Highlights
- The Shinobi Union was formed after the Fourth Shinobi World War to maintain peace between all nations and hidden villages.
- It is similar to the United Nations in structure and purpose, aiming to provide equal opportunities for shinobi from different backgrounds through cooperation.
- Representatives from the Five Great Shinobi Countries and the Land of Iron play important roles in the organization, brokering peace and preventing conflicts over missions.
Having been formed in the aftermath of the Fourth Shinobi World War in Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto, the Shinobi Union is the successor to the Allied Shinobi Forces who faced off against Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha. The alliance comprises all the hidden villages which had previously claimed membership within the Allied Shinobi Forces, including the samurai from the Land of Iron.
In a way, the organization’s structure and purpose resemble the United Nations in the real world, although the responsibilities and degree of political influence wielded by both entities may differ. At its core, the Shinobi Union aims to maintain peace between all nations and hidden villages in the world of Naruto, by providing equal opportunities for shinobi from different backgrounds through cooperation.
Continuing The Allied Shinobi Forces’ Legacy
At the outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the formation of the Allied Shinobi Forces was an unprecedented event which broke through years of hatred, strife, and conflict. Obito and Sasuke Uchiha’s attack on the Five Kage Summit, and the former’s declaration of war against the hidden villages, prompted the Five Great Shinobi Countries to unite against a new common enemy, who sought to trap all humanity in the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Where shinobi from these nations had been part of a near endless cycle of war and bloodshed that had ravaged clans, villages, and nations, the creation of the Allied Shinobi Forces signified the healing of old wounds. Instead of fighting over disputes regarding land, resources, political power, or clashing egos, all the hidden villages had banded together to save their world from being plunged into an era of darkness.
Similarly, the Shinobi Union consists of representative from all the Five Great Shinobi Countries alongside the land of Iron, with an open invitation for any nation to participate. The most powerful individuals in this organization are the Five Kage, and it functions as an intermediary between clients in search of shinobi, and the hidden villages who train them.
When shinobi are requested for missions, it is the Shinobi Union’s job to select an appropriate team of capable shinobi from each hidden village, thus ensuring equality of opportunity. This also prevents conflict from breaking out due to disagreements over commissions for shinobi.
Made up of Representatives From Different Hidden Villages
The Shinobi Union is said to have been instrumental in helping hidden villages recover from the destruction caused by the Fourth Shinobi World War, and it has since been a major player in the unsteady peace between the Five Great Shinobi Countries. Since then, representatives from each member village have been stationed in every other village, in order to maintain diplomatic ties and cooperate against external threats to the Union.
Beyond this, there are monthly meetings of high-ranking representatives from the Five Great Shinobi Countries as well as smaller nations. The representatives in question are seen as shinobi of high value by their respective villages, and they include Shikamaru Nara, Temari, Chojuro, and Omoi. As Head Representative and Chief Organiser, Shikamaru presides over meetings and is one of the most important mediators in the organization, due to his immense intellect and eye for strategy.
Brokering Peace In The Shinobi World
Unlike the earlier hidden village system in which clients directly enlisted shinobi from the Five Kage, the Shinobi Union is grounded in the idea of equal opportunity for all, and it strives to include even the smaller hidden villages beyond the Five Great Shinobi Countries. In the past, several wars broke out due to conflicts over missions and clients, where some hidden villages gained a larger share of available business from the daimyo of the Five Great Shinobi Countries.
Subsequently, battles ravaged the smaller hidden villages and perpetuated the cycle of violence, which can be most prominently observed in the story behind the version of the Akatsuki led by Pain (Nagato). By eliminating this competition in favor of granting opportunities for shinobi from hidden villages to cooperate and partner up on missions, the Shinobi Union is an endeavor to quell the flames of animosity before they turn into the raging inferno of hatred once again.
As such, there are strict regulations in place to prevent any members of the Shinobi Union from waging war against one another for whatever reason, and the only way to engage in conflict is to withdraw from the organization altogether. Such a scenario was seen in Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness, when Iwagakure nearly declared war against the Land of Flowers, which was allied with Kumogakure.
The threat of a full-scale war arose when the Land of Earth’s daimyo ordered Iwagakure to invade the Land of Flowers. Eventually, it was only the intervention of the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, alongside the Land of Fire’s daimyo, that dissuaded the Land of Earth’s leader from embarking on his conquest. In doing so, Naruto once again managed salvage the peace he had fought so hard to institute, ensuring that his dream of ending all war would endure.
Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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