Land of Infertile Soil



, is a small hidden village in Land of Infertile Soil, also called the Wasteland Country, that hosts a modest army of shinobi. While it isn't one of the Six Great Nations the people of this village do traditionally refer to their leader as a Kage. Oddly, it would seem that the village has been without a Kage for some time.

The entire country appears to be a barren wasteland, hence the name, and doesn't seem fit for any kind of life. While this may be true for a majority of the surface, the country contains a large and canyon system within it in which life has thrived. The largest of these canyons houses the entire hidden village of Kyoukoku within it. Within the canyon a large and complex city has been carved out with some places over 10 miles deep into the rock walls extending underground. Multiple rope bridges connect across the side of the canyon on multiple levels providing easier access for the citizens. At the bottom of the canyon there is a created an small bay where unique crops that grow well in salt are cultivated. Growing in the middle of the bay is a gigantic tree that the villagers claim to be over one thousand years old. Within the massive trunk of the tree the villages nobles families reside in intricately carved housing that has yet to disturb the life and growth of the tree

Although Kyoukoku, much like the country in which it resides, has remained out of the mainstream affairs of the ninja world for quite a long time, it remains one of the most active countries when it comes to missions p erformance occasionally outdoing some of the larger nations. Records also show that this village has never participated in the chunin exam. It would seem that this village is highly wealthy for its size and population, some predictions state that Kyoukoku has the greatest amount of wealth per capita of any hidden village.

Despite remaining mainly isolated from the rest of the ninja world the Kyoukoku does boost an incredible wealth without importing or exporting any resources. While it is only speculation, many people believe that Kyoukoku hires out their shinobi to other hidden villages to execute missions that they would like to keep unofficial. This has led many people to avoid the Wasteland Country all together and has caused people to think of the citizens from there as deadly assassins and invisible spies. This has yet to be confirmed or denied, though almost all countries' records show an multiple payments to Kyoukoku for a "Services Performed."

The culture has seems to be similar to the other hidden villages except that members of the two noble families all carry finely crafted swords. These blades range from single edged blades, like a katana, to double edged swords such as the jian. These swords are known around the ninja world to be of legendary quality and are sought heavily by collectors and swordsmen alike.