Shinobi

A Shinobi (忍び) or ninja (忍者) is a type of traditional covert agent trained in irregular warfare. The functions of the ninja include espionage, sabotage, infiltration, assassination and guerrilla warfare. Most shinobi originate from Shinobi clans and are hired out to private organisations or the government as mercenaries. Shinobi are trained to high levels of skill in stealth, acrobatics, combat and disguise, armed and unarmed. Most shinobi prefer to fight with traditional weapons such as swords and shuriken. Government-trained shinobi are known as Oniwaban.

Outerwear
The shinobi shōzoku, an all-black cloth outfit, is culturally symbolic of the shinobi. In the modern day, however, shinobi often use updated versions of this outfit to fit modern combat needs. The modern shinobi outfit retains the basic appearance while incorporating protective measures such as active camouflage, tetsukawa, body armour, full-spectrum vision gear and more.

Weapons
The Shinobi are particularly famed for their continued use of blades. While shorter swords and daggers are used, the katana remains the main weapon of choice for most shinobi. The straight-bladed ninjatō is also widely used. These blades differ in composition amongst the ninja clans, with the more traditional Iga and Takatsukasa clans preferring traditional steel-forged swords while the Kōga and the government Oniwaban utilise modernised carbon-fibre and titanium swords for durability.

An array of throwing weapons, consisting of darts, spikes, knives, and sharp, star-shaped discs are known collectively as shuriken. An important part of the ninja arsenal, these weapons can be thrown in any direction for short-ranged kills. Shinobi are known to use a wide variety of longer-ranged weapons as well, ranging from traditional bows to compound bows to silenced or unsilenced firearms, depending on the clan or clan faction at hand.

Shinobi also use a variety of unconventional weapons such as smoke bombs, blinding powder, and others.