Shadow Ninja Ranks!!

Subject: Shadow Ninja Ranks!! Tue Jul 08, 2008 2:12 am

Academy ninja
The academy is where would-be ninja start; they are not actually
considered ninja until they graduate. Academy students take formal and
practical tests of all sorts and are taught basic ninja skills, such as
martial arts, techniques, physical fitness and the way of the ninja.
Basic weapon usage, such as kunai and shuriken,
are commonly taught.
Genin
are the lowest level of ninja. Because of this, skill levels vary
drastically between Genin. Genin are put in three-man cells, and are
then assigned a Jonin sensei to mentor them.
Chunin
Chunin (中忍, Chūnin^?, literally "Middle Ninja", Viz "Chūnin" and "Journeyman Ninja")
are ninja who are qualified to watch over and guide other ninja. Chunin
have reached a level of maturity that primarily consists of leadership
skills and tactical prowess.
Jonin
are generally highly-experienced ninja with great individual skill who
serve as military captains. They are often sent on A-rank missions, and
experienced Jonin, like Kakashi Hatake, may even be sent on S-rank
missions (which are considered to be the most difficult), and may carry
out missions alone. They are sometimes assigned as sensei
for three-person teams of Genin. Though it is as of yet unknown what
one has to undergo to become a Jonin, it is mentioned in the Naruto Anime Profiles that Jonin are appointed.^{[page # needed]}
Most Jonin are able to use at least two types of elemental jutsu, have
some skills with genjutsu, and have at least above average taijutsu
skills.
Tokubetsu Jonin
are ninja who, rather than all-around Jonin training, have Jonin-level ability in a single area or skill, much like warrant officers
of real-world militaries. They are elite specialists in their areas and
are often assigned as subordinates to regular Jonin when their services
are needed. They sometimes are seen as lower ranked than jonin because,
they are good or the best at one thing and they lack talent, or even
ability in others.
Kage
are the leaders of the five most powerful Hidden Villages and generally
the most powerful ninja in their respective villages. The Kage stand
equally with the rulers of their countries, oversee the activities of
their villages, and are the leaders of ninja society. There may be
exceptions, however, as a ninja may be the most powerful at the time of
being installed as Kage,
introduced a sixth Kage, the Hoshikage (星影, [i]literally "Star Shadow"[/i]^?)
from Land of Bears. However, this was a self-given title and not
officially recognized by the five other villages. Most Kage tend to be
at S-Rank level. The five Kage have different titles depending on their
village. Those titles are:

Hokage (火影, [i]literally "Fire Shadow"[/i]^?) Kage of Konohagakure.
Kazekage (風影, [i]literally "Wind Shadow"[/i]^?) Kage of Sunagakure.
Mizukage (水影, [i]literally "Water Shadow"[/i]^?) Kage of Kirigakure.
Raikage (雷影, [i]literally "Lightning Shadow"[/i]^?) Kage of Kumogakure.
Tsuchikage (土影, [i]literally "Earth Shadow"[/i]^?) Kage of Iwagakure.

S-rank
S-class ninja have gained power far beyond an average Jonin
and earned a legendary status. This title is merely a class rather than
an actual rank; the ninja's official rank with a village will usually
still be Jonin.
ANBU
is an organization of assassination squads that serves directly
under the village's leader. The ANBU wear porcelain animal masks in
order to distinguish themselves from normal shinobi and to conceal
their identities, and also have standard uniforms consisting of black
and gray armor, arm guards, a signature spiral tattoo on their left
shoulder (female ANBU have it on their right shoulder), and a Ninjatō
strapped on their back (though certain ANBU wear black cowls over their
uniforms). They know the layout of the human body in detail, and have
developed several techniques to strengthen their job, such as
paralyzing the target. ANBU are considered the elite, and they perform
high-ranked and dangerous missions. Within the ANBU of Kirigakure, there exists a sub-group called Hunter-nin (追い忍, Oinin^?, literally "Chasing Ninja", English TV "Tracker Ninja"), given the specific duty of hunting down missing-nin, and destroying their bodies, so their village's secrets won't be revealed to foreign ninja. Kakashi Hatake was a former Konoha ANBU and a captain, as was Uchiha Itachi.

Medical ninja
Medical-nin (医療忍, iryō-nin^?, English TV "Medical Corps Ninja")
are ninja who specialize in medical treatment and use medical-oriented
jutsu to heal others. Becoming a medic-nin requires an extreme level of
intelligence and excellent chakra control, since medic-nin use chakra
to heal injuries. Aside from their medical training, their combat
training consists mainly of taijutsu skills, with emphasis placed on
evading enemy attacks, as the death of the medic-nin could result in
the death of the team, though medical techniques can also be used
offensively. On dangerous missions, a medic-nin will usually be sent
along with the team, to increase the survival rate of that team. Sakura
Haruno becomes a medic-nin after her training with Tsunade.
Missing-ninja
Missing-nin (抜け忍, Nukenin^?, literally "Fugitive Ninja", English TV "Rogue Ninja")
are ninja who have abandoned their Hidden Village, and as such can
include ninja of every rank. These ninja are considered traitors and
are hunted down because of the secrets they may hold. Other Hidden
Villages would be interested in purchasing this information because it
could be useful in gaining an upper hand in battle or obtaining a
bloodline limit unique to a village. Villages create special units of hunter-nin
to take care of this problem, although it's unlikely that every
missing-nin has a team of hunter-nin sent after them. Also, some may be
impossible to find unless they do something to attract attention.
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