The Anbu (暗部, English TV: Anbu Black Ops, literally meaning: Dark Side), short for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (暗殺戦術特殊部隊, literally meaning: Special Assassination and Tactical Squad), are covert operatives of capable ninja that are dispatched by their village leader. There are apparently no true ranks within the Anbu; team leadership and hierarchy seem to be based on merit and experience, and skill levels from genin to jonin are found in the Anbu. The leaders of the teams are called squad leaders (分隊長, Buntaichō), a position held in high regard.

Overview

Because of the darkness involved in an Anbu's career, one's personality determines their eligibility into the force, leading to exceptionally skilled shinobi whose personalities don't match the organisation to be rejected. As early as the Academy, accomplished children are scouted to eventually join. While recruiting, shinobi are hand picked by their village leader, for their individual capabilities and special skills. Age, background, gender, or previous rank bear no significance in this decision; however, in tradition, Konohagakure shinobi are not selected as Anbu unless they are at least 13 years old, with an 11-year-old Itachi Uchiha being a rare exception. Once joined, they undergo training including studying of the human body, and begin wearing masks to conceal their identity, leading to them using code names to identify each other.

Anbu nearly always make an appearance on important missions inside and in the vicinity of their village, but are mainly tasked with assassinations or disturbances in foreign countries. The assignments that they conduct to protect the village from exceptional threats include high-risk infiltration into enemy territory, dealing with extremely strong ninja, tracking, surveillance, interrogating enemy ninja to learn information and missions requiring specially trained ninja. Due to the actions of the group, one can appear changed and corrupted of kindness. Due to the often sensitive nature of their missions and the unique abilities they sometimes possess, Anbu are expected to destroy their bodies if they are too badly injured on a mission so that they can't be captured.