Dance of the Shikigami [Non-Elemental|Apprentice] Unlike his struggle with the basic chakra natures, Enma appeared to have a knack for the paper manipulation technique, but at his level he has yet to truly grasp the true depth of its potential. He's capable of generating around 300 pages, which can be transformed and manipulated as he pleases, even if they are beyond arm's reach. Forming basic shapes or symbols is even possible, but these pages are mostly used to create explosive tags or cut through opponents.
Earth Release [Doton][Rookie] Ever since Enma had learned of his latent potential for Wood Release, he had taken the time to carefully learn one of the two, as his struggle with the other elemental releases had been made apparent. Despite his slow progress and low skill level, Enma still does the best that he can with what little he knows.
Enma was looking forward to his first mission as a genin, especially after all the gossip from the older ninja in the village about what their first missions were like. Some had had escort missions, high profile delivery missions, and one old man even spoke of a suppression mission that his squad and another had been sent on. All that had done was make the young cloud ninja more and more excited for what was to come no matter what it would be, so when he had seen the C rank mission that was available under the guidance of THE “Fox” Inuzuka. When he had nearly arrived at the rendezvous point near the gate, he hadn’t expected to come across any friendly faces, but in front of him and the first to meet with the Inuzuka had been Izumi herself, the onnabusha he had helped learn shogi. Though she seemed much more awkward than before, ah well.
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The group's attention seemed to be snatched the moment that the Inuzuka had spoken, an odd callout referring to them as… puppies? Were all Inuzuka like that, or maybe it was just him. Whatever it was, Enma approached and bowed toward the Jonin. Before he could say anything their leader had continued, explaining that their mission was to subdue ferocious wild animals that had been causing havoc in a village nearby. That was… interesting to say the least, a good opportunity to practice his ninjutsu maybe? Izumi was the first of the group to speak, and he simply followed up. “My name is Kuchiki Enma, and do we know how far the village is and what specifically they’ve been doing? Working with the village to assess the next steps and prevent future problems is something we might need to do.”
The onnabusha was right to call him a shinobi, his calm at her presence and making herself known to him was something that often happened during training, although his hectic household had certainly aided his ability to keep calm. Once it was clear that she was interested in his game, a slight smile came to the cloud ninja’s face, as he finished resetting the pieces to all of their proper places on the board. “You must have heard me slamming down my pieces. Sorry about that, I tend to let the game get ahead of me sometimes without realizing it. It is shogi after all!” When she made the mention of the elders that played the game he couldn’t help but chuckle, lifting his gaze up to the sky as he was reminded of his own grandfather who had taught him. “It does seem like the elders often enjoy this game more than all the others, though I know my fair share of more modern games. This is simply my favorite.”
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As the young woman sat across from him, placing her straw hat down at his side after requesting his guidance, he chuckled a little. “I’m a bit young to be showing you the ropes but I’d be happy to teach ya. Not often do I get to introduce someone to the game. It's nice to meet you Izumi, my name is Kuchiki Enma, though you can call me Enma.” He bowed his head in response, immediately nodding at her question. “Yes actually, although I only recently attained that title.” Enma’s hand would move up to his chin, as his face turned from content to quizzical. “Do you know about the rules of chess? If so this will be much easier to explain. Shoot I almost forgot, would you like some tea?”
Enma had been at the precipice of the game, with both sides of the board having equal opportunity to end the game. The young shinobi had taken a moment to look around at the board, his eyes scanning each row and possible interaction from both sides of the table, making sure to seperate himself from the board with each play that he had considered. There had been many possibilities, with a number of them requiring sacrifices in order to work, another set that all required a bit of luck, and others that simply did nothing to change the state of the board at all. From both sides of the table, it seemed like the opponent was a resilient wall that refused to be broken down. There was a slight breeze that flew past the cloud ninja, his head rising up to look at the sky, a deep sigh escaping him. “I really hate it when it gets like this, both sides of the board need to play aggressive in order to gain the advantage or pray that the other has misjudged the board. Totally unrealistic…”
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With his eyes falling back onto the board, Enma stared at it one more time, lifting his hand to move a piece for one side of the board in order to get the game over with. But before he could lift it off the ground, he heard someone clearing their throat behind him. The tight grip with which he held the piece was loosened, the cloud ninja’s head turning to face the stranger who had interrupted him. It only took a moment for the young man to recognize that this was a female samurai, the way of dress well known to many in the Hidden Cloud, with the straw hat and sheathed sword being other dead giveaways. “ I didn’t expect for anyone to acknowledge my presence here. Am I in your way, or were you simply admiring the game? You can join me if you want, these stalemates always bore me anyway. ”
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Not even waiting on her answer, Enma began to clear and rearrange the board. “What is your name onnabusha? It’d be rude to face you and not know your name.”
The Hidden Cloud Village was at times a very calm place to be, surrounded by mountains at such a high altitude gave it a unique vantage point over most of the surrounding area, which in itself was a killer way to get a nice view. For the residents who had always been looking for a nice spot to simply gaze at the beauty of nature, their had been a few platforms constructed to be as natural as possible, giving the best view to overlook the village itself and the beautiful features that surrounded it. Many of the village’s eldery and retired ninja had found themselves here, appreciating the results of their hard work to keep such a beautiful place safe. To Enma, it had been a relaxing place to practice his games, and was a place well known for where he had often accepted challengers: alongside a nice cup of tea of course.
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On this particular day there had been a nice breeze accompanying the choice view, the cold air coming from the top of the mountains that the village laid hidden within providing the perfect excuse to wear something a bit more cozey to this part of the village, with Enma himself in a large robe wrapped around himself, the loose tails flapping lightly as the breeze passed by him. His eyes had been staring intently at the Shogi board beneath him, with his eyes unmoving from the middle of the board. For most people, playing against yourself was a surefire way to lose, but for Enma, it was thebest way to perfect his own strategies. The best way to win is to know what can beat you, and beat it first! He chuckled at the saying, thinking it was ridiculous if something like that would catch on. It was true however, he had placed himself in a very poor position, already his winning strategy in most games crumbling against a mirrored style of play, exploiting each move’s sacrifice for a greater gain down the line, cutting off the necessary pieces for plays that were instrumental to further plans. A basic strategy really, but one that was difficult to pull off if you couldn’t tell what your opponent would do next.
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So the genin sat there, absorbed in his game as he watched fought against himself, unaware of the world around him.
Enma hails from the Hidden Cloud Village, growing up with his large family of 7 siblings and 15 cousins, all living together in one large family home that always seems too small for all of them to live in. Being the one of the two responsible older siblings, he and his older sister had taken on the role as the secondary parents of their younger siblings and cousins, looking out for them, teaching them, and helping in whatever way that they could. This led to the two of them spending a lot more time focused on the goals and passions of their younger siblings rather than their own, leaving the two to be the least... sociable of the Kuchiki family. One of the few things that Enma was able to come to enjoy because of all the time he spent around his younger siblings and cousins was board games, and lots of them. Before their grandparents had passed, he learned about Shogi and World War, two of his grandfather's favorite board games, and made it his mission to teach them to his younger siblings. They bonded over these games, laughing and enjoying countless games that Enma had always seemed to win.
It wasn't clear at first, but it seemed as though the young boy was a prodigy when it came to these board games. So, the adults tried to test that. Match after match after match, Enma would continuously win against his elders, and even when playing against those outside of the family, it seemed like every time that they played he had won. Over time, Enma had earned himself a nickname, the King of Games, as one of the several undefeated Shogi players within the Hidden Village. Throughout all this time he had been an academy student, taking much longer than most to graduate due to his dedication to taking care of his family. Couple that with his lack of skill when it came to basic ninjutsu, only ever showing some potential in the Dance of the Shikigami technique, it was plainly obvious to most why he had been stuck at that level. Now that his younger siblings are old enough to take care of themselves, he was given more time to train and dedicate to becoming a better ninja, finally succeeding at graduating from the academy and becoming a full fledged Cloud genin. There was this one joke that you would hear about Cloud ninja, I don't remember the punchline but it had something to do with them being empty-headed. And if you're approaching Enma, it can certainly seem that way. The Cloud genin's eyes always seem a bit glazed over, like his mind is somewhere in the Clouds like the rest of his village, but what's really going on is a mystery. A mystery to most at least, as those who know him and know his nickname know of his talent for strategy and planning ahead. There isn't a moment that passes where Enma is admiring the environment, lovingly conjuring up a creative way he could use it to his advantage. He's the type of paranoid that makes him prepared for nearly every situation, the kind of person who crosses their t's and dots their i's at every opportunity he gets. With a family as big as the Kuchiki's, its hard to blame him. The quiet is where he resides, finally being able to enjoy a moment to himself that wasn't filled with the high pitched screams of his younger relatives as they run amok through the family home. His voice is quiet and low but firm, as if infinitely trying to fade from someone's point of view. Enma always tries to be an enigma, but as a Kuchiki does, he always leaves an impression.
Proficiencies
Taijutsu [Rookie] Enma's unarmed combat style takes inspiration from the many strategies employed through his time playing board games such as Shogi or World War, which is all well and good in theory, but in practice leaves a lot to be desired.
Shurikenjutsu [Rookie] While Enma can think up a lot of creative ways to utilize shurikenjutsu, his current level only lets him hit stationary or slowly moving targets with high levels of accuracy. Anything more than that is a crapshoot as to what would happen.
Stealth [Rookie] Like most ninja of his level, being sneaky was something that was beaten into the shinobi during his time at the academy, but all that ended up amounting to was the theory. In order for it to be useful, Enma's stealth techniques are going to require MUCH more work.
Dance of the Shikigami [Non-Elemental | Apprentice] Unlike his struggle with the basic chakra natures, Enma appeared to have a knack for the paper manipulation technique, but at his level he has yet to truly grasp the true depth of its potential. He's capable of generating around 300 pages, which can be transformed and manipulated as he pleases, even if they are beyond arm's reach. Forming basic shapes or symbols is even possible, but these pages are mostly used to create explosive tags or cut through opponents.
Mokuton Potential [Dormant] Like many of those with the ability to use advanced elements, Enma was born with two chakra natures, but has had a hard time getting a grip on how to use either of them to the point where he can even begin to utilize the potential that lies within him.
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Face Claim Series Name
Enma Kuchiki looks like Chifuyu Matsuno from Tokyo Revengers.
