Post by CJ on May 24, 2010 16:45:42 GMT -5
Konohagakure, also known as "Village Hidden in the Leaves" or "Hidden Leaf Village", or Konoha for short, is one of the five great ninja villages. As such, it is one of five villages with a Kage as its leader, known as the Hokage. There have been five Hokage, the most recent being Tsunade. On a mountain overlooking the villages from the north exists the Hokage Monument. The village resides in the Land of Fire. Although Konoha, much like the country in which it resides, has been relatively peaceful since the end of the Third Great Shinobi World War, it remains one of the most powerful villages in existence, and has great military power and influence.
The Birth of Konohagakure and Madara's Revolt
Before Konoha was founded, shinobi were merely individual clans working as mercenaries for various daimyo. Of the countless ninja clans, the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan of the forest were the strongest at the time. After much bloodshed, the Senju clan offered a truce with the Uchiha. Despite their leader, Madara Uchiha's, protests, the clan overruled him, and he reluctantly agreed. Thus the Hidden Leaf Village was born. Soon, other countries began to adopt this system, leading to the birth of other villages, and peace was attained. However, when the leader of the Senju clan, Hashirama Senju, was chosen to be the leader of Konoha, Madara decided to challenge him for the sake of his clan. No Uchiha, however, would help him, for they despised him for trying to reignite the flames of war. Betrayed by everyone, Madara left the village so that he could challenge Hashirama by himself.
During their legendary battle at the Valley of the End, Madara was defeated, presumed killed, and was thereafter lost to history. Hashirama's younger brother, who became the Second Hokage, formed the Konoha Police Force, and gave it to the Uchiha clan supposedly as a symbol of trust; in reality, it was so that Konoha could easily keep an eye on the Uchiha, and keep them out of Konoha's governing. Many of the Uchiha clan members, who figured out this gesture's ulterior motive, began to rebel like Madara had. However, it was too late; the Senju clan became superior in the entire village, and the Uchiha clan was discriminated against and secluded, just as Madara had predicted. It was this grudge that led to the Uchiha clan's attempted coup d'état decades later, and, eventually, their demise.
Nine tailed Demon Fox
Twelve years before the start of the series, after the end of the Third Great Shinobi World War, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked the village of Konohagakure. Nobody in the village was able to stop the fox until Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, arrived to seal the Nine-Tails into his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki. The village suffered heavy casualties during the attack, such that few of the villagers would forgive Naruto (who they viewed as the fox) for its actions.
The Hyuga Affair
Nine years prior to the start of the series, Kumogakure and Konohagakure were at war. To end it they agreed to a peace treaty on the day of Hinata Hyūga's third birthday. The treaty was soon revealed to be nothing more then a cover when the Head Ninja of Kumogakure at the time, who was in Konoha to sign the treaty, attempted to kidnap Hinata in order to obtain a Byakugan and its secrets. The Head Ninja was killed in his attempt by Hinata's father, Hiashi Hyūga.
Kumogakure denied all accusations, and demanded the dead body of Hiashi as compensation for the death of their Head Ninja. At the request of Hiashi's twin, Hizashi Hyūga, as well as the Hyūga clan and the Third Hokage, who didn't want to lose the heir to the clan, decided to send Hizashi's body instead. This had another advantage, besides saving the life of the Hyūga heir; Hizashi's Cursed Seal would seal his Byakugan after his death, safeguarding its secrets.
The Uchiha Clan Massacre
Five years before the start of the series, Fugaku Uchiha, leader of the Uchiha clan, began forming plans for a coup d'etat, after the villagers blamed them for the Demon Fox attack and shunned the clan into the corners of the village. He placed his son, Itachi, in the ANBU as a spy for the clan, to act as a pipeline and feed the clan information about Konoha. However, Itachi, a pacifist due to the violence he had witnessed in the Third Great Shinobi World War as a child, began working as a double agent. Subsequently, he was ordered to eliminate the Uchiha to prevent a bloody conflict after talks between them and the Third Hokage had broken down, and the council became impatient. He did as instructed - it is implied he received help from Uchiha Madara as well - but could not kill his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha. He convinced Konoha's leadership to keep Sasuke safe, threatening to go public with his information on Konoha if this deal was broken. He then fled the village as a criminal, and joined Akatsuki, mainly to keep an eye on Madara, and prevent an attack on Konoha.
Invasion By Otogakure and Sunagakure
Twelve years after the Nine-Tails attack, Konoha held a relatively standard Chūnin Exams until Orochimaru, a former ninja of Konoha, attacked the Third, and initiated Otogakure and Sunagakure's invasion of Konoha, during a match between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara. Konoha was able to repel most and kill some enemy shinobi, and Orochimaru was warded off at the expense of the Third Hokage's life. The Third Hokage was replaced by Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin, and granddaughter of the First Hokage.