Sumire Kakei

, born, is a kunoichi of Konohagakure's Scientific Ninja Weapons Team.

Background
After Danzō Shimura died and the existence of Root and its actions were made public knowledge, all its members became ostracised by the village, including Sumire's family. This contributed to Sumire's mother growing ill and later dying. The loss affected Sumire deeply, as one of the few joys she experienced was spending time with her mother brushing her hair and over time Sumire couldn't even remember her mother's voice.

Sumire's father, Tanuki Shigaraki, a maniacal follower of Danzo's, trained her from a young age, in order to avenge Root. Eventually, he bestowed her with Gozu Tennō. After the death of her parents, Sumire became an orphan and created the identity of "Sumire Kakei", deciding that it was best to wait and create a cover story before exacting her father's plan. Sumire eventually became the representative of her Academy class, during which, she began nurturing the Nue's development.

Personality
While under the guise of "Sumire Kakei", she was a rather meek and quiet girl who, like many children her age, adore the Seventh Hokage. While not very outspoken, Sumire showed genuine concern for her classmates. Sumire was also very respectful and dutiful, and wished to avoid conflict if necessary. Her reason for wanting to become a shinobi was to live up to her father's memory.

Once dropping the guise of a meek girl, Sumire is shown to be a very driven person, and, due to her arduous training as a child, dedicated towards completing her father's final request, showing no remorse for her former friends and other villagers. When confronted by Boruto, Sumire exclaimed that the Sumire he knew never existed. Despite this, she had still come to value the friendship she made with her fellow classmates who in reality did not want to hurt anyone. Thanks to Boruto's unwavering loyalty to her, Sumire was able to let go of her past and answer for her mistakes. She also developed a strong bond to Nue, seeing it as her family. Once returning to her status as class rep, Sumire reverted to her meek attitude. She is also shown to be very methodical and analytical, having quickly understood the nature of her friends' preferred battle tactics and how best to approach them for the Chūnin Exams.

By the time she began working for the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team, Sumire seemed to become more calm and confident about herself, openly expressing herself. She also seemed to develop romantic feelings for Boruto, openly saying she was interested in him.

Appearance
Sumire is a young girl with purple-coloured eyes and hair, the back of which is tied into two long braided ponytails. Her hair frames her face and her bangs hang just above her eyes. She dons a black polo neck shirt, with a violet dress over it that has a white collar on it, knotted by a purple ribbon, almost resembling a seifuku overall with long black shinobi sandals. She also changes her flower hair ties to viola ones during her return to the Academy. After graduation, Sumire wore a more sleek version with black wristbands and black shorts. She also wears a purple forehead protector and her hair is styled into a single braid with a flower hair tie. When Sumire became a member of the Konoha's Scientific Ninja Weapons Team, she wore a purple seifuku dress and black high-heeled mary-jane shoes with white ankle socks.

At some point, her father placed the formula for the Gozu Tennō on her back. While undercover, Sumire wore a cracked pale-white mask with two horn-like disfigurements and a white cloak. Underneath her cloak, she wore a purple sleeveless halterneck shirt with a light pink sash around her waist and dark pants with a shuriken holster around her right thigh, and long fingerless black gloves. She also had bandages wrapped around her wrists and footwear and she let her hair down. After letting go of her hatred, the Gozu Tennō was removed from her back. Soon after, it was replaced with a small red dot on her left palm, serving as an eye for Nue.

Abilities
Having gone through arduous training since a young age, Sumire is a very capable kunoichi. She was shown able to hold her own against a squadron of adult and elite ninja, who only acknowledged Sumire's skill. Her most powerful asset, however, is her deceptive and manipulative nature that has allowed her to forge herself a new identity, that of a meek and ordinary young girl.

After graduating from the Academy, her intelligence was further shown in joining the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team, where despite her young age, became one of its most valued workers.

Ninjutsu
Sumire excels in Water Release, able to perform various techniques, like creating clones, protective walls, and projectiles, as well as using techniques such as and. She has considerable skill in shurikenjutsu, able to counter an attack with her kunai while simultaneously throwing it accurately. In the anime, she is able to effectively perform Cooperation Ninjutsu and Fūinjutsu, able to use both to restrict a person's movements and expand the might of this alongside fellow users.

Through the Gozu Tennō placed on her back, she is able to summon Nue to assist her, even without fully manifesting its form, and has shown the ability to create a snake-like mass of negative chakra to attack with and has also displayed the ability to use her own chakra as a medium to steal the chakra of others. While the summoning contract was later destroyed, thanks to having a strong bond with the creature, she retained a portion of its essence sealed in her left palm. Later, Sumire became able to summon Nue again, albeit in a chibi and house pet-sized form.

Physical Prowess
Sumire is very fast and nimble, able to effectively evade attacks and evade a group of pursers. She also has noticeable taijutsu prowess, able to fight on par with Mitsuki. She is very stealthy in general, able to effectively hide her presence, making it very hard to locate her.

Academy Entrance Arc
On the day of the entrance ceremony, as everyone began looking for an absent Boruto Uzumaki, he suddenly appeared, crashing a train into the Hokage Monument, which left Sumire amazed at his antics. Shikamaru then had everyone clear out to begin clean-up. Two weeks later, Sumire tried to settle things down when Inojin Yamanaka began speaking out. When her class watches Boruto fight Iwabee Yuino, Sumire noted that Boruto really seems to be striving to make a name for himself outside his relationship to the Seventh Hokage. The following day, Sumire is relieved to see Boruto getting along better with everyone. Chōchō Akimichi teases Sumire about her concern for Boruto, to which an embarrassed Sumire insists it is purely from her status as class rep.

Weeks later, as class started learning shurikenjutsu, Sumire was upset that her own performance wasn't showing much progress. Eventually, Boruto's reckless fun caused some property damage. Shino Aburame decided to have Boruto, along with a bunch of other students help with repairs to the Hokage Rock, although he insisted that Sumire's part would mainly be supervision. When the boys and girls of their class got into an argument, Shino assisted that they settle things with a race to capture the flag on top of the Academy. Despite their victory, the girls made peace with the boys. Later, Sumire realises that she is being stalked. Eventually, she and her friends discover that it is Magire. When Magire meekly asks her out, Sumire turned him down. The following day, to Sumire's horror, various creepy messages are left for her. Eventually, she is confronted by Magire, who kidnaps her. When her friends found them, Chōchō was able to reach Magire, noting that such an indecisive nature will never win anyone over. Accepting his poor methods of trying to make Sumire like him, the spectre was rejected from Magire.

The class was later assigned by Shino to split into groups of three and each tail a different workplace for a few days to better understand non-shinobi life. Sumire alongside Wasabi Izuno and Namida Suzumeno decided to work at the Water Purification Plant. On the second day, Sumire unleashed the Nue on the feigning being a victim. She was ultimately "saved" by the Hokage, who took Sumire and her fellow injured classmates to the hospital. Her friends and teacher soon afterwards went to check on her. Later, Sumire watched solemnly as her injured classmates were relieved from care early and left with their respective parents.

Soon after realising that her identity was found out, Sumire left the hospital, having feigned injuries, and decided to complete her mission. She was ultimately ambushed by Sai Yamanaka and his team. While initially subdue, she summoned the Nue to rampage the village. As she slipped away, she was confronted by Mitsuki, who noted his mission to kill her. As the two began fighting, Boruto arrived, demanding answers. Sumire bluntly stated that her entire existence has always been for revenge. As Boruto intervened in another clash between his two friends, his eye began to act wildly. Nue then teleported above the children. Sumire calmly offered herself as the necessary chakra to complete its development, which the creature grabbed her. Boruto and Mitsuki followed her into Nue's pocket dimension. Together, they were able to subdue the beast. Before Mitsuki could destroy it, Sumire appeared to defend it. Boruto stepped in, insisting her identity as Class Rep was the real her. Torn between all she knew, Sumire ordered the Nue to take her chakra and finish her father's plan, only for Nue to instead affectionately snuggle against her. Boruto noted that as Sumire basically raised Nue, it has come to view her as a parent.

As Boruto continued insisting that she can forge her own path void of anger, Sumire was finally able to let go of her own anger, weakening the Gozu Tennō. This caused the dimension to begin crumbling around them. As Sumire resigned to accept demise as penance, she finally remembered her mother's voice and sincere desire for her happiness. This, along with Boruto coming to her aid, convinced her to come back. Nue then helped the three students escape the dimension, being left behind from falling debris. Back in the normal dimension, Sai and his unit arrived. Sympathising with Sumire's past, he offered to help her rebuild her life, which Sumire accepted as she turned herself in. Before leaving, Boruto noticed that piece of Nue's essence remained with Sumire on her left palm, much to her delight.

Due to Sumire turning herself in and there being no casualties, Sumire was given leniency. However, while determining her future, she was held in a detention cell. Soon afterwards, she was visited by Shino. Unable to look her teacher in the eye after what she did to him, Shino insisted that he held no ill feelings towards her, and actually was grateful as it helped him grow as a teacher. Shino offered to help her in any way to rebuild her life, insisting that she is no longer an instrument of her father's. Ultimately, Sumire was pardoned for her actions and allowed to return to the Academy. Her class was overjoyed to see her return, which gave Sumire mixed feelings. Upon seeing Boruto give her a silent approval, Sumire cried in joy, happy to return to the life of happiness at the Academy.

School Trip Arc
To improve relationships with other villages and symbolically show the warring era was over, the Seventh Hokage set up an official class trip for the Academy to go to Kirigakure. Upon arriving, they were met with Kagura Karatachi, who was appointed by the Mizukage to act as the class' tour guide. The class was later taken to meet Chōjūrō, the Sixth Mizukage, who welcomed the class to the village. Later, the class was confronted by a group of delinquents, with their leader Tsurushi Hachiya, openly expressed their dislike of outsiders. After Kagura stepped into in an attempt to stop the fight, his hand was cut, which Sumire soon after tended to. When their field trip was finished, Sumire and her classmates departed Kiri by cruise ship.

Graduation Exams Arc
As the Genin Exams began to draw near, Boruto, fearing that his friends were drifting apart, invited everyone on a camping trip to catch a famed Eternal Carp. During the trip, Sumire voiced her joy as having made such wonderful friends. Upon finally ensnaring one of the massive fishes, Sumire summoned the Nue to help, showing that the creature had begun to regain its previous form and power. The miniaturised Nue used its chakra to strengthen Boruto's fishing pole and successfully capture the fish. The friends soon afterwards cooked and at the fish to their delight. During the exams, taking up Shino's subtle offer to try stealing the test answers for the written test, Sumire and her friends were able to easily pass the test.

Later, during the practical and final test, the class was brought to the training field. There, the entire class was set up to face theri Academy teachers and Kakashi Hatake for 24 hours. While the teachers would still evaluate the students' respective improvements, the students' true test was against Kakashi Hatake. The Sixth Hokage quickly explained that he would only pass the first student who is able to take the single bell attached to his hip. As the test began, Sumire and Sarada faced Konohamaru Sarutobi, leading to him defeating the pair. Regrouping with other students, the group devised a plan to combat the shinobi. Having Nue provided earbuds to students, Namida knocked out Anko Mitarashi with her sound waves. Afterwards, all the students transformed in Boruto and faced Kakashi, during which the class managed to restrain him in order for Boruto to try to take his bell. Despite failing to accomplish the task within the time limit, Kakashi passed the class, leading to Sumire becoming a genin. Later, she was placed on Team 15, alongside Wasabi and Namida under Hanabi Hyūga's leadership.

Byakuya Gang Arc
With the continued thefts performed by the Byakuya Gang throughout Konohagakure, Team 15 was assigned alongside the other genin teams to help stop the self-proclaimed noble thieves. However, the genin were not permitted to engage the Byakuya Gang without aid from a chūnin or higher-ranked shinobi. Later, Sumuire and Wasabi, minus a later Namida, found the thieves stealing from a pawn shop. While deciding what to do, the thieves spotted them and attacked. Fortunately for the genin, they were saved by the timely arrival of Temari, who drove them on the retreat. Later, despite the thieves escaping, Sumire and Wasabi thanked Temari for her aid. Later, the villagers supporting the Byakuya Gang began acting out against companies accused of corrupt actions. Sumire joined her fellow ninja in working to pacify the situation, which was ultimately accomplished after Naruto quelled the protest.

Versus Momoshiki Arc
Two weeks later, Sumire continued to feel guilty about not coming clean about her previous actions against the village with Nue. Later, Sumire and her team were assigned the mission of capturing all the escaped animals from Fire Park. Hanabi assigned her students to handle all the smaller animals alone. During the mission, Wasabi got into a fight with Namida, making the latter run away. Wasabi and Sumire were then alerted by Namida's scream. To their horror, they found her being attacked by a giant white-maned wolf. Putting aside their differences, the three worked together to take down the massive beast. As Wasabi and Namida made up with each other, this encouraged Sumire to come clean with her mistakes, admitting that she was behind the Nue incident. Wasabi and Namida revealed they already knew and likewise forgave her. Hanabi then appeared, having watched everything and congratulated the genin on their great teamwork.

In the anime, having received Hanabi's permission to participate in the Chūnin Exams, Team 15 was approved to partake in the event. Attending the entrance ceremony, Sumire's team raced towards the first exam venue in order to not get eliminated by the time limit. There, the team participated in a true or false question, which resulted in all competitors falling into a pit that contained a pool of ink. Having summoned Nue to prevent herself and the team from falling into ink, Team 15 passed the first round. Three days later, for the second round of the exams, the girls competed in a game of capture the flag against a Kumogakure team. While facing Yurui with Wasabi, Toroi acquired their flag, resulting in Team 15 failing the exams. She later watches the final round of the exam with her teammates. She and her team-mates cheered for Boruto when he defeated Shinki to win the tournament, but were very distraught upon learning that he cheated using an advanced ninja tool, the Kote, which was deemed banned from the Chūnin Exams and thus was disqualified. A few days later, after the Ōtsutsuki were defeated and things began returning to normal, Sumire and her team-mates watch Boruto's interview at the Lightning Burger.

Ao Arc
By the time Sumire was eligible to enter the Chūnin Exams, she instead chose to begin working at Scientific Ninja Weapons Team, where she soon became one of their top workers. One day when Katasuke Tōno was returning to the lab from a field test, Sumire was surprised to find him being guarded by her former classmates in Team Konohamaru. As she served tea and began to catch up with them, she voiced both her joy at her job and working alongside Katasuke. She then watched as Boruto and his team aided in the testing of new ninja tech. Later, as Boruto and his team prepared to head out, Sumire asked Sarada if she had any feelings for Boruto, and when Sarada denied having any, Sumire revealed that she had feelings for Boruto herself, which shocked Sarada, and happily waved him goodbye.

Trivia

 * means violet.
 * According to character trivia from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations:
 * Sumire's hobbies are saving money and making Tsukemono.
 * Her favourite food is fried bread crusts.
 * She doesn't have a least favourite food due to her previous poverty.
 * Her attributes are: 160 in chakra, 140 in intelligence, 120 in perception, 100 in negotiation, 90 in dexterity, and 77 in strength.
 * She was also given a skill rating in these particular areas:
 * Sniping: ★★★★☆
 * Marksmanship: ★★★☆☆
 * Operating Machinery: ★★☆☆☆
 * Those Who Illuminate the Night of Shinobi! further elaborated on this concept, and included the following skill ratings:
 * Mental Resistance: ★★★★☆
 * Observation: ★★★★☆
 * Manners: ★★★☆☆