Kobu

Kobu is a tall man well into middle age, with a rounded face and prominent cheekbones. His trimmed dark hair falls with the bangs pushed to one side, streaked with white at the temples and forehead. He favours dark, high-collared robes over pale trousers, secured by a belt that displays the Land of Fire's crest at the front.

Serving as the daimyo's right hand, Kobu is capable, sharp-eyed, and businesslike, a man who wants his work done without delay. That efficiency curdles into rigidity: he can be domineering and unreasonable, fixating on the politics of who leads Konoha rather than the God Tree bearing down on it, and he leans on threats, warning Shikamaru that any refusal to appear would count as open defiance of the Land of Fire and its ruler. His interrogation instincts are keen enough to see straight through Konohamaru's attempts to mislead him. Only the immediate danger of death at a Mamushi's hands finally makes him back down, and even then he does so grudgingly, plainly meaning to resume the questioning once the crisis passes.

When the Fire Daimyo began doubting whether the interim Hokage could shoulder the duties of leading the village, Kobu went to Konoha's elders, who summoned the Eighth Hokage, Shikamaru. In their meeting he raised the spectre of a mole within the village's inner circle and had Sai escort Konohamaru away to be questioned about who had helped Boruto break free. Reading the jonin's manner, he judged Konohamaru incapable of turning traitor and turned instead to Mitsuki, deducing from the state of Boruto's undamaged restraints that the release had to be deliberate. When Konohamaru returned to take the blame, Kobu caught the lie at once and demanded the acting Hokage himself be interrogated next.

Word came from Sai that Human God Trees were assaulting the village, but Kobu waved it off to keep digging. Mid-conversation with Shikamaru he was seized by Inojin Yamanaka's Mind Body Switch, delivered through one of Koji Kashin's toads, and steered up to the rooftop. As Koji weighed killing the advisor to shield Shikamaru's standing, several Mamushi appeared, and the toad's strike on one provoked it into attacking Kobu. Once Inojin's hold broke, the confused advisor was engulfed in the creature's flames, only for Boruto to arrive, destroy the Divisions, and absorb the fire with his Kama. Sai was sent to get him medical care while Shikamaru argued the situation was too grave to keep interrogating. Kobu yielded, but not without vowing to resume his hunt for the truth of Shikamaru's actions.