RE: The Naruversity
Here's part of a post I've been working on for a while about ninja ranks. My intention is to make them more realistic by including concepts such as security clearances and economic impacts of the different ranks upon the villages. So far i've only written up two ranks but I'm having a bit of writer's block so I'll just post what I've got so far for critique.
And yes I did invent a new rank, because somebody needs to do the non-combat grunt work that low ranking genin don't have the security clearance for and it would be stupid to demand that every ninja secretary and lab technician also be a badass who is qualified to lead a team of soldiers in the field.
Shinobi Village Ranks
Genin is the lowest level of ninja, and the first rank given to those who graduate from the ninja academy. Genin are not yet competent or experienced enough to lead missions outside the village, and are usually only allowed to command risk-free D-rank missions which involve performing manual labor and other simple tasks - such as painting a house or finding a lost pet. They may also participate in low-risk C-rank missions under the supervision of a higher ranked ninja which can involve mild danger or traveling outside of the village - such bodyguard duty to civilians or hunting wild animals.
Most villages place their freshly-graduated Genin in four-man cells, consisting of three genin and a special jounin or jounin-sensei, in order to learn teamwork, improve their skills, and experience true ninja life under the supervision and protection of an elite shinobi, all while becoming accustomed to dealing with clients and handling paperwork. This probationary period usually lasts for a few years, after which the sensei will take a new genin team or return to full active duty, and their former students must become fully responsible for their own training and advancement.
While the large majority of ninja registered in each village are genin, only a small number of those genin are actively take missions at any given time. The majority of genin are placed in a reserve force which pays them a modest salary to maintain their combat readiness and may call them back into active duty if their village becomes involved in a large scale conflict, but who otherwise live as normal civilians. The reason for this is that most ninja villages are partially or fully privatized organizations that need to pay for their own budgets, and genin are not profitable; they can only take D-rank missions, which are usually subsidized by the village because few civilians can afford to hire ninja to perform their household chores. Maintaining a large standing force of active duty genin would be a huge financial drain on a village.
As a result, there is tremendous cultural and social pressure on new genin to get promoted as quickly as possible, and on older genin to retire and stop wasting D-rank missions that could be given to younger and more promising ninja. Genin who fail to be promoted or to retire by their mid-twenties or later are generally looked down upon by their peers, although the severity depends upon their perceived honesty. Those who regularly attend chuunin exams and take only enough D-ranks necessary to support themselves may be labeled "Eternal Genin", a slur targeted at genin who are believed to be too incompetent to earn a promotion, too stupid to realize this (otherwise they would retire), but too lucky to get killed in an exam. Those who skip too many chuunin exams or are perceived to be taking too many D-rank missions, on the other hand, run the risk of being labeled a "Career Genin" - that is, a coward who intentionally sabotages their own promotion chances in order to earn an easy paycheck while being exposed to a minimum of danger. Unsurprisingly, that charge tends to be devastating to one's reputation and future career prospects if it sticks.
Special Chuunin is an rank given to ninja who are not qualified to become Chuunin but who perform sensitive jobs for the village which requires a Chuunin level security clearance. Special Chuunin are the backbone of any village and perform a wide variety of necessary but unglamorous jobs, including but not limited to; computer technician, paralegal, administrative clerk, medical nurse, logistics management, accounting.
Special Chuunin is considered an alternative promotion path to Chuunin. Many ninja commonly skip this rank entirely via a Chuunin Exam, and as Special Chuunin typically earn a steady paycheck performing non-combat jobs within the village, they usually stop taking field missions and thus have little opportunity for further advancement.
