akimichi chōji, GENIN

Choji generally has no conscious awareness of his own appearance except for when someone brings it up. He lets his brown hair grow in its naturally spiky manor, the spines extending in a V-like pattern. His clan's signature face marking is that of a red swirling line on each of his cheeks, which often become very pronounced as he eats.

Uncharacteristic to his clan is his clothing style, which seems to consist of rather short and loose fitting clothing. He dons a white shirt, printed with his clan's required 食 upon its gut, underneath of a green haori. His black shorts only reach as far as his knees, and his forelimbs are secured by taught bandage wrappings. He wears a characteristic scarf about his neck. Choji's hitai-ate, which he wears upon his head, bears a third strap running from the metallic to the posterior hem of the headband, allowing his pronged hair style to remain its shape. The oby wears small loop earrings, as customary to his clan. Laslty, Choji dons a pair of blue shinobi sandals.

Choji strongest trait for his gentle heart, one that those who know him best will recognize in him. Though his obsessions may often make him act rashly, his words are generally soft and kind. His father has always confided in the boy that his greatest strength was how much he cared for others, and that it draw those who would be his best friends to him.

Another trait, almost cliche of his weight, is that the boy is obsessed with food. Anything that falls within his palette is ample bait for bribing the boy to do most anything. Food is almost always his motivator, and is usually considered the boy's main priority, even when on a mission. This gluttonous behavior often gets on his team mates nerves, though it doesn't deter Choji from continuing his habit.

Choji's intelligence is highly questionable, especially when compared to the other members of his squad. He generally follows whatever plan has been decided as he was instructed, or simply relies on memory of the Ino-Shika-Cho tactics he has been lectured about. Otherwise, Choji simply acts as a muscle for his team.

The boy's strongest weakness is his lack of confidence, which often puts himself of danger in combat. His heavy doubts hinder his actions, not to mention stunt his growth in character. He's quick to give up in a match if he finds he cannot win.

Choji was born to Choza, the fifteenth head of the Akimichi Clan. His father, as a member of the original Ino-Shika-Cho formation, had confidence that his son would follow in his footsteps, reviving his old team's name for the next generation and becoming a great shinobi.

However, his son never shared the same confidence in himself that his father had. As nice as he was to the other children of the Academy, Choji was always treated as an outcast due to his weight and lack of physical ability. Most days, he would sit alone or with his father, snacking in silence or speaking of how the other children had treated him. It was on one of these days that Choza mentioned the boy's gentle heart, saying that the friends it would find would be his best and that they would have the utmost trust for one another.

It was also that day that Choji met Shikamaru. Of all the children to choose to play with, the Nara had decided to become friends with the ostracized Akimichi, forming an unbreakable friendship that lasts to this day.

His newfound friend hadn't helped the boy any with his schooling, as Choji still lacked a great deal of confidence in his abilities as a shinobi-in-training. He was considered one of the problematic students, along with Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, and Uzumaki Naruto. The tetrad of troublemakers often skipped class with one another, and their grades definitely suffered for it. Thanks to several stern lectures from his father, though, the boy managed to stray away from performing such acts in class and actually focus on his studies.

Choji managed to graduate the Academy, though his grades were still quite low. He has been stationed in Squad 10, alongside of Yamanaka Ino and his best friend.