Other designations
Apprentices
Though not an official rank, an apprentice is someone who is taught by a ninja of greater ability. This can include those not in the academy yet (or otherwise not in an academy) being taught basic ninja skills by someone who volunteers to teach them, such as Naruto Uzumaki's informal training of Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi as their Genin leader in the very early episodes of Naruto (as well as the pre-Chunin exams). Ebisu's training of Konohamaru in the early episodes also falls under this category, though his training is significantly more specialized.
Alternatively, a ninja of even higher rank can also take apprentices for the teaching of much more advanced ninja skills, such as each member of the Legendary Sannin training one member of Team 7; those being Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru training Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha, respectively.
S-Class
S-class ninja have gained power far beyond an average Jonin and earned a legendary status. This title is merely a class rather than an actual rank; the ninja's official rank with a village will usually still be Jonin. However, it can sometimes be lower, or they can have no rank at all. The allegiances of these ninja range from being part of the village's own ninja to being wandering ninja who are still loyal to their village, like Jiraiya. Some ninja of this level tend to leave their villages behind to seek their own ambitions, thus becoming missing-nin. The ninja organization Akatsuki is originally composed of ten S-class missing-nin. Ninja of this class are often noted in the Bingo book, a list of notable enemy ninja marked for assassination that each ninja village provides for its Jonin and ANBU squad members. Most ninja, even high-level ones, choose to flee rather than face someone of the S-class.
Ninja of the S-class are often highly revered, and usually signified by nicknames allies or enemies give them. One group of ninja who have gained this special status are the Sannin, or "Legendary Three Ninja" of Konoha: Jiraiya the "Toad Hermit", Orochimaru, and Tsunade the "Legendary Sucker". Most Kage also tend to be in this class. For example, the third Hokage was called 'The Professor' due to his vast knowledge of ninja techniques.
Medical-nin
Medical-nin (iryō-nin) are ninja who specialize in medical treatment and use medical-oriented jutsu to heal others. Becoming a medic-nin requires a great level of intelligence and excellent chakra control, since medic-nin use chakra to heal injuries. Aside from their medical training, their combat training consists mainly of taijutsu skills, with emphasis placed on evading enemy attacks. This is because the death of the medic-nin could result in the death of the team. On dangerous missions, a medic-nin will usually be sent along with the team, to increase the survival rate of that team.
The most basic of medical jutsu is the Mystical Palm Technique (Shōsen Jutsu), a multipurpose technique that can heal wounds and perform surgery. To heal with the ability, users collect chakra to their hand to speed up cell regeneration wherever it is applied. For the latter, the user focuses their chakra into a blade to make cuts where necessary, though because the blade is made of chakra the flesh is never cut. This aspect of the ability can be used in combat, though it requires great precision to be effective. For more severe injuries, medical-nin perform the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique (Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu), which utilizes a part of the user's body as a medium to heal their injuries. The technique requires a great deal of time and concentration, with medical personnel needing to switch places so that they can rest.
Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, is the greatest medic-nin of Konoha. Shizune, her assistant, is also a medic-nin. Sakura Haruno, Tsunade's apprentice, is also training to become a medic-nin. Kabuto Yakushi is a medic-nin in the service of Orochimaru. Chiyo was a medic-nin, but she uses her expertise to fight rather than heal. Tsunade and Sakura also use their medical training to boost their strength, making them both formidable fighters and capable healers. Rin, in Kakashi Gaiden, was also a medic-nin. Ino Yamanaka is able to use medical jutsu, explained in the filler arcs as becoming a second apprentice of Tsunade and to Sakura. These characters often use what they have learned in becoming medic-nin to create new techniques, either to make helping others easier or to allow them more versatility in battle.
Courier-nin
Courier Ninja 596-03 in episode 177.During the filler arc of the anime, Courier-nin are ninja that deliver packages from one point to another. They take on extremely dangerous delivery jobs that others will not; these jobs can even be life threatening in nature. They use smoke to communicate with each other over long distances, and are a very determined group of ninja, taking the "postal motto" to new heights. They never deviate from their goals, and perfectly adhere to rules, regardless of what will happen if their package is delivered. When asked their name, they will use their designation number. When Naruto encountered a courier ninja he first made the mistake of confusing him with an ordinary postman. After learning who he was and what he was doing, he started referring to him as an "amazing postman". In the original Japanese, the Courier-nin almost always end their sentences with the polite -de gozaru verb form.
Cooking-nin
During the filler arc of the anime, Cooking-nins (Ryouri-ninja or Ryounins) are ninja who were originally intended to cook for other ninja in their squad. The theory was that ninja who ate good food would also perform well. This idea backfired as ninja ate too much of the food with "too much flavor", making them too fat to be able to complete their missions effectively. They appear in the filler episode ransoming Ayame for Ichiraku Ramen's demon recipe which is actually only something used to remove bitterness. (The confusion comes from the fact that it is called an "aku" recipe. The cooking nins were under the impression this stood for akuma, or demon. It actually stood for akunuki, meaning removing bitterness.)
Missing-nin
Missing-nin (Nukenin, literally "Missing Ninja", English TV "Rogue Ninja") are ninja who have abandoned their Hidden Village, and as such can include ninja of every rank. These ninja are considered traitors and are hunted down because of the secrets they may hold. Other Hidden Villages would be interested in purchasing this information because it could be useful in gaining an upper hand in battle or obtaining a bloodline limit unique to a village. Villages create special units of hunter-nin to take care of this problem, although it's unlikely that every missing-nin has a team of hunter-nin sent after them. Some of the missing-nin from the series are Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi, all Akatsuki members, and Sasuke Uchiha.
Organizations
ANBU
A fully-equipped ANBUThe ANBU (The ANBU literally "Dark Side", Viz manga "Black Ops", English TV "ANBU Black Ops") is actually short for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai literally Special Assassination and Tactical Squad). The name is a form of contraction, similar to English acronyms like SWAT, where the two kanji used to abbreviate the group's full name constitute an actual word on their own. The ANBU wear porcelain animal masks in order to distinguish themselves from normal shinobi and to conceal their identities. They also have standard uniforms consisting of black and gray armor, arm guards, and a signature spiral tattoo on their left shoulder. Certain ANBU wear black cowls over their standard uniforms, and squad leaders may wear white cowls.
ANBU protect the village from exceptional threats, conduct high-risk missions into enemy countries, and deal with extremely strong ninja. They are also responsible for carrying out assassinations and missions requiring specially trained ninja. Unique for most characters in Naruto, all ANBU carry Ninjatō, which are usually strapped to their backs, and they all know the layout of the human body in detail. By using Temporary Paralysis Technique (Kanashibari no Jutsu, English TV "Paralysis Jutsu"), ANBU members can paralyze an opponent, leaving them open for attack. With Time Reversal Technique (Jigyaku no Jutsu), an ANBU can put someone in a state of reverse hypnosis, allowing them to remember details that they otherwise would not.
ANBU is an organization that serves under the direct command of their Kage. Kakashi Hatake was a former captain and Itachi Uchiha became an ANBU captain at age 13. Ibiki Morino, the proctor of the first Chūnin exam, is the head of the Konoha ANBU Torture and Interrogation Squad (Konoha Anbu Gōmon/Jinmon Butai). Zabuza Momochi and Raiga Kurosuki were once part of Kirigakure's ANBU.
Hunter-nin
Haku wearing a hunter-nin mask.Hunter-nin (Oinin, literally "Chasing Ninja", English TV "Tracker Ninja") are a special team within Kirigakure's ANBU, given the specific duty of hunting down missing-nin. They kill their target, taking the head as proof, and then completely dispose of the body by using various methods, such as cremation or the summoning of wild carrion crows to devour the corpse. This is done in order to make sure the village secrets which a ninja's body holds -- such as chakra types, herbs eaten, ninjutsu, special medicine, and kekkei genkai -- will not be revealed to outsiders. Hunter-nin are also supposed to destroy the corpse at the very spot the body is lying; it is not to be moved after it is dead. As a requirement, they must possess a thorough and intimate knowledge of human anatomy. Due to their reputation for utterly and completely obliterating the remains of their targets, they are code-named "The Undertaker Squad." Early in the series, Haku poses as a hunter-nin as a ruse to rescue the supposedly killed Zabuza Momochi. Real hunter-nin have only been alluded to, and so far have not been seen in the world of Naruto.
Root
Konoha ANBU are usually under the direct command of the Hokage, but several years before the start of the series there was an ANBU Training Department known as "Root" (Ne). Root was created and directly controlled by Danzo, who trained and conditioned children intensively from a very young age. This was done to completely eliminate emotions and enable its members to complete missions without being held back. Root tends to go further in its belief that ninja must not show any emotion than most other ninja groups do, as they forbid any members to possess anything that may invoke emotion. It was implied that the department used methods similar to Kirigakure's graduation exam, including pitting students against each other in fights to the death.
Because Danzo is a war hawk and opposed the Third Hokage, Root was disbanded. However, many members remained loyal to Root; at least two of Danzo's current subordinates, one of them being Sai, who is placed in Naruto Uzumaki's team in Part II. Sai is given the assignment to approach Orochimaru and seek a collaborative effort with him to destroy Konoha and rebuild it in their own image. This mission, however, is merely a ruse used so that Sai can get a chance to kill Sasuke Uchiha as a defector of Konoha and eliminating any future threat he may impose. Sai deviates from this plan at the last minute in favor of retrieving Sasuke on Naruto's behalf, though Sasuke escapes. Even though Root is shown to have been well-intentioned, both Jiraiya and Tsunade remain wary of the organization.
Konoha Military Police
Konoha Military Police headquarters.The Konoha Military Police Force (Konoha Keimu Butai), or Military Police for short, is a unique organization in Konoha, though other villages may have similar organizations. The Military Police previously consisted of mostly Uchiha clan members (the Uchiha being its founders); however, now that most members of the clan are dead, this is no longer the case. The Military Police are in charge of law enforcement within the village, and their jurisdiction is virtually unlimited except in matters that are under the Hokage's direct control. They also respect ANBU's own investigative system and inner-organization discipline. Their symbol is a variation on the Uchiha clan crest because the Uchiha family founded the organization.
Niju Shōtai
A bird's eye view of the Niju Shōtai on the Hokage's mansion.The Niju Shōtai (The Niju Shōtai Twenty Platoons) is a task force created by Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage. This force, consisting of twenty four-man teams, was created for the purpose of tracking down, attempting to capture, and, if necessary, eliminating Akatsuki members in the Fire Country. Tsunade ordered her assistant Shizune to mobilize the unit as soon as the news of the Fire Temple massacre reached her through a monk, who was the lone survivor of the onslaught by Hidan and Kakuzu. There are currently only two confirmed teams, the first with members Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki. Aoba Yamashiro, Raido Namiashi, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka comprise the second team.
Bahasa Indonesia:
ANBU
ANBU adalah pasukan elit pembunuh rahasia yang ditugasi untuk melakukan misi yang super berbahaya. Ketika melakukan misi, mereka tidak memakai nama dan tidak boleh melepas topengnya. Para anbu biasa bertindak sebagai mata-mata, Oinin ( ninja pemburu ), pemusnah mayat, pembunuhan rahasia, inteljen desa, maupun perlindungan terhadap hokage. Mereka juga kebagian tugas menghadapi ninja kelas S yang kebanyakan ninja tidak ingin melawannya. Kakashi masuk tim anbu di umur 16 tahun, sementara itachi mejadi anbu pada umur 13 tahun dan menjadi ketua pada umur 15 tahun. Para anbu bergerak secara misterius dan diam-diam. Para anbu biasanya terdiri dari para Jounin. Di konoha, ada divisi anbu yang terpisah dan bergerak lebih rahasia lagi yang diberi sebutan ANBU "Roots" . Mereka dididik untuk menjadi mesin perang sempurna dan tanpa perasaan. Sai adalah anggota divisi ini. Mereka tidak punya nama, perasaan, rumah, keluarga, yang mereka punya hanyalah misi; itulah motto dari "roots"
Tingkatan tidak resmi
Nukenin
Nukenin adalah para shinobi yang lari dan mengkhianati desanya. Seorang ninja seumur hidupnya harus tinggal di desa mereka dan keluar hanya untuk menjalankan misi. Para nukenin ini ada yang berkelompok ada pula yang personal. Para nukenin ini kebanyakan adalah kriminal di desa asal mereka. Ada pula nukenin yang masuk ke desa lain dan menjadi anggota desa tersebut.
Oinin
Oinin adalah ninja pengejar yang misinya adalah mengejar dan menghancurkan target. Tidak selamanya mereka harus mengejar kriminal atau nukenin. Ada pula ninja biasa yang ditugasi mengejar sekelompok ninja lain yang melarikan diri dari pertempuran. Seperti tim shikamaru yang ditugasi untuk mengejar sasuke. Atau ketika dia mengejar Hidan dan Kakuzu.
