Natsuki Maki (懐稀 真木, Maki Natsuki) is a young teenager from a village within Kirigakure, Sanchō no Mura. She assumed the role of clan leader and village leader when her father as well as her older brother disappeared, leaving her mother in a mentally ill state. The Maki Clan are ancestors of the Yuki Clan and Natsuki is the only remaining Maki Clan member with the kekkei genkai, Ice Release.
Background[]
Natsuki had a content childhood with loving parents and an older brother. Her father, Hiroaki, was the village leader as well as the Maki Clan leader despite not being born a Maki. Natsuki was trained by him and her older brother, Eiji. She went to school like any normal kid and maintained average grades. After school she would go practice with her brother. One day, while she was practicing on her own, she found out that she held the near-extent kekkei genkai, ice release. Natsuki, not wanting to scare anyone, kept this a secret and trained it on her own. When she turned ten years old, obtaining an eight-year younger sister and many close friendships, her father suddenly disappears. Her daily training sessions came to an end and Natsuki's life was thorn into chaos. Natsuki was deeply affected deeply, holding a close relationship with her father. The village reacted the same and many people moved away from the snowy mountain. While Natsuki continued to sulk, Eiji took on responsibilities of village and clan leader. Another year later, close to the day marking the one year anniversary their father left, Eiji left as well. Instead of moping around like she did when her father left, it was Natsuki's turn to step up and assume leadership. Her mother, not being able to handle her husband as well as son disappearing, loses her sanity and becomes mentally ill. She even tried to kill Mitsuki, blaming their disappearances on her youngest daughter. Natsuki shielded Mitsuki with her own body and ended up getting a near fatal wound and forcing Natsuki to reveal her ice release. Natsuki was left with two scars to forever remember the moment: a long slash following down her lower abdomen as well as an internal scar, leaving her infertile. Natsuki eventually quarantined her mother so she wouldn't hurt nor scare anyone further. A few weeks later, Mitsuki became physically ill which led her to go into long periods of sleep. Natsuki's younger sister's condition only became worse while Natsuki could only watch. Making an important decision whether to leave the village unprotected or saving her sister's life, Natsuki selfishly took the latter and began to travel in search of help. Natsuki traveled for months, bringing many people back to Sanchō no Mura only for them to be fakes or cons. Nobody seemed able to help save her younger sister, until Natsuki heard of the Slug Princess Tsunade.
Personality[]
When she was younger, Natsuki had a very kind and gently personality if not a little outgoing and dauntless. She exuded a very friendly charisma that attracted others towards her, thus causing her to gain friends easily. As she was little, Natsuki displayed a very observatory sharp mind yet being a little naive. She was stubborn and loved learning new things, as well as bravely exploring the Black Pine Forest on the outskirts of town. Natsuki was a very happy child and loved deeply, she holds loyalty important to her. That's why when her older brother and father left, she was traumatized. As she entered a mini depression, her personality and attitude towards life changed. She became closed off and colder to nearly everyone but Mitsuki and Shirou, her sensei after her father had left. Natsuki became demanding and disciplined, forced into maturity and a life of etiquette when she assumed the roles of leader. Natsuki doesn't like showing any emotions but won't lock them completely away. It's difficult to gain her respect and trust though once you have it, you keep it for a long time. Natsuki will demand honesty and loyalty over anything else, expecting her friends to do the same. She can be viewed as a little cruel, cold, and selfish, due to her new attitude. However, Natsuki will stop at nothing and will sacrifice everything if she has to in order to save a friend. It's been shown that Natsuki has a soft spot for children and small animals. She has also been seen exchanging books with Kakashi and is under the assumption she is exchanging Icha Icha Paradise books with him. From this, it's shown that Natsuki has a secretive pervy side she hides.
Appearance[]
Natsuki greatly resembles her other clan members, sharing similar features as them. She has long straight hair and fringe bangs that go across her forehead. Her hair is an unusual cross between blonde and pink, which she usually fashions into a ponytail near the end. Her eyes are a cerulean blue that stand out against her pale skin and she has a small beauty mark under her left eye. Natsuki has a curvy yet also athletic physique due to the lean muscle she required through training. She's a little tall for her age, making her appear older.
In Mizu no Kura, she wore a large white coat over dark blue pants accompanied by a red scarf. However in Konoha thanks to the drastic temperature change, Natsuki was forced to change her attire. She now wears a dark blue fitting top with short sleeves and red pants that reach her knees. During any missions she undertakes, she swaps her red pants for a matching navy blue for better camouflage.
Abilities[]
Ninjutsu[]
Growing up, Natsuki knew what chakra was and was very intrigued by it. She worked and worked and worked until she mastered chakra control so she could start learning ninjutsu. She was very disappointed however, when for some unknown reason she couldn't perform any ninjutsu. Eventually over time, Natsuki gave up and started to use her chakra to enhance her speed and strength. Natsuki is unable to use any traditional means of ninjutsu, leaving her at a huge disadvantage against other shinobi opponents. It's shown that Natsuki is also weak against fire release jutsus, long ranged attacks, and genjutsu users.
Taijutsu[]
Natsuki specializes in taijutsu as well as kenjutsu. Using her ice release she can make weapons and use them fluently in taijutsu. Because of her clan and heritage, Natsuki was born with swift agility is able to easily move around the battlefield. Her hits are strong and always transition into the next making any chances of counterattacks slim. However, Natsuki has a low pain tolerance and can't deal with large amounts of pain. It's even worse when she has little defensive moves besides conjuring up an ice shield, so she relies on her speed to get away before the opponent can attack. It's seen that Natsuki has an attuned sense of hearing, able to pick up on the slightest movement of sound.
Kekkei Genkai[]
Natsuki is able to use ice release due to her clan being ancestor's of the Yuki Clan albeit the ability is rare. Natsuki feared that people would treat her differently and kept it a secret. She trained and practiced on her own, becoming strong in wind and water release to make up for her ninjutsu. Natsuki can use ice release and not any ninjutsu is because in ice release her kekkei genkai allows her to control it freely so it's much more easier to manipulate than chakra. Natsuki likes to form weapons such as a long spear called a Naginata and a katana. She can form much more weapons such as daggers and senbon when necessary. She makes the weapon out of ice so cold and hard that it can sometimes pierce through metal. Despite it's freezing temperature, Natsuki is unaffected and can easily handle her choice of weapon. When she is done battling, the weapon will shatter into ice fragments.
| Databook | Nin. | Tai. | Gen. | Intelligence | Strength | Speed | Stamina | Hand Seals | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1 | 20 |
| Second | 2.5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3.5 | 4 | 3 | 1.5 | 23.5 |
| Third | 3.5 | 5 | 2 | 3.5 | 4 | 5 | 3.5 | 2 |
28.5 |
((while it may seem her stats could be considered "op", all of her TOTAL was lower than Neji's Stats except in Row 3 where Natsuki got a 28 and Neji got a 27. Just throwing that comparison out there. ))
Part 1[]
Welcome to Konoha[]
Natsuki makes a selfish decision as the leader of Sanchō no Mura and the Maki Clan to abandon the village to search for help that'll save her sister. Many times she had encountered frauds or cons, becoming discouraged that no one will be willing to save Mitsuki. Finally, Natsuki heard of the legendary Slug Princess Tsunade that is supposedly the world's most refined medical nin. She immediately sets out for Konohagakure to find her, having caught wind that is where her hometown is. Natsuki is disappointed to find that Tsunade is not there and no one knows about her whereabouts. Just as she was getting ready to leave the village, Natsuki is stopped by the Sandaime Hokage. He offers Natsuki a place to stay in the meantime, until Tsunade returns. Feeling hesitant on whether the Gambling Addict would make it in time to save her sister, Natsuki reluctantly agrees to stay in Konohagakure.
Quotes[]
- "If I am to die... right now... I would think back at all the things I've done in my life. Skipping past my father leaving me, my brother betraying my family, my sister dying in my arms, and my mentally ill mother, and all the other horrible challenged I've had to face; I'd look back on the good times I was so lucky to experience in life. Learning about the world, making new friends... and meeting you all. It would have been enough."
- (to Naruto) "Pain is man's worst enemy yet it's best endeavor. Without pain...humans can't grow, we can't learn, we won't advance forward. Through pain, we learn our mistakes and what is important to us, we learn what we cherish the most. It's then we learn what kind of person we are as well. Are you the type of person to bow down? To submit to pain and never learn anything, to never move on? Or are you the person I though you were, and stand up to face the pain head on? To challenge the suffering with a determined look, and say "Never give up"? If you don't... then I don't know the person you've become, Naruto."
- (to Hinata) "In order to achieve progress, there must be a struggle. You have to pour every essence of your soul into it, to do the impossible. Your sweat, your tears, your blood, your faith. Your fears and courage, as well as your love and dreams. Can you do that, Hinata? Can you tear down your entire self, to build anew and achieve the progress you so wish to desire? Show me...
Trivia[]
- Natsuki's name means (夏樹) "summer wood" while Maki (マキ) means "black pine"
- The Maki Clan got it's name from the village's surrounding Black Pine Forest, an immense forest acting as a labyrinth full of black pine trees
- Natsuki's favorite hobby is exploring, whether it's tree climbing, mountain climbing, etc.
- Natuki has a soft spot for kids and anything cute. She's also shown a hidden perverted side as she was caught reading Icha Icha Paradise
- Natsuki easily blushes when one of her likes or dislikes is exposed and is awkward around men.
- Natsuki likes cold and snowy weather while she dislikes warm and sunny weather
- Natsuki is probably the worst cook ever
- Natsuki's favorite foods are curry and fish (preferably salmon)
- Natsuki likes taking part in kendo, tumbling, and gymnastics
- Natsuki has a hidden competitive streak and never likes to lose. She loves participating in challenges and games
- Natsuki dislikes noisy and/or crowdy and/or confined spaces
- Natsuki hates being unproductive
- Natsuki never graduated from the academy so technically she can't be counted as an official ninja, most people look past that fact though. Because of his, she doesn't have an official team only partners
- Natsuki has completed 83 missions so far (as of 17 years of age): 13 D-Rank, 22 C-Rank, 38 B-Rank, 9 A-Rank, 1 S-Rank