Kato Kuroshima

 

Kato Kuroshima (黒島カト, Kuroshima Kato) is a kunoichi from Konohagakure.

Background
Kato was born to Hiro Kuroshima and Shizune in the middle of the night on September 7th in a forest in an unknown location. Sadly, Hiro never got to meet his daughter as he died only a week before she was born. This lead to Kato always having what she describes as an "empty feeling" inside of her.

Up until she was almost eleven years old, Kato traveled around to various locations with her mother and Tsunade, never really having a permanent home. The day before her eleventh birthday, Jiraiya and Naruto came to ask Tsunade to come back to Konoha to be the Fifth Hokage. When she finally agreed, she took Shizune and Kato with her.

As soon as Tsunade became Hokage, she promoted Kato to Genin, making her the first known person to become a shinobi without ever going to the Academy. After an estimated period of a few weeks, Tsunade took Sakura Haruno as her apprentice, leaving a part-time spot in Team 7 that needed to be filled. Kato then was practically forced onto Team Kakashi (much to her internal displeasure at first) as a team needs at least three people on it. Kato stayed on the team full-time and when Sakura was able to be on their team as well, Team Kakashi became a four-person team. After Sasuke left and Sai took his place, the team remained at four people, though when Sasuke came back, it was upped to five.

Personality
Kato's personality is a mix of her mother's and her father's personalities. While she is loyal, hardworking, and energetic, Kato is also introverted, shy, humble, and at times can be a pushover (though not as much as a certain purple-haired/light-eyed girl whose name starts with an "H" that we all know and love). However, Kato can hold grudges, though she tends to not let them show very much. This is shown when Sasuke finally returns to Konoha and she remains quite cautious of him for a while without outright saying how she feels. Then again, if your teammate suddenly betrayed you and came back, you would probably be a bit wary of them for a little while.

Kato is also shown to value her family and friends very much, and is even willing to sacrifice herself for them without hesitation. She comes across as quite a happy person, though deep down she always feels slightly empty as she never knew her father. This feeling dissipates when she is able to meet her father for the first time when he is brought back by Edo Tensei, making for a bittersweet meeting. After this, she becomes more confident in herself.

Appearance
Kato has short, messy black hair and bright orange eyes. She inherited her hair color from her mother and her eye color from her father. As a child, Kato wore a simple light blue shirt with long-sleeves, brown cropped pants, and black shinobi sandals. During Part I, Kato's outfit consists of a red jacket with black accents, a light blue shirt, brown cropped pants, and black shinobi sandals. She wears her forehead protector in the standard way with a blue cloth. During Shippuden, her outfit remains mostly the same, though this time she wears a black jacket with red accents and her forehead protector's cloth is black. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kato obtains a scar running across her nose slightly similar to Iruka Umino's.

Kato has a small stature and has a boyish build, having almost no curves as a teenager (much to her displeasure). She also has a very flat chest and looks younger than she is, a trait that she seems to have inherited from her mother. However, unlike her parents, she is not tall at all and is fairly small for her age.

Abilities
Kato is very adept at genjutsu, medical ninjutsu, and ninjutsu in general. However, she is weak at taijutsu and kenjutsu (sword techniques). She is noted to be very fast and intelligent, though due to her small stature, she is not very good at hand-to-hand combat.

Kekkei Genkai
It is unknown what Kato's Kekkei Genkai is or if she even has one.

Part I
Kato is brought back to Konoha with Shizune and Tsunade by Jiraiya and Naruto so that Tsunade can be appointed the Fifth Hokage. She is immediately promoted to Genin as she was trained extensively by both Tsunade and Shizune in the skills she would be taught at the Academy. During the second half of the original series, Kato is temporarily placed on Team Kakashi as Sakura isn't always available to go on missions. However, this spot turns to permanent even though Sakura technically remains a part of Team 7, making them an official four-person team. Kato becomes disappointed when she finds out that the Chuunin Exams already happened that year (or technically happened, though they were stopped), though her team reassures her that they will all pass the next time.

During the Sasuke Recovery Mission, Kato heads out to aid the others against Tsunade's orders, though is injured quite severely by the Sound Four, though not as badly as Chouji and Neji. She is then in the hospital for a while, though is caught multiple times training in her hospital room to make up for what she believes was a failure on her part.

In the Mizuki Tracking Mission arc, Kato is sent to aid Iruka and Naruto against the Legendary Stupid Brothers and finishes the mission without any severe injuries.

Kato also sees Naruto off when he leaves with Jiraiya.

Part II
Kato plays a major role in Part II, starting with being sent to Sunagakure to heal Kankurou along with Sakura. Along the way, Kato thinks about Sasuke and is a little worried about him. After healing Kankurou, she and Sakura return home to report the success of their mission to Tsunade.

During Pain's Assault, Kato, along with her mother, is killed by Pain in an unknown way. She is eventually brought back to life along with everyone else.

She makes an appearance in almost all of the arcs, and in the Fourth Shinobi World War, she is briefly the co-captain of the Logistical Support and Medical Division, though she is forced to abandon this post later on as she is needed on the front lines. Though she does not play as big of a role in Shippuden as Sasuke and Naruto, Kato plays a fairly important role in winning the war and is briefly considered as being a candidate for Hokage, though she immediately turns this down, stating that Naruto is the one who is meant to be Hokage.

Kato is later seen at Naruto and Hinata's wedding congratulating the couple. She eventually marries a medical-nin named Amai from Kumogakure sometime after Naruto and Hinata are married, though she and her husband live in Konohagakure along with their two sons: Toma and Shota.

Trivia

 * Kato's name is a possible reference to her late great-uncle, Dan Katou. Her last name means "black island."
 * Her favorite foods are fish and brown rice, while her least favorite foods are red meats and anything sour.
 * Her favorite phrase is "Calling on (参上, Sanjou)".
 * Tsunade and Kato think of each other as a grandmother/granddaughter and people sometimes forget that they are not related.
 * Her hobbies are birdwatching, training, and painting.
 * Unlike most shinobi from Konoha, Kato does not wear a kunai pouch with bandages around her thigh (though she does have a pouch on her back that she carries things in).
 * It is not known whether Kato is a kunoichi of both Konoha and another Hidden Village as it is unknown what village her father was from.
 * Her pet peeve is being called small.
 * She is the youngest out of the Konoha 11 and also was one of the youngest people to be in the Allied Shinobi Forces.
 * Though she specializes in medical ninjutsu, Kato is not classified as a medical-nin, allowing her to be among Sakura and Tsunade on the front lines.