Ninjas

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**Ninjas** (忍者; plural meaning for "ninja" or "ninjas"), are the primary focus, military power, and formal term used throughout the many worlds, and beyond. They are individuals who trains in the art of Ninjutsu. They were originally assassins and spies in feudal Japan.

Most come from a hidden village, of which some come from specialized ninja clans, and will perform missions for a fee. The clearest characteristic of a ninja is their ability to manipulate chakra ki to create and use techniques.

These missions can include: doing manual labor, acting as escorts, gathering secret information, retrieving stolen items, carrying out assassinations, etc. In times of war, ninja will come together to defend their villages and land.

A male ninja is called a "**Shinobi**" (忍び), while a female ninja is called a "**Kunoichi**" (くノ一).

"*.*"

—About Ninjas.

## Classifications

There are three Classifications for Ninjas:

* **Good Ninjas** (善忍, *Zennin*): The general term for Ninjas who work under the government to further national interests. They do not use their powers for personal gain, and will always help other good shinobi. Good Ninjas are trained in a specially designated academy. Graduates are then sent on missions by the national government. Most missions involve protection, espionage, and other various tasks of national interest. They're sometimes also asked to do dirty work like assassinating enemies of the state, so the label isn't as clear cut as it seems.
* **Evil Ninjas** (悪忍, *Akunin*): The general term for Ninjas who work behind the scenes, typically for corrupt businesses or politicians. They are trained at clandestine schools to mercilessly to preform any task at the client's request, no matter how illegal or dirty. Though a client's orders are absolute, Evil Ninjas are generally so devious that it's not uncommon for them to turn on the client. In truth, they act only in their best interests.
* **Rogue Ninjas** (抜忍, *Nukenin*, Localized as: **Renegade Ninja**): Ninjas are expected to be loyal to their villages for life (either good or evil), and any defectors, who have been exiled from the ninja world are considered to be a rogue ninja and will be marked for death.

## Jutsu

*Main article:* *Jutsu*
Ninjas can use a variety of techniques often based on the utilization of chakra. This allows ninjas to perform extraordinary feats such as walking on water or walking up trees. Jutsu are separated into three groups, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. Ninjutsu implies performing a supernatural or beyond normal ability, the most common of which is the elemental jutsu. These are created by the user transforming their chakra into a specific elemental nature or 'release'. The chakra types are Lightning, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. Other sub-types of chakra natures such as Wood Release and Ice Release also exist, created by combining two of the basic five releases. Taijutsu implies physical body techniques, which may or may not require chakra. Genjutsu manipulates the chakra in an enemy's mind and disrupts their chakra flow. Their senses get fooled which creates illusions, things that the foe believes to be real that are in fact fake.

## Physical Prowess

Ninjas also have noticeably more physical capabilities of that than a normal or average human being, able to execute feats of strength that would be otherwise impossible for a civilian, even at relatively low levels of skill. For example, their ability to jump. Ninjas are capable of leaping many times their own height and permitting them to clear buildings and structures, especially when moving across rooftops or travelling through trees. Even as a boy, Naruto jumped over a fence in the Academy with no significant effort. And near the start of his battle against Sasuke Uchiha at the end of Part I, Naruto jumped from the Hashirama Senju statue to the Madara Uchiha statue, reaching the other end of the entire valley in just one leap. However, moments like these are greatly ignored and overlooked due to the fact that they are so commonplace in the ninja world, even for genin-level ninja. Ninjas also possess strength that far outmatches the average person. A simple kick from Itachi to Sasuke created an exceptionally large crater in the wall. Another time, while Mei Terumī and her team fought against Black Zetsu, they could slash clean through his trees with relative ease and no indication of using chakra to enhance their kunai.

## Tools

*Main article:* *Ninja Tools*
Ninja tools are used as alternatives to techniques. They can include weapons, accessories, and even clothing. Some ninja such as Tenten have mastered the use of such tools, but all ninja are able to use the most common to some degree. A standard shinobi will have a pouch equipped with many tools, and nearly every ninja is equipped with at least a shuriken holster. Most also possess and wear a forehead protector with the symbol of the village they derive from, though the ninja does not necessarily have to wear it over their forehead. The Inuzuka clan's ninken and Aburame clan's insects are also classified as tools.

## List of Ninjas

### Heroes

* Naruto Uzumaki
* Ninja Turtles
	+ Leonardo Hamato
	+ Raphael Hamato
	+ Donatello Hamato
	+ Michelangelo Hamato

### Allies

* Ancient One
* Angel Bridge
* April O'Neil
* Bob
* Carmen
* Carter
* Guardians
* Jiraiya
* Kerma
* Miles
* Ninja Tribunal
	+ Kazuo Oroku
	+ Kon
	+ Juto
	+ Chikara
	+ Hisomi
* Ninja Tribunal Acolytes
	+ Faraji Ngala
	+ Adam McKay
	+ Joi Reynard
	+ Tora Yoshida
* Venus de Milo
* Nobuko
* Punk Frogs
	+ Attila the Frog
	+ Genghis Frog
	+ Napoleon Bonafrog
	+ Rasputin the Mad Frog
* Splinter Hamato
* Tenten
* Ninjara
* Yoshi Hamato
* Yumi

### Anti-Heroes

* Hana Hamato
* Karai Oroku
* Tall Karai aide
* Short Karai aide
* Nagi Oroku
* Ultimate Ninja

### Villains

* Ch'rell
* Dark Ninja Assassins
* Foot Clan
	+ Shredder
	+ Khan
	+ Tatsu Hattori
	+ The Mistress
	+ Christopher Bradford
	+ Cha Ocho
	+ Mashimi Yukio
	+ Foot Ninja
	+ Foot Tech Ninja
	+ Large Foot Ninja
	+ Foot Sumo Ninja
	+ Foot Elite
		- Tomei
	+ Cyber Foot Ninja
* Smash
* Chien Khan

### Non-canon/Other featured characters

* Cheng
* Honshū
* Koro
* Izumi
* Croaker
* Wen
* Gei
* Szefchek

## History

### Past

Ninjas were once servants of the feudal lords that ruled Japan in the past, specializing in espionage, subversion and assassination.

With the influx of western culture after the Meiji Restoration, the feudal system began to collapse, causing them to fade from public consciousness.

However even in modern times the need for ninjas still exists. Their employers are primarily politicians and corporations. Most who employ them merely as tools to satisfy their own greed.

As a result, shinobi are responsible for crimes throughout Japan, and the government moved to confront them. This spawned the creation of Good Ninjas schools to combat Evil Ninjas who break the law.

## Other Media

### Accuracy of terms

While within the confines of the show and many other media, historically the word shinobi is not a descriptor for simply male ninja, but a gender neutral. The word Shinobi is gender neutral, meaning practitioner of the ninjutsu. Kunoichi does also not necessarily refer to female ninja, but ninja trained in the art of seduction to achieve their goals. Most of them were female, but it has been stated that men could learn their seductive arts if they chose to.

## External links

* Ninjas *Wikipedia* — Wikipedia article on ninjas.
* Ninjas *Narutopedia*
* Ninjas *Kagurapedia, Senran Kagura Wiki*
* Ninjas *TurtlePedia*

## Notes & Trivia

* The word "shinobi" and "endure" both have the same kanji character.
	+ It is mentioned several times throughout the series that shinobi are "people that endure" by Jiraiya, Hashirama Senju, and Naruto Uzumaki.