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Arata Namikaze — Description
I'm still alive. The art block was real though. It took me awhile to get into the groove of things. I managed to break away from my art block by watching anime and being inspired by it. Among them was Naruto.

I used to be a major fan of it when it first shipped to the States in the Shonen Jump. But I took a break from the series around the time I hit college. I only got caught up on the entire Naruto series (Shippuden and films) not long ago and ended up falling in love with Minato Namikaze (Naruto's dad). He's now among my 'must fantard over this guy' list. Minato is such a lovable smexy dork. However, because there is no information regarding his family or history, I took it upon myself to create one.  This art piece is the product of that.

In a nutshell, this is my original character, Arata Namikaze. Feel free to skip the following paragraphs if you want to. I only include it to explain who he is (and why he has antlers. ). This took a whole month to complete. Still, it was worth it. It was a good excuse to work on atmosphere and feature a hot guy.  I'd just completed a new Sephiroth pin-up piece (which I'll post later) and wanted to try my hand at something a bit more complex and fun.

ARATA'S BACKGROUND:
During Kaguya's tyrannical reign, Arata tried to rescue his twin brother after their village chose and sacrificed him to the God Tree. Arata fails to save him but discovers a seed that recently sprouted from that God tree. He takes it, perceiving it as a parting memento gift from his late brother. Arata is soon confronted by Kaguya though. Sensing great power from it, she demands he hand over the seed and pursues him. Out of vengeance for his deceased twin brother, Arata ingested the seed and took his own life at a river, preventing Kaguya from taking it.

The past events of Naruto happen, one where Kaguya engages in battle with her son, Hagoromo. It's during this time that Arata's lifeless body is revitalized by the God Seed he'd ingested. His jet-black hair turns platinum blond; his eyes turn to the color of water and he radiates with an earthly light. Now bestowed with visions of the past, present, and future, Arata discovers his body will inevitably transform into a God Tree. It will even sprout its own 'chakra fruit'. Already, thick antler-like branches form on his head.

Like the God Tree, Arata has the ability to absorb other's chakras. This ability grants him unlimited power and eternal youth. He's practically a living vampire. Because his body is destined to be Transformed, Arata comes up with a plan to save himself based on his future visions. Among these visions is the idea of using a new vessel to transfer his soul to. This will allow him to leave his old body behind, enabling it to change and sprout the promised chakra fruit. Arata takes it upon himself to create the perfect vessel. He forms the Namikaze Clan, a powerful underground clan with ruthless, indifferent practices - all designed to create the perfect vessel for its Lord. Among the promising candidates are two twin youths: Isamu Namikaze... and Minato Namikaze.

I'll spare you guys more details of this story or how Minato ended up in Konoha Village (I intend on writing a fanfic on it). But I really wanted to cover the main points.