Sunagakure

Sunagakure (砂隠れの里, Sunagakure no Sato, Literally meaning: Village Hidden by Sand) is the hidden village of the Land of Wind. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, Sunagakure has a Kage as its leader known as the Kazekage, who resides in the dome-like structure in the center of the village. In the entire history of the village, their have been four Kazekage (風影, Literally meaning: Wind Shadow), the most recent being Fugaku Uchiha.

Being surrounded by desert offers the village a natural deterrent against invasion, as few foreign powers would be willing to endure the sandstorms that surround Suna. Sunagakure itself lies in a fortified valley behind cliffs of rock, with passage in and out of the village restricted to a single cleft between two cliff faces, making the area very hard to attack from the ground. The buildings seem to be made from a combination of clay, stone, and stucco, which help keep the buildings cool and gives them a unique look.

Because of they're surrounded by constant sandstorms and harsh sun rays, Suna-nin, unlike those of other villages, choose to wear dress and robes for their standard attire that come in pale and light colors. Over this, they wear the typical flat jackets and headbands. Headpieces consisting of a head-wrap and cloth neck-covers to protect against the harsh weather are popular with Suna-nin, and many also choose to wear gloves so their hands are also protected. It should also be noted that, unlike in the other Hidden Villages, the clothing worn by Sunagakure Citizens are entirely made in Suna. The fabric they use comes from a special thread created by the Eight Tails. This special thread is very strong and durable, while still remaining soft and light.

The most common elemental affinity in Suna is Wind Release, which are sometimes used in combination with certain objects like a Tessen or musical instrument, such as a Flute or an Ocarina.

History

Creation

Sunagakure was founded after the Warring States Period by the First Kazekage, who gathered the desert-dwelling shinobi under his control with his overwhelming power. Shortly after the formation of their villages, Konoha's First Hokage offered to sell tailed beasts to Suna as a sign of friendship and to ensure a balance of power among their new villages. Because Suna already had the One-Tail, the First Kazekage instead tried to negotiate for a percentage of the sale price to the other villages and a portion of the Land of Fire's territory instead.

Despite the First Hokage's wishes for peace, the world eventually fell into war. Suna's close proximity with Iwa has led to numerous conflicts over the years, enough that enmity between its shinobi has become deep-seated.

Great Ninja Wars

While it didn't take part in the First Great Ninja World War, Suna took part in both the Second and the Third Ninja Wars, with it being a "major player" in the Second. Because the Puppet Technique is so popular among its shinobi, the Puppet Brigade was formed see if there was a way to give life to puppets. This led to the creation of One's Own Life Reincarnation, but the cost of a human life to perform it made it impractical and Suna abandoned to project.

Another one the village's projects was the recreation of the One-Tail's various abilities, the greatest being its unique Sand Manipulation and geomagnetic abilities. While the project yielded varying results, some more successful than others, it too was called off as none of the Ninja who participated in the project were able to fully mimic Shukaku's abilities. However, Miroku, the third Kazekage, was able to recreate Shukaku's abilities using his own magnetic abilities, forming what would later go on to be the Metallic Sand Technique, with his own signature weapon being Iron Sand.

Start of a New Age

Following the Third Shinobi World War, the Land of Wind's daimyō started outsourcing missions previously given to Suna to Konoha instead. To keep the village afloat, Miroku and his Clan began selling to Gold Dust in an effort to make up for the loss of funding, but it was ultimately decided that Suna Ninja would have to rely on their own individual power than that of others.

It was also around this time that the Uchiha Clan had made the decision to leave Konoha, frustrated and hurt at their mistreatment by their home village. With the Land of Water in the midst of a massive Civil War, Iwagakure still bitter about their lost in the last War, and having many enemies in the Land of Lightning, the Uchiha Clan made the decision to travel to Wind Country, in the hopes that they'd eventually be able to find refuge in the Hidden Sand Village.

Hearing word of their sudden appearance in the Land of Wind, Miroku, weary, but also curious, had them summoned to him. Heading to Sunagakure, Fugaku had an audience with Rasa, where he explained his Clan's plight and proceeded to ask for the chance to remake the Uchiha Clan in Suna. While his council was distrustful, Miroku knew that the chance to have such a renown Clan in Suna's ranks was too good of an opportunity to let pass by, and so accepted them into the Village. However, he also stated that their lives in Suna would be much different than when in Konoha, and also stated that the Uchiha would have to provide something to give to Suna in return.

Once settled within the Village, Fugaku, using his many connections, was able to get more nobleman in the Land of Wind and its allied countries to invest in Suna, making up for the Wind Daimyō choosing to abandon the village. Combined with the money that the Seichiri Clan was generating with Gold Dust, Suna eventually began earning enough to stay afloat.

However, despite all of their hard work, things began to turn south for the Uchiha Clan. While life in Suna was somewhat better for them than it was in Konoha, it wasn't long until the Sand Villagers began looking at them with the same wary expression that had become the norm back in the Leaf. Once more angry and feeling betrayed, the Elders of the Clan, unwilling to be forced to leave yet another they'd helped build up, were quick to call for blood. Fugaku, knowing that attempting to attack Suna in revenge for their mistreatment would have extreme repercussions, was able to talk them out if it and instead convinced them of his own plan for a coup to take control of Suna.

Taki Crush

While he as able to get the Elders and the rest of the Uchiha Clan behind his plan, Fugaku also knew that taking control of Suna would be no easy matter. With the way that the village had already began to mistrust them despite everything, Fugaku realized that more would need to be done in order to secure the Uchiha Clan's place in Sunagakure, and Sunagakure's place among the rest of the Great Five Hidden Villages. With that in mind, he came up with the idea to take control of another Tailed Beast and bring it under Suna's control.

Although it took months of convincing on his part, Fugaku was eventually able to convince Miroku that getting another Tailed Best would be the best way to make Suna as powerful as the other Great Five, and would be push needed to make the Wind Daimyō reinvest back in the Village. Because Suna was still too weak to take on the other Great Villages, especially Konoha, it was decided that safest Beast to go after would be Seven-Tail, who was under the control of Takigakure, who was also going through a situation of civil unrest.

With a handful of Miroku's ANBU, including Rasa himself, Fugaku and Itachi infiltrated Takigakure during a Chūnin Exam it was hosting alongside Iwagakure. While the village was distracted by the Exam and keeping an eye on Iwa, Fugaku and Rasa used a combination of the Sand Clone and Transformation Techniques, taking on the form Iwa Anbu and and killing everyone they came across. At the same time, Itachi went searching for the Jinchūriki of the Seven-Tail. Once found, Itachi killed her guards and put her under hypnosis with his Sharingan, manipulating her into allowing her Beast to break free.

Once free of its prison, the Seven-Tail quickly went on a rampage, destroying everything and everyone it could, forcing Iwa to flee (as they believed it to be a trap to kill their Kage) and completely razing the village within hours. Afterwards, Itachi once again used his Sharingan and coerced the Seven-Tail into to flying out to the deserts in the Land of Wind, where a trap was waiting for it that put it into a deep sleep.

Death of Miroku and Fugaku's rise

While Fugaku, Rasa, and Itachi were in Takigakure, Sunagakure would also be put through their own trials and tribulations, starting with the death of their Kage. While Miroku was teaching his niece and nephews how to control their Magnet Release, the group was suddenly ambushed. Since he had his niece and nephews to protect, Miroku was unable to go full out against his attackers, who turned out to be Sasori and his many puppets.

While Miroku was eventually able to fight him off, dealing him a mortal blow, Sasori was still able to land a great blow of his own, poisoning Miroku in the process. After Sasori fled, ANBU immediately showed up and rushed Miroku to the hospital. However, by the time the he'd gotten there, Sasori's poison had spread too far and the hospital staff were unable to come up with a proper antidote on such short notice. While they'd done what they could, they deduced that Miroku would have, at most, two weeks left to live.

By the time Fugaku, Rasa, and Itachi made it back to Sunagakure, things in the village were taking a turn for the worse. Upon finding out their kage was on his death bed, the people of Suna began to grow restless and worried, a situation that only grew worse once Iwa and the other villages found out what'd happened to Miroku. With the village already facing financial problems, the death of their Kage pushed Sunagakure into an extreme situation, which Fugaku was quick to take advantage of. Since Miroku was already weakened from Sasori's poison, Fugaku was able to easily hypnotize and manipulate him into rewriting his Will and listing Fugaku down as his successor just before he died.

However, Sunagakure Council, acting as the government and ruling force at the time of Miroku's passing were unwilling to give Fugaku the Kazekage mantle and break tradition so easily. To this end, the Council ordered a competition between Rasa and Fugaku: the one who could subdue both the One-Tail, who'd escaped from his prison after the death of his last host, and the newly captured Seven-Tail would be the one to become the Kazekage and keep the mantle.

While Rasa was able to fight the One-Tail to a standstill using his Gold Dust, he was unable to do so against the Seven-Tails and ended up finding himself in a fight against two Tailed Beasts. It wasn't until Fugaku joined the fight that the two Beasts finally met their match. First knocking out the Seven-Tail and then the One-Tail, Fugaku was able to subdue the two beasts and seal them away unti suitable Jinchūriki could be found. In this act, Fugaku was chosen as the new Kazekage.

With the village already drastically weakened, the lack of a Kazekage threatened to make the Sand lose its place among the five greater nations. To this end, the council governing Sunagakure ordered a competition among the village's strongest jōnin: the one to reclaim Shukaku would become the Sixth Kazekage. The One-Tail, along with the other tailed beasts, was scattered after the last war ended, thereby breaking the balance of the tailed beasts. One-by-one, several jōnin attempted the task and many were killed. It wasn't until the Magnet Release user, Bunbuku Chagama, fought the beast that it finally met it's match. Unable to contend with the superior strength of the hardened shinobi, Shukaku was captured and sealed within a tea kettle until a suitable jinchūriki could be found. In the act, the Sixth Kazekage had been chosen.

Reformation and Golden Age of Sunagakure

As the new Kazekage, Fugaku took a different approach than his predecessors, which was welcomed with open arms. Under Fugaku's leadership, Sunagakure took a firmer and more vocal stance towards the international community. Finally rising to the same level as the other four Great Nations, Sunagakure no longer bowed down to the will of others and demanded more respect from the other hidden villages. Within the Land of Wind, he created a special barrier that would help remove some of Suna's weather conditions, while still retaining its natural defense, allowing for easier farming within and around the village. He also approached other cities and merchants to open up trade; getting Sunagakure more of the resources it was once lacking, without needing to go to the one of the Great Countries.

Fugaku and Rasa's battle against the One-Tail and Seven-Tail left the area around Sunagakure in an extremely altered state; old landmarks had been destroyed and new ones had been created. To the North-East of the village, a stray Tailed Beast Ball had created a massive trench that stretched for a few miles, where a massive hole had appeared. The Tailed Beast Ball had ended up going so deep that it struck a natural, underground spring, which immediately began filling up the newly created river. A massive oasis filled with minerals, Fugaku had a temple built atop of the water source and turned it into a special area for the populace of Sunagakure. This Oasis would go on to became a a great source of revenue of Suna.

With life in Sunagakure taking a turn for the better, more noblemen from the Wind Court began taking a greater interest within the village, eventually bringing the attention of the Wind Diamyō back on the village. To keep up with the increase in business, Fugaku also began to model the villages military forces to be more structured. With that in mind, he implemented more lessons within the Academy and created more organizations within the village, while also increasing the amount of training the the newly graduated Genin teams would have to do, putting extra focus on teamwork. This not only added to the overall power of Suna's Ninja corps, but also helped to increase the bonds of the Ninja within the village.

Clans

Within the village there are a few powerful and well respected Clans, some being famous and respected on an international stage. This being said, there are only a handful of actual Clans within Suna, with the others being single Ninja families.

All known clans in the village are:

See also

• Land of Wind