Hōichi

is a shinobi from Sunagakure.

Background
When he was a child, Hōichi studied Bunpuku's fūinjutsu and power to mould currents.

Two years after Gaara, the current host of Shukaku, was made Kazekage, he met with Fugi. The two discussed their plan to seal Shukaku. During the second exam of joint Chūnin Exams between Sunagakura and Konohagakure, when Gaara went to assist the genin caught in a massive sandstorm, Hōichi used some genin as bait to lure Gaara in, using his Dharma Power Sealing Technique: Sen no Rikyu to begin extracting Shukaku. When the Taki-nin Fū attempted to save Gaara, Hōichi realised she was also a jinchūriki. Deciding to test the power of his seal, he began extracting her tailed beast at the same time as Gaara's.

Appearance
Hōichi is a bald young man with brown eyes and a long, horizontal scar on his face. He wears what appears to be a dark blue monk attire, albeit without sleeves, with a white collar and garb at the end. He also dons a dark blue sash and carries a biwa around with him, tied to a white cloth. Hōichi wears a pair of red rosary beads on his wrist.

Abilities
When he was a child, Hōichi noted to have studied Bunpuku's power to mould currents. He also learned Bunpuku's fūinjutsu, including the Dharma Power Sealing Technique: Sen no Rikyu, allowing him to forcibly extract multiple tailed beasts at once. He is also capable of using sand, hardening it to either provide an additional form of defence or to conceal his presence in a similar terrain. Hōichi is shown to be proficient in playing a biwa.

In Naruto's Footsteps: The Friends' Paths
In the Demon Desert, as Team Matsuri heads out to the direction of the tower, Hōichi notices Matsuri, a student of Gaara, and recalls his meeting with Fugi before the Chūnin Exams and their plan to seal Shukaku in a tea kettle, with the Kazekage's life being the necessary cost. He later observes Fugi's attempt to overwrite the Sensing Barrier in the desert, creating a gigantic sandstorm in the process. After Fū saves Team Matsuri and Gaara thanks the kunoichi for the help, Fū leaves and Hōichi comes out from the sand, in which he was hiding to observe the events that were happening, and prepares to attack the Kazekage.