Prologue
"I AM NINJA
My Magic is Training...
My Body is Control...
My Strength is Adaptability...
My Weapons are Everything That Exists...
MY WAY IS NINJUTSU"
- Tiger Scroll of the Koga Ninja
Chakra is a myth. Shinobi do not possess the power to conjure flames or summon demons to do their bidding. Those are only old wives' tales, told to children so that they learn to fear and revile us. While we no longer hide in the shadows, we operate by the laws of the Daimyo, ruling our Hidden Villages with the consent of the noblemen.
Long ago, the samurai reigned over us. In their eyes, we were a dishonorable plague. Because we were willing to do anything it took to survive in a world where the peasants starved and died in the wars of the nobles, foolishly squabbling over the world itself.
Ninja first came about as a method of finding a way to live in the war-torn lands. Peasants joined together and wandered, offering their services as mercenaries. Soon, with the passing of centuries of blood, the peasants became hardened warriors. The accepted all sorts of jobs, from assassinations to intelligence gathering. They became men of the night, enduring all the hardships of their time and using it to their advantage.
They became Shinobi. Ninja.
Soon, ninja with similar ideals and skills banded together as clans. Among the first were the Senju and the Uchiha, the strongest of the clans. Still, many more flourished. But, with the growth of the ninja, came many problems. The clans were forced to compete for jobs, eventually developing fierce rivalries.
With those rivalries came clash after clash, until finally the shinobi were forced into all out war. The samurai were powerless to stop the devastation, as many came into the crossfire of the ninja in their quest to destroy one another, in the great Sengoku Jidai.
That is, until Senju Hashirama came, and changed the face of the shinobi world forever.
Hashirama was known as a great medic and a powerful ninja, building a fierce reputation as the clan head of the Senju. In his youth, he had a short-lived friendship with the clan head of the Uchiha, Uchiha Madara. He dreamed that one day, ninja would stop fighting and become the peacekeepers of the land, forging a world that would oust suffering.
After a great victory against the Uchiha, he spared the life of Madara on the condition that the Uchiha and Senju would make peace, and found a village of shinobi. The village would become known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure.
To seal the deal, Hashirama and Madara both agreed to marry members of the Uzumaki Clan, which had already founded a village in the Land of Whirlpools. The Uzumaki were kin-related to much of the Senju Clan, and as such the marriages were seen as a concession on the part of the Uchiha.
One last matter remained, however. It had already been privately decided by Hashirama and Madara that the ruler of Konohagakure would be known as the Hokage, and that he would rule along with a small advisory council consisting of three elders (one for the Uchiha, one for the Senju, and one representative from the Uzumaki) and the clan heads.
Hashirama had desired for Madara to be declared Shodaime Hokage, but his brother Senju Tobirama convinced him to solve the matter with a vote. The Uchiha, depleted from the victory scored earlier by the Senju, were unable to secure Madara's place as Hokage, and instead Hashirama was deemed Shodaime Hokage.
In order to appease the fuming Uchiha, Tobirama suggested that the new Hokage implement a special, shinobi-based police force, consisting primarily of the Uchiha. Many nearby civilians had already joined in the production of the new village, and a strong shinobi presence could prevent them from indulging in unsavory occupations.
The Chief of the Police Force was de facto the head of the Uchiha Clan, giving Madara a position that could potentially lessen the impact of losing the Hokage's seat. Despite a lot of grumbling, the Uchiha accepted the proposal. Madara decided to stay in the village, despite previous fears he'd decided to go rogue.
Soon, Konoha was hard at work, receiving the endorsement of the Fire Daimyo. Other clans in the Land of Fire soon began to join. First came the Sarutobi, carrying with them the future Sandaime Hiruzen. After them, the Yamanaka and Hyuuga joined, followed by the Kurama, Akimichi, Inuzuka, and Aburame Clans.
Following the foundation of Konoha, other clans in other lands began to join together and create their own villages. For the first time in shinobi history, previously warring clans bound themselves to form hidden villages in which many ninja coexisted and worked with one another. This led to the proud shinobi villages we now have today.
Of course, there would always be war, as three great shinobi wars were waged after the villages had already been created. But still, the ninja endured the pain, focusing on protecting their villages at all costs. Soon, Hashirama resigned his position as Hokage, leaving the hat to his best friend, Uchiha Madara, who wore it with pride.
Madara founded many institutions we know today, such as the Konoha Military Academy, the ANBU Special Forces, and various logistical and civilian-based organizations. After his death, the coveted hat fell to Sarutobi Hiruzen, a former student of Tobirama's and rival to Madara's own student, Shimura Danzo. Madara felt that Danzo could be better utilized as the leader of the special Root Branch of the ANBU Special Forces, although he abolished some of the organizations more morally questionable attributes.
The Sandaime would then become the longest reigning Hokage, reorganizing the council to include a civilian section of the council to be called upon for economic matters, as well as reducing the overall power of the council to ensure it proved no threat to him or any future Hokage.
In his time as Hokage, he also brought the village through two shinobi world wars and trained the Sannin, three legendary ninja who worked as one of Konoha's best teams until Orochimaru's betrayal.
The last of the Hokage, the Yondaime, was Namikaze Minato. A prodigy by all accounts, he was personally brought up as the apprentice of Jiraiya of the Sannin. He was renowned as being one of the fastest shinobi on the planet, wearing a loose fitting yellow haori with a red, flaming trim.
Konoha's Yellow Flash. The greatest ninja since the likes of monsters like the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage, earning himself an SS-Rank in the bingo book and the command to "flee on sight." In his short reign as Hokage, he earned himself a reputation as a great administrator as well, on par with the Nidaime in terms of the many reforms that would categorize his time under the hat.
Unfortunately, he was forced to sacrifice his life when a small team of elite ninja from Kumo and Iwa managed to infiltrate the village, killing or incapacitating dozens of ANBU and taking out the majority of Konoha's Jounin and Tokubetsu Jounin. The team was stopped, but not before both the Yondaime and his wife, Uzumaki Kushina perished in what was likely an assassination attempt on the Hokage.
The young son of the two, who had been kept secret from the shinobi world for his own protection, was then put into the care of the Sandaime, who then placed him in an orphanage with the rest of the children. He then reassumed his old hat, naming his official successor in case of death as Nara Shikaku, the jounin commander.
It is now that we find ourselves six years from that day, entering the life of Uzumaki Naruto, orphan.
No one could have known that the child would become the greatest ninja in the history of the ninja world.
A/N
So, for starters, this will be my first foray in the fanfiction land. I heard you had cookies, and I couldn't resist.
The premise of this story is essentially the ninja world without chakra. It is also pretty freakin' AU besides the whole "no rasengan" thing. I've had to spend quite a lot of time reimagining the abilities of all of the characters in the narutoverse, especially clans like the Hyuuga or Akimichi.
For those who don't quite follow the divergences of the story so far, than you should not fear, as clarification comes next chapter. Here's a quick reference list for all the information in this chapter:
- Hashirama spared Madara's life. Izuna never died, but Madara got severely wounded in his place. Hashirama decided not to finish him (heh), and instead nursed him back to health.
- Hashirama forms the Uchiha Military Police Force to appease Madara. That, along with his wife prevented him from leaving Konoha.
- Madara inherits the hat, and basically does what Tobirama did.
- Madara led the genin team of Uchiha Kagami, Shimura Danzo, and that random Akimichi.
- Madara gives the hat to Sarutobi because he thinks Danzo should dedicate himself fully to Root. He stops him from taking children from the clans or civilians of Konoha, and instead limits him the orphans. Also, he disallows some of his harsher methods.
- Sarutobi forms a civilian branch of the council. The council also contains the clan heads. (In canon, the council is only the elders Koharu, Homura and Danzo.)
- Nara Shikaku is declared heir should the Hokage lose his life. (This was intended to establish a clear line of succession should another team kill the Sandaime, or the Sandaime die due to the fragility of his old age. Not damn likely, I know.)
- Naruto does not have Kyuubi. This will cause all sorts of trouble for him, naturally, just to make up for it.
Alright, see you guys next time. And remember: I will find the complementary fanfiction author cookies, and I will eat them. They will be enjoyable. Peace.