Kazumi

Kazumi (和美) is a kunoichi of Sunagakure. At some point in her past she fled from Suna and found refuge in Konohagakure. She gets assigned to Team 12 upon becoming a ninja in the leaf village, and makes friends with many of those around her. Kazumi eventually trained under the Sannin Tsunade, wanting to become stronger. Later on, she decides to return back to Suna in means of reuniting with her childhood friend, Gaara. Kazumi was able to learn more about her past, as well as discovering that her brother, Ryo, was still living after believing he died from what had occurred in their past.

Background
In her childhood, Kazumi once lived a peaceful life in Sunagakure with her loving mother, Tanji, along with her brother Ryo and their father Ayumu. Kazumi and her father shared a close bond, though strangely, her father was frequently gone from home. No one else in the village ever had knowledge of his intentions, but Tanji had felt doubtful of it. It wasn't until one day the entirety of Kazumi’s family was slaughtered. She had to endure the pain of losing her mother and the betrayal of her father, as well as leaving her only close friend behind. Ayumu mysteriously left her and her dead mother behind. The only other person in the family who survived, other than her and her father, was her older brother Ryo. He attempted to chase after Ayumu, who was leaving the sand village without being caught, as Ryo knew that it was him who killed their family. Kazumi was told by her mother, just before her death, to flee the Sand village.

Personality
Kazumi is a calm and serene kunoichi. She is also very respectful to people and is well-liked by many. It is known that her past has much affected her personality, causing her to become more self-reliant. Although Kazumi can be emotional at times, she usually hides her true emotions well. In her childhood, she was cheerful and carefree, having a positive outlook on life. Ever since Part I however, she was sensitive and emotional, as she described herself as someone who was often crying. This is evident from her traumatizing past. Kazumi can be insecure and she has been known to hold a lot of self-doubt, as she never thought she could be strong enough to actually become a kunoichi, whereas everyone else thinks otherwise. Given her natural beauty, she thinks little of this and is sometimes shown to get annoyed by others commenting on it. Also, people see her as a brave and strong young woman, unaware that she actually keeps her more vulnerable self hidden. As most never knew that she was hiding something. Very rarely does anyone ever see her true emotional state. Despite being calm and collected, Kazumi does have occasional outbursts of anger. This is most likely because of her natural habit of bottling up her emotions rather than openly expressing them.

Kazumi is extremely sympathetic and understanding. Though she has only ever truly opened up to people such as Naruto, Sakura, and Gaara. Gaara was also the one whom she acknowledged more than anyone else, as she was one of very few who understood just how much he'd been suffering, despite believing that he was the one who killed her family. Eventually, Kazumi began to figure out that Gaara was not actually the person who caused it. She holds a deep admiration towards him, similar to that of Sakura's feelings for Sasuke, only Kazumi's is more intimate and she does not express it openly. She is also often known to be very forgiving, as shown after the Fourth Shinobi World War, Sasuke apologized to her for turning against her and his comrades. Kazumi knew how sincere he was and instantly forgave him. Because of her childhood, Kazumi was unfamiliar with the concept of having friends, as well as the difficulty of trusting others. As shown in part I, she was accustomed to being alone and giving most others a cold shoulder, much in a way like Sasuke. But unlike him, Kazumi never shows arrogance or thinks lowly of those around her.

By part II, Kazumi has matured a lot more and has also become more determined. She learned most of this from enduring the pain of losing those close to her. She nearly lost all of her hope, giving up on her chances in life. Though Kazumi eventually made the decision herself that giving up was not what any of her comrades would have wanted her to do. Despite her much gained determination, Kazumi still tends the habit of second guessing her self. As noticed by Sakura, Kazumi has also gained a sarcastic and snarky side, in which she uses to hide her softness. She was tired of being repeatedly called "soft", hence the reason for her attitude. She has always remained calm regardless of most occasions. Even if she were to be put in a situation where she feels uncomfortable or disagrees with another, instead of complaining, she decides to manage it calmly as she is not one to be involved in arguments.

Appearance
Kazumi has light beige or hazel eyes with notably long eyelashes. Her eye color is said to supposedly match that of the sand in Suna. She has fair skin, and long straight, dark burgundy colored hair. In her childhood it was chin length. In part I, her hair grew down to her waist, while in Part II, it had a more choppy appearance; being shorter in the front and longer in the back. A notable trait is her attractiveness, as she is oftentimes considered by others as very beautiful. Another notable trait would be her height; she is tall for being female.

In Part I, Kazumi's attire consists of a light grey-blue short-sleeve v-neck top that extends past her hips. Underneath the shirt is a white cloth wrapped around her chest, which reaches down to her Torso. In addition, Kazumi wore dark gray or black leggings that just about covered her knees with a weapons pouch on her right thigh. Her blue forehead protector was tied around her neck, and her sandals were also a dark blue. At the start of part II, Kazumi's attire had a few changes from part I. Her top being the same color, only it is shorter as well as the sleeves. Her chest binding was removed, with instead being a short sleeve fishnet top. Kazumi now has her left arm covered with bandage wrapping, as she had been at risk of having it amputated caused from poison injected, spreading through the entire arm. She wears a short brown apron skirt over dark blue shorts, and black sandals.

After transferring to Suna, Kazumi's attire has changed completely. She wore a grey kimono-styled blouse with longer sleeves and a beige sash tied around the waist. Underneath, she wears a fishnet top. She now has her entire left arm covered in bandage wrapping. Kazumi's leggings and shoes have changed the most. Her leggings are longer, though they appear to be the same color as in part I. The upper left part of the thigh is fishnet. Her shoes now being black sandal boots, reaching just below her knees, with lavender or light grey knee braces worn underneath. She also wears black fingerless gloves. Ever since part II, Kazumi no longer wore her forehead protector around her neck, as she changed to wearing it around her waist. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kazumi wore more regular clothing along with the Suna-infantry flak jacket.

After settling down from the war, Kazumi's appearance is a bit different. Her hair is longer with the bangs nearly covering her right eye. She also has notable light blue eyeshadow. Her attire is a long beige blouse with mid length sleeves. She wears black loose fitting pants underneath which extend past her knees, and black heeled sandals.

Abilities
As mentioned by her sensei Riku, he believed she had the most hidden potential compared to most other genin, much to her disbelief. Although from part II and onward, Kazumi has let go of much of her self-doubt, allowing herself to become a truly talented kunoichi. Kazumi has excelled somewhat in both ninjutsu and taijutsu. However, it could be considered that she had lacked the abilities of genjutsu, before training under Tsunade.

Chakra Control and Physical Prowess
Kazumi seemed to have already had a basic skill of taijutsu as a genin, so even without that further training, she was still able to manage. But after training under Tsunade, alongside Sakura, Kazumi has gained the Chakra Enhanced Strength technique, as well as other various techniques. Both Kazumi and Sakura have incredible strength. It could be said however, that Kazumi has much higher agility and force in comparison. Although, despite being trained under Tsunade, who specializes in medical ninjutsu, Kazumi was seen to focus more on combat than healing in part II. Whether or not she purposefully did this is unknown, or may be that she was not as experienced with it as Sakura. She became one of Konoha’s greatest medical-nin, whereas Kazumi worked hard as well to become one in Suna, but she herself still does not believe her healing abilities could ever be matched with Sakura’s.

Cursed Seal
Her abilities have remarkably improved after being branded with a curse mark created by Ayumu, whom was the only other being known to possess it. This cursed seal is much different from those Orochimaru brands to his subjects, as Kazumi’s did not change her physical state. Only, it allows her the use of two extra arms, which are completely invisible to the naked eye, unless one were to possess the Byakugan. She uses them to her advantage against her opponents, blocking direct attacks, throwing objects, and giving her extra jumping power. It is capable of creating a barrier surrounding her. She can even use it to grab hold of enemies or suffocate them on certain occasions. During a fight against Deidara, this power was able to protect her from nearly all of his explosives. Her entire left arm was darkened after the seal was implanted into her. Also, on her shoulder, there appears to be a mysterious marking in the shape of an X with arrows.

Gaining this ability has also greatly improved her ninja capabilities. At the start of part II, she was nearly at the stage of becoming a Jōnin. One of her greatly induced strengths being chakra control, as well as speed, rivaling that of Sasuke Uchiha’s. She was able to hold her own against him for some time during their fight in part II. However, it was proven the seal has the inability to shield her from his Chidori, as it is able to penetrate its defense. After the Fourth Shinobi World War the cursed seal was presumably extracted from her.

Intelligence
Kazumi possesses a sharp intellect. She performed remarkably well during her time as an Academy student. Her main focus was always on studying and getting good grades. Because of this, Kazumi is able to solve any sort of problem, usually without too much thought put into it. She tends to examine a given situation before engaging, as she believes it is crucial to know what is to be managed and what is not. Her fast working mind and high intelligence could also be from her past experiences at such a young age, learning how to act and deal with losing those things most precious to her, and knowing how ones emotions work. Her sensei, Soren, knew that she was wise past her years and thought that she would be a valuable asset to any team. After the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kazumi became the assistant of the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara.

Dōjutsu
Although not nearly as known or as capable of being controlled as other dōjutsu, Kazumi wields one of the “Four Great Dōjutsu”; the Kyōkigan (輪廻眼, Literally meaning: Madness Eye). It allows her to look into the eyes of her target, and cause them to have incredibly disturbing hallucinations, as well as tricking them into thinking as if they are in searing physical pain. It is said that the Kyōkigan’s genjutsu affects are so powerful, that even the most skilled ninja have much difficulty escaping it. The Kyōkigan only activates when it comes into contact with the Sharingan or any form of it. It even allows her to harness exceptional eyesight, being able to see from a great distance away. Also, Kazumi was shown to be capable of seeing right through a genjutsu’s affects. When her and the Three Sand Siblings confronted Sasuke at the summit, he began to use his Maangekyō Sharingan on her, but she was unaffected by it.

Because of its immense power, Kazumi was only ever able to activate it twice, as it put her at risk of having to lose her vision after only the first time.

Ninjutsu
Kazumi specializes mainly in wind and lightning release. She possesses her own personal technique, “Lightning Kick”, in which she performs rapid kicks to her opponent while releasing electricity in her feet. When using lightning techniques, she can form it into spears which when thrown, travel at a tremendous speed.

Wind manipulation
Being born from the sand village, she uses wind release techniques, usually for slicing through even the toughest of objects using only her hands. This ties in with her chakra control, inflicting immense air pressure upon impact. After transfering to Suna in part II, it was discovered that Kazumi was just as capable with wind release as Temari, even without the use of a giant folding fan. Kazumi can even manipulate the wind in conjunction with the sand, creating a sandstorm which can blind her opponent‘s vision. It is also possible for her to use Wind with Gaara’s abilities.

Trivia

 * The name “Kazumi” literally means “Harmonious beauty”, or “Peaceful beauty”（和美).
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Kazumi's hobbies are reading and solving problems
 * Kazumi's favorite foods are kani meshi, and green tea, with her least favorite being nattō.
 * Kazumi has completed 44 missions in total: 10 D-rank, 7 C-rank, 9 B-rank, 16 A-rank, 1 S-rank.
 * Her favorite words are "trust" (信頼, shinrai) and "friendship" (友情, yūjō)
 * Kazumi wishes to fight her older brother, Ryo.
 * She is one of very few who has never had a fear of Gaara.
 * Kazumi is the only female to have ever possessed the Kyōkigan.
 * Kazumi seemingly is cross-dominant, as she is more frequently shown punching and throwing with her right hand, as well as right leg with kicking, while she writes and eats with her left hand. However in the anime, she was once shown holding chopsticks in her right hand. It is unknown whether or not this was a mistake made, or that Kazumi is simply able to use both hands for that matter.