Here's the new chapter. It's more of a break chapter while I plan the next couple of chapters. This is inspired by Gallyrat's fics, Shinobi: Team 7 and Born Weapons, as both have a chapter like this. I've retconned one thing, which is that Tobirama was the second Hokage. I feel like it makes more sense timeline wise if someone else was the Second Hokage. Even if Hashirama died all of a sudden at a young age due to an illness or something, Tobirama's reign would have been short. Moreover, the Warring Clans era was only resolved in their time, so I feel that having a certain age gap between them and Hiruzen makes sense. They still taught the guy, but they were much older at the time. So the second Hokage is someone who's relatively disconnected from the whole Hokage line of succession who bridged the gap between the reign of the 1st and the 2nd.
Konohagakure
The First
Hashirama Senju was a child of war, and the herald of peace. He dreamed not of bringing glory to the Senju name like the rest of his clan, but of lush forests and joyous spring. He spent his days in a carefree manner, as though the raging battles around him were naught but an illusion. But when his father died and he was named clan head, not even his bitterest rivals dared to complain, for he was blessed by the the abilities of the clan. He was the greatest Senju of his time, perhaps the greatest ever. Expectations were high for the new clan head, but he surpassed them by far when he not only managed to beat the greatest warriors on the country, but managed to broker a peace against their bitterest rivals, the Uchiha. He formed a bond with Uchiha Madara that was thicker than blood. He was not alone in his endeavor, for he was assisted throughout by his brother Tobirama Senju. And with the help of his two brothers, one by blood and one sworn in by a solemn oath, he founded the village hidden in the leaves, Konohagakure.
Tobirama was not like him and Madara. His brother did not dream of peace, and had not forgotten the teachings of the Senju. And Madara still despised the murderer of Izuna. But he calmed the tensions between the two with kind words and when necessary, harsh glares. Tobirama, for all his faults, was loyal to his brother. While not blessed with the same abilities as him, Tobirama had a brain that was second to none, and was the man responsible for bringing his and Madara's dreams to reality. But greatness calls greatness, and word of the formation of Konohagakure had reached the rest of the continent. And so other shinobi villages sprouted up. He does not quite recall how it began, but soon enough, all 5 Shinobi countries were embroiled in the war. But with the might of the Senju and Uchiha together, the war wax put to a end.
As a sign of peace, he tamed the 9 great tailed beasts along with Madara, and to his sworn brother's surprise, he split them among the other great villages as a sign of peace. They were sealed with the assistance of the Uzumaki into hosts that were then called Jinchuriki. As a gesture of good faith, his own wife volunteered to be the first Jinchuriki, taking on the burden of the Nine Tails itself. He cried for the poor fate of the hosts and the beasts, but if this was the price for peace, then he would pay it. But Madara did not agree with his methods. The war had changed the two of them, and the two men came to blows. He stood on top at the end, and Madara left the village with what few followers he could muster, and vowed to return with the gift of true peace.
But the loss of a brother did not stop him. He continued his reign as the Hokage, and no wars touched Konoha for the rest of his life. He had lived a glorious life indeed. He died of a mysterious illness, surrounded by his loved ones, and though he had a few regrets, he went out with a smile on his face. And with this one man's death, began the second great Shinobi war.
The Second
Chiyome Hyuga was oft forgotten in tales of the legends of Konoha. In comparison to the legends of the past before her, and the new legends who would come into being during her era, she seemed ordinary. But she was anything but ordinary, with an iron will and a heart of steel. Konoha was still reeling from the death of it's founder when the war began, it's enemies smelling the blood in the water. Caught off guard, the village soon lost Tobirama Senju in a daring attack. For all of Tobirama's greatness, he'd gotten old, and he succumbed to his wounds while protecting the rest of the village. Konoha was panicking, rushing about in an attempt to find a worthy successor. The Senju nominated Akai Senju, one of the few who held the fabled wood release. But Akai was but a pale imitation of her uncle Hashirama, for the moon in all it's beauty cannot match the sun. The Uchiha, sensing an opportunity, nominate one of their own. But the betrayal of Madara Uchiha still remains in memory, and so the Uchiha claim is rejected. As the Senju and Uchiha almost come to blows, ending the village, one woman singlehandedly silences them with her piercing gaze that saw everything, past all deception and lies.
Chiyome did not hold the love of the village during her reign, but she had it's respect. She saw the potential in the Nara who'd spent their days grazing deer, and brought them together with the Yamanaka and the Akimichi, forming ties that would last long into the future. She took inspiration from other villages, refusing to be buried in tradition. And so she founded the Anbu and implemented a proper naval force. She ruled with cautious pragmatism, refusing to be swayed from what she believed to be truly just. But she was not particularly interested in being the Hokage, and when a worthy successor arose in Sarutobi Hiruzen, who by his thirties was Konoha's strongest, she calmly stepped down and let him take over. In a few years after Hiruzen's ascension, the war ended, proving that she'd made the right choice. And so she would go down as one of the few Kage in history to step down from the role. But for all her greatness, her blindspot turned out to be her own clan. She had two sons, and she'd never bothered to properly deal with the matter of succession. And so, when she died, they fought bitterly over it, and when he came up on top, the older implemented a heinous system in his rage that would hurt many Hyuga over the years. But she died unaware of this, going down while beating the Second Raikage in combat, for she was a formidable fighter even in her old age.
The Third
Sarutobi Hiruzen was a Shinobi who'd lived in peace, and had tasted the worst of war. He'd been taught by the Senju brothers themselves, for they owed a lot to his father, Sarutobi Sasuke, who had died serving the village. And so he grew under their watchful eyes. He would grow to rise through the ranks at a steady pace, eventually rising to become a jonin, taking on 3 students who were all talented in their own way, with one of them being the granddaughter of Hashirama himself. He enjoyed teaching, having found in Orochimaru a prodigy, who was as much of an intellectual as he was, if not more so. But it was not until the war began that he would truly rise up to be known as the God of Shinobi, a title that had only been held by Hashirama before. While it was Chiyome who held the village together, it was he who brought about Konoha's greatest victories.
He went against Onoki, fighting the student of the Second Tsuchikage to a standstill multiple times throughout the war. He beats the Second Kazekage in single combat, completely crushing the prized puppet Shamon. And when he is offered the post of Hokage while Konoha is still embroiled in the war, he accepts, for he has the Will of Fire, and swears to serve the village to the best of his ability. His own students pay a major role in the end of the war, fighting Hanzo of the Salamander to a standstill, thus earning the title of Sannin. And so the war ends, and for a while, everything seems perfect. But while Hiruzen was a great Shinobi and a good man, he had the fatal flaw of being unable to see or acknowledge the darkness inside the people he was close to. He is blind to Orochimaru's descent into horrifying experiments, and ignores the formation of Root by Danzo, who used to be his closest friend. He is too forgiving, and that proves to be his undoing. And then, the next war begins.
The Third Shinobi World War is caused by nothing more than a dispute between daimyos, but it gradually escalates, and after the the Second Tsuchikage and Second Mizukage kill each other, it begins in earnest. Iwa yearns for blood, and Konoha tries to defend Kiri, which it had forged an alliance with. Suna has an alliance with Konoha, while Kumo was allied with Iwa. And so the war rages on. But in this dreadful war, he sees a radiant hope in the form of one Minato Namikaze. The young man almost singlehandedly ends the war, and he steps down and appoints Minato as his successor before the ink is dry on the treaty. And for a while, everything is alright. But then, the Nine Tails attacks. The timing is terrible, as they were just recovering from the war. Minato proves to be the hero he knew him to be, when he managed to take down the beast. But sadly, it was at a great cost.
With a heavy heart, he retakes the title of Hokage, as no worthy successor to Minato exists, and somewhere deep down, he doubts there ever will be. But a tense peace continues, until an organization called the Akatsuki rises in prominence, slowly starting to make moves that would eventually cause the next great war. It was a war he would never see, for he would due taking down his treacherous student. And so, Konoha's longest reigning Hokage died.
The Fourth
Minato Namikaze is like a bolt of lightning. His rise to greatness was faster than any before him. He had relatively humble origins, being from a family of civilians. His family sent him to the Academy as the position of shinobi was rising in importance, with a war on the horizon. There, he proves himself to be an unprecedented prodigy, a true diamond in the rough. He graduates with the highest score ever, catching the eye of the Third Hokage, who had been the previous record holder. The Sandaime generously grants him a personal apprenticeship with Jiraiya. His only complaint is with the man's tendency for perversion. But when Jiraiya learns that his heart was already set on a fiery red-haired kunoichi, his teacher stops immediately, instead choosing to tease him about his crush and offer some pick-up lines. He uses some of them, until he realizes that Jiraiya had never actually succeeded in picking up women with his cheesy lines.
It takes a while for his love to pan out, as it takes numerous requests for dates, love letters, jokes, multiple missions together, and a daring rescue for her to finally agree to a date. And soon enough, they prove themselves to be a perfect match, and he is no longer Konoha's most eligible bachelor. His interest is driven towards seals through Kushina, an interest encouraged by his sensei, as he'd learnt everything Jiraiya could teach in a single year. And so, he eventually finds his way to a forgotten and old experimental jutsu made by Tobirama Senju, known only as the Hiraishin. It had been discarded as a failed experiment, with even esteemed researchers like Orochimaru overlooking it. But he saw the potential, and polished it as much as possible. It was a difficult jutsu, requiring high spatial awareness, quick reflexes, naturally high speed, near perfect chakra control and a certain amount of skill with seals. Luckily for him, he possessed all those things and more.
With his new jutsu, he is able to rise to fame as the Yellow Flash. He is quickly promoted to a jonin. After surviving an encounter with the famed A-B duo, he observed the Tailed Beast Ball and devises the Rasengan, which he does slowly over a year. He feels a certain interest in teaching, and with a push from Kushina, he takes on Kakashi Hatake as a student. He is there for the prodigious boy who is pushed to the battlefield from a young age. Kakashi had a rare intelligence and perception that would make Kakashi a great leader someday. But the tragic death of Sakumo nearly breaks the boy, and while he is there to help him up, he knows that Kakashi is never the same. He chooses to take on two more students to create a complete three-man team. He wants Kakashi to open up, and hopes this helps. Obito is an Uchiha who was not blessed with the natural skill of the rest of the clan but had immense and powerful chakra. Rin was a gentle and kind girl, who simply wanted to help others by being a medic. The war rages on, and he tries to protect his kids to the best of his ability. But on one ill-fated mission, while he is away, he loses a student. And then another departs a mere year later. The war ends, and his heart is shattered. For all his speed, he could never arrive on time to save the people who mattered to him.
But Konoha is also in need of healing, and so he is offered the post of Hokage. He accepts, and the village rejoices. He shuts down corruption, negotiates hard, and in general operates with the same ruthless optimism he used before. He hopes for the best, but shuts down issues ruthlessly as soon as the slightest hint of it pops up. He places Kakashi in Anbu, in the hopes that his student can serve as his right hand man. And then Kushina is pregnant, and it seems like nothing could go wrong. And then, one tragic night, he gives his life for his village, choosing to seal the beast in his own son. He almost chooses to take it down with him, but he knows that the village will need a jinchuriki in his absence. And so, the bolt of lightning that is Minato Namikaze fades, leaving only the sound of thunder and rain.
A/N
I hope you enjoyed that. I certainly liked writing it. I'm thinking about doing the same for all 5 villages and maybe a few minor villages, just to establish the world. It would make things easy to keep things consistent. And so, next time I'll look at Sunagakure.
