Art Uzūba (ウズでアート, Uzūba Art) is a major character in the fanon, Naruto: Kimza Chronicles, and its sequel, Kimza Chronicles: The Last Sealer. He is a Jōnin-level shinobi of Konohagakure, a member of the Uzūba clan, and a member of Team Gen.

Background

About four to five years before Art's birth, after the Fourth Shinobi World War came to an end, the Uzūba Clan, one of the strongest clans in Iwagakure, decided to leave their homevillage and relocate to Konohagakure so that the two villages could reconcile for past mistakes. The leader of the clan, Kyō, and his young son Kai started peace interactions with Konoha and soon gained their respect. A few years later, Art was born.

Art grew up in the lavished seat of one of the Uzūba clan's elite. He soon grew to gain a wanting of respect once he saw that his brother was a great shinobi and his exploits helped the clan become respectable. A couple of years before we went to the ninja academy, he met Genzo Nekiogama, a young member of the Nekiogama clan and child prodigy. Art swore to use Genzo as a stepping stone to gain more power, but was easily trumped by Genzo time and time again. After a while, Art decided to train with Genzo while in academy and gain strength, which became a success. After Genzo targetted Saphiro Kimza for his bully, Art followed suit, though he didn't initially know why.

Personality

Art possesses a goofy and carefree attitude and he constantly smiles and jokes around with his companions. Most of the time, his positive is sincere and bright. He also has a habit of cracking jokes, no matter what situation he's in. Whenever battle becomes foremost in his mind, Art becomes serious and resolved to end the fighting. It is later revealed that Art greatly dislikes fighting, but will resort to violence when it is most necesary.

In the beginning of Kimza Chronicles, Art was cruel and seemed to bully Saphiro more than Genzo did. This soon made his entire class fear him, Genzo, and Linne Kechkuro. However, after fighting Saphiro and realizing that he was doing the wrong thing, he desired to turn his life around. This results in Saphiro being good friends with Art which results in their good teamwork.

Art had a deep desire for recognition, which was born from witnessing his brother gain the respect of Konoha after many missions. He initially is content with being his equal, but as the series goes on, he eventually wants to surpass Kai and become one of the greatest Uzūba to ever live. This drive pushes Art onward when he encounters tough enemies and the fight is turning on him. What usually pushes him on is the inner quote, "This piece of trash would be nothing up against Kai!".

Art repeatedly shown that he had a short fuse and a bad temper, snapping whenever he or anyone of his clan, especially Kai, was insulted. This led to bad decisions on his part, resulted in taking blows that would incapacitate those with lesser endurance. However, Neji trained him for a couple of weeks to get rid of his temper and sooth his soul. Though Art is still prone to anger, it takes more to make him go overboard and he is generally calmer and more productive in battle.

Art has a love for hip-hop music and frequently listens to DJ Killer Bee on the radio. He has expressed his love for music and regularly writes down rhymes whenever he is not in a fight or too busy not to write. He stated early in the series that if becoming the greatest Uzūba alive fails, he would fall back on being as great as DJ Killer Bee, if not greater.

Before the beginning of The Last Sealer, Art threw away his former attitudes to bring Saphiro home, even his recognition to beat Kai. Unlike Gen, Kaede, or his new teammate Kenno Sagii, Art believed that Saphiro was not beyond saving and the right words or actions could bring his friend home. Despite that, he was not beyond retaliating with violenve if Saphiro attacked first. After Saphiro returns to Konoha and gains his respect again, Art's initial attitudes return with a slightly greater volume, along with the new vow to never let his friends down again.

Many say that Art is tremendously similar to Naruto Uzumaki in his early years, as indicated by his cheerful attitude, dislike for violence, and pact to be there for his friends. This trait usually brings the thought of becoming Hokage in his mind. He usually considers trying to become Hokage, but only after proving his worth to his clan, defeating Kai in a one-on-one fight, and becoming a great DJ.

Appearance

Art has long black hair which usually styled into long cornrow braids that extend to his upper back and light amber eyes. Like other members of his clan, he has light brown skin which darkens slightly as the series goes on. In the beginning arc of Kimza Chronicles, he wore a black and red hoody, a white t-shirt, and black shorts. During the majority of Kimza Chronicles, which takes place four years later, Art is taller and more muscular. He wore another black and red hoody which is unzipped and his red bands on the sleeves, a black t-shirt with the Uzūba clan crest on the front, black pants with unzippable legs slightly below the knee, and he wore his forehead protector on his arm.

During The Last Sealer, Art grows slightly more and his muscles become more defined. He also has short dreads that extend to his neck at an even length. He now wears his own adaption of the standard Konoha flak jacket, which is black with red pockets, a white t-shirt with an iron mesh shirt underneath, white pants with red flame patterns, and red and black armguards. He also has a tanto attached to his left side and a straight wakazashi to his right, showing he has knowledge of kenjutsu. He discarded his forehead protector and now has the metal plate attached to the upper right pocket of his flak jacket.

Abilities

During academy, Art was a balanced shinobi in many ways. His test scores were average, but his physical prowess surpassed most of the academy students, including Genzo in some aspects. During Kimza Chronicles, Art was usually the juggernaut, able to deliver blows and recieve them with minimal damage. He was the part of the group who specialized in short distance combat with a few mid-range attacks. As the series progresses, he learns a bit of long distance attacks and employs strategies to help him turn the tide of the fight. In The Last Sealer, Art has learned kenjutsu and is considered an excellent swordsman.

Taijutsu

Though he was more of a brawler than a martial arts expert, Art had and still has a excellent degree of taijutsu. His attacks are focused and deal more damage than the physical strikes of Saphiro and Kaede. Due to his somewhat short temper, his anger took the best of him many times and he becomes recklessly impulsive and impatient. After training with Neji for a couple of weeks, Art's taijutsu improves with his temper and he develops his own variation of the Gentle Fist, the Empty Hand style.

Art possesses an above average degree of strength which increases over time. He was able to carry both Saphiro and Kaede a long distance after the fight with Ezemaru before calling the Konoha Emergency Response Team. He was also able to punch through Yanche Uzūba's Quartz Release: Hexagonal Barrier using his own Quartz Release technique, something that shocked Yanche to see. He was also able to block a direct punch from Issaru of the Four Guardian Beasts of Hell's Gates, though he needed both hands. He also possess good endurance, able to take the full brunt of Yanche's Quartz Release attacks and keep going. Another example was when he was thrown through a house during the fight with Yushiro Gentake of the Nine, just to arise from the wreckage and taunt him.

Kenjutsu

After training with master swordsman Chiyoga Matsumane, shortly before the events of The Last Sealer, Art had developed an interest and high skill in kenjutsu. His fighting style consists of two seperate fighting methods: Quick Draw; which enables him to be fluid with his strikes and attack on the ready, clearly staying offensive and agile, and Issen Stance; where Art stays on the defensive and combines precise timing with durability and strength to deal heavy, critical blows to his opponents during a block or dodge. His skill is clearly proven when he goes up against Shiro Orrin of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, with Shiro commending Art's skill and newfound paitence.

Ninjutsu

Nature Transformation

As a member of the Uzūba clan, Art is an expert of Earth Release techniques. His skill enables him to great quicksand traps, create armor from stone and earth, and use the ground around him to tilt the advantage to his side. Learning from the elder Uzūba, Art can employ powerful Earth Release techniques that most clan members his age would be astounded of.

As a member of the Uzuba, Art can used the advanced Earth Nature, Quartz Release, which his body's sweat pores excrete a greenish liquid which quickly solidifies within seconds of coming in contact with oxygen. This subtance is extremely hard and near impossible to break, rivaling the power of Crystal Release. Art's skill with it enables him to use his chakra to excrete more liquid than normal and harden it faster, creating weapons for him to use. He can also combine the Earth and Quartz natures together to deliver devastating attacks to his foes. He can also lengthen and strengthen the blade of his tantō with his Quartz Release subtance, extending the length of his attacks and making Issen Stance more powerful.

Intelligence

Early in Kimza Chronicles, Art was considered bright, but not as knowledged as Saphiro and Kaede. Many people mistook his straightforward fighting tactics and his short fuse as ignorance. This downplayed him in many fights, whenever his strength was not enough. However, after training with Gen, and then Neji, Art's intelligence is finally shown and his temper is put to rest. His intelligence enables him to create a new fighting style based on another, and become a kenjutsu specialist in less than a year. He still has his surprised moments and his very comedic, but his intelligence trumps his opponents in the end.

Stats