Hayato Gokudera

Character Outline
Hayato Gokudera was born in Italy and is 3/4 Italian and 1/4 Japanese, having a half-Japanese mother. His all-consuming ambition is to succeed as Tsuna's right-hand man.

Despite his rebellious image, Hayato excels in his schoolwork and aces all his tests, often tutoring his less-skilled friends such as Tsuna and Yamamoto. Gokudera also bases a lot of his thinking and academic prowess on mathematical theories that he develops. It is commonly assumed that he had a multitude of private tutors when he was young, as he was brought up in a rich household.

History
Every time he sees the face of his older sister, Bianchi, he becomes sick, sometimes even falling unconscious. Tsuna calls it "Bianchi-phobia." This is due to having to eat her Poison Cooking whenever he had a piano recital, as his playing became terrible and distorted whenever affected by the poison, and was hailed by audiences as "unique", "modern", and "abstract". Oddly enough, he is immune to his sister when she happens to be wearing something that covers part of her face. As a result of his childhood trauma, he abandoned the piano despite his great talent and instead decided to join the Mafia. Unfortunately, since he was considered to be a mere musician, no one wanted to accept him into their family; the fact that he was an oriental half-breed lessened his chances of finding a willing Mafia Family to take him in. To become stronger, he sought advice from Dr. Shamal, who, at the time, was working for his Family. Hayato seemed to have looked up to Shamal, to the point that Shamal believed Hayato to have copied his hairstyle, and even wanted to learn his assassination technique, the Trident Mosquito. Instead, Shamal taught him how to use sticks of dynamite, which sparked Hayato's fascination with explosives, eventually choosing them as his main Weapon. This choice of Weapon lead Gokudera to become known as a human explosive because he hides dynamite all over his body, giving him the nickname "Hurricane Bomb" or "Smoking Bomb" Hayato. In the Future Arc, more was revealed about Gokudera's past. He and Bianchi are actually half siblings, born by different mothers. Bianchi's mother was married to their father, but Gokudera's mother was a woman with whom he had an affair with. Gokudera's mother was a young, beautiful woman and a very talented pianist, whom their father fell in love with at first sight. Not long after, they became involved and the woman bore a child. However, in the Mafia, illegitimate children are not tolerated, and everyone was told that Gokudera Hayato was actually from the same mother as Bianchi. His real mother was allowed to see him three times a year until he was three and was the one who encouraged him to play the piano. Gokudera's mother was not allowed to reveal her identity him, so he thought she was just someone who visted a lot. She suddenly died after driving off a cliff on her way to see her son, with a present for him (the present being why suicide was eliminated as a possible cause of death). When Gokudera was eight, he discovered that the woman that frequently visited him was his mother from servants gossiping, who implied that this matter was arranged by his father; this led him to run away from home. According to Reborn, however, it was neither a suicide or a murder, but "It slid off the road at an impossible location. It's been said that there weren't even tire marks. It was instant death." Future Bianchi made the further claim that Gokudera's parents both loved each other deeply and could have married. Gokudera's mother was actually very sick, and for this reason refused to marry Gokudera's father, believing she would be a burden to him. Bianchi believes that the illness made his mother lose control of the car. Despite several letters being shown as proof, Gokudera refused to give credit to this version of events.

Daily Life Arc
Gokudera first arrived in Japan to test Tsunayoshi Sawada's worthiness for becoming the heir to the Vongola Famiglia. However when Tsuna saved Gokudera from his wayward Dynamite, he became fiercely loyal to Tsuna admiring him to the point of extremes.

Kokuyo Arc
During the Kokuyo Junior High Gang attacks, Gokudera was ranked third strongest in Namimori Middle School and was attacked by Chikusa Kakimoto. During the fight, Chikusa realized Gokudera was part of the Vongola and attacked Tsuna, forcing Gokudera to dive in the way of the attack, taking the full brunt of the blow. Hayato was healed by Dr. Shamal and joined the others in the assault on the enemy base, though he became a liability, due to the side effects of his treatment. After several fights with various members of Mukuro's gang, Gokudera faced off with Chikusa once again; however, his wounds allowed Ken Joshima to attack from behind. As he lay defeated, Gokudera realized that Kyoya Hibari was being held captive in a cell behind him. He freed Hibari, who fought Chikusa and Ken off. Gokudera also gave Hibari Shamal's cure for the Sakura-kura Virus. Soon after, Gokudera was possessed by Mukuro Rokudo and forced to fight Tsuna, though he was eventually incapacitated by him.

Varia Arc
A month later, Gokudera (along with Yamamoto and Tsuna) was defeated by the Varia henchman Squalo, who was chasing the Vongola messenger Basil. Gokudera was later given the Storm Half Vongola Ring and tried to enlist Dr. Shamal to train him, who refused. However after causing much injury to himself while training alone, Shamal decided to train Hayato but not heal his wounds. Later in the week, Gokudera and fellow Guardians Takeshi Yamamoto and Ryohei Sasagawa defended Lambo from the Levi Lightning Squad. Gokudera's training paid off just in time for his match and he invented the Rocket Bombs. In the Storm Ring Battle, Hayato fought the Varia genius Belphegor on the third floor of the school. Explosives were set up to detonate after fifteen minutes and despite figuring out each other’s' techniques, the two ended up in a clumsy struggle for the Ring. However, Tsuna convinced Hayato not to risk his life, and, as a result, Belphegor was deemed the winner. Later, during the Sky Ring Battle, Gokudera was given the cure to the poison by Hibari and went on to defeat Leviathan and cure Lambo and Ryohei. However, while trying to rescue Chrome Dokuro, both Gokudera and Yamamoto were caught in Mammon's illusion until they were saved by Ryohei. Later, the Vongola Guardians forced the remaining Varia to surrender.

Future Arc
Ten years in the future, Gokudera was the first to meet the past Tsuna, while mourning at his grave; however he was soon also replaced with his past self. He soon decoded a note left by his Future self which told them to kill a man named Shoichi Irie. Gokudera and Tsuna were then attacked by Lal Mirch who later lead the two of them to the Vongola Base, meeting Future Yamamoto on the way. After having the situation in the future explained to them they set out again with Yamamoto to gather the other Guardians. The three soon found Adult I-Pin, Lambo and Haru Miura and Kyoko Sasagawa being attacked by Millefiore members, Nosaru and Tazaru. Yamamoto then explained the use of Waves and Boxes to Gokudera but was replaced with the past version of him. However Gokudera managed to activate his Future self's Box Weapon to defeat Nosaru. They were later trained by Lal Mirch to use the weapons properly and Gokudera went to follow up a lead at Namimori Shrine with Yamamoto. They soon encountered Gamma who Gokudera initially took on alone refusing to cooperate with Takeshi and were easily overpowered. But even when they worked together, Gamma far outmatched them both. During the battle, Gokudera gave away that Tsuna is alive and was tortured but refused to reveal anything further. The Future Hibari then showed up and saved them from Gamma. After recovering, Gokudera then began training with his sister who gave him the Sistema C.A.I. his future self-worked on. However, the two worked badly together and he later escaped from her training. Despite this, he figured out how to use the Box Weapons by himself.

Merone Base Invasion
Gokudera joined the others in the invasion of the Merone Base. Once the group was split due to the base moving Gokudera and Ryohei encountered a recovered Gamma, who explained the layout of the base. Ryohei then tied Gokudera up in order to prevent him rushing in but was defeated while protecting him from Gamma's attack, leaving Gokudera with a rematch. Using his newfound power in Sistema C.A.I., he was able to keep Gamma at bay until the latter released his Nero Volpi, which overpowered Gokudera. However thanks to the activation of Ryohei's Box Weapon, Uri transformed into its leopard form and came to his side. The fight ended in a huge explosion that caused the area to collapse burying the fighters in rubble. Gokudera was later saved by the support group, and, later along with the other Vongola Guardians, was given a Vongola Box.

Arcobaleno Trials Arc
When returning to the past for the Arcobaleno Trials, Gokudera was chosen along with Tsuna in Colonello's Trial of Combat. At first the two struggled on their own, but once they worked together Tsuna was able to destroy Collonello's gun and earn the first seal. Later Gokudera and the other Guardians were assembled for Reborn's Trial of Leadership and were easily beaten by him. Shortly after, the Guardians joined forces with the other Arcobaleno, to defeat Verde and his army.

Choice Arc
Upon returning to the future Gokudera was assigned by Dino to train Lambo and Ryohei (who had recently been replaced with his past self) to use Rings and Boxes. He was chosen as one of the participants in the Choice Battle but while defending Shoichi, Gokudera had his Box Weapons rendered useless by Kikyo's Bellflowers. Gokudera then attempted to pursue Kikyo on his Motorcycle but was easily disabled resulting in the Vongola's loss. While escaping Gokudera used his storm missile to damage the teleport system and slow down the Six Funeral Wreaths.

Inheritance Succession Arc
After being sent back to the past for the Inheritance Succession, Fon became Gokudera's tutor. Fon secretly aided G. (the First Storm Guardian) in his trial, by distracting Gokudera while G. disguised himself as Gokudera and performed the duties expected of a right-hand man (which included defending Tsuna from gangsters who had a grudge against Gokudera). Upon revealing himself to Gokudera and Tsuna, G stated that Gokudera had failed his test as he proved unreliable as a right hand man. However once he saw the unbreakable trust between Tsuna and Gokudera he gave Gokudera his Inheritance. Later, Gokudera joined the others in rescuing the girls from Daemon Spade. He and Tsuna were separated from the others and faced doppelgangers of them created by Spade. The illusion was then torn apart by Hibari’s rampage.

Future Final Battle Arc
Gokudera was injured by the Six Funeral Wreaths while trying to save Yuni. During the day of the final battle, he disobeyed Tsuna and worked with Lal Mirch and Gamma (who had recently joined the Vongola) to act as the first line of defence. They soon encountered Zakuro who after opening his Box of Carnage defeated Gamma and Lal. Using his Vongola Box Gokudera was able to blow Zakuro's arm off, but before a conclusion could be reached Bluebell arrived and attacked. Gokudera was then saved by the Varia and healed by Lussuria. When the final Funeral Wreath, Ghost, suddenly appeared Gokudera, Ryohei, and Basil tried to use a combined Attack. However, the attack passed straight through and Gokudera, (along with everyone else present) had his Dying Will Flames drained. The Vongola eventually defeated Byakuran and returned to the past.

Inheritance Ceremony Arc
Gokudera soon took an interest in P. Shitt, one of the new transfer students from Simon Middle School. Believing her to be an U.M.A. (Unidentified Mysterious Animal) he began to obsessively keep track of her movements. He found great difficulty in understanding her and attempted to communicate with her by calling her by her preferred name "Shitoppi-chan". During the Inheritance Ceremony, Gokudera was defeated by Enma Kozato along with the other Guardians, and their Vongola Rings were broken. However Talbot then appeared and repaired the Vongola Rings by combining them with the Vongola Box Rings. With Gokudera's resolve, his ring turned into the Buckle of the Storms Version X. He then accompanies Tsuna, Ryohei and Lambo to the Simon's Holy Land and observes the battle between Ryohei and Koyo Aoba. Later on, when the Vongola members set up a camp for the night, Gokudera and Tsuna fall into Rauji Ooyama's trap and become unwilling observers of the battle between him and Lambo. After Lambo activates his Vongola Gear, Gokudera expresses his frustration that Lambo can't wear it because his hair is "full of useless crap". He then felt relief when Lambo used the 10 Year Bazooka and 15-year-old Lambo appeared, but quickly loses his cool when Lambo says that he lost all his memories of the past when he hit his head. Later when Lambo states that he has lost his will to fight, Gokudera tries to get him fired up by telling him he needs to show his guts as a Vongola Guardian. Lambo then claims that comment caused him to lose his Dying Will. Later after Lambo rallies himself and defeats Rauji the Vendice appear and show the Vongola and Simon the second key. After witnessing the memory, Gokudera exclaims that Cozarto chose Giotto to lead because the best person always leads the Vongola. When Rauji questions say that Tsuna is not as capable as Enma, Gokudera reminds Rauji that he lost to a Guardian of the Tenth. Later Gokudera, Tsuna and Lambo walk into a ghost town on the island. There they encounter Shitt-Pi who doesn't respond until Gokudera decides to use her nickname. The battle begins as Gokudera reveals his Vongola Gear's cambio forma: dynamite. The battle between Gokudera and P. Shitt begins. Shitt explains the rules of the battle are to pop their opponent's 2 Fiamma Balloons that stay 1 meter to them. Gokudera accepts prefering that he pops the balloons rather than hitting a girl, even if she was an UMA. P. Shitt says that the entire town is the field and that the duel has to be settled in 5 minutes or else it will be a tie. Gokudera tell Tsuna to take cover somewhere far away. Gokudera uses Rocket Bomb Version X, a stronger, faster version of Rocket Bomb which also includes homing abilities. P. Shitt uses her ring weapon, in the shape of 8 scorpion tails, and uses it to melt the bombs. P. Shitt throws away her weapon and latches on to Gokudera in a hugging pose and comments on Gokudera's warmth and naiveté. P. Shitt explains her belief that living with others is a sign of weakness. She states that Gokudera lives for the sake of Tsuna because he has no confidence in himself and that if Tsuna died, Gokudera would no longer have a reason to live. She continues on, mentioning that she loves her fellow family members, and she loves Gokudera as well because he is cute, but ultimately loves herself more than anything and pops 1 of Gokudera's balloons. When the ground around Gokudera turns to mud, P. Shitt's reveals her Swamp Flame, able to ferment any inorganic substance to create a bottomless swamp. Gokudera starts to sink so he uses a new explosive, Air Bomb. It manages to propel him out of the swamp. P. Shitt explains why Tsuna is a loser and tells Gokudera that if Tsuna wasn't the Vongola Boss, he would just think of him as an ordinary loser. Gokudera shockingly looks past all of Tsuna's faults and evens the score by sending P. Shitt flying while popping 1 of her balloons. P. Shitt is surprised where the dynamite came from. He explains how he knows Tsuna is a loser, but his faults have nothing to do with being the Vongola Boss, whom Gokudera respects greatly. Gokudera pulls out more dynamite and prepares to attack again. This time he uses the dynamite to lure Uri with catnip. Uri uses her true power as a weapon and explodes thus destroying Shitt P.'s other fiamma balloon. With this, Shitt P. is defeated and Vindice come to take her. After his battle the group continued walking to encounter Aldeheid, who wants to fight against Tsuna but Gokudera steps in despite being tired from his battle with Shit P. Aldeheid is later defeated by Hibari who arrives on the island. Gokudera watches the fight between Tsuna and Enma and after that goes with the group to encounter Mukuro after he deafeated Daemon Spade. He is trapped in a illusionary world with Lambo like the others thanks to Daemon Spade. Following Daemon Spade's defeat, he is released and receives the last key with the others. After the events end, he is last seen on the way to school while running away from P. Shitt, who chases him relentlessly.

The Curse of the Rainbow Arc
Gokudera appears with Tsuna at Chrome's welcoming party because Chrome was kicked out of Kokuyo Land. In the miming competition, he mimed Yamamoto as a baseball player, but was kicked off by Reborn due to having a performance with a "malicious intent". Later, Gokudera appears the day before Tsuna's father Iemitsu arrives in Namimori, commenting to Tsuna that he was excited to be fighting for Reborn to allow him to revert to his adult form. Later, on the first day of the Representative Battle of the Rainbow, Gokudera happily heads to school with Tsuna. However, when the battle suddenly starts, he, Yamamoto, and Ryohei group up and try to find Tsuna. When an explosion occurs because of Tsuna being punched through the ceiling by Iemitsu (though they don't know the cause), they run towards the explosion; however, they are barred by Hibari and Fon, the former appearing to be Fon's representative, who states that he would bite all three of them to death. After Ryohei's watch was broken, Gokudera and Yamamoto worked together to create a trap for Hibari by using the Rain Flame's Tranquility characteristic to immobilize him and were able to escape.

Bianchi
Bianchi is Gokudera's half-sister; as such, they have brother-sister relationship. Bianchi revealed that their common parent is their father and Gokudera is an illegitimate child. Gokudera cannot look at her without being sick due to the food poisoning he suffered from Bianchi's cooking when they were little. Bianchi later remedies this by covering part of her face when she is near him, like goggles. Their strained relationship stems from their youth, when Bianchi would use Gokudera as a test subject for her latest poisonous creations. Despite that, Bianchi seems to care a lot for Gokudera, as indicated when Gokudera gets severely injured after a battle with Chikusa, she displays anger and worry, wanting to take care of him as an older sister.

Tsuna
After being saved by Tsuna, Gokudera pledged his loyalty to Tsuna as the Vongola Decimo Boss of the Vongola Famiglia. He is fiercely loyal to him going to extremes to prove his worth. As before he met Tsuna, he was always alone and never being able to trust anyone, and as such is grateful that Tsuna changed his life, that he is not alone. He also claims to be Tsuna's right hand man even though Tsuna thinks mostly of him as a friend. (In the future, he does become Tsuna's right hand man.) During his fight with Belphegor, he was willing to die in order to gain the Vongola Storm Ring but was persuaded by a desperately pleading Tsuna to give it up so he could return safely without dying. In the future, Gokudera disobeyed an order from Tsuna for the first time in order to help bring the family back to a peaceful past.

Yamamoto
Gokudera sees Yamamoto as a rival for the position of Tsuna's right-hand man and as such seems to dislike him intensely. He is sometimes very jealous of him of either his talent or his close relationship with Tsuna. Gokudera also constantly makes fun of his love of baseball. In the Future, Yamamoto told Gokudera that he was unworthy of becoming Tsuna's right hand man as he turned away from his fellow Guardians instead of uniting them. This prompted Gokudera to finally work together with Yamamoto. Despite this, Gokudera seems to care for Yamamoto, as he was shown to be angry that Yamamoto got injured by Kaoru during the Inheritance Ceremony Arc.

Dr. Shamal
Gokudera met the doctor when he was young and was fascinated by his use of dynamite. He wanted to be his apprentice but was turned down when he wounded himself in a fight. He was later accepted by Shamal who trained him to fight the Varia as long as he didn't fight recklessly. Gokudera is often annoyed by the doctor's riddles and sees him as a perverted old man. Despite this, Shamal is the only home tutor compatible with Gokudera.

Lambo
Lambo and Gokudera have a strained relationship since Gokudera sees Lambo as pretty much an annoying little kid who causes nothing but trouble. Despite this, however, Gokudera seems to care deeply for Lambo as evidence of him saving him from Leviathan's attack during the Varia Arc. At the same time, Reborn also mentions that the Storm and Lightning have somewhat of a brotherly relationship, even if Gokudera treats Lambo like an annoying younger brother.

P. Shitt
Gokudera took an interest in her hobby and referred to her as an U.M.A. (Unidentified Mysterious Animal). Gokudera has problems calling her the name she wants to be called (the only name she would respond to): Shittopi-chan. His interest about her ways turned into dislike when he realized she is not an U.M.A, more so when she became his stalker after she became interested in him. His dislike of her is so intense that he would rather avoid her than be around Tsuna.

G.
At first, Gokudera showed somewhat antagonistic treatment towards G., claiming that he would get his inheritance and surpass him. However, ever since he gained his inheritance, Gokudera has been shown to honor G. and look up to him, once even saying that he wished to follow in his footsteps.

Weapons and Abilities
He is a very intelligent fighter, usually making complex plans in order to defeat stronger opponents. An example of his intelligence is first seen when he technically defeats Belphegor (who joined the Varia at the age of 8 and was considered a genius), and is seen later again when he figures out how to use his flame arrow after only two attempts, completes the Sistema C.A.I. that his future counterpart had been developing, and is the first guardian to learn how to ride his motorcycle with some proficiency.

Equipment
Gatto Tempesta (Storm Cat) : Gokudera's Box Weapon is a storm cat named Uri and also apart of Sistema C.A.I. It is capable of becoming a Storm Leopard by absorbing Sun Flames. When updated to its Vongola Box Form, Uri is now capable of Cambio Forma that can change into the shape of an archery-style weapon. When released from the Gokudera's Storm Buckle, Uri gained armor on its legs and is wearing sunglasses, and is capable of merging directly with Gokudera for his Cambio Forma.
 * Dynamite: Gokudera is very proficient in the use of Dynamite as a weapon which has given him the name of "Smokin' Bomb Hayato" (スモーキン・ボム 隼人, Sumōkin Bomu Hayato) in the manga and "Hurricane Bomb Hayato" in the anime. He always carries huge amounts of Dynamite on him at all times. He has gone on to develop multiple techniques that basically consist on bombarding his opponent with multiple explosives (the more the better), redirecting his projectiles to improve its accuracy and speed and sneak bombs pass the enemy defences.
 * Sistema C.A.I. (lit. System Change Arms Instantaneous or Instantaneous Arms Change System in Italian’’): A system of Box Weapons that utilize the five different Flames that flow within his body.
 * Cambio Forma: G's Archery - When activated, Uri combines with the Flame Arrow, creating a giant ornate bow made of bones with Storm Flames covering the drawstring and the Roman Numeral I on the front to symbolize the connection to the 1st Generation. In its Version X form the Cambio Forma has now become many straps of dynamite while forming armor on his legs and one arm, sunglasses, and a Piped-Shaped Igniter to ignite his dynamite.
 * Motorcycle/Airbike: Used to travel great distances without the use of Dying Will Flames, thus escaping detection.
 * Buckle of the Storm Version X: The upgrade of the Vongola ring combined with Uri.

Techniques

 * Tornado Flame Arrow: After a period of time is taken to concentrate the Storm Flames, a single, highly destructive burning arrow of bones is shot.
 * Gatling Arrow: An attack that fires four Storm Arrows simultaneously, it is capable of pinning an enemy to the ground and incapacitating them.
 * Flame Thunder: It fires a beam of Storm and Lightning Flames which is strengthened by the Solidification factor of the Lightning.
 * Rocket Bomb Version X: Rocket Bombs that use Storm Flames for propulsion with increased speed, power and homing capabilities.
 * Air Bomb: Gokudera throws this bomb beneath him to allow him to leap great distances.
 * Uri Bomb: Gokudera creates a Uri-shaped bomb with a fuse as its tail.
 * Flame Missile : A missile that deals a average damage on its target.

Trivia

 * Gokudera often wears glasses and ties his hair in a ponytail when he's thinking.
 * He is nicknamed Octopus-Head (Tako he-do) by Ryohei and Stupidera (Aho-dera or Baka-dera) by Lambo.
 * In the Future Arc, Gamma mentions that Gokudera succeeds at becoming Tsuna's right hand man.
 * In the manga, Gokudera chain-smokes cigarettes; however, in the anime, he doesn't smoke, leaving the method to which he lights his Dynamite unknown, which Tsuna even comments on.
 * In the most recent poll, Gokudera ranked 5th in popularity and 13th in strength.
 * Gokudera resembles the First Vongola Storm Guardian, G.
 * He is shown to be slightly superstitious and knows at least one exorcism technique and is a fan of the supernatural and extraterrestrial.
 * In a flashback, Shamal mentioned that Gokudera "copied" his hairstyle.
 * According to the Reborn! artbook Colore, he lives in an apartment and struggles to pay the rent.
 * His pride is being a Guardian and serving Tsuna.
 * Gokudera thinks anyone who is older than him is an enemy.
 * He and the Varia's Storm Guardian, Belphegor, share a few similarities such as that they both are younger brothers, both have issues with their older siblings, and both left their homes at young ages.
 * Character Songs Featured In:
 * Yakusoku no Basho e
 * Yakusoku no Basho e - vs. Millefiore
 * Yakusoku no Basho e (Chinese version)
 * ...loop
 * Hashire
 * YELL
 * Mirai no Oozora e
 * Oretachi no JOY! (with Yamamoto)
 * Oretachi no Yakusoku (with Yamamoto)