Gōkestu Hazō, formerly Kurosawa Hazō is a Leaf ninja, sealsmith from Kirigakure. He is the only character directly controlled by the players.
Hivemind[]
Although the players have significant control over him, it must be noted that Hazō is a completely independent and autonomous agent.
Following the Minami incident[1], Hazou gained a greater degree of autonomy, so as to prevent further mistakes from Hivemind's understanding of the ninja world.
Background[]
Although his mother, Kurosawa Hana(and by extension Hazo) is expelled, they can trace their lineage through the Kurosawa clan for ten generations(~200 years).[2]
His father died on a mission when he was young.[3]
A jonin by the name of Mako was Hazo's sensei during his time as a Mist genin.[4]
His two dreams as a shinobi were to find his own heart and kill his father's killer.
His mother show him how to kill a man with a kunai.
When in the academy, he advanced rapidly through his taijutsu class until he was sparring only with the instructors.
However, his penchant for asking questions got him punished. In his punishment, he learned all the efficient motions necessary to rapidly complete a given task. It may be scrubbing the floor, cleaning the grease trap, or cleaning the chimney. However, his questions eventually turned into 'demerit' costing him the status rookie-of-the-year.
At age eleven, his mother got into serious debt, so he helped her out by gambling; First, by jumping off a cliff to land on the Mizukage tower. When kids stopped betting against him, he learned how to play craps. When the adults stopped betting against him, he looked for gambling establishments further from his home, until a tatooed man had a long conversation with him.
When he became a genin, his missions were mostly D-rank missions. However, there were friendly competitions with his teammates.
Two weeks before he became a missing-nin, he was taken off his previous team and joined a new one.[5]
Plot[]
Hidden Swamp[]
At the start of the story, he became part of the short-lived Village Hidden in The Swamp, which led him to be considered a missing-nin. Teaming up with Mori Keiko and Wakahisa Noburi with Shikigami as their sensei, they conducted a few short missions before finding Inoue Mari's forehead protector.[6] Eventually choosing to join Inoue as they escaped Hidden Swamp, they became a heavy combat team despite Inoue's specialty in genjutsu.[7]
Black Hunter[]
After the escape from Hidden Swamp, the team arrived in Iron in an unnamed village. They were ordered to henge, but that proved ineffective, as a local quickly figured out that Hazo is not an adult.
They investigated the Black Hunter rumor and found out that it was a ninja.
The Liberator[]
Encountering a powerful ninja named Yujin shortly after leaving Hidden Swamp behind, the team accepted a mission from him by dint of Yujin utterly curbstomping the team. They traveled to infiltrate the New Samurai Army after rumors about a new Liberator appeared.
Hazō chose to gather information by dueling everyone, using a persona remarkably similiar to Maito Gai. That was how he met Ishihara Akane. After infiltrating for a few weeks, the team had to bug out, with choosing to follow them. Mari was forced to engage in combat with a jonin, while the kids briefly got captured except Hazō. Akane bought time while Hazō annihilated most of the enemy team. Thus, the kids escaped relatively unscathed.[8]
Isan[]
In light of their successful mission in the Liberator incident, Yujin revealed himself to be Jiraiya, and granted each member of the team an open ended favor. Hazō himself received the Multiple Earth Wall as a result of Jiraiya's favor, while Keiko asked for advice. Jiraiya then informed Keiko that he had heard rumors of a summoning contract resurfacing around Tea, and so the team set off for Tea.[9]
In Tea, they shortly tracked the contract to the Village Hidden in the Mountain(now retconned to Isan), where the Pangolin Summoning Contract was located. There, after navigating countless village political intrigues, the team ended up with the Pangolin Summoning Contract.
Interlude Intermission[]
Before the tournament, Hazo talked to Nikko's mother about his experience with the temporary captain before her untimely death.[10]
Exam Preparation[]
Hazo asked Mari-sensei to help with pyschological warfare preparation. He got more than what he bargained for when Neira joined in to criticize the genins.[11]
Mari-sensei talked to Hazo and the kids about meeting family members. Hazo was worried that his mother would see him as a traitor, but he was reassured by Mari that his mother still loves him. However, he was also warned that his mother could be dead.[12]
Chunin Exam[]
Before the start of the exam proper and urged on by Noburi, he went to visit the house he grew in. He found out that his mother had sold the house, but the buyer did not know where his mother lived.[13]
Rest Period[]
Hazo and his sibling returned back to Leaf ahead of Jiraiya and Hana.
He had to be told that Akane broke up with him.
Chunin Exam Tournament[]
Hazo seek his mom out before the tournament proper to ensure that she is safe.[14]
Before the second round for Hazo, Hazo explained the concept of uplife to the audience with Keiko acting as his cynical foil.[15]Hazo lost to Keiko in the second round when he was tricked and set on fire.[16]
Mori Ami[]
Ami sent a letter to Hazo agreeing to a nonexistent marriage proposal. Keiko learned of this and got mad at Hazo for meeting her sister without her permission. It was later found out that Ami was trying to smoke out a leak.[17]
Hat Crisis[]
When the kids learned of Jiraiya's death, Hazo was forced to take over as clan leader, and began organizing and delegating tasks. He also broke Mari out of her emotional breakdown and tasked her with politicking.[18]
Hazo reassured Keiko that she is still family even after causing drama and financial uncertainty.
A sealing disaster strike, causing ninja to die as well lot of civilians. Kagome and Hazo investigated the problem and proposed solutions, as did other sealmasters. However, there was the aftermath to take care of. Hazo did his part in rescuing people, but also sheltering them. He ordered summon, ninja, and civilian alike to clear the compound ground and prepare temporary shelters for two hundred plus. Later that evening, Mari gave Hazo the Uchiha deal.
The next morning, Mori Ami met with the clan and Hazo, and Hazo wanted a political favor.
Afterward, Hazo reviewed the deal that Mari negotiated, and decided on a few tweaks regarding pregnancies, health, consent, and visitation rights. Mari and the clan outright rejected dual clanship as nonsense.[19][20]
However, the Uchiha deal fell through and the clan is left with a simple agreement to note vote in the election in exchange for money and adoptions of only useless civilians. Hazo is relieved.
When he heard about the Amori, Hazo proposed a 'token' system and delegate negotiation to Mari.
In preparing for landclearing, Hazo and Mari bought land from a hilltop daimyo that was in town. Aito, said daimyo, was deadly afraid of the very nice ninja.
Hazo, along with everyone else, was shocked to learn that Hiashi succeeded in becoming the hokage.[21]
Post Election[]
Hazo witnessed the creation of KEI.
As a coping mechanism, he suggested that Clan Goketsu explore the basement. Hazo heard words from his teammate such as 'coward' and 'idiot', but his teammates swore they said nothing.
Hazo tried to troubleshoot a Uzumaki clone craving blood.
Relationships[]
- Gōketsu Mari - Hazō's relationship with the team's jonin-sensei, has seemingly developed into some sense of camaraderie, with them occasionally meeting desperately to discuss the future of the team. Inoue has confessed that she, at least once, told him too much and erased his memory using the Truth Hidden in the Fog. Hazō thought of her as a mother/sister.
- Gōketsu Noburi - He originally tried to befriend Noburi in an attempt to increase group cohesion, thought hat did not work because he was jealous of Hazō's leadership position. They have since become actual friends, though Noburi still finds Hazō insufferable sometimes.
- Nara Keiko - Hazō feels deeply connected to Keiko over their shared social blindness. They try and work on this together: Keiko has helped Hazō with social interaction flowcharts, and they both make good use of the Clear Communication Jutsu. Hazō is aware of Keiko's unreasonably low sense of self-worth, and tries to help alleviate her self-hatred.
- Gōketsu Kagome is Hazō's sealing teacher, and he has great respect for him. Kagome regards Hazō as a not-entirely-incompetent apprentice. Hazō is also aware of Kagome's social ineptness, and tries to be careful around him and make him feel like a welcome part of the group.
- Gōketsu Akane joined the group as Hazō's taijutsu apprentice, but they have since become friends as well. While Akane was recuperating in Leaf, they agreed to be romantically but non-exclusively involved. The pair of them share mutual admiration. After Hazo came back to Leaf, Akane and Hazo continued their relationship. They broke up right before event 5 in the chunin exam, but eventually resumed their friendship.
- Yamanaka Ino - Friend who occasionally flirted with Hazo.
Appearance[]
Medium-length black hair, blue eyes (characteristic of Kurosawa Clan), medium height for a 14-year-old. Solid, muscular build with little excess fat. Constant analytical gaze, as if taking notes on surroundings. Habitual slight frown.
Personality[]
Hazo's handwriting was noted by Kagome as messy, which was eventually fixed.[22][21]
Unlike other characters, Hazo is constantly living under the influence of the hivemind, giving him peculiar disadvantages, but also powerful advantages as well.
The hivemind's lack of knowledge and context about the ninja world manifested as social ineptness, much like Keiko. But the hivemind's positive qualities can also manifest as a fondness for making long lists and flow charts, fast on the spot tactical decision-making, and creative problem solving.
Bad at keeping OPSEC, which mostly boils down to problems of compartmentalization of classified knowledge between various circles of trust (his allies vs. his family).
He used to only serve as the avatar of the hivemind's will, but he was granted character independence to make up for mistakes that may occur when the hivemind didn't know about a particular part of the world.
Skills and Abilities[]
Hazo specialized in sealing, taijustu, deception, and diplomacy.
He is also considered the "face" of the group despite the lack of social skills.
Technology[]
As a sealmaster, Hazo developed pieces of technology, often with Kagome-sensei's assistance.
- Skywalker - Hazo and Kagome developed the skywaddler prototype. Hazo tried to work on the Skywalker seal but with the amount of sealing failure, it was deemed that Hazo did not have enough skills to continue.
References[]
- ↑ Chapter 128
- ↑ [1] - Velorien's worldbuilding post on July 21, 2016
- ↑ Interlude: Another Day, Another Mission
- ↑ Chapter 4
- ↑ Chapter One - posted on December 13, 2015
- ↑ Chapter 1
- ↑ Chapter 8
- ↑ Chapter 28
- ↑ Chapter 30
- ↑ Chapter 241 Part 1
- ↑ Chapter 150
- ↑ Chapter 151
- ↑ Chapter 156.2
- ↑ Chapter 230
- ↑ Chapter 241 Part 1
- ↑ Chapter 241 Part 2
- ↑ Chapter 244
- ↑ Chapter 261
- ↑ Chapter 271
- ↑ Chapter 272
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Chapter 277
- ↑ Chapter 67