The True Shinobi

Chapter 4

Naruto Uzumaki: Age 7

Naruto was sitting at his desk next to Shino and Kiba. Iruka was lecturing the class on the Great Ninja Wars, and the blonde was listening intently.

"The First Great Shinobi World War. The participating countries were Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure. These Villages are known as the Great Five. Can you tell me why?" Iruka asked the class. Shino raised his hand, and the chunin nodded for him to answer.

"They are called the Great Five because they were the first Villages to be formed, as well as the first to have Tailed Beasts."

"That's right. Now in the First World War, the reigning Hokage was Tobirama Senju. The aggressors in this war were Iwagakure and Kumogakure. You see, before the war even began, and before Lord First died, he captured all the tailed beasts except the One Tails. Acting on advice from Lord Second, Hashirama Senju sold six of them to the other nations. Can anyone tell me which ones he sold and to whom?" Naruto raised his hand and Iruka let him speak.

"Lord First sold the Two and Eight tails to Kumo, the Three and Six tails to Kiri, and the Four and Five tails to Iwa. Suna already had the One Tails, so they didn't buy one."

"Correct. He kept the Seven and Nine tails for Konoha, however this village does not have two tailed beasts anymore. This is because a shinobi from Takigakure tried to assassinate him, but failed. In doing so, this shinobi impressed Lord First so much that he gifted the Seven Tails to Taki, letting the shinobi who attacked him return with it."

Many students raised their hands, however Iruka did have a lesson to get through, so he called on Sasuke.

"Why did Lord First let the Takigakure shinobi leave with a tailed beast? It just doesn't make any sense."

"Well, we don't really know. Many people who knew the first Hokage and are still alive today say that he was very kind and forgiving, almost to a fault. It is possible that he felt that the only way to achieve his dream of peace was to be so forgiving."

The students nodded, taking in the information. Naruto nearly scoffed, but kept his remark to himself.

"Back on topic now. The Villages that bought tailed beasts were left in economic ruin, and many of them don't have fertile land like Konoha does, so they didn't have any way to make money. This caused them to believe that the best way to make money was to battle for fertile land to grow crops." Iruka paused and caught his breath. "Now, the best way to use the tailed beasts that the villages bought was to seal them into people. These people who host a tailed beast are called Jinchuriki, and certain requirements must be met to become one, the biggest being that your chakra pool must either be large enough or controlled enough to cooperate with the beast this person holds."

Iruka kept on. "Iwagakure and Sunagakure were having many skirmishes in the bordering countries between them, just as Kumo, Kiri and Konoha forces were just before the war. Eventually tensions grew until war erupted. Iwa was fighting on two fronts with Konoha and Suna. Konoha was fighting Kumo and Kiri to the north and east. It wasn't until the later years of the war that Tobirama Senju was killed by an elite Kumo strike force and Lord Third took over as Hokage , leading us to victory. Any questions?" Naruto raised his hand, getting a nod from Iruka.

"Going back to jinchuriki, you said that Lord First gave the Seven Tails to Taki. That leaves the Nine Tails. Who is the Nine Tails jinchuriki now?" Naruto asked. Iruka gained a very serious look.

"That information is an S-rank secret, the punishment for which is death or life in prison. Please stay after class Naruto, you're not in trouble, but we do need to talk." The chunin replied, making the entire class wide eyed.

After Class

As students were filing out the door, Naruto stayed behind and walked over to Iruka's desk. After everyone had left, the man closed the door.

"What did you need to talk to me about, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto was nervous, but he was told he wasn't in trouble so he tried to stay calm.

"Well Naruto, I need you to understand something important. I know that information on the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails may seem relevant, and I'm not mad at you for asking about it, but there was a leak of that information a while ago and it caused a big mess around the village. If you really want to know who it is, I can set up an appointment with the Hokage, but there is no guarantee he will tell you anything. If that's what you want to do, I will need to tell your dad about it."

"I didn't mean anything by it, but I do want to talk to Lord Hokage about it. For some reason, I feel like it's important to me who the jinchuriki is. It's kind of like when I look at the Hokage Monument and see Lord Fourth's face. It just seems like I'm missing something important." Naruto frowned.

Iruka nodded and smiled. "I'll set everything up and let your dad know what's going on. For now though you should go home. I have a meeting to get to soon."

Naruto bowed and left.