Kasumi Akiyama

Kasumi Akiyama (秋山カスミ, Akiyama Kasumi) is a kunoichi that originated from Iwagakure. She was an informant for Deidara, consecutively before his death, and is now a mercenery rogue. She's an original character created by ~Love-Inspired of DeviantART. (Now on the account SweetContext).

This wiki contains SPOILERS.

Background
Kasumi was a resident of Iwagakure up until the time she was seven years old. During this time she was praised by her parents, Isamu and Hotaru; as well as her other clansmen for her outstanding progress - being above average level before entering her respective academy; being equal to chūnin level when she graduated. Most of her days in the academy were spent with Deidara and Kimiko Yakamashi, her two closest friends in Iwa. She often found herself helping the elder Yakamashi; eventually gradutating two years ahead of her.

Her clan was renowned as very powerful because of a rare kekkei genkai that trailed through specific and worthy female generations; and very few male generations. The clan also had come up with many useful jutsus of their own. One being their Hiden, where the shinobi could physically seal a blade or weapon of choice to whichever arm it was wielded; giving them the ability to switch between their hand and weapon in seconds, reducing the gap of unsheathing a weapon which could cause serious problems. Therefore, the Akiyama clan was a wise choice to make up most of the tight security around Iwa, and act closely with the Third Tsuchikage as most were well-trained shinobi.

With Iwagakure still uneasy with Konohagakure from the previous war, the Tsuchikage took decisive action both against the removal of their powerful kekkei genkai, and their ties with the Mizushima Clan and ordered the annihilation of every member, thereby destroying the bloodline trait inevitably and preventing them as traitors against the village in case after years of work with the latter clan.

During that time, only the members of the Akiyama knew who the true host was - Kasumi. She had been with Deidara and Ōkami when the attack occured. This made young Kasumi panic, running to her home to see the destruction and her mother attempting to heal her own major wounds. Ōkami who was nine, grabbed her from the doorway before she was spotted; carrying her as he followed Deidara to the edge of the village to hide. Deidara eventually suggested for them to flee. Since they would have been thought of dead anyway, they would not be hunted down.

For the most part afterwards, life was hard for the pair. They lived in the desolate areas around Konohagakure until Kaito - Kasumi's personal blacksmith - discovered them living by themselves. He worried for the two, and took them under his wing up until his death, the same day Kasumi was blinded permanently (eight and a half at the time). They were kept outside of the village as to keep suspicion low, while Kaito confided in Kakashi secretly about the two.

Kakashi struggled to have them become a part of the Leaf village -- arguing that they were orphans betrayed by their own village and that even Kasumi was blind thus there was no reason for them to be plotting against the leaf. The ongoing war between the stone and the leaf didn't make it easier, but the Third had trust in Kakashi, and eventually allowed the two to be adopted by the Mizushima's.

Sometime during her life in the village, she was teamed up with Tsukira Akai and one other. She and Tsukira became very close friends, and she even learned of her affections for Itachi. Kasumi then took the initiative to learn as much about him as she could, and made a promise to her friend about Itachi's safety.

However at fifteen, Kasumi abandoned the Leaf after hearing word of familiar people working with the Akatsuki. Her motive was to find information on her clan's eradication.

Third Shinobi World War
Although being the young age of 2, Kasumi bore witness to the hatred that brewed from war, lasting the two years until it's end. However, due to her family's strong ties and bonds to the Mizushima's they forcefully withdrew themselves from all wars involving Konoha, and remained a neutral party. This final war causing the spark that would end in the clan's destruction three years post war. As with previous stone-leaf wars, the Akiyama compound was closed off. The Tsuchikage let this slide time after time, but slowly lost his patience as the years went on.

Relations with the Mizushima Clan
As tradition held strong between the two clans, Kasumi was met with her personal blacksmith when she was 4 years old. A kind and caring man, Kasumi began to feel like Kaito Mizushima was family to her. For her sixth birthday, he gifted her his finest made katana in hopes that it would be used for her hiden.

Following his death two years later, Kasumi grieved his memory for months. It was a hard loss for her as a child, and was a death she would never get over.

Personality
Kasumi is a naturally quiet and composed woman, but is quick to flare her temper and overreact to simple things, such as minor annoyances. She is not one to always partake in an unecessary fight, but would do so if provoked or angered into the situation. Being the host presents her normal personality in the first years of her life, becoming sadistic, crude, arrogant and self oriented, vicious and cold hearted; but this is usually mixed in subtly and gradually. Kasumi also shows a perverted side, through her love of Icha Icha Paradise.

She does show signs of being a happy person, especially around her parents, Deidara, whom she is very fond for, and later on Motoki. Only letting this side of her show when she is with people she trusts and knows well, she can be obnoxiously funny, kind and caring.

Her parents were referred to as Mother and Father (母様, Haha-sama / 父様, Tou-sama) and she often referred to Deidara with a shortened version of his name (デイ, Dei), showing her close connections with the elder. When giving Sasori intel, she would unmistakably refer to him as Master Sasori (サソリの旦那, Sasori no Danna) because of her utmost respect for the man. She held respect for both his and Sasori's art, often ignoring their squabbles until it got unbearable, to which she'd intervene, or leave.

However, when Sasori was killed and replaced with Tobi; she found herself quite often irritated by his and Deidara's fighting, ending up in hitting the two over the head in frustration. Kasumi often called Tobi a hyperactive idiot (非常に活発にばか, Hijō ni kappatsu ni baka).

Later on, as a mother, her usual cold demeanor has become more motherly and affectionate. She struggled with herself at first to become more open and accepting, but eventually became more comfortable with the idea. As a sensei, Kasumi takes pride in her students abilities and makes note to them that she'll always be there if they need her. To her, her students are like family and would protect them at all costs.

Appearance


Kasumi has slanted, colorless eyes with long black hair styled into choppy uneven layers and a choppy side-swept bang that covers her left eye. Before becoming blind, her eyes were a soft green color that resembled her mother's own eye color. However, being blind has its advantages for her; for occular genjutsu such as the Sharingan and many other genjutsu, have no effect since she cannot see them. However, Izanami will affect her. She wears a blue halter top with bandages binding her chest. Around her neck is her forehead protector, with the stone village symbol slashed, showing she rescinded her allegiance and rejected her villages. On her arms she wears a stainless steel, chakra infused cuff, which aids in the reinforcement of her arm. On her left is a gold bangle. Attached to her belt is an open skirt with her clan symbol on the back.

In her older years, she opts for a grey bodysuit, blue shirt and purple cloak. Her hair is cut shorter and tied into a braid and her bangs cut choppy, similar to her mother's.

Abilities
Kasumi is a very intelligent and keen shinobi, often calculating many moves ahead (although not nearly as many as Shikamaru) and not often being fooled. She is a strong close-range fighter; having high taijutsu skills and swordsmanship along with exceptional ninjutsu to back her up; this made her the perfect partner for for any long-ranger fighter

Hearing
Since the loss of her vision, Kasumi has become well adept to using all of her other senses in battle and for everyday tasks. One of her most notable hearing traits, however, is her ability to recognize a voice and distinguish a person if only meeting them perhaps once, or twice, or hearing them off in the distance.

Smell
Like Kiba, Kasumi has learned to strengthen her sense of smell significantly by concentrating her chakra in her nose; making her an exceptional tracker - aids her in her mercenary work and locating Deidara when he is in need. She also distinguishes her friends from foes by their scents, and is not easily fooled by impersonation clones for this reason, aside from Zetsu's clones. Although it may not be as strong as Kiba's, it is still quite useful for those around her. She has been known to be able to tell how much chakra one has in reserve just by the smell of their pharamones.

Sight
Even though she is deemed blind, she can still "see" to some degree. Forcing chakra to her feet allows her to pick up vibrations in the earth up to a 5 km radius (being strongest within 1.5 km), allowing her to form a picture of these vibrations (like echolocation) in her mind - which appears to be black with white lining. However she cannot see detail, only the outermost outline of whatever the vibrations hit. This is her form of chakra sensory.

Body Structure: Right Arm
After fusing her katana to her right arm, the entirety of the bones that make up her arm are composed of a highly dense iron/chromium metalloid. The many bones of her arm and hand is what makes up her blade, and any other metal on her arm (rings, jewellery, etc.) is absorbed into the composition of her blade.

When her blade is not in use, being hit with her arm, or a punch is much harder than with her left hand, due to the added weight of the metalloid. Cutting through her forearm is nearly impossible, but scratches that happen to the blade when summoned, would appear on her bones.

Summoning Techniques
Animals

During Kasumi's travels, she formed a contract that allowed her to summon owls of differing sizes, while having two that she was fond of, stay with her permanently. Kō (幸, "Fortune") and Kichi (吉, "Luck"), often aid her in battle, deliver messages for her and scout.

Blade
The Akiyama Clan has perfected their Fūinjutsu over the course of many generations. The incantations and scribes are passed down to the children from a young age, and they regularly attend these ceremonies as witness and to learn. The clan values these ceremonies among others as incredibly important, and it is encouraged to bear witness to them.

The purpose of their fūinjutsu is to form a contract with a weapon. The weapon seal is then burned into the ulna or radius upon completion and the weapon itself melts down and binds to the bones. All that's needed to activate it, is blood of the contract maker on the skin. Those that are extremely proficient appear to not even be drawing blood, and the exchange is faster than the brain can process. Most of these weapons are made from the special material that allows the absorption of chakra. Kasumi's is one of these.

Taijutsu
Kasumi spent a large amount of time as a child, and throughout her time as genin and chunin perfecting her taijutsu. Coupled with her speed, it is her greatest skill; from genin to jōnin. It allows her to strike many successive combos of punches and kicks in a short period of time, usually overwhelming her opponent.

In part II, she is seen to be able to ambush enemies and travel large gaps in battle before those around her can react. On the reverse, this makes her aptitude in the body flicker technique well enough that she can cut down an enemy before they've noticed she's moved.

Kenjutsu
In part I, Kasumi is moderately adapted to her hiden, able to wield it like most novice sword users, but was nothing overly worrisome to others. By part II, Kasumi has mastered the ability and uses it more for close range assassinations, and defense, and has become considerably dangerous to those who come into close combat with her. Combined with her high taijutsu, one would find it better to fight her long-range.

Tenton
Blast Release (点遁, Tenton) is the Akiyama clan's revered kekkei genkei. Often confused for a tailed beast because of its vast chakra supply, each host has been refered to as a "shinobi with demonic (amounts of) chakra" (悪魔のようなチャクラと一緒に忍,Akuma no yōna chakura to issho ni nin).

This kekkei genkei, however, does not follow a consistent path throughout the generations. It is more of a luck and chance between the female generations, and few male generations. It will and can skip up to as many as three to four generations before resurfacing, since most members have an unorthodox life span - their clan headsman being 115 years old before passing away.

Blast Release: Earth Upheaval (点遁・地面 変動,Tenton: Jimen hendō) is an example of blast release. Through combinations of fire release and earth release, and the high compression of their chakra, blast release comes into fruition. For the above jutsu, the user slams their palm(s) to the ground, rapidly heating the earth's crust with their chakra until it can no longer hold back the pressure; tearing up the ground towards the target up to 10 m (32 ft) away from the user, in an explosion like reaction, sending 900°C debris hurdling in all directions towards the target.

Another jutsu is Blast Release: Living Nightmare (点遁・住悪夢, Tenton: Jū akumu), wherein the user's body becomes engulfed in flames hot enough to peel flesh from bone. It can only be used for 5 minutes at a time before the user's own body becomes far too overheated and needs to be rapidly cooled. If not, the user suffers great damage to their own body, chakra supply and energy. The cool down time before re-use is 30 minutes or longer. The number of times used per day varies by user and the training they've put towards it.

Konoha Crush
During Orochimaru's invasion of the Leaf, Kasumi's role was helping citizens and protecting younger genin. She is also seen at the Third Hokage's funeral.

Search For Tsunade
At some point after the Akatsuki's first appearance, Kasumi deserts the Leaf in attempts to gather information about her clan's demise, and intel regarding the Uchiha clan. During her travels, she meets another missing-nin by the name of Motoki; whom abandoned his village in search of valuables and to pursue thievery.

Main Article: Itachi Pursuit Mission
After sealing the Four-Tailed Monkey, Kasumi informed Deidara that Naruto and an eight man squad were in search of Itachi and Sasuke. After Deidara's open statement of his grudge against Naruto for punching him and disrespecting his art, Kasumi mentioned that she knew Naruto and that he can be indeed a formidable opponent, and should not be taken lightly as well as the with other eight. She also told of former Akatsuki member, Orochimaru's death. Knowing Deidara had wanted to kill Orochimaru himself, she was not surprised that Deidara wanted to search and fight his killer; Sasuke Uchiha. She tagged along with the pair to find Sasuke. When they finally found him, Deidara asked Kasumi not to involve herself; but allowed Tobi to assist him with the assault against Sasuke.

As Kasumi watched from the trees -now joined by Tobi-, she noticed Deidara's increasing anger and was hoping that it would not end as badly as she assumed it could. Being unaffected by Sasuke's genjutsu the entire time, she understood why he was so frustrated; remembering his hatred towards Itachi and the Sharingan.

Knowing his chakra was low and was enraged by Sasuke's uncaring attitude, she attempted to leap from the tree; being held back by Tobi who told her to stay put. She cursed at his sudden serious attitude, but kept her place. They continued to on look the situation, until Deidara used his C0 which then Tobi pulled Kasumi into his Space Time Migration to escape the blast.

She was devestated with this outcome, as she'd sensed for a fraction of a second before teleporting, a summoned creature (Manda) which had protected Sasuke from the blast. This enraged her and she's held a grudge against Sasuke since this time.

Main Article: Fated Battle Between Brothers
Having been tailing Sasuke for quite some time, she was not surprised when he arrived at the Uchiha hideout. An ache fell over her chest, knowing something with an unfavorable outcome was to occur. Nevertheless, she sent Kō and Kichi together to get a better view. For a while things seemed quiet, this unsettled Kasumi, as she could not tell what was going on; she could only sense one strong chakra and one weak chakra. She would spend this match as a spectator.

When the roof of the hideout began to collapse, she resummoned Kō and Kichi to her location, and moved along the treeline to get a better idea of what was going on. Where she was hiding among the treeline, her long-range perception was skewed. With her summons letting her know what was happening, Kasumi only feared the worst. The thought would be cut off when she was forced to move once again to avoid the flames of Amaterasu.

She could feel the atmosphere becoming heavy, signalling Sasuke's large scale lightning attack. For a moment after the attack, she couldn't sense Itachi's chakra, and it filled her with dread. It soon dissipated when the overwhelming pressure of Susano'o appeared; And then once more, a familiar chakra presence seemed to come from Sasuke as a source. She couldn't believe the presence to be Orochimaru's until Kō confirmed that it was in fact him. A feeling of excitement passed over her when she was told that he was quickly dealt with by Itachi. Her excitement faded however, at the sudden loss of Itachi's presence. Clenching her teeth angrily, she held back tears; a long ago promise would not be hers to fulfill.

Main Article: Five Kage Summit (Arc)
As per Obito's orders, she was to scout out the Land of Iron and gain intel about the Five Nations as well, while their Kage weren't present.

Main Article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown
Kasumi stayed allied as an informant for Akatsuki, even after Team Hawk's alliance and the alliance with Kabuto. By Obito's side, she witnessed Kabuto perform Summoning: Impure World Resurrection as a means to prove his power to Obito. She became severely displeased at the revival of Deidara, Sasori and Itachi, but held her tongue since Obito had much more power over her.

Fourth Shinobi World War Arc
As the war grew closer, Kasumi insisted on keeping her distance from the war and wanting no part of it. She and Motoki stayed stationary, and a few of her clones were sent to hide near battlefields. As a precautionary, she kept a specific clone near Ōkami at all times, to prevent heart failure. Another one of her clones, found Tsukira in the medical division, and kept tabs on her as well.

She felt helpless as she witnessed many of her old friends die, cursing herself and deeming it as some kind of punishment for the life she'd chosen. Soon it was turned to anger when she spotted first a familiar friend, Deidara along with Sasori and later becoming enraged at the revival of her parents.

It became increasingly difficult for her, trying to maintain control of her clones while Ōkami engaged in battle with his, and keeping a close eye on Tsukira. Coming closer to her breaking point, Ōkami fell into cardiac arrest, forcing her to use her clone for CPR, and watching helplessly as the medical division was obliterated by the attacks of the Ten Tails.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax
Although far from the battlefield, Kasumi was ultimately influenced by the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and ensnared by the Shinju. She dreamed of a world where she could return home, and be with her family and friends once more.

Road To Ninja
Kasumi appears in various scenes. Where things seem to be opposite, Kasumi lives in the village. Her demeanor is pleasant and friendly, versus her usual cold and rude tendencies. She is also taller than her normal self, has her vision, her hair is cut short and she wears a vastly different outfit. Kasumi also has a scar under her left eye from when she was attacked as a child.

The Last: Naruto the Movie
Although Kasumi doesn't play any important role in the movie, it is at this time that she reconciles with the village. She and Motoki are seen bowing on all fours with heads touching the ground and asking forgiveness from Kakashi, the current Hokage.

Epilogue
Kasumi has since married Motoki and has two children. She continues her jōnin duties and teaches a team of her own. During those sixteen years, she has rekindled old friendships and worked to prove her loyalty. She is seen visiting Ōkami in the hospital with his wife and daughter.

Trivia

 * Kasumi is born on Winter Solstice.
 * Kasumi advanced to chūnin level within Konoha, but obtained her genin rank in Iwa, which is why she keeps her Iwagakure forehead protector.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Kasumi has completed 66 official missions in total: 15 D-Rank, 22 C-Rank, 21 B-Rank, 5 A-Rank and 3 S-Rank.
 * Kasumi's hobby is to sing, but only to herself. They were usually soft lullabys that she remembers from her childhood.
 * Kasumi wishes to fight Kabuto and Sasuke Uchiha.
 * Kasumi's favorite food is chawanmushi (a custard flavored with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin, with numerous other ingredients) and sweets. Her least favorite food is fish.
 * Her favorite phrase according to the databook is "Stay focused." (滞在集中させる, Taizai shūchū sa seru. ) Her favorite word is "Forgiveness" (許し, Yurushi).
 * Kasumi's cousin, Ōkami, first introduced the Icha Icha Series to her. He would read it to her, and she became addicted. She can no longer keep up with the series since she has no one to read it to her.
 * Before her clan name is revealed, she goes by "Iwa Kasumi".
 * Kasumi is quite forgetful, despite her high intelligence.
 * Kasumi is ambidextrous; having to learn to use her left hand for most of her training since her right arm is preoccupied. This means she can perform some, but very few, of her ninjutsu seals with only one hand.
 * Kasumi has lived through two wars. The third and fourth Shinobi World Wars.
 * Kasumi's chakra color is yellow-green.

Quotes

 * To Obito: "You; You will die a most painful death. Give me that pleasure."
 * To Zetsu: "You breathe a word of this to Obito, and I will spill all of Akatsuki's secrets. Obito knows he cannot kill me. He dare not kill off one of the most elite clans known to Iwa when he could use it to his advantage."
 * About Iwagakure: "Returning there isn't an option. I'm a pest to them, one that they think is fully exterminated. If I'm to go there, it's to see Kimiko."
 * To Deidara: "Deidara, you are the most important thing in the world to me. I never want to lose you, don't you ever leave me."
 * To Kimiko (as a child): "Let's be friends, okay? And even if we get separated, I promise to meet up with you again!"
 * To Kakashi and Tomoko (while training): "No! I'm not ready to give up yet! I'll learn this technique even if it's the last thing I do!"
 * To Motoki: "You've given me a reason to not give up, to let those who were close to me and died live on in my memories, instead of burying them. Thank you."
 * About Konoha: "Konoha has felt more like a home to me than Iwagakure ever had. I never felt any hostility when I came to Konoha, it just felt like coming home."
 * "I love you mother, father!"
 * Finding Tsukira (Dying): "Come on, come on stay with me... Tsu-Tsukira, come on. It's me! See! It's me...! I'm here, please stay with me! I'm sorry..."
 * Upon Tsukira's death: "No... no. No. No. No! Fuck!"

Resources

 * The calculated age for chapter 700 is approximately 16 years after chapter 699. Naruto Hiden is another 2 years after chapter 700. I am using this guide, which translated this official timeline, here.