A (Fourth Raikage)

is the of Kumogakure, and the adoptive older brother of Killer Bee.

Background
A is the son of the Third Raikage. While little is known about his track record as a shinobi, he was part of his father's special team tasked with subduing the rampaging Eight-Tailed Giant Ox should its jinchūriki lose control of it. He was also responsible for cutting off one of the Eight-Tails' four horns after it had impaled Motoi's father during one of its rampages. A also stated that he had clashed with Minato Namikaze many times during his lifetime and was even told by Jiraiya that he believed him to be the "Child of Prophecy".

At some point in the past, a group of children were gathered in order to determine who would be A's tag-partner in keeping with a long-standing Kumogakure tradition of the Raikage having a tag-team partner. Only one of the children were able to successfully match A's power and use the Double Lariat on a training dummy. As a result the child was given the name "B", and A stated that they would be brothers from that day on. When A succeeded his father in the title of Raikage, he forbade Killer Bee from fully transforming into the Eight-Tails.

Appearance
He is a tall dark-skinned man with a large muscular build, with his white hair (blond in the anime) combed back, a small moustache and beard. His top lip also has a darker hue than the bottom one and he has a mole over his right eyebrow; traits he inherited from his father. During his fight with Sasuke Uchiha, he amputated his left forearm after it was burned by the flames of Amaterasu.

Unlike other Kage, A seems to wear his Kage cloak and hat on a regular basis without a shirt underneath, further displaying his hulking physique. He has black Fūma Shuriken tattoos on both shoulders. Up until his fight with Sasuke, he had gold bangle bracelets on each wrist (and then only one worn on his right having lost his left forearm to Amaterasu), which have protrusions that can jut out when he attacks. He also wears a gold belt around his waist with a boar's face engraved in the centre. All of these aspects combined give him the appearance of a professional wrestler.

Personality
A is very caring and protective towards his younger brother, despite Killer Bee's status as a jinchūriki, and wept at the idea of his younger brother being captured by Akatsuki. However, when Killer Bee's ploy to use the affair to have a vacation was discovered, A was furious, and swore to punish his little brother for it. He claims, that as the Raikage, he has made peace with the idea of having to kill his brother if the situation ever called for it.

He is also headstrong and somewhat easily aggravated, smashing a desk apart when news of his brother being captured arrived. He also seemingly has very little patience as seen when he burst through the window of his office to attend the Kage Summit, smashed the table at the Summit when the conversation was deviating and smashing through a wall to go after Sasuke. His assistant implied that he has is prone to such actions whenever her was in that mental state.

A also has a very stern and decisive personality, as seen when he was seemingly unaffected by Naruto's pleas for Sasuke's life. In his eyes, respect and strength mean everything in the ninja world, and the weak should and will be crushed. This correlates with his philosophy that a ninja should never compromise or bow down in front of another ninja. A has also been shown to be very suspicious of the other ninja villages, accusing all of them of working with Akatsuki and questioning their loyalties. In battle, A is shown to be physically brutal, as he uses extreme physical force to devastate his opponents, and is willing to sacrifice a limb, rather than lose a chance to defeat his opponent.

When he learned his brother was alive, his attitude had mostly calmed down since his first appearance. He spoke with civility with the other members of the Alliance, and kept his cool during Tsunade's outburst. However, after learning that Akatsuki resurrected his father, A became enraged again. Like his brother, the Raikage is a compassionate person as well, as he reassured Darui about his left arm that he lost and told him not to blame himself.

A also holds strongly to the belief that the jinchūriki is not an individual but instead is a tool of the village they live in and its Kage and as such, has no right to make decisions for themselves.

Abilities
As the Raikage of Kumogakure and Supreme Leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces, A is undoubtedly an extremely powerful shinobi, as he was seemingly chosen as the Raikage at a young age. His younger brother Killer Bee also mentioned in his fight with Sasuke that, before him, only A was able to deflect the Eight-Tails. Karin notes that his chakra level is comparable to that of a tailed beast. A's signature fighting style is to combine his taijutsu and ninjutsu to form the powerful nintaijutsu, which was able to break through Sasuke's Amaterasu coated Susanoo bones.

Taijutsu
A uses a 'power' type fighting style. He possesses a great deal of physical strength, as he first appeared lifting a large amount of weight with just one hand, and broke his desk with a single punch. His strength is further displayed at the Five Kage summit when he punched through a wall, the floor, and even snapped Suigetsu's sword in two (although the sword already had a partial crack in it from Suigetsu's duel with Killer Bee). A was also able to punch a hole in Jūgo's arm and chest with ease, despite the latter being armoured with his Level 2 Cursed Seal form. He was also able to cut through one of the four horns of Eight-Tailed Giant Ox when it was being subdued thirty years prior with his physical strength and Lightning Release Armour.

Despite his large physique, the Raikage is noted for being very fast, grabbing Zetsu by the throat before he had a chance to react. He also stated that since the Fourth Hokage passed away, there is no shinobi that is faster than he is. Befitting his appearance, the Raikage seems to prefer taijutsu combat, in which he has shown tremendous prowess. In addition to powerful punches, he is able to use equally impressive throws and take-downs. He prefers using wrestling techniques to more traditional forms of taijutsu. Naruto Uzumaki commented that, while blocking his punch in his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, that his fist seemed to weigh 'a million pounds'. A has shown to have an immense tolerance for pain, as he was able to withstand having his arm set on fire by Amaterasu and cutting it off without flinching.

Nature Transformation
On top of his physical capabilities, A is also skilled in lightning-based jutsu, releasing a continuous surge of electricity from his body when confronting Sasuke. This electricity complements A's natural physical strength and speed to the point where he claims not even the Sharingan should be able to keep up with his movements. This is due to electricity stimulating his nervous system and speeding up his neural synapses, amplifying his reflexes. Because of this, he is considered a master of nintaijutsu. While using this ability, he is able to dodge Jūgo's multiple chakra blast and Amaterasu, both at point blank range. His speed in this state is greatly increased, to the point that it was mentioned by C that the Raikage's nervous system and reaction speed are comparable to that of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

The electricity can also work as a powerful defence. By momentarily increasing the electrical surge, A was able to deflect a strike from Sasuke's Sword of Kusanagi: Chidori Katana from behind and receive only a minor wound on his chest from a direct Chidori strike. While combining his lightning power with the full force of his chakra, just its sheer energy is strong enough to demolish all matter around him.

He has also shown the ability to focus lightning chakra into a point sharp enough to neatly cut through human limbs.

Invasion of Pain Arc
A was first seen enraged by news of Killer Bee's capture by Akatsuki. When he learned that the culprit was Sasuke Uchiha, a missing-nin from Konoha, he complained about why the Hokage had not dealt with him, compared to how fast they had dealt with the Hyūga Affair. With Killer Bee's capture coming so soon after that of Yugito Nii, A called for a meeting of the five Kage to discuss Akatsuki. He also instructed Team Samui to inform Konoha that he will personally deal with Sasuke.

Five Kage Summit Arc
A departed for the Kage summit with two bodyguards: Darui and C. On their way to the Land of Iron they reunited with Team Samui, who provided them with information on Sasuke acquired in Konoha. C quickly discovered that Team Samui had been followed by Naruto Uzumaki. A kept his men from attacking Naruto and agreed to listen to what he had to say. Naruto pleaded for the Raikage to spare Sasuke, but his request was flatly refused and the Raikage berated him for sticking up for a criminal.

When the Kage Summit began, A quickly showed his disapproval of the other villages by smashing the table in front of him, prompting all of the bodyguards to come to their Kage's aid. After they returned to their position, A explains his suspicions of the other Kage. He said that Sunagakure used Akatsuki in order to destroy Konohagakure, that the Third Tsuchikage employed Akatsuki in the past, and states that the Fifth Mizukage and the rest of her village to be the least trustworthy. He pointed out that only Kumogakure has never had an Akatsuki representative, nor has it ever employed Akatsuki for a battle. He insinuated that the current Hokage, Danzō Shimura, used Akatsuki to dispose of the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage. When Danzō was nominated to lead a joint task force to deal with Akatsuki, A was outraged. Before he could raise much of an objection, however, White Zetsu appeared and told those in attendance that Sasuke was nearby.

After getting rid of White Zetsu, A and his bodyguards immediately mobilized to go after Sasuke, and were drawn to Taka's battle with the Land of Iron's samurai. When C told him that Sasuke's chakra was straight below them, the Raikage burst through the floor where they encountered Sasuke and his team. A easily destroyed Suigetsu's sword and caused Jūgo to transform into the second stage of his Cursed Seal in order to fight him. Although Jūgo initially appeared to have the advantage, A was able to punch a hole through his arms and into his chest and evade his attacks, before finally defeating him.

Sasuke and A then began to fight. With his Lightning Release Armour, A avoided most of Sasuke's attacks, deflecting his lightning charged sword, and was barely wounded by his Chidori. He then proceeded to counter Sasuke but the assault was negated through Sasuke's use of an incomplete Susanoo to protect himself. Sasuke attacked A with Amaterasu, which he dodged. Sasuke then coated his Susanoo with Amaterasu's flames to deter additional physical attacks. In his growing rage, A ignored this and attacked through the flames, causing his left arm to ignite, but still managed to smash through the defence and hit Sasuke.

When A prepares another "final blow", Sasuke began to stage a counter-attack. Before A could be further wounded, the Fifth Kazekage, intervened, using his sand to block the attacks. A was angered by the interruption, but Gaara stated that continuing his attack would only cause additional injury. Gaara then began to speak to Sasuke. While waiting for Gaara to finish, A severed his arm and instructed C to stop the bleeding with his medical ninjutsu so that he could rejoin the battle. Sasuke then collapsed the roof with Susanoo. While the Kage and their bodyguards dodged the rubble, Sasuke escaped from the hall to find and kill Danzō. After catching up with Sasuke, A learned from the Tsuchikage that Sasuke is dead, which angered him. Later Madara Uchiha appears and says that his brother was still alive, which both shocked and angered him. He realised what Bee's plan actually was and said he will punish him with his "Iron Claw".

After Madara revealed his "Eye of the Moon Plan", the Kage refused to surrender Killer Bee and Naruto to the Akatsuki. Madara then declared the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War and disappeared. The need of an alliance between the Five Great Nations was then brought up again. Mifune nominated A to be the leader due to how well he had already dealt with the enemy, and because he could better control Killer Bee than anyone. After asking the other Kage, it was agreed to make him leader of the Shinobi Alliance.

A's first decision was to locate his younger brother before he would fall into the hands of Akatsuki. He and his men managed to find Killer Bee in time fighting Kisame Hoshigaki, thanks to Kisame's reckless tactics. Together, the Raikage and his younger brother decapitated "Kisame" with a Double Lariat, later revealed that this was not Kisame rather one of Zetsu's clones. After their victory, A angrily scolded Bee for his antics. After arriving back in Kumogakure he and the others are greeted at the gate by the villagers. His assistant said that they needed to be briefed on what happened at the Five Kage Summit.

Confining the Jinchūriki Arc
After a war planning session with Kumogakure's military forces, A ordered that the other villages be notified about a new Kage meeting in three days. At the meeting, he begins questioning their early arrival, but discussion soon begins. After a heated debate regarding whether or not the Alliance should be relocating the jinchūriki ends in the approval of such a matter, A decides that Naruto Uzumaki and Killer Bee will be sent to a refuge that he has kept in reserve. He mentions that it is appropriate that it be in Kumogakure, seeing as the village has not given rise to any Akatsuki members. The place turns out to be an isolated island where he and his younger brother used to train together intensely.

After learning that information on the jinchūriki was leaked to Akatsuki, and the Fifth Hokage still wasn't sure, as for the island, A refuses to have Killer Bee and Naruto moved from the island, since he already plotted a route for the island to move if the Akatsuki were to discover its current location. When Ōnoki offered to go to the island as reinforcement, A agreed on it.

While the Tsuchikage is returning from the island, the last meeting is held in order to fully prepare for the war. A orders Samui to form a Surprise Attack Division then split the rest of the forces into multiple divisions and get them in formation.

Shinobi World War Arc
Later, as the army departs for war, he stands beside the Hokage and Tsuchikage assuring themselves they shall win the Fourth Shinobi World War. After the Alliance found out that the White Zetsu Army moves underground, A tells them to use earth release techniques in order to dig them up.

After learning that Akatsuki resurrected his father, the Third Raikage, he became enraged and when he realises that Kinkaku and Ginkaku were revived as well, he tried to enter the battle, but Shikaku Nara tells him that he cannot do that as he needs to remain behind to act in his capacity as Supreme Leader. Shikaku then proposes a new battle tactic after being informed of the number of powerful enemies that Darui's division was facing. With this, he realised why he couldn't destroy Konoha for years and then praised the Fifth Hokage for the calibre of ninja in her own village. He also explained to Shikaku that Mū, the Second Tsuchikage had a Kekkei Tōta.

After Tsunade comments that A should calm down since he is the leader of the alliance, A tells her the story of the Gold and Silver Brothers, and why they are so dangerous. When Kinkaku enters his six-tailed form, Tsunade asks how he could even take such a form. Due to the brothers' ability to assimilate the Nine-Tails' chakra by eating its flesh, A suspected them to be distantly related to the Sage of the Six Paths. He then reveals the fifth treasure, the Kohaku no Jōhei and have Mabui send it to Darui with her Heavenly Transfer Technique, while Shikaku quickly comes up with a strategy on how to use it. A then comments that both he and Tsunade have some great soldiers.

After hearing that Naruto is trying to leave the temple, where he is guarded, he wonders aloud why Bee didn't stop him. However, quickly Tsunade sends her Konoha shinobi to deal with the matter. After he was told that both Naruto and Bee escaped the island, he tells Tsunade that they would have to go to the battlefield to stop the two personally. When Tsunade asked who would lead the forces from headquarters if they were both gone, A entrusts this task to Shikaku. Some time later, A and Tsunade intercept Naruto and Killer Bee while en route. A reprimands Bee for the comment he made towards Tsunade's bust before telling them that they were there to stop them from going any further.

Bee and Naruto try to convince him to let them pass, but he bluntly refused, and attacks Naruto who also retaliates. In the course of their fight A mentions that the Fourth Hokage, a man who was said to be the "Saviour of this World", fell against the Nine-Tails, calling both him and Naruto idiots, which enraged Naruto who told him not to speak of his father because he knew nothing of him. He made it clear that he was willing to kill Naruto and even Bee if it came to it in order to foil Madara's plan. As he goes to attack Naruto again his attack is intercepted by Bee. A angrily tells them that they are jinchūriki and cannot act on their own. Bee refuted this and tells A that even though he was part of a system that the individual part of him had beliefs that he would not give up. Bee then bumps fists with A and he remembers the time Bee was chosen to be his partner and brother.

Trivia

 * His name is the Japanese pronunciation of the English letter "A". This is similar to the names of Killer Bee, C, and J, that are the pronunciations of the letters "B," "C," and "J," respectively.
 * A was left-handed before his self-amputation.

Quotes

 * (To Naruto) "Shinobi ought not lower their heads so easily, action and power are what shinobi respect!"
 * (To Darui) "I have no regrets about my left arm, because I still have both of my right arms. This one, and you."