Shinbu

Dark-skinned, with weary lines beneath his black eyes, Shinbu wears his ash-grey hair so that two strands hang down to frame his face. His gear centers on a purple flak jacket over a grey turtleneck and matching trousers, fitted with one pocket at the left breast and another at the right of the stomach. A headband bearing his village crest wraps his brow, and a brown pouch rides on a belt at his back.

Courage and a firm sense of responsibility define Shinbu. Even with his life on the line, he would not surrender the scroll placed in his care. He took quiet pride in having Team Minato as his protectors, held Minato Namikaze in high regard, and parted from them hoping their paths would cross again. He never really displayed any combat skill, yet the trust of being handed so coveted a document speaks to how reliable his superiors judged him.

Shinbu traveled with his squad, Team Iwato, on a mission to carry secret data while Team Minato served as their guard. An enemy assault in the forest scattered the escorts, so that Rin Nohara and Kakashi Hatake ended up guarding the Yugakure ninja as they crossed toward a bridge, where a wounded Shinbu tumbled from a cliff. His own comrades Babu and Inagi had secretly turned traitor and slain Iwato, and they found the helpless Shinbu and moved to finish him before Obito Uchiha, Rin, and Kakashi intervened.

Iwato had suspected betrayal without knowing the culprits, so the village issued several scrolls; the genuine intelligence sat with Shinbu's, not the empty one Iwato carried. When Shinbu fell into the river, the scroll slipped away and Inagi snatched it, sending Kakashi in pursuit while Obito and Rin guarded the injured man. Once Kakashi and Minato cut down the traitors, Rin mended his injuries and Minato handed the scroll back, and Shinbu thanked them warmly and voiced his hope of meeting again.