Let there be growth!

[mamita]

And this is why making it through (IRL) years will lead to instant respect.
Anybody who looks at a shinobi and sees wrinkles also sees other things, namely: That this character has seen and experienced almost everything possible. They could have so much to pass on. Not just jutsu,
but lessons and strategies,
tips and tricks. Information about factions and the underlying community.
If one could but coax these secrets out of them... They would also be good teachers, because by that point,
they'd have to have trained a few shinobi themselves and know how to go about it. They'll have seen so many players come and go they'll be familiar with the psychology of new players.
They can be consulted on a truly vast number of issues, making them wonderful candidates for advisors.

The body of the character may be
limited, but the player's mind knows
no boundaries.
To say nothing of the combat potential such a character is bound to posess.
In my ideal vision, a character's
lifespan is a looong road to walk.
There are so many ways a shinobi can die, but if one can make it that far...
Who knows. Someone that old might even have picked up a forbidden jutsu.

What could the maximum amount of time
before you feel you're ready to start anew really be? 3-4 years?

[Yamasukage]

I feel like a boss for making this thread

[NinjaMirage]

What could the maximum amount of time
before you feel you're ready to start anew really be? 3-4 years?

This depends on a lot of things. One of the things that this Mmorpg offers is no leveling. So essentially other then learning and training your jutsu again your character is the same from start to finish. So there is really no down side to starting over. Especially if you don't like the jutsu you have learned, or are unhappy with there village choice. With 11 different villages, not everyone is going to make the right choice for there character, and play style the first time.
But once they do settle on a character they will likely use it for awhile because of the shear number of posabley of other things to do besides fight. That is if they do that. I still have a wow character I play from time to time just because I spent so much time leveling it and it's crafting abuilitys that I feel like it would be a wast of my life if I didn't. Lol. It's bin 12 years for that character.