Ninjas

**Ninjas** (忍者, *Ninja*), are an occupation that are used throughout in the many worlds, and beyond. They are covert individual specializing in the art of espionage, stealth, assassination and ninjutsu. They can also manipulate *chakra ki* to create and use techniques.

Most come from a hidden village, of which some come from specialized ninja clans, and will perform missions for a fee. They can include: doing manual labour, acting as escorts, gathering secret information, retrieving stolen items, carrying out assassinations, etc.

Ninjas are expected to be loyal to their villages for life, and any defectors are considered to be a Rogue Ninja, and will be marked for death as punishment. A male ninja is called a "**Shinobi**" (忍び, *Shinobi*), while a female ninja is called a "**Kunoichi**" (くノ一, *Kunoichi*).

"*.*"

—About Ninjas.

## Overview

### Roles and Duties

Ninja are typically servants to powerful groups in Wano, with the most prominent group, the Oniwabanshu, having served Wano's shogunate. For powerful groups, ninja mainly serve as guards who take down enemies and intruders. In contrast, ninja who are opposed to powerful groups, such as Raizo and Shinobu in the Kozuki Clan, are often sent on infiltration missions to obtain secret information from enemy groups or liberate imprisoned allies.

Unlike traditional samurai, ninja frequently rely on stealth and surprise to take out their targets and use a much greater variety of weapons and tools. Although they are more likely to ambush opponents, ninja have taken part in open combat in certain instances, with experienced members having the strength and skill to hold their own in such brawls.

Many ninja obscure their appearances with masks and full-body coverings, though several do not do this.

Although they appear to be exclusive to Wano, the ninja occupation is well-known all over the world and the prospect of meeting a real ninja is one that excites a great many people, namely males.

## Abilities

Ninja use techniques known as ninjutsu or ninpo (meaning "ninja arts") to help them achieve objectives including attacking, distracting, or escaping from opponents. Ninjutsu techniques typically involve the usage of special weapons and tools, although ninja are also known to use the term for maneuvers that a normal person could do or even for simple actions like a hug.

Stealth is the key skill for ninja to have, as moving soundlessly and out of sight is imperative in order to take opponents by surprise and infiltrate locations. Experienced ninja like the Orochi Oniwabanshu can infiltrate a room as an entire group without their target noticing, as well as prowl around a crowded banquet hall without attracting attention, while Raizo was capable of infiltrating the heavily guarded Prisoner Mine for several days and remaining unspotted almost the entire time.

Ninja possess a vast variety of weapons and tools. The most common weapons used are swords, shuriken, and kunai, with Jigoku-Benten known to use a gun. In terms of tools, ninja are shown to carry smoke bombs to hide themselves, monoculars to spy on events, gliders to safely exit buildings, and ropes to restrain targets.

Ninja also possess tremendous physical skills, as it is common to see them standing and crawling on walls and ceilings; they are also able to jump great distances in order to quickly escape an enemy's eyesight.

In her youth, Shinobu used her attractive appearance to distract opponents and allow her to easily take them out. She refers to this as the "**Art of Bewitchment**" (妖艶の術, *Yōen no Jutsu*) and still attempts to practice it currently, although her age has substantially reduced its effectiveness.

## Jutsu

*Main article:* *Jutsu*
**Jutsu** (術; literally meaning: "skills/techniques"), are the mystical arts a ninja will utilize in battle. To use a technique, the ninja will need to use their *chakra ki*. To perform a technique, the ninja will bring out and release the two energies of *chakra ki*. By forming hand signs, the ninja is able to manifest the desired technique. Because of the extensive number of hand seals and different combinations, there are thousands of potential techniques to be discovered.

Ninjas can use a variety of techniques often based on the utilization of *chakra ki*. This allows ninjas to perform extraordinary feats such as walking on water or walking up trees. Jutsu are separated into three groups, ninja arts, genjutsu, and taijutsu.

Ninja Art implies performing a supernatural or beyond normal ability, the most common of which is the elemental jutsu. Taijutsu implies physical body techniques, which do not typically require *chakra ki*. Genjutsu manipulates the *chakra ki* in an enemy's brain and disrupts their *chakra ki* flow. Their senses get fooled which creates illusions, things that the foe believes to be real that are in fact fake.

These are created by the user transforming their *chakra ki* into a specific nature or 'style'. The *chakra ki* types are Lightning, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. Other sub-types of *chakra ki* natures such as Wood and Ice also exist, created by combining two of the basic five releases.

## Physical Prowess

Ninjas have noticeably greater physical capabilities than a normal 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. Ninja 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 each of the pre-Academy children in Himawari's test trial could easily move at great speeds and jump up dozens of feet in the air.

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. Ninja also possess strength that far outmatches the average person. A simple kick from Itachi to Sasuke created an exceptionally large crater in the wall. With a single hand, Lee could uproot the roots of giant trees in a flash without apparent difficulty.

Befitting their occupation, shinobi possess superhuman speed to varying degrees. Some exceptional genin can avoid attacks moving at the speed of sound, or physically intercept them with their own attack at a faster speed. At some point between his adolescence and young adulthood, Kakashi is said to have bisected a bolt of lightning with his Chidori. These and other notable instances aside, nearly all shinobi can temporarily heighten their speed to catch opponents off guard or to set a decoy.

## Mental Prowess

Though not greatly explored, shinobi also possess abnormal abilities to affect the minds of others, even without the use of genjutsu or other Dark Style techniques. Without using techniques, shinobi can induce intense panic and suicidal tendencies in those less experienced or weaker than themselves by projecting their Murderous Intent. Skilled use of it can even take the form of graphic hallucinations of one's own death, which can be mistaken for genjutsu.

## 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 headband 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.

## External links

* Ninjas *Wikipedia*
* Ninjas *Assassin's Creed Wiki*
* Ninjas *Narutopedia*
* Ninjas *One Piece Wiki*
* Ninjas *Soul Eaterpedia*
* Ninjas *TurtlePedia*

## Notes & Trivia

* They are considered members of the samurai warrior class and are sometimes referred to as samurai, although the term typically denotes traditional swordsmen.
* It is mentioned several times throughout the *Dragon Naruto* series the word "shinobi" are "people that endure" by Jiraiya, Hashirama Senju, and Naruto Uzumaki.