Chakra
Chakra is the source of energy used by every Shinobi in the great series of Naruto. In fact, there are two energy sources used by them; Stamina, which could also be called physical energy, and Chakra, which could be called mental energy. As a result, each ninja style uses a different energy source; TaiJutsu uses pure stamina, while NinJutsu and GenJutsu use Chakra. However, Chakra has many more uses; it can be concentrated on the user's feet for a boost of speed, or a higher jumping capability. There are also several other things that somebody must acknowledge to fully understand how techniques are executed. First of all, stamina converts to Chakra for many techniques, but not vice versa. This means that once stamina is converted, it cannot be converted back. Also, a hand seal is needed to perform the conversion. One of the toughest parts of using Chakra is controlling it and using it wisely. In this guide, we explain how Chakra should be properly used, and how it is often used improperly. First of all, everybody only starts out with Stamina. Stamina is the energy we use everyday to run, breath, walk, exercise, even think. Every time we rest, our stamina recovers. Food, rest and fitness are the three most important factors in Stamina capacity and usage. As long as a person sleeps a sufficient amount of time, eats healthy, and exercises daily, there will be no problem with his stamina. This is very important, because stamina creates Chakra; as a result, if there is no stamina, there can be no Chakra, so the shinobi cannot fight. TaiJutsu uses stamina, while NinJutsu and GenJutsu use Chakra. Now here, Naruto is converting his stamina into Chakra, and with a successful result. This needs a lot of training, and it is the part where most of the stamina is lost. That is, because the user needs to know the exact amount of Chakra he needs in order to execute the technique in mind. As a result, if the ninja doesn't know how much Chakra he needs to use, he cannot convert correctly. Besides that, the ninja must also be able to concentrate just enough to convert the Chakra, which is pretty hard to do while in a heated battle. This is why ninjas at disadvantage and rushed are the one that waste most of their Chakra and stamina. However, note that this only applies for NinJutsu and Gen Jutsu, because TaiJutsu needs absolutely no conversion. Here, we have Naruto as a continuation from the above graphic. As you can see, he has converted 30% of his stamina into Chakra, which leaves him with 70% of stamina left. Now in order to successfully use his Chakra, Naruto must divide it accordingly. As a result, he first wastes 10% of his overall Chakra to do Bunshin no Jutsu. This leaves him with 20% of Chakra left. Now if he was successful, he would use 20% of his remaining Chakra to do Henge no Jutsu. However, he uses up only 10%, leaving him with 10% of Chakra left, and thus, wasted. Now we will explain how a proper and well trained shinobi uses his Chakra. Sakura has always known the best use of Chakra, so she is used in this example. First, she gathers up her Chakra, and converts 30% of her stamina into Chakra. This leaves her with 70% of stamina left. Now, since she can properly use her energy, she has it all calculated. Since her goal is to create 4 Bunshins, she performs the Hand seal, and then focuses her Chakra into creating 3 additional Sakuras, for a total of for. In order to confuse ninjas even more, she equally divides her 30% of Chakra by dividing 10% into each Bunshin, and by that she uses all of her accumulated Chakra, not wasting any energy at all. In the above picture, Sasuke is about to perform Bunshin no Jutsu. First, as with every other technique, he transforms his Stamina into Chakra by using a hand seal. This is where he is weakest at, because instead of creating the necessary amount, he created a bit more of Chakra. Next, he focuses his Chakra, and he successfully creates 4 Bunshins; however, as you can notice, the excess 10% of Chakra is left out, and thus, wasted. This means that even if the ninja knows how much chakra he needs, mistakes such as this one can occur, and the user can transform more Chakra, leaving him weak. Here, we have Naruto trying to perform Bunshin no Jutsu as well. However, he is unskilled in both converting Stamina into Chakra, and using his Chakra wisely. As told earlier, the average amount of Chakra for these examples is 10%. So, Naruto starts out (wrongly) by transforming 50% of his overall stamina into Chakra. This would mean that he should create 5 Bunshins in total. However, due to his lack of skills, he fails, and as a result only creates 1 Bunshin. This happened because he couldn’t control his Chakra and force it into a Bunshin correctly. This results in a loss of 40% of Chakra, which is a rather large amount, considering that only 50% of his stamina would be left. Although this isn’t an uncorrectable mistake, training such as wall climbing and water walking can fix this uncontrollability of Chakra. For our last example, we have rock lee, an elite TaiJutsu user. Since Rock Lee has absolutely no need to convert stamina into Chakra, he can just perform his techniques without concentrating into conversion. This gives TaiJutsu users an edge, because they do not have to mold up their Chakra in order to attack. It is also beneficial due to the fact that a TaiJutsu ninja has a complete control over his movements and energy. As a result, he just focuses his stamina in his feet and uses his Leaf Spinning wind (Konoha Repuu) He does not have to worry about loosing Chakra into conversion As a last note, if a Shinobi cannot create any more Chakra, which means he has 0 stamina, he or she dies, or at least gets knocked out. This posses a great danger, because if a ninja that is unskilled at controlling Chakra can easily get killed if they don’t watch out. This wraps our Guide of Chakra use up.
Hand Seals
Hand seals are as important as Chakra in Naruto. All GenJutsu and NinJutsu need hand seals to be performed, but TaiJutsu doesn't because it simply needs no Chakra. The main function of a Hand Seal is similar to that of magic words. Instead of speaking of words to activate a spell, Hand Seals are used to activate the technique, and release all the gathered Chakra. Hand Seals stand out for animals, specifically the animals found in the Oriental Zodiac signs. That's why there are 12 seals, one for each of the 12 years found in Oriental zodiacs.

This is because if the hand seals in a NinJutsu are not performed correctly, the Chakra will be released wrong and a different effect will occur, probably failing the Jutsu. As a result, Hand Seals need a lot of concentration, which is why techniques in Naruto cannot be interrupted, or the technique will definitely fail. In the lines below, we have gathered images of all of the most frequent hand seals.

The hand seals in the Naruto series are based off of the Oriental Zodiac system. As you may have heard when someone talks about what year they are born in, they may say year of the Dragon, which means they would have been born in 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976 or 1988. Below we have organized the hand seals in order of when they appear in the Chinese zodiac, from one to twelve

Rank
There are many ninjas in the Naruto series, there are also many ranks. We have compiled as many ranks as we could think of on this page, and given you a fairly good description of what they are all about.
Academy Students
Becoming an academy student is the first step to becoming a ninja. Usually children are enrolled in the academy from an adolescent age around nine and remain so until approximately twelve. Though there are exceptions where very talented children graduate from the academy at a much younger age. An academy student does not perform any missions, but trains and demonstrates their mastery of the essential ninja skills and techniques (Basic weapon skills, Substitution, Clone, etc.). The final test for graduating to the next rank is performing one of those techniques. Though even if one completes the final test, only nine academy students can become genins, the rest are forced to return to the academy or drop out.
Genin

Genins are the lowest rank of ninja. Once an academy student becomes a genin, they are assigned a jounin instructor with two of their classmates. These groups are taught by their jounin and perform basic jobs commissioned by the village. This typically means that they are required to do remedial, labor-intensive jobs that require little or no combat. Two good examples of genin-ranked missions are finding lost pets, and weeding gardens. A genin's life consists of these missions and training, all to prepare for the Chuunin Selection Exam begins. At this point, genins are put through a three part exam that proves their knowledge, survival skills, and combat ability. During the final combat part of the exam, the genins are evaluated on whether or not they have the needed skills to be promoted to chuunin. However, it is not uncommon to have a very small number of genins selected.
Chuunin
Upon achieving the rank of chuunin, a great deal of responsibility is placed upon the ninja. A chuunin is no longer an apprentice, but a leader. They can command a small group and are actively involved in combat situations. A chuunin not only holds their own life in the balance, but those of ninja assigned under them. Chuunin responsibilities do not only extend to battle, however. They are also teachers of academy students, imparting their experience and abilities onto the next generation. They are in charge of teaching the students all they need to know to begin their journey of becoming ninja, and basic physical training. Becoming a chuunin is a sign of skill of dependence, and is not something easily obtained.
Jounin
Even as achieving chuunin demonstrates proficiency and skill, achieving jounin is a sign of mastery. Jounins are exceptional fighters who operate on a completely different level than their lower ranked counterparts. Because of this, they are given the most dangerous missions. Jounin also are not limited to battle. While chuunin are in charge of teaching academy students, jounin are responsible for trios of genins. A jounin leads the groups through their initial missions and prepares them for the Chuunin Selection Exam. Jounins typically only impart knowledge to their assigned genins, though there are some who take on special students and impart techniques and skills to them as well. Not much is known about the methods of promoting jounins, however.
Kage
There are many academy students, there are many genins, and many chuunin and many jounins, but there is only one Kage. The Kage is the strongest and most supreme ninja of all ninjas in their respective villages. Despite what some may assume because of appearances, they are immensely powerful and hold a number of powerful techniques that can even control nature itself. Becoming Kage is the ultimate level of mastery and skill. Each of the hidden villages has their own Kage, with a different name. Ho (Fire), Kaze (Wind), Rai (Lightning), Mizu (Water), and Tsuchi (Earth).

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