A/N: This is my attempt to write a history for the Naruto universe. Since this takes place 600 years before the events of Naruto, this story will be OC driven with most of the chapters focusing on the band of refugees I created. Of the chapters that do focus on Fire, I will use the ancestors of the main characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its history.

The young girl stood mesmerized by a field filled with seemingly endless rows of flowers. The girl nearly tripped as ran into the field to look at all the flowers. Behind her was her brother. A generally carefree and laidback person, he was not used to the constant 'traveling' he and his fellow refugees were forced to make.

"Come on Emiko, were leaving in few hours and we need to be ready." The man yelled to his younger sister.

The girl, upset that she had to go so soon, started to protest, but decided against it.

"Okay." She stood up and walked toward her older brother who was standing at the edge of the field.

The small makeshift village was slowly being torn down; soldiers running around helping were they could. The two siblings walked along the path to the designated gathering area, carrying all of their belonging and 'house' with them, when one of the soldiers noticed the two siblings.

"Hey, Sadiki!" He suddenly yelled.

"Huh?" The older sibling looked around to see who had called his name when he noticed the soldier walking toward them. The soldier, Caden, was about as loyal as friends can get. His cheery attitude could clearly be seen as he approached the siblings.

"Hey, Caden. What's with the outfit?" Asked Sadiki as Caden neared.

"Huh? Oh this," He said, realizing what he was wearing, "I joined the army!"

"What! Why? Don't you know that it's basically suicide?" His friend said with a look of shock on his face.

"Well, I figured the only way I could get revenge for all the damage that Fire had caused was to join the army." He said as he raised his sword in a mater-o-fact way.

"At least try to take some of them with you." Sadiki said with a smirk on his face.

"Gee, thanks for believing in me." He responded, returning his sword to the holster on his back. "Well, I'd like to talk some more but I have to be at a meeting in 10 minutes." With that Caden turned around and ran off to his next destination.

"Where are we going anyway?" The little girl next to Sadiki looked around nervously, noticing that most of the soldiers were running toward a large tent near the forest.

"Not really sure? I just hope it's as peaceful as this place was." A look of disappointment appeared on the older siblings face.

"I just hope its flowers are as pretty as the ones here were." She said with an energetic smile.

"Yeah, I hope so too."

Caden ran toward the tent near the forest. When he got near the entrance one of the guards opened the flap that served as the entrance. Caden scanned the rooms for a place to sit. When he couldn't find one, he leaned against one of the poles keeping the tent up. One person stood at the end of the tent, a tall man with scars all over his body. Caden did not know his name, but he did know of his accomplishments. This man had survived over 100 engagements with the Fire Empire. To call him a veteran was an understatement. He was currently talking to the gathered soldiers.

"The Fire Empire have found us and have already sent in one of their regiments to deal with us." He stopped in order to let this knowledge sink in among the gathered soldiers. "Fortunately, we learned of this quick enough to get an escape plan made. Some local rebels have offered to help us by transporting us across the sea to the southern part of the Fire Empire."

"What's the bad news?" One of the soldiers asked.

"The bad news is that we are to provide a distraction for the Tea rebels until they can get our people to their destination." He again stopped to allow this information to sink in. "Since most of you have never actually fought against Fire's army, I will explain what to do and what not to do against them." He stopped again so he could bring out a map of the northern part of the Tea Province and what appeared to be rough drawing of the various troops in Fire's ranks. He pointed to the first drawing of what appeared to be a samurai, "This is Fire's main fighting force. They make up the bulk of the enemies army. Luckily they are no more then an inconvenience, even for a rookie." He moved on to the next drawing. This one wore a mask that looked like an animal and had a pouch on his leg. "These are the ones you need to watch out for on the field. They have increased speed and strength and have the ability to use different types of jutsu. Needless to say, they are to be avoided at all costs. If you have to engage them, make sure to attack in groups, never attack them alone."

"What the hell! How are we supposed to fight that!" One of the soldiers jumped up and yelled to the officer.

"Carefully." He responded. "Although powerful, they are still nothing more then mindless troops designed to kill. They can easily be outsmarted." He continued on with his explanation, moving on to the last drawing. This one wore a general's outfit complete with the Fire symbol on his chest. "These are the ones you should never engage, no matter what. They command Fire's troops and are highly dangerous and skilled at all forms of jutsu."

"What should we do if we ever encounter one?" The soldier next to Caden asked.

"Run. Run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. They are nothing like the troops they command, they can actually think for themselves." The officer spoke with genuine fear in his words. "If you spot one, report it immediately to your superior so they can take care of them."

"What makes you think that they will fare better then us?"

"Experience." The officer spoke with a commanding tone to the soldier, obviously annoyed with the pointless questions. "They know their tactics and strategies better then any of you would." After he said that he turned his attention to the map. "Now then, about the battle." He pointed to a forest at the center of the map. "Our job is to engage the enemy in the forest so we can hopefully catch them off guard. After that we will push the enemy into open field where they can't hide. After a while, if either side hasn't claimed victory, we will push through their lines and head west in order to link up with the citizens." As he spoke he traced a path through the forest, into an open field and then west until he was off the map. "That is all, if there are no more questions then I suggest you get ready, we leave in 3 hours." The soldiers began to leave the tent while the officer put away the map and drawings. All of them knew that they probably wouldn't survive the coming battle.