Land of Wind - Sunagakure

Sunagakure is the recognized hidden village of the Land of Wind. As a recognized member of one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, Sunagakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Kazekage, of which there have been five in its history.

        The standard attire for their shinobi consists of blue or black uniforms underneath flak jackets of various shades of beige to better blend with their natural environment, along with protective shoulder pads. Headpieces consisting of a head-wrap or cloth neck-covers to protect against the harsh weather are popular with Sunagakure ninja. Many Sunagakure ninja use Wind Release techniques, along with a specialized form of earth release which utilizes sand. Shinobi from this village believe that the accomplishment of a mission predominates the lives of the ninja trying to accomplish it. As such, they ruthlessly pursue victory in battle, and even if failure is inevitable they will still try to achieve any success against their enemy that they can.

Sunagakure is led by a council of elders from the desert tribes, along with several prominent shinobi. These elders work alongside the Kazekage to provide bureaucracy within the Land of Wind where the Wind daimyo's authority doesn't hold sway. The Council of Sunagakure holds sway for the promotion of shinobi, the establishment of clans, as well as administering missions to the best shinobi for the job.

## Geography

Being surrounded by desert offers the village a natural deterrent against invasion, as few foreign powers would be willing to endure the sandstorms and water scarcity common to the region. Sunagakure itself lies in a fortified valley behind cliffs of rock, with passage in and out of the village restricted to a single cleft between two cliff faces, making the area very difficult to attack. The buildings inside the village are made of clay or stucco, which help to keep the buildings cool as per the usual in the Land of Wind.

Within the Land of Wind exists few habitable regions, beyond their contested borderlands. Hidden within the "Demon Desert" lies only a handful of oasis-towns, inhabited by a unique culture of desert tribes that have inhabited the region since before time of the Sage of Six Paths. These tribes are greatest population within the Land of Wind, alongside the descendants of foreigners. Along the borderlands of the Land of Wind lies several highly-productive towns which constantly suffer border raids. Bordering the Demon Desert is the ancient city of Rōran, which is said to be the last bastion of civilization before entering the Land of Demons.

## History

Before the Warring States period, Sunagakure was the home of a unique culture based around the now-ruined city of Rōran - an advanced society of desert tribesmen who wielded nature energy in the form of underground Ryūmyaku veins.

Following a brutal civil war and the reign of the godlike Kaguya Otsutsuki, the last princess of Rōran was forced to split up her people and form migratory lives upon the desert - forming the first desert tribes of the Land of Wind.

When the Sage of Six Paths created the Tailed Beasts, he left the 1-Tailed Shukakku with a temple of monks in Sunagakure. The beast was able to use naturally-occuring Juinjutsu marks on its body to manipulate sand, but the monks used ancient techniques revolving around the use of a Biwa instrument to drain chakra and enfeeble the Bijuu.

Inspired by the advent of shinobi villages in other lands, the First Kazekage Reto rallied the surviving desert tribes under his power to protect their interests.

When the Five Great Shinobi Countries began their first meeting to discuss the exchange of Tailed Beasts, Reto was able to negotiate a payment of land from the Land of Fire instead as they already possessed the 1-Tailed Shukakku.

After the mysterious assassination of the First Kazekage, his second-in-command Shamon Chagama took over the village with the support of several desert tribes. Under his leadership, Sunagakure became powerful by developing unique jutsu. Recruiting his monk-turned-Jinchuuriki relative Bunpuku Chagama, Shamon developed modern-day Sand Release by studying the 1-Tailed Shukakku. He also sponsored the development of puppetry after witnessing the famous Monzaemon Chikamatsu's grand puppet shows.

Sunagakure's close proximity with Iwagakure has led to numerous border conflicts over the years, enough that enmity between its shinobi has become deep-seated. After the assassination of the Second Kazekage, many assumed Iwagakure at fault. Temporarily, the Sunagakure Council took over control of the village and in particular, the "Honoured Siblings" Ibizo and Chiyo served with distinction. Chiyo fought Tsunade Senju several times throughout the Second Shinobi World War, mastering both puppetry and poisons. Ibizo would become known as an expert in medical ninjutsu, inventing the Dragon Life Reincarnation technique as a way to revive the recently-fallen by sacrificing the user's own life.

During the Second Shinobi World War, the Third Kazekage was elected by the Sunagakure Council: Satetsu Kazekage - a distant relation to the First Kazekage who managed to mimic and overpower the Sand Release techniques of the 1-Tailed Shukakku using his Kekkei Genkai of Magnet Release while wielding Iron Sand. Being able to completely forego the need for Jinchuriki, Sunagakure became completely self-reliant from Uzushiogakure and survived a devastating conflict with Iwagakure. He was assassinated shortly after the conclusion of the war by a famous puppet-maker turned missing-nin named Sasori "of the Red Sand"- the grandson of Chiyo, one of the "Honoured Siblings" who was famous for inventing "Human Puppets". Sasori was the creator of several unique puppets known as "Sasori of the Red Sand" for his red hair - a trait carried by descendants of the Uzumaki Clan. The Sunagakure Council was forced to end their search for the criminal assassin, as the search was constantly fruitless and used up too much of the village's resources.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Rasa Kazekage took over leadership of Sunagakure using a gold dust variation of the Third Kazekage's techniques. A relative of several Kazekage's as well as the Honoured Siblings, Rasa wed an heiress of the Souseiji Tribe and unified Sunagakure once again. Following the Third Shinobi World War, the Land of Wind's daimyō started outsourcing missions to Konoha instead. The Fourth Kazekage began selling gold dust to try to make up for the loss of funding, but it was ultimately decided that their shinobi would need to rely on individual strength rather than strength of numbers. To help in this goal, the Fourth Kazekage had the 1-Tailed Shukakku sealed into his newborn son, Gaara Kazekage, hoping he would become a valuable weapon. For the early years of his life Gaara struggled to keep it in check, and would unintentionally attack the village and/or its citizens when he lost control. The Fourth Kazekage eventually decided that Gaara was a failed experiment and tried many times to have him assassinated, each of which failed. The attempts on his life, however, taught Gaara how to control the Bijuu, making him into the weapon his father wanted him to be and convincing the Fourth to call off the assassinations.

## Organizations

* Sunagakure Agricultural Division: A large underground greenhouse that produces both medicinal herbs as well as foodstuffs. Civilians are employed as basic farmhands, whereas certain shinobi are employed when off-duty. The Agricultural Division manages both the Sunagakure Greenhouse as well as the operations of various plantations along the borderlands.
* Temple of the Wind: A small priory of monks who live on the outskirts of the Land of Wind, who specialize in the usage of Biwa for both artistic and religions reasons.
* Sunagakure Aviary: An aviary founded by the Takema Clan, copying the training of Konohagakure's Aviary.
* Sandstorm Academy: A modest shinobi academy located within the Demon Desert, to train shinobi in both survival skills and jutsu.
* Sunagakure Hospital: A modest hospital attended to by medical experts, and only a handful of expert medic-nin.
* The Puppet Brigade: A "guild" of shinobi who provide mentorship and a market for prospective puppeteers.
* The Scout Corps: A "guiid" of shinobi who patrol the Land of Wind's borderlands, as a form of military police under the Sunagakure Council.
* The Mirage Corps: A "guild" of shinobi who provide mentorship in genjutsu, and focus on the protection of the desert tribes.
* ANBU: An organization of elite shinobi under the Kazekage, who often perform secretive and suicidal missions.
* Elder's Council: A council of elders and influential shinobi who help the Wind Daimyo and the Kazekage with administration.

## Ninja

Sunagakure has developed with the ancient traditions of their desert tribes, as well as their inventive responses to foreign influences. Like the other Five Great Shinobi Countries, they possess a standard training method for all prospective ninja. Sunagakure students begin training at the Sandstorm Academy, learning survival skills alongside the other traditional training methods for ninja such as learning basic ninjutsu and taijutsu. If a student displays unique skill or impresses the right person, they may be permitted early tutoring by a member of one of the several "guilds" of ninja.

Prospective ninja who come from the desert tribes may qualify to become Genin without training at the Sandstorm Academy, as a sign of the trust Sunagakure has in the skill of the desert tribes.

Many shinobi in Sunagakure focus on the long-running tradition of building and operating puppets, loaded with hidden mechanisms and weapons.

Wind Release is a common elemental affinity within Sunagakure, being the specialty of the Souseiji Clan of the desert tribes.

A tradition of using Sand Release is common for Sunagakure shinobi, and remains their most developed form of Ninjutsu.

Usage of chakra-sensitive cloth remains the specialty of the Ittan Clan, but a few Sunagakure shinobi are permitted to learn as well.

A form of taijutsu known as Silent Fist is taught within surviving disciples who learned from the Shirogane Clan.

Several members of the ANBU are taught the Manipulating Attack Blades Technique - a mimicry of Magnet Release that allows the user to control their weapons in mid-air, using their chakra over a long period of time to "bond" with an object.

## Clans

The "clans" of Sunagakure are an eclectic mix of the descendants of desert tribes, as well as several families of talented or unique shinobi who are all sponsored by the Sunagakure Council. Normally, clan status is meant for families who possess Kekkei Genkai or Hiden - but sometimes influential or wealthy families can politically maneuver themselves into being a recognized clan.

* Kazekage Family: A family of shinobi with a long history of being Kazekage and using Magnet Release.
* Chagama Family: A family of shinobi with a previous Kazekage, as well as a previous Jinchuuriki.
* Chikamatsu Family: An extinct family of shinobi known for inventing modern puppetry in the Land of Wind.
* Hitokage Clan: An extinct clan of shinobi who were descended from the Sage of Six Paths - they held a similar status as the Kaguya Clan in Kirigakure, as a feared ally of Sunagakure known for their ability to assimilate their bodies into their enemies and fellow clan members.
* Tojo Clan: A clan of shinobi valued for their skill in Water Release to supply Sunagakure with water.
* Hoki Clan: A matrilineal clan of medic-nin who traditionally cover their faces in public.
* Takema Clan: A family of shinobi who migrated from Konohagakure, who founded the Suna Aviary. They produce specially-made spyglasses which provide exceptional scouting capabilities.
* Kouseki Clan: A family of shinobi who wield Crystal Release. Their ability to create low-quality gemstones has granted them a degree of wealth within Sunagakure.
* Shirogane Clan: A family of skilled puppeteers who gained infamy for assassinating the second Kazekage and were exiled from the village for their crime. They invented a form of taijutsu known as "Silent Fist" before their exile, which is still popular in Sunagakure. The taijutsu style was copied from the shinobi of Kirigakure, who wield a form of silent kenjutsu known as the Silent Killing Technique.
* Souseiji Clan: A migratory desert tribe who wield War Fans in conjunction with Wind Release, along with possessing a unique summoning contract with Kamatari weasels.
* Mamushi Clan: An isolationist desert tribe known for wielding a unique form of genjutsu based on using the natural effects of cactus pollen. They also use snakes in battle and entertainment, using techniques passed down within the tribe for snake-charming.
* Ittan Clan: A desert tribe known for their ability to manipulate cloth - they are also the only exporter of chakra-sensitive cloth in the world. They are also the only desert tribe to live solely within Sunagakure.
* Hizashi Clan: An extinct desert tribe who once famously wielded Scorch Release in battle.