Land of Fire
The Land of Fire (火の国, Hi no Kuni?) is home to the majority of the characters in Naruto and is one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. The Land of Fire is appropriately oriented towards the element of fire, typically having a very bright and warm weather, with which the citizens enjoy and allows bountiful harvests all year-round. Because of its location, the Land of Fire trades heavily with the other surrounding countries, giving it one of the largest populations and strongest economies in the Naruto world. It is widely regarded as one of the strongest countries.
Land of Rain
The Land of Rain (雨の国, Ame no Kuni?) is filled with a great number of small buildings in a heavily wooded area, suggesting that it might be located in a rainforest. Its borders are highly defended, and those wishing to pass through the country must first give every information on how they intend to visit the country before being allowed admission. Even if one is permitted to enter the country, they will be under constant surveillance by the government for the duration of their stay. Because the Land of Rain is situated between three of the five great countries, it often acts as the battlefield for their wars and much of its population are war refugees, and as a result its government lacks stability. Unbeknownst to the rest of the Naruto world apart from Konoha, the country was in the midst of a civil war, though Konoha wasn't able to find out until the civil war was already over.
Amegakure
Amegakure (雨隠れの里, Amegakure no Sato?, literally "Village Hidden in Rain") is the Land of Rain's Hidden Village. It seems to be a rather loosely knit village, befitting the destabilized country, as a fair number of its ninja seem to either be missing-nin or end up as missing-nin. Amegakure was once led by Hanzo, though he was killed during the Land of Rain's civil war by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, and thus Pain became the de facto leader of Amegakure. Pain now uses the village as his base of operations for Akatsuki. He has attained a god-like level of notoriety among the villagers. Those loyal to the former Amegakure attack the village on occasion in an attempt to assassinate Pain, though their efforts are never successful. The village is shown to be full of metal pipes.
Land of Rice Fields
The Land of Rice Fields (田の国, Ta no Kuni?, English TV: "Land of Rice Patties"), otherwise known as the Land of Sound (音の国, Oto no Kuni?), is a small country bordering the Land of Fire's northern border. The Land of Rice Fields is its original name, with the Land of Sound, possibly derived from Otogakure, being Orochimaru's own name for it. Many of its shinobi were collected, most being from the Fuuma clan, to supply his need for followers and jutsu. The Land of Sound, along with Otogakure, is a relatively new country in the political scene, though the country itself existed long before Orochimaru took it over and renamed it. It conspired with the Land of Wind to launch a surprise attack and hopefully destroy the Land of Fire.
[edit] Otogakure
Otogakure (音隠れの里, Otogakure no Sato?, literally "Village Hidden in Sound") is Orochimaru's personal village, founded for the express purpose of collecting ninja for his experiments and quest to learn jutsu. Not much is known about it: what is certain is that it actually consists of a series of lairs, located both within the Sound country and away from it, which Orochimaru switches between every week. Other than that, and the fact that its ninja specialize in techniques involving manipulation of sound waves, as well as using a cursed seal to increase their power, little else is known about it.
Although he is the leading ninja of Otogakure, Orochimaru isn't a Kage, despite his equivalent (possibly greater) power level. The reason for this is because the five Kages of the five great Hidden Villages don't acknowledge Otogakure, and Orochimaru is considered a criminal.
With Orochimaru's defeat at the hands of Sasuke Uchiha, the various bases formerly under Orochimaru's control have begun to rebel and their inhabitants are trying to escape to freedom.
Land of Water
The Land of Water (水の国, Mizu no Kuni?) is one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations and home to Kirigakure (霧隠れの里, Kirigakure no Sato?, literally "Village Hidden in Mist"). It is composed of many islands, with each having its own unique traditions. The country's weather is typically cool and full of mist and lakes, while in some places it is very cold and snows quite a bit.
[edit] Kirigakure
Kirigakure (霧隠れの里, Kirigakure no Sato?, literally "Village Hidden in Mist") is the hidden village of the Land of Water. Kirigakure's leader is the Mizukage. Its ninja specialize in water-based jutsu. In the past, Kirigakure was well known for its inhumane Genin enlistment exam, where students who had been friends were pitted against each other and forced to fight to the death, though the method was cut short when academy-enlistment failure Zabuza Momochi killed all of the students in that year's graduating class. The seven greatest ninja in the village are known as the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and each one wields a large sword-like weapon. This village was once the home of the famous Kaguya clan, the battle-loving clan who had a kekkei genkai ability allowing them to control their own bones, though they were wiped out, save Kimimaro, when they went to war with their own village. The villagers of Kirigakure felt threatened by clans possessing kekkei genkai, and began persecuting them before the start of the series. Recently, Kirigakure has used these clans to their own advantage. At the beginning of the series Kakashi Hatake mentioned that the mist village trains their ninja to be ruthless enemies, and noted that ninjas from this village are far stronger than any other village he has come up against.
Land of Waves
The Land of Waves (波の国, Nami no Kuni?) is a relatively poor nation, and thus does not have a Hidden village. It is an isolated island, but used to be prosperous nonetheless, until Gato set his sights on it. He broke the people's will and monopolized the import/export industry, which was crucial for its economy. Team 7's first real mission was to this country, and, with the help of Zabuza Momochi and the townspeople, Gato's reign of terror was ended for good.
Land of Wind
The Land of Wind (風の国, Kaze no Kuni?), one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, is a large, dry, and desolate country whose cities are typically found near water sources. While much of the country is inhospitable, the population is large and prosperous due to its frequent trading with the Land of Fire. While not seen as often as the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind receives a great deal of attention in the series, and has a great many powerful ninja to call its own. Its hidden village is Sunagakure, Village Hidden in the Sand. The Land of Wind has been relatively uninvolved with politics until recent times, and even had a peace treaty signed with the Land of Fire. The lord ruling it, however, had been systematically cutting down his military force and transferring missions he would normally address to his own country's hidden village to Konohagakure, prompting desperate measures on the part of the Kazekage at the time.
[Sunagakure
Sunagakure
Sunagakure
Sunagakure (砂隠れの里, Sunagakure no Sato?, literally "Village Hidden Among Sand" or "Village Hidden in the Sand") is one of the five great ninja villages, and as such has a Kage, known as the Kazekage, as its leader. The symbol on their headband is of an hourglass. The one-tailed Shukaku was said to originate here, having been created from the spirit of a dead monk who was trapped in a tea kettle. With its military forces being scaled down by the Land of Wind's feudal lord, the Fourth Kazekage realized that they had to increase the quality of each ninja to maintain a military force. Gaara is just one result of that.
As more time passed, the lord started commissioning Konoha with requests he should have been making to Sunagakure. On top of that, he began cutting back on Sunagakure's budget. The Fourth Kazekage realized that if he didn't act quickly, Sunagakure would be in danger of disappearing, so he joined forces with Otogakure in an attempt to destroy Konoha and force the lord to re-establish Sunagakure's military force if he wished for his country to continue existing. With the failure of the attack and the death of the Fourth Kazekage caused by the betrayal of Otogakure, Sunagakure re-allied with Konoha, and Gaara, Temari and Kankuro assisted Konoha during the mission to retrieve Sasuke. Gaara eventually became the Fifth Kazekage.
Subiect: Naruto Villages 
Sam Mar 26, 2011 11:34 pm
