Tanuki Shigaraki

Tanuki was a tall man of fair complexion topped with shaggy black hair. His jaw was narrow, his cheekbones pronounced, and stubble covered his face. He wore a black kimono.

Tanuki believed wholeheartedly in what Root stood for, embracing its creed that any method was justified in service of the mission, which made him relentlessly single-minded. That devotion did not keep him from raising a family, yet when Root collapsed he grew bitter toward Konohagakure and cut every tie to it. Revenge came to define him, so much so that his loyalty to the organisation outweighed whatever love he held for his own household, and he shaped his daughter into an instrument of vengeance, a choice that later enraged the Seventh Hokage.

After joining Root, Tanuki rose to become one of Danzō's closest confidants and was tasked with studying Hashirama Senju's cells to build Gozu Tennō, a supreme weapon meant to enforce Root's vision of order. His intelligence and skill in fūinjutsu let him engineer a powerful beast from the First Hokage's cells largely on his own. When Danzō was killed, Root was dismantled and the ensuing inquiry forced Tanuki to bury his work, at least in the open. As the organisation's deeds came to light, its former members were shunned, and his wife Hakobe wasted away under the weight of that scorn. Blaming the village for both her death and Root's ruin, Tanuki pressed on in secret, eventually completing the Nue and drilling his daughter Sumire in every detail of Gozu Tennō, sealing its formula onto her before he died and passed her the summoning contract. His hatred outlived him for a time, as Sumire set out to finish his scheme, but she came to cherish her classmates at the Academy and gave herself up instead. His research was ultimately handed to Sasuke Uchiha, who put it toward his own studies.