Chikamatsu, Asobi
Control of ones life is the most important thing one can have.
groupnull
age 42 years old
birthday 10/8
rank Elite Jonin
occupation
Chikamatsu, Asobi asobi of the Thousand Poisons BASIC INFORMATION NAME: Chikamatsu, Asobi
AGE: 42
GENDER: Male
BIRTHDAY: 10/08
VILLAGE: Sunagakure no Sato
CLAN: Chikamatsu
RANK: Elite Jonin
POSITION: Puppet Corps Captain
OTHER ALIAS: Sen Doku no Asobi (Asobi of the 1000 Poisons)), Internationally. Overtime through the battles he's participated, new poisons were found in his various victims.
Owari Haiyuu no Sunagakure (Last Performer of the Village Hidden by Sand, Internationally. Pipeline Conflict
Ningyou no Ou (King of Puppets), Sunagakure. Heralded as one of the strongest still living puppet craftsmen and puppeteers in the village
Shishō no Kenshin (Master of Dedication), Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Konohagakure, Ishigakure, Amegakure APPEARANCE HEIGHT: 186cm (6'1")
WEIGHT: 83kg (182 lbs)
Befitting of a desert-dwelling shinobi, Asobi is a fair bit darker compared to shinobi of the other hidden villages, a very distinguished tan. His inky black eyes are fairly narrow in shape, resulting in his normal expression coming off as more serious than what he intends. His jawline is noticeably 'sharp', only adding to the various facial features that only further give him an unusually serious expression. Wavy jet black hair rests upon his crown, with his bangs coming down in between his eyes and on the sides, giving a more elegant look to him.
The most standoutish feature of Asobi, however, is his use of face paint. Though a traditional practice that is rarely used nowadays, Asobi employs the practice of using it as a type of war paint. However, he draws heavy inspiration from kabuki performers, adorning his face in pure white with red markings around his eyes, as well as across his face and on his forehead. Three dots are also usually found beneath his left eye. For Asobi, a shinobi's duty of combat and a kabuki stage performer's skills are one and the same; for what is combat if not a performance, especially for a puppeteer? Asobi takes this belief very seriously and it is a core part of his life. To treat everything as a performance.
Despite being a puppeteer, Asobi is in surprisingly good condition. While he obviously isn't in peak physical condition, he is in the prime of his life still and his athletic build perfectly allows him to make the most of his abilities. With a respectable 186cm stature as well, the Puppet Brigade Captain is unlikely to need to look up to most people, befitting of his rank.
Asobi opts to wear a white cloak that covers most of his body. The cowl covers his forehead as well as the lower portion of his face, wrapping around the shoulders and going down to his sternum. The remainder of the cloak escapes down past his back akin to a cape, while the oversized sleeves protrude out of the standard flak jacket of Sunagakure. The Sunagakure symbol is engraved into a metal piece, which in itself is embedded on the forehead of the cloak to denote his status as a member of Sunagakure. Displayed on the left part of the cloth, the Chikamatsu clan's crest is woven into the fabric.
The captain of the puppet brigade proudly wears the standard Sunagakure flak jacket with the long-sleeved black jacket. One might think that with all these layers, he's more likely to overheat but that couldn't be further from the truth. The cloak helps him keep moisture from escaping his body and the longer layers help keep the beating sun from harming him. The flak jacket, of course, has excellent defensive properties especially around the shoulders, and is great for storing things such as kunai and shuriken in the various pockets. He wears fingerless gloves with steel plating on them for further protection as well.
The four large scrolls that Asobi keeps on his person contain his four most powerful puppets. Tengu, Tsuchigumo, Gashadokuro, and of course, Asobi. they are all connected to various straps that are wrapped around his back that strap around and form an x shape across his chest.
Asobi opts to wear matching black pants to his long-sleeved top. The pants are a little baggy around the legs, though they are still quite comfortable and don't intrude on movement. A kunai holster is fastened across his right leg. Both of his feet are taped properly with black standard shinobi sandals protecting his feet from the desert's hot sands.
PERSONALITY NINDO: "Shinobi should strive to have the greatest performance consistently."
First and foremost, Asobi is a shinobi of Sunagakure. His loyalty is firstmost to Sunagakure and that means protecting its interests as best as he can. Without the village, Kaze no Kuni loses the bulk of its military and thus falls. Without the village, the Chikamatsu are doomed to wander, and that means much would be lost. Both of the past, and of the future.
Of course, his clan is equally important to him. He is proud of the clan's history and artisan lifestyle. If not for his desire to learn to better control his puppets for all manner of purposes, it is well known that Asobi would have been nothing more than an artisan. He is well known for the clan for his approachability and willingness to help anyone within it, especially with their puppets. Of course, those opportunities are few and far between.
Asobi is one who takes the Chikamatsu ideals to heart, perhaps more so than any other. He wasn't born a prodigious puppeteer, only a craftsman. But he aspired to reach perfection with it. To that end, he dedicated his life to perfecting the art. He has honed his skill with puppetry to a point he has his own unique style known as the Blue Secret Technique, a style focused heavily on poisons.
Asobi is fiercely protective of his possessions, but also of others. As he wasn't born a talented shinobi, he knows all too well just how difficult it can be for others to try to protect themselves. His own parents were killed by bandits and he doesn't wish for others without skill to do so. He recognizes he was fortuitous enough to have the financial backing he did to get additional help with training as well as to continue his work crafting puppets.
Asobi is a lover of the arts. He is very passionate about things such as plays, literature, so on and so forth. They are instrumental devices for not just inspiration of the puppets he produces, but also for ease of mind. A mind that is constantly stressing is a mind that will, inevitably, fall quicker. That said, he is just as likely to be a critic and is well known in Sunagakure for his harsh critique of anything that isn't of the highest possible quality. He needs to be convinced of whatever he is "consuming" as something "real" and will not settle for anything but perfection.
This is due to his earlier mentioned belief that combat and the arts are one and the same; the one with superior technique "wins". Similarly, only the best of the best can hope to win over an audience. You must keep your audience in suspense, waiting until the pivotal moment to show your hand and then crush your opponents. The audience and the enemy are the same things as far as he's concerned, and he treats it the same.
Of course, Asobi is a Chikamatsu through and through. He is at his happiest when he is alone in his workshop, creating his puppets. That is when he is in his element, able of tuning anything out that he wishes to tune out. There is a sort of divine feeling he gets as he breathes life into these blocks of wood, as he creates the various mechanical contraptions, adds in the weapons. A Puppeteer is, in a sense, a God. A point that the Chikamatsu took a literal too literally at one point, but Asobi understands how things reached that point. An understanding that has prevented him from being considered in the clan's leadership position.
Asobi is known for being something like a control freak. He must have control of all things he does. This both stems from the circumstances that took his parents from him as well as his lack of ability earlier on in his life. A feeling of helplessness born from his ability to do anything about it. Now that he has reached a point of skill so great he has been appointed as captain of the Puppet Brigade after the previous captain's resignation, he expects perfect compliance from all of his subordinates. That isn't to say he ignores his subordinate's complaints or suggestions, but rather once he issues an order, he expects it to be followed to the letter as there is a reason for everything he does. He is still open to the suggestions of his subordinates and is known to take them into consideration, but ultimately he is the captain and expects his orders to be followed to perfection for that reason.
Asobi works closely alongside the Medical Division of Sunagakure. This is due to his interest and expertise with poisons, but also for their antidotes. As skilled as he is with creating poisons, he is far more well known for his ability to create antidotes to said poisons. He is more interested in saving lives rather than taking lives, but when faced with an enemy, he has no qualms about ending them. He has an immense understanding of the herbs in and out of Sunagakure due to extensive studying when an apprentice to one of Sunagakure's top doctors.
HISTORY It was decided before even his birth that Asobi would have become a talented puppeteer. His father was a prodigious craftsman whose creations were widely sought after by shinobi and lords of all nations, puppet or not. So skilled was his craft that he was considered one of the wealthiest members of the Chikamatsu clan, and his wealth rivaled the daimyo of the various shinobi lands. His skill as a puppeteer was well above average as well, though his craftmanship far outshined his performance as a shinobi.
However, that did not mean Tonda Chikamatsu was loved within the village or even by his fellow clansmen. He was a pacifist even from an early age due to the horrors that he witnessed growing up in the Second Shinobi World War. The war had taken his own parents from him, and to fill the void he had taken up crafting. His obsession with the craft came to fill the void of having everyone he loved taken from him as a result of that war. Of course, he had been trained early on in his life by his parents too.
Ultimately, he decided to retire as a shinobi and he came to marry a prominent actress in Kaze no Kuni despite the tumultuous state of the war that was ongoing. Strongly believing in the clans origins as the way the Chikamatsu should go, Tonda's skill for crafting shifted into creating more for the purpose of entertainment and fun on his downtime. This was viewed with nothing but scorn as a result. Even still, he persevered and eventually, his wife was with child.
The family was still well financially, as anything Tonda made was still valuable. He was willing to create weapons when it was necessary to support his family, but his pet projects did not lose their luster, either.
Their child was named Asobi, with the kanji for "play". It was Tonda and Kurisu's wish that their child would be able to play and enjoy himself. To experience the joys of life. The day of Asobi's birth was the proudest moment of Tonda's life, and the happiest of Kurisu's despite the third shinobi world war. Though it was accidental, the couple were nonetheless pleased to welcome the newest member of their family.
That did not mean they were without concern. After all, they were right in the middle of the third shinobi world war. No sooner had it ended than had another started. Ultimately, the couple decided that it would be best to train Asobi to protect himself through ninjutsu -- specifically, the puppet technique.
It started off as little games from as early as he learned to walk. These games were meant to help facilitate better chakra control by ingraining the basics and core idea into his subconscious. The same way that Tonda had started off. Young Asobi often voluntarily watched his father work on puppets as well, fascinated by his creations. He would often fetch tools and pieces that his father asked for.
It wasn't long before Asobi wanted to build his own puppets and, by extension, utilize the puppet technique. Though only five, Tonda felt that Asobi had demonstrated enough skill to start. It started off with simple objects, of course. Small and light weight. Tonda also helped Asobi make simple and small constructs. Though as basic as basic got, the small pieces required a higher level of intricacy to assemble which made for excellent practice for the still young Asobi.
In just a little over a years time, Asobi had grown enough to not just build his first fully weaponized puppet, but also use it efficiently. But his skill with technique and crafting wasn't the only thing he had going for him. As young as he was, Asobi realized the issue plaguing Sunagakure and the war. It was impossible for him not to. While his parents tried to avoid talking about it around him, their discontent with the war was obvious.
He knew a very simple fact. People were dying.
Asobi wanted to make a difference, and ultimately decided that on his seventh birthday, he would enlist into the Sunagakure academy. Tonda did not believe in this decision, however he did support his child as best as he could. He was aware of the propaganda that Sunagakure had during this time and knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. Because of this, Tonda grew cold towards Asobi. He distanced himself from him, clearly not approving of this choice.
This devastated the child, having idolized his father his entire life. Asobi continued on all the same, wanting to do what he could to try to protect his home from foreign enemies. While in academy, he faced severe bullying due to his father's pacifistic ways. Many of his classmates parents were familiar with Tonda and their own badmouthing was reflected through their children. Viewed as the son of a coward, a traitor, so on and so forth. The academy was hell for him but the distance his father put between him was just as painful.
Asobi graduated at the top of his class at the age of eleven, even graduating early due to his exceptional skill comparatively. For someone who's control was so great that they could effectively manipulate two puppets at the same time, there was nothing more that his instructors could hope to teach him after teaching him the basic techniques. However, the war was effectively over already. There was no celebration and as soon as he was put on a team, they were killed on a patrol mission. Asobi was only able to survive thanks to his own skill, but he wasn't strong enough to protect his teammates.
This was the start of the ransacking that occurred in the village. He was helpless to save anyone. He watched as those whom he had known were brutally killed and all he could hope to do was run. Run home. To his mother. To his father. He was scared. Confused. Horrified. There was fire everywhere. Why was this happening? He didn't understand. He wanted to protect the village but had he waited too long? Could he have even made a difference?
While his mind raced, doubts and fear filling him, he realized he was being chased. Asobi wasn't in a position to fight back, but before the enemies could engage him, his father appeared and dealt the group a lethal kill with his own puppets. When he turned to face Asobi, Tonda collapsed, a pincushion of kunai and senbon. He lamented the future that his son had chosen, but he was glad that he could save him. That instead of taking lives, he could save a life. And Tonda was grateful that he could save his son's. His final words were of gratitude to Asobi, but also saddened that his son wouldn't be able to live the fulfilling life of enjoyment that Kurisu and he hoped for. But he acknowledged his son as a shinobi, encouraging him to survive through any means necessary before he left this world.
Asobi was reunited with his mother, and they fled to a shelter. The child was traumatized by everything going on, and his mother recognized that she needed to be stronger to support him despite being aware of her husband's passing. After the raiding and pillaging finally ended, the family moved back to their home. In shambles. Everything Tonda had ever worked on was taken right out of his workshop, whether it was complete or not. They had lost everything.
Naturally, he was torn up by this. Not only had the enemy villages taken his father from him, they had taken everything that could have been a memento of him. There was no sign of his father. Not a body. Not his work. It was like he never existed in the first place. In an attempt to try to pretend like his father was still with him, the boy built a puppet in his father's likeness.
To try to cheer him up, Kurisu began teaching Asobi about the world of theatre. Having lost his hero and desperate to try to return to some semblance of normal again in his life, he took to this like a sponge. He was surprised by just how much he was fascinated and entertained by this, however. The world of theatre was incredibly entertaining, and with everything that had happened to the village, it was just what he needed to cheer up.
It wasn't just that. He realized shinobi are all performers; there wasn't a difference between a shinobi and an actor. Combat was a performance and the more skilled a shinobi was, the greater their performance was. Their art was the art of killing. This realization changed everything for him. He started donning face paint resembling the kabuki stage performers he saw when his mother began taking him to plays once things began to normalize.
Asobi's performance as a shinobi also dramaticaly increased. He began pouring his all into everything he did in his training, wanting to surpass his father as his dying words were instilled into his very being. He grew interested in poisons as well, knowing that they nicely complimented a puppeteers arsenal. But he also grew interested in antidotes and medicines that helped another. Pharmaceuticals were in popular demand due to the decaying state of the village as a result of the raiding that had occurred and many were in horrible condition especially given the desert land they lived in.
Almost any mission that Asobi went on during this time was either to help with the reconstruction of the village, or it was to go out and get food and water. But he was also quite adamant in these missions. So much were his contributions in fact that he was able to get promoted to chuunin even without the exams. His skill exceptional, but he dedicated himself to his people. The council respected this decision when factoring in his skill and so he had earned the position.
Asobi's training never stopped though. He continued to refine his skill and continued to go on missions. In just under two years, he had been promoted to a jonin. At this point, he had enough money to begin his first major series known as the puppet theatre series. This was what put him on the map and where he was compared to his father now. There was an exceptional amount of precision that went into these puppets that only skilled puppeteers could properly use. More importantly, his decision to only sell them within Kaze no Kuni and not out of started here as well. He was making incredible money and life seemed to be going well.
Some of Asobi's more potent poisons were made during this time as well, as well as the starting process of Maisou Gishki. It started off on a mission to investigate a dangerous newt population that had been seen in one of the towns in the land. Asobi instead decided to collect these newts and test their poison on various specimens he collected. He began extracting the poison with fascination and obsession. Furthermore, he began experimenting in various other ways to utilize it.
Asobi interest in poisons grew to such a degree that he began deliberately poisoning himself. He began making as many poisons as he did puppets. He wanted to experiment with different reactions and how it would effect a person. He tested it on different species, and began injecting himself with much smaller dosages to help his body adjust to it. This was done for a few reasons. For starters, he wanted to build up immunity to the poisons he was using. For another, he wanted to minimize the chance of his own poisons backfiring against him. There was also the fact that he believed that to truly master a poison, one had to develop resistance if not flat out immunity to it. This belief hasn't changed in over the almost three decades he began this process, and even to this day he continues to try to build his body's immune system up against various poisons.
When the current Kazekage began work on the pipeline, Asobi was estatic. It was truthfully what the village needed. The severe conditions that plagued the village as well as the lingering sense of failure after the war and the ransacking -- it needed something for it going forward. Having a steady water supply would surely be a boost to morale and he couldn't fathom why Amegakure would have been opposed to the idea of helping the village out in these dire times the village was in.
Perhaps if he wasn't so naive then, he wouldn't have been so distraught when he found out that Amegakure did not take kindly to this pipeline. Perhaps if he had expected this, he wouldn't have been so brutal in that war. Asobi was merciless by the time of the battle, illustrating just how terrifying he was with his puppets. By this point, he had perfected his Maisou Gishki poison and was using it with his puppets in battle. He left the battlefield a mess of corpses, which later served to inspire his later Takamagahara series, especially Gashadokuro.
When Sunagakure was forced to withdraw after the death of the Kazekage, Asobi felt nothing but rage. It wasn't just one of the Kazekage, but it was one of the Chikamatsu. A well intentioned man who wanted to bring the village out of it's current situation and bring something good for it. Their plight was turned down, and for what? Amegakure had brought shame to their Great Nation when they were already suffering. This was just another scar to add onto their desert lands.
While his personality was something to be worked on, Asobi's skill with puppets had been fully demonstrated to their fullest in that battle. Enough for the head of the Puppet Corps to personally recruit him into organization. While there, Asobi learned much and improved even further. His technical skill with puppets was only further refined, as was his crafting ability. His ability to set up ambushes, prepare traps, and apply pressure on opponents was only further refined and during this time, those wounds from the conflict began to close up, even if not heal.
Asobi decided to create the "Tribute Series", a series of puppets that were made in honor of Sunagakure's fallen heroes throughout time. These puppets were not made for combat, but rather were pieces that were to be auctioned off so that he could raise money to help citizens throughout the Land of Wind that were less fortunate. In addition, he traveled around to treat various persons around the land, offering food, drink, and helping in any way he could, even offering repairs for free just to try to help improve morale around the land and village.
It was because of this as well as his skill that Asobi was even considered for Kazekage, having entered his thirties at this point. However, his ire directed at Amegakure as well as how the previous two Kazekage had handled things had the possibility dismissed in favor for Takato. While Asobi was certainly valued as a shinobi due to his venerated experience and skill with a sacred skill of the village, it was a very real concern that he would start an actual war against Amegakure if he had that sort of authority to avenge the third Kazekage.
Asobi wasn't upset as to why he was turned down, however. It was fair, and he knew that something likely would happen. He was honored to even be considered, all the same. The head of the puppet corps still realized the potential and loyalty Asobi possessed, as well as just how much he cared about the village and land. For that reason, having been ready to retire for awhile now, Asobi was named as the new leader.
This was around the point he began working on the Takamagahara series, a series of puppets inspired by various yokai. This was a series that he tried to push the boundaries of puppeteering and create new and innovative ways to create methods to bring puppetry to it's apex. Some assumed that this was out of comparisons to himself and Yuiee Tsuki. That he tried creating puppets that were so far different than what could be expected. This is a topic that naturally irritates him, and so he chooses not to acknowledge it. It is known that this is a series that he has continued to work on, however. That he truly loves.
Asobi began researching the plague in Kumogakure and worked close with the medical division of Sunagakure to prepare a cure just in case. Asobi was considerably interested in this disease as well, not just for the sake of preparing a cure, but also its origins and its effects on the body. That said, he ordered the Puppet Corps to remain alert and not allow a single person entry from Kaminari no Kuni after discussing it with the kazekage due to the advantage puppets have versus disease.
When the rebellion in Sunagakure happened, Asobi did not directly participate. Instead, he operated behind the scenes so as to find out information about the rebels. In the end, their headquarters, leaders, and those funding it were eventually found and brought to justice. Whether or not that became public information or not was not in his hands. FIGHTING STYLE Asobi is perhaps one of the most talented puppeteers in the world. At the very least, his name certainly comes up in the conversation when discussing the greatest puppeteers alive. And it does so for a reason. His skill with the puppet technique is world renown, and the lethality of his poisons makes him exceptionally dangerous to fight against. He is able to effortlessly control up to ten puppets at a time without losing a step or get caught up.
His experience in battle is also a key part of his combat, utilizing it to create openings or better anticipate what his opponent's might do. He creates misdirections and exploits any and every available weakness he can find all the while he stays off away from the actual combat, usually hidden in some way.
COMBAT INFORMATION NATURAL CHAKRA: Doton
CHAKRA AFFINITIES: Doton, Raiton, Fuuton
SOLE SPECIALIZATION: Ninjutsu (Puppetry)
SUMMONING CONTRACT & FAMILIAR: --
INVENTORY
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Exceptional Chakra Control
It goes without saying for a puppeteer, but Asobi's chakra control is well beyond simply being "above average". There is basically no excess in any technique he uses, using exactly what is needed when it is needed due to the decades at which he has spent honing this skill.
Ningyou no Ou
With nearly four decades of training and skill in the art of puppetry and usage of chakra threads, Asobi is certainly somebody to consider worthy of such a title. Capable of controlling up to ten puppets at a time without any issue, Asobi controls the battlefield with the technical finesse that few can hope to replicate. Against other puppeteers, his insight into the craft gives him a distinctive edge. He is well known for his ability to corner his opponents via misdirections and ambushes, befitting of the Captain of the Puppet Corps. The dexterity of both hands when manipulating a puppet is like a blur, faster than anyone without something like a Sharingan can keep up with, and even then it would still be a struggle. Perhaps the best example of his chakra control is the extent at which he can use his chakra threads, rendering them practically naked to the visible eye while still being able to retain enough strength to latch onto various things, not least of which involve his trademark puppets.
Prodigious Craftsman
The basics of the craft were instilled into him by his father, a celebrated craftsman of Sunagakure, but it is in his blood to be so much more. Asobi has single-handedly crafted over a hundred puppets by this point in his life, each one being considered an exceptionally sought-after and valuable creation. Such lines as the Puppet Theatre series and the Tribute series have made their way across the village as he refuses to sell his constructs out of Kaze no Kuni, a stickler in that regard. His craftmanship was in high esteem during the brief war in Amegakure. Because of this, his puppets receive an additional non-chakra reactive ability simply due to his extreme skill with crafting.
Exceptional Reflexes
Few things are more damaging for a puppeteer than when they themselves become the cornered one. With few options in the way of taijutsu, one of the only options available to them becomes to dodge. Asobi is especially aware of this. He is an astute shinobi and, though he may lack true sensory abilities, his experience combined with instinct allows him to react to many types of attacks. It's part of how he's survived as long as he has.
Genius
WIP
Subterfuge Extraordinaire
WIP
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION CHAT NAME: SPS
HOW'D YOU FIND US?: Morty (Big Shot)
LOCKER COMBO: -- (General, character rules + Newbie guide)
FACE CLAIM SERIES: Original Character (Migoyoung)
FACE CLAIM NAME: Chikamatsu, Asobi
✜ designed by catbug for use on naruto: fallen blades |
last edit by Chikamatsu, Asobi on Apr 9, 2022 6:15:35 GMT -5
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