Shiba (Kusagakure)

was a chūnin from Kusagakure.

Personality
Shiba seemed to be very confident in his own abilities, and showed no arguments in using underhanded tactics to help his sponsor win a bet.

Appearance
Shiba had cheek length brown hair and his bangs hanged out just under his forehead protector. He had dark-coloured eyes. He wore a bandanna-styled Kusagakure forehead protector which was black and tied in the back.

Chūnin Exams
Shiba and Midori observe the final round matches of the Chūnin Exams in Konohagakure. When the match between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara is about to begin, they approach Gaara as he heads to the arena (in the anime, they are sent by a daimyō they were hired to guard). Many daimyō place bets on the matches and, as such, Shiba and Midori try to coerce Gaara into throwing the match so that bets on Sasuke can pay out. Gaara is insulted and promptly kills them both, soaking his sand in their blood. Killing Shiba and Midori quenches Gaara's blood-lust, causing him to ignore Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara when he runs into them shortly afterwards.

Trivia

 * literally means "brushwood".
 * In the anime, when Shiba was covering himself as the light bulb shattered above him, his forehead protector symbol changed to the Suna symbol.
 * His appearance and hairstyle are similar to Hayate Gekkō's.