Kirigakure

is the hidden village of the Land of Water. As the village of one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, Kirigakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Mizukage, of which there have been six in its history. Befitting its name, the village is surrounded by a thick mist, with several mountains in the background, making it difficult to find by foreigners. Kirigakure's architecture is composed of several cylindrical buildings, with the Mizukage's office being the widest and largest. Most of the taller buildings have trees on them.

The standard attire for Kiri shinobi revolves around a pinstriped material which the shinobi wear as bracers and greaves which merge into their sandals. Underneath this, they wear a full-black shirt and pants over which they wear the villages' standard grey flak jacket. Some also wear waist-guards. Many Kirigakure ninja use Water Release techniques. Due to the village's high number of missing-nin, Kiri has a subdivision of Anbu known as hunter-nin that are specifically tasked with eliminating these defectors.

History
Kirigakure was founded after the Warring States Period by the First Mizukage. Shortly after the formation of their villages, Konoha's First Hokage sold tailed beasts to Kiri as a sign of friendship and to ensure a balance of power amongst their new villages. The goodwill this fostered was short-lived, and Kiri would become involved in different conflicts over the following decades. The Second Mizukage and Iwa's Second Tsuchikage at some point met in battle and killed each other. During the Third Shinobi World War, Kiri kidnapped Rin Nohara of Konoha and sealed the Three-Tails into her. When she was rescued by Kakashi Hatake, Kiri sent a force to go after her, but this was only for appearances; Kiri wanted Rin to make it back to Konoha so that, upon losing control of the Three-Tails, it would be released within the village and destroy it. Aware of this, Rin convinces Kakashi to kill her before they get back and the pursuing ninja are similarly killed. In the anime, sometime after the war, Kiri and Iwa joined forces on a mission to reclaim intel stolen by Kumo. Once the information was secured, Iwa betrayed Kiri and killed most of the mission sent on the mission to take the intel for themselves, an incident that would come to be known as the Tragedy of Yosuga Pass.

In addition to foreign conflicts, Kirigakure has experienced several periods of internal unrest. The Kaguya clan once waged war against Kirigakure to quench their lust for battle, but were slaughtered by the village's superior forces. Those with kekkei genkai are regarded with suspicion by the people of Kiri and the wider Land of Water due to their efficiency during times of war. As such, persecution and even murder of anyone with a kekkei genkai was common; in the case of the Yuki clan, it no longer exists in an organized sense and its few surviving members live in secret, fearful of their abilities being discovered.

Kiri reacquired the Three-Tails after the Third Shinobi World War and made the Fourth Mizukage its jinchūriki. The Fourth's reign was a time of darkness for Kirigakure, with corruption plaguing those in charge and the pursuit of power becoming paramount for many. In the Academy, students wishing to graduate had to fight to the death, and only those who survived could advance to the ranks of the ninja. This practice earned the village the nickname as the. Defection became widespread amongst Kiri's ranks, with several members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and even the Six-Tails' jinchūriki, Utakata, abandoning the village. The Academy's graduation methods were discontinued after Zabuza Momochi, not yet a student himself, killed an entire year's graduating class, but by then the Bloody Mist had irreparably tainted the Fourth's legacy. In time it was discovered by Ao that the Fourth was being manipulated by someone, although Kiri was never able to ascertain by who or how. In time the Fourth died and the Three-Tails was allowed to roam out in the wild.

Under the Fifth Mizukage, Kiri has tried to move passed the memories of the Bloody Mist by reforming internal policies and improving its image abroad as being an open-minded nation. After Akatsuki captures a number of tailed beasts, including both of those previously possessed by Kiri, the Fifth attends a Kage Summit in order to improve diplomatic relations with the other villages and disprove the rumor that Akatsuki was founded in Kiri. As a further display of this, Kiri joins the Allied Shinobi Forces to oppose Akatsuki. The war is won and the village's image is redeemed, so that by the era of the Sixth Mizukage all five Kage are on good terms.

Trivia

 * The village is named after Saizō Kirigakure of the Sanada Ten Braves, a group of legendary ninja that served under daimyō Yukimura Sanada during Japan's Warring States period, and rival to his comrade Sasuke Sarutobi. His surname is a play on his associated with fog and illusions. The village's trademark technique, Hiding in Mist Technique also plays on Saizō's ability.
 * Kirigakure does not seem to have a ninja registration system.
 * Despite the persecution of people with kekkei genkai in the past, the village's Fifth Mizukage has two kekkei genkai.
 * During the second fight between Zabuza Momochi and Kakashi Hatake, the former used a kunai with an edge of the blade curving inward, making the point sharper and more suited for stabbing or thrusting. Later in the anime, this blade was depicted as Kirigakure's special variation of the standard kunai.