Pretty sure you got Katsu Tsubasa off a fanon wiki but never heard of him. Kigiri was shown using it.
Smoke is not the most powerful technique but it is pretty useful. To use smoke you have to ready for the commitment of using strategy and the mind over brute force. This is not an ability you can simply use to trade blows with and that is part of the reason it sparked my interest along with the fact that many people did not use it. While it is possible smoke nin users rarily use smoke from fire too attack, but again it is possible. Smoke users are also subject to their own attacks as it blinds vision for both user and enemy, and also will effect your breathing if you're caught in it. It is especially weak to water and wind. Earth, Lightning, and fire can pass through it. It is very intangible and that can work to your advantage. You got it right In the fact smoke is not created like an element.
Here are a few ways we produce smoke.
Smoke bombs-This is the least ideal method. You will have to physically throw these at the enemy and it is limited on how much you can throw at a single time so it is not really practical in a fight. Yep, carry some smoke bombs and control the smoke created from them after they are thrown. You will also have to channel your chakra into the smoke bombs before they are launched so you can take control of the smoke after it is released. There are better methods but you will learn that soon.
Gas Mask-This will protect you from inhaling your own smoke ninjutsu and it also has mechanisms for you to produce smoke. This wil allow you to move around normally in the environment you create using smoke ninjutsu. In my opinion this is a must have if you plan on using it to its maximum potential. They actually have mechanisms for you to use create smoke out of them but there is still a better way. I would still make sure to include this in your bio, as it is a good thing to have as a smoke user.
Wrist Launchers-So this is the best way to create smoke. You will be able to fire smoke bombs directly at the enemy, and you it would not take as much time as throwing them physically. You will also be able to create smoke from the wrist launcher directly. As with smoke bombs you channel your chakra to activate the mechanism and also channel them into the source of the smoke to create or control it after it is thrown.