Land of Water (Njalm)

Considered nothing less than the most inhospitable of the five great nations, the Land of Water has seen more strife and bloodshed than any other nation. Wars have been waged between civilians for generations, and some of them still rage on even to this very day. Foreigners often attribute the great unrest in the nation to corrupt officials, leaders and the great deal of crime which happens inside its borders.

The truth is much different however. To those who live in the land of water, there are in fact very few alternatives, the environment kills those who do not actively fight for their survival, a single scrap of bread is often all it takes to doom or save a family. Food is scarce in most areas and the inhabitants are usually far too poor to get by. This results in high crime rates, and civil wars, where the aggressors and defenders are typically ordinary people from different neighbourhoods who either want to reclaim lost food, or take it from others. Usually by force.

All these events have over the years given the land of water another name, a name that is often used by its ordinary residents. The Land of Tears. As most know, the land of water is composed of dozens of different islands, each of which often have radically different climates and ecosystems - in some places, the difference between one island and the next are so great so as to make people believe that they've entered another nation altogether. Its not uncommon to see an arid desert island as little as one or two nautical miles from an island with arctic temperatures. Islands like these, which typically have high mountainous regions are believed to contribute much to the fact that the land of water finds itself plagued by violent hurricanes quite often. Usually at least once each week, the casualties vary, but its not uncommon for especially violent storms to take several dozen lives in a single day.

The 36 Numbers
There are precisely 36 inhabitated islands in the Land of Water. These islands vary greatly in population, environment and climate. The numbers representing the hospitality of every individual isle. With Number 36 being the absolute worst island to live on, while Number 1, an island more commonly known as Kirigakure is the dream of every desperate family in the entire nation. Among all these islands, only a certain few are named, and those are the isles numbered 1 to 6, as those are considered to be the absolute best places to live. However, only full-fledged Shinobi are permitted to live on these islands, and it is for this reason that the Land of Water has a disproportionally large military power in spite of its average population.

These islands are divided into seven regions, with each region being composed of multiple smaller islands. These islands are typically governed by a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the mist, except in certain cases where the Kage lacks both trust and faith in the swordsmen. Each of the seven swordsmen hail from one of these regions, and once accepted into their ranks, the new swordsman is granted control over the region from which they came. This is the traditional method, and most would say the best option both politically and in regards to the military.

Flora & Fauna
Due to the enormous variety between the 36 main islands, the flora and fauna of the land of water is without question the most diverse and varied in the entire world. The animals and plants that thrives in these environments often reflect the world they exist in, with both plant and beast often being extremely dangerous. Among these plants are A Mother's Sorrow, Maiden Tears, Wolfbane and Heroes' Bane. To merely live is an impressive feat within the land of water.

While land-dwelling animals are scarce, those few that do exist all pose a threat to human venturing too close to their territories, as they've adapted to live in these hellish conditions. Mostly humans take great care to avoid them, only rarely miustering their bravery when motivated by hunger. Many of these animals are larger versions of other species, and they usually grow huge due to island gigantism. Its estimated that around two-thirds of these animals are carnivores, and these animals actively hunt humans as prey, with a few species of animals even specializing in catching humans.

While in some places, evolution in land-dwelling animals have stopped, the marine life of the land of water is constantly changing and evolving, and it has a greater variety of aquatic creatures and lifeforms than any other place in the known world. Many of these creatures, like their land-dwelling cousins pose a great threat to humans, whether it is by venom, theeth, claw or size, many creatures of the Great Ocean are fully capable of, and frequently willing to kill humans. Examples of particularily deadly creatures include the Kaolu; masssive sea serpents that feast on sea farers, even trained shinobi are wary of these creatures for their chitinous scales are known to repel even Ninjutsu attacks. Besides, while on sea, such creatures can topple a ship with few issues. Smaller variants of the kaolu are known to dwell within the rivers of the larger islands in the land of water, and though they are much smaller than the ocean kaolu, they're just as ferocious.

Octopi are also quite common, most of these species are harmless and are regularily caught by the inhabitants for food, with one of the main exports in regards to seafood being the tender flesh of these creatures. Octopi occur only very rarely in foreign waters, and therefore the land of water has all but monopolized their trade. However, octopi come in many different sizes, the smallest are so small that they might be confused for small fish at first, whereas the biggest are large enough to topple seafaring vessels and wreak havoc on shoreside villages and settlements. Thankfully, the larger species of octopi very rarely come to the surface, and they're generally considered much less of a threat to seafarers than the kaolu.

However, while most outsiders are aware of the obvious dangers of the seas, primarily the kaolu, few outsiders are aware of the true threat of these waters. A danger which is primarily found right off the coast of Kirigakure. The Land of Water is home to a thousand different species of jellyfish, and these creatures are, unbeknownst to most foreigners the true reason why Kirigakure is founded at the exact island it is. For the waters around the Hidden Village is the prime breeding ground for these animals, normally, this would make Kirigakure a highly undesirable place for a settlement, as due to the immense occurence of jellyfish in these waters, they've been devoid of fish for over fifty years. However, shinobi settled down there eitherway - the reason? Jellyfish kills by envenoming their prey, and their venom is sometimes immensely potent, easily capable of taking human lives; even if the venom on its own isn't strong enough, the researchers in Kirigakure are nonetheless capable of mixing together this venom to achieve great results. Due to how all venomous species of jellyfish are native to the land of water, very few outside of Kirigakure are aware of how their venom operates and very few antidotes exist, with those in existence all being accounted for by the shinobi working on these venoms.

The People
As one would expect of the inhabitants of a place as unforgiving as the land of water, the people living there are desperate. With most living in poverty, the inhabitants of the 30 farther islands are dangerous to visitors, many of them would think little of killing someone to loot them of their money and belongings. Though most would prefer to resolve this by coercion rather than violence. To those living in the slums, there is little hope of a better life, and at most, all they can do is get by. At least, it used to be so before Fuyuki came to power. With the Mizukage frequently sending rain to most of the islands to increase the fertility of the crops. However, while their lives have improved under his rule, something which they usually acknowledge, the only true way to live a fulfilled if likely short life is to join the Academy of Kirigakure. The Shinobi Academy is one of the largest buildings in the entire village, with it having been established in a massive castle that once belonged to the Water Daimyo.

Unlike pretty much any other shinobi village, the academy of Kirigakure accepts people of all age groups, and being a shinobi grants great prestige and wealth; and while in the academy each attendant is granted a monthly stipend of several thousand ryo, which, while a rather small amount of money is likewise considered a fortune to those once stricken by poverty. Many family members, young and old choose to join the academy to become shinobi in order to provide for their families. For this reason, Kirigakure commands great military strength, and the education system to become a shinobi in Kirigakure is noteworthily advanced compared to other villages. Because most of its people is used to living in harsh conditions, most of them are largely unafraid of shinobi training and almost all attendants survive to become shinobi.

One could say that the brutal environment in which they were raised has served to mold the residents of the land of water into natural shinobi, and most barely even flinch at the thought of torture or psychological warfare. Their ethics having been cast aside long ago, thus, one can expect Kiriga Shinobi to undertake even the most demeaning and gruesome of missions without hesitation, for them, all that matters is that such missions often tempt with a bigger paycheck. Kiriga Shinobi are also known for their resistance to torture, as for they whom are used to live in a nation where the very nature around them actively punishes them for waking up in the morning, torture is little but an unusually painful nuisance.