Iwagakure

is the hidden village of the Land of Earth. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, Iwagakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Tsuchikage, current being Ōnoki. Iwagakure is well-known for the rock-hard attitude of its shinobi; as soon as the Tsuchikage gives an order, the Iwa-nin do so without hesitation, even if it means death. Iwagakure ninja seem to specialise in Earth Release techniques.

The rocky mountain ranges that surround the village and country provide a natural stronghold. The village profits from this advantageous position and is proud of its strong defences. The village sits among a mountain range consisting of small narrow waterfalls, with the buildings being composed of rock and stone; shaped from large, elevated formations of rock into tower-like structures. Many of its buildings sit on cliffs connected by a network of bridges. The Tsuchikage's palace seems to be the tallest structure with a cone shaped roof.

History
Around the time of the First Shinobi World War, the First Hokage gave Iwa two tailed beasts as peace offerings to ensure balance among Five Great Shinobi Countries: the Four-Tails and the Five-Tails. The Five-Tails, sealed within Han, was captured by Akatsuki under unknown circumstances. The Four-Tails, sealed within Rōshi, was captured by Kisame Hoshigaki while he was exploring the world. In the anime, Akatsuki had claimed that the villages of its first two jinchūriki, which Deidara indicates Han to have been one of, did not care and were glad to be rid of them.

Iwagakure played a small role during the Second Shinobi World War, being one of the villages to participate. The Third Shinobi World War would later make up for this, as Iwagakure becomes the main focus of the war by fighting against Konohagakure across Kusagakure. Despite the actions of Minato Namikaze, Iwagakure had the advantage in the was and was successfully pushing Konoha back into the Land of Fire. When Konoha destroyed the Kannabi Bridge, they cut off Iwagakure's line of supply and turned the war in their favour. Due to their close proximity, Sunagakure and Iwagakure have had many battles over the years, resulting in a bitter enmity between the two villages and their ninja which they are slow to relinquish, even during the Fourth Shinobi World War, where they are allies.

In the past, the Tsuchikage were known for using underhanded tactics to win against their enemies. This included maintaining a strong military strength in times of peace by frequently employing Akatsuki secretly to fight for them during any quarrels they would encounter. This would later earn Iwagakure the disapproval of the hidden villages of the other great nations. Deidara, after stealing the village's kinjutsu, defected from the village because his art wasn't appreciated by his fellow village members, including the Third himself. In the anime, it was revealed that he had destroyed the village with explosives before leaving. He would later accept missions by governments across the nation as a terrorist bomber for hire, which would eventually lead him to being forced into join Akatsuki. Nevertheless, Iwagakure ninja still hold him in high regard.

In the anime, Iwa was also known to have attempted to destroy Konoha many times in the past. Iwa had in the past used their infamous Kamizuru clan to guide them in the battlefield. Unfortunately, they were stopped by the rival bug-users of Konoha: the Aburame clan. After the invasion of Konoha led by Orochimaru had occurred, Iwa took the opportunity to strike back at Konoha by deploying an extensive amount of genin led by an Iwagakure jōnin to attack the destroyed village. However, the battalion was disposed of by Kosuke Maruboshi with the help of subordinates. Ten years before the Fourth Shinobi World War, Kirigakure requested Iwa's assistance in retrieving valuable documents stolen during Kumo's time of lust for power. Shortly after the documents were retrieved, the group of Iwa-nin betrayed Kiri on the orders of the Tsuchikage. This betrayal led to a decade of tension between Iwa and Kiri, before the situation was settled, just short of the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Fourth Great Shinobi War
At the beginning of the Five Kage Summit Arc, Iwagakure shinobi are seen sending the Tsuchikage and his bodyguards off. When they arrived at the summit, Ōnoki was verbally attacked by the Fourth Raikage who accused him of having affiliations with Akatsuki. However Ōnoki retaliates by commenting on Kumogakure's active lust for power in order to defend his village's actions. After the declaration of the Fourth Shinobi World War by Tobi, Ōnoki declares the creation of the very first Shinobi Alliance after much discussion. Ōnoki later travels back to Kumogakure along with a bodyguard to attend another meeting of the five Kage to discuss preparation for the war. Upon approval from the Earth Daimyō, Iwagakure forces set out for Kumo to attend the upcoming war. By allying with former enemy villages, the Tsuchikage appologises, in the anime, for the bad blood caused, showing a change in Ōnoki's view of the shinobi world and its future. Shortly before the war, Kitsuchi is appointed commander of the Second Division.

Trivia

 * The second fanbook gives Iwagakure a population size of four out of five stars, a military strength of four out of five stars, and an economic strength of two out of five stars. Along with Kumogakure, it has the greatest military strength of the five main shinobi villages.
 * Initially, Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi were the only two among the shinobi of Iwagakure to keep their red undershirts and forehead protectors, distinguished in the manga. The rest keep their brown undershirts and blue head protector, as they were coloured first in the anime. This was fixed as of Shippūden episode 254.
 * Two common features of Iwagakure shinobi are only having one sleeve and lapel, the lapel usually being on the side without the sleeve.