Shibuki

Shibuki has ink-black eyes and long dark brown hair, along with the forehead protector that marks him as a shinobi. His everyday clothes run to a green shirt, grey pants, and shinobi sandals, with a grey pad on his left shoulder held by a brown strap. When acting as village head he dresses more formally in a pale yellow kimono jacket, light grey pants, a red scarf, and a turquoise haori, gathering his hair into a low ponytail.

Thrust into leadership as a boy after losing his father, Shibuki grew up badly lacking in nerve, so jittery that a bird bursting into flight can nearly send him into a panic. Timid as he is, he still proves a capable leader who rises to the occasion when his village truly needs him, and he holds a particular tenderness for Takigakure's children. A streak of nosiness shows now and then, such as when he peeks at Kakashi's copy of Icha Icha. As the years pass he settles into a calmer, more assured version of himself, able to weigh decisions for his people's good.

Shibuki is the son of Hisen, the leader who came before him. While Shibuki was still very young, foreign forces assaulted Takigakure, and his father drank the village's Hero Water to defend it, dying in the process. Shibuki was later trained by Suien, before that man turned traitor. Taking up his father's post, he guards the young jinchuriki Fu closely and impresses on her the value of friendship and loyalty. In battle he is more capable than his timidity suggests, drawing on an array of water techniques that range from tornadoes and dragons to blades, the last making him handy with a sword. He is durable as well, once staying on his feet and casting techniques after a stab ran clean through his midsection.

His defining trial comes when Suien returns to attack the village and forces him to choose between surrendering the Hero Water and letting his people die. Naruto Uzumaki reminds him that a true hero gives himself up for those he loves, just as his father did, and Shibuki drinks the water to face his old teacher. The boost is not enough on its own, and it takes Naruto and Sasuke together to finish Suien. Though the Hero Water usually kills whoever drinks it, Shibuki pulls through and emerges a stronger leader. Later, when the joint Chunin Exams are announced, he permits Fu to compete as a way to raise the village's profile, cautioning her to hide her jinchuriki status and assigning Kegon and Yoro to keep her safe.