Inspired by a post on Tumblr. See my profile for the link.

This chapter has been edited since I first posted it. It's longer now.


"Long ago, a monstrous ten-tailed beast roamed the land and sea, leaving destruction in its wake. The people assembled their mightiest warriors to defeat it, but they were no match for the behemoth. For many years, village after village fell to its devastating power.

"But one day, when all seemed lost, a mysterious figure appeared. He was a hermit who had learned the secret to controlling chakra, the life-energy of the world. Wielding it, he rose up against the creature and sealed it away forever.

"He was known as the Sage of the Six Paths, and is said to have been the very first shinobi.

"For many years after, the Sage travelled the land, teaching others to harness chakra and... Naruto? Are you listening?"

A loud snore was heard in reply.

"Wake up and pay attention, Naruto."

More snoring, now accompanied by some drooling. The old man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration before placing the history book on his desk and quietly getting up. Creeping up to the dozing student with the silence only a trained ninja could achieve, he bent down and whispered in his pupil's ear:

"Naruto...we're all out of ramen."

It had the desired effect. The boy's eyes flew open in shock, and he abruptly shot up, falling out of his seat in the process. The boy glanced around frantically, before focusing on the teacher's smug expression.

"Pervy Sage! That wasn't funny!" he cried indignantly. Jiraiya glared at him.

"Well, neither is the Uzumaki heir not knowing his history! You're going to have to succeed Lady Kushina one day, and we can't have an idiot as the clan head!" he reprimanded.

"I know that!" Naruto retorted. "But this history stuff is so boring! I wanna go outside! Pleeeease?" he pleaded.

Jiraiya sighed. "Maybe so, but it's also vital to being a leader. Peace takes a lot of time and effort to achieve, and little to none to destroy. Remember: those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes."

"Yeah, yeah," he groaned, leaning on the table.

Little did he know just how true those words would turn out to be.


On with the story! Woo-hoo!

Up next is Sakura's debut.

PS: Personally, I think history is fascinating. But Naruto seems like the kind of kid who'd be bored by such things.