Kirigakure

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Kirigakure (雾隐)
Alias(es)	Hidden Mist Village; Hidden Mist
Affiliation	Land of Water
Occupation/Role	One of the Five Great Shinobi Villages; military and political center of the Land of Water
Status	Active; led by the Fourth Mizukage, Seiji Ōtsutsuki 226 587
First Appearance	1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Recovery of Kage-level forces	222	By Mist Year 37, Kirigakure had Seiji at Super Kage-level and six additional Kage-level combatants: Hyou, Yagura, Fuguki, Akebino, Tenshin, and Gara.
Top-tier military supremacy	253	The village gained nearly fifty Jonin and almost twenty Elite Jonin over three years; all Seven Ninja Swordsmen reached Kage-level strength without relying on their swords.
Peak prewar strength	383	Having stockpiled forces and resources for years, Kirigakure entered the Third Great Shinobi War from a position described as its strongest since the village's founding.

Background / History

Kirigakure was founded in the Land of Water under First Mizukage Byakuren. The Kaguya Clan, driven from the Land of Fire after the end of the Warring States Period, joined the Yuki and Hozuki Clans in establishing the village. 6

The Kaguya Clan later relocated outside the village due to repeated conflict with other Kirigakure shinobi, though many of its members continued to serve Hidden Mist. During the First Shinobi World War, Kirigakure joined Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure in attacking Konoha; later, Hidden Mist and Iwagakure fought each other over Konoha's expected spoils. 6

During Third Mizukage Hyou's administration, Kirigakure adopted the “Bloody Mist” academy policy. Students were made to fight in pairs until only one survived, a system intended to produce elite and ruthless shinobi. 15 The village also possessed the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, acquired from Konoha during the first Kage Summit, but lacked the sealing expertise to produce successful jinchūriki. 44 47

Kirigakure and Kumogakure planned to exploit the Second Shinobi World War by attacking the Land of Whirlpools and seizing the Uzumaki Clan’s sealing inheritance. Seiji instead proposed bringing surviving Uzumaki into Kirigakure, allowing the village to gain both their techniques and their manpower. 47 51

Seiji Ōtsutsuki Administration

Seiji entered Kirigakure after the death of Kaguya Genji, intending to inherit his father’s connection to the village and use its resources to pursue the resurrection of his parents. 15 He later became the Fourth Mizukage after Hyou willingly transferred authority to him. 222 226

Under Seiji, the Bloody Mist policy was abolished and the academy was reformed into a six-year system. Civilian children with talent were no longer discarded by lethal graduation exams, while the village invested in building a larger long-term shinobi population. 222 253 254

Over five years of Seiji’s rule, Kirigakure developed a shared civic ideal centered on unity, sacrifice, tolerance, and dedication. 254 Its economy also became strong enough that the village no longer depended on the Land of Water’s annual funding. 382

Administrative Reforms

Department	Leadership and function
ANBU	Answered directly to the Mizukage; included Interrogation, Barrier, Code, and Communications Teams alongside standing squads. 236
Administrative Department	Led by Elder Genji; advised the Mizukage and handled village affairs. 236
Mission Department	Led by Mizukage Assistant Karatachi Yagura; managed missions and a contribution system that let shinobi exchange service for ninjutsu. 236
Foreign Affairs Department	Led by Third Mizukage Hyou; handled external diplomacy and relations with the Land of Water. 236
Finance Department	Led by Genji; managed budgets, expenditures, commerce, and village finances. 236
Education Department	Led by Seiji; oversaw the academy, non-shinobi training, and a Chakra technology laboratory headed by Sanzu Amado. 236
Police Department	Led by Ōtsutsuki Tenshin; maintained internal security, laws, and regulations. 236
Medical Department	Led by Hozuki Chino, with Ringo Minako as deputy; developed medical infrastructure and trained medical ninja. 236
Defense Department	Nominally headed by Seiji and administered by a committee of clan leaders and Suikazan Fuguki; coordinated the village’s military forces and defenses. 236

Military

Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were founded in Mist Year 35 as Kirigakure’s elite special force and the Third Mizukage’s Shadow Guard. Their intended duties included battlefield assaults, commander assassinations, decapitation operations, and other wartime missions. 52 58

• Seiji Ōtsutsuki — Original captain of the force and captain of the Third Mizukage’s Shadow Guard. 58
• Juzo Biwa — Wielder of the Executioner’s Blade. 58
• Suikazan Fuguki — Wielder of Samehada; formerly captain of ANBU First Division’s First Squad. 58
• Kushimaru Kuriarare — Wielder of Nuibari. 58
• Jinin Akebino — Wielder of Kabutowari; formerly one of Hyou’s guards. 58
• Munashi Jinpachi — Wielder of Shibuki. 58

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were later removed from ANBU and placed under the Defense Department. Their base was relocated to Training Ground 1, the site of Kirigakure’s Space Tunnel. 236 By Mist Year 42, every swordsman possessed Kage-level strength even without a ninja sword. 253

Strategic Assets

• Angkor Fortress — A flying fortress acquired for its Chakra technology and ability to deploy troops over vast distances. It enabled Kirigakure’s surprise attack on Sunagakure. 270 384 421
• Chakra Cannons — Used in naval ambushes and large-scale assaults, including operations against Sunagakure and Kumogakure. 516 546
• Uzumaki sealing and barrier techniques — Used to block enemy communications, secure battlefields, and identify weaknesses in defenses such as Konoha’s Guardian Barrier. 422 578
• Sensory network — Combined the Mind’s Eye of the Kagura, Byakugan users, and Perception Water Spheres to track enemy movements across an entire battlefield. 423
• Moon Base — Developed after Kirigakure gained control of the moon; constructed on a scale exceeding the village itself and intended as a major settlement and development center. 198 585

Major Arcs

Land of Whirlpools Operation

Kirigakure cooperated with Kumogakure in the invasion of the Land of Whirlpools, seeking the Uzumaki Clan’s sealing techniques. While Kumogakure led the direct assault on Uzushio Village, Kirigakure’s long-term position shifted toward integrating surviving Uzumaki into the village. 47 113 283

Consolidation and Revival

After resolving the Kaguya Clan threat, Seiji opened access to knowledge, ninjutsu, sealing techniques, and barrier techniques for Kirigakure shinobi. The village’s combat strength and number of high-level shinobi rose sharply. 222 253

Third Great Shinobi War

Kirigakure entered the Third Great Shinobi War with the stated objective of eliminating rival shinobi villages and unifying the Ninja World. The Land of Bears, already brought fully under Kirigakure’s control, served as the village’s forward command base. 383 412

Conquest of Sunagakure

Kirigakure used Angkor Fortress and Yagura’s large-scale Water Release to bypass Sunagakure’s border defenses and launch a surprise attack directly on the village. Uzumaki barriers prevented Sunagakure from calling for reinforcements, while the Seven Ninja Swordsmen attacked the Kazekage Tower. 421 422 429

The campaign ended with Fourth Kazekage Rasa captured, Chiyo and Ebizo killed, and Sunagakure annexed by Kirigakure. 527

Conquest of Iwagakure

Seiji led 3,000 Kirigakure Chunin from Sunagakure into the Land of Earth. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen silently eliminated Iwagakure’s border guards, while Seiji countered Ōnoki’s Dust Release with an absorbed copy of the same technique. 532 534

Kirigakure captured Han, the Five-Tails jinchūriki, destroyed Iwagakure’s resistance, killed Ōnoki, and took control of both Iwagakure and the Land of Earth. 542

Final Campaigns

Following the annexation of Sunagakure and Iwagakure, Kirigakure attacked Kumogakure at sea and continued its offensive against Konoha. By this stage, only the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning remained independent. 542 546 578 579

Relationships

• Land of Water — Kirigakure’s home nation; Seiji secured Lord Water’s support for the village’s development and later controlled the country’s political direction. 222 415
• Kaguya Clan — A founding clan whose later conflict with the village and internal divisions were resolved under Seiji’s administration. 6 15 222
• Uzumaki Clan — Provided sealing, barrier, sensory, and jinchūriki-related expertise after survivors relocated to Kirigakure. 47 143 423
• Kumogakure — Initially a partner in the Land of Whirlpools operation; later became a target of Kirigakure’s expansion. 47 113 546
• Konoha — A historical enemy and eventual primary target during Kirigakure’s campaign to unify the Ninja World. 6 412 578
• Sunagakure — Conquered and annexed after Kirigakure’s Angkor Fortress assault. 421 527
• Iwagakure — Conquered after the capture of Han and death of Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki. 534 542

Trivia

• Kirigakure’s first-generation Seven Ninja Swordsmen were formed in Mist Year 35. 58
• The village’s standard Hidden Mist Technique was considered essential training for Kirigakure Jonin and ANBU. 18
• Seiji’s reforms separated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen from ANBU, recognizing them as a dedicated military force rather than a covert-operations unit. 236
• Kirigakure’s villagers cheered for Seiji even when his Ten-Tails’ appearance caused tremors and immense pressure across the village. 587