Pretense: Because she’s a work in progress, this will be somewhat incomplete- I want to make sure I’m on the right track before going any further.
Name: Nao
Clan: Unknown
Gender: F
Age: 24
Time Set In: Original manga canon, would be briefly introduced in the chunin exam arc
Birthplace: Konoha
Lives In: Konoha
Appearance: Light blue hair, braided down her back. Mid-bicep length when loose. Dark green eyes, easily mistaken as black. 5'8", built rather lithe. Most often seen wearing the standard Konoha shinobi uniform with the addition of custom joint braces on her elbows, wrists, and knees (made of the same metal Asuma’s blades are, she utilizes them as weapons during battle). Distinctive scar trailing from beneath her jaw to her left ear.
That name sounds good, and don’t worry about needing a clan. A lot of characters don’t have them. Think about how she as an adult would be introduced in the chunin exams, especially if she’s already a chunin or higher. I would advise against making joint braces made out of metal, as they probably wouldn’t have the flexibility that one needs when being active.
Family: Unknown, killed early in the 3rd Shinobi War.
Occupation: Shinobi
Rank: Jonin
Team: Nao refuses to take a genin team- she feels very awkward around children and doesn’t believe that her health would make her a good or reliable teacher regardless. As a genin herself, her teamates were a Hyuga from the branch family (Isao, currently Cypher Corps) and Shiro, who died after the chunin exam from his injuries.
Relationships: Nao remains on very good terms with Isao, though because of their jobs they don’t get to meet up as often as they’d like. She was also friends with Hayate Gekko before he was killed. She doesn’t get out much, so forming friendships is hard.
Personality: Patient and polite, but she has her limits and a temper when those limits are pushed. Nao is easily frustrated when it comes to her health and becomes irritable when the subject is brought up. She is capable of working well with nearly any team she’s assigned to, though she prefers to work alone if given the choice. Nao is often considered superficial by those she works with for only a brief amount of time, as she is not one to talk about herself or gossip- she’ll make polite small talk if necessary, but not much more unless it relates to the mission. Those closer to her are aware that Nao has difficulty expressing her emotions, but she’s a very good listener and can tell a good story when there’s alcohol involved.
If she is a Jounin but does not have a Genin team, I recommend making her a specialized jounin ( someone who has jounin level skills but is not balanced in their abilities like a jounin would be ) for the most part she would still be treated like a jounin, but not required to have a genin team under her wing. Is she not friends with her fellow jounin? she might want to get more friends, especially considering all missions are performed by three man cells or more. She seems like she has an interesting personality, although I’m not sure if superficial would be the right word. Cold or vapid maybe? especially if she barely talks to them and only makes small talk.
History: Nao lost her parents as a very young child during the 3rd Shinobi War, and was instead raised in Root, though she was dropped from the program at age 9 when her genetic disorder became apparent (hypermobile ehlers danlos, causes unstable joints, chronic pain and chronic fatigue, among other things). Despite being told to give up on becoming a Shinobi, Nao chose to enroll in the academy to work her way up the hard way. She graduated a year later, as her upbringing in Root already taught her the skills necessary to become a Shinobi, aside from teamwork. Though not considered a “genius”, Nao’s fast tracked graduation to a genin team initially caused friction with her teammates.
Nao’s team took the chunin exams a year after their team was formed, passing both the first and second exams. Nao placed second overall in the tournament, Isao fourth, and Shiro would have placed seventh had his injuries from his fight not been so severe that he died a day later, despite all attempts to save him. After the shock of losing their teammate, Nao and Isao realized they needed to make more of an effort to get along and ended up forming a strong friendship. They were both promoted to chunin for their performance during the exams.
Nao became a jonin a year and a half later, despite her health beginning to get worse. After a few particularly nasty dislocations on missions, she had custom joint braces made that would give her a bit of an edge- quite literally, when she funnels chakra into them. Often after missions her body forced her onto bedrest for a few days, and then she got around on crutches for a day or two after that- at this point, there’s no reason for her to go to the hospital. It’s simply routine.
This is a very comprehensive backstory! I do see a few things that I would change though. Firstly, I don’t think Root would just let her go? Danzo was proven to be ruthless, brainwashing the members of Root and having them kill those they viewed as ‘brother’ to remove sentimentality from them all together. It is much more likely that he would have her killed if he felt she could not “serve her purpose to him”. Secondly, I have concerns about her genetic disorder. I have no issues when it comes to disabilities in Naruto characters and OCs. However, if she is prone to dislocating her joints and being in chronic pain and fatigue, I feel it is unlikely she would’ve been either promoted or even accepted as a shinobi as it is quite a mobile job that she might not be able to do.
Stats:
Ninjutsu- 4.5
Taijutsu- 5
Genjutsu- 2
Intelligence- 4
Strength- 4
Speed- 4
Stamina- 3
Hand Seals- 3.5
TOTAL: 30
I feel like her stats are a touch high in some places and low in others. I would suggest lowering her taijutsu (just due to the fact of her Hypermobile ehlers danlos and maybe she shouldn’t be hand to hand combat reliant?) and I would recommend upping her genjutsu. I also recommend this link if you are having issues or uncertainties with stats.
All in all though, she sounds like a lovely character and I think she has great potential! - Mod Kaida