You hear all the tales of the five great villages. The heroic ninja who work together to save the world, to save their homes and their friends. When you think of that, it's no wonder some places go unheard of.
I wasn't born into a great village from the all the stories myself, but instead into a small village situated in a valley. We didn't really have any ninja to start with, one or two who trained in the art, but nothing that impressive besides Aravin.
Myself, I travelled. I ventured around to other villages and settlements, trading, gaining information, and reporting it all back to our village head, Aravin. With travelling being dangerous I picked up a few tricks on my way, but at no point would I have classed myself as a ninja.
I suppose all of this was why Aravin's announcement came as such a shock to me. He had decided that our little valley would become a true ninja village, following the ideal that a group of strong ninja tutoring a small number would lead to us having a small 'army' of talented individuals. But what spurred him on? From I heard it was a joint decision with Jiron, a sort of council-member per-se, along with the arrival of a mysterious figure. Redrick, Redrick Hetherton, the man who walked into our little valley and changed our entire world.
In the following years Aravin, with Redrick close to side, began enacting his plan. A small academy was formed, Jiron teaching any attendees the ninja basics. Redrick held training sessions, optional sessions that became insanely popular and helpful. Slowly more of the valley wanted to join the academy, and following the valleys policy to let anyone in, more tutors were introduced. Tenley, a ninjutsu specialist, Karn the genjutsu guy, and even Jethro whose passion for everything just ran for miles.
Of course, I joined the academy as soon as it was opened, being somewhat of a guinea-pig for Aravin. Working with Tenley, Jiron and Redrick it didn't take long to reach the level needed for graduation, and so I became a full-fledged ninja of 'The Village Hidden in The Valley', but really it wasn't for another year or so until the real story began…
Until I was left in charge of possibly the worst graduates to pass through the academy.