Similar to real life, the world ofNarutoalso has different nations living side by sidein a relatively peaceful manner. Unlike the real world, however, the main military forces of these nations are shinobi. Each nation commands strong and dangerous shinobi, which makes conflict between them pretty much inevitable. But after numerous brutal battles in the past that took the lives of so many shinobi, each country now realizes that peace is the only way to move forward and prosper.
That being said, in the world whereshinobi is pretty much the most common profession, there is a secluded place where another kind of military force reigns supreme. As a matter of fact, you won’t be able to find a shinobi in this particular land. It is called the Land of Iron, and this is the place where Samurai live and thrive. And here is everything that you need to know about the Samurai of the Land of Iron.
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The Land of Iron
As mentioned earlier, the Land of Iron is a secluded island that is located quite far away from the five major nations. As such, they rarely made contact with any of these major superpowers. The only time samurai from the Land of Iron meet the shinobi from any of these countries isusually during combat or during the time of conflict, be it as allies or enemies. That being said, the Land of Iron is a country that upholds peace and justice, so they rarely involve themselves in the matter of other nations.
Since the Land of Iron resides in the northern region of the world, it is actually one of the coldest places inNaruto. Expect to see snow almost all-year round in this place. Not only that, the country itself resides among the three menacing snowy mountains called the Three Wolves.
The cold temperature and the rough terrain are also some of the main reasons why the rest of the world rarely visits the Land of Iron. On the other hand, it also means this country has one of the best natural defenses in the world. Any countries that intend to attack the Land of Iron have to think carefully about their logistics and the survival of their shinobi,because otherwise, they would perish long beforethe Samurai begins their counter-attack.
The Samurai of The Land of Iron
In the Land of Iron, Samurai are the only form of military force that they have. However, unlike the real Japanese samurai that we are all familiar with through anime, manga, and movies, the samurai here have a distinct look that makes them different from a typical samurai from other media.
The samurai use a full-body outfit with segmented armor that looks similar to the typical Japanese war armor. These armor protect most of their upper body, and some part of their lower body. This way,they are well-protected but also have a great mobility. They also wear what seems to be rather thick clothes underneath that armor. Which makes sense because they live in a cold place. So a set of clothes that can properly warm their body is highly necessary.
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Other than the full-body outfit, every samurai also uses a helmet that looks like the head of a Zaku mobile suitfrom the Gundam franchise. This helmet actually has a built-in gas mask in order to protect them from poisonous gas, a weapon that is often used by shinobi. Not only that, there’s also a communication device installed inside the helmet so that they all can contact each other whenever they need to.
The Power of The Samurai
Just like its real-life counterpart, the samurai in the Land of Iron also use swords as their primary weapons. Most of them have two swords on either side of their hips, but based on its shorter length, the sword actually looks like a wakizashi, rather than a katana.
Similar to shinobi, the samurai here also have the ability to utilize and control chakra. However, unlike shinobi that use their chakra to perform all kinds of ninjutsu and genjutsu, the samurai use their chakra to cloak their swords and increase the power of their sword technique (kenjutsu). This technique is actually quitesimilar to Asuma Sarutobi’s wind blade.
Cloaking their swords with chakra allowed the samurai to not only sharpen and extend their blade however they see fit, but it also allowed them to freely change the shape of their chakra blade. As if that is not impressive enough, they can also slash the air and launch some sort of wind blade that travels across a certain distance,sort of like Inuyasha’s Wind Scar.
The Role of the Samurai From The Land of Iron
Due to its unique location, and peace-oriented policies, the Land of Iron can be considered to be the only true neutral zone in the whole world. Not only that, their samurai also have a history of helping outthe shinobi during times of conflict. That is why the Land of Iron is the most common meeting place between the leaders of the five great nations whenever they want to talk about urgent matters.
In the story ofNaruto, the Land of Iron, under the leadership of its strongest samurai, a middle-aged man named Mifune, is once again the place where the five Kage meet to talk about the threat of Akatsuki and Madara Uchiha. This talk eventually led tothe creation of the Allied Shinobi Forces. This is the first time when the shinobi from the five great nations truly come together under a strong alliance to face a common enemy. And none of it would’ve been possible without Mifune, and the samurai from the Land of Iron.
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