Kumogakure no Sato

Kumogakure's Village Symbol

Kumogakure no Sato, or 'The Village Hidden in Clouds', is the shinobi village of the Country of Lightning, Rai no Kuni. It is one of the oldest shinobi villages in the world, and may predate Konohagakure no Sato, but the specifics or proof of such an accusation have never been proved, in either direction, so it is viewed as possible truth at best. The village itself is more towards the south west side of the country, hidden within a mountain range, and trains ninja who are apart of it and its organization to use Lightning and Cloud Type Ninjutsu, in addition to the traditional shinobi arts.

The Kumogakure Village Symbol

Location

An aerial view of Kumogakure

Being hidden within the peaks of a titanic mountain range, Kumogakure no Sato is argueably the most difficult of the villages to find. Not only built into the side of a mountain, the village is also on a high enough elevation to literally pierce through the heavy cloud cover that frequently shades the village. Due to this, the view from the Raikage's Mountain, the highest point in the village and sometimes argued the world, is completely above the clouds and capable of viewing only the tops of the tallest buildings. Due to it's location and the overall weather in Rai no Kuni, many travelers simply die along the way to the village. Heavy rainfall makes it nearly impossible to climb the mountainside paths of the village, and frequent lightning strikes tend to target the entire radius around and within the village. It can be argued that this is why no village bothered to attack Kumogakure during it's reign over the other countries.

Technology

While one may be surprised that a village like Kumogakure, which rarely makes contact with other villages, has a good deal of technological advances, it's not as strange when you factor in how it became that way. Prior to the Great Kumo War, Kumogakure no Sato ran on generators and aqueducts that used the many hot springs within the country to power their village. This wasn't the most efficent way of powering up the village, however, due to the fact that most hot springs could not reach the village through aquaducts, and many were destroyed during lightning strikes. This left many villagers to be forced into missions that involved 'generator duty', which consisted of pouring their lightning chakra into the generators in order to power the city.

After the Hachibi incident, many of the village's citizens lived under the cover of darkness for several weeks. Many generators were lost, and several ninja were killed fending off the beast. Due to this, not only did Kumogakure have few ninja to spare, but very little remaining generators. It looked as if this would be the end of the village, with no power to sustain itself, it was thought that the village would crumble in a weeks time. Thus, Inabikari Raikou stood defiantly against the expectations of many, and for several weeks, stayed in one spot and endlessly poured his lightning chakra into the last remaining generators. Kumogakure sustained itself on Raikou's sacrifice until the village had managed to recover from the loss.

Tokeiza Jishin, inspired by Raikou's sacrifice, began to plot a way to make the village less reliant on inefficent methods so such painful missions were no longer required. Thus was the birth of the Stormshield three years later, a highly conductive barrier that was forged to act as a retractive dome. The barrier itself reinforces that walls that surround Kumogakure, and can be activated within the Raikage's Mountain. This barrier takes about five minutes to fully retract over the village, protecting it from the harsh storms that frequently tend to ravage the village. Everything but the Raikage's Mountain is encompassed in this shield, which was an intentional design. On the top of the mountain is an enourmous lightning rod. When lightning strikes this rod, it flows directly down towards the shield. The electricity then splits apart through the shield, before being aborbed into the generators that are connected to the barrier. Thus, through the power of lightning, Kumogakure maintains a near endless supply of energy, and also manages to protect itself from outside forces through the shield.

In addition, since the Iwagakure Airship landed outside of the village, attempts to replicate a similar flying machine have been made. Thus far, slight progress has been made, but nothing substantial.

Religion

A statue of Raijin

For hundreds of years, Kumogakure no Sato believed in no one religion. Due to the nature of their location, many of it's citizens likely never left Rai no Kuni. Thus, many of their beliefs simply revolved around the thunder and lightning that echoed around them at all times. It wasn't until current day, upon the revelation of the Kami Raijin did Kumogakurians begin to believe in a religion. Currently, over 90% of Kumogakure no Sato are true followers of Raijin, believing him to be their savor and leader into the 'great beyond' after death. It is said that the followers of Raijin are turned into clouds upon death. Thus, the clouds that encompass the village and strike out at the village are frequently considered to be the 'ancestors' of the villagers watching over them.

Raikage

Tokeiza Jishin, the Kyudaime Raikage

The Raikage, or 'Lightning Shadow', is is the title which the singular primary leader of Kumogakure no Sato. It follows the tradition of the leaders of every village being referred to as the most important element to the village, and 'Shadow' at the end, which fits perfectly well with the shinobi-nin of Kumogakure, whom utilize earth to such a degree that the Raikage title should not be used in any other village, or go unused in Kumogakure no Sato.

The Raikage are not elected by the village council, rather, democratically chosen the entire village of Kumogakure as a whole. While this may seem foolish to allow non-ninja to vote for their Kage, the system has yet to have any negative outcomes. All Raikages who have been chosen to carry the mantle have done numerous good things for the village at the cost of their own well being, such as Inabikari Raikou powering Kumogakure's generators for weeks at a time straight after the Hachibi incident, or Tokeiza Jishin's three year long dedication towards forging the Stormshield.

To date, the Raikage is frequently given the stereotype of being the most radical Kage out of it's peers. This reputation has seemed to carry along all the previous Raikage since Godaime Raikage. They stand firm in their beliefs, and will never settle for anything short of victory. To that end, many Raikage have met their end charging headlong against anything that would destroy Kumo's way of life.

The current number Raikage is Kyuudaime, which is Tokeiza Jishin, whom has the reputation for being the most pacifistic and gentle Raikage within the last century.

Jinchuuriki

The Hachibi

Kinteki 'Momo' Akila, the Hachibi Jinchuuriki

Unlike the other great nations, Kumogakure no Sato has not abandonned the idea of a Jinchuuriki. For over two centuries, the Hachibi has been under Kumogakure's control and sealed into a new Jinchuuriki upon the death of the previous one. As such, the Hachibi Jinchuuriki is considered to be the 'village guardian' for all intents and purposes. They are used as the village's secret weapon during times of hardship, and are looked upon as heroes by their peers, unlike the other nations. However, this isn't to say that people don't fear the Jinchuuriki. Most people do not understand the concept of a Jinchuuriki, and thus, simply believe the ninja is posssessed. This does not stop them from cheering on the ninja when they risk their lives for their village.

The Hachibi seems to have no issues with helping whomever their Jinchuuriki is at the time. While he may act grudgingly, he will always comply with his master, and will even sacrifice some of his power (to an extent)in order for his container to remain unharmed. That isn't to say, however, that the Hachibi doesn't desire it's freedom, as proven by the Hachibi incident. It will take off and flee if it's ever freed.

The current Hachibi Jinchuuriki is Kinteki Akila, affectionately known as 'Momo' by her peers. She is the daughter of the Shichidaime Raikage.