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Mattai Sonokuma

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This article, Mattai Sonokuma, is property of Cyberweasel89.

Mattai Sonokuma

Age Unknown
Blood type Unknown
Birthdate Unknown
Height Unknown (reportedly "on the short side")
Weight Unknown (reportedly very light)
Gender Male
Affinity Unknown
Affiliation Konohagakure
Village of Origin Kumogakure
Rank Jonin
Occupation Medic-nin, Cooking-nin
Sensei Unknown woman
Genin Students Anko Mitarashi, Iruka Umino, Yugao Uzuki

Mattai Sonokuma (Sonokuma Mattai) was Anko Mitarashi's sensei before the events in the timeline of Kaikinisshoku: Total Solar Eclipse.

"Mattai" is a Japanese name often used in place of the English name "Matthew". "Matthew" means "God's Gift" or "Gift of God". "Sonokuma" means "The bear" in Japanese. This surname is ironic, as Mattai was very skinny, somewhat short, and did not weigh much. Anko even states to her Genin team that "when one hears the name 'Sonokuma,' one imagines a large, physically imposing man."

Mattai does not actually appear in Kaikinisshoku. He is only mentioned, mostly by Anko and Iruka. It is hinted through their speech that Mattai is not around anymore, though it is not revealed if he is dead.

Contents

Background

Very little is known about Mattai's life before becoming Anko, Iruka, and Yugao's sensei. He hails from Kumogakure, though how or why he became a ninja of the leaf is unknown. It is unknown who Mattai's sensei or his genin teammates were, but Anko has hinted through her speech that Mattai's sensei was female, and that she gave Mattai and his genin teammates the same Curry Test that Mattai gave to Anko and her teammates, and that Anko gave to her genin. It was revealed by Anko that Mattai lost one of his eyes during his youth, and wore a patch over the empty socket. According to Anko, Mattai revealed that he lost the eye showing off to some kids in his academy days. It seemed that Mattai grew up in an all-female household, with just a mother and three sisters. That and the fact that he had a female sensei is possibly what lead to his positive attitude towards women. He never met his father.

Personality

Anko describes Mattai as "a rather peculiar shinobi." He always had a smile on his face, even in battle, a tactic he would use to unnerve his opponent. Despite being a "tough and hardened shinobi of the leaf", he was unusually optimistic and very encouraging. He laughed constantly, and was able to turn any situation into an amusing joke. Apparently, Mattai believed that laughter drove away evil spirits, and encouraged his genin to laugh whenever possible. Anko states that even when he was sad or down in the dumps, he still smiled and laughed. Anko claims that Mattai "had an odd charm about him." Even though he had a tendency to misunderstand words, take things literally, and never had a good grasp of the situation, he had an irresistible and inexplicable charm that made it hard to dislike him. Anko described him as "hopeless when it came to day-to-day things." He couldn't do laundry, couldn't use chopsticks, and couldn't tie knots. He rarely bathed, but amazingly didn't stink.

Anko explained that despite Mattai's charm and his way of saying just the right thing to make you smile, he never took a wife. He was very reserved when it came to sexual matters, and did not have a single perverted bone in his body. He respected women as equal to men, possibly due to his childhood and sensei. Anko claimed that most women tended to think of him as "one of the girls." No woman ever thought of him romantically, and he did not think of any of them romantically.

According to Anko, Mattai loved festivals and celebrations. He turned any occasion into a reason to celebrate. He would always give his Genin days off on festival days, even if it was a mission day.

Unfortunately, Mattai was a drinker. He was fond of the drink, but could not hold his alcohol for long. After only a few drinks, Mattai would start acting extremely paranoid, thinking that everyone close to him was out to get him. It was usually bad to approach him in this state. It was dangerous to even talk to him in this state, as anything said would be taken as a personal challenge. He would be very confrontational to everything in this state, making talking with him impossible. After a while, he would vomit and collapse, leaving his Genin to drag him home.

Appearance

Anko said "a skinnier man you'll never meet" when describing Mattai.

Mattai was, indeed, very skinny, as well as a bit on the short side. He was quite scrawny. This was possibly due to his high metabolism, which also meant he was underweight.

To make up for his scrawny build, Mattai purposely sported a constant five o'clock shadow, to make himself look tough.

He had very wild, unkept chocolate brown hair, and many found his deep blue eye to have quite a piercing gaze, despite its softness.

Clothing

Mattai was a bit of an unusual dresser. He typically wore cargo shorts, a T-shirt, a flak Jonin vest, traditional ninja sandals, and a fishnet suit beneath everything that covered his otherwise bare forearms and shins.

However, Mattai had the habit of wearing a hachimaki on his head. It depicted a red circle with the symbols for "certain" and "victory" on either side.

In addition, he wore an eyepatch to cover his missing eye.

Abilities

According to Anko, Mattai was an expert marksman, despite having only one eye. Due to the fact that he lost his eye while showing off, he never showcased his skills. He was very reserved about his Jutsu, usually using only simple, basic Jutsu and saving his powerful ones for special occasions and emergencies.

Mattai had an amazing perception of his environment. He was easily able to detect incoming enemies based on changes in the air. However, this sense of perception came with a drawback. He was very susceptible to hot and cold environments. His ears were so keen that he could identify people based on their footsteps, but vibrations such as drums and bells were painful for him. His nose was sensitive enough to pinpoint exactly where a smell was coming from, and he could tell when a woman was having her period. However, he insisted that his students bathe every day. If they missed even one bath, the smell would be unbearable for him.

Mattai wasn't a very physically imposing man. He was not strong at all. However, he was quite formidable in combat. He wielded a ninjato with great skill, focusing on quick and sudden movements. He did not focus on speed, but rather his attacks came so suddenly, so randomly, and so frequently that opponents had trouble keeping up and predicting what he would do. Anko claimed that Mattai could stab an opponent in the torso five times before they could react, which may have been an exaggeration.

This sudden and random movement was due to Mattai's special technique. By hopping on one foot and alternating the foot between each hop, only leaving the ground an inch or two, Mattai could kickstart his circulatory system to supply more nutrients to his brain. This meant he could think faster and react faster, somewhat akin to taking a stimulant. Many told him he looked ridiculous, hopping like that in the middle of a fight, but the results were hard to argue with. The technique was not a Jutsu, as anyone could potentially use it, and it did not use chakra or hand seals. Mattai never gave it a name, though he did teach it to one of his three Genin. However, the catch was that Mattai was among the few who could actually use the technique to its full potential. Hopping like that all through the duration of the battle takes a great deal of stamina and energy. And Mattai happened to have more than enough stamina and energy to go around. His abundant energy made him jittery, making him appear nervous and impatient.

Surprisingly, Mattai was a Medic-nin, as well as a Cooking-nin. In addition to knowing the standard medical Ninjutsu, Mattai could amazingly heal with food he had prepared. This ability to heal with food was possibly one of the reasons he was promoted to Jounin, as he could keep a mission squad fed while at the same time treating their injuries. Not only could his food heal, he knew just the right local plants and herbs to make his cooking taste better, allowing him to cook with only local ingredients in the wilderness. He was even said to be able to prepare food on the fly while traveling. Due to this, he was often placed on mission squads with Akimichi Clan members, making him quite well-known among the clan. He was supposedly quite good friends with Choza Akimichi.

Jutsu

Quotes

  • "C'mon, laugh! Laugh with me!"
  • "Why the long face?"
  • "It may look ridiculous, but it works."
  • "Didn't you know? Laughing drives away evil!"
  • "You're going to make... curry!"
  • "Don't cry, Yugao-chan..."
  • "Go ahead and dream, Anko. Without dreamers, there would be no heroes."
  • *hic* "You're all-" *hic* "out to get me..."
  • "You're destined for great things, Anko. And I'm afraid that I'm not strong enough to meet you there."
  • "Rain... is really just the gods above crying in sorrow... sorrow for what the people are doing..."
  • "I guess I don't have a name for it... Do you really think it's cool?"
  • "It's a festival! No missions today, just enjoy the celebration!"
  • "I call it... Slimebucket Surprise! Wanna try some?"
  • "Don't be so quick to flaunt, Iruka. When I was still in the academy, I tried to be the big man, and it cost me my eye. I learned my lesson the hard way. Hopefully you won't have to."
  • "Yugao-chan! Are you having your first period?"
  • "My sword? It's not a sword, it's a ninjato. And I call her Tatsu!"
  • "People need the bad times so that they can appreciate the good times."
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