A Thousand Years

The Attack

"Bye!" Naruto waved to his friends as they grew further from the village gates; their mission began today. "See ya soon!" He shouted. He saw Sakura wave back and give him a thumbs up before the squad of four fully disappeared from sight.

Naruto smiled and turned to head back to the village. It was just past seven at this point so he had some time before training started, maybe he could get some more sleep.

Almost an hour later, Naruto arrived at the training field and, upon spotting Nina, greeted her as he usually did.

Their training started like any other day until something popped into his mind.

"Hey sensei, do you know what kind of stuff they teach at the academy?" He asked while practicing maintaining a steady chakra flow. "I mean I was talking with my friends a few days ago and they were talking about some war that happened in the past, before Konoha was formed. I kinda wanted to know what they were talking about since I haven't really learned any sort of history." He said thoughtfully.

Nina seemed surprised at his curiosity.

"I do have some idea of what the instructors at the academy teach, it may be a little out of date however and they may very well have changed it. History isn't very difficult to learn; it's simply war followed by peace, then again by war. Are you sure you wish to hear about it?" Nina asked questioningly.

Naruto nodded eagerly.

"Well, your friends were likely talking about the time of the Warring States. A period filled with battle after battle and terrible bloodshed. It went on for many years before it finally died down. Remember the story I told you once? The formation of Konoha was the first step in ending the wars. The Warring States period was not a good time to be alive, the clans were fiercely territorial and any outsider found on their land was immediately killed. Actually, one didn't even need to be trespassing to be killed, many were ambushed on their own land by enemy clans. Children were trained as soldiers and sent to the front lines, women feared for their husbands and fathers and brothers and children. Alliances were weak and often filled with mistrust. Raids on smaller, weaker clans were everyday occurrences. It really was a terrible period." She sighed. "When Konoha was formed, it was the first of its kind. After that, similar mass alliances formed, all following what Hashirama and Madara had built here. Battles became rarer and things were peaceful for a while. That was how the Hidden Villages arose." She finished with a nod.

"What happened next?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Nina frowned ever so slightly.

"Of course, times of peace never last and this one was no exception. The First Great Shinobi War started not long after Hashirama and Madara had fought in the Valley of the End, when the second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, Hashirama's brother, was in power. He led the leaf shinobi during the battles between the great nations. However, he was unable to make it out of one particular battle." She closed her eyes and her voice was grim. "It was an ambush and he sacrificed himself for his team. A terrible death but noble nonetheless. He was able to appoint the next Hokage before he died, however."

Naruto nodded, fascination in his eyes.

"Old man Sarutobi?" He reasoned, receiving a nod.

"Hiruzen was young at the time, barely an adult and quite naive, many people doubted his competence and leadership ability. Despite this, he proved time and time again that he was a very capable leader. He rebuilt Konoha, reestablished trade, and restored balance in the village.

"Around twenty years after the war ended, yet another one was sparked, this time over territorial issues: the Second Great Shinobi War. Konoha was at fault for starting this one. This was the war were the Legendary Sanin got their name after a particularly harsh battle. The peace was again shattered and the villages suffered. In the end, things worked out in favor of Konoha and the battles diminished quickly. For a while everything seemed rather calm and peaceful, but what came next was the worst of them all." Nina closed her eyes. "The power of the Five Great Shinobi Nations was declining and it did not go unnoticed by the smaller nations. Seeing their chance to gain land and resources, conflicts arose along the borders of the Great villages, the sparks from these small battles soon fired up another war. The great nations, being considerably weaker than usual at the time, were running low on shinobi. Children barely out of the academy were thrown to the front lines in a desperate attempt to add to their numbers, thousands of people died every day and the land was devastated." She sighed and opened her eyes, a mournful look etched into her face. "Tell me, how old are you now, Naruto?"