List of Ninja Tools

The ninja in Naruto are often seen using various tools or weapons to help them in battle. The following is a list of the known weapons.

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Animals
Users: Many characters.

Description: During the Chûnin exam, it was confirmed that animals can be considered a ninja tool. This was brought into question immediately prior to Naruto's fight with Kiba Inuzuka.

A ninja's jutsu may often involve use of various animals; most notably among the Leaf ninja are the Aburame clan, who form a symbiotic relationship with a certain type of insect, and the Inuzuka clan, which favors the use of canines in battle. In this first style of animal usage, the relationship between ninja and animal extends beyond battle, as they will be in each other's company for most of their lives. The ninja will develop a unique style to maximize coordination between himself and his animal partner(s).

Another form of animal usage, and far more common, comes from the Summoning Jutsu. This method is a time/space jutsu, which calls an animal to the user during battle after drawing blood and using sufficient chakra.

Chakra Knife
Users: Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara

Description: The chakra knife is made of a special metal that draws the user's elemental chakra out to enhance the blade. This worked particularly well for Asuma, since his Wind element made its cutting power considerable higher. Shikamaru was also able to use the knife as a point from which he could manipulate shadows. In the Anime, they are known as 'Trench Knives'.

Explosive Tag
Users: Most ninja.

Description: Also known as "shiki" tags or paper bombs, explosive tags are not quite as common as standard throwing tools, but still see quite a bit of use. First introduced during the Chunin exam arc, when Oboro threw one attached to a kunai at Sasuke, they became almost commonplace after that. Explosive tags can be attached to almost anything via wire or adhesives (as one note was stuck to a squirrel's back), and detonate after a predetermined amount of time. They can be used in distractions, or even in deadly blows.

Katana
Users: Sasuke Uchiha, Zabuza Momochi, Kisame Hoshigaki, Suigetsu, Hayate Gekko, Orochimaru, most Konoha ANBU members, some others.

Description: "Katana" is the general description of any bladed weapon longer than a dagger. They vary in size, shape, and even material. Katana, when used, often become the central focus of the ninja's jutsus, with the ninja developing techniques to maximize his sword's efficiency.

Traditional use In tradition, a katana is a single-edged sword designed for open-field combat. The blunt end of the katana could be, technically, used as a bludgeon tool. The forging of a katana can take over half a day, and is still considered an art in today's society. Katanas are not made for precise cutting-related attacks, since it could damage the blade. Wakizashi, basically a sword with a blade length in between that of a katana and a dagger, complements the use of a katana. The wakizashi is used where the katana could not, including executions and seppuku, ritual suicide, as such precise actions can dull or snap the katana's blade.

Katanas:
 * Guillotine Sword (Zabuza's Zanbatō sword)
 * Samehada (Shark Skin, Kisame's Zanbatō sword)
 * Sword of The Thunder Spirit
 * Kusanagi, Orochimaru's sword.

Kotetsu's Giant Mace
Users: Kotetsu Hagane

Descripon: Kotetsu carries this weapon in a scroll to save space. It has a massive striking area, with a relatively short handle, but also a chain running from behind the head to the end of the handle which Kotetsu can use to hold on to.

During the first battle with Hidan and Kakuzu, at the near end, Kotetsu summoned a large mace and with the help of Izumo, Kotetsu tried to strike Kakuzu while he was distracted. He was only to fail at Kakuzu's stretching arms. Fortunately for the team, reinforcements arrived, but Asuma wasn't stopped from dying.

Kunai
Users: Most characters

Description: Kunai knives are weapons useful for melee or ranged combat. They mainly consist of a short, diamond-shaped blade, with a handle and a ring on the end. The ring is useful for grabbing the kunai, or attaching string to it. There are also different shapes of kunai, like Minato Namikaze's three-bladed kunai.

Traditional use Kunai are often described as "leaf-shaped" tools. They are often wrought of iron, its only sharp section being the tip. A kunai is used for smashing and other chores that would destroy a steel-forged tool. Because of its gardening use, kunai can be used openly for gardening by a ninja without raising suspicion. Kunai are not made to be thrown, although they can inflict serious damage and are capable of being thrown.

Sanshokugan
Users: Choji Akimichi and the rest of the Akimichi clan.

Description: The Sanshokugan are a trio of pellets, similar to military rations pellets, but noticeably larger. They boost the power and chakra of the user, but they also carry detrimental side-effects.

Horengan: The first of the three pellets, the horengan is called the "spinach pellet" and appropriately green in color. It boosts one's physical power for a short period, but also causes damage, similar to the way opening the chakra gates damages Rock Lee.

Karêgan: This second pellet is the yellow "curry" pellet. It boosts one's chakra as well, and enabled Choji to use partial expansions on his body, as well as the Art of Super-expansion, in his fight with Jirobo. In return, it causes him even more pain than the Horengan, and he is paralyzed temporarily after he takes it.

Tongarashigan: The last of the three pellets, the red "chili pepper" pellet, carries strength that surpasses the other two entirely. It boosts Choji's strength to 100 times what it was before, and enables him to deliver a single mortal punch to Jirobo. Its side effects are so severe, however, that the user generally dies after taking it. If it were not for Tsunade's access to the Nara clan's medical records, Choji, too, would have died.

Senbon
Users: Haku, Kin

Description:  are acupuncture needles, made of either wood or metal. Haku uses them as both throwing and melee weapons. Kin uses them in conjunction with bells and strings to activate a genjustsu. They strike a very precise target, but are often non-fatal. Senbon is most used by ninjas with medical knowledge.

Traditional use Senbon are used in acupuncture - a Chinese medical procedure. The thought behind acupuncture is that pressing particular points on the body, pressure points, would adjust the inner elements of the body (not so different compared to the chakra circulatory and the Gentle Fist style), thus relieving ailments.

Shuriken
Users: Most characters

Description: The normal  (also known, in colloquial speach, as "ninja stars") are sharpened, four-pronged metal stars, useful for throwing. Though small, they can be used to distract, or, if accurate enough, could be deadly. They have an open circle in the center, used for grabbing with a finger, to avoid cutting oneself, or thread. The circle is also a benefit in aerodynamics, for more accurate trajectories.

Traditional Use The common misconception behind shuriken is that they were meant for assasination and killing; they are not, in tradition. They are often used by ninja as a way to distract opponents to gain the upper hand. Shuriken are easy to make and could be made out of the most common materials, including old coins, etc... The designs of a shuriken can vary, and are often unique to different ninja clans. Furthermore, the term "shuriken" also applies to a type of throwing weapon that did not have a star-shape. They were instead thick nail-like weapons, which were more deadly than the stars.

Makibishi
Users: Kakashi Hatake

Description:  are small spiky objects that are used to hurt the feet of the enemy. Also known as "throwing nails", they can cover one's retreat, or be used to force an opponent into a certain tactical location. Their three-pronged design guaranteed that one sharp end would always be pointing at the sky, where a foot can step upon.

Traditional Use Its use in tradition is similar, as most people of feudal Japan wore straw shoes rather than boots, which provide little protection against the makibishi. Makibishi could be poisoned, which may result in fatal injuries. Myth says that there were also explosive makibishi, makubishirai, where a makibishi would detonate when stepped upon.

Military Rations Pellets
Users: Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akimichi, some others.

Description: Military rations pellets were originally distributed to soldiers during the Great Ninja Wars. They boost the user's chakra, distributing it evenly to every part of the body, and in essence making it function like an animal's.

Puppets
Users: Kankuro, Chiyo, Sasori.

Description: All puppets are different. However, they all work on the same fundamental principle. The puppeteer is a master of Kugutsu no Jutsu, and uses threads of chakra to manipulate the puppet's movements. A trend among puppeteers is to have hidden traps among their puppets, and to use poisons, smoke bombs, and other devices to incapacitate their enemy. Often, the controller of the puppet is a weak close-range fighter. The use of puppet-related jutsu are most often associated with the Hidden Sand.

Tonfa

 * Users:

Windmill Shuriken
Users: Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki

Description: The  is roughly the same size as the large shuriken, but has a unique shape. The four blades that make up the Windmill Shuriken are curved along their inside edge, presumably to allow for better slicing power and faster flight than a straight-edge shuriken. It is so large that the weapon is designed to fold so that it would fit inside a large backpack. Windmill shurikens are probably more dangerous than large shuriken, but it takes more time to prepare such a weapon for use.