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Dec. 10th, 2013 08:01 pmNote that all countries have a lord or king, and all hidden villages have some form of shinobi leader like a kage, but due to one of the older treaties, only the five great nations are allowed to have a leader whose title ends in 'kage'. Hoshigakure ignores this and has a kage anyway.
Independent Countries:
Land of Snow: The Land of Snow is a now desolate country in the north which once used to rival the five great nations with their ability to manipulate pre-existing ice into animal forms and combine chakra with technology with unrivaled efficiency. (Their chakra armor, which shields the user from many jutsu, is said to be the basis of the Land of Iron's samurai armor) After a coup d'état saw the murder of the lords of the land by the lord's tyrannical brother, Dotou Kazahana, the land has fallen into obscurity and weakness due to his squandering of the land's resources for his own pleasure.
Hidden village - Yukigakure : Yukigakure, like the land itself, has been almost completely plundered by Dotou. Most, if not all, of their technological techniques have been lost, and very few shinobi are raised up from Yukigakure. Those that are raised up are kept as personal servants for Lord Kazehana, and are never sent on mercenary missions, nor do they participate in the bi-annual chuunin exams. If the original versions of Chakra Armor still exist, they're known only to the highest echelons of Kazehana's personal guard.
Land of Sky: The Land of Sky was conquered and wiped out in the Second Ninja War. Their hidden village was personally destroyed by Konoha in retaliation to a powerful raid made during the war. Survivors and their descendants still exist, but remain hidden, posing as nukenin or civilians in order to pass. Sky ninja were noted for their ability to manipulate the wind element to such an extent that they could fly. Shinobi from this land were noted to be able to fashion intricate gliding devices to enhance their flight and allow them to attack using various jutsu while in flight. Obviously these devices would be lost to the survivors.
Benisu Island: An independent island between the Land of Fire and Lightning. The only civilization on the island is a village of shinobi merchants. They specialize in shinobi weapons and supplies for war, and use mostly jutsu that aids in travel and sales. Their combat jutsu tends to fall behind the warring villages. The Benisu have no interest in world politics and do not send their shinobi to Chuunin exams.
Land of Bean Jam: A small merchant island which specializes in sweets. No shinobi are known to come from this land. It's likely the real name of this country is known only to its residents.
Land of Bears: The Land of Bears is a heavily forested area near to the Land of Fire. Siege on the land is almost impossible due to the chasm of highly toxic gasses surrounding its hidden village (called the Devil's Ravine or Valley of Death). A meteorite crashed down near the hidden village a little over 200 years ago.
Hidden village - Hoshigakure : The Village Hidden Among the Stars is named after the meteorite which crashed in the site the village sprung up around. The village insists it is the oldest village, older than Konoha, but no proof exists of this. Hoshigakure is one of the only villages outside of the Five Great Nations to have a leader with 'kage' in name, despite the treaty disallowing this. The Hoshikage is kage in name only and holds no authority with the other five kage, nor is his strength near the level of other kage. In the past, Hoshigakure used a training method which absorbed the chakra-enhancing radiation that the meteorite emitted, creating massively powerful shinobi with almost unlimited chakra control--allowing them to manifest chakra in any form they wished. The most recent Hoshikage banned the practice, however, as the training and radiation usually led to organ failure and death (and even successful practitioners suffered rapid degeneration and death).
Hoshigakure is too proud to send their shinobi to any chuunin exam not hosted by them, and therefore make decisions over promotions themselves. Shinobi from Hoshigakure not trained in the star method aren't usually very powerful, but they are excellent with the crossbow, and are the only ones known to possess gasmasks capable of properly filtering the toxins present in the Devil's Ravine.
Certain whispers have been made of re-instating the Star practice recently, but the Third Hoshikage ignores them.
Land of Birds: Located between the Land of Wind and Land of Earth. Named after the large number of birds which migrate there each year. Until recently, the land had no shinobi presence. A group of rogue ninja has recently infiltrated the land and assassinated the lord of the land, seizing control of it. There are rumors of a ghost warrior that seeks revenge on the usurpers, but none substantiated. It possesses no hidden village, but had a thriving economy prior to the coup. The current ninja of the land boast the ability to copy any technique as a sharingan would allow, but in fact they use cheap tricks to make it appear as if they're able to use jutsu they can't.
Land of Claws: A minor country with a long-standing rivalry with the Land of Fangs. Their shinobi are used as a personal army for the lord of the land, specializing in claw-like weapons, and do not participate in the chuunin exams. They are currently attempting to make a tentative peace with the Land of Fangs.
Land of Demons: A religious country located near the Land of Frost led by a priestess who is said to be able to see the future. Although it possesses shinobi, they are few and exist only to serve and protect the priestess. Their country specializes in spiritual jutsus, sealing away creatures in non-living objects and permanent henge, taking on the form of someone else irreversibly. Maintaining sealed away creatures appears to take chakra directly from the priestess and seems to require a constant drain. It's said the priestess' jutsu allows her only to see her own death, which allows a chosen protector of hers to take her place and die instead to protect her from this. This jutsu appears to be a kekkai genkai and is only inherited through female descendants. Further, the sealing jutsu can only be performed and maintained by the female with the kekkai genkai.
They claim to have sealed away a large portion of dark chakra somewhere in their land, but the location is secret and heavily guarded. Most not from their land dismiss their ways as their religion, and nothing of use is to be found in the country to be worth conquering it.
Land of Fangs: A minor country with a long-standing rivalry with the Land of Claws. Their shinobi are used as a personal army for the lord of the land and do not participate in the chuunin exams. They are currently attempting to make a tentative peace with the Land of Claws. The Land of Fangs is noted to be filled with many sharp peaks, thus resulting in their name.
Land of Forests: A land so thickly forested that only natives can navigate it. A river flows through the middle of it which allows foreigners to pass by the land. The land has no hidden village, nor does it have shinobi. Their civilian soldiers are notably well skilled, however, and can navigate the forests of the land with ease.
Land of Frost: Located between the lands of Hot Water and Lightning. The country is unique in that the lord of the land is a shinobi from their hidden village. However, the current lord has become very absorbed in politics, rather than military.
Hidden Village - Shimogakure: A tiny hidden village, too small to send their shinobi to the Chuunin exams. They're noted for having primarily water nature shinobi. The land has become very political in recent years.
Land of Hot Water: Neighbors the Land of Sound and Land of Frost, at the time of the inception of the Chuunin exams, they were an influential country, but over time their people lost interest in violence and instead transformed the country into a land of hotspring resorts. Home to the rarely-practiced religion of Jashinism.
Hidden Village - Yugakure : Once a bloodthirtsy and violent village which followed the practice of Jashinism, its members since lost taste for war and bloodshed and decided to disband the village as a shinobi village. One member of the village was disgusted in this decision however, and instead slaughtered much of the village and left. Survivors of the village may exist, but no proper structure remains for teaching or training shinobi there.
Land of Honey: A minor, civilian-only country known for its riches and wealth of crops. It does not actually produce any honey of note. The wife of the lord recently vanished on the way to the Land of Bean Jam.
Land of Keys: Named after the skill the shinobi of the land show in espionage. They are a neutral nation who loan out their ninja to other countries in return for money and information. Their knowledge is said to be such that no other country dares to attack them for fear of what they may know or release to other countries. Little else is known about them.
Hidden Village - Joumae Village : One of the few hidden villages not named after its hiding place. Shinobi of this village are masters of information gathering, easily able to gain information from other more powerful villages to provide leverage in negotiations by the country. They are specially trained with the ability to interrogate while being interrogated. Their ultimate dojutsu is 'eye mind reading', which specifically uses other mind reading techniques to allow the user to probe the interrogator's mind for information instead. It can also be used as temporary storage for information, locking information about the village away from even the user to prevent information from being found, and then later restoring it.
Unlike other dojutsus, this dojutsu must be activated and maintained by eye-signs, but masters of this technique move so quickly and subtlely that only sharingan or byakugan would be able to detect this. Ninja of the village do not participate in chuunin exams, and if in danger of leaking information, the shinobi are instructed to kill themselves as a first, rather than last, resort.
Land of Mountains: A mountainous land near the Land of Fire. Previously at war with the Land of Fire, they maintain a tenuous cease-fire since the destruction of their shinobi village.
Hidden Village - Kagerou Village: One of the few shinobi villages whose location was never hidden, and therefore was easily destroyed in the second war. Despite their open location, they were masters of stealth and traps, able on a personal basis to easily elude even the most advanced ANBU of other villages, and able to place traps only visible by use of the Byakugan. No survivors are currently known to exist...but it's possible one or two may simply be hidden.
Land of Neck: Between the Land of Honey and Bean Jam, nothing but ruins and forest remain after it was slaughtered to a man during the second war. Rumors exist that the Lord's castle is haunted and no one who enters it ever returns.
Land of Noodles: A land known for creating the most premium noodles commercially available in the world. Its biggest export are those noodles. It has no military power nor shinobi power to speak of.
Land of Rivers: Home to the Katabami Kinzan gold mine and processing facility, and therefore a very wealthy country. Currently the gold mine is under control of one of the former Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, who possesses the dual swords Kiba. In the past, the Land of Rivers was also known for Takumi Village, which was among the first ninja weapon manufacturers. In recent times, other villages have caught up with their skill and made Takumi weapons obsolete, making the Land of Rivers more dependent on their gold mine.
Hidden Village - Tanigakure: A village once feared for their superior chakra-enhanced weapons. Recently, there is little of note to be found of Tanigakure, save for the Four Celestial Symbols men, who haven't been seen in years. Tangakure sends shinobi to the Chuunin exams infrequently. The Land of Rivers is more likely to rent shinobi than raise them.
Land of Sand: A civilian country with a famous lord, known for their carpenters. They have a good relationship with Konoha.
Land of Stone: A small country full of temples, led by a priest, located between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind. It's a neutral country home to the varied religions of the shinobi world, excepting Jashinism.
Hidden Village - Ishigakure: Little is known of Ishigakure except that it does not participate in the Chuunin exams and seems to operate independently of the priest. Shinobi from Ishigakure often specialize in Earth jutsu.
Land of Swamps: A minor country located near the Land of Demons. It's allied with the Land of Fire, but entirely civilian. The body belonging to the creature sealed by the priestess of the Land of Demons is hidden in this country, but few are aware of this.
Land of Tea: A small country composed of two separate islands. It exports mostly tea, and is entirely civilian. The ruler of the country is determined by a race held every four years. The family who hired the winning contestant rules. Recently, the two families have taken to hiring shinobi to compete for them. Officially there are no shinobi in the country, but the competing families have been known to adopt nukenin in the hope of getting long-term winners for free. Other nukenin are often hired in secret to 'interfere' with the other family's champion. Unofficially.
Land of That: A country composed of a single village, locked in a bitter rivalry with the Land of This. It has no native shinobi, but regularly hires mercenary, both from the five nations and nukenin. One of its Lord's family members has been taken hostage by the Land of This to maintain peace. It's located near the Land of This.
Land of This: A country composed of a single village, locked in a bitter rivalry with the land of That. It's located next to the Land of Fire and the land of Rivers. The castle town is famous for its many delicious foods and its grand food eating contest. The land of This has no shinobi employed, but it does have one rogue samurai who personally serves the lord of the country. It has adopted one of the Land of That's family members to maintain peace.
Land of Valleys: Officially, it has no hidden village. However, shinobi hail from the land, and have been on missions to retrieve information from the Five Great Nations. Unlike the Land of Keys, however, there is nothing remarkable about the shinobi from the Land of Valleys, and they are not very successful at information gathering so far.
Hidden Village - Tanimagakure: Nothing is known about this village, but it's presumably quite new. Shinobi from this village are known to attempt to infiltrate other villages disguised as members of the other village, and then the country hires that land to retrieve their 'rogue' ninja. In combat, however, the ninja do not measure up. No shinobi are recognized as officially sanctioned by the Land of Valleys, therefore none are sent to the Chuunin exams.
Land of Vegetables: A minor civilian town with a wealth of crops and riches. Recently the entire Lord's family was slaughtered by a group of wandering ninja, and the country has been seized by these ambitious ninja, who hope to turn the land into their army and begin conquering other lands with it. Although never having a hidden village of their own, the Land of Vegetables is home to a clan which specialized in a kenjutsu that combined ninjutsu, genjutsu, and sword-art to create powerful flower attacks.
All known members of the clan and the surviving daughter of the lord vanished shortly after the coup.
Land of Woods: Although not possessing a hidden village, they do train up hand-picked shinobi as elite ANBU. Those ANBU called the Prajñā Group, wield sword-length kunai and are considered exceptionally dangerous. The Land of Woods is not particularly friendly toward the Land of Fire.
Land of the Moon: A small crescent shaped island, home to a thriving economy and a small hidden village. It uses a different currency than ryou for its transactions. Its lord was peaceful and kind, but was recently overthrown by his ambitious advisor. The son of the lord and his grandson are on a long trek across the shinobi world, using the country's riches to build a grand caravan of goods and luxuries, including a circus.
Hidden Village - Getsugakure: The hidden village of the Land of the Moon. Its shinobi take part in the Chuunin exams. Little is known of the shinobi specialties, but they seem uninterested in the politics involving the civilian side of the government, readily following whichever ruler happens to be in place at the moment. It's unknown if the Three Wandering Ninja had any original affiliation with the village, but if so, it would suggest the village specializes in genjutsu and taijutsu.
Land of the Sea: A country composed of several small countries, closely allied with the Land of Waves for protection, as they have no hidden village of their own, and little in the way of trade with other nations. One of the islands hosts one of Orochimaru's hide-outs.
Rouran: A desolate and abandoned country lost in the desert. Once the most prosperous of countries in the shinobi world, it was destroyed by unknown forces shortly after hiring Konoha nin to protect its princess. In its height, it was powered by something that provided infinite chakra, but the secret to this was lost with the destruction of the city. Descendants of the survivors now live scattered across other countries, and no one remains to guard the lost secrets of Rouran except the harsh desert around it.
Independent Villages/Villages of unknown affiliation:
Genjutsu Tree Village: Although the village does not train its own shinobi, it is a location other countries send their shinobi to practice dealing with genjutsu, as the forest surrounding the village are full of trees which create a magnetic field that has genjutsu-like effects on minds. Recently, people who travel to Genjutsu Tree Village do not return.
Hachou Village: A village on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. They are very friendly with Tonika Village. An entirely civilian village, but with a very welcoming leader. Those without hometowns to return to may find themselves here.
Inaho Village: A tiny village located in the hills near the Land of Rice Paddies. It's known for its rice. Entirely civilian.
Kisaragi Village: A small village south of Konoha. Presumably under the Land of Fire's domain. A civilian village which unknowingly has one of the five spirit orbs for the chakra and consciousness of an accidentally sentient (and powerful) puppet hidden inside it.
Kusagakure: A hidden village in an unnamed country, bordering Land of Fire, Land of Earth, and Amegakure. In the days of the Sage of Six Paths, Kusagakure's country possessed weapons so powerful that they were considered one of the most influential countries. The weapon and the old version of the country were both destroyed in later wars. The village as it is now is an ally of the Five Great Nations, and sends its shinobi to Chuunin exams. The country is heavily forested, full of giant bamboo and massive mushrooms. Kusagakure shinobi are known for being able to analyze the techniques of opponents and anticipate attacks, thus keeping one step ahead of their opponents. Their country is similarly known for diplomacy and keeping one step ahead of their rival nations when in diplomatic talks.
Moyagakure: A village aligned with an unknown country. Known for creative poisons that cause victims to suffer discomforts other than pain, or uncontrollable and unconventional spasms that lead to death. The slow nature of their specialty, and their lack of any ninjutsu to speak of other than poisons make their threat minimal enough that most other countries ignore them.
Nadeshiko Village: A matriarchal village located on an island near the Land of Water. Although there are men in the village, only women become shinobi, and shinobi women only marry foreign shinobi. A kunoichi of Nadeshiko trains intensely until maturity and then travels the world searching for a male shinobi who can defeat them. When they find one, they return them to the village and marry them. The idea behind this is to breed powerful shinobi and prevent the men of the village from attempting to rule. They do not send their kunoichi to exams, as they have no ranking system among their kunoichi, and the rulers are decided by eldest daughter of the current ruler.
Sugi Village: An independent shinobi village located between the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning. They do not send their shinobi to the Chuunin exams, but they possess an unknown and powerful hidden jutsu strong enough that the Raikage himself showed interest in stealing it for the Land of Lightning's sake. Despite this, they usually hire other ninja to protect them, meaning the hidden jutsu is likely a sensory jutsu.
Takigakure: A hidden village in an unnamed country near the Fire Country. They have a long standing enmity with the Land of Fire, but neither country has successfully invaded the other. Kakuzu's heart-stealing jutsu (along with other, unnamed jutsu) are among the Waterfall's most prized, secret jutsus. They possess Chomei and the jinchuuriki Fuu. Fuu is widely neglected and hated by the villagers. The village also produces Hero Water every hundred years, which when drank will multiply a person's chakra by ten times...but the strain will often prove fatal. Shinobi of Takigakure are known to be powerful, ruthless, and cruel.
Tonika Village: A village located on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. There appears to be a very minor amount of Shinobi located in the village, who protect The Hole, which is a sacred oasis, which hosts many sacred objects. Residents of Tonika Village are charged with protecting the different sacred objects there. The spring waters in the oasis are said to accelerate healing. Within the Hole resides the legendary Ama no Hoko, which is said to give great power if one can master the Saezuri and use its sounds to control the legendary device. Due to their small population, shinobi of Tonika Village neither take missions nor attend Chuunin exams.
Tsuchigumo Village: A village composed of a single clan. Once a powerful village, their shinobi agreed to seal their most powerful attack (one capable of wiping out a village in one blast) in exchange for peace with Konoha. Due to their powerful secret, other countries hunted the shinobi almost to extinction. The clan had a further disagreement when their numbers dwindled, splitting them into two groups. The group which left the village has dwindled to all but extinction, leaving Tsuchigumo Village as the only true remnants of the clan. Although they have shinobi, they are weak and too proud to participate in the Chuunin exams. Recently, all contact with Tsuchigumo village has ceased.
Tsukigakure: (Not to be confused with the other moon village, Getsugakure) Their ruler is decided by heirs of the previous ruler. Despite being a shinobi village, they are extremely friendly to visitors, due to an old belief that visitors may one day save the village. Tsukigakure is known for its perfumes. Tsukigakure shinobi are known for their ability to seal opponents chakra through long range jutsu and sealing traps. They also have some skill in genjutsu.
Yumegakure: Located in a deep forest full of haze in a tiny country on the border of the Land of Fire. Shinobi of this village are known for their transformation techniques, and the ability to turn into creatures to aid in combat. Yumegakure is in possession of a creature close to the level of a tailed beast, and therefore has an alliance with Konoha to keep it sealed. Until recently, the village had fallen into poverty and in-fighting.
Independent Countries:
Land of Snow: The Land of Snow is a now desolate country in the north which once used to rival the five great nations with their ability to manipulate pre-existing ice into animal forms and combine chakra with technology with unrivaled efficiency. (Their chakra armor, which shields the user from many jutsu, is said to be the basis of the Land of Iron's samurai armor) After a coup d'état saw the murder of the lords of the land by the lord's tyrannical brother, Dotou Kazahana, the land has fallen into obscurity and weakness due to his squandering of the land's resources for his own pleasure.
Hidden village - Yukigakure : Yukigakure, like the land itself, has been almost completely plundered by Dotou. Most, if not all, of their technological techniques have been lost, and very few shinobi are raised up from Yukigakure. Those that are raised up are kept as personal servants for Lord Kazehana, and are never sent on mercenary missions, nor do they participate in the bi-annual chuunin exams. If the original versions of Chakra Armor still exist, they're known only to the highest echelons of Kazehana's personal guard.
Land of Sky: The Land of Sky was conquered and wiped out in the Second Ninja War. Their hidden village was personally destroyed by Konoha in retaliation to a powerful raid made during the war. Survivors and their descendants still exist, but remain hidden, posing as nukenin or civilians in order to pass. Sky ninja were noted for their ability to manipulate the wind element to such an extent that they could fly. Shinobi from this land were noted to be able to fashion intricate gliding devices to enhance their flight and allow them to attack using various jutsu while in flight. Obviously these devices would be lost to the survivors.
Benisu Island: An independent island between the Land of Fire and Lightning. The only civilization on the island is a village of shinobi merchants. They specialize in shinobi weapons and supplies for war, and use mostly jutsu that aids in travel and sales. Their combat jutsu tends to fall behind the warring villages. The Benisu have no interest in world politics and do not send their shinobi to Chuunin exams.
Land of Bean Jam: A small merchant island which specializes in sweets. No shinobi are known to come from this land. It's likely the real name of this country is known only to its residents.
Land of Bears: The Land of Bears is a heavily forested area near to the Land of Fire. Siege on the land is almost impossible due to the chasm of highly toxic gasses surrounding its hidden village (called the Devil's Ravine or Valley of Death). A meteorite crashed down near the hidden village a little over 200 years ago.
Hidden village - Hoshigakure : The Village Hidden Among the Stars is named after the meteorite which crashed in the site the village sprung up around. The village insists it is the oldest village, older than Konoha, but no proof exists of this. Hoshigakure is one of the only villages outside of the Five Great Nations to have a leader with 'kage' in name, despite the treaty disallowing this. The Hoshikage is kage in name only and holds no authority with the other five kage, nor is his strength near the level of other kage. In the past, Hoshigakure used a training method which absorbed the chakra-enhancing radiation that the meteorite emitted, creating massively powerful shinobi with almost unlimited chakra control--allowing them to manifest chakra in any form they wished. The most recent Hoshikage banned the practice, however, as the training and radiation usually led to organ failure and death (and even successful practitioners suffered rapid degeneration and death).
Hoshigakure is too proud to send their shinobi to any chuunin exam not hosted by them, and therefore make decisions over promotions themselves. Shinobi from Hoshigakure not trained in the star method aren't usually very powerful, but they are excellent with the crossbow, and are the only ones known to possess gasmasks capable of properly filtering the toxins present in the Devil's Ravine.
Certain whispers have been made of re-instating the Star practice recently, but the Third Hoshikage ignores them.
Land of Birds: Located between the Land of Wind and Land of Earth. Named after the large number of birds which migrate there each year. Until recently, the land had no shinobi presence. A group of rogue ninja has recently infiltrated the land and assassinated the lord of the land, seizing control of it. There are rumors of a ghost warrior that seeks revenge on the usurpers, but none substantiated. It possesses no hidden village, but had a thriving economy prior to the coup. The current ninja of the land boast the ability to copy any technique as a sharingan would allow, but in fact they use cheap tricks to make it appear as if they're able to use jutsu they can't.
Land of Claws: A minor country with a long-standing rivalry with the Land of Fangs. Their shinobi are used as a personal army for the lord of the land, specializing in claw-like weapons, and do not participate in the chuunin exams. They are currently attempting to make a tentative peace with the Land of Fangs.
Land of Demons: A religious country located near the Land of Frost led by a priestess who is said to be able to see the future. Although it possesses shinobi, they are few and exist only to serve and protect the priestess. Their country specializes in spiritual jutsus, sealing away creatures in non-living objects and permanent henge, taking on the form of someone else irreversibly. Maintaining sealed away creatures appears to take chakra directly from the priestess and seems to require a constant drain. It's said the priestess' jutsu allows her only to see her own death, which allows a chosen protector of hers to take her place and die instead to protect her from this. This jutsu appears to be a kekkai genkai and is only inherited through female descendants. Further, the sealing jutsu can only be performed and maintained by the female with the kekkai genkai.
They claim to have sealed away a large portion of dark chakra somewhere in their land, but the location is secret and heavily guarded. Most not from their land dismiss their ways as their religion, and nothing of use is to be found in the country to be worth conquering it.
Land of Fangs: A minor country with a long-standing rivalry with the Land of Claws. Their shinobi are used as a personal army for the lord of the land and do not participate in the chuunin exams. They are currently attempting to make a tentative peace with the Land of Claws. The Land of Fangs is noted to be filled with many sharp peaks, thus resulting in their name.
Land of Forests: A land so thickly forested that only natives can navigate it. A river flows through the middle of it which allows foreigners to pass by the land. The land has no hidden village, nor does it have shinobi. Their civilian soldiers are notably well skilled, however, and can navigate the forests of the land with ease.
Land of Frost: Located between the lands of Hot Water and Lightning. The country is unique in that the lord of the land is a shinobi from their hidden village. However, the current lord has become very absorbed in politics, rather than military.
Hidden Village - Shimogakure: A tiny hidden village, too small to send their shinobi to the Chuunin exams. They're noted for having primarily water nature shinobi. The land has become very political in recent years.
Land of Hot Water: Neighbors the Land of Sound and Land of Frost, at the time of the inception of the Chuunin exams, they were an influential country, but over time their people lost interest in violence and instead transformed the country into a land of hotspring resorts. Home to the rarely-practiced religion of Jashinism.
Hidden Village - Yugakure : Once a bloodthirtsy and violent village which followed the practice of Jashinism, its members since lost taste for war and bloodshed and decided to disband the village as a shinobi village. One member of the village was disgusted in this decision however, and instead slaughtered much of the village and left. Survivors of the village may exist, but no proper structure remains for teaching or training shinobi there.
Land of Honey: A minor, civilian-only country known for its riches and wealth of crops. It does not actually produce any honey of note. The wife of the lord recently vanished on the way to the Land of Bean Jam.
Land of Keys: Named after the skill the shinobi of the land show in espionage. They are a neutral nation who loan out their ninja to other countries in return for money and information. Their knowledge is said to be such that no other country dares to attack them for fear of what they may know or release to other countries. Little else is known about them.
Hidden Village - Joumae Village : One of the few hidden villages not named after its hiding place. Shinobi of this village are masters of information gathering, easily able to gain information from other more powerful villages to provide leverage in negotiations by the country. They are specially trained with the ability to interrogate while being interrogated. Their ultimate dojutsu is 'eye mind reading', which specifically uses other mind reading techniques to allow the user to probe the interrogator's mind for information instead. It can also be used as temporary storage for information, locking information about the village away from even the user to prevent information from being found, and then later restoring it.
Unlike other dojutsus, this dojutsu must be activated and maintained by eye-signs, but masters of this technique move so quickly and subtlely that only sharingan or byakugan would be able to detect this. Ninja of the village do not participate in chuunin exams, and if in danger of leaking information, the shinobi are instructed to kill themselves as a first, rather than last, resort.
Land of Mountains: A mountainous land near the Land of Fire. Previously at war with the Land of Fire, they maintain a tenuous cease-fire since the destruction of their shinobi village.
Hidden Village - Kagerou Village: One of the few shinobi villages whose location was never hidden, and therefore was easily destroyed in the second war. Despite their open location, they were masters of stealth and traps, able on a personal basis to easily elude even the most advanced ANBU of other villages, and able to place traps only visible by use of the Byakugan. No survivors are currently known to exist...but it's possible one or two may simply be hidden.
Land of Neck: Between the Land of Honey and Bean Jam, nothing but ruins and forest remain after it was slaughtered to a man during the second war. Rumors exist that the Lord's castle is haunted and no one who enters it ever returns.
Land of Noodles: A land known for creating the most premium noodles commercially available in the world. Its biggest export are those noodles. It has no military power nor shinobi power to speak of.
Land of Rivers: Home to the Katabami Kinzan gold mine and processing facility, and therefore a very wealthy country. Currently the gold mine is under control of one of the former Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, who possesses the dual swords Kiba. In the past, the Land of Rivers was also known for Takumi Village, which was among the first ninja weapon manufacturers. In recent times, other villages have caught up with their skill and made Takumi weapons obsolete, making the Land of Rivers more dependent on their gold mine.
Hidden Village - Tanigakure: A village once feared for their superior chakra-enhanced weapons. Recently, there is little of note to be found of Tanigakure, save for the Four Celestial Symbols men, who haven't been seen in years. Tangakure sends shinobi to the Chuunin exams infrequently. The Land of Rivers is more likely to rent shinobi than raise them.
Land of Sand: A civilian country with a famous lord, known for their carpenters. They have a good relationship with Konoha.
Land of Stone: A small country full of temples, led by a priest, located between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind. It's a neutral country home to the varied religions of the shinobi world, excepting Jashinism.
Hidden Village - Ishigakure: Little is known of Ishigakure except that it does not participate in the Chuunin exams and seems to operate independently of the priest. Shinobi from Ishigakure often specialize in Earth jutsu.
Land of Swamps: A minor country located near the Land of Demons. It's allied with the Land of Fire, but entirely civilian. The body belonging to the creature sealed by the priestess of the Land of Demons is hidden in this country, but few are aware of this.
Land of Tea: A small country composed of two separate islands. It exports mostly tea, and is entirely civilian. The ruler of the country is determined by a race held every four years. The family who hired the winning contestant rules. Recently, the two families have taken to hiring shinobi to compete for them. Officially there are no shinobi in the country, but the competing families have been known to adopt nukenin in the hope of getting long-term winners for free. Other nukenin are often hired in secret to 'interfere' with the other family's champion. Unofficially.
Land of That: A country composed of a single village, locked in a bitter rivalry with the Land of This. It has no native shinobi, but regularly hires mercenary, both from the five nations and nukenin. One of its Lord's family members has been taken hostage by the Land of This to maintain peace. It's located near the Land of This.
Land of This: A country composed of a single village, locked in a bitter rivalry with the land of That. It's located next to the Land of Fire and the land of Rivers. The castle town is famous for its many delicious foods and its grand food eating contest. The land of This has no shinobi employed, but it does have one rogue samurai who personally serves the lord of the country. It has adopted one of the Land of That's family members to maintain peace.
Land of Valleys: Officially, it has no hidden village. However, shinobi hail from the land, and have been on missions to retrieve information from the Five Great Nations. Unlike the Land of Keys, however, there is nothing remarkable about the shinobi from the Land of Valleys, and they are not very successful at information gathering so far.
Hidden Village - Tanimagakure: Nothing is known about this village, but it's presumably quite new. Shinobi from this village are known to attempt to infiltrate other villages disguised as members of the other village, and then the country hires that land to retrieve their 'rogue' ninja. In combat, however, the ninja do not measure up. No shinobi are recognized as officially sanctioned by the Land of Valleys, therefore none are sent to the Chuunin exams.
Land of Vegetables: A minor civilian town with a wealth of crops and riches. Recently the entire Lord's family was slaughtered by a group of wandering ninja, and the country has been seized by these ambitious ninja, who hope to turn the land into their army and begin conquering other lands with it. Although never having a hidden village of their own, the Land of Vegetables is home to a clan which specialized in a kenjutsu that combined ninjutsu, genjutsu, and sword-art to create powerful flower attacks.
All known members of the clan and the surviving daughter of the lord vanished shortly after the coup.
Land of Woods: Although not possessing a hidden village, they do train up hand-picked shinobi as elite ANBU. Those ANBU called the Prajñā Group, wield sword-length kunai and are considered exceptionally dangerous. The Land of Woods is not particularly friendly toward the Land of Fire.
Land of the Moon: A small crescent shaped island, home to a thriving economy and a small hidden village. It uses a different currency than ryou for its transactions. Its lord was peaceful and kind, but was recently overthrown by his ambitious advisor. The son of the lord and his grandson are on a long trek across the shinobi world, using the country's riches to build a grand caravan of goods and luxuries, including a circus.
Hidden Village - Getsugakure: The hidden village of the Land of the Moon. Its shinobi take part in the Chuunin exams. Little is known of the shinobi specialties, but they seem uninterested in the politics involving the civilian side of the government, readily following whichever ruler happens to be in place at the moment. It's unknown if the Three Wandering Ninja had any original affiliation with the village, but if so, it would suggest the village specializes in genjutsu and taijutsu.
Land of the Sea: A country composed of several small countries, closely allied with the Land of Waves for protection, as they have no hidden village of their own, and little in the way of trade with other nations. One of the islands hosts one of Orochimaru's hide-outs.
Rouran: A desolate and abandoned country lost in the desert. Once the most prosperous of countries in the shinobi world, it was destroyed by unknown forces shortly after hiring Konoha nin to protect its princess. In its height, it was powered by something that provided infinite chakra, but the secret to this was lost with the destruction of the city. Descendants of the survivors now live scattered across other countries, and no one remains to guard the lost secrets of Rouran except the harsh desert around it.
Independent Villages/Villages of unknown affiliation:
Genjutsu Tree Village: Although the village does not train its own shinobi, it is a location other countries send their shinobi to practice dealing with genjutsu, as the forest surrounding the village are full of trees which create a magnetic field that has genjutsu-like effects on minds. Recently, people who travel to Genjutsu Tree Village do not return.
Hachou Village: A village on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. They are very friendly with Tonika Village. An entirely civilian village, but with a very welcoming leader. Those without hometowns to return to may find themselves here.
Inaho Village: A tiny village located in the hills near the Land of Rice Paddies. It's known for its rice. Entirely civilian.
Kisaragi Village: A small village south of Konoha. Presumably under the Land of Fire's domain. A civilian village which unknowingly has one of the five spirit orbs for the chakra and consciousness of an accidentally sentient (and powerful) puppet hidden inside it.
Kusagakure: A hidden village in an unnamed country, bordering Land of Fire, Land of Earth, and Amegakure. In the days of the Sage of Six Paths, Kusagakure's country possessed weapons so powerful that they were considered one of the most influential countries. The weapon and the old version of the country were both destroyed in later wars. The village as it is now is an ally of the Five Great Nations, and sends its shinobi to Chuunin exams. The country is heavily forested, full of giant bamboo and massive mushrooms. Kusagakure shinobi are known for being able to analyze the techniques of opponents and anticipate attacks, thus keeping one step ahead of their opponents. Their country is similarly known for diplomacy and keeping one step ahead of their rival nations when in diplomatic talks.
Moyagakure: A village aligned with an unknown country. Known for creative poisons that cause victims to suffer discomforts other than pain, or uncontrollable and unconventional spasms that lead to death. The slow nature of their specialty, and their lack of any ninjutsu to speak of other than poisons make their threat minimal enough that most other countries ignore them.
Nadeshiko Village: A matriarchal village located on an island near the Land of Water. Although there are men in the village, only women become shinobi, and shinobi women only marry foreign shinobi. A kunoichi of Nadeshiko trains intensely until maturity and then travels the world searching for a male shinobi who can defeat them. When they find one, they return them to the village and marry them. The idea behind this is to breed powerful shinobi and prevent the men of the village from attempting to rule. They do not send their kunoichi to exams, as they have no ranking system among their kunoichi, and the rulers are decided by eldest daughter of the current ruler.
Sugi Village: An independent shinobi village located between the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning. They do not send their shinobi to the Chuunin exams, but they possess an unknown and powerful hidden jutsu strong enough that the Raikage himself showed interest in stealing it for the Land of Lightning's sake. Despite this, they usually hire other ninja to protect them, meaning the hidden jutsu is likely a sensory jutsu.
Takigakure: A hidden village in an unnamed country near the Fire Country. They have a long standing enmity with the Land of Fire, but neither country has successfully invaded the other. Kakuzu's heart-stealing jutsu (along with other, unnamed jutsu) are among the Waterfall's most prized, secret jutsus. They possess Chomei and the jinchuuriki Fuu. Fuu is widely neglected and hated by the villagers. The village also produces Hero Water every hundred years, which when drank will multiply a person's chakra by ten times...but the strain will often prove fatal. Shinobi of Takigakure are known to be powerful, ruthless, and cruel.
Tonika Village: A village located on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. There appears to be a very minor amount of Shinobi located in the village, who protect The Hole, which is a sacred oasis, which hosts many sacred objects. Residents of Tonika Village are charged with protecting the different sacred objects there. The spring waters in the oasis are said to accelerate healing. Within the Hole resides the legendary Ama no Hoko, which is said to give great power if one can master the Saezuri and use its sounds to control the legendary device. Due to their small population, shinobi of Tonika Village neither take missions nor attend Chuunin exams.
Tsuchigumo Village: A village composed of a single clan. Once a powerful village, their shinobi agreed to seal their most powerful attack (one capable of wiping out a village in one blast) in exchange for peace with Konoha. Due to their powerful secret, other countries hunted the shinobi almost to extinction. The clan had a further disagreement when their numbers dwindled, splitting them into two groups. The group which left the village has dwindled to all but extinction, leaving Tsuchigumo Village as the only true remnants of the clan. Although they have shinobi, they are weak and too proud to participate in the Chuunin exams. Recently, all contact with Tsuchigumo village has ceased.
Tsukigakure: (Not to be confused with the other moon village, Getsugakure) Their ruler is decided by heirs of the previous ruler. Despite being a shinobi village, they are extremely friendly to visitors, due to an old belief that visitors may one day save the village. Tsukigakure is known for its perfumes. Tsukigakure shinobi are known for their ability to seal opponents chakra through long range jutsu and sealing traps. They also have some skill in genjutsu.
Yumegakure: Located in a deep forest full of haze in a tiny country on the border of the Land of Fire. Shinobi of this village are known for their transformation techniques, and the ability to turn into creatures to aid in combat. Yumegakure is in possession of a creature close to the level of a tailed beast, and therefore has an alliance with Konoha to keep it sealed. Until recently, the village had fallen into poverty and in-fighting.
