| abstract | - Akihiko Yamanaka (山中明彦, lit. "Among the Mountains, Bright Prince"), is a renown shinobi of the Yamanaka Clan. He gained notoriety during his Chūnin Exams when he uncovered a ploy by Iwagakure to insert sleeper agents into the village. Through the course of this investigation Konoha first became aware of the threat that the organization Black Crown posed. Though he did admirably in the combat portion of the exam, his effort into rooting out the spies had earned him his place as a Chuunin. Once promoted he was immediately transferred to the Konoha Intelligence Division, where his skills in information gathering and espionage were put to further use. Over the course of the next few years, Akihiko led numerous and highly successful investigations and espionage missions. During this time he was trained extensively covert operations, and intelligence gathering techniques which served him well when he was finally promoted to ANBU. The intelligence he helped gather served as the foundation for much of the intel that Konoha has on the movements of the infamous organization Black Crown and others like it who desire to see the shinobi system collapse. Recognized by the ANBU Commander, he was handpicked to lead a team of specialists into the start of a covert war between these shadowy factions. In this deadly game where one wrong move could have erupted into open war with every other ninja village, Akihiko became a living legend. He forged several profitable alliances with other countries, ended a war before it could even start between Kusagakure and Takigakure, and prevented the assassination of the Fire Daimyō. His work as a spy however had left Akihiko bereft of the loyalty expected in a Konoha shinobi. He had not seen his supposed home in years, decades even, always tasked with unearthing some secret, or donning some new facade. The loyalty he once had, that could have been cultivated had been lost in the myriad of politics, espionage and intelligence he had gathered over the years. In the end, Akihiko began working for himself rather than his village and at some point began working under the Fire Daimyo as a magistrate. It was a new position created by the Daimyo giving Akihiko unprecedented power and connections, allowing him to move through Fire Country while acting in the authority of the Daiymo himself. Now he is tasked with fettering out insubordination, and plots crafted by shinobi from all other countries who seek to destabilize the economic and political power carried by the nobility.
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