Shinobi

otherwise referred to as in the English translations of Naruto, are the primary focus and the main military power in the series. A female ninja is a. Most come from a hidden village and will perform missions for a fee. These missions can include: doing manual labor, acting as escorts, gathering secret information, retrieving stolen items, carrying out assassinations, etc. In times of war, ninja will come together to defend their villages and land. The clearest characteristic of a shinobi is their ability generate and control chakra to create a jutsu.

Ninja Types
All Ninja; Shinobi and Kunoichi, both fall under certin catagories regarding their respective fighting styles, (which ususally mirror their personality types,) regardless of whenever they are Taijutsu, Ninjutsu or Genjutsu users:
 * Sensor Types - Also known as 'Detection Types, Ninja such as Karin, Shi and members of the Yamanaka clan fall under this catagory. These Ninja are able to locate targets and determine the strengths of their opponents.
 * Power Types - Also known as 'Strength Types' or 'Force Types', Ninja such as Naruto Uzumaki, Rock Lee, Sora and members of the Akimichi clan fall under this catagory. These Ninja usually prefer the direct approch to situations.  Power Types specialize in raw power, and are best suited to 'charging straight in'; they are best effective in battle when sent in first, in the front to 'clear a path' through the enemy's defensive line, making a way in after them for the rest of the team.
 * Technical Types - Ninja such as Kakashi Hatake, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and members of the Uchiha clan fall under this catagory. These Ninja are known for their use of a wide variety of techniques at their disposal.
 * Analytical Types - Also known as 'Tactical' or 'Stratagy Types', Ninja such as Temari, Haku and members of the Nara clan and the Aburame clan fall under this catagory. These Ninja, employ tactics and reason as opposed to the use of force; whenever or not they do have much power in the conventional sense, they possess the ability to rapidly adjust their approch to problems.
 * Support Types - Ninja such as Izumo Kamizuki, Aoba Yamashiro and members of the Nara clan, whose style and techniques are based around contributing to the tactics, creating openings for other ninja so as to help ensure the success of a mission. A prime example of a support type in action are seen in both the older and the younger Ino-Shika-Cho trios:  The Nara member uses their Shadow techniques to disable an opponent so that one of the other members may then use their techniques.

Jutsu
Shinobi can use a variety of jutsu, techniques often based on the utilization of chakra. This allows shinobi to perform extraordinary things. Jutsu are separated into three groups, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu. Ninjutsu implies perform a supernatural or beyond normal ability, the most common of which is the elemental jutsu. These are created by the user transforming their chakra into a specific nature or 'release'. The chakra types are Lightning, Earth, Fire,Wind, and Water. Other sub-types of chakra natures such as Wood Release and Ice Release also exist, created by combining two of the basic five releases. Taijutsu implies physical techniques, which may or may not require chakra. Certain shinobi such as Rock Lee lack the ability to mold chakra, leading them to become masters of Taijutsu. Genjutsu creates illusions, things that the foe believes to be real that are in fact fake. Genjutsu is the least-used of the three groups, possibly due to the difficulty required in performing the techniques.

Tools
Ninja tools are used as alternatives to jutsu. They can include weapons, accessories, and even clothing. Ninja such as Tenten have mastered the use of such tools. A standard shinobi will have a pouch equipped with many such tools, and nearly every ninja is equipped with at least a shuriken holster.