Hinoko

editHinoko
ヒノコ Hinoko Soku (鏃)
Debut
Anime	Naruto Shippūden Episode #489
Novel	Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness
Game	Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing
Appears in	Anime, Novel, Game
Voice Actors
Japanese	Aya Saitō
English	Tara Sands
Personal
Sex	Female
Age	Blank Period: 14
Affiliation	Konohagakure
Rank
Ninja Rank	Blank Period: Anbu
Jutsu Chakra Needle
Tools Tantō (Anime only)

Hinoko (ヒノコ) is a Konohagakure Anbu who strongly prefers her codename Soku (鏃, Soku).

Background

When she was younger, Hinoko, still at the Academy, invented her own signature technique — Chakra Needle. Because of such an accomplishment, she was scouted by the Anbu and, upon her graduation exam, was immediately recruited as a member.

Personality

Hinoko has a tomboyish personality, liking cooler things and how their names sound over the girly ones, like her own name, going as far as preferring her Anbu code-name over her real one. This personal distaste causes Hinoko to violently burst into anger whenever she is called by her real name. Despite her obsession with cool-sounding things and personal distaste of girly things, Hinoko is prone to romantic situations as she loudly gushed when Shikamaru Nara approached Temari for romantic purposes. She is also prone of adding the verbal tic "you know" to the end of her sentences.

Appearance

Hinoko's height is about up to Shikamaru's shoulders. While on duty, she wears a cat mask.

Abilities

Hinoko is a very skilled kunoichi, supported by the fact that she was scouted by the Anbu while she was still an Academy student, implying that she is very skilled for her age. She created a technique that allows her to fire chakra needles from her fingertips, that had a variety of effects including: paralysis, death and even energising the target.

Blank Period

Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness

When Shikamaru was tasked with infiltrating the Land of Silence with the dual purpose of finding missing shinobi, including Sai, and assassinating country head Gengo, the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, assigned Hinoko and Rō to aid him. After showing off her abilities, Hinoko and the rest of the group departed at dawn at the hidden back entrance to Konoha. During the mission, Hinoko makes it clear to Shikamaru she doesn't like being called by her real name, lashing out violently at him for doing so. After arriving in the Curtain Village and assessing the situation, Hinoko and the rest of her squad are quickly captured by Gengo's Enlightened Ones. During captivity, she is tortured by them.

When she and the rest are brought before Gengo, he nearly succeeds in placing her and the rest in his mind-altering genjutsu until the timely arrival of Temari and her Suna and Konoha reinforcements breaks Gengo's hold on them. Hinoko engages the brainwashed shinobi by restraining them despite the injuries she received from torture. After Shikamaru defeats Gengo, having gained a concept of his dangerous genjutsu, Hinoko uses her Chakra Needle to paralyse Gengo's tongue enabling from ever speaking a word again. With the mission accomplished, Hinoko prepares to escort Shikamaru back to Konoha with the rest of the Konoha personnel. Before leaving, Hinoko breaks from her tough exterior and gushes loudly when Shikamaru approaches Temari for romantic reasons.

Trivia

• "Soku" (鏃) means "arrowhead".