Basic Information

Kirigakure (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 Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist, and each one wields at least one 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 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 ninja from this village are far more powerful than most enemies he faced from other villages. This realization led Kakashi also to theorize that were it not for the vicious and bloody civil wars the Mist is often found in, they would be a major rival of Konoha.

Country Background:
The Water country is one of the smaller countries in the series, but it has a strong ninja force. This coupled with it being an island grants the country a great defense against outside threats. The greatest threats to the country seem to come from within, constant wars and strife has caused many citizens and ninja to turn against themselves and the country leadership