Zori!!!
Today, on December 1st, is the birthday of Zori, a samurai-mercenary hired to be a body guard of Gatō alongside his partner Waraji.
His main appearance is in Part 1, more specifically The Land of Waves Arc. He and his partner were hired as the personal body guards of Gatō during the land waves mission, and Zori was one of the Gato Thugs to execute Kaiza, Inari’s Step-Father.
Despite being a thug, his Sword skills are excellent and he was even skilled enough to defeat a couple of Naruto shadow clones.
Zori is characterized by his calm yet ruthless personality, long purple hat atop his head, purple markings under his eyes, short pants (tho in same scenes it appears he has long baggy shorts), samurai-like sandals, a big blue jacket with multiple pockets and a hood, white hair, and a white sash holding a blue handled Katana.
After being defeated by Naruto and after the death of Gatō, Zori was not seen again until Shippuden, where he runs into Suigetsu and Sasuke twice, first time he was scared off by Sasuke when trying to start a fight with Suigetsu, the second time he was interrogated for information by both Sasuke and Suigetsu. He also appears after that in a flashback episode after the pain arc, where he, his partner Waraji, and a couple of other former Gatō thugs kidnap Inari and a couple of other kids, before were defeated by Naruto, Sasuke, and The Villagers of the Land of Waves.
And that is the story of Zori, The Samurai-Mercenary, and I hope he has a wonderful birthday where ever he is in Boruto: Naruto Next Generation/Boruto: Two Blue Vortex.
Happy Birthday Zori.
Also shoutout to: @Tim Xman @IKTime and @Rikka2010