The Hidden Villages

All countries in Naruto's world have a hidden shinobi village, the source of the military that backs the economy. There are only five shinobi villages that are stronger than the others: Lightning, Water, Earth, Wind, and Fire. The are known as the Five Great Shinobi Countries.

Land of Fire: gentle rolling hills cover the entire country, which boasts bountiful harvests, supporting a very large population. With its central location, it has long engaged in commerce with the other countries, and has reaped the benefits of contact with each of these cultures, all of which keep the Land of Fire's economy booming.
Konohagakure no Sato, the country's hidden shinobi village, is the largest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and the strongest. Many believe that if this village falls, then the others will crumble as well, due to many countries and hidden villages relying on their shinobi's strength. The village has a pretty equal population of both shinobi and civilians.

Village: Konohagakure
Kage: Hokage

Land of Wind: despite the country's size, most of the land is covered in desert. The yearly rainfall is very low, and the population is clustered around the scattered oases. Despite the harshness of the terrain, the population is strong and prospers from trade with the Land of Fire.
Sunagakure is the second strongest hidden shinobi village out of the Five. But with limited shinobi, the village is slowly relying on Konoha to keep their strengths up. They have since adopted Konoha's academy training methods, and the rise in shinobi have prospered.

Village: Sunagakure
Kage: Kazekage

Land of Water: an island country floating on the ocean, with a very unique culture. Completely surrounded by water, with most of the land ocvered by steep mountains. The smaller islands around the main island each have their own traditions, and many citizens stubbornly insist on preserving these.
The Land of Water's hidden village doesn't have must known about it. But Kirigakure used to have a deadly way of graduating from their academy. It has since been revised and the idea of killing other classmates has been banned.

Village: Kirigakure
Kage: Mizukage

Land of Lightning: the name comes from the thunder that echoes through the mountains. The peninsula is divided down the middle by a great mountain range, and rivers run from this range to the winding cliffs at the shore, giving the coast a forbidding beauty. Many hot springs dot the land.
Not much is known about this country's hidden village, Kumogakure.

Village: Kumogakure
Kage: Raikage

Land of Earth: half of this country is a wasteland covered in rocks. Towering, rocky mountains form a natural border, cutting it off from communications with other countries. Wind from the north sweeps across these mountains, creating a rain of stone upon the countries to the south.
Again, not much known is about this hidden village, Iwagakure.

Village: Iwagakure
Kage: Tsuchikage

What is a Hidden Village?

• Hidden villages were originally founded when a shinobi family left the city and formed a settlement in the mountains.
  
• Would demonstrate their strengths in battle, have their economy stabilized, and had ordinary people move in, then villages grew into the hidden villages they are today.

Relationships of Country & Village

• The daimyo in charge of a country protects the village from enemy attacks and provides money and supplies as well.
  
• The leader of a village provides military support to the country he resides in.

Detailed Look at Konoha

Konohagakure no Sato is located near the center of the Land of Fire, and the tall mountains and dense forest around it provide natural defenses against enemy invasion. As aprt of one of the great shinobi nations, it is grand and imposing, far more majestic in appearance than other hidden villages. It boasts a healthy non-shinobi population, and both groups make Konoha like a big city than a village.

The Academy

All members of the academy hope to be a ninja one day. Whether from desire, admiration, or destiny, all of them practice furiously, their sights set on that single goal. They hold infinite possibilities, with everything they learn, everything they think - they are the village's future.

Creation: fifty years ago, the Second Hokage, who needed more military might, founded a ninja training camp at the base of a cliff. At first it was purely educational, but it quickly merged with military and domestic facilities and began calling itself the Academy. After the Second Hokage's death, the Third Hokage perfected the educational systems, and education and training are now carried out under strict standards.

Knowledge: the motto of Konoha Academy teachers has remained the same since the institute's founding, namely "Development as shinobi with respect to invdividuality." In a free, open-minded environment students are allowed to strength their bodies and minds, discovering their own ninja paths. When they have found their way, they are guided by the belief that fills them.

Acceptance Requirements


• You must love the village and hope to help preserve peace and prosperity.
  
• You must have a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard training and work.
  
• Be healthy in mind and body.

The Weapons & Scrolls

One clever use of these weapons are able to kill a shinobi's enemy - or kill them.

• The shuriken and kunai knife are the most common weapons of a shinobi. They can be carried easily in the shuriken holster and waist pouch, as well as hidden in sleeves if needed.
  
• Swords are another choice by stronger ninja. With the ability of jutsu to be added to them, many shinobi swords are deadly.
  
• Puppets are controlled by strands of chakra running from the user's fingertips. They often have weapons or poison inside of them, able to be thrown at the shinobi's enemies.

Scrolls: There are four basic actions performed with scrolls - read, write, active, and make a contract.

Read - reading scrolls can explain how to pull off a jutsu. These type of scrolls are mainly textbooks.
Write - scrolls can be used as notebooks to keep information about missions, medical diagnoses, and send important data to other shinobi.
Activate - many complicated jutsu can be placed on a scroll that activates as soon as it is opened.
Make a Contract - sometimes animal summonings require a contract. It is easier to keep all of these on one large scroll.

Organizations

The Konoha shinobi society is organized into several units placed under the control of the Hokage. Each unit has a jounin or a Special Jounin in charge of it, and they report to the Hokage and his/her advisors. Assignments to the different units are often issued only after careful consideration.

Advisors: these advisors are often very old shinobi that have had a great width of experience to help the Hokage (or any Kage for that matter).

ANBU Black Ops: the ANBU are the Ninja Assassination Corps, the most secret and elite ninja. They specialize in spying and assassination, and other difficult missions. Their actions and faces are hidden in secrecy. The Hokage (or Kage) selects them personally, regardless of age or gender, and they only follow him/her.

Medical Corps: the medical team cooperates with ordinary doctors, learning knowledge and skills that allow them to provide back-up in battle. They also develop new techniques and medicines, research diseases and the human body. By the time they reach the rank of Jounin, their healing skills are near godly.

Operation Unites: operations teams or individuals handle the majority of the missions the village receives, as well as education and other business.

Ranks

All ninja are divided into five main ranks. These are given out based on raw strength and capability, and each rank has different missions and duties.

Jonin: these ninja have reached the peak of the shinobi forces through knowledge and courage. Their purpose is to demonstrate their incredible skills on the front lines, guiding and training young shinobi, and passing on their skills.

Special Jounin: these ninja are ranked between jounin and chuunin, and perform assigned missions according to their specialties. These missions are not limited to spying, torture/interrogation, and the like, but extend to education or research, with each assignment matching their skills and knowledge.

Chuunin: they are at the center of the rankings, but their abilities are far beyond those of genin. A chuunin is required to have the ability to command a small squad of shinobi. This means more than simple skill - they are also required to have leadership ability and good judgement.

Genin: for any shinobi village, the genin provide the foundation that determines the village's scale of operations. Without them, the countless missions, large and small, that constantly pour into the village would never be completed.