Kasumi Mitou (Shippuden)

Kasumi Mitou (みとう カスミ, Mitou Kasumi) is a chūnin of Kusagakure. She is a member of Team Yon-Tao with the twins, Ide and Buto, and later, Kazō Yakusho and Oda Inagara. She utilizes grass release ninjutsu like her sister Seishi.


== Background ==
Kasumi is the second daughter of Soichiro and Kiyomi Mitou. Like her sister, Kasumi joined the Academy to become a ninja. Overall, she had average skill in just about all aspects of her studies. She did not seem to possess the same gifted talent her older sister had shown, but she was still able to hold her own among the other students. Like most of the students, her main weak points were in fields such as genjutsu. She spent most of her time with her best friend Inari; either training, talking, or trying to get Kinsei's attention.

One of Kasumi’s least favorite parts of the day were the lectures. She had trouble staying focused on such a boring task. One day while trying to stay awake, another student had gotten yelled at. Kentaro had accidently laughed too loud at one of Kazō’s witticisms. The fact that someone was actually able to enjoy something while rotting in the trench of boredom annoyed her. The next day, Kazō arrived to find Kasumi occupying his usual seat. She wanted in on their fun, even if they didn’t. As the lecture went on, Kazō found things to make jokes about. Although Kasumi realized the intent, she didn’t find them as funny as Kentaro did. The last one didn’t even make sense to her, and she said so, much to Kazō’s shock. He tried rewording the joke, but it still slid past her. Now thoroughly annoyed, Kazō attempted to break down the joke, bit by bit. Before he could get very far, the teacher berated him for not paying attention. It was the first time Kazō had ever been caught, as well as the first thing Kasumi actually found funny.

Later in the day, Kasumi joined in a game of Ninja; a mix of tag and hide and seek, that had begun between Kazō’s group and Kinsei’s friends. Kazō was immediately against the idea, but Kasumi was not going to pass up the chance to be on a team with Kinsei. By the end of the game, only Kazō and Buto were left standing. Before the others could gather to call the game, Kentaro and Ide continued it by acting like zombies. It was all the incentive Kazō needed to get into character. Kinsei and Kasumi stood by as their charade progressed. Though Kinsei was annoyed by their stupidity, Kasumi actually enjoyed the act. She decided that, even if their jokes sucked, they could still keep things entertaining.

This wasn’t the last time Kasumi hung around their group. As much as she annoyed them and they annoyed her, she continued to stay in their company. Though she wouldn’t admit it, they had become her friends. Kazō still hadn’t fully accepted her and tended to make fun of her through wit. Kentaro usually followed Kazō’s lead but Ide and Buto didn’t mind having Kasumi around, saying she was the cutest member of their group.

After becoming a genin, Kasumi was paired with Ide and Buto under the tutelage of Yon-Tao. He was a strict sensei, and rarely put up with their mischief. They soon grew on him, whether or not he’d admit it, and he was pleased with their growth as ninja. Having the twins on her team wasn’t too bad. However, they always managed to continue Kazō’s work and aggravate her to no end. Despite the annoyances, the three worked well together and soon became chūnin.

After her promotion, Kasumi’s sister began teaching her more about the Kekkei Genkai they shared. Soon Kasumi modeled the jutsu to fit her own fighting style. Among her new skills, she found a knack for sensing chakra. As her sister was not a sensor type ninja, Kasumi had finally found something that made her different from Seishi and she strengthened the skill as much as she could. She may not share Seishi’s advanced abilities, but her skills did much to help her carve her own path on the road to being a ninja.


== Personality ==
Kasumi has a very outgoing and cheerful demeanor. She is friendly towards others, even if she’s never met them before, and will usually befriend anyone she comes into contact with. She can usually be found in the company of her best friend, Inari, acting as most girls her age do. She tends to fawn over adorable things like small animals or toddlers, as seen when she meets two year old Miko for the first time. She’s even said that she’d take Miko home with her and become the child’s older sister on numerous occasions.

Kasumi is not always the most mature girl for her age. She can get jealous easily, as seen when Inari is put on Kinsei’s team. In her defense, Inari tends to rub it in a lot. Another immature trait is annoyance. If someone is able to break through her normally friendly exterior and strike a nerve, she doesn’t take it well. This makes her an easy target for people like Ide and Buto who are good at aggravating in the name of fun. Not helping in this area is her occasional dense moments. Although she isn’t stupid, by any means, things can sometimes slide past her easily. This is seen a lot when she’s with Kazō whose quick tongue can trip up anyone not paying attention. Some of her immaturity may also stem from her childhood, as she is a younger sibling.

For much of her life, Kasumi has followed in the footsteps of her sister. This has led to a need for her to prove herself. She doesn’t want to fall behind, especially since Seishi had progressed quicker than most. Before she became a genin, she relied on her sister for many things, whether she wanted to or not. To fix this, Kasumi began testing her abilities and refused help from others. This is shown when she gets caught in one of Kazō’s earlier traps with Ide and Buto. Kazō and Kentaro arrive, and after making fun of them for getting caught, agree to help them. This infuriated Kasumi, and she told them she could free herself without their aid. Hours later, she finally broke free, pleased with her progress.


== Appearance ==
Kasumi is a girl of average height, with black hair and light blue eyes. When she is introduced after the time skip, her hair is braided and extends down to her waist. She wears a royal blue formfitting shirt with black trim and a black stripe down the front. She also wears black shorts and black gloves. During her Academy years, her braid only hung down to her shoulder blades.


== Abilities ==
=== Kekkei Genkai ===
Like her sister, Kasumi makes use of the Kekkei Genkai unique to Kusagakure. As explained to her by Seishi, grass release can be used to create and manipulate many forms of vegetation. Many ninja in their village might acquire the skill; however, since the jutsu can encompass many varying aspects of plant life, not many will share similar jutsu. The most common type Kasumi utilizes is vines, just like Seishi. They are versatile enough to let her ensnare, strangle, or simply lash out at an opponent.

Soon Kasumi decided to deviate from her sister’s jutsu path. After learning about different plants from Seishi, Kasumi created her own jutsu revolving around figs. Just like the fig tree will sap the life of surrounding trees, Kasumi’s new jutsu is a chakra absorbing technique. To implement the jutsu, Kasumi has small vine-like tendrils latch onto an opponent. Figs then sprout from the area and begin sapping their chakra. She can also wrap the figs around herself or allies to have the stolen chakra replenish her own supply. This trait has come in handy now that she has teamed up with Kazō, whose chakra reserves are low.

=== Sensory Perception ===
After becoming a chūnin, Kasumi had shown skill in sensing chakra. She takes great pride in the ability since it’s something her sister cannot do. She is able to use her perception with her chakra absorbing jutsu by sensing reserves of chakra and latching onto them. She can even sense reservoirs of chakra that may be lying dormant in the land or have been collected by others.

=== Stamina ===
Combining her sensory perception and her absorption jutsu allows Kasumi to have an almost endless supply of chakra. This increases her stamina greatly, even surpassing that of her sister’s. As such, she does not tire easily and can keep fighting well past standard limits. This puts her at odds with Kazō and Oda, who tire quickly when using their jutsu. The only down side to this combo is her not paying attention to how much chakra is left around her. At times, she will deplete the source of her free chakra and be left with just her normal reserves. Unlike Kazō or Oda, however, her natural reserves are at an average level, so she can usually last if this happens.


=== Stats ===
Ninjutsu:             3.5
Taijutsu:              2.5
Genjutsu:            2
Intelligence:        2
Strength:            1.5
Speed:                3
Stamina:             4.5
Hand Seals:        2


== Trivia ==

• Kasumi was first created back in 2012 in order to have a female character to serve as the foil to Kazō and Oda.
• Kasumi was originally going to have a more aggressive personality, and be intimidating to Kazō. These traits were scrapped, but show up a bit in Kasumi's sister.
• According to the Databook(s):
  • Kasumi’s hobby is stargazing.
  • Kasumi wishes to fight her sister Seishi.
  • Kasumi has completed 64 official missions in total: 28 D-rank, 23 C-rank, 7 B-rank, 5 A-rank, 1 S-rank.

== Quotes ==
(To Kazō) “K-Kazō?… is that you? Hey! I haven’t seen you in forever, haha! Kinsei said you were probably dead!”

(Meeting Oda) “Uh… hmm… I have no idea who you are!”

(To Kazō after getting caught in his trap) “No! I don’t need your help… I can get out of this on my own!”

(To Kazō as he changes his prosthetic) “S-sorry, it’s just… I’ve never seen you do that before… um… does it hurt?”

(To Kazō about him ending his ninja career) “Idiot!! Why would you do that?... It is NOT ok! That had nothing to do with your negotiation, did it?! You didn't actually die during that fight, so why do this?! What about all your training, and all your hard work, and... and... You Dumbass!!!"


Kasumi's full page can be found here: Kasumi Mitou's Page.
Image used a picture of Shippuden Sakura as a guide.