The Anbu is known to be a special unit of ninja in the Naruto world who deal with covert operations and missions that need to be handled with utmost secrecy, such as assassinations. They're often associated with the darkness of the village as they do what regular shinobi can't, and those who work for the Anbu are said to be protecting the village from the shadows.

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Over the years, several prodigious shinobi have joined the Anbu and led their teams on a variety of covert operations. As a secretive organization, many questions and mysteries exist about the Anbu and its members.

10 Was Kakashi In The Anbu? Kakashi Was Assigned To The Anbu By Minato Namikaze

Young Kakashi using his chidori while standing on a river in Naruto.

After the death of Rin and Obito, darkness began to consume Kakashi, and he had regular nightmares about Rin's death. In an attempt to get him better, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of the village at the time, assigned Kakashi to the Anbu.

Skilled as he was, he rose through the ranks quite quickly and became the leader of Team Ro within a very short period of time.

9 Who Is The Highest Authority In The Anbu? The Village Leader Generally Leads The Anbu

Anime Kakashi Anbu from Naruto Shippuden Cropped

The Anbu is a powerful group that handles the dirty business of the village, such as assassinations. As expected, they have a leader, and just like any other shinobi, they work under the Kage themselves.

The Kage has full authority over the shinobi in the Anbu and can recruit anyone for the group. At the same time, they can also relieve anyone of their duties from this organization.

8 Are There Ranks In The Anbu? There Are No True Ranks In This Organization

Kakashi Hatake during his time as an ANBU Black Op member (Naruto Shippūden)

The Anbu function very differently from the rest of the shinobi. While the average shinobi have ranks like Genin, Chunin, Jonin, or Tokubetsu Jonin, the Anbu doesn't function like that.

Instead, this group sees shinobi progress based on merit and experience. Those who perform well gain the trust of their comrades and are ultimately made the squad leaders, just as Kakashi Hatake led Team Ro. This position is held in very high regard and only the true elites can attain this status.

7 Can Every Skilled Ninja Join The Anbu? Even The Most Exceptional Shinobi Can Be Rejected By The Organization

The Anbu members with masks on

As mentioned earlier, the Anbu go about their ways in a different manner compared to the regular shinobi organizations. To get recruited by the group, one must have the right kind of personality, which is why Guy wasn't recruited.

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Only those who possess a certain kind of darkness in their hearts and won't hesitate to cut anyone down can make it in the group. Regardless of how powerful one is, the Anbu is an organization that is meant just for a few.

6 How Old Must Someone Be To Join The Anbu? In Konohagakure, A Shinobi Must Be At Least 13 Years Old To Join The Group

2 young itachi crying

The shinobi who join the Anbu are scouted at quite a young age, but they don't get to join the organization right away. In Konohagakure, those who are chosen to join the Anbu can only do so at the age of 13 or older.

This is likely because a shinobi who deals with the dangerous Anbu missions needs to have a certain level of maturity. Itachi Uchiha, the son of Fugaku, is the only exception to this rule.

5 Did Itachi Uchiha Join The Anbu? Itachi Was A Part Of This Group For A While

Itachi's ambiguous expression before killing his clan

Itachi Uchiha was a prodigious kid and known to be special even among the Uchiha Clan members. He graduated from the Academy at quite a young age and proceeded to gain great fame with time.

Itachi eventually joined the Anbu where he got to work with the likes of Kakashi Hatake and other fellow shinobi. After some time, Itachi rose to the position of a squad leader himself.

4 How Old Was Itachi When He Joined The Anbu? Itachi Was 11 Years Old & An Exception To Konoha's Rules

Itachi Anbu

In the entire history of the organization, Itachi Uchiha is the youngest known active member of the Anbu, doing so at just the age of 11. Even though tradition says that a shinobi can only join the Anbu after the age of 13, Itachi was special.

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Having both the skill and the maturity to do what needed to be done, Itachi was chosen to serve this group and he did so incredibly well. Eventually, Itachi went on to massacre his whole clan on Danzo's orders.

3 How Are The Anbu Members Trained? They Undergo A Special Training That Helps Them In Their Missions

Itachi and Kakashi

The job of an Anbu member is an incredibly difficult one and to aid them in their missions, they undergo special training after joining the organization that includes the study of the human body.

This is likely done to teach them about the vitals of the target and to ensure that the assassinations they carry out are as efficient as they can be, once again, showing that not just anyone can join this group.

2 What Kind Of Missions Do They Perform? They Are Assigned To Perform High-level Missions By The Kage

Konohamaru Anbu in Naruto

The Anbu are known to work on some incredibly high-level operations such as assassinations. Other than that, they are often sent out on missions to other countries to check on some disturbances when they're reported.

Tasks like tracking, surveillance, or even infiltration are known to be priority missions for those in the Anbu. The Anbu also deal with interrogations to gain important intel on their enemies.

1 What Is Root? The Root Was A Secret Anbu Force That Konohagakure Used To Maintain Peace From Behind The Scenes

Danzo Revealing His Sharingan To Fight Sasuke

Konohagakure's Anbu is known to have had a special unit in the past known as the Root. Those who worked for this group fell directly under Danzo Shimura's command. The existence of the Root was a high-level secret and those who worked for it had all their emotions stripped from them.

Sai was one of the members of this group and, just like any other member, had a seal on his tongue that prevented him from speaking about the organization.

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