The Village Hidden in the Leaves, a village renowned for its ruthlessness and evil ways. A village under the rule of the third Hokage: Danzo. Danzo obtained the title of Hokage when the second Hokage's successor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was killed in action before they could even make it back to the village on a mission during the first Great War. Danzo has since then been the Hokage, and has brought his village to new heights. At the same time, the village has lost many morals, only valuing winning and power. Other than that they showed no mercy to their enemies, often killing criminals and placing bounties for 'wanted dead' only. The sheer ruthlessness of the village has often dissuaded many of the other villages from attacking, let alone dealing, with the village. The Will of Fire was replaced by Danzo's own Wrath of Fire. Instead of believing in the next generation and leaving behind a good example as the first and second Hokage would've wanted, Danzo instead put more training and emphasis on winning and striking down your opponent in cold blood, and that the village's power rested above all else. This turned many rising shinobi into cold, heartless killers that made even the most fearsome of shinobi tremble with fear.

One young student who seemed to be a model example of Danzo's new ideals was a child by the name of Orochimaru. The pale young man, along with his two teammates Jiraiya and Tsunade, were at the top of their class in every field. But something about Orochimaru told Danzo that he'd be an exemplary example of the village's beliefs. Unlike Tsunade and Jiraiya. Tsunade was too soft, and weak. She was the granddaughter of the first Hokage, and like him shared his ideals and beliefs. There was a time when Danzo also thought that way, but after the second Hokage didn't name him the third Hokage, Danzo lost all respect for the two former Kages. Jiraiya was something else. He hardly practiced any of Danzo's traditions, and he seemed to possess the Will of Fire, almost as much as Sarutobi himself. After Danzo's various attempts to try and convert Jiraiya, the white haired lad found a way to escape by learning from the great toad sages. Orochimaru however, seemed to idolize and worship everything that Danzo stood for, but not necessarily the man himself. Because of this, Danzo became Orochimaru's unofficial teacher.

As the years passed, more wars emerged. The second shinobi war brought fame to many of Konoha's shinobi. In a battle with Hanzo, Amegakure's leader, Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade were given the name of 'The Legendary Sannin.' Not only that, but Tsunade was praised for her medical ninjutsu, managing to a variety of poisons from the shinobi of Sunagakure, but she abandoned the village after she lost her brother and her fiancé. Another shinobi rose to fame, for being almost as powerful as the Sannin themselves. Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, had never been one to follow the traditions that Danzo had given. The White Fang had always put his comrades above everything, including the mission. Still, the man's abilities were indeed incredible, so killing or punishing the man would be wasteful. Orochimaru was the only one of the Sannin to return to the village, informing of Tsunade's abandonment after the loss of Dan and Nawaki. Jiraiya however just stayed in Amegakure to train three brats, and would return once he finished.

However, when Jiraiya returned he would prove to be more of an annoyance than was bargained for. Jiraiya's beliefs would be passed onto his new student from Konoha: Minato Namikaze. A young boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, and the abilities of a natural prodigy. It's almost as if the boy was born to be a ninja. He absorbed Jiraiya's teachings like a sponge. Both he and Jiraiya were fiercely loyal to the village, but just like Sakumo Hatake their ideals were a threat to Danzo. Changing the village this late in the game would be a huge mistake. However, Danzo knew that those three had no intentions of overthrowing the village. Still, if the Will of Fire went from those three and progressed further into future generations, the village will surely suffer for it.

Once again, fate seemed to be on Danzo's side as the last mission the White Fang went on, he chose to save his friends instead of completing the mission. The mission was a failure, and everyone, including the people that Sakumo saved resented him for failing the mission. He committed suicide. Not only that, but Tsunade had lost her little brother, and her lover and left the village for good. Jiraiya was still around Amegakure, training some brats according to Orochimaru. That only lasted for a few years though, and Jiraiya came back, upset that Sakumo and Tsunade were gone. It seems as if Jiraiya is the only fool left to oppose Danzo's ideals.

Sakumo Hatake lived on through his son Kakashi: a young man who bore a striking resemblance to his father. He worshiped the ground Sakumo walked on, and his death caused Kakashi to live strictly by the shinobi code. Something Danzo used to quickly manipulate the young prodigy. Danzo personally molded the boy into a mini version of himself: cold, unattached, strict, and loyal to the village. Kakashi learned to bury his emotions and he became like an extension of Danzo's will.

Time passed so quickly. Minato was already a grown man, taking his own team of Genin which included Kakashi, an Uchiha, and a medical ninja. Danzo made an alliance with Amegakure's leader: Hanzo the Salamander. It was part of a long term plan that the ruthless Kage had in store. The Land of Wind's Daimyo was giving more missions to Konoha, thus causing Sunagakure to run low on funds. Danzo met with the third Kazekage, offering to open up trade with the village. The third Kazekage agreed willingly. He and Danzo had many similarities: they both valued their village more than anything, both were deceiving and treacherous. That was the exact reason that Danzo sent Orochimaru, his most trusted protégé, to keep an eye on the village.

Minato and Jiraiya were little more than annoying flies, but they presented no immediate threat. Danzo still kept a weary eye on the duo, and then on Minato's student: Obito Uchiha. Luckily the newly appointed Jonin of the team, Kakashi, took up on that mission. Jiraiya wandered to and from the village at his leisure, which irritated Danzo. However, the white haired sage knew that Danzo wouldn't do anything to him, due to the fact that Jiraiya was only useful because of his abilities. One day however, Jiraiya left and never came back for unknown reasons. The only one to challenge Danzo's ideals now was Minato.

Orochimaru returned to the village one day, informing Danzo of everything that happened in the Suna. Orochimaru met and befriended a young puppet master with incredible abilities far beyond any of Suna's puppeteers before him that went by the same of Sasori. The third Kazekage later caught onto the treachery from Konoha. Orochimaru with the help of Sasori, assassinated the Kazekage to avoid a war from breaking out. Danzo commended Orochimaru for his actions, not only did he prevent a war, but now Danzo can put someone more loyal in the seat of power in Sunagakure. Danzo ruled his village, and practically the country, and now he has allies in Amegakure, linking to the Land of Wind, which was now without a leader.

Orochimaru returned to Suna, informing the people that their Kazekage planned to attack their allies in order to gain more power. Normally the people of the village wouldn't believe such a thing, but the village was dying. Danzo did not trade with Suna as much as he probably should of, leaving the people weak and starving. The people were tired, and willing to do whatever it took to live without worrying about food or money. No one argued when there was a proposal for Konoha's help. Many shinobi from Konoha came a few days later with food, supplies, and almost everything else the village needed. Orochimaru oversaw the village being reformed, and worked closely with his accomplice Sasori. Of course, a few shinobi loyal to the third Kazekage did not agree with allowing Konoha to aid them, and a few more radical individuals actually tried attacking the snake and the puppet master. Their attacks were unsuccessful. Due to the close ties with Orochimaru and Konoha, Sasori was a prime candidate for the seat of fourth Kazekage. However, many were convinced he was too young. They needed to be convinced.

Orochimaru and several of Danzo's shinobi disguised as Suna shinobi ran into the Land of Earth, and started burning villages, killing men and children, and doing unspeakable things to women. This would not stand, as Iwagakure soon staged an assault on the Land of Wind. Orochimaru informed Sasori of what he had done, and that if he fought back this army successfully that he would be Kazekage. Sasori led the forces of Suna admirably, and with the help of Orochimaru and Konoha, fought Iwagakure all the way back across their borders. The people were afraid during the invasion, but once they saw Sasori fighting and leading in battle, they practically swept him into the seat of Kazekage. Orochimaru returned to Konoha to deliver the news to Danzo.

The Hokage wasn't entirely pleased that Orochimaru invaded another country without asking him first, but still was glad to have Sasori as Kazekage now. However, while his actions in the Land of Earth hadn't brought Iwagakure to Konoha's doorstep, the fact that Orochimaru helped Suna certainly did. Konoha, along with the help of Amegakure, fought against Iwagakure and slaughtered all who opposed them. On top of the lost forces from the invasion in the Land of the Wind, and now trying to attack Konoha, Iwagakure was now left beaten and broken. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and Danzo immediately set out to finish the village off. Iwa fought as best as they could, but as soon as Suna offered their aid, Onoki, the third Tsuchikage surrender. Iwagakure was now at the mercy of Danzo and Sasori. While they could have did the same to Iwa that they did to Suna, Onoki was more valuable alive than dead. Unlike the tired people of Suna, Iwagakure would've retaliated if their leader died. Instead, the combined nations forced Onoki and his village to ally themselves with Sunagakure and Konoha in case of times of war, and they also had to make 'protection' payments to the two countries every year. Begrudgingly, Onoki had no choice but to accept as his village was held by the throat.

With the alliances with Hanzo of Amegakure, Sasori of Sunagakure, and now forcing Onoki of Iwagakure to join, Danzo now was one of the most dangerous, and powerful men in the world and his village was untouchable. That was, until the day of the Nine Tailed Fox attack in the Land of Fire.

The colossal demon raged throughout the country for days, killing all that stood in its path. Danzo quickly mounted a counterstrike against the Fox, which came at the cost of hundreds of shinobi lives. Danzo himself even lost his right arm and eye in battle. Were it not for the arrival of Kakashi and the young medical girl Rin, Danzo surely would've died that day. And were it not for Minato Namikaze, who made the ultimate sacrifice in sealing the fox demon's spirit within his own son at the cost of his life, the Land of Fire would have been destroyed.

The entire attack was a huge failure, which left the village vulnerable. Danzo lost one of the most promising shinobi Konoha had ever produced, lost countless shinobi, and lost his own arm and eye in battle. There were so many things that could go wrong: Iwagakure or Sunagakure could betray him and take his seat of power, one of the other nations he hadn't touched yet could attack and start a war. Why did the fox demon have to attack? It was too convenient; it had to have been planned. But who could control something like the demon fox? The Uchiha Clan. Danzo approached the Uchiha's leader: Fugaku, and demanded to know who planned the attack. Fugaku and the Uchiha clan all denied having anything to do with the fox demon attacking.

Danzo was infuriated, feeling he could do nothing against the Uchiha Clan. They were one of the strongest clans in Konoha, no, in the whole world. He couldn't fight them with one arm and one eye and nearly a third of the manpower he use to wield. Danzo ordered Kakashi, who was now chief of the ANBU, to capture Shisui and bring him forward for interrogation. After a brutal physical and mental torture given by Kakashi and Orochimaru, Shisui still told Danzo that the Uchiha did not use the fox demon to attack Konoha. In a rage, Danzo ordered Shisui be killed on the spot. Orochimaru told Danzo that he may be able to attach Shisui's arm to Danzo, as well as implant his eye into the Hokage as well. Danzo readily agreed. The procedure was successful, and Danzo now possessed his very own Sharingan. The Uchiha Clan's extermination was back on track.

Danzo, Kakashi, Orochimaru, and a few members of the ANBU moved into the Uchiha compound and killed every last person they could find. They slaughtered men and women, leaving their bodies in the streets to pour a river of crimson. The group moved to the last house: the home of the head of the clan: Fugaku. The team moved into his home, being met with the fierce gaze of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. Danzo showed them no mercy as he cut them both down, leaving them to lie on the floor.

The next day, Danzo told the village that the Uchiha were planning to overthrow Konoha in a violent coup. The village either believed Danzo, or was too afraid to think otherwise. An entire clan was wiped out in one night by the feared and ruthless Hokage. Later that day, Kakashi came to Danzo with some grim news. Apparently three Uchiha survived: Obito, Itachi, and Sasuke. The good news from this was that Sasuke was still in the village, and could be manipulated by Danzo as he saw fit. He put the young, traumatized boy in his own twisted version of 'therapy.' He conditioned the boy with genjutsu, physical punishment and many other cruel methods to force Sasuke Uchiha to become fanatical about Konoha, and to think that his Clan deserved to die by trying to overthrow the village. Sasuke Uchiha would become a hardened shinobi who would serve Konoha with loyalty beyond reproach.

Orochimaru came to Danzo, informing the old man of an experiment that could give Danzo even more power. It involved implanting the first Hokage's DNA into Danzo's right arm, which should give him the ability to use the secret wood style jutsu. Before Danzo could say yes, Kakashi came in with a secret book of a jutsu forbidden even amongst the Uchiha Clan. It was a genjutsu that warped reality around the user temporarily, but then the user's eyes would be closed forever and could never be reopened. Danzo quickly devised a way to kill two birds with one stone. He would take ten Sharingan, and would implant them into his new arm along with the first's DNA. He would possess the power of the Uchiha, and the power of the first Hokage. The procedure was a success, and Danzo could successfully use the first Hokage's jutsu, and he even tested Izanagi. Now Danzo had the power of the Uchiha and the first Hokage, and he had one of the last living Uchiha under his belt. Not only that, but Danzo's allegiances with Hanzo, Sasori, and Onoki remained strong. With their Jinchuriki and his together, on top of Danzo's new powers and having Orochimaru, Kakashi, and Sasuke with him, Danzo didn't see what could stop him.

But it wasn't enough for the greedy Kage.

Danzo had learned that there was a Jinchuriki that wasn't under the rule of one of the great shinobi nations. He told Hanzo of this, telling his ally it was so that he could have the Jinchuriki for his own village. Danzo only allowed Hanzo to have his own Jinchuriki to keep the fool happy. If the Hokage took it for his own, there would surely be political backlash.

As it turned out, even Hanzo having a Jinchuriki had its own backlash.

The Fourth Raikage started a war with Konoha, claiming that they were becoming too powerful in times of peace. The accusation was laughable since the Raikage was building his army during times of peace. Danzo hardly had a moment of peace without some type of war or opportunity arising. The battles between Konoha and Kumo were bloody and brutal. Unfortunately Suna was working on making sure its people survived and had food on their tables, while Iwa had to rebuild from their beating from Suna and Konoha, so they were both unavailable for war. Hanzo had his hands full with searching for the Jinchuriki of Takigakure, and having to deal with some annoying rebels that threatened his regime. Konoha had to battle Kumo fair and square in this war. However, after nearly a year of warring, the two nations decided to come to a treaty. The Head Ninja of Kumogakure showed up in Konoha to personally sign the treaty and stay in the village for a few days as a sign of their newfound peace.

This peace was violently disrupted.

Apparently the Head Ninja tried to kidnap the Hyuga heiress, Hinata Hyuga, at night and was killed by Hinata's father. Danzo was proud that Hiashi kept the secrets of his clan hidden, but Kumogakure and its Raikage were less than pleased. They were outraged at the thought that they would try to steal the Byakugan after signing the peace treaty, and demanded an eye for an eye. Hiashi was to be killed in return for losing their Head Ninja. Danzo met with the Hyuga Clan leaders, and devised a simple plan: kill Hiashi's twin brother Hizashi in his stead. It was a tough call, but Hiashi was the Clan leader, and he couldn't be killed because a backstabbing nation demanded blood. Hiashi was against the idea, but Hizashi willingly accepted and was killed the next morning. After the death of Hizashi, his son ran away from the village and was never found. Even the Hyuga Elders tried using the curse mark to trace him for a time, but eventually they could not trace it anymore. They concluded that Neji must have been killed, and with the seal on him, his Byakugan was destroyed, thus no longer allowing any enemies to learn its secrets.

By the end of this whole mess, things seemed to calm down and once again seemed to be heading Danzo's way. Hanzo had captured the Jinchuriki who was a few years than Konoha's own Jinchuriki: Naruto Uzumaki, son of Minato Namikaze. The villages of Iwa and Suna had rebuilt their power. Each of Danzo's allies had at least one Jinchuriki, the one tail, four tails, five tails, seven tails and now the nine tails. However, one unfortunate evening, Danzo was informed that Naruto was taken from the village. The Hokage was enraged and sent out countless search parties, but never caught even a trace of the boy.

Years later, Danzo still had search parties looking for Naruto, but only a few. He practically gave up hope of finding him, but better safe than sorry. Sasuke was already a Genin and was Kakashi's personal student. Orochimaru was Danzo's right hand, and he was the key link in the relationship between Konoha and Suna. Without him, Danzo wasn't so sure what the village's relationship would be like. Iwagakure surprisingly seemed to fully honor their allegiance with Danzo. Perhaps they valued power just as he did. Danzo ruled nearly the entire western half of the continent, and had no intentions of stopping there. However, he deserved a rest, as did the rest of the village.

But it seemed as if fate had no intentions of letting the old Hokage rest.

A group of united rogue ninja attacked a cargo delivery from Konoha to Suna. They killed the shinobi escorts and stole the cargo. Danzo normally would've paid no mind to such a situation, but after the same thing kept happening, he started to get annoyed. Later on, the same group of rogues boldly attacked a Konoha outpost on the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. One Konoha shinobi survived, informing Danzo that the shinobi were skilled at sabotage, and that they must've been planning an attack for days. Danzo got the hint: someone was trying to overthrow him. With the number of shinobi that left the village, as well as the many enemies he's made, it could be any number of people or groups. Still, this would not stand. Danzo ordered all of his men and outpost to be on full alert for the possibility of an attack, not having the patience to have his peace challenged by a group of pests.

In a country just north of the Land of Fire, deep underground within the center of the country was a massive cavern, full of people walking around, setting up what would appear to be a base of operations. Within one of the back rooms, a few dark figures gathered around a long table with the map of the continent on it.

"Alright," a young man with orange hair and blue eyes piped up, "Shall we begin this meeting?" Everyone remained quite, waiting for him to continue. "Well, all of Konoha's camps, bases, and outposts are now put on full alert. Obviously, Danzo realized that he's being attacked."

"But what about the other countries," another young man with long, red hair asked. "What about Sunagakure or Amegakure?"

"They're not setting up like Konoha is Nagato. Apparently, Danzo thinks we're just after him. So, we're going to show we're out to fuck over his entire system. How'd talks with the Prajñā Group go?"

"Ah, not too bad," a giant man with long, spiky white hair replied with a shrug. "They didn't trust me at first obviously, but once I said our group was going up against Danzo, they couldn't have joined faster."

"Good, so that means we have a little extra manpower."

"Not much Yahiko, there were a little over forty ninja left. Not much when you compare it to the four armies we're up against."

"It's not like we're fighting them out in the open master Jiraiya," Yahiko snapped. "We're going to break their foundation, and show the world that Danzo and his alliances can be beaten. Once that happens, more will rally to our aid."

"Yeah, rally just like Kumo and the Raikage," a busty blonde haired woman muttered. "All of us were labeled rogues by Danzo in case if you forgot, so no real village will join us no matter what we try and say."

"Lady Tsunade is right," Nagato said. "We're going to have to do this on our own terms. If anyone else is going to join us, it'll be rogue shinobi and not entire countries."

"Well, we'll hire mercenaries and bounty hunters then," Yahiko exclaimed.

"What man is crazy enough to go up against Danzo's forces," Jiraiya asked, knowing the answer to his own question. Yahiko growled in defeat. "Listen, we've got to be patient. We just got to the point where we can start poking down the old man's defenses. You don't win wars by rushing in head first."

"I know master Jiraiya, forgive me," Yahiko replied. "So what do we do now?"

"Right now we should just worry about building our manpower a little more, then work on taking out a big target," the toad sage answered. "If we're going to poke down Danzo's defenses, we might as well poke a big hole." Yahiko nodded in agreement. "Alright, Yahiko and I will work out and try to find who else would be willing to join us. The rest of you are dismissed." The other four shinobi nodded then walked out of the room.

So…yeah…tell me what you think so far. Sorry if there was a lot of long boring back story explanation going on. I just wanted to get all of that out of the way first ^_^;

Anywho, read and review! =D