Clan: Hanataka Clan

Kekkei Genkai: San Tsume (Three Claws - 三爪)

Elements: Wind Release

• (Fūton - 風遁)
  

Specialization: Ninjutsu

• (Ninpo - 忍術)
  

Location: Village Hidden in the Sand

• (Sunagakure no Sato - 砂隠れの里)
  

Clan History:

We never forsook our mountains...

It's said that the Hanataka Clan originally descended from the mountains of Stone Country and the land of Birds, a land of fervent beauty and high Foot-hills where the Daitengu were said to have originally descended. The Daitengu were a Mystic race of Anthropomorphic Falcons and Crows that were said to have been born from the sky gods themselves. The Daitengu were legendary figures and prominent in the nation's folklore, each of them were said to be able to control the winds with their mystic powers, as well as read into the minds of men and women to discern their true nature, as well as their inner intents and desires. These traits, combined with their supposed near eternal life-span, led these creatures to being venerated as creatures who had mastered the very heart of swordsmanship and Kenjutsu, far greater than any mortal man could ever hope to accomplish. Many warriors who heard of these tails traveled to the land of Stone and Birds in order to test the mettle of these Tengu and discover any truth within the myths, never finding anything no matter how high they scaled into the near limitless hills and mountain ranges. These myths and travels bought trade to the country, and many temples and places of worship and pilgrimage were built upon the tops of the sacred summits.

Until one Day.

At a Temple in the heart of Bird Country, where an old, and derelict Temple of Yatagarasu lay, a Swordsman who had traveled to the point of starvation came upon the temple, broken and in poor health from the dangerous climb. Struggling for breath, he collapsed at the seat of the temple, whereupon the traveler saw with the last moments of his fading vision, an ebony-clad figure swoop in from the top of the Temple saturating his view. Days passed, which turned to weeks... until finally, with a start, the Swordsman awoke within the center of the broken temple. Looking up through a hole torn through the ceiling, as rich black feathers littered the area around him, each of them far too large to be from the common crow or raven. His sudden movement, triggered his body to remembering the phantom pain of his travels, recoiling violently only to find that his wounds had been long healed, and his face had since grown the beginnings of a beard.

Alone and frightened, the man called out only to be met with eerie silence as he sighted his possessions standing up against the wall across the room, his armour which had been torn from a fall, had been repaired with a mysterious spider silk-like thread, and his sword was polished so finely it was like a mirror, far sharper than it had ever been to his memory. Taking the blade and staring in wonder, he swung it through the air, listening to the singing of the steel as it passed through the slight breeze. Delighted, the man took his pack which, to his growing surprise had been filled with river faring fish. Sanely thinking he should retreat from this place, counting his blessings, the Traveler began to leave the place with haste... Yet, as he did, he turned to the disheveled state of the Temple... the man reckoned with himself that it would be a fervent dishonor to the server of his fortune to leave with so much, without giving back anything at all... So, placing his pack and armour down, he made his way to a tree off the grounds, and with his sharpened blade, began to cut the branches from it to fix the hole in the temple.

And so, a long days work passed.

The man repaired the hole in the roof after a day, eating his fill of fish, looking to his now completely bluntened blade which he had used to not only cut branches to shape, but strip the bark from them and even more. The Traveler, deciding to take his leave in the morning, slept, happy with a good days work. the morning sun rose, whereupon he awoke and gathered his things, only to be surprised that yet again, his pack had been filled with river-fish, and his blade once again shone almost newer than before... Deciding as before he could not allow this debt to go paid, he cleaned and washed the floors of the Temple, ridding the feathers, fixing the fallen braziers, washed the walls and pillars and replaced the incense. Exhausted once again, the stranger fell to the floors of the temple, sleep wrapping around him...

And so the pattern continued.

At first the Traveler attempted to stay up, in order to thank the entity who had refilled and repaired his belongings, but gave in when nothing came after some nights. So, every morning, he would awaken to discover boons ever greater granted to him, fish, fruits, cooked meats a new Wakizashi he'd never seen before, a bag of gold coins, new robes and more. So, in return, he would work on the temple, clearing the grounds, raking the sands, trimming the bonsai, repairing the roof and weeding the pond, replacing rotten beams and treating new ones to replace them.  Day after day the swordsman worked until one season turned to another, the leaves beginning to turn copper as the sun no longer sat as high as it once did in the heavens...

On the Final night of his stay, the Man sat and tasted the wine which had been given to him the morning before, the lit lanterns of the Temple basking the court in a dim yet welcoming glow as the man felt appreciative of everything he had accomplished. Taking a second bowl from his bag, he lay it at the temple, giving in offering a cooked fish and rice from what he had been given as well as a bowl of the wine, as a meal to give thanks to everything he had been given, explaining his intent to leave to the open air, asking that they not give him any more tonight, hoping that whatever spirits that lay in the dark would hear him and grant his request... And so, he slept for the last time, having dawned on him that while he'd been here, he had achieved so much more than he ever thought he could have... but none of what he had hoped to in coming.

That morning sun rose red as blood.

The Traveler awoke to his pack and belongings as he had left them the night before, no addition to them to burden his conscience any further. The meal he had left at the alter however, had been eaten, bones left on the plate and the wine drained from the cup it was poured in. Smiling that his offering had been accepted, the man collected his things, and stepped outside to leave. Only to see something which he had not expected after all this time... A masked being, wearing the Yamabushi mask of a Wisdom King, featuring a long red nose and furious eyes coupled with what seemed a long cape that bore pure black feathers. The being replicated the visage of the stories of Tengu which lived on the mountaintops, the same tales which had originally inspired the Travelers quest, clawed vambraces and greaves completed the figures image, as they looked like talons silhouetted by the morning sun.

And the Traveler, was never seen or heard from again.

One variant of the tale speculates that the man was killed by the Tengu, in the fight he had been longing for. Another, that the man returned home, with one last gift, as well as thanks from the being. A third tells that the Tengu had been sealed to the mountaintop, testing the mans' kindness it asked if he would break the seal, tricking the man into taking the birds' place and letting it go free. But a final, less known tale, says that the being gave the man a child to return home with in secret, knowing the man to be good and with honor in his heart, the child would give his family a legacy, should he be kind and fatherly to the boy. Whichever the end, generations later, the once small known Hanataka Clan began to gain favor in Sunagakure. Their clan bearing the new symbol of the mystic DaiTengu of the land of Birds, quickly becoming known as master swordsmen, with almost mystical powers over the wind...

But such is only a story...

...we gifted ourselves to the plains.

Kekkei Genkai Description:
The Hanataka, a branch of a larger unremarkable clan found their independance some time ago under the son of a Wandering Swordsman. As such, they are a newer clan compared to longer lineages, with their membership no larger than just over a hundred ninja. However, regardless of their youth, they have carved their clans' name into the ninja world for being one of the stronger clans in Sunagakure. Their power seems to come from their mysterious relationship with the very air, having a control of it unlike other ninja could hope to accomplish.

This unique control manifests as three unique winds which the Hanataka use for their techniuqes, this triad is known by the Hanataka as the 'San Tsume' named after the three talons of Yatagarasu. The Hanataka Clan, upon the activation of any Fūton technique, can pay an additional -5 chakra in order to alter their Fūton with the properties of either the First, Second or Third Claw of the San Tsuru in order to make their Wind Release Techniques vastly more versatile or useful in specific situations.

The San Tsume:

• The First Claw: The first claw of the San Tsuru is considered the opening talon of Yatagarasu, the first to strike and faster than the others. Depicted as the leading claw closest to the front of the three legged crow this talon is primarily offensive in nature, and represents the necessary initiative and swiftness to land an opening strike.
  
  'First Claw' Tecniques performed by the Hanataka clan are known to conjure and whip their wind into being faster than other Fūton techniques. increasing their projectile speeds as well as the speeds of their effects by +5mp/s
  
  
• The Second Claw: The Second claw of the San Tsuru is the one which hides in the shadow of the first, while the first is ready to strike with a reckless abandon, the advantageous nature of the Yatagarasu allows it to follow up its recklessness with stealth. Representing cunning, subtlety and strategy where the first claw fails, the second is there to meet its mark.
  
  'Second Claw' Techniques used by the Hanataka clan use clear wind, chakra of the user making their Fūton completely indistinct from the air around it, making it functionally invisible to the naked eye. However, any sensory technique of C rank and higher can see the movements of Second Claw techniques, whether it be through motion detection, or sensing the chakra within the user's Fūton.
  
  
• The Third Claw: The Yatagarasu is not so unwise that it would dedicate all of its cards into frontal Assault, so it keeps its third talon in wait to fend off the potential attack of its prey. So the third claw is the one which lays in waiting, to protect the entity from harm should it come. so it is that the third, back-most claw of Yatagarasu represents wisdom, balance and fortitude.
  
  Hanataka Fūton Techniques imbued with the properties of the 'Third Claw' dedicate chakra into covering its own weaknesses, pressurizing the wind in order to making it more dense and in greater volume, making the winds harder to consume and better resisting fire release techniques, removing Fūtons natural weakness against Katon while maintaining its advantage against raiton.
  

Swift and Lethal with weapon arts, Hanataka Clan members receive a +1 tier to their speed stat, as well as opponents reacting to strikes from a weapon wielded by Hanataka clan member react as if they had -1 tier to their reaction time.

Drawbacks:
However naturally skilled as the Hanataka may be with their mysterious past, they are not faultless when it comes to their form, though in the future this may change... The young clan has a lot to learn when it comes to their own art, and as such, Hanataka clan members are only able to activate one of their San Tsuru applications at a time on any Fūton technique.

• Wind Focused: To members of the Hanataka clan, Fūton is their ultimate weapon, as such, it becomes much of the focus of their training, often at the cost of other schools. Hanataka clan members must begin with Fūton as their primary element, as well as the Hesitant (Element) Negative SC. Additionally, training non-Fūton elemental techniques (not including N/A) requires an additional 10% word-count.
  
  
• Fūton Aligned: Members of the Hanataka clan have a close relationship with the wind around them. Their light bodies dark hair and techniques are a testament to this. But with Fūton chakra so vibrantly connected to their body it confers the elements natural weakness, making members of the Hanataka clan take an additional rank of damage from Katon Techniques. Due to this weakness, being hit by a Katon technique reduces Hanataka clan members' Speed by -1 tier for 2 posts, meaning fire users are often able to bring the swift clan members down to their level.
  
  
• Avian Boned: Swift as members of the clan may be, there is a price to be paid when it comes to speed, as such members of the Hanataka clan receive -1 tier to their strength stat and cannot begin with the Bulky SC. In addition, techniques which would knock members of the Hanataka clan back, knock them back 1.5x the distance that they normally would.
  

Members:
Kasaru Hanataka: Legendary Swordsman, founder of the Hanataka (Deceased?)

Kekkei Genkai Jutsu:

Swallow Tail Technique:

First Talon Swift Dive:

Second Talon Shadow Cutter:

Third Talon Wind Wall: