Konohagakure - Idran village, commercial enterprise, tradition

[snakebound]

Konohagakure is steeped in a long and varied tradition of a combination of magic and physical combat, resulting in an elite corps of soldiers ideal for covert ops or other specialized operations, called shinobi. The rest of the village is built on this tradition.

Most children born in or sent to the village pass through the specialized shinobi school. Though there are smaller, more mundane schools, most of the resources in the village go to the teaching, learning, carrying out or refining of the techniques both physical and magical that are used by these shinobi.

The shinobi also form the economic back-bone of the place. Though they are pricey and not generally well-known, especially among those who haven't got the means to pays for their offered services, the shinobi of the village are available for hire to any outside client that has the means to pay for their services.

Offered services range as far as their client's purse--though the leader of the shinobi and de facto head of the village does impose their morals from time to time on what manner of business their shinobi may be hired for.

But don't worry, if the head of Konohagakure says no to your particular assignment, well, there are other affiliated villages, whose purses may be a little emptier, and their morals a little looser. Different villages have different codes, magic systems and fighting styles, though they all bear at least some similarity in some area. Most of these villages are also affiliated with Idran, though one or two has embraced the siren calls of dualtech or other tech over chakra-fueled magic.

Most of the magic-based techniques employed by the shinobi of Konohagakure are fueled on an energy called chakra. While most people have life-force, this is extraneous energy that can be channeled, controlled, and turned to purpose by those experienced with working with it.

The village is highly protective of something called 'bloodline abilities'. These are certain special abilities that cannot be learned, only inherited. Usually, these simply grant ease and advantage to some other ability, rather than being entirely novel. The Sharingan of the Uchiha clan, for example, makes it very easy for anyone possessing it to manipulate perceptions and read movements better than the normal human eye. Very few have these bloodline abilities, and to make sure they aren't replicated by magic, technology, or any combination thereof, the village takes care to ensure that even the bodies of those with such abilities don't fall into outside hands.

Different shinobi have different specialties in their magical abilities. There are those that focus on elemental manipulation, or on creating illusions and breaking in to the mind of another to extract valuable information or control; summons also exist, bound by contract to a single shinobi, usually in the form of animals, though some with supernatural qualities. Such animalistic summons are typically more of an inheritance, master passing such a contract down to apprentice, though there are exceptions. However, summoning charms and scrolls can be turned to summoning anything you can get to respond to the call, including weapons, and even people who have agreed to it.

The other focus though that every shinobi shares is the physical. A style of fighting more useful for guerrilla warfare and assassinations, shinobi are not, typically, frontline fighters. They stick to the shadows, utilize smoke bombs and stealth to disappear, and generally are as slippery as the devil to catch and twice as devious.

Which is not to say they have no morals. Their moral code is a bit strange to outsiders, but it's there. There is no loyalty higher than your village, including your teammates. The mission is the next highest priority--on certain high-priority missions, these may be reversed by certain people.

Beyond individual specialties, there are some broad ranks that shinobi fall into within the arrangement of the village. There are apprentices, journeyman, specialized experts and experts or, as they sometimes refer to them, genin, chuunin, tokubetsu jounin and jounin. Above them all is the village leader, the hokage. Alongside this leader, tehre is a council who advises and elects the hokage.

They have their traitors, of course, but what group doesn't? Due to the general philosophy of loyalty though, they are few and far between. The shinobi are adamant that they be eradicated at any cost, to protect the village and its secrets--hard to make a profit, after all, if what you do isn't in demand.

How their various agents operate varies from person to person. Some like to stay near to the village, only going out on short term missions with an assured paycheck and the opportunity to be back in, at most, a few weeks. Others prefer longer term missions, staying out--possibly months on end with only important updates to the village. Some more leeway is given to these long-range field agents with regards to following up on information heard or possible sources of problems, missions, or income.

Really, what the shinobi boil down to are ears, eyes and daggers for hire--if you can afford it.