Story Title: The Real History Makers
Fandom: Naruto
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: None
Characters: Naruto, Yoshino Nara, Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru Nara, mentions of others
Summary: Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara did not form the first hidden village. But after years of
chaos, Uzumaki Naruto paved the way. And he had help.

The characters and and story are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm not making a dime o
of them, cuz if I did . . .

When it's time to write down the events that led to the creation of a governmental system that lasted for more than a half-century, most historians will point to the battles and the men who won them. After all, the last attempt to bring peace ended in utter disaster.

No one denied that the Senju and Uchiha clans were the strongest. As the old adage goes only the strong survive. Some even said that on the day the greatest warriors had died, so did any chance and it was written in the history books as such. But this time around, the real reason shinobi villages were formed was because of women. Well, to be more specific: two mothers' love for their children; a pregnant wife; one female doctor's frustration at the destruction; one young girl's crush; and another girl's desire to become her husband's only love and the rival who helped her.

For all her fierceness and tough love, Nara Yoshino cared. Whenever Shikaku and Shikamaru were on a mission, she waited and prayed to the gods for her family's safe return. She nagged, yelled and threatened because her men were lazy and laziness could bring an early death. She did that because her mother taught her this way. It had been passed down through many generations. But Yoshino had a secret weapon. And she only used it when absolutely necessary.

One thing Nara Shikaku realized was each new generation was stronger and smarter. He sat in awe of his son's strategy skills. He watched proudly as Shikamaru produced plan after plan that kept the Nara clan strong, plentiful and well-fed. For the past five years, the Nara, the Akimichi, and the Yamanaka had become a force to be reckoned with. The only drawback, which caused Shikaku stress and dismay (but only because his wife would yell and make threatening demands) was the boy's laziness. Shikamaru may have strategized well enough to keep mortality rates low and missions plentiful, but he was equally impressive at avoiding making said strategies. When new missions came, the Akimichi, who were the negotiators, would have to request missions that could start in two or three or four days from the day of request, because a serious manhunt had to be conducted to find the young strategist. The best at locating the boy were his parents, of course; his best friend, Akimichi Chouji, and the heirs of nearby clans, Inuzuka Kiba and his dog Akamaru as well as Aburame Shino and his bugs. The Yamanaka heir could also find him but she had been married off and could no longer help. Shikaku, all exasperation aside, knew that his child would be a part of the group that would achieve peace and he couldn't wait.

"If you just follow the biggest clouds, you'll find him," Chouji once remarked.

The Nara clan had always had what amounted to a non-aggression pact with the Senju clan. After the grandson of warrior great Senju Hashirama had gotten lost in the Nara forest and found by a Nara predecessor, Shikakau always kept the lines of communication open between the two clans. There was no fawning or gushing over the great clan; just a strong admiration and a stronger sense of self-preservation. But in front of him was the clan leader, Senju Tsunade, a woman whose talent on the battlefield and off-for she could pound you to near death and heal you within minutes-was legendary. Standing next to her, leering at his wife, was her companion, a man known for his fighting prowess and his lechery, Jiraiya, the Toad Sage. Beside him was a young woman, gentle and could probably kill him several different ways, Kato Shizune, apprentice of Tsunade. Her constant hitting of Jiraiya in an attempt to get him to stop gawking at his wife, certainly earned her brownie points.

Despite the power and might that stood before him, Chouza, and Inoichi, all focus was on a boy. The apprentice and the two legendary warriors looked fatigued, whether it was from recent battles or just life, Shikaku couldn't tell. But the boy was full of youth, hope and sunshine. The blond hair and blue eyes, reminded him of another clan and their greatest warrior. Despite animosity from clans in the land of Iwa, Namikaze Minato, was considered a hero. Some could have done what he did, but they had not come across the great beast. And when the most feared of the tailed beasts, the nine-tailed fox, arose from unknown depths of hell, many fought to kill the creature. But only Minato was able to stop him.

His legacy stood before Shikaku and asked him to form an even bigger alliance. There were several things that caused Shikaku to request antacids from his wife. First, though all signs point to the teen standing before him being a Namikaze, his name was Uzumaki Naruto. Now why Minato would name his child after a fishcake, well, no one would know, but why Tsunade or Jiraiya would give the child the clan name of Uzumaki was a mystery he would demand solved. Unless, of course, Minato had bedded an Uzumaki and that raised more questions. For one, who? And why? They were enemies. The Uzumaki clan was from Whirlpool country and was feared by most. They were unpredictable because their methods were deadly and funny; no doubt a terrible combination. While many felt utter dismay at the antics of the Uzumaki clan, only the Namikaze clan was worthy of hate by the Uzumaki. The Uzumaki were known to toy with other clans, even the Senju and Uchiha. But all Namikaze and Uzumaki battles were epic. It must have been written on their souls that if one saw the other, they must battle to death. Perhaps if this Naruto achieved his goal, he would ask, but for now Shikaku would talk with Chouza and Inoichi about this request.

When the jinchurikki of Kyuubi No Youko and two of the Legendary Sannin stood before you requesting an alliance, you don't scoff and laugh. You listen. And contemplate. Yoshino knew her husband. And this situation called desperately for her secret weapon. She called upon Chouza's and Inoichi's wives, and starting with the words, "I'm tired," set forth a plan.

Shikaku was beside himself. He, too, longed for peace, but this kid, the container of the Kyuubi, spouting love, peace and happiness, looked like an idiot. And until he had other clans besides the Senju in his corner, the answer was no. Or so he thought. On that fateful day, his wife had yelled and threatened until she popped a vein, but when he went into their tent that night, his angel of mercy was there and he had no clue what was in store. Well, he did but he didn't know why. Before him sat all of his favorite foods, and not one, not two, but three bottles of sake. But it was his angel of mercy that really caught his eye. She was a lovely vision in white. Where she got the outfit, he not only didn't know, he also didn't care because it wouldn't stay on for long! The only thing, well, two things that registered was his angel of mercy was there to do his bidding; the last time she showed up, nine months later, Shikamaru was born. The second thing? Use your imagination because Shikaku was going to use his and have a good time. It's a good thing that Jiraiya was gone from the campsite. Or so they thought.

When morning came, Yoshino asked for peace and Shikaku complied. Of course, when he went to tell Shikamaru, and then the others, he saw his son had packed for a long journey. When asked why, "I believe he can do it, but the idiot will need some help," was the reply.

Shikaku and Shikamaru along with Chouza, Chouji and Inoichi walked to Naruto's camp, and saw the Aburame and Inuzuka clan heads there, along with their sons. All was met with silence. Tsunade, with the biggest smile she could muster; Inuzuka Tsume, full of confidence that she had made the right decision; Shizune, with a scowl, but only because Jiraiya had the biggest grin on his face as he watched Shikaku, Chouza and Inoichi; who joined him grinning, though they didn't know why. That is until Shikaku realized why Jiraiya was grinning, then he glared at the man. Shibi and Shino each arched an eyebrow, out of curiosity, while the other heirs wondered where Naruto was.

A tent flap opened and out walked perhaps the biggest shock yet. There stood a man in green spandex with a bowl cut hairstyle and bushy eyebrows. Out next was his identical twin? No, this one was younger. A Clone? No, it spoke.

"GAI-SENSEI, LET'S JOIN NARUTO IN TRAINING. IF I CAN'T BEAT HIM IN A SPAR, I WILL WALK BLIND-FOLDED AND ON MY HANDS UNTIL WE REACH THE NEXT CLAN!" Rock Lee said loudly.

"GREAT IDEA, LEE! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY IN YOU THIS MORNING!" Maito Gai also yelled.

In what really could either be an elaborate genjutsu or something written by Stephanie Meyer, the sun was setting and waves were crashing against the shore as the two super unique ninja hugged amidst cries of "GAI-SENSEI!" and "LEE!" It was 8 a.m. Those who had seen it before face-palmed, mostly to keep from re-living the nightmare, but those who had not, had the strangest emotion on their faces.

AN:

The Naruto community of writers, commenters, etc. etc., have been a godsend to me since 2008. A couple
of years ago, I saw this under what if or general meme over at naruto meme on LJ. I wrote it during the
month it was requested. Actually took me 12-13 hours. But instead of posting it there or in my journal or here, I promptly forgot about it. Then it kept bugging me and three (yeah, three) years later, here
it is. I'm calling this a work-in-progress but it's done.

But this is a Thank You to the community because of all the great stories I've read so far. Even
the bad ones. It is my one and only foray into fanfiction because original stories are calling me like crazy.
So, without further ado, here it is broken down into chapters, but it probably shouldn't be.