Saku Kanzaki

Sakurai Kanzaki ( 神埼 桜井 , Kanzaki Sakurai), or more commonly known as Saku Kanzaki ( 神埼 咲 , Kanzaki Saku) is a chūnin-rank shinobi of Takigakure.

OC belongs to raikofu! Page is a big WIP, there may be mistakes and revisions.

Background
Sakurai was born as the first and only child to Satoaki Kanzaki, a retired shinobi, and Hisana Kanzaki, a civilian. He was named after his deceased grandfather Sakurai Kanzaki, who was known and loved in Takigakure for closely working alongside the last two heads of the village.

Sakurai had an overall normal childhood. He was very active outside whenever he could be, usually leaving the house at noon and not returning until the sun had set. Sakurai grew up hearing daily comparisons between him and his grandfather. People would mention that it was an honor to meet him and that they hoped that he would grow up to be like his grandfather. He recognized his grandfather was well respected and loved by many villagers, but Sakurai grew annoyed by the constant comparisons. When it came time for him to enter the academy, Sakurai began urging his family, friends and other teachers to simply call him "Saku" from then on, insisting that he wanted to create his own path and become well-respected in his own right.

Saku held slightly above-average grades during his time at the academy, particularly when it come to sparring with his classmates. He often tested his teachers' patience by making jokes and sometimes skipping class with his friends, remarking to Kiba once that they probably would have been friends if they were born in the same village. Upon graduation he was placed on Kenji Amarante's team alongside Hanako Mizuno and Akina Chinami.

Personality
Good-natured at heart, Saku is energetic, hard-working and friendly. He gives off a confident aura, as he is very proud of his skill and growth in both taijutsu and as a shinobi. Along with his confidence, Saku can come across as very stubborn, dramatic and it's easy for him to hold grudges.

In many ways he still takes after his grandfather, Sakurai Kanzaki, particularly begins to show their similar charisma during the timeskip where he begins working closely with Shibuki, Takigakure's leader. He is good with children, and enjoys helping out at the village's academy from time to time when he is free. It has helped his drive to eventually be promoted to jōnin and teach his own squad of genin as well has Kenji had taught him. Though he tends to react on his instincts, he has shown that he can be quite clever in certain situations.

Saku is very interested in girls, as he was excited to be placed on a team with Hanako and Akina because he thought they were cute. Though not exactly perverted, he sometimes has a tendency to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, such as walking past the entrance to the women's side of the bathhouse when there was a peeping tom, earning him a false brandishing as one himself.

Saku is also highly superstitious, a trait he says he has inherited from his father.. He becomes very wary when he sees a black cat or homophones with the numbers 4 and 9, and sometimes will enter a mini-panic attack if multiple signs appear one after the other since he firmly believes in these things as a sign of bad luck ahead.

Appearance
During Part I, Saku wore a short tan poncho-like shirt with slits on the each side to allow his arms to move more easily. Underneath was a short-sleeved mesh armor shirt. Around his waist was a white sash, with his forehead protector hanging vertically from it on his left side. He wore black pants with standard black shinobi sandals and black fingerless gloves. Saku's dark brown hair was shaggy, coming down to almost his chin with two parts on the side of his head flaring out which resembled small horns.

During Part II, he wears a tan hooded shirt with black sleeves and accents, and would show his midriff if not for the short-sleeved mesh armor shirt underneath. His forehead protector is now tied around his waist. He wears black capris which are cuffed off at his knees with standard black shinobi sandals. Bandages are tied around his hands to compliment his primarily taijutsu-based style of fighting, as well as tied around his left thigh. Saku's hair is now flatter than it previously was, and now extends slightly past his chin.

Introduction Arc
In Takigakure, Saku was placed on a team with Akina Chinami and Hanako Mizuno, to be taught by Kenji Amarante. Saku was excited by the news, happy to be put on a team with two girls from his class that he thought were cute and thought about how his friends would be jealous. His excitement didn't last long however, as the teams first teamwork exercise with Kenji ended abruptly when he and Akina spent more time arguing over how to go about completing the mission rather than actually doing it.

Chūnin Exam Arc
Saku was first seen standing among the crowd with Akina and Hanako when Team 7 entered the room.

During The Timeskip
During the timeskip, Saku and his teammates begin training vigorously, not allowing themselves to fail for a second time at the chūnin exams. The three of them passed, and were awarded the rank of chūnin and their Takigakure flak jackets. The three then began to work close with Shibuki, Takigakure's leader. While Akina was sent to Konoha twice a year to oversee the chūnin exams, Saku mainly stayed within Takigakure to aid Shibuki, sometimes even captaining local low-rank missions in his free time.

Trivia

 * Saku's surname "Kanzaki" (神埼) means "gods/soul" (神) and "promontory" (埼), while "Saku" (咲) means "to bloom".
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Saku's hobby is exploring outside the village.
 * Saku wishes to fight Kenji Amarante.
 * Sakus favorite food is yakiniku, while his least favorite is nattō.
 * Saku has completed 45 official missions in total: 25 D-rank, 10 C-Rank, 9 B-Rank, 1 A-Rank, 0 S-Rank.

Reference
All artwork on the page done by me! Except for obviously gone over screenshots/manga panels.