Missions

In the organised society of the villages, ninja are given missions (任務, ninmu) depending on their rank. The missions are categorised in five ranks, based on the mission's possible danger or level of importance.

Depending on the importance and nature of the mission, as well as the regards of the village head, failure could result in variable consequences. While Shikamaru Nara failed to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha, the Fifth Hokage gave him words of comfort and support. On the other hand, when Sakumo Hatake botched a very important mission by choosing to rescue comrades over completing it, he was heavily dishonoured throughout his village and country, which eventually drove him to commit suicide. In Takigakure, failure of a mission brings very harsh consequences, as Kakuzu's failure to assassinate Hashirama Senju led to an unfair imprisonment despite the insurmountable danger involved, a treatment that led to his revolt. As such, certain villages put missions to a higher priority than others, as Sunagakure would choose accomplishing missions over the lives of their comrades, Iwagakure would follow orders even if it means death and Konohagakure's Shinobi Rules #4 states that "A shinobi must always put the mission first".

• D-rank - assigned to genin fresh from the Academy. They pose almost no risk to the ninja's life and usually consist of odd jobs like farming and babysitting work. The reward for a D-rank mission is between five thousand and fifty thousand ryō.
• C-rank - assigned to more experienced genin or chūnin. They are missions with little to no chance of combat against other ninja. Examples are guarding people against bandits or highwaymen, background investigations, eliminating or capturing bandits or thieves, and capturing or suppressing wild animals. The reward for a C-rank mission is between thirty thousand and 100 thousand ryō.
• B-rank - assigned to experienced chūnin. They are missions anticipated to involve combat with other ninja. Examples are guarding people, espionage, or killing other ninja. The reward for a B-rank mission is between 150 thousand and 200 thousand ryō.
• A-rank - assigned to jōnin, concerning, among other things, village-or state-level matters and trends. Examples are guarding VIPs or suppressing ninja forces. The reward for an A-rank mission is between one hundred fifty thousand and a million ryō.
• S-rank - assigned to experienced jōnin and concern state-level confidential matters. Examples are assassinating VIPs, and transporting highly classified documents. The reward for an S-rank mission is more than a million ryō.