Site Lore and Timeline

Many years ago, one-thousand years before the present time, there were two brothers born to the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya  Ōtsutsuki. This goddess came from the stars with a beast sealed inside of her that contained more power than anything on the Earth. Their names were Hagoromo and Hamura, one bearing extraordinary physical prowess inherited from his mother while the other displayed a powerful dojutsu in the form of the Byakugan. Both brothers inherited incredible chakra from their mother, though Hagoromo's was larger and stronger in comparison to his brother.

As the brothers grew, they trained themselves to control their own inner chakra. Their mother approved of this, planning a future for her sons destined for failure. By the time the boys were men, they had mastered their own bodies in ways men had never heard of before. They were faster, stronger, and more perceptive than everybody around them. The most skilled warriors of the time paled in comparison to the brothers, and the two reveled in their accomplishments as they entered the prime of their lives.

The legends say that the eldest brother, Hagoromo, got in a violent fight at an inn one night. He was drunk when the fight happened, and by the end of it there was only one man left standing in the entire inn; Hagoromo. The short encounter sobered him up somewhat and the weight of the carnage he had inflicted greatly troubled him, driving him into seclusion for many years. Hamura searched for his brother to no avail, anguished at the sudden loss. This emotional state led to the evolution of the Byakugan within Hamura's eyes to be more powerful than that of any living Hyuga as the reaction of his powerful chakra to his desire to find his brother. Even these eyes did not help him in the end, as Hagoromo did not wish to be found.

During his seclusion, he meditated on why he possessed the skills he did. The Sage asked many questions of himself, and did not come back to society until he had found an answer for them all. His body matured during this extensive meditation, taking a similar mutation path with his brother Hamura. His eyes, however, formed into the fabled Rinnegan only known of in this very legend. When he returned, his brother confronted him as he would have in the days of their early youth. Hagoromo did not respond negatively or aggressively to his brother. He instead spoke to him, and so awed was Hamura by his brother's intense wisdom that for fifty days and fifty nights he would listen to everything his brother had learned in his time alone.

The two ceased their arrogant and youthful ways, journeying the land together and teaching their ways about the world and of the nature of chakra to those who would listen. They believed that chakra had existed in all forms of life as a way to connect to each other on a closer level, perhaps as a sixth sense that devolved as men grew more independent from each other and formed more unique sects and mindsets. They were simply utilizing this lost power to return their bodies to the state in which in should always have been in.

Soon their following was increasing faster than they ever could have anticipated. The two roamed and taught, many of their disciples following after them to hear more of what the two brother's were teaching. The brothers decided to call this art "Ninshū", reveling in the joy of helping others connect to their fellow man. Legend also says that of the two, Hagoromo was the one closest to being truly in tune with the world around him. Hamura only followed and taught the teachings of his brother, never coming to realize many of these things for himself. Because of this, the two brothers still frequently had discussions and arguments with each other about various things. Hamura would seal away the chakra of any who used chakra in a negative way utilizing the gifts of his eyes. Hagoromo disagreed with this, believing somewhat naively that men could all become good if given enough time.

Many years into their new life of teaching man to be good to each other, a group of survivors from a village in the south came to beg the two brothers to rid their land of the demon which was wrecking havoc on their beloved home. When asked about what the demon looked like, the peasants told them that it took the form of a beast with ten tails. Then they described a woman who sounded remarkably like their mother forming from the demon before laying waste to the rest of the country. The brothers did not hesitate long in accepting their pleas, setting aside their pacifist nature in order to protect their fellow man from an evil they were powerless to stop. This is how the Land of Wind, once a fertile plain, came to be the desert it is now.

When the two brothers travelled to the Land of Wind, they found no demons or goddesses. Only sand and survivors. Following her trail of destruction, the two brothers cornered their mother in the Land of Stone. This hilly land had been home to a forest connected with the one in the Land of Fire before this titanic clash occurred, and when it was over the Land of Stone was ripped apart and morphed into the harsh and forbidding landscape that the people of today recognize. The two brothers barely managed to rip the immense power present within their mother, producing the beast of legend known as the Juubi. With their mother dead from the battle, the two brothers then had to battle the newly released demon. Again the brothers would triumph, sealing the demon inside of Hagoromo as he was the stronger of the two brothers. This possession transformed the Sage's appearance into that with which he is most frequently associated with and increased the amount of power present in this one man to mythical levels.

Hagoromo had no children in this life, focusing all of his life and time on teaching Ninshū to all those he could reach after his battle with his mother. He gave the gift of chakra to man again, setting the foundations for what was to become the shinobi arts unbeknownst to him. This is a sick perversion of what he had hoped it would be used for however, as the Sage wished for men to use chakra as a way to connect with each other and to make the world a better place. Instead, they used it to wage war and massacre each other after he had passed. It was with these gifts of chakra that those who were specially attuned to it first became apparent. The children of Hamura that Hagoromo taught developed the Byakugan like their ancestor, forging their own clan. In time, the Sharingan would mutate from one branch of the Hyuga family and would form the Uchiha clan. The most notable awakenings in this first generation were the progenators of the Senju, the Hozuki, the Inazuma, the Hyuga, Tetsudashi and the Kazehana. More would evolve as men intermingled, creating the vast assortment of clans and abilities present now.

The Sage was no fool though, expecting some to pervert his teachings at some point. To this end, he chose five disciples that he considered his most gifted. To them, he gave each one of the nine bijuu he had created as he neared the end of his life out of the massive power of the Ten-Tailed Demon. Kurama, Hachibi, Ichibi, Matatabi, and Son Goku were the five chosen, with the other four left in their care after the Sage passed. When it was his time to go, the Sage manifested his chakra and spread it throughout the world to awaken the chakra of all those whom he had yet to reach. In an instant, the world was forever changed. The five sages inherited some of this power, granting them the title of the strongest on the planet.

These five disciples possessed abilities exceeding the shinobi of legend, themselves below only the Sage in their capabilities. Each had mastered one form of Ninshū as an element and are told to have been unbeatable with the weapon of their choice. Hohoni, a master with knives and katon. Jōki, a master of Suiton and the katana. Yaburenai, the master of doton and the staff. Raiun, a master over all types of swords and the master of raiton. And the youngest disciple, Harikēn, the master of fuuton and of bows.

These five disciples kept watch over distinct parts of the continent while also continuing to spread the teachings of the Sage through their instruction. The communicated with each other frequently and met as often as possible. With these five came the five major countries and their primary elements, each disciple teaching the one that they had mastered to those they found worthy. They also created the arts of Ijutsu and Genjutsu, intending not to harm somebody with illusions but to instead put them into a peaceful state of mind. With these arts, they managed to extend their lifespan to more than a century utilizing lost means.

With them alive, the land continued to exist in relative peace. The golden age Hagoromo had started continued for generations until the last disciple was breathing his last. He was known as Hihoni, the Fire Disciple, and was the most powerful of the five. When he died and control of the five nations was passed to those who had never known the Sage, the Age of Warring Clans would begin. For more than seven-hundred years the various people on the shinobi continent killed each other over petty disagreements and small tracts of land.



Empires rose and fell, the first appearing in the Land of Fire immediately after the death of Hihoni. It was ruled by the Hyuga and possessed the Land of Fire, Land of Wind and the small nation nestled between the two presently. The clan ruled for two-hundred years before the split of Uchiha from the Hyuga weakened the clan too much and caused a civil war to break out between the two future great nations.

The last true empire, and the greatest of them all, was that ruled by the Kazehana two-hundred years before current time. They possessed the mighty Magnet Releae kekkei genkai and ruled what would become the Lands of Wind, Earth, Sound, and the smaller nations on their border with the Land of Fire. This empire was held tenuously at bay by a coalition of other great clans to come to the aid of one another should they be attacked by the Kazehana. Seventy years before the current timeline, this empire would collapse and the Kazehana would be restricted to ruling in the Land of Wind while the Land of Stone declared its independence.

The collapse of the Kazehana Empire led to a vacuum of power in many places. In the village of Iwagakure, the Nature Clan that had been in control as a puppet administration under the Kazehana attempted to maintain control. They resorted to violent and brutal methods since there were no longer restrictions on them by a more powerful government. This led to many clans in the Land of Stone allying together after years of this, plunging the land into a civil war only a handful of years after its freedom. The Nature Clan was all but eradicated, with a few survivors being integrated into the other clans and even less escaping into the neighboring lands to settle away from their homeland. A daimyō was elected from amongst the most respected elders of this alliance to manage trade and levies for the alliance. In this fashion, half of the Land of Stone came to exist under one power while the other half remained embroiled in the feuds of small lords.

Simultaneously to this, the Hozuki clan had established a large trade hub in the archipelago to the east that would become Kirigakure decades from then and had built a large fleet with the profits. Their control was absolute with piracy being nonexistant. However, their control over the water forced towns and villages to pay their extortionate tolls in order to use the sea to trade. With wealth came power, and soon other clans were moving into this trading hub until it eventually became a village of its own right. Not to the size of a hidden village, not yet, but the wealth of the Hozuki kept the village afloat during any and all hard times other clans on the mainland may have been suffering at the time. They bribed numerous clans to cease fighting and simply focus on protecting their ships as they travelled on the sea, beginning to unite the pirate clans of the archipelago into one authority.

In the Land of Fire, the Hyuga and Uchiha were contstantly fighting for supremacy. For generations the two clans had been fighting to get ahold of the other's kekkei genkai to see what made the Sharingan mutate from it. As far as either clan claims, neither has been able to succeed in obtaining an eye of the other clan. Wars between the two powerful clans were commonplace, happening once every couple generations at their longest. The Senju were the only clan powerful enough to challenge either, and in this position of strength the Senju chose to hire themselves out as mercenaries to whichever clan had the funds to do so at the time. They built a fortune out of doing this, flipping contracts between clans for well over sixty years. They would also be the first of the three to realize that what they were doing was creating far more chaos in the world than it was worth. With the constantly shifting balance of power between Uchiha and Hyuga in the Land of Fire, other clans were affected in secondary fashions. The entire land had been suffering for decades before the formation of Konohagakure, declining constantly even before the Kazehana Empire fell. It was the Senju who would, eventually, call for peace.

In Kumogakure, the Inazuma clan dominate roughly half of the land. They were the bearers of the powerful Storm Release kekkei genkai, though they preferred to trade rather than go to war. They were trading in the north sea before the Hozuki had even found the archipelago for Kirigakure's future formation, and had expanded their territory by bribery to the south-eastern sea in direct competition with the Hozuki. They were driven out with overwhelming numbers and price gouging, forced to keep their trade in the north. The lesser clans benefitted from this trade, as the Inazuma traded with everybody and were seen in a positive light by most people save the Hozuki.

In Sunagakure, the Kazehana managed to retain control of most of the Land of Wind. The southern fringes and smaller kingdoms between them and the Land of Fire broke off when the Land of Stone broke free, contributing to the shattering of Kazehana power. The family and their capitol city was ruined by the economic debilitation suffered and one-quarter of the populaiton emigrated to somewhere with better prospects. For two generations the Kazehana struggled to maintain control over what they still held with any hope of recovering the rest out of the question. It was their luck that nobody else on the continent had the power to contest him in a war since they themselves were just getting established in their respective lands. When the Land of Stone elected a daimyō, the Kazehana decided it would be best to follow suit as that would open up some more diplomatic options with other clans in the Land of Wind. They "elected" Mitsuke Kazehana as daimyō. He did not possess the bloodline, but he did possess a mind as sharp as it was wise.


These trying times were the climax of the warring era, and after all of this came to be the warfare would begin to die down in most places. Thirty years before the current timeline, the Hozuki in the archipelago declared themselves masters over all the islands in name and title. This was backed up by their immense fleet and a treasury that would make Midas blush. The Inazuma decried this as blasphemy, as holding such a monopoly in those lands would forever crush the hope of trade for any other clan. This led to the first major war over trade on the continent, and it was a long and bloody conflict. The Hozuki lost in the end, weak to the Inazuma kekkei genkai. They were forced to allow Inazuma ships to trade alongside the Hozuki vessels after the peace was signed but keeping their ownership of the archipelago, ending ten years of bloodly conflict. All around the land, clans watched this brutal war. Neither clan was really the same after, and the effects still linger to this day. The Kirgakure fleet is not as large as it used to be, and the Hozuki power is somewhat diminished while the Inazuma have a slightly tarnished reputation for being bloodthirsty in their generations old feud with the Hozuki. Likely a successful smear campaign on behalf of the Hozuki's funds.

Despite these losses, the Hozuki would be the first to declare itself as a hidden village twenty years before the current timeline. They named it Kirigakure and established the first centralized example of a united shinobi power. A daimyō was elected to rule the land in the form of the Hozuki clan head. Many of those with the kekkei genkai were kept in the military to aid in defense rather than as trade moguls, their skills useful there instead of elsewhere. Much of the Hozuki still traded however, keeping the empire well and alive. The daimyō established the First Mizukage, Ayame Hozuki, soon after being instated. Ayame would be killed over a decade later by Nikuyo Yuki who would attain the title of Second Mizukage after this.

In the Land of Stone, decades of control under a daimyō had led to the current boundaries of the Land of Stone coming into existence. Word of the Hozuki experiment with a "hidden village" intrigued this daimyō and he ordered the formation of one for his country. Thus, Iwagakure was born two years after Kirigakure's formation. Hòu Zhuān, a Muramatsu, was elected as First Tsuchikage two years after the formation of Kirigakure. He was sixty at the time and wise, though as the years wore on his mind slipped away and he began a descent into insanity that he can barely keep away from the public. Rumors began to circulate of him babbling to himself as he walks the streets, seemingly arguing with somebody who isn't there. Unfortunately, The Tsuchikage's battle prowess had not deteriorated and those who challenged him for the position via combat were systematically obliterated by the Dust Release user. Eventually, Zhuān's senility grew too intolerable to ignore after he forced his military to declare war on a mountain and insisted on promoting his favorite horse to the position of ANBU commander. He was persuaded to resign by his longtime friend and confidant, Nee-san Tetsudashi. Nee-san would then go on to succeed Zhuān as the Second Tsuchikage.

In the Land of Lightning, the Inazuma brought their trade league together to answer the centralization of the Land of Water and the Land of Stone. These were the Land of Lightning's biggest rivals, and without grouping together they had no chance of success in the forseeable future. Seigi, himself not an Inazuma, managed to bring together the clans of the land with the Inazuma propping him up as their chosen leader. Instead of becoming head of the newly founded Kumogakure, the Inazuma got to move one of their own into power as the daimyō of the Land of Lightning. A worthy trade off in the minds of the clan elders. And so Kumogakure came to be, 5 years after the formation of Kirigakure, an answer to their rivals that could not be ignored.

In the Land of Fire, the Senju worked with the lesser clans to draw up a truce for the Uchiha and Hyuga to form their own hidden village for protection against the numerous centralized forces that were being formed. After decades of hate, the two clans knew that a truce would be required lest both be wiped out by a stronger force. Thus, ten years after Kirigakure's formation, Konohagakure would be formed by the Hyuga, Uchiha, and Senju with many smaller clans joining. A daimyō was elected from a minor clan to prevent power squabbles among the Big Three, providing a somewhat easier transition. It immediately became the most populous and most productive of any of the hidden villages and the power of the clans within provided a frightening military presence. This is likely why no wars have been declared since the formation of all the hidden villages, as the First Hokage, Kazuya Uchiha, has said he would come to the aid of the defender in any such case. This is not only his feeling, but that of his entire village. The old leaders were still living in many clans, and they have no desire to return to the wars of their youth. This peace is likely tenuous despite the Hokage's declaration, as the nature of man cannot allow peace.

Last, the Kazehana Empire in the Land of Wind with their puppet of a daimyō decided they would rename their capitol "Sunagakure" twelve years after Kirigakure's formation to establish the fifth and last of the five major hidden villages. Things remained much the same with Shin Kazehana leader of the Kazehana Clan becoming the First Kazekage. All around the land, clans who did not wish to be a part of this organization or those who wished to form their own village settled minor kingdoms and hidden villages. None could compete with the power of the major five on their own, but they provided buffer states so that the major villages couldn't actively try to kill each other right after being formed.

The last eight years have been used to set up and plan long term for many of these powers, with each wishing to be the strongest out of all of them. For the first time, they're capable of spreading their power further than the lands they occupy to begin their mercenary services in full. The era of warring clans is over, with the era of shinobi soon to begin.