Genin

are the lowest level of ninja and also the ones that display the most difference in power. When they become Genin, ninja start to do their bit for their village's economy – being sent on missions that the village gets paid for. They are typically sent either on D-rank missions, which are the lowest rank and are almost entirely risk-free jobs of manual labor, or, very rarely, on C-rank missions, which are a cut above that and begin to verge on real "ninja" work – though they generally have a very low possibility of risk to the ninjas involved, especially since their Jonin level sensei often accompanies them. However, at one point, Konohagakure was shorthanded in upper-level ninja because of the attack by Otogakure and Sunagakure, and has been forced to occasionally send Genin on higher-ranked missions.

Genin are put in four-man cells, consisting of three Genin and a Jonin-sensei, in order to learn teamwork and experience true ninja life under the supervision and protection of an elite shinobi. The make-up of these teams is based on the individual skills of the Genin, so that there will remain a balance between the teams. For instance, Naruto Uzumaki, who passed with the lowest grades, was put in a team with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, who passed with the highest grades and highest written exam scores, respectively. The teams are usually made up of two boys and one girl, though there are exceptions. It appears that, usually, the four-man cells specialize in certain skills. For instance, Team Kurenai (Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Aburame Shino) is specialized in survival and tracking and Team Guy (Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten) is specialized in taijutsu and weapon skills. Complementary skills also seem to influence team selection, as each member of Team Asuma (Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka) has a specific skill that supports the other two. Their fathers were also on the same team, and were one of the few exceptions to the regular setup of having one female in the group.

Due to the fact that Genin are the lowest level ninja, they normally provide limited use during dangerous missions (B-rank or higher ), and are usually only capable of successfully completing E or D-rank techniques. However, it should be noted that Genin is simply a rank, and is usually, but not always, an accurate representation of a ninja's skill level; certain genin have some Kage-level abilities. An example of the possible technical inaccuracy of a ninja rank is Naruto Uzumaki, who left Konohagakure for two-and-a-half years to train under Jiraiya, and was therefore unable to participate in any ninja exams for the purpose of being promoted. Despite his Genin rank, Naruto mastered the Rasengan and Multiple Shadow Clone Technique (both A-Rank techniques, the latter being a Kinjutsu), and successfully created the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken (an S-Class technique that is also a kinjutsu). In addition to his mastery of high level techniques, Naruto also defeated Kakuzu, an S-Class missing-nin (although it should be noted that Kakuzu fought with Team 10 for a significant amount of time prior to Naruto's arrival). Sasuke Uchiha, a genin who was unable to increase in rank due to his defection from Konohagakure, is a ninja who far surpassed genin level. He has mastered the Chidori (an A-rank technique), and by Part II, has developed his Sharingan enough to be able to dispel the Tsukiyomi. As a test for Orochimaru, Sasuke defeated a large number of shinobi without receiving a single scratch, and has defeated both Deidara and a weakened Orochimaru, both of whom are S-Class missing-nin.

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