Hidden Mist Village

𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐞 (霧隠れの里, 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐨, 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐓𝐕: 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭) 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐢 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐳𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐳𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐢 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐢 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐬. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬' 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐤 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐭-𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐚 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬. 𝐃𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐧𝐢𝐧, 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐧𝐛𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐧𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬.

## 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

Kiri was founded after the Warring States Period by the First Mizukage. Shortly after the formation of their villages, Konoha's First Hokage sold tailed beasts to Kiri as a sign of friendship and to ensure a balance of power amongst their new villages. The goodwill this fostered was short-lived, and Kiri would become involved in different conflicts over the following decades. The Second Mizukage and Iwa's Second Tsuchikage who would clash against one another countless times eventually met in what would be their final battle and killed each other.

According to Kahyō, Kirigakure's society was split into a form of caste system since the founding of the village. The highest ranking civilians were those whose family lineage originally stemmed from within Kirigakure, the second caste was for members of families who were allied with Kirigakure on the battlefields in the past while the last and lowest caste consisted of members of the families who were defeated on said battlefields and annexed into the village. From the early days on, the members of the third caste were handled with caution and had to complete the most perilous and dangerous missions for the village — thus keeping them occupied and preventing them from revolting.

### *𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭*

Over time, the village became infamously known as the "Village of the Bloody Mist" (血霧の里, *Chigiri no Sato*) for a cruel reason — in the Kirigakure Academy, students wishing to graduate (only members of the lowest caste in the novel) had to fight to the death, and only those who survived could advance to the ranks of the ninja.

At some point, Madara Uchiha secretly began to manipulate events in Kiri. During the Third Shinobi World War, it was believed that Kiri kidnapped Rin Nohara of Konoha and sealed the Three-Tails into her; in truth, this was a plot by Madara to gain Obito Uchiha's allegiance. When she was rescued by Kakashi Hatake, Kiri sent a force to go after her, but this was only for appearances; Kiri wanted Rin to make it back to Konoha so that, upon losing control of the Three-Tails, it would be released within the village and destroy it. Aware of this, Rin convinced Kakashi to kill her before they get back and the pursuing ninja are similarly killed. Kiri then caught the Three-Tails again, this time sealing it in a young Yagura Karatachi. Following Madara's death, Obito took on Madara's identity, and at some point took control of the Fourth Mizukage with genjutsu.

The Fourth Mizukage's reign was a time of darkness for Kiri, with corruption plaguing those in charge and the pursuit of power becoming paramount for many. Defection became widespread amongst Kiri's ranks, with several members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and even the Six-Tails' jinchūriki, Utakata, abandoning the village. The Academy's graduation methods were discontinued after Zabuza Momochi, not yet a student himself, killed an entire year's graduating class, but by then the Bloody Mist had already tainted the Fourth's reputation. Zabuza, whom came to disagree with the workings of the village, would even plot a coup against the Mizukage with an attempt on his life; only to fail as one of his men betrayed him. Eventually, the Hunter-nin Ao revealed that the Fourth was being manipulated by someone, although Kiri was never able to ascertain who exactly that person was.

Due to multiple defection even among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Kirigakure came to lose out the seven blades that were supposed to be passed down through the generations, one by one. By the time revolving around the Fourth Shinobi World War, Hiramekarei was the only blade remaining in Kiri's possession; the organization effectively fell apart.

### *𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐬*

In addition to foreign conflicts, Kirigakure has experienced several periods of internal unrest. The Kaguya clan once waged war against Kiri to quench their lust for battle, but were slaughtered by the village's superior forces. Those with kekkei genkai were regarded with suspicion by the people of Kiri and the wider Land of Water due to their efficiency during times of war. As such, persecution and even murder of anyone with a kekkei genkai was common; in the case of the Yuki clan, it no longer exists in an organised sense and its few surviving members live in secret, fearful of their abilities being discovered.

In the anime, some time after the Third Shinobi World War, Kiri and Iwa joined forces on a mission to reclaim intel stolen by Kumo. Once the information was secured, Iwa betrayed Kiri and killed most of the ninja sent on the mission in order to take the intel for themselves, an incident that would come to be known as the Tragedy of Yosuga Pass

### *𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧*

Under the Fifth Mizukage, Kiri has tried to move past the memories of the Bloody Mist by reforming internal policies and improving its image abroad as being an open-minded nation. After Akatsuki captures a number of tailed beasts, including both of those previously possessed by Kiri, the Fifth attends a Kage Summit in order to improve diplomatic relations with the other villages and disprove the rumour that Akatsuki was founded in Kiri. As a further display of this, Kiri joins the Allied Shinobi Forces to oppose Akatsuki. The war is won and the village's image is redeemed.

Years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, during the Sixth Mizukage's era and with the aid of the Fifth, Kiri had become a modern and thriving city; even more progressed than Konohagakure. They also managed to retrieve the six blades that were lost to defections, thus reinstating the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. In addition, the positive outlook to the village made it a well-known tourist destination. While the large majority of citizens are happy with the brimming liveliness of their new transformed and cheerful village, there was still a small minority that was both very distrusting and hateful towards outsiders. Viewing this friendly, peaceful infrastructure as an insult to their pride as ninja, this minority openly longed for the old days of the "Blood Mist Village". Despite the village's progress to move to a brighter future, the Fourth Mizukage's dark legacy was never forgiven, as many villagers continued to despise him to the point of mistreating his descendants.

## 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

* Kirigakure Academy
* Memorial Park
* Mizukage's Office

## 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚

* The village is named after Saizō Kirigakure of the Sanada Ten Braves, a group of legendary ninja that served under daimyō Yukimura Sanada during Japan's Warring States period, and rival to his comrade Sasuke Sarutobi. His surname is a play on his association with fog and illusions. The village's trademark technique, Hiding in Mist Technique, also plays on Saizō's ability.

* Kirigakure does not have a ninja registration system.

* During the second fight between Zabuza Momochi and Kakashi Hatake, the former used a kunai with an edge of the blade curving inward, making the point sharper and more suited for stabbing or thrusting. Later in the anime, this blade was depicted as Kirigakure's special variation of the standard kunai.

* In chapter 30, Kakashi mistakenly calls Kirigakure "Land of Mist" (霧の国, *Kiri no Kuni*)