Mikiri (Dark)

The Mikiri Clan
Kumogakure
Kekkei Genkai: Dark Release (Meiton)


Current Clan Members:

• Irui Mikiri
  
• Mora Mikiri*
  
• Morikawa Mikiri (Ret.)
  

The word Mikiri means "To Abandon", or "To Part". To abandon home, community, senses. To foresake commonalities, to give oneself to the great unknown. To the Mikiri, the name means to "abandon all preconceptions" of the world, to embrace the unnatural.

The story of the Mikiri begins on a forgotten Autumn morning, with a shooting star. Cast from the heavens, and betrayed by his kin, Amatsumikaboshi hit the earth, colliding with the icy cliffs that would become the Land of Lightning. Wounded, the man pulled his broken body through the snow, following the campfire smoke of the Hoki People. Amatsu-Mikaboshi unwilling to succumb to his wounds, and furious at his own kin cursed his own people. He desired nothing less but their utter destruction, and planted the seed. He plead for the Hoki Chief to slit his throat, to free the him from his mortal prison, to be "defeated". In their native tongue, the Hoki called the Sky Spirit a "Scarecrow of Heaven", a warning to his betrayers. The Hoki in return gave the Sky Spirit freedom from flesh, from blood, and consumed him, taking Amatsu Mikaboshi's power for themselves, his Karma. Preserved through their descendents, the Mikiri Clan's power was born from the ritual cannibalism of an Otsutsuki.

The Mikiri have a long history of keeping to themselves and functioning as low level protectors for the small villages across the Land of Lightning. The clan's power has been tempered by the fact that they prefer to be reclusive and as such they have stayed out of the fray from many major battles. They fear their coveted abilities may make them the target of other major shinobi clans and as such they have historically shied away from wars of conquest and glory. However in the years leading up to the founding of Kumogakure, the Inazuma had convinced their clan leader to join the village. Not wishing to disrespect or make an enemy out of the Lightning Country's mightiest clan, the Mikiri accepted. 


In the beginning, the Mikiri Clan joined the Hidden Cloud at the behest of the Inazuma, its founding clan. Yet every action the Clan takes has been for a singular purpose, and there was no better way to protect itself than by embracing the Raikage. Being let into the village, given access to abundant resources, and room to thrive, was by far the greatest opportunity the clan has been given. The Mikiri Clan lets the village, even the Raikage, see what it wants them to see; secrets within secrets. The control of information is so strict, and well-maintained, that clansmen know what they need to know, and nothing more; kept in the dark by its own internal mechanisms. Its even believed that the origin of the clan, birthed by experimentation, is nothing more than a ruse.

The Clan exists in layers, operating within plain sight. On the surface is what the public sees, a close-knit clan in the heart of the village.  Many Clansmen are business owners, general laborers, young families, civilians. Only the scarce few become Shinobi-- those can who pass the Clan's tests are chosen. All Clansmen are born with the diamond-patterned mark on their body, yet none are told how to use it. Most will never know they possess a bloodline. To the common shinobi, it could be nothing more than a tattoo. They are told from a young age to protect themselves, to keep the Mark safe, but never told why. As children they maintain their parent's strict isolationist policy-- rarely, if ever, venturing beyond the Hidden Cloud's walls. It is common for many Mikiri to not only accept this isolationist lifestyle, but to embrace it to such an extreme, that many will spend their whole lives inside the Land of Lightning. Thus there exists an immense disconnect between the Mikiri Clan's members, and the general public. However, fortune favors the brave. As Clansmen grow into Shinobi, the Clan's unfathomable network begins to drip information: clues here and there, breadcrumbs to piece things together. They become curious, hungry even, voracious  for more knowledge.

The Mikiri keep their children hungry, always dangling a promise for more, yet withholding the complete picture. As they develop, Clansmen are tracked, their abilities quantified and calculated, then nominated for parcels of information. The Mikiri are judged for their intelligence and capabilities, all of it cloak-and-dagger style.  Where traditional Shinobi grasp deception, the Mikiri have become masters. Long has the village suspected, but never proven, that the Mikiri Clan is far more complex than the public has been led to believe.  Many go their entire Shinobi career without ever glimpsing the Dark Release, only a scarce few learn how to access it, and even fewer have fully mastered it without tremendous sacrifice.

Across the Land of Lightning, the Mikiri have designed a cunning network of spies, operatives, smugglers, and more. The clan provides the Land of Lightning with a number of services, from espionage and counterintelligence, to assassinations, and thievery. Governed from deep within by a Council of Archons, the Mikiri carries out clandestine missions for the Raikage. Every move is meticulously calculated, clients and agents kept on a tight "need-to-know" basis. When the Mikiri Clan is involved in the Land of Lightning's affairs, there are no loose ends. While the Clan operates in the shadows, it pays its debt to the Raikage back in full-- peddling in information, surveillance, and the unerring subterfuge. Perhaps their true bloodline isn't the Dark Release, but rather the truth that lurks within the dark....




The Mikiri tend to have silver hair and dark eyes with a medium build. The clan has not taken on any strong customs or traditions. That said, the Clan is curiously centralized within a civilian district of the Hidden Cloud.  Kinsman are noted to wear similar robes, cloaks, and other attire that blends into the greater village aesthetic. Their choice of garb, hairstyles, and the location of their residences, enables them to seamlessly mesh with the local population. They tend to prefer solitude and avoid drawing attention to themselves. Many have been told to fear the world outside of the Lightning Country as their unique advanced element may prove too much of a temptation to unscrupulous doctors. On the surface, Mikiri are said to be a humble people who enjoy service but are fiercely protective of their family and kekkei genkai.

To preserve its bloodline and information, the Clan is known to communicate in complex Ciphers, using code that have left the Hidden Cloud flustered. Below is an example of such that mysteriously arrived at the Raikage's Office:

Cipher:

Other topics of note: Mount Shumisen (Also known as "Mount Meru", and "Kailash") in the Land of Lightning hosts a shrine at its summit. A former temple, noted for its ornate gates, stands near its peak. Murals across the inside detail a solar eclipse, however the Hidden Cloud's archaeologists haven't made sense of it's connection with the Mikiri Clan. Its architecture predates the Land of Lightning, and is decorated with numerous statues of Buddha and similar figures.  

Notable Figures

Amatsu Mikaboshi Otsutsuki, the progenitor of the Dark Release and bloodline. Mikaboshi likely hailed from the Moon Branch of the Otsutsuki Clan. After his death, the Otsutsuki imbued the then-Hoki Chief with his Karma. All Mikiri now possess a Mark: A corrupted iteration of the Karma that allows them to absorb and manipulate all elements through Dark Release. Scarce few within the Clan know of his role.

Lady Himiko the  first, and to date, only descendent to fully realize her bloodline limit. Upon discovering the "Chimera",  Himiko is said to have possessed mastery "over all things that came before her". Born well before the formation of the Five Nations, she predated the Hidden Cloud, and was called the "Sorceress Queen" but few records survive of this period. She referred to herself as a "Vessel", and communed with a "great and powerful spirit" who "gave her untold strength". She is often regarded as a fairytale. Her tomb is believed to be beneath the temple at Mount Shumisen.



The Mikiri Clan's power comes from the ability to use Dark Release. Dark Release is a refinement of the Lightning element that allows the user to absorb, manipulate, and release the chakra of an opponent. The kekkei genkai is utilized through a mark on the user's right and/or left hand. This Mark resembles two diamonds, one overlapping the other. Chakra is absorbed through the upper square, while it is released and manipulated through the lower. Some theorize the Upper and Lower represent Yin and Yang, two halves intertwined, and growing closer with age. The Mikiri Clan's foundational techniques are Dark Release: Inhaling Maw (which allows for the absorption of chakra) and Dark Release: Judgment (which allows for the expulsion of chakra). Clan members hone their skills with these jutsu to become masters of co-opting an enemy's elements to use against them. At higher levels, the user may even absorb and redeploy advanced elements using Dark Release, but this has only been seen once in the Clan's history.

This stage of the Dark Release bloodline grants access to the Inhaling Maw technique. This technique allows the user to absorb an opponent's chakra from up to 20 meters away. The user may absorb the opponent's chakra through the upper square mark on their hand or through their mouth. The user may absorb any ninjutsu technique that externalizes chakra (Rasengan, Raikiri, Fireball etc etc) outside the opponent's immediate person. At this stage the user is restricted to adding the technique's chakra to their own reserves as they lack the means to use it against their opponent.

The second stage of the Dark Release bloodline grants access to the Judgment technique. The user can now expel the chakra they have absorbed into light blue flames that burn at the same intensity as a generic Katon jutsu. The flames are emitted through the lower square mark on their hand and hit with a Strength equivalent to the absorbed technique's rank. It is possible for the user at this stage to create a variety of custom techniques involving such blue flames. The user may now also use techniques that they have absorbed against other opponents even if they lack the appropriate element. The user can only perform these absorbed techniques assuming they have not added the chakra to their own reserves or spent that chakra on any blue flame variant of the Judgment technique. This essentially means that any techniques they absorb and wish to perform again must be stored separately and saved for such a purpose. The user is also restricted to only redeploying techniques from the classical elements (Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Water). They may not redeploy techniques from advanced elements.  



An obscure passage in the Hidden Cloud's text, The Gathering of Strange Clouds, describes a Lady Himiko, the first of the Mikiri to become a "Chimera", where the technique draws its name. She is detailed as being the "master of all things before her, earthbound or ephemeral".

This is the final stage of the Dark Release bloodline and it grants a unique ability known as the "Singularity". This technique allows the user to not only absorb but redeploy techniques from advanced elements that are usually the result of kekkei genkai. They are beholden to the same restrictions as the previous stage regarding absorption and redeployment (techniques must be stored separately, the user may not absorb the technique into their reserves and redeploy it using their own chakra). Additionally, at this stage the user's range with Inhaling Maw is expanded from 20 meters to 30 meters when they inhale techniques through their mouth. When the opponent's chakra has been absorbed, the Mikiri are also able to "taste" the other elements the opponent(s) possess, and can deduce from this sensory information, which element they rely upon most as their Nature Affinity. When "Singularity" is activated in response to a technique, the incoming attack's speed is adjusted as if it were -2 Tiers lower than normal (To provide reasonable response time). Absorption rate remains the same.


Dark Release is a potent and powerful ability but it has a few major restrictions. While utilizing Inhaling Maw the user must stand in place (they cannot walk or run while absorbing techniques). This leaves them somewhat vulnerable if only for the short period of time it takes for absorption to occur (absorption generally occurs within a single post however depending on how large the ninjutsu is, some may take longer than others). Inhaling Maw cannot absorb techniques through barrier techniques C Rank and above. The user may only absorb one technique at a time. While they do not need to have the necessary elements to redeploy a technique, they must have the appropriate fighting style.

While it has never been observed directly,  the absorption of chakra from Tailed Beasts is particularly dangerous for the Mikiri (as it is for any human, including Celestials like the Otsutsuki). The corrosive and toxic nature of Tailed Beast will react violently with the Dark Release, prompting its immediate expulsion from their Mark. The corrosive nature of the chakra will cause immense pain to a Mikiri as the body works feverishly to flush it from their system, requiring them to expel the entire amount, plus an equivalent of their own chakra. (ex. a B-rank amount of Bijuu chakra plus a B-rank from their own pool). Hypothetically, this could be circumvented if the Mikiri were to also possess a Tailed Beast of their own.

As demonstrated in Canon, absorbing Nature Chakra is incredibly foolish, and will turn the MIkiri to stone unless the chakra can be immediately expelled.

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