Jinin Akebino

was a member of the previous generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Background
At some point in time, Jinin and his teammates encountered Might Guy, Ebisu and Genma Shiranui while on a mission. Before they could kill the Genin however, Might Dai intervened and held of Jinin and his team at the cost of his own life.

Personality
From what can be seen from his personality in the anime, Jinin is very confident of his sword, the Kabutowari, the sword with the strongest offence, thinking it is meaningless for anyone to try and block. He also appears to enjoy killing his enemies like his other swordsmen team-mates.

Appearance
Jinin has a dark-coloured beard and hair which he ties into a topknot. The remainder of his face appears to be rather angular and features a very protuberant nose. He wears a dark-coloured poncho cloth over a standard Swordsman attire, consisting of a sleeveless dark shirt and matching pants along with a waist-guard, pin-striped arm and leg-warmers typical of his village and Kirigakure's forehead protector. He also has bandages around his neck like all the members of the previous generation of swordsmen.

Abilities
As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Jinin was one of the most powerful shinobi produced within Kirigakure. Jinin's generation of swordsmen were noted to be the strongest in the village's history. He was capable of using Silent Killing, as seen when fighting the Third Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces while under the effect of his former colleague Zabuza Momochi's Hiding in Mist Technique.

Kenjutsu
He was evidently very skilled at utilising Kabutowari, a blunt sword that consists of a single sided axe and a hammer joined by a leather strap, which is said to be capable of breaking through any defence. This is achieved by first striking with the axe, before hammering it through the remainder of the obstruction with the hammer, resulting in the axe functioning much like a wedge. The "swords" construction still allows the weapons to retain their individual capabilities and thanks to Jinin's expertise and high speed, both the axe and the hammer can be exploited to their fullest.

In the anime, Kakashi Hatake noted that because of Jinin's aggressive style and the pure offensive nature of Kabutowari, Jinin has poor defensive skills, allowing one who is fast enough to counter-attack by exploiting his openings. Jinin could also use the hammer to create a powerful shock-wave by slamming it into the ground.

Shinobi World War Arc
Amidst the battle with the Third Division, the reincarnated previous generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were summoned by Kabuto Yakushi via Pakura and Gari, with the intention of overwhelming the opposition. Amongst their number was Jinin, who after being futilely bombarded by various techniques, retrieves Kabutowari from within a scroll that was in Mangetsu Hōzuki's possession. Entering the fray whilst concealed by a thick mist, Jinin began a silent massacre, driving his axe into the adversaries' weapons, before hammering through their defences. With Zabuza's defeat, the mist cleared, exposing Jinin to the enemy. By the time Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy departed for Naruto Uzumaki's location the following day, Jinin had been sealed by the Third Division.

In the anime, Jinin's sealing was expanded upon. Jinin and the other reincarnated shinobi continue their attack on the dawn of the second day of war. Kakashi Hatake arrived to back up a small group fighting against Jinin and eventually bisected his adversary. Ensui Nara used his Shadow Sewing Technique to bind Jinin until Sai completed his sealing technique however his hold on him was released when debris from Gari's explosion injured him. As Jinin reclaimed the Kabutowari, Sai unleashed his tiger drawing on him in time to seal away the swordsman.

With the release of the Impure World Reincarnation technique, Jinin's soul was presumably returned to the afterlife along with the others.

Trivia

 * means "bait man", and means "Akebia field"; like all members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, his surname is derived from a type of produce.