Bando

Bando (バンド) is an original character created specifically for the story of the American-exclusive Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, and returned as a bonus character for its sequel, Naruto Shippūden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3. He is an arms dealer, as well as a primary antagonist in the story of Clash of Ninja Revolution 2. He is a large, hulking figure with spiky, red-orange hair and a greedy personality.

Plot overview
During the game's story, Bando made his first "appearance" when a rogue ninja was captured by Naruto, Gaara, and Kakashi outside the village gate for questioning. Before the three could interrogate their newfound prisoner, he was hit by a flaming projectile from seemingly out of nowhere, which incinerated and killed him. Given Bando's choice of weapons, this was presumably his doing, to silence the captured comrade. Because of this, it can be inferred that Bando was probably a part of, if not the leader of the group of rogue ninja who infiltrated the village, probably to supervise the casting of the Soulbane genjutsu on several of the resident ninja.

Later on, the arms dealer made his real debut speaking with Kagura, giving her a report about how their plan was going along smoothly. This cutscene wasn't long, and didn't reveal much other than what the story's villains looked like. At this point, neither of their names were revealed to the player.

Bando later appeared again at Kagura's side, at first only referring to her as "the boss" when Kakashi, Naruto, and Gaara infiltrated the enemy hideout to rescue Sakura, who had been kidnapped by Bando and Kagura's forces for unknown reasons (although it was later revealed that she was kidnapped because she was Tsunade's apprentice). Bando fought Naruto and Kakashi alongside Kagura, until Kagura's mask was knocked off and her identity was revealed. His identity, however, was left unknown, although his name appeared on his health bar during the fight. After their 'defeat,' however, the two were unfazed, with Bando saying that the plan to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village would go on unhindered. Bando and Kagura disappeared, despite Naruto's protests, leaving the small rescue squad wondering just what their plans really were, and if their troubles were only beginning.

Shortly after this cutscene played out, Bando was seen meeting with a shadowy figure, later revealed to have been Kabuto (although most fans would likely recognize his voice and/or silhouette before his actual revelation), and the two discussed the plan to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. Bando questioned Kabuto's motives for wanting to orchestrate this plan, to which Kabuto replied that he was simply "rather bored of late," and that it was "just a whim." Bando claimed that he didn't understand Kabuto, but quickly brushed it off, deciding that it didn't matter anyway. He ended the cutscene noting that victory was close enough that he could taste it.

By the time the group who had rescued Sakura got back to Konoha, it seemed that Bando and Kagura's true plans had already been initiated, as several of the ninja who were in the village were already under the effect of a stronger version of the Soulbane genjutsu. Bando appeared on the rooftop of the Chūnin exams finals' stadium, where the Third Hokage had fought Orochimaru, guarding one of the barriers keeping up the genjutsu from Jiraiya, who aimed to take the barrier down and protect the Hidden Leaf Village. Jiraiya correctly guessed Bando's identity, based on information he'd long since heard about the weapons dealer's reputation and attitude. Bando, commending Jiraiya for guessing correctly, explained how he had manipulated Kagura, and how she had "leapt at the chance" when he showed her his plans (which were evidently, in fact, Kabuto's) to destroy Konoha. He also explained why he'd profit from Konoha's fall: if the village was destroyed, then the balance of power in the ninja world would be lost, and the world would plunge into a conflict that could rival the Third Great Shinobi World War. Bando's weapons sales, and, therefore, his profits, would go through the roof. Bando then made an offer to Jiraiya for them to "get rich together," an offer which Jiraiya readily declined, saying that "low-lifes like him [Bando] made him sick."

Bando and Jiraiya faced off on the roof, resulting in Bando's defeat. Bando, stripped of his weapons by Jiraiya, pleaded that Kagura was actually the one manipulating him, not the other way around, as he'd said, and that he'd help the Leaf Village find Kagura and take her down, selling his weapons to the village for extremely low prices as a bonus. He then dropped the barrier to try and convince Jiraiya to let him go. However, Jiraiya easily saw through Bando's greed and cowardice-driven act, and claimed that both Bando and Kagura were pathetic; Bando for trying to get off the hook with the Leaf Village with such pathetic deceit, and Kagura for falling for that same kind of manipulation. Shortly after, Towa arrived, and Jiraiya had the ANBU member restrain Bando and take him into custody. Bando, furious that Jiraiya had declined his offers for partnership and gotten him to drop the barrier, swore that he'd have his revenge on Jiraiya for the humiliating defeat. His ultimate fate is left unknown, although, given that the ANBU quickly managed to find Kagura's hideout in the village soon after, it's possible that Bando was interrogated for the location of her hideout.

Despite his appearance in Naruto Shippūden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3, Bando plays no part in the story of the game, and, like several other returning characters from Revolution 2, has been included only as a bonus character. Bando is a bit different from the other three original characters from the previous game in that he is not unlocked from the start in Revolution 3 by having Revolution 2 save data on the Wii. Despite this, he still makes an appearance from the start of the game, running the shop. He shows annoyance if the player leaves the shop without buying anything, and will even remind them of this annoyance on their next return. On the other hand, if the player buys something, he tells them to "come back again" and welcomes them on their next return. He is unlocked late in the game, and is the second-to-last character that can be unlocked. In order to unlock Bando as a playable character, the player must have 70,000 ryo in their wallet after purchasing everything else in the shop except him and ANBU Kakashi, referencing, of course, his greedy personality. However, strangely, he is only bought for half as much ryo. He disappears from the shop once the player has purchased him as a playable character, first asking if the player is actually considering "hiring" him, and then saying, "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this" as they leave. As a playable character, he now has an interaction at the beginning and end of a fight with Jiraiya, showing anger over the fact that he's "out of business" because of Jiraiya, and also showing awareness of Jiraiya's writing, saying that his books "won't sell for squat." He also shows enthusiasm when encountering an Akatsuki member, although the reason why is unknown.

Abilities
Bando has a powerful and straightforward style of attacking that places him in a category with characters like Zabuza and Kisame from other Clash of Ninja games. In this sense, he may have been initially designed as a spiritual successor to Zabuza, who had been omitted from the American Clash of Ninja games beginning with the first Revolution game. A fact to support this is that, prior to Kakuzu's debut in Naruto Shippūden: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! EX 3 and the overhaul to the throw system in Naruto Shippūden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3, Bando was one of only three characters who used a different throw from all others, and the only character who was not a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist like Zabuza and Kisame. His main weapons are a pair of chakra cannons that he keeps strapped across his back. He uses these cannons in several different ways, even as blunt weapons with which to hit the opponent. His left hand is missing for unknown reasons, and he has a metal 'nozzle' affixed to the stump as opposed to a permanent prosthesis. By removing the false hand that he usually keeps attached to the nozzle for aesthetic purposes, Bando can attach one of his chakra cannons directly onto his arm and fire a blast of explosive chakra at an enemy. This technique can only be used by him due to the way it works. Bando even notes this after defeating Kakashi, whom he refers to as the "Copycat Ninja," in a multiplayer match, saying, "I'd like to see you copy my technique." *

* "You can't copy me!" in Revolution 3.

Trivia

 * Among the four original characters featured in Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 and Revolution 3, Bando seems to be the "odd one out," as he is the only one that does not wear a mask, and is not known to have ever been part of the ANBU, or even have had allegiance to a shinobi village. He is also the only one of the four original characters featured in Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 and Revolution 3 that cannot be unlocked from the start in Revolution 3 by having Revolution 2 save data on the Wii, and must be unlocked by normal means.
 * Due to his hair color, the jagged shape of his hairline, pronounced cheekbones, and personality, Bando is strikingly similar to a character of the same name from the manga Elfen Lied. Of note is that in one of his last appearances in Elfen Lied, Bando's right arm is severed in almost the same place on the forearm that the weapons dealer's left arm seems to have been.
 * In comparison to the other three original characters created for Revolution 2, the etymology of Bando's name is by far the most puzzling, as bando, unlike the names of the other characters, does not seem to have a single, simple meaning in Japanese. Although Bando never appeared in any of the Japanese media, like the other original characters, the fact that the other characters' names all have meanings in Japanese that reference them shows that Bando's name was probably intended as a reference to something of the same name, and is also meant to reference his design or personality in some way. The following may be possible origins of the arms dealer's name:
 * Bando was the name of a prisoner-of-war camp in the Tokushima prefecture of Japan. In 1947, it became the city of Naruto, which now famous for its whirlpools. Given Bando's military theme and the series' connection to the city of Naruto, his name may reference the camp.
 * Bando is the name of a type of martial arts that originated in Burma (Myanmar). While Bando's attacks don't generally seem to reference the style, it seems to be the most well-known use of the word.
 * Albeit possibly pronounced differently due to being an English word, "bando" is English slang for a kind of late nineteenth-century rifle. As Bando uses two large chakra cannons that many fans have mistaken for actual real-world guns or rifles, this may or may not be just a coincidence.
 * Ban in Japanese can mean "barbarian," possibly in reference to Bando's hulking size and style of fighting, while do means "a counter for occurrences;" which could be interpreted as meaning "a scapegoat." As Kabuto evidently gave the plans to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village to Bando to avoid being caught himself, Bando is, in a way, a "barbarian scapegoat" for Kabuto, so this could be a possible origin for his name.