themselves and for that, he had despised much of humanity. His mother in his youth had taught him to convene with the cosmos...that in life, all things were interconnected and within the universe they were all of the same spirit, the same energy. It made him think about the things that people did for "sake of their country" against each other in disgust - hating how they belabor the bigger picture that they all need each other. It made him think about his mom a lot. With that being said he made way off to reconcile with his past, confronting his father which lead to him taking Takewa to her laboratory out on the outskirts of Land of Carrots that she had died in all that time ago. Upon getting there Takewa's father leveled with him that there was never anything more he could find in her lab after stopping her from experimenting on him, however upon further examination Takewa found a series of coded messages that were meant for him to discovered. Signified by symbols of Snowflakes - one of Takewa's favorite things growing up, he found a series of tech logs coded in a manner that had been imprinted upon him through use of genjutsu when he was younger. Using this information Takewa found a hidden basement in her laboratory that held the secrets to her experimentation and why she had chosen him to be the subject of her next experiment, revealing that there were great threats on the outside that the Sozo would not listen to her about and that they needed to hyper-accelerate their medical technology to meet the demand of the oncoming catastrophe as it was...but she was cut short from ever explaining what that very catastrophe was - explaining that it was something that should be rarely spoken, and never written and that she would bequeth that information to him when he was old enough to handle it. Livid with his father, and the fact that he was among the Sozo that did not beleve her - and had killed his own wife because of his pride and ignorance, never questioning if he or the others could be wrong. However - his loyalty is to his clan and family above all else. And so he stowed his rage against the man for another time. While in the basement - he discovered the fruits of her experimentation in the form of what was called "Demon Drug, produced by what was called Blood Spire Rock. This was a drug that was produced by spider-lily like flowers that sprout from inside the Blood Spire rock when coming into contact with chakra directly applied to the rock. The stone bleeds crimson red from the cracks on the surface and upon doing so these flowers sprout from within and excrete this ruby red liquid, which is subsequently applied to the eye of the subject, glazing the eye in deep red and dripping down to the brain along the optical nerve in the back of the eye. The drug can be very dangerous - saying that it can render those with even the most legendary healing ability blind - dehydrating the optical nerve of the applied eye, calcifying upon it and becoming like a fragile, brittle crystal, till the eye springs loose of the nerve and rolls freely in the socket. However the benefits to this drug are miraculous - granting exponential chakra growth, great euphoria, and releasing the subconscious restrictions of the body that keep its most complex systems in check, almost involuntarily releasing the the first four of the inner eight gates without even prior knowledge of how to initiate this of one's own free will. Takewa took the stone, and what was left of the Demon drug as well as his mother's last memoires much to the protest of his father. A fight broke out - in self defense of his father's rageful lashing in which Takewa neutralized the man with minimal effort and none-lethally. In hindsight of everything that happened - Takewa could do nothing but laugh to the confusion of his father. When asked what was so funny about the situation, Takewa explained his thought process as: "Its funny, I fought so long not to become you. To be better than you. Heiwa was more a dad to me then you ever were, and here in this moment I havent only defeated you. I defeated the idea of you. I never wanted it to be realized this way. But now I know. I absolutely achieved what I set out to do. It was easier then I thought." And with that confrontation brought to a close Takewa decided it was time to plan and focus on the things at hand. He had been assumed dead for so many years, he figures with the way things are getting in the Black Market, especially with this "Red Tongue" it was high time to start making moves.

## **Personality**

Eccentric, Pragmatic, Charismatic and often times aloof. Takewa is the kind of person thats easy to talk to, trust, and rely upon - which is precisely one of the reasons that he is so dangerous. Most of this demeanor is just a ruse, a human act that he puts on in order to fit in with the rest of everyone. You could probably divide Takewa into two different people and describe both halves as either "Takewa Sozo" or "Director Hideo" because its almost as if the man has split personalities in the way that he operates with his fellow Sozo clansmen, and then the rest of the open world. Having an extreme disdain for life forms that are not as well, of the Sozo clan he is aware that he has to generally put on a kind of act to remain appropriately functional among them. Everything that he does right down to the fragrance on his person and suit that he wears is a ploy to seem as appealing and approachable to the average person as possible. The moment you step into conversation with Takewa is like stepping on the battlefield, because if you aren't careful - he'll steal your heart. On the inside, the man is extremely caring - truthfully not wanting to cause lethal harm to a living thing what so ever, and his disdain for humanity is one that is born sheerly of subconscious projection, blaming other people for the death of Heiwa, a man that gave so much to the world and in the end died undefended. Instead of focusing on himself and his lack of presence - perhaps too painful for him to admit that the real blame he feels is on himself, for not being there for his mentor. The years of abuse, training, and torture while being cultivated into the man he is today has riddled the man with a sense of duality to his nature. Compassionate, loving, caring - yet an animal in combat, massochistic, and enjoying the thrill of emotional and mental sadism in those that draw close to him and especially in opponnents. It is said that he hasnt killed very many people, preferring not to use lethal methods - however when you are in his line of business, every once so often its time for you to prove your loyalty; and Takewa does so with no hesitation and great gusto. Often times being said to even have **fallen ijn love** with his targets before he eliminates them - driving an obscene obsession with them. When it comes to close friends and especially his fellow clansmen, Takewa tends to be extremely protective.

## **Appearance**

Takewa's appearance is the product of years and years of study of society and what it means to be aproachable. He studies and observes themes and patterns in society and breaks it down into what would be the most believable for him - what would fit the best per say. It is said that Takewa's appearance at current is not accurate to what he truly looks like, altering his appearance down to the T even with the sheen and color of his hair making it more lively and vibrant simply to attract the wandering eye. This does not entail that perhaps Takewa isnt proud of nor doesnt like his appearance, quite the opposite - he thinks of this appearance he keeps and the way he holds himself almost as a kind of entertaining "acting role" that he puts on...a character, and he certainly enjoys the experiences that this character has to offer him, often times entertained and nearly getting lost in the appearance and character that he plays to levels of near narcissism. However there are some things that even he can not hide. The way he moves, his posture, how light each step is, how focused his gaze hones in and his manner of speaking - as well as the fact that it is almost impossible for the man to honestly be rude, disrespectful, or dishonor himself in the way that he acts; the reflexive, irrevocably honorable man underneath will not compromise that for any level of cover he may be keeping - which often times can be seen as a flaw on his part. However one of the most notable things about the man despite the fact that it happens so rarely that one hardly ever would notice unless they were in close vicinity for an extended period of time. Sometimes the man can be seen weeping at random. This mainly being from an over-saturation of self guilt with the fact that he took Samples of Heiwa's DNA in the black market and experimented with them on himself, hence how the man has come into possession of his mentor's famed Chemical Release though he may not be as skilled a practitioner with it as the former just yet. Every now and then if you watch him or listen closely you will hear him sobbing, disgusted with himself at the fact that his beloved mentor that he could not stand to defend...by some proxy of genetics is inside him as he lives and breath. But for him, he considered it to be a better option then letting some human philistine get hold of his master's genetic materials.

## **Tools**

Demon Drug
 Hematological Food Pills

Ninja Info Cards

Takewa has made a living in the black market not only being a fence but an underground informant and information broker. With this he has been watching and observing for quite some time especially in the different areas that he has traveled to ensure that he has information on key players that he would need in order to maintain an upper hand for himself and those of his clan. These ninja info cards tell the man most of the basic things about a shinobi and some not so basic things, depending on how privy one would be to that knowledge on a global and local scale. However of these cards the man only has certain "sleeves" of cards dealing with key shinobi in particular areas at a certain time and needs to update them often.

Ninja Info Cards: Konoha Edition

Ninja Info Cards: Iwagakure Edition

Ninja Info Cards: Sozo Clan Edition

Ninja Info Cards: Blank Period Legends

Ninja Info Cards: Blank Period Criminals

Ninja Info Cards: Make-Out Tactics!

Ninja Info Cards: Kumogakure Edition

Unknown Card Deck

## **Chakra and Attributes**

### Chakra and Control

Takewa is a case of someone gifted with something that they could not possibly understand the benefit of. Having a chakra that would be comparable to that of a nebula has afforded him many benefits when it comes to what he can do with ninjutsu, and his Igaku Chakra boasts a Brobdingnagian level of potency that honestly makes him a horrifying opponent to face in combat, if not strictly for the reasoning that just to see someone take as much abuse as you can give them - only to zombie back up to their feet and laugh, at times even moan at the sheer level of ecstacy the pain brings them is simply...well its disheartening for the idea of winning in confrontation. However with being so gifted in the department of chakra there is but one issue. He has not been really pushed to the limits to actually test that and bring that out of him, at most times the battles that he has faced ending rather quickly or with use of his intellect and not his hands and jutsu. Even after being trained as a sage it just seems that the levels that Takewa's chakra can reach are simply out of his scope of understanding at the moment, believed to be due to connection with his Cosmic Chakra. Understanding the depths that he could go would be like trying to understand the deep depths of how far the cold expanse of space can travel, there would just always be something more to learn. His chakra itself, tends to be comparable to that of a bijuu, but thats about as far as it goes and at times he can be known for overusing chakra in a single technique.

### Life Force

Unrelenting, uncompromising, and over all unstoppable. Thats what some would say about Takewa's life force. Where as he may fall short of the glory that his mentor's life force held - incapable of doing things such as absorbing, imparting, and swallowing the life force of other things at a whim despite how much he has trained to try and unravel the mystery of how he too could achieve such a thing; the man's life force is still on its own a force to be reckoned with. Able to grow limbs back at the drop of a dime - recover from mass blood lost in moments of short repose, and even so much as avoid nuanced yet critical brain damage and surgical level critical wounds by transferring his very life force and consciousness to different parts of his body just before succumbing to major attacks the man is a horror to be up against on the battlefield, almost assuredly wearing down an opponent if he can not himself subdue them in first contact. Though all great things must have an end and he is no different. Perhaps if he lived a peaceful life as a farmer or civilian he could live beyond that of any normal human being - maybe even outlive the record books of common society; but when under constant attack or taking consistent damage to massive proportions his ability to heal and recover becomes less and less so. Parts of his body taking on a more pale form here and there as his Neutrino flow Focuses augmented white neutrino charged cells to parts of his body sustaining significant damage, they use themselves as fuel to support even greater healing, burning away to the point that open wounds and other damaged parts of his body emit mass amounts of steam as they recover. Though this is due to very particular augmentation and where as it is great for recovery and defense against most foes - there are subsequent weaknesses in the details that may cause this to be the very thing that kills him in the end, or at least teaches him a very, very valuable lesson.

### Willpower

Perhaps one of the most notable features about Takewa and one of the features of the man that make him stand out and even feared among many inside and outside of The Black Market. Takewa's life has been nothing but a series of tests, conditioning, disciplining, and torture from the moment that he was an adolescent young boy to the time that he live and breath to this very day. Starting from with his father, to being captured as a young boy, Heiwa - as kind as he is was no slouch either! His life was dedicating to many different efforts and causes that would break a lesser man with little to no hesitation what so ever. Having always been gifted with great healing ability and life force the two almost go hand in hand with the man. Having always pushed himself to the limits and broken himself against the cap of his abilities only to recover and come back to reach even further heights. Not to mention the sterile body neutrino particles that co-incide with his cellular structure and vitalize his body per the amount of physical trauma that he sustains. The trauma itself energizing and scattering the particles in his body so that they energize his cells and by proxy - his body. This means that for every beating that Takewa takes and manages to survive from, he only gets back up stronger every time he is not put down for good. This in large part feeds the part of Takewa that is in large part a massive masochist, savoring the pain, loving every moment of it and even using it as an educational experience. Having always said that the best way for him to be able to treat all manner of different injuries and ailments - is to experience it for himself so he can deeper analyze and empathize with what a patient must be feeling in that moment. Pain and struggle to Takewa is like a very fine wine, and his social and mental inhibitions dilute in its solution. There is not much that Takewa will back down from or cause him to give up on a fight, experiment, patient or general task - sometimes even being driven to spouts of rampant excitement at the face of great opposition.

## **Abilities**

### Sensory

Takewa’s sensory capability is impressive, but certainly not to be compared to a well seasoned Hyuga or those who have been specified in the field for years at a time under specialization. The matter of detecting enemies from far distances is something that he is capable of but not to the degree that he would get so much detail as to tell you the number of wrinkles on their forehead. Using his Twilight Gap ability Takewa is able to scatter stardust currents through the air for great expanses of ranges - able to detect when someone moves against these tiny extra light particles and uncover details on how they are moving, where and when they are moving, but it is only as simple as that. As far as who the person is and specific details to that measure he can not tell. In truth - if he were to blindly follow that hunch he could very easily be lead into ambushes or other traps. He can avoid this issue all together while using Dark Matter: Cosmic Viewing Field, a technique which manifests dark matter in a large spatial dome around his location however this technique usually exhausts great amounts of chakra, very quickly. However when it comes to things that are more up close and personal his sensory ability is near unmatched. Having used his ability to control all the systems of his body as well as his prodigious understanding of these very systems and how they function in conjunction with his use of Bio-Electric Synaptic Flow he can access the hidden potential of the brain's functionality that other beings typically would never get the opportunity to tap into at a masterful level naturally. This means that his reflexes, perception, and how quickly that his mind can comprehend and respond to whats going on around him is on an entirely different level of its own. This mixed in with the bio-electric synaptic flow's ability to act as a super conductor between himself and other living organisms close to him - he can react and detect all manner of things up close before the opponent has even registered it. This is because through this technique when the opponent's brain sends messages through the neurons in the brain and body to cause movement and other bodily function, Takewa's body receives a jolt from this that entails and announces to him what is going on in the opponents body before they are even consciously aware. This means that as you move and operate in close proximity to Takewa while this technique is in use - he can sense what is going on with your body and react in real time, on top of his Naibugan's ability to already revealed to him the storybook that is your physical anatomy. Takewa's sensory ability at close to mid range is so formidable, that even the information stowed in the sub-conscious mind is privy to him, meaning that sounds, visuals and other things that normally a person wouldnt even have register in mind are at the fore front for him to consider.

### Intelligence

Intellect - is a matter that is close to Takewa's heart and life. Ever since he was a young boy in the Sozo clan he had watched his peers and elders carry about in a manner that only reciprocated results for themselves. Doing things that otherwise made no sense save for the fact that it was to benefit themselves in the moment - not the overall big picture in the long run. This disgusted Takewa - whom had higher hopes for life and humanity and felt like they could do better, that they could achieve great and wonderful things yet let greed and grandeur interfere with their interpretation of the bigger picture. This drove Takewa to take his study's greatly to heart. Where as his mentor Heiwa was not known for *naturally* being a man of genius level intellect it could be said that perhaps Takewa would have been a perfect assistant to the man - for he on the other hand was. The level that he perceives information and processing problem solving abilities at such a young age was astonishing, and his level of self-awareness allowed him to identify the developmental flaws in his brain functionality and kinks in his psychological tolerance and development far before he had even grown to becoming an adult male - allowing him to correct such measures and treat himself. Add this on top of his use of Bio-electric Synaptic flow to augment and increase the level of cerebral functionality, retainment, and endurance that he had to offer and he was on the fast track to becoming one of the most brilliant minds of his clan's long list of prodigy.

### Speed and Strength

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, unless his name is Takewa Sozo. If you ever wondered what it would be like to have a Doctor that will quite literally run you down and beat you for not taking your prescription, you probably would love Takewa. The man's physical capability is a thing to behold. After years and years of being pushed to the limits of his ability only to have the ceiling of his limitations broken and rebuilt to do it all over again, the man's physical ability has reached heights that even he never guessed that they would. However much the opposite of his mentor - whom was not known to naturally be considered of genius caliber but possesses paramount physical strength and ability, Takewa's case is a bit more nuance to that comparison. Naturally the man is no slouch by far, combining his physical strength and speed with his great intuition and intellectual capability focusing on targeting opponents and structures in key positions that would crumble their very foundation, Takewa tends to be a horrifying opponent not simply in the matter of proportion of his physical strength, but how he uses it. However his speed in tandem with his strength is where the danger in combat against him lies. Takewa is extremely fast naturally for a man of his profession, his fighting styles and disciplines being primarily focused around evasion and counter attacks, however make no mistake about it - the man will not simply stand around and wait for an opponent to make a mistake. The Crane School, Seven Virtues martial arts focuses around countering and the quick reaction and negation of enemy attacks - seeking to overwhelm the opponent with unrelenting force leaving no room for the opponent to go on the attack.

### Durability and Stamina

Takewa may not naturally be the strongest physically, but what he lacks physically in strength he makes up for two fold in stamina and durability. The latter of the two being the lesser - for Takewa unlike others of the Kingu or Oni clans can not boast the ability to deflect razor sharp blades off his bare flesh at a whim, however his ability to grit through these kind of attacks is exceptional if not phenominal. Almost the majority of Takewa's life has always been a race of endurance, crushing through whatever obstacle lie in his path to continue ahead towards his goal without a moments hesistation - which describes his physical durability and stamina to a T. Takewa's training under Heiwa was already considerable, his teacher's physical strength and ability after all dwarfed his in comparison and thats what he had to keep up with through most of his youth; however - Project Zetchouki is what pushed him beyond even that. After being subjected to many different kinds and magnitudes of pain and resistance once the project found out about his astonishing healing capability, Takewa grew both physically and in his talent after so much seemingly on schedule introductions to the most exquisite pain. Through this time Takewa learned to enjoy pain, fall in love with it actually - nearly in a literal sense. He deeply believes that pain is one of the higher foundations of the confirmation of life - for how well living is any singular creature that can not feel pain? On top of this medically speaking it is a brilliant indicator that the functions of the body are still intact and alert. Takewa had always been known to have a latent talent for durability and tenacity. Being nick-named among the Black Market: **Zombie Takewa** for his impressive ability to meditate and focus his pain and fatigue into more energy and strength to push forward. Essentially speaking - the more Takewa is pushed and wounded, the more alive he feels and excited he gets. The more excited he gets - the more he desires to push the opponent and see what more they can teach him about his own body. This was further expound upon by the Philosophers at The Yellow Crane Tower. Seeing within Takewa the seed of an **Unrelenting Spirit** they saw that his talent could become much much more then just that. They taught Takewa how to use a technique known to them as **Great Crane Art: Majestic Invigoration** allowing a user utilize meditative breathing and focus their body as an airwave using senjutsu and wind chakra. The user inhales deeply - focusing wind chakra around them in a cyclone gathering senjutsu on the winds. As it passes through their body during this time Takewa uses his Igaku Chakra to focus his body as a "checkpoint" for the traveling chakra - surging a combination of the three through his body to invigorate himself and exhale - never fully absorbing the senjutsu but simply using it and casting it back out of his body. This can allow Takewa to come back from the brink of exhaustion with newfound vigor. Takewa spent much time in the school perfecting this technique and much of his exploits during that time uniting the triad of schools relied upon his use of it as a manner to give him a leg up in many close calls at that time.

## **Jutsu**

### Taijutsu

Takewa is a very traditional taijutsu user in the sense that he does not simply learn taijutsu in the need to fight. He looks at the martial arts as not just a way to defend himself but a discipline - each different form that he learns and takes under his belt having an essential set of life rules that are important to live by and that any great martial artist would humble themselves to find at least a small semblance of the ultimate answer that each and every turn of trade has to offer them. Takewa has many accolades under his belt when it comes to the taijutsu union. Yes, one may not be well aware in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the shinobi world that there even is an entirely different world of issues going on between those who follow the philosophy of hand to hand combat as a life rule. Now the next in line to inherit Mastery of the Yellow Crane Tower, as well having extensive tenure in the next two fo the triad - the Ox school and Snake and having been one of the three martial artist that finally united the three feuding schools. Though given his devotion and respect of these schools and the rest of the Taijutsu world it is not his fluidity with these things that make Takewa such a powerful practitioner, but his passion for such and integration of the medical arts along with it. Takewa greatly respects things that have to do with principle and discipline, anything to make him a better individual to bring honor to clan Sozo. This being said there are many days that go by that he simply sits at his desk and contemplates more taijutsu techniques and how he can integrate medical ninjutsu into them. When Takewa fights an opponent hand to hand - he is more less fighting the person themselves, and more so fighting organs - very specific targets housed in a protective shell of flesh standing between him and his true opponent. Quite often he integrates the Artificial Lightning technique to strike at organs, which of course thanks to his Naibugan he can see and target with pinpoint efficiency, quick strikes with a burst of lightning to the smooth muscle of the heart to force arterial fibrillation. Sharp knife hand postured strikes to the ligaments and tendons with conjunctive activation of chakra scalpels to sever and tear in the joints and sinew. Takewa - like a Sozo properly should, values life - and if he can avoid it aims not to kill; however this being said he will most certainly break an opponent down to the point they wish they **were** dead.

### Ninjutsu

*"I fear not the man that knows one thousand punches, but the man that practices the same punch - one thousand times." - Bruce Lee.*

His sensei, known to the world as a God Of Shinobi - a title that brings renown and pride to not just the individual but the land that said individual claims as precious to them. Takewa does not take that achievement of Heiwa's very lightly at all and where as he does not make over-extended attempts to emulate it, he does protect the key principle that made this man what the world remembers him as in their hearts to this day. That philosophy is seen in the idea that you do not have to know *every* technique. But what you should always do is make sure that of what techniques you **do** know, you know and understand them as if extensions of your own body. While Takewa does have a considerable array of techniques - he mainly focuses on that of medical jutsu and having knowledge to counteract most jutsu that shinobi would use in combat. His attire and demeanor normally fool even the most perceptive of shinobi. Many times looking meek or otherwise unimposing. This is part of his overall defensive strategy - doing his best to have as big of an advantage in any given scenario as possible. Being typically seen as "The silly guy in the pink suit" only for the next moment to snatch an opponent straight out of a body-flicker using the momentum in the fast acting motion to break the neck of said victim. Takewa has a very fluent understanding of Ninjutsu and when tapping into his own array of techniques can unleash a devastating array of never before seen Cosmic Release jutsu; having said to bring the yield of the universe and the cosmos itself to tera-firma. Though at most times, Takewa avoids using ninjustu as much as he can, mainly from strong desire to keep his array hidden till truly needed, keeping his identity a secret from the rest of the shinobi world, and mostly...too alleviate and avoid the internal guilt and self-loathing that plagues him after obtaining a particular "gift".

### Genjutsu

*"What use have I for illusions in a world that already is brainwashed by illusion of their own creation? Blissful ignorance. No, I will give them a new paradise." - Takewa Sozo*

Takewa is the type of man that has been plagued all of his life by the idea of "illusions" He was held under the illusion that his mother was a raving lunatic that wanted to experiment on her own child. The illusion that Tenwa's father was an unstanding clansmen up till the time his family was exhiled and furthermore the illusion that the Sozo elders were fair in their admonishment of the entire family, for the sins of the father. He lived the illusion that his handler - the late, Director Hideo actually cared at all about him and even he himself...is victimized by the staggering trauma in his heart at the death of his teacher, and the illusion he himself lives in that the world was self-ish, self-acting, and completely absent in his time of need...perhaps it was easier for him to cope with himself, labeling such a mass group with such a greater crime then the things that he is guilty of. Yes Takewa has had a very special relationship with that word "illusion". He thought the premise of genjutsu was not only convenient, powerful, convoluted and deadly in its own right, but as well - cowardly. There is no glory to be gained in illusions - no clarification in physical health and well-being, virulence. . . but it did help him gain a great appreciation for the mind. When he traveled to unite the Feuding Triad as a student of the Yellow Crane Tower there was an entire temple - used as training by the school of the snake strictly for genjutsu. Comparable in the modern day to a house of mirrors, many had been said to have gone into the temple and never left - losing their way and their mind inside before finishing their rite of passage. Not only did Takewa come out of the temple, but within this "house of mirrors" he left with more then he went in. Having found something deep within himself - he came to reconcile many things he had on his chest...and in his head. He'd come up with a way to cast his own illusions and influence the minds of those whom would cause him harm - but without the use of genjutsu, or chakra. Takewa left that temple with not only an array of defenses against mental incursion but great plans for the future or interrogation and other information extraction. Where as Takewa is not a genjutsu master, it can be said that he has very much experience in the "inner-fabric" of illusions.

### Fūinjutsu

*"Fear not the best hunter of the pride, for he feasts a'plenty. Turn your eyes to the malnourished. It is the lean lion that hungers to the last scrap." - ???* Takewa had always observed and watched his fellow students growing up. Tenwa in particular showed a great aptitude in fuinjutsu, and Takewa being the man that he is, has always been secretly very competitive. But perhaps "competitive" is not the word? His childhood friend's aptitude in this showed him where he was lacking something in his own expertise. A crack in his shield so to speak. And it was this shield that he had sought to protect his clan behind, so what good to him was a shield with a crack to be exploited? What good was said shield to his blood? He took ample time studying fuinjutsu and breaking down the inner-workings of the principle and especially observing the points in which it intersects with other foundations of shinobi culture. It was in that time that he saw the utility and use of fuinjutsu in conjunction with medical jutsu and his mind went to work - bursting with ideas. It wasn't until his time with the Black Market that he came up with his most brilliant idea yet. Director Hideo had told him stories about several different wars that he had seen and participated in, and among those stories were accountings of how different spy networks would relay messages to one another through either sleeper agents or other refugees behind enemy lines that were being sent over. This technique was called "Steganographic messaging." this was a method in which particular strands of bacteria and chemicals would be used, most the time hidden in vaccines, booster shots and otherwise and injected into patients. Then when the patient is sent to another village as a refugee or war survivor - the spy in the receiving village will get a blood sample through "running health screening" tests, and particular parts of the patients biology and genetic coding would be arranged and illuminated in a manner that would spell simple messages or code-words. Takewa took this to an entirely different level, developing what is known as "Steganographic Bio-Luminescent Fuinjutsu". With this he would use much the same principle. substituting the bacteria for a serum that he'd developed himself using chemical release. With this he would control the serum in his body - dictating how it arranges and sets and on a whim he can manipulate his biology to form these steganographic kanji in his body that would function as triggers and catalysts for particular fuinjutsu, or even go as far as introducing the serum or his own chemical release to the biology of an enemy shinobi and doing the same. Once Takewa has his claws in you he could potentially influence the shinobi or their body in general to do whatever he will it so long as the chemical compound and kanji formation is not interrupted by otherwise *volotile* means. The biggest ordeal about all of this, he never once has mentioned any of it to anyone. There are plenty of members within the black market to this day, as well it would only be sensible to believe perhaps even the Red Tongue - walking around with Takewa's ticking timebombs inside of them and they are none the wiser. The art and history of steganographic messaging has been long since lost. Eradicated and hoarded by the late, Director Hideo. And with Takewa's elimination of him - he himself has become the sole proprietor of such assets.