Hagoromo Gitsune

Hagoromo Gitsune (羽衣狐) is a female Kirigakure jōnin and one of the Yonnin of the Mist. She is the daughter of a Senju male and a Main Branch Hyūga female who were originally from Konohagakure before migrating to other villages.

Appearance
She bears the Hyūga clan's Dōjutsu, the Byakugan. Her eyes are featureless all white with a hint of light blue. When she activates her Byakugan, her pupils become more distinct and the veins near her temple bulge. Always cautious, she chose to place a constant henge upon her eyes and they appear as a pair of amethyst pools.

She is a fair-skinned kunoichi who possess long, black hair that reaches the small of her back. She is of average height, having a toned build while still retaining curves at the right places. A tribal fox tattoo would be seen inked upon the left side of her upper back, just on the clavicle.

Gitsune opts to choose clothing that she can move in comfortably. She often wears a blue long-sleeved pinstriped (which has been a common pattern among the Seven Swordsmen) shirt, black shorts (or occasionally, a skirt) with a metal-buckle belt and black knee-high open-toed boots. Upon her shoulders, she also drapes a black hooded fur-lined coat with a metal plate etched the Kirigakure symbol on its left sleeve to complete the ensemble. Her forearms are wrapped in special bandages which have seals on it from which Gitsune can summon various weapons. She also wears weights that are hidden by her boots. During missions, she wears the standard Kirigakure flak jacket and black pants instead of the usual shorts. On her days off, Gitsune is seen in kimono in various shades of blue or black.

Personality
Basically, Gitsune is a very guarded individual who rarely trusts anyone. She approachable to a point but would still be distant towards other people, preferring to keep to herself if possible. Despite this introverted nature, she can still get along well with others, showing a friendly and warm attitude. The female only places her faith in a selected few people.

She is hardworking and is dedicated to improving her skills further. Unlike those who seek to know a lot of jutsu for the reason of becoming more powerful, Gitsune only seeks to know them for the sake of knowledge. She may know numerous techniques but rarely does she apply them in battle, although knowing them does prepare her if the enemy uses it against her.

Her allegiance lies in Kirigakure and would do anything for the sake of the village she grew up in. As one of the Swordsmen and Yonnin, Gitsune would gladly do jobs that will benefit her village, even if it meant killing off people; she was pretty much used to this life. However, despite her talents and skills, she chose to lead a humble life while working on the side.

Early Years
She was born one cold night to Kōsen Senju and Fuyutori Hyūga, a couple originally from Konohagakure who went to Yukigakure and ended up staying there for they fell in love with the place. They named their child Gitsune which meant "fox" for she reminded the couple of the white animal that roamed the outskirts of the village because of her pale skin.

Her childhood was like any other; she was raised well and was entered in the Yukigakure academy to be taught of basic knowledge and on how to be a ninja. She proved to be an intelligent young girl as her grades were among the highest in the class and she gets along fairly well with others when it came to group activities. She graduated at the age of ten and by that time, she immediately wanted to attain the rank of chūnin.

Once more, the couple decided to move and set course towards Kirigakure. They were welcomed there and Gitsune had to adjust to the new village, seeing that it was a lot different from Yukigakure. She joined the ninja ranks and did missions with other Kiri nin. By the time she was twelve, she along with other Kiri genins were taking the test to becoming a Chūnin, but it proved to be a very hard ordeal and it was then her eyes were opened to the reality of becoming a shinobi since the test required them to fight each other to the death. Gitsune, who was fearful for her life, had no choice and was forced to slay those people she had called friends when they came to attack her.

The girl ascended to the rank of Chūnin, but the event left her mentally scarred and thus, she became distrustful of other people. Gitsune donned a mask of friendliness but in truth, she was very wary of those she encounters.

Teenage Years: Flee from Pain
Gitsune's life went on as normally as it was and in an uneventful test, she was given the rank of Jōnin at the age of fourteen. Unlike her other colleagues, she did not take in any students to train and hone into future ninja, but instead, focused on doing solitary assassination missions given by the Mizukage. She was content to stay away from the crowds and would only get together with others if she got invited.

As Gitsune grew in age, so did her beauty. The once budding lily was now in full bloom and began to attract people. Her closed up nature gave her an aura of mystery and soon, both men and women alike began to seek her out. Many hopefuls came and went as Gitsune politely turned them all down. Her mind was set on her job, not on romance which made her this way. However, after some convincing from a trusted friend, she decided to open her doors to the idea.

She was not a person who was easy to please; often finding people boring and soon enough, she would lose interest in them and can only apologize that it just will not work out. She flirted and teased others, but never really got attached, until she met a young woman who boldly came up to her to ask for a chance. She introduced herself as Hosei and the two spent a lot of time together until they fell in love. For the first time, Gitsune felt happy until tragedy struck and Hosei was killed during the moment she had her Chūnin exams. The dark-haired woman was inconsolable for days and in an attempt to escape the haunting pain of losing the person she cared for, she left Kirigakure and went to roam across the land. She was seventeen at the time of her departure.

During her travels, she met a man named Satetsu and at this period, she decided to join him for the sake of training to become stronger. They stayed in Sunagakure, sparring and teaching each other different techniques. They were as close as brother and sister, and were often mistaken as lovers, although Gitsune saw him only as a good friend she trusts. Their time together came to an end when she told him she cannot stay in one place; so Satetsu stayed in Suna while she went out once more on her journey.

Into the Fox's Den
Gitsune found herself jumping from one place to another, from village to village doing simple jobs in exchange for money. She changed her appearance (specifically her eyes) to hide her lineage from others. Most transactions end up well, but there would be times when the customer would take advantage of her kindness and try to innocently bribe her with free food and shelter when in truth, their intentions were not even close to good. Of course, Gitsune was no fool and would be out of their grasp even before they can even lay a hand on her. True to her name, this fox of a lady will not let anyone catch her in their traps.

In her aimless journey did she manage to find the whispered Inariyama by accident; it was the place somewhere near her true homeland where the White Fox Sage was said to reside. She encountered the White Fox Sage and was almost killed when she was mistaken to be someone who was simply hungry for power. Gitsune answered the great being with much honesty, that she was just a simple traveler who stumbled upon this place and had no intention of leaving her simple life. Seeing the truth and humility in her heart, the Fox Sage offered to spare her life if she will pass her tests. Hesitantly, Gitsune agreed.

The Sage's tests pushed her to the limit and threatened to end her life right then there but she did not complain for she was only focused on getting out of this ordeal alive. When she was truly worn out, the Fox Sage saw this and attacked her, just to see how she will counter her onslaught. In a final attempt at fighting, Gitsune performed Kaiten, a technique that is unique to the Hyūga clan, and she successfully warded off the Sage's attack before collapsing unconscious. Impressed by the woman's strength and determination, the Fox Sage ordered her minions to take her to the Fox Temple where she can rest.

When she awoke, Gitsune was greeted by the sight of the Fox Sage and she was told that she was worthy of being taught the Fox Sage Mode. The woman was also informed that there had not been a student for decades for most of them were either killed in the process or destroyed by the Sage herself for being overconfident. The Fox Sage told Gitsune that she had traits like that of the fox; wit and cunning, speed, resourcefulness but most especially, honesty, for foxes are known to be true to their word. The Sage introduced herself as Resshin.

She spent a year and a half in Inariyama training under Resshin and she was even allowed to sign the Fox summoning scroll to enable her to call forth arctic foxes and gain "tails" which she can use when in battle. Remembering her life outside that place, Gitsune asked if she can stop her training for now and she vowed to return when she had become stronger. Resshin agreed and allowed permission for the female to halt their sessions. Before leaving, the Fox Sage gave Gitsune an anklet which would be her connection to Inariyama.

Return to Kirigakure
The road back to the village where she came from was long but it was worth the trouble. It seems that her past deeds came to haunt her and a bounty was placed upon her head, so traveling on foot assured her she will encounter would-be takers of her life. With the help of her new-found abilities, Gitsune managed to survive the attacks and finally come home safely to Kirigakure. She was reunited with her elderly mother, and discovered her father had died of an illness during the time she was gone.

She had started to meet new people and tried to catch up on what she had missed during the last year and a half. By the time Gitsune turned nineteen, her dying mother urged her to find someone she will spend the rest of her life with, but the young woman assured her that she was doing fine by herself. However, the elder Hyūga female told her that she will be gone and she does not wish her daughter to be alone all the time; that she needed to open her heart once more to love. Unsure of what to say, Gitsune simply told her mother that she will try. The dying woman smiled and soon exhaled her last breath, knowing that her daughter will fulfill her word in time. Gitsune soon changed her identity as 'Hagoromo Gitsune', totally hiding the namesake that she was of Senju and Hyūga to keep trouble far from herself, in case they came after her because of her lineage.

Life went on as usual for this kunoichi and everything seemed to go by fine when she encountered a Kiri ANBU captain who happened to recognize her as a thief. Gitsune had stolen items before and that included those within the village itself. The two females chased each other around Kiri for a whole day until Gitsune was out-witted and soon captured. The teenager knew who the woman was and knew she would surely be in deep trouble; she was caught by one of the village's best kunoichi, Jamanta. However, instead of throwing her in jail, Jamanta gave her the chance to redeem herself by swearing she would never betray the village by stealing from it. Gitsune immediately agreed, but she was still under the constant surveillance of the ANBU captain.

Dropping One's Guard
Gitsune was not too happy about the fact that she had someone keeping a constant eye on her and have often tried to get away from Jamanta, only to be foiled in her plans. However, despite the younger kunoichi's rebellious nature, the ANBU officer continued to show diligence in guarding the girl while showing her friendly, more carefree side. In time, they became good friends and Gitsune ceased the attempts to get away from the woman. She even discovered that Jamanta was Satetsu's sister which made it easier for her to warm up.

Little by little, Gitsune found herself falling for Jamanta, which made her worry; what if this ends bad just like the last time? The female hid her feelings from the woman while trying to act normal around her. When Jamanta introduced a friend of hers to the girl, she immediately agreed to try getting to know this person better, thinking she might just forget what she felt for Jamanta if she spent more time with this other person. Yakumo, the name of Jamanta's friend. She hailed from a rich family and showered Gitsune with trinkets she never asked for but gratefully accepted since the noblewoman insisted. In just a short time, Yakumo proposed to Gitsune and she accepted, despite the fact that she was still not sure of what she felt for Yakumo.

However, with the noblewoman's rising status in her family and the work she needed to do, she began to spend less and less time with Gitsune, usually leaving her alone since Jamanta was often with her newly-wed spouse back then. She sought the company of casual friends and acquaintances to kill time and if ever her closest friend had the chance to visit her, she would listen to the stories of the ANBU captain about her happiness with her spouse, no matter how much it stings inside of Gitsune's heart.

Unable to keep her charade up any longer, Gitsune decided to go back to Inariyama to train under the White Fox Sage once more to keep her mind off this matter, only to find a weeping Jamanta at her doorstep and the tragic news that her spouse died. As a good friend, the woman canceled her departure for Inariyama and comforted the woman for days, staying with her until she felt better... or at least she hoped.

Perhaps it was the shock of losing a loved one in a gruesome manner or the thought that she was left alone once more that it pushed Jamanta to suddenly blurt out her feelings for Gitsune, which surprised the dark-haired female. The older woman asked her to marry her all so suddenly, not even minding that her friend was already engaged. Gitsune tried to eliminate the awkward moment but soon found herself in a liplock with Jamanta for the first time. Her defenses came crashing down and was not able to hold back her own feelings that she reciprocated the kiss and admitted that she loved Jamanta right from the start. However, with the woman's sudden proposal and the fact that she was bound to another, she snapped back to reality, turned down the woman and told her she just cannot do it. It ended up with Gitsune running away from Jamanta hurt and alone, while she shut herself off from the world.

Almost a month and a half had passed and the dark-haired female was visited by her fiancee, Yakumo, who immediately noticed something was wrong. At first, Gitsune was at a loss for words on how to explain this to the other female but after much coaxing, she admitted the truth and apologized to Yakumo as she broke down in tears. The noblewoman, after seeing how much her fiancé cared for her friend, decided to break the engagement while giving Gitsune her blessing, saying that she should not run away from love once it came knocking onto her heart.

Mustering all her courage, she went back to apologize to Jamanta. Albeit she knew that the ANBU captain would be furious at her, she approached the woman and told her she was sorry which led to a series of heated discussions, awkward silences and tearful revelations. For the first time, Gitsune made herself emotionally vulnerable to a person, pushing aside that closed up nature and telling right then and there what she felt. In the end, the two reconciled and they decided to hold off everything until they were both ready.

She would soon marry her lover, Jamanta, and they have been living together in their own home. She has been training during her free time, improving her Hyūga techniques and Fox Sage Mode even further. The woman visits Inariyama when she can and continues to train under the White Fox Sage, Resshin. Somehow, she has also acquired a unique summoning scroll and is able to call forth Ifrits, creatures that primarily have the affinity to fire.

Also, she has attained mastery in Kenjutsu and Tessenjutsu, the former aiding her when she tried out to become one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Her hard work paid off and she was made Fifth Seat of the organization. She eventually rose to the spot of Second Seat. She is also one of the instructors in the Kenjutsu Academy.

Present Day
She had been recommended by her fellow Swordsman, Tenzo, to the Mizukage and was promoted to become one of the Yonnin of the Mist. With the male's sudden disappearance, Gitsune took on his mantle of Ichiban Yonnin. She also became next in line to become the Swordsmen's First Seat, however, she decided that she was not ready to take on such a huge responsibility and remained Second-in-Command while appointing the Founder of the Swordsmen himself, Mioku Kaguya, to become the group's leader once more.

With the changes made, Gitsune was able to train more with kenjutsu, borrowing each Seven Swordsman sword from the scroll every once in a while to train them in the goal to achieve mastery on all of them. Things were doing well in the village and she aided in creating stronger defenses for the village. The uneventful time she had in Kiri would soon be met with the occasion of the robing of the new Nanadaime Kazekage of Suna. She volunteered to be one of the Mizukage's escorts to Wind Country and they traveled to the sandy village to attend the ceremony and join another group from Kiri composing of Mioku Kaguya, Rin Hōzuki and Gin Kaguya.

Once the robing was done and the Mizukage managed to finish his meeting with the new Kazekage, he decided that they should head back to their own village when they soon found themselves forced into an encounter with a Jhen Moran, an earth dragon that was summoned forth by an unknown male. She, along with Xiarawst and Mioku, joined the forces of Suna to take down the beast as well as its summoner.

Abilities and Skills (In Progress)
During the time she was still studying in the Shinobi Academy in Yukigakure, Gitsune's teachers commended her for her skill and intelligence. Her scores were one of the highest in her class and has shown good relationship with those who have been teamed up with her. However, when she was traumatized by the brutal exams in Kirigakure back then, she became withdrawn and avoided others.

Despite this drawback, Gitsune can efficiently work alone, showing much ability and wit when confronting opponents. With her desire to become better, she trained hard each and every day she can in solitude.

Byakugan
With her mother as a member of the Hyūga clan, Gitsune inherited from her the Byakugan, granting her a near-360-degree vision, along with x-ray vision, and the ability to see chakra networks, among other things. The Byakugan however, does have a small blind spot located at the third upper thoracic vertebrae and Gitsune makes sure to be cautious about this blind spot. Gitsune was able to increase the normal 50 meter field of vision of her eyes to at least 15 kilometers as a result of constant training.

Gentle Fist
GItsune specializes in close-range taijutsu combat and has immense speed and dexterity which enables her to dodge and strike an enemy easily with little effort. Her attacks are considered quick and precise, often striking in fast succession which makes it hard for her opponent to make a counter-attack.

The Byakugan enables Gitsune to use the Gentle Fist style of fighting, the signature style of the Hyūga clan. She often uses her advantage to see the chakra pathway system of people to inflict serious internal damage with minimal external force. With her training, she is able to see special nodes in the chakra network, called tenketsu, which she found out when targeted, it does not only damage the enemy but she could control the flow of their chakra as well. The Gentle Fist enables Gitsune to target internal organs and is capable of killing an enemy with a single precise attack if she aimed for the heart. She always requires herself to train in regulating her chakra and master the entire chakra network. This continuous training has given her a way to expel chakra from any tenketsu in her body as a way to stop or slow down any projectile coming at her and even release herself from any chakra-based substance. Gitsune can also maintain this expulsion of chakra to create a sort of barrier around herself to sense anything that comes close within her vicinity and makes up for the blind spot of the Byakugan.

Despite not undergoing a formal training, Gitsune learned the Hyūga clan's secret techniques, thanks to her mother. She was taught the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven which enables her to block every attack, and the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, a very powerful offensive move which can take out enemies by striking many of their tenketsu in rapid succession, making it hard for the to move and control their chakra. She had even managed to double the number of strikes of this technique, increasing its effectivity against enemies. She is currently training to refine her knowledge regarding other Hyūga techniques.

Eight Gates
During her travels, Gitsune has met a person who taught her about the Eight Gates and underwent extensive training to learn how to open these gates. So far, she is able to open five of the eight gates and when she does, she is bestowed with incredible strength and speed, at the price of her body nearly breaking down on her. However, after much research and sole training, she has managed to open these gates with less damage on her body but still shows sighs of exhaustion. She is currently developing a way to utilize the gates while combining it with the Hyūga techniques.

Nature Transformation
With the wind as her primary affinity, she is capable of manipulating the air around her and using it for offensive and defensive purposes. She is also capable of flight, using the air currents around her to lift her body and other people up in the air. Ever since Gitsune and her parents came to Kirigakure, she had honed herself to learn a secondary affinity and chose to have mastery over water. It is not as easy as mastering Wind Release because of how different water behaves. Only after years of extensive training, she has attained exceptional control over the element and is quite fond of using it for her attacks. Opting for a third affinity, Gitsune is currently training to attain good control over the earth. So far, she is progressing well and has shown skill in creating earth barriers to protect herself from attacks. Gitsune discovered this by accident when she tried combining her water-based attack with her wind-based attack. Through this she is able to 'form' ice which she can manipulate to an extent. So far, she has yet to know the limits of this combination of affinities. Gitsune's father, as a member of the Senju clan, bestowed upon her the Kekkei Genkai Wood Release. This kekkei genkai allows her to combine Earth Release and Water Release to create flora such as trees and even grass which can grow from any surface. These trees can be grown not only from the earth and already existing plant life, but also from her own body as by transforming her cells as a source of life.
 * Wind Release
 * Water Release
 * Earth Release
 * Ice Release
 * Wood Release

Overtime, her skills have improved after she made a pilgrimage to Konoha to trace her origins and lineage to the Senju clan. Gitsune was given access to the Senju Grand Tree and was able to learn a lot of new techniques which she was able to use for various purposes. She even pushed the limits to some techniques and made hybrid jutsu that gave various results, including creating a sentient forest that sprouts living, wood guardians.

Kenjutsu
Gitsune is mainly a Taijutsu user but she decided to master another weapon aside from her Tessen, thus she chose the sword. She has trained with the blade extensively and applied to become one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Her skill was recognized and was allowed to join their ranks, earning her the position of Second Seat which was evidence of her prowess with the blade.

She is ambidextrous, meaning she can effectively switch her sword from her right hand to her left and vice versa without difficulty. She can also dual-wield, enabling her to hold two swords while fighting. Gitsune has developed an unorthodox kenjutsu technique wherein she uses seven blades, increasing the damage she can inflict.

Senjutsu

 * Main Article: Fox Sage Mode

Gitsune has perfected her Fox Sage Mode after training extensively in Inariyama with the White Fox Sage. When in this mode, her attributes are further boosted, giving her a big advantage in a fight.

Summonings

 * Main Article: Arctic Foxes

After signing the contract with the Arctic Foxes, Gitsune is able to summon these powerful creatures to aid her in her battles. They have the affinity to wind, ice and a rare few, to storm. The woman can also use them as mounts or even quick-footed messengers.

Chakra Supply and Control
With the Senju blood flowing through her veins, Gitsune is blessed with a naturally large chakra pool and strong bodily vitality. This gives her the durability and stamina needed for long fights and missions. Also, being a Hyūga trained in their style, she has excellent chakra control, which shows when she utilizes the Hyūga techniques and other ninjutsu. Her control also keeps her from expending too much chakra, thus saving it when she really needs it the most. She is also capable of sharing her chakra with others without too much strain on herself.

Botany Master
With her Kekkei Genkai aiding her, Gitsune has a vast knowledge over plants and has discovered many uses for them. She has created antidotes, poisons and other mixtures that are extracted from many plants. She is also capable of growing and producing special 'seeds' that can be used for various purposes (extracting them through her mouth).

Trivia

 * Hagoromo Gitsune's name literally means "Feather-robe Fox"
 * Whenever she summons all of her 'tails', her appearance is reminiscent to that of the mythical nine-tailed fox.
 * She aims to master the usage of all the Seven Swordsmen's blades (3 out of 7 mastered).
 * It is the tradition of the Seven Swordsmen to fashion their teeth into sharpened points; however, Gitsune only sharpened her canine teeth.
 * According to databooks:
 * Gitsune's hobbies are playing the shamisen and strolling around the village.
 * Gitsune does not wish to fight anyone, but will readily fight if her life or the lives of those she cares for were threatened.
 * Her favorite foods are Gyōza and Sōmen while her least favorite are peas and bitter gourd.
 * Her favortite phrase is "complete freedom" (大自在, Dai Jizai)
 * Gitsune has completed 267 official missions in total: 44 D-rank, 65 C-rank, 55 B-rank, 76 A-rank, 27 S-rank.