Norio Namikaze

Norio Uzumaki Namikaze ( 太秦 namikaze 紀夫, Uzumaki Namikaze ​ Norio) is a jounin-level shinobi from Konohagakure. Aged 18 at the start of the series and 21 in Shippuden however his story begins 12 years before the Naruto series in the wake of the Kyubi attack and the years leading up to Naruto. He is one of the main characters in the Naruto series acting as Naruto's older brother.

Background
Childhood

Norio is the first child of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. He grew up with a relatively happy childhood but did so in the shadow of his father. Knowing that his father was a phenomanal ninja he felt he should be the same. Because of this he trained vigorously as soon as he was able and paid extra attention to the ninja code especially the rule stating to "Never show emotion". He enjoyed his life and was eager for the birth of his baby brother, Naruto. Then October 10th arrived.

Norio had been training late into the night once more, but this time he was being watched by a certain masked man, Tobi. Even though Minato assigned Raido Namiashi to guard him he was easily defeated. Tobi appeared before the boy and wisely Norio attempted to escape, but because of his 'overtraining' Norio caught a cramp and was captured.

Tobi then went on to instigate the events of the Kyubi attack. When Minato teleported the fox away from the village and was preparing to seal him within Naruto while Kushina held the Kyubi in place with her chakra chains, Tobi appeared. He brought Norio out of the dimension in his eye and held a kunai to his neck. Luckily Minato had given Norio one of is Time-Space kunai earlier and was able to separate the man from his son. He then preceded to repel Tobi, but the shrewd ninja revealed that he had placed a paper bomb on Norio.

Minato instantly jumped, but even he wasn't fast enough to stop the explosion from horribly maiming Norio's right arm and scarring his left eye. It was after this that Tobi disappeared and Minato went on to seal the Kyubi in Naruto and died with Kushina.

Genin

Norio was able to graduate from the academy at age 7, albeit as one of the worst students, because of the time he spent mourning, and was placed on the team with Itachi Uchiha and Hana Inuzuka to try and balance out the team. Their jounin sensei was Shisui Uchiha. The relationship between Norio and his teammates was distant at best because he had not-so-great first impressions with them with Itachi beating Norio in a rather embarrassing fashion in the academy and Norio having collided with Hana when he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. However under the guidance of Shisui and the missions they partook in they became closer, but Norio always felt that Itachi was hiding parts of himself from view.

Chunin & Jounin

Throughout the years the three came to be good friends finally separating only once all three made chunin, but they stayed in contact. Norio by now had gained much confidence maybe too much confidence as he was no longer the shy, withdrawn boy he once was. Itachi had become a Jounin along with Norio while Hana remained a Chunin (something Norio teases her about). He, Itachi, and Shisui were given a mission, but during this mission Norio's overconfidence got him into a situation where he was beaten severly by a mob of people. He was saved by Shisui and Itachi, but his former sensei removed him from the mission for his hubris. Norio returned home and had to await their return. When they did finally arrive Shisui told Norio that for his performance on the mission Itachi was to become an ANBU captain. This seemed to spark a change in Norio as he became more serious and focused. It was also during this time that he noticed Itachi becoming increasingly distant and spent much more time with Shisui. Deciding to call him on it Norio went to his friends home one night and to his horror found most of the Uchiha dead. He raced through the compound searching for his friend, but what he found shocked him.

Itachi had knocked out Sasuke by the time he arrived and Norio gave chase. He eventually caught up to Itachi and demanded a reason for the massacre. When Itachi answered with only, "Power" and telling Norio only that he should "go home" he attacked. The two former friends battled throughout the forest and despite Norio employing trickery and some questionable tactics he was defeated by Itachi's Tsukiyomi.

He awoke two days later now vengeful at his friend. He realized that he had become complacent during the years and decided that he needed to leave the village to re-train. However before he left he spent time with Naruto and attempted to befriend Sasuke, partially because he knew what if felt like to lose one's parents and partially because he didn't want Sasuke to turn out like Itachi and betray the village. It was because of his efforts that Sasuke and Naruto became like brother's mimicing the relationship he had with Itachi. He trained them both before the time came for him to leave.

When the time came he left with Jiraiya for a total of five years, but only stayed with him for two departing for three years for his own brand of intense training.

Personality
Initially Norio's personality is a stark contrast to those of his parents, Minato and Kushina, two people who are known for their outspoken personalities. He was quiet and shy often twisting the spikes of his hair while averting his gaze away from the eyes of others. Minato and others who knew him well stated that he "spent too much time in his head" meaning he was introspective. This is probably why he was so absent-minded often forgetting things, such as his sandals, breaking things due to carelessness, and was prone to daydreaming. Norio lacked self-confidence which was his greatest flaw as it prevented him from developing as fast as he could. He was also presumptuous shown when he heard a conversation between Minato and Kushina he thought his father felt he was an inadequate ninja.Despite this he could become emboldened when angered or motivated by his desire to protect his family and their honor even to the point where he would challenge a Sannin to single combat. He also inherited his parent's "never-say-die" attitude which pushed him to train to the point of near collapse almost everyday this is what probably led to him being able to learn the Rasengan in one year whereas it took his father three. He also showed signs of clever intelligence as he was able to win a bet with Tsunade using his ingenuity and preparational skills.

As a teenager his personality took a major turn, due to his experience of success as a genin team he became more confident in his skills and therefore advanced faster. He became more ready to speak his mind and was noted as being "bold" a few times. Norio developed a sharp wit and constantly used it to tease and irritate people for fun. However this seemed to have gone to his head as he became relatively cocky. His arrogance was enough that he felt he was strong enough to protect those close to him at his current skill level causing him to neglect his training. Notably, he was shown to be moderately perverted as he nosebled at Naruto's sexy jutsu after initially ignoring it and telling Naruto to go away. It took a savage beating by a mob of people and a sound defeat by Itachi for him to see the flaws in his personality. It was during this time that he started to change into the man he would become for the rest of his life.

At 18, Norio returned to the village with a vastly different personality. He was far more serious and methodical, but lacked a debilitating ego. He made it a point to always be prepared shown when he set traps in and around his home, made a tunnel underneath his house that leads out of the village, and constantly wore heavier mesh armor to protect his vital organs against sharp weaponry. Others meeting him for the first time often saw him as a solemn young man who did not say much that wasn't needed. He was respectful to his elders and showed marked restraint with his emotions, but he became more relaxed and friendly with a select few such as Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Jiraiya, and Hana. He claimed his time on his own taught him the true lessons of the world. However he seemed to have developed a darker side to his personality as shown on a mission with Asuma Sarutobi he would make decisions that could be viewed as amoral such as strapping paper bombs to a child's body and using her as a bargaining chip (though the child was the daughter of a gang leader that was about to have him and his comrade killed) or reckless such as removing his earpiece when he thought he had the situation under control. He was also willing to lie to those close to him if he felt it was necessary.

It was also discovered by Sasuke and Naruto that he was a bit obssessive with killing Itachi and the experience of losing his friend made him less trustworthy of others. This is best shown when they stumbled across a secret room containing information on the weaknesses observed in his comrades and recommended tactics to defeat them in case they ever became a threat to Konoha. There was even one on Sasuke and Naruto.

Despite Norio's calcuated persona he still wonders at times if his decision was the best one and whether there might have been another way to approach a situation. He also seems to have a somewhat pathological fear of being weak as he will not readily accept help from others unless there is no choice and will often respond to offers of assistance with "I'm fine" or "I can handle it". This seems to stem from the fact that it was his perceived weakness that led to the death of his parents.

He also has a unorthodox approach to combat saying that if he would say one thing to the next generation it would be, "Don't be afraid to fight dirty." In additon Norio seems reluctant to kill or at the very least feels it unnecessary if he can incapacitate someone instead.

Appearance
In his youth Norio was said to resemble Minato save for his black hair and lack of bangs. They did share the same color of eyes and spiky hair style however. After Tobi's kidnapping Norio received a burn scar over his left eye, which others claim make him look like a bulldog, and a far more grotesque scar that runs from his right shoulder to his hand which he keeps covered in bandages.

As he grew older his face became even more like Minato's and he even developed the same bangs though his were more "fang-like" in appearance.

As a child he typically wore a black undershirt under a slim long-sleeved red coat with a high collar and black coloring on the wrists. He wore red a red jeans with black ninja sandals and his headband tied around his forehead as a genin.

As a chunin and prior to his leaving Konoha he wore a black sleevless vest that was unzipped with pockets for holding equipment. Under that was a dark blue t-shirt and his father's Time-Space kunai tied around his neck on a thin string along with matching bottoms and fingerless gloves. His headband was tied around his left leg at this time.

After returning to Konoha afterr five years Norio now wore a simple onyx sleeveless shirt that had the Uzumaki symbol on the back with mesh armor sticking out the arms and collar. Around his left arm was a strap with a holster for a scroll that contained water. His right ear was pierced, not by an earring, but by a stud like accessory that was actually his bo staff, which tripled as nunchaku, a three-section pole, and Eskrima sticks, that he could enlarge to its regular size. His father's special kunai was kept in a holster on his lower right leg. His headband was tied around his right arm.

Abilities
Norio is a very capable ninja capable of going toe-to-toe with ninja such as Kakashi and Itachi. He is very skilled with his nature elements and a master of the four weapons his staff provides. His prowess in ninjutsu and taijutsu are high as even Itachi states that in a pure physical contest it would take "a prolonged period" to defeat him though he is less than skilled in genjutsu only being able to produce simple ones, but can break out of all but the strongest ones. He is also proficient in sealing due to studying the scrolls of his mother's clan being able to perform advanced seals as well as create his own.

In order to better defeat Itachi he had trained himself to fight blind or by studying his opponents feet, just like Gai. Though his most dangerous ability is probably his intelligence. He prepares extensively for any missions he goes on and create deceptive strategies in the heat of battle however most of these involve taking a direct hit or enduring a substantial amount of pain. He is also not above attacking an enemy with their back turned, biting, throwing dirt in the eyes, or aiming for low blows.

He also employs his summoning, birds, in creative fashions using them to drop bombs in distant locations and has even been shown to communicate and understand bird calls. This is useful for scouting as he can send a bird ahead and have it chirp the location of traps or enemies or tell him the terrain of the area without revealing what is being said. He is also able to use them in combat by summoning the upper echelon of the bird summons, The Tengu, who all share human appearances with feathers and specialize in certain areas of combat.

However doing so oftern requires him to make some sort of deal with them which can range from washing their feathers to fighting them one-on-one later as pentance.

Part I
Here you write about your character's plot during the original Naruto series. Delete the heading if your character appears only in Shippuden.

Part II
Here you write about your character's plot during the Shippuden series. Delete the heading if your character appears only in the original Naruto series.

Trivia
Norio's favorite foods:
 * His first name means "man of principles" this relates to the fact that he lives by a certain code or nindo to do whatever it takes to protect his brother and village.
 * His birthay, November 23, was chosen because it is the Japanese holiday celebrating hard work and with him being a diligent worker it makes sense.
 * He is annoyed by repetitive noises such as humming, whistling, or tapping and will kindly ask the person causing it to stop before bluntly telling them to "Shut up."
 * He co-leads Team 8 with Kurenai despite it being named after her. They often clash over teaching methods as Norio feels she is too soft on the genin while she feels he is far too demanding.
 * His relationship with Tsunade is somewhat strained because of the tactic he used as a child to win the bet they had. This isn't improved by the reports she gets of him making amoral tactics during missions. Also Asuma and Kurenai dislike him: Asuma because he feels he's "crazy and cutthroat" and Kureani for his particular teaching style with Hinata
 * Wishes to fight Minato Namikaze, Itachi Uchiha, the Nine-Tailed Fox, and the man in the mask (Tobi)
 * Hayabashi beef stew with gluten rice while his favorite dessert is green tea ice cream. His favorite drink is ayataka or green tea.
 * His least favorite food is anything bitter or cold.