Description Of Ranks

Each Hidden Village breaks their ninja rankings into different levels of skill. This classification then helps determine what ninja level is needed to complete the mission. Higher difficulty missions require the utilization of higher skilled ninjas. These levels include Ninja Academy Student, Genin, Chuunin and Jounin. The Kage sits at the highest of the Five Great Shinobi Countries as the village leader.

Within these rankings, a ninja may join a particular group which uses their skills in special ways. These specialized squads can focus on one field of work such as the hunting of ninjas who have gone missing and left their hidden village, or medical-nins who act as doctors.

ANBU
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: Specialized Ninja Squad
The ANBU, meaning "dark side" is actually short for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (literally Assassination Tactics Special Military Force). The ANBU work directly under the leadership of the Hokage. This specialized ninja battalion generally work in groups of four to five. They are responsible for assassinations and missions requiring highly trained ninjas. The masks the members wear are based around the signs of the zodiac.

ANBU "Ne" (Root)
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: Specialized Ninja Squad
The ANBU Ne, meaning Root, is a subfaction of the ANBU operated by elder ninja Danzou. Danzou operated in opposition to Sarutobi the Sandaime Hokage. Danzou was once up for the position of Sandaime Hokage but was turned down because of his hawkish militaristic stance. While the normal ANBU operates under the direct leadership of the Hokage, the Root faction operated from out of view "below the ground" to support the great tree that was Konoha. Members of Root were to only focus on the mission at hand, leaving their emotions, past, future and very name behind. Once Sarutobi gained enough control over Konoha, he ordered Root disbanded. Danzou carried on it secret however, seeking to help Konoha from the shadows.

Chuunin (Medium Ranked Level Ninja) [Official Rank]
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: General Skill Level
Chuunin are made up of Genin who have passed the Chuunin exam by exhibiting leadership and excellent combat sense. Genin can either win or lose the last Chuunin Exam test. If they show sufficient qualities becoming of a Chuunin, they can be appointed and officially become Chuunin. Chuunin have the equivalent rank of military captain, exhibiting strong stamina, knowledge and inner wisdom.

Chuunin Exam Examiners
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: Temporary Administrative Group
Every six months one of the allied countries in the Five Great Shinobi countries will manage the exam; the goal of which is to determine which Genin are worthy of being promoted to the rank of Chuunin.

Elite Tutor
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: Special Ninja Job
These special elite teachers tutor Jounin level ninjas to further refine their skills. The Elite tutor can also serve as the personal teacher to relatives of the Hokage.



Genin (Low Ranked Level Ninja) [Official Rank]
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: General Skill Level
At the lowest level are new graduates from the Ninja Academy known as Genin. Genin will be assigned a Jounin sensei, who will monitor their progress and help push for mission assignments benefiting their skill level. Should the Genin not impress the Jounin sensei, they can be sent back to the Ninja Academy for further training. Once the Genin has successfully undertaken eight missions, they can be sponsored by their Jounin sensei for the Chuunin Exam.

Hidden Village Council
Base of Operations: Hidden Villages
Classification: Hidden Village Administration Council
This administrative group is responsible for the selection and approval of new Chuunin, Jounin and Kage for each Hidden Village.

Hunter Ninja
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: Specialized Ninja Squad
These shinobi hunters search for ninja who have abandoned their village. Nicknamed the "Undertaker Squad" they have a high knowledge in physiology to further their killing abilities. Once they kill their target, they will dispose of the body without a trace. This is because a ninja's body has within it secrets of the village's ninjutsu, chakra types, herbs and other information about the village. They will then take the head back to the Hidden Village as proof of their kill.

Jounin (High Ranked Level Ninja) [Official Rank]
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: General Skill Level
After Chuunin come Jounin, these highly skilled ninjas normally serve as squad leaders on mission assignments. Some Jounins are also assigned Genin level ninja to function as three man cells. The Jounin will monitor their progress and submit requests for the Genin to take the Chuunin Exam when the Jounin feels they are ready. Ninja attain the rank of Jounin through official appointment.

Kage [Official Position in Five Great Shinobi Countries]
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: Head Hidden Village Ninja
The Kage (Shadow) represents the head of each Hidden Village. Only the Five Great Shinobi Countries are allowed to call their head ninja by the Kage name. The Kage serves as the pillar upon which the village stands and the strength a village presents to the other ninja countries largely depends upon the strength of the Kage in power. When one Hokage decides to step down from the position, a new Kage is nominated and then approved by the Village Council. In an interesting turn of events, Konoha's Third Hokage retook his position as Kage when the Fourth Hokage fell in battle to the Kyuubi demon fox.

"Kage" Level
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: Highly skilled village ninja, Generally Jounin officially
There exists a level of ninja who are of Kage level, but who are not presently a village Kage. This may be because of personal preference or the onset of aging. The three highly skilled Hidden Leaf ninja known as the Legendary "Sannin," or Legendary "Three Ninja" are such ninja. The members of Akatsuki are also generally at this level as well. Legendary Sand puppet master kunoichi Chiyo of Hidden Sand could be considered near this level. Ninja of this level usually leave their villages behind to seek their own ambitions.

Konoha Military Policemen
Base of Operations: Fire Country
Classification: Organization
Originally founded by the ancestors of the Uchiha clan, the Konoha Military Police Corps are responsible for maintaining city peace and law enforcement.

Medical-Nins
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: Specialized Ninja Squad
These specialized ninja are responsible for the health and well being of ninja injured in battle. Specially trained medical ninja such as Inuzuka Hana can also help the skilled animals which fight for the villages also.

Ninja Academy Students [Official Rank]
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: General Skill Level
Each ninja in a Hidden Village starts at the Ninja Academy where they are taught basic jutsu techniques. Once they show the sufficient level of skill and knowledge they graduate and become Genin level ninja. The student can take the graduation test multiple times. Naruto himself took the test several times before finally passing.

Ninja Academy Teachers
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: General Ninja Job
These ninjas have taken on a teaching role as instructors for the Hidden Village's Ninja Academy. Their primary goal is to teach the academy students the basic jutsu techniques such as Transformation (Henge) and Clone (Bunshin). These teachers do remain active ninjas though and will take on missions for the Hidden Village as needed.

Tokubetsu Jounin (Special High Ranked Level Ninja) [Official Rank]
Base of Operations: Hidden Village
Classification: General Skill Level
Special Jounin are ninjas who have gained high Jounin-level skills in one area of ninja arts. These are ninja like Morino Ibiki, who is highly skilled at interrogation and torture. Ninja attain the rank of Special Jounin through official appointment.

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AKATSUKI
The Akatsuki kanji means daybreak, breaking down the word itself gives us "aka" meaning red (a common color in the group) and "tsuki" meaning moon. This Organization is a collection of S-Ranked criminals. Many of these are missing-nins who fled their villages after causing death and destruction. With the departure of Orochimaru, the deaths of Sasori, Kakuzu, Deidara and the neutralization of Hidan, there are 6 active Akatsuki members. The group replaced Sasori with "raw" recruit Tobi, who was eager to do his part. Most members wear a forehead protector from their hidden village with a scratch through it, and all seem to wear a ring identifying their position in the organization and a black cloak with red clouds. When the organization members leave to travel the country they will work in groups of two collecting knowledge of new skills and jutsu.

Their ultimate goal is to control the world; this will be accomplished through three steps. Step One is for the group to attain money. Step Two is to create the first mercenary group. Shinobi villages make money for their country, and for the money to be steady it requires war. Because there have not been any large scale wars in approximately the last decade, the ninja villages were being reduced in size. The Five Great Shinobi Villages could handle the downtrend, but the smaller villages could not. Akatsuki will form their own fighting force with no country allegiance. With this force they will undercut all the other villages and fight their battles for cheap. Then using the bijuu they can create new battles and new wars and gain a monopoly over the whole market. In the end they plan to control all the wars and be powerful enough to even collapse the shinobi villages of the large countries, forcing them to rely on Akatsuki as well. With all that in hand, the group can achieve Step Three, to control the world. It should be noted their goal and plans have been explained by Pain, the man acting as leader. While Pain was separated from the group, he expressed his own desire for the Bijuu, to use them to create a powerful Kinjutsu. It has also recently been revealed that Pain reported to Tobi, who was revealed to be Uchiha Madara. What Madara wants with the Bijuu and powerful Sharingan of Uchiha Sasuke is unknown. He may share Pain's deadly Kinjutsu plan or have his own goal mind.

The stated goal of the group is far reaching and it requires the capturing of the bijuu and "Jinchuuriki," meaning the power of human sacrifice. These are the individuals possessing bijuu (tailed beasts) within their bodies. The demons are known by the number of tails their body possesses. Shukaku is the One-Tailed Tanuki, Nibi is the Two-Tailed Cat, Sanbi is the Three-Tailed Turtle, Yonbi is a Four-Tailed demon, Hachibi is an Eight-Tailed Demon and Kyuubi is the Nine-Tailed Fox. The only known Jinchuuriki are Uzumaki Naruto, Gaara of the Sand, Nii Yugito and two other unnamed Jinchuuriki have also been seen. Yugito, Gaara and two or possibly three other unknown Jinchuuriki have had their Bijuu removed. All lost their lives save for Gaara, who was later resurrected with a tensei jutsu. At some point after Gaara's capture and before Yugito's, the group managed to capture and seal away another Bijuu. It is unknown if this was a wild bijuu or a Jinchuuriki. The only remaining Bijuu are the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails within Naruto. Akatsuki's current base of operation is unknown. Previously they met at a cave in the River Country, which was later destroyed. They then moved on to a new base. These bases are used to summon the gigantic King of Hell statue. With the reduction in members, the largest gathering of members has happened at Pain's compound in the Rain Country.

The statue's mouth is bound and his hands are cuffed. Each respective finger of the statue's hand represents the Akatsuki member. Each statue finger thus represents the kanji and ring finger of the member. The members have the ability to project their presence to their base, this allows them to remain out and about and still conduct the business of Jinchuuriki demon extraction. This process takes three days and nights due to the absence of Orochimaru. This length of time goes for both free roaming bijuu and bijuu enhanced Jinchuuriki. To begin to leach the power from the Jinchuuriki, the members will use the sealing technique of GenryuuKyuu Fuujin (Mystical Dragon Nine Exhaustion). This causes the mouth of the statue to open. Nine spectral dragons will emerge to coalesce around the Jinchuuriki to begin the extraction process. When extraction is completed, the bijuu spirit will be sealed within the statue and one of its eyes will open denoting a captured bijuu spirit. The Jinchuuriki themselves will fall back to the earth, dead.

Ring and Manicure
Drawn from ancient Chinese and Japanese lore, the kanji on each ring have served in the past as representations of Gods, to help in concentration before battle and in protection from evil. Their ring placement on their finger corresponds to their position on the summoned statue, with each member wearing the ring on a different finger. The rings seem important to each member, as Deidara was set on finding his when it was lost. Orochimaru also took his when he left the group, which apparently denied the group the ability to replace him with someone new. With Sasori's death, Tobi was eager to get his ring and join, but he would need to go through their entrance requirements first.

The Akatsuki member also has manicured finger and toe nails, painted a light shade of purple.

Forehead Protector
Each member wears the traditional forehead protector of the hidden village from which they fled. The protector has been modified though to bear a large scratch through the symbol, showing they no longer hold the same ideals their village does.

Cloak
Each member wears a black cloak that bears red clouds. The inside of the cloak is red in color. The cloak is knee length and has a high collar. Underneath the cloak the ninja is seen to wear the more traditional clothing of their home village.

Hat
Members wear a traditional bamboo hat (kasa) to hide their appearance when traveling. The hat will be removed when the member enters battle