Hi there! I’m just looking for tips you may have about making an ANBU character? Like, idk, they should do this to help protect their identity. And they should be careful about doing this around enemies. Etc.
All right, some general tips and maybe ideas for an ANBU character:
Personality affects eligibility into ANBU. Because of the clandestine nature of ANBU, certain personalities are incompatible and will be rejected regardless of talent. Gai is the prime example. Those able to control their emotions, have an unassuming demeanor or just generally aren’t as “loudly vibrant” as Gai would be considered.
Candidates are handpicked by the village’s leader for special skills and talent. So, prodigies or people with certain skills only they - or a limited number of people - can do. ANBU wants and has the “cream of the crop,” if you will, in their ranks and are searching for individuals like this. Now, I can’t say for certain what skills they’re looking for but skills that are more geared towards subterfuge, assassination, information extraction, espionage, etc. would be a good start.
ANBU refer to each other by code names. The odds of teammates knowing each others’ true identities would be slim, in my opinion. i don’t care what canon tells me This would be a way to ensure secrecy, and it would facilitate a tight knit trust between operatives of a single unit. Doing away with names and faces eliminates any possible bias’ that could stem from knowing each other personally. Of course, this could promote detachment as well, which still would serve an ANBU well. At any rate, I feel like not everyone would know an OC was or currently is a part of ANBU. no canon i don’t care what you say.
They can lead a double life. As cover, that is. So, you could have an ANBU OC that moonlights as a bookstore owner, a restaurant owner or as a dancer, I don’t know, whatever you want. But, the point would be to hide their true nature behind this common, unassuming front, which would allow you to expand more on their lifestyle, their likes and dislikes, etc. without feeling like their being an ANBU is all they have to their character.
They have to be fine with and accept they will be doing “dirty” work. ANBU, I think, can be compared to a combination of assassins, spies and “cleanup crews.” They are the ones tasked with the classic, unsavory duties of the aforementioned - they get rid of that which needs to be gone and they do it without a trace, so as not to disturb the picture perfect image of “normal life” that society needs to function. Some people are not suited for it; some people get disillusioned by it; some people accept it’s necessity; and some people enjoy it a little too much.
So, I hope these helped you a little bit. As usual, first and foremost, have fun with your characters.
And also, despite an ANBU being known for them, remember there are people behind the masks my crappy persona 5 ref llol. Thanks for sending this in and sorry for the delay.
Any tips for creating a team. I’m like really hesitant and nervous and I feel like I’m taking too much from canon teams. Tips, Mods? Please?
There’s no need to feel hesitant about overlap with canon teams. It’s honestly unavoidable.
There are going be to teams that serve the same purpose, comprised of people that may have similar - if not the same - abilities that can better fulfill that purpose. Expecting a singular team to carry out a particular role - which may need to be done multiple times in different places at once - is inefficient and, honestly, silly.
Let’s use the Rookie 9 as example. Of them, there are 6 from functioning clans, in which members are able to use the same abilities. Yamanaka excel at subterfuge; Aburame excel at tracking enemies; Akimichi excel at smashing ish - it is what they are good at. And, odds are, if they are a part of a team, they are there because their abilities serve to achieve the purpose of the team.
But enough of that! So, some tips:
Consider the role of your team. What is their purpose as a team? Are they trackers? Or do they focus on all-out combat? Or maybe they’re a capture squad? This may take some time to figure out, to be honest, as they are many different compositions you can consider for a team.
Think about the team members’ skills. When you’re making up a team, think about what each person can do to fulfill the purpose of the team. If on a tracking team, people with abilities that sense chakra, pick up smells or maybe just someone incredibly observant to their surroundings would be good. You can get really creative when it comes to abilities, so have fun with that.
Think of the team members’ personalities and how they mesh together. In order for a team to function, you want the members to at least be able to work together and trust each other. Now, the members’ personalities and how they feel about each other comes down to you. But, something I’d like to point out is, you don’t have to make your team members best friends forever to make a functioning team. Of course, generally, when people work towards a common goal, they become closer to each other, but you aren’t obligated to do so. There is a myriad of ways people interact and coexist, so don’t feel restrained in what you can do.
At the end of the day, remember that the most important thing is to have fun with your characters! Don’t worry and be happy!
So, I hope this advice and these few tips help you out. Thanks for sending this in!
Is it possible that either Minato or Kushina had... relatives of some sort? I mean.. what are the odds that Naruto doesn't have ANY biological family at all? I mean, ok, there's those other Uzumakis, but they're a bit too far removed.. Seriously, there's got to be a cousin or aunt two times removed or SOMETHING.
I mean, apparently the odds are pretty high, considering how we never see aunts, uncles or cousins for any character. We barely see grandparents. So, no, I wouldn’t doubt that Naruto has no surviving family anywhere in the world. I don’t like it but it’s probably the truth.
Kushina is a given. The likelihood of him having any close relatives from her side is incredibly slim. Not impossible but improbable.
Minato, however, is a bit more difficult to say for certain. I do think there is a way to introduce relatives of Minato. Off the top of my head:
a) He was estranged from his family. Not sure of the reason, but it would be one that kept him from interacting with them. Or kept them from interacting with him. Either way, they weren’t close anymore, and they deemed it unnecessary to remain in contact. They pretend like the other doesn’t exist. Business proceeds as usual.
or
b) They know about Naruto but don’t acknowledge him because “zomg hes teh q-bee!!111″. Maybe they hold animosity towards Naruto, possibly because his birth marked Minato’s death. They know he exists, don’t care if he exists and, even when he becomes a hero, they’ve been so set in their ways for so long, they outright refuse to accept he exists.
But maybe Minato’s just an orphan. I mean, it’s a pretty common occurrence.
Do you guys have any suggestions for genin tests? The bell test is all we’ve seen so far, but would Konoha offer others?
Well, it would likely depend on the teacher. The test can be anything really, but taking the teacher’s personality into account would be ideal.
And genin tests seem to revolve around demonstrating the amount of cooperation between students as well as their own general abilities and how well they all mesh together as a unit.
So, here are some ideas, gathered from various sources:
Sparring with the sensei for a specific amount of time
Scavenger hunt to locate specific items in a certain amount of time
Try to pull a prank on the Hokage
Find out sensei’s favorite color by a certain time
A game of tag with sensei where you have to catch them by a certain time
Complete sensei’s grocery list with limited money by a certain time
Most of these are very silly, mundane tasks, but they are actually quite difficult. Especially with time constraints.
Putting the students under pressure is another big part. It tests how quickly they can “look underneath the underneath,” how quickly they can think on their feet and how quickly they can complete the mission with this new information.
So be creative with it because even the simplest of tests can be difficult.
I see that most characters that use poison are Medical Ninja (or are at least skilled in medical jutsu), so what would be some advantages/disadvantages of specializing in poison if a character wasn't a medical nin, but instead specializes in it due to their clan specializing in it?
Before I touch on the poisons, do remember that a knowledge of anatomy and medicine does not usually = expertise in the use of that knowledge. In Naruto, that translates to knowing medicine =/= able to use medical ninjutsu.
The Mythical Palm Jutsu and other techniques related to medicine requires some amount of training. So there’s no particular reason to justify your poison specialist for not knowing medical ninjutsu.
From what I gather, a poison specialist would probably pick some of these areas to focus on:
1. Selective Botany — for the making of poisons, and there are many branches of botany *snickers* to focus on! flowers versus roots, for example, or pollen versus processed/distilled poisons.
2. Selective Biology — also for the making of poisons, and there is even more variety in this area than botany.
3. Selective Anatomy — for the application of poisons and their effectiveness
4. Medicine — for the application and dosage of poisons.
Have your OC focus on 2 of those, and narrow the scope of those broad topics. If your OC does not know a lot of medical jutsus, that means it’s more time to be in-depth about their chosen field of poisons!
That is a big advantage.
As for disadvantages, it would be the same disadvantages as anyone shinobi who doesn’t know medical jutsus.
However, I can think of another advantage — your OC might know other, non-jutsu ways, to deal with injury and illness, through their knowledge of botany/animal biology.
So if Sakura ever had to mentor a genin team, what would she be like?
Sakura would likely be a stern but understanding teacher. She would push her students to their limits—the same as Tsunade did her—but never enough to break them beyond repair. Or maybe she would, only to build them up into stronger people?
I do know she would be a big advocate of communication and support between teammates, considering her own experience with Team 7. And she would respect and trust in her students’ abilities as well as her own teaching capabilities.
Sakura would take after Tsunade a lot in certain aspects of teaching. She would be a teacher that is both hard and soft in equal parts, if that makes sense.
Do you think it's ok to explore and make an OC from a jutsu that was used in one of the Naruto films? Because I was thinking of making an OC who can use Fire Style: Celestial Prison, which came from the Blood Prison movie. There's not much background about it, either, so perhaps I can use that to make a reasonable background for my OC and why they know this technique, too. But yeah, I just wanna know what you guys think about that. Thanks so much!
Hello! I’m Mod ATB, and I’ll be reviewing your OC this time around! So, let’s get started!
Pretense: Diverges from canon somewhere after Shippuden
Name: Miyara Kozue
Clan: Haruno
Gender: Male
Age: 10-19
Time set in: Begins 2 years before Boruto
Birthplace: Narakami (IDK if there’s a canon name for the capital of Hi no Kuni)
Lives in: Haruno residence
(ATB: All of this looks fine, but I would add in the meaning of Kozue’s name. And his birthday as well. Adding in astrological signs or blood type is up to you but would add more to his character, too.)
Appearance
As a child, Kozue was small for his age. He had brown eyes and pale pink hair, the mark of a Haruno clan member. He has a fair amount of scars on his body, gained from his time as a shinōbi, but the 3½ inch scar on his stomach came from his time before the Academy. As a teen, Kozue is still rather short (standing at 5'3). He wears his hair short, either slicked back or held back with a hairband.
(ATB: While some things are missing, such as skin tone and weight, I can get a general image of what he looks like. Everything looks good to me, but I would add those two, just to get a clearer image of Kozue. And maybe a sentence describing what kinds of clothes he wears. You don’t have to go into specifics, but maybe try adding if he likes casual clothes, what kinds of colors he wears often, etc.)
Family
• Miyara Kikyo: Kozue’s mother; ran away from home at the age of fifteen to be with her yakuza boyfriend (who grew up to be Kozue’s father). Kikyo had Kozue when she was in her late forties. He remembers her as a fiery, intelligent and persevering woman who loved to dance. (ATB: You could add in a brief reason explaining the reason why she ran away. You don’t have to, but I think it would be good to know.)
• Miyara Chiriko: Kozue’s father; a yakuza boss. He inherited the position from his father; despite his occcupation, Chiriko was known as a gentle and kind-hearted man whose passion was helping people. (ATB: I think it quite interesting that his father, the leader of a yakuza group, was known as “gentle and kind-hearted.” And not in a bad way. I think adding in a little more between Kozue and his father’s relationship would be great, because we know how Kozue felt about his mother but not about his father.)
• Miyara Atsumu: Chiriko’s adoptive son / brother. (Atsumu was found as a child during a raid. Chiriko adopted him as his “little brother” to protect him. He is closer in age to Kozue than Chiriko). Atsumu was a michievous and friendly type whom Kozue viewed as a brother.
• Haruno Kizashi is Kikyo’s estranged older brother. He is also Kozue’s grand uncle. (ATB: One tiny thing: if Kizashi is Kikyo’s older brother, that would make him Kozue’s uncle. Not his grand uncle. A grand uncle would be the brother of his grandparents.)
• Uchiha Sakura is Kozue’s first cousin once removed. (ATB: Sakura would be his first cousin.)
• Uchiha Sarada his first cousin twice removed. (ATB: And Sarada would be his first cousin once removed.)
Occupation: Shinobi (Active duty)
Rank: Starts as a genin, becomes a chūnin around fifteen, and tokubetsu jōnin around nineteen (ATB: This looks fine and reasonable.)
Team: Team Five
• Tsuzumi Ushio: She was on the team that brought Kozue and his family to Konoha. As his sensei, she is a tough and unrelenting teacher, determined to make tough shinōbi out of her students.
• Yakushi Ken: Son of Yakushi Kabuto. He is protective of his dad and will defend his family honour against anyone who dares try to slander it. He tries his hardest to look smart, but in reality his true interests lie in body building, not medical jutsu. He is the team’s taijutsu specialist.
• Imada Junko: Junko is a chipper person, the sort who can cheerfully sing and dance at five in the morning in freezing weather. She is Team Five’s ninjutsu specialist.
(ATB: For Ken and Junko, I would add in maybe a sentence or two describing how they and Kozue feel about each other.)
Relationships
• Haruno Kizashi & Mebuki: Kozue stayed with them for his first two years in Konoha. He moved out shortly after becoming a genin, but he still drops by their place for dinner every now and then if he can. (ATB: This is fine but, again, maybe add a sentence detailing how Kizashi and Mebuki first felt about Kozue. I can’t help but wonder how they - especially Kizashi - felt about his estranged older sister suddenly contacting him and then the circumstances under first meeting Kozue.)
• Uchiha Sakura: She was one who saved his life the day he came to Konoha. She visited him regularly whilst he was in the hospital, and they bonded. She will sometimes drop groceries off at his place, or scold him playfully for not taking care of himself.
• Uchiha Sarada: Kozue and Sarada acknowledge one another as kin and sometimes chat a bit, but they’re not really close.
• Uzumaki Naruto: The Hokage was one of the first people Kozue saw when he woke up. They are on friendly terms, but they’re not close.
• Uzumaki Hinata: She was another person who visited Kozue when he was in the hospital, though her visits were not as regular as Sakura’s. As the wife of the Hokage, it was important for the public to see her caring for injured children, especially if said injured children happen to be related to Haruno Sakura. (As herself, Hinata just happened to be genuinely compassionate). Kozue never forgot her kindness. (ATB: Very interesting point about her role as Hokage’s wife, and I do think that is a very good way to have Hinata and Kozue interact.)
• Uzumaki Boruto: They’re friends, but only after Boruto was convinced that Kozue does not, in fact, have a crush on his mom. (ATB: Haha, that’s really cute!)
• Uzumaki Himawari: She has a crush on Kozue, who thinks Himawari is really pretty, but at the moment he isn’t really looking for romance.
• Uchiha Sasuke: He is the entity that comes with Naruto, Hinata and Sakura. Kozue has always been a bit unnerved by his cousin’s one-armed spouse, but has never said anything about it. (ATB: Really like this and think it’s a nice touch. Sasuke would come off as a bit unnerving to some people, and I think that says a lot about him that even a yakuza heir would be wary.)
• Tsuzumi Ushio: Kozue and his sensei have a good relationship; outside of training, she doesn’t treat him like a child or handle him with pity; she treats him like an adult, and in turn Kozue feels as if he can trust her with things he wouldn’t even tell Sakura.
• Azuma Nobu & Imada Junko: Nobu and Junko often invite Kozue to hang out after training, usually to catch a film or eat out.
(ATB: His relationships have variety, which is great. He has his family, he has friends and he has his acquaintances - he’s not close with everyone but he also isn’t completely detached from them. The only thing I would suggest is maybe add in who Azuma Nobu is, because I didn’t see him mentioned in the team section and you didn’t specify who he was. Also, on some of the characters, add in how Kozue feels about them (or how they feel about him). But, other than those couple things, his relationships look good.)
Personality
For the survivor of a traumatic tragedy, Kozue is surprisingly well-adjusted. He has friends and (healthy) hobbies outside of shinōbi work, and he isn’t particularly obsessed with revenge. He’s had therapy and no longer shuts down when put in enclosed spaces, though he’ll never be 100% comfortable in them.
Kozue is a good peacemaker, and he has the ability to make people comfortable and open up. Being raised as a yakuza heir has given Kozue a certain confidence. He gives off the impression that he couldn’t care less what people think of him, and this draws people to his side. If there’s anything he’s inherited from his mother, it’s her charisma.
Around his friends, where there’s no one to impress and no part to play, Kozue is comfortable enough to just sit back and be a listener. He’ll laugh and roll his eyes and just be a teenager. It’s the only time he really, truly relaxes.
As a shinōbi, Kozue is a careful planner. He’s calculative, and more practical than sentimental; he’s the type who would readily end one life to save ten others. He sometimes has difficulty relating to people’s emotions.
(ATB: Really gotta give kudos to you have adding in him having therapy. It’s something that I personally don’t see very often. And I give props for the therapy not completely “curing” him, but instead making his life more comfortable and manageable. I like that his being raised as a yakuza heir gave him a confidence and charisma - I could totally see that being truthful. And, I think it’s great that you add he only really relaxes around his friends; it communicates that he’s really been affected by his previous status (always have to put up a certain front or “be” a certain kind of person) and, that despite everything, he’s still just a teenager.
I also appreciate that he has trouble with relating to others’ emotions, which is once again good at tying in his background. I will suggest thinking about if his inability to relating to others’ emotions affected some relationships he has - or could have had.)
History
Kozue was born the heir to a major yakuza syndicate located in Narakami, the capital of Hi no Kuni. He lived a relatively normal childhood, constantly accompanied by his adoptive older brother, Atsumu.
When Kozue was ten, word spread that the government was planning to crack down on the yakuza. Gangs began to merge; at the end, there were only two gangs were left standing: the Hisuikumo-gumi, to which Kozue and his family belonged, and the Aoishishi-kai.
The Aoshishi-kai were a ruthless group that had no qualms against extortion, loan sharking, and drug trafficking. The Hisuikumo-gumi had been, under Kozue’s grandfather, just as bad, if not worse, but since Chiriko’s rise to power they contented themselves with mostly gambling and smuggling. The two were rival clans, but for sixty years they’d had a truce, each clan keeping to their own territory.
Everything changed when the Aoshishi-kai were busted for drug deal. They blamed the Hisuikumo-gumi for snitching; a gang war ensued. The Aoshishi-kai vastly outnumbered the Hisuikumo-gumi; Chiriko knew it was only a matter of time before things would go south.
Thus, one night a sleepy Kozue found himself shaken awake and bundled into a carriage with his mother, a couple servants, and Atsumu. Chiriko stayed behind to help his men; the plan was for the three of them to flee to Konoha and hide with Kikyo’s older brother, Haruno Kizashi, and perhaps hire Konoha shinōbi to help boost their odds of winning.
That never happened. Kizashi received a letter in advance from Kikyo; a vague letter that simply stated she wished to make amends, and that she and her sons would arrive in three days. She never showed up; a week later, returning team happened upon a locked and abandoned carriage a few miles from Konoha, the piled up bodies Kikyo, Kozue, the driver, and the two servant girls inside; there was copious amounts of blood everywhere, and a body matching Atsumu’s description was found a few feet away. Kikyo and the two servant girls were both dead, and Kozue, trapped under their bodies and sporting a stab wound to the chest, was delirious and half dead at the time of discovery. He would have died, had it not been for Sakura.
Kozue spent three weeks in the hospital. When he woke up, he was informed that his father and his men had all been killed by the Aoshishi-kai. He was later given over to the care of his grandparents. Two years later, he joined the genin corps.
(ATB: Really interesting background, especially with introducing yakuza. I also think you chose an interesting way to incorporate a canon character as a relative, and I think it’s cool you didn’t make him and Sakura siblings. But, I would suggest adding in how Kozue felt during his life in Konoha.
Also, adding in the reason why he joined genin corps and how his life with his grandparents in Konoha was would be good for more characterization. You didn’t add them in his relationship section, so I wonder if they were on bad terms with each other. I would also add a little more to his childhood.
While I think it’s charming he had a relatively normal childhood despite being a yakuza heir, I think actually detailing how he was raised would tie into nicely with his personality. You already have his background affecting personality, so why not go the extra yard to really put the pieces together.)
Abilities
Kozue has no Kekkei Genkai. His taijutsu and ninjutsu is about average; he’s best at genjutsu, but his real speciality is his tactical thinking.
(ATB: His abilities actually look pretty good but the information is a bit lacking. Maybe add in some genjutsu techniques, how well he does with shurikenjutsu or talk about his speed or stamina, etc. to flesh things out. You could even talk about what kind of tactics he favors in battle.)
Other: —
ATB’s Final Thoughts: Overall, I think Kozue is an interesting character. I especially have a soft spot for gangs and yakuza politics in the Naruto series, so good on that because it’s a perspective I hardly see. The only thing I would personally suggest is expand on some of his profile. Flesh out his childhood, hobbies, relationships, abilities and maybe even add some trivia. He’s good as he is now but he could be even MORE with a little bit more information on these various points. But that mainly depends on you as you may not even be finished creating him - or you just may not want to, which is also fine.
So, yeah, I really like Kozue and I thank you for your patience and for sending in your OC!
