Shinki

is a shinobi of Sunagakure's Kazekage clan. He acts as the leader of Team Shinki.

Background
In the anime, as a young boy, Shinki was unable to control his power prompting Gaara to approach him. Fearful, he attacked the Kazekage, who surprised him by hugging him despite Shinki injuring him. Offering to teach Shinki how to use his power, he told Gaara his name before accepting his offer. Following the encounter, Gaara adopted him, and soon after began teaching Shinki proper control of his power and how to effectively use it in battle.

Personality
In the anime, Shinki was originally very nervous and easily-tempered. He was shocked at Gaara showing him such compassion. Since being raised by the Kazekage, Shinki is described as the calm and collected leader-like figure of his team. Shinki is shown to be a respectful person when interacting with others, most notably referring to Shukaku with an honourific, something the Tailed Beasts do not hear very often. He's shown to be very prideful and proud of his heritage, telling his adoptive father their team won't tarnish his name and will achieve victory. As noted by Temari, he cherishes his family very much and his greatest desire is to live up to their reputation, willing to put his mission above all else even if his heart tells him otherwise.

Despite his young age, Shinki has the seriousness of an adult to the point even his uncle Kankurō is afraid of making him angry. He is shown to be just as mature for his age, wanting to settle things peacefully, settling problems with just enough power it requires. Likewise, he is very astute and perceptive, excelling in his team due to his observant eye able to see the true nature of his opponent and quickly determine how seriously they are fighting.

Shinki takes great pride in his abilities to the point of being arrogant, having no interest in fighting anyone who he views as weak. Once facing someone of respectable strength however, he shown a noticeably more excited side to himself, showing a strong competitive nature. He is also shown to be fixated on seeing the true power of those he finds strong, openly berating Mitsuki when he hides his true strength from him. He is also very blunt in his views of others, openly criticising their weaknesses and mistakes. While respectful of his adoptive-father's views and policies, he openly feels that the compassionate administration of the Seventh Hokage has made Konohagakure grow soft. Shinki is also fearless, as he was prepared to fight Kinshiki and Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki, knowing he was no match for them, but instead chose to abide by Gaara's orders to confront the pair.

After joining Boruto Uzumaki on a mission, while still blunt and committed to his mission, Shinki became more emotional, desiring to help his allies to the best of his abilities even when not ordered to, even viewing Boruto as a friend.

Appearance
Shinki has dark spiky hair, small eyebrows and green eyes. Just like Kankurō, Shinki sports face paint, which takes the shape of two red markings that are similar to designs on Gaara's Sand Gourd. Even with his face paint, he is noted to be very handsome.

His outfit consists of a Suna flak jacket, a brown full-body outfit that covers his throat, complete with a dark blue Suna forehead protector and black calf-length shinobi sandals. He can also sometimes be seen wearing a large black coat with a fur collar, made of Iron Sand. As a child, Shinki had face paint that took the shape of lightning on his left side and one line under his right eye to the jaw on the right side. He wore a cream long-sleeved shirt and light brown pants with a poncho with hem draping on the right side.

In the manga, he doesn't wear a flak jacket, instead wearing a dark body suit with an asymmetrical armour plate on his chest, a long belt tied at the waist, and bandages wrapped around his wrists and ankles.

Abilities
Shinki is considered the ace of his village. In the Chūnin Exams, he easily defeated Team 5 and Team 10. Boruto Uzumaki and the other finalists were also considered as having no chance against him, a statement which Shinki proved in the final fight round and earned him high regard from the five Kage and other senior shinobi.

Physical Prowess
While normally stationary in battle, Shinki is shown to have a deceptively quick response to those who can penetrate his defences, being able to effectively dodge physical attacks and swiftly counter attack. He is also noted to possess extraordinary chakra. With it he is shown to be able to perform a myriad of advanced techniques without showing visible exhaustion.

Ninjutsu
Taught by his uncle, Shinki is a puppeteer, wielding a skeleton-like puppet alongside him. Using his sand instead, Shinki can control his puppets without chakra threads. In the anime, he shows noticeably advanced proficiency in fūinjutsu. With it, he can store his puppets in scrolls for easier carriage. Alternatively, he can also perform seals capable of subduing foes as powerful as a Ōtsutsuki Clan member for a period of time.

Nature Transformation
Shinki possesses Earth and Wind Release, which when combined, allows him to use Magnet Release. While initially lacking control of the kekkei genkai, under Gaara's tutelage his control of using it to manipulate Iron Sand improved to the point his skill in certain ways exceeded that of his adoptive father, due to its properties and intensity, and likewise can maintain multiple techniques at once. Using the durable substance in the form of a cloak for him and his puppet, Shinki can manipulate its structure to engage in combat while remaining stationary, with it being capable of withstanding strong taijutsu attacks with ease. Offensively, he can use his Iron Sand for close-range combat, or form a large wave that can be used to bind and crush a target. He can also mark a target to have them magnetically draw in any of his iron sand weapons. For supplementary purposes, he can use his Iron Sand to restrain individuals or create a platform to levitate on. In the anime, he can also utilise Lightning Release to create an electromagnetic field that strengthens his Iron Sand. Alternatively, he can produce multiple sand eyes that grant him additional surveillance in the area and likewise can link his own sight with.

Versus Momoshiki Arc
Departing Suna on a Thunder Train to participate in the Chūnin Exams held at Konohagakure, Shinki expressed his belief that his team would achieve victory and would not sully his adoptive father's name. He exclaimed that the other teams would be no problem for them. In the first round, the genin had to answer a truth or false question. To their surprise, it was trick question that automatically caused the genin to fall into an pit of ink. However, Shinki is able to use his Iron Sand in time to keep him and his teammates afloat, allowing them to pass the round. Three days later, for the second round of the exams, Shinki's team competed in a game of capture the flag against Team 5. While Araya and Yodo guarded their flag, Shinki managed to defeat Denki Kaminarimon and Iwabee Yuino. Asking not to be disappointed, Shinki effortlessly blocked all of Metal Lee's attacks, leading to him capturing Team 5's flag after he became distracted by anger.

In the final exam, he was matched against Chōchō whom he defeated using his Iron Sand. In the anime Shinki participated in his semi-final match against Mitsuki instead. While his opponent's versatility was able to catch Shinki off-guard and pressure him, he ultimately cornered Mitsuki with his Iron Sand in an act to force him to use Sage Transformation. Choosing not to activate it for personal reasons, Mitsuki surrendered, resulting in Shinki progressing to the finals against Sarada Uchiha and Boruto. During the match, though the Konoha shinobi teamed against Shinki, he managed to defeat Sarada, before Boruto relied on using his Shinobi Gauntlet to overpower Shinki's Iron Sand to win. In the manga, Shinki was scheduled to face Araya in the semi-finals but was stopped before the match could begin by the attack of Kinshiki and Momoshiki.

During the devastation on the arena, Shinki tried to join the offensive against them, but was stopped by Gaara, who told him that it's not the kind of enemy he can take on and that they should focus on evacuating the civilians instead. After the ordeal a few days later, Shinki's team boarded a Thunder Train with Gaara and Kankurō in preparation to return to their village, during which he was thinking about Boruto somehow managing to defeat Momoshiki. Apologising for holding his son back during the attack, Shinki said the matter was instead about not seeing himself winning in that situation. Gaara insisted that he cannot keep comparing himself to others, but must walk his own path. Considering these words and thinking back on Boruto's actions, but against such a foe and owning up on his mistakes at the exams, Shinki came to find Boruto very intriguing.

One-Tail Escort Arc
In the anime, having learned Urashiki Ōtsutsuki was targeting Shukaku, Shinki's team alongside Kankurō, Gaara and Sasuke Uchiha went to the Tailed Beast's location. Tasked with protecting it, Shinki abandoned his mission to rescue Gaara from Urashiki. He was surprised to find Boruto there. Shukaku arrived to aid its former host and the two were able to temporally seal away their foe. Joined by the other Suna shinobi, Shinki was chosen to join Boruto and Kankurō in escorting Shukaku to Konoha. Shinki was against joining Boruto, but Gaara insisted that he can learn something from Boruto, something important that Shinki was lacking. Also during which, to make sure Urashiki would not sense its chakra, Shukaku willing sealed itself inside a kettle.

Along the way, it became clear that Shinki did not like Boruto, constantly berating him for his immature nature. The group was intercepted by four of Urashiki's puppets, prompting Kankurō to face them while the genin ventured on. Noticing a massive explosion from the battlefield, Shinki insisted to head on despite also being concerned for his uncle, but Boruto went back by himself. Escorting Shukaku by himself, he was intercepted by Urashiki puppets that paralysed Shinki, but was saved by Boruto, Shikadai and Temari. Facing it while Shinki ventured on, Shinki was re-joined by Boruto after they defeated it.

Finding themselves caught by Urashiki, the pair formed a strategy leading to Shinki temporarily sealing him using his skeleton puppet and Iron Sand. Knowing Urashiki would soon escape and intercept them again at the border to the Land of Fire, they decided Boruto would distract Urashiki with a clone disguised as Shinki and caring an empty tea kettle while Shukaku and Shinki went on ahead. During the plan, Shukaku noticed how hesitant he was with this plan that had a high chance of death for Boruto.

Once reaching the border of the Land of Fire, Shinki was intercepted by Mirai Sarutobi, who interrogating him for his lack of sanctioned border hoping. While Shinki remained unconfrontational, he insisted that he would only talk to a Konoha-nin of above-chūnin rank. They were then approached by Sai Yamanaka, who was already on a mission to Sunagakure to investigate Sasuke's sudden disappearance. Acknowledging Sai's high rank, Shinki revealed his mission from Gaara to deliver the sealed Shukaku to mission and to alert Naruto about the location of Urashiki Ōtsutsuki. Sai took it upon himself to deliver Shukaku while he ordered Shinki and Mirai to remain on standby.

Shinki however decided to return to the battlefield to aid Boruto. He arrived in time to stop Urashiki from striking down Boruto after learned he had been deceived. As Boruto and Shinki struggled to fend off Urashiki, Boruto's right eye reacted to the struggle, revealing what Urashiki classified as the Jōgan. With the eye's power to perceive Urashiki's dimensional hoping, the two genin were able to deceive the foe and land a critical hit. Impressed and annoyed by their efforts, Urashiki decided to finish the winded foes, only to be stopped by Sasuke. This prompted Urashaki to retreat. The genin were then brought to Konohagakure for treatment, where their mission to deliver Shukaku had been completed. Five days later, Shinki was discharged and collected by Gaara. When Gaara asked Shinki what he learned from going with Boruto, the son simply said Boruto is a slave to his emotions. Gaara however smiled at seeing that Boruto's influence did spark a change in Shinki. Before boarding the train back home, Shinki was surprised by Boruto, who insisted that friends should say goodbye before leaving and offered to show him around the village next time. While turning away coldly, Shinki smiled to himself at Boruto's request and offered to show Boruto around Sunagakure as well some time.

Kara Actuation Arc
Shinki and his team-mates were assigned a mission with Team 10 to retrieve a puppet left over from the battle against Urashiki. While Shikadai was the highest ranking ninja of the group as a chūnin, it was decided to let Shinki lead the way as he knew the area better. Upon discovering the puppet, they were encountered by Deepa. The man demanded to be given the puppet. When they refused, Deepa pelted them with a barrage of carbon cubes that even Shinki's Iron Sand Wall couldn't completely resist. A strategy was designed by Shikadai to detain Deepa long enough for Shinki to strike. While seemingly working, Shinki's Black Iron Fist was completely ineffective against Deepa's super durable body. Deepa swiftly defeated them. As Deepa took the puppet, Shinki refused to let Deepa secure his target, destroying it with the last of his strength before passing out. Despite Shinki's meddling, Deepa decided to leave them alive. After awakening, they reported the assault.

Trivia

 * According to character trivia from Boruto:
 * Shinki's hobbies are gardening and embroidery.
 * His favourite foods are gizzard and braised stew, and his least favourite food is nattō.