Hunter-nin (Waterkai)

"I know how you feel, but in this world, there exists people younger than you, yet stronger than me."

- Kakashi Hatake to Naruto Uzumaki about a Hunter-nin



The Hunter-nin (追い忍, Oinin; English TV "Tracker Ninja") are a special sub-devision within Kirigakure's ANBU forces, given the specific duty of hunting down missing-nin. They are normally seen wearing standard armored ANBU uniform but wear an alternate uniform in the past, consisting of a blue kimono with a striped, turtle-necked undershirt. They are lead by a commander generally addressed as Head-Captain (最高隊長, Saikōtaichō; literally. "Supreme Unit Commander"). The current head-captain is Arui Gobetsu, who's assisted by Ishiki Kazeyoshi. The members can be recognized by the Hunter-nin symbol that they have pictured somewhere on their clothes, along with the standard ANBU symbol and mask.

Overview


The Hunter-nin are known as a silent and mysterious group, and the members are feared throughout Kirigakure, despite their duty of protecting the village. To join the Hunter-nin, one must pass several difficult and almost horrifying tests, before one is introduced into the teachings of the Hunter-nin. Members posses a very detailed knowledge of human physiology, to the point that they can disable an opponent with acupuncture by hitting a precise point on the body with a senbon, to cause immediate death or a temporary appearance of such. Their system of Seiyashi is also based on their knowledge of the human body.

As mentioned before, Hunter-nin have the specific duty of hunting down the missing-nin of Kirigakure. They are unique to the Hidden Mist Village due it's high amount of criminals. They kill their target, taking the head as proof, and then completely dispose of the body by using various methods, such as cremation or the summoning of wild carrion crows to devour the corpse. This is done in order to make sure the village secrets which a ninja's body holds — such as chakra types, herbs eaten, ninjutsu, special medicine, and kekkei genkai — will not be revealed to outsiders. Hunter-nin are supposed to destroy the corpse at the very spot the body is lying; it is not to be moved after it is dead, and only the head is taken back to prove that the missing-nin is in fact dead. This is why they must possess a thorough and intimate knowledge of human anatomy. Due to their reputation for utterly and completely obliterating the remains of their targets, they are code-named "The Undertaker Squad".

The group generally consists of maximum 15 members, due the required skill level being very high. They are generally lead by a leader, addressed as Head-Captain, who's is sometimes assisted by a Assisting Head-Captain, but only he can decided whether he needs one. In order to take the test to join the group, one must be at least of chunin level, but, as seen with Arui, this rule can be forsaken when the person is recommended by the Mizukage. Hunter-nin are very loyal to their village, and members of the group who become a missing-nin themselves are always hunted down before others due their immense knowledge of the village secrets. The latter, however, rarely occurs.

Current Members

 * Arui Gobetsu - Head Captain
 * Ishiki Kazeyoshi - Assisting Head Captain
 * Ao