The official head ninja of Kirigakure is the Mizukage. It is also the place from which the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist hail. Kakashi and Orochimaru have both stated that Kiri has a strong and ruthless military that cannot be easily defeated.

The Kaguya clan waged a war against Kirigakure sometime in the past, but were slaughtered by the village's superior forces. Zabuza Momochi also tried to assassinate the Mizukage. His attempt failed, and from that point further Kirigakure began hunting him.

The village also had the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle and the Six-Tailed Slug in its land, but Yagura (the Fourth Mizukage) for some unknown reason lost control and the beast began to roam free.

The latter's host, Utakata, was captured and had his tailed beast extracted by Akatsuki. Ukataka's capture is the subject of its own arc in the anime.