Kikunojō

was a skilled ninja from the Land of Vegetables.

Background
He grew up and trained alongside his friend, Yurinojō, who shared a friendly rivalry with him. When still kids, he and Yurinojō developed a huge crush on Tsunade and fought for her affection. Since a young age, Kikunojō showed tremendous talent for ninja arts and earned great fame throughout the Land of Vegetables. He was later chosen as a personal guard to the daimyō.

Personality
He was a rather strong and implacable person who sought to fulfil his duty. Kikunojō prided himself on his special techniques, claiming that they were no worse than the unknown abilities of his opponents from Janin. However, he becoma insecure when communicating with Haruna, not daring to contradict her.

Appearance
He is a medium-sized man with tan skin, black eyes, and dark, long, braided hair. He is dressed in a light-colored jacket, over which a turquoise vest is thrown over, as well as trousers and sandals, and a sword is behind his back. While disguised as a merchant, he wore light-colored pants and a shirt over which was a lilac kimono. In addition, he had a hat, a pair of light boots and a bag over his shoulder.

Abilities
Since a young age, Kikunojō was regarded as a genius ninja in his country. His skill was presumably high, as he was selected to be a personal guard to the daimyō. With his skill, he could constantly keep his opponents off guard though a variety of attack patterns. As he was seen using a sword he was also proficient in kenjutsu, being able to clash evenly with a jōnin-level shinobi.

Ninjutsu
As a genius, Kikunojō quickly gained mastery of his clan's secret flower-oriented techniques.

For example, he can cause flowers around an opponent to ignite in flames or have them explode like explosive tags. Also, he can cause flowers to float and harden into shuriken or have them surround the opponent for a genjutsu that darkens the area.

Peddlers Escort Mission
Years later when the infamous Janin attacked the Land of Vegetables, the daimyō sent Kikunojō and Yurinojō to protect his own daughter, Haruna. Fearing that their combined skills would not be enough, Kikunojō hired Konoha for assistance. Unfortunately, due to little money, they could only be offered assistance at a C-rank level mission under the guise of escorting merchants. To further these deceptions, Kikunojō, Haruna, and Yurinojō disguised themselves as merchants as well. When it soon became clear that the Janin saw through their deceptions, Kikunojō went off to face them head-on.

Kikunojō then found himself in a flower field against the youngest of the Janin, Ruiga. Kikunojō initially had the upper hand and for a while seemed the inevitable winner with his clan's secret techniques. Ruiga unveiled his own secret technique and killed him. In the end, Kikunojō was given a proper burial and Haruna apologised for not appreciating his selfless service.

Kikunojou Kikunojō