Twelve Guardian Ninja

The were the bodyguards of the Land of Fire's daimyō. Membership is indicated by the waistcloth they wear, marked with the kanji for.

History
The group was composed of twelve skilled ninja drawn from around the Land of Fire. Their only task was to protect the country's daimyō, even at the cost of their own lives. In Itachi Shinden: Book of Bright Light, two Guardian Ninja accompanied the daimyō on his annual trip to Konohagakure, but were paralysed by the masked man; the man was driven off by Konoha's Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake. The Guardian Ninja were eventually disbanded.

In the anime, around two years after the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, six of the Guardian Ninja – led by Kazuma – let their single goal of protecting the Land of Fire consume them into become radicals, believing that the status quo of the world was to delicate and the military resources of their country was wasted on Konohagakure with their more passive approach. Believing they had to "unite" the country under one leadership, the Fire Daimyō, they became determined to overthrow the Hokage and destroy the ninja village. At the same time, to ensure their country's continued safety and prosperity, they began making plans to invade and conquer the rest of the world under their country's authority. When the daimyō found out about this, he rejected the proposal and ordered the six loyal Guardian Ninja (Asuma Sarutobi, Chiriku, Kitane, Nauma, Tōu, and Seito) to stop the six conspirators. Of the twelve, only Asuma and Chiriku were known to survive the battle; Kazuma also survived and went into hiding so that he could continue his plans.

Even though the Guardian Ninja disbanded, its former members are still famed in criminal circles, earning them bounties on the black market: Chiriku has a bounty of 30 million ryō and Asuma has a bounty of 35 million ryō. It is because of these bounties that Chiriku and Asuma are killed by Hidan and Kakuzu of Akatsuki, though only Chiriku's bounty is actually collected upon.

Trivia

 * In the anime, the Twelve Guardian Ninja were apparently reformed at some point, as Shikamaru Nara is invited to join. Shikamaru declines, saying that he would rather stay in Konoha and protect his friends.