This results in a fourth ninja world war between the unified armies of the Five Great Countries (collectively known as the "Ninja Alliance Army") and Akatsuki's forces. The leaders of the five ninja villages refuse to aid him and instead join forces to confront Tobi and his allies. With Pain's eventual death, Tobi, while disguised as one of Konoha's founding fathers Madara Uchiha, announces that he wants to obtain all nine of the "tailed beasts" in order to perform an illusion powerful enough to control all of humanity. However, Naruto defeats him and convinces him to abandon the Akatsuki. Meanwhile, as several Akatsuki members are defeated by the Konoha ninjas, their figurehead leader, Pain, invades the village to capture Naruto. Saddened with this revelation, Sasuke joins forces with Akatsuki to kill Konoha's superiors who orchestrated the Uchihas' elimination and destroy Konoha in revenge. After Itachi dies in battle, Sasuke is told by the Akatsuki founder and leader Tobi that Itachi was ordered by Konoha's leadership to destroy his clan to which he agrees with the condition of allowing Sasuke to be spared.
In the meantime, Sasuke betrays Orochimaru and faces Itachi to take revenge. Akatsuki is successful in capturing seven of those creatures whose hosts are killed in the process, except for Gaara, the host of the One-Tailed beast whose life is saved in time by Naruto and his companions. Several ninjas from Konoha, including Team 7, fight against the Akatsuki members and search for their teammate Sasuke.
Naruto does not give up on Sasuke, however, and he leaves Konoha to train for two and a half years under Jiraiya's tutelage in order to prepare himself for the next time he encounters Sasuke.Īs Naruto returns from his training with Jiraya, the criminal organization called Akatsuki, from which Itachi is a member, attempts to capture the nine powerful "tailed beasts" that are sealed within people, including the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed inside of Naruto. Tsunade sends a group of ninja including Naruto to make Sasuke return to Konoha, but Naruto is unable to defeat him and bring him back to the village. Believing Orochimaru will be able to give him the strength needed to kill his brother Itachi, who destroyed his clan, Sasuke eventually joins him after a humiliating defeat at his brother's hands. During the search, it is revealed that Orochimaru desires to acquire Sasuke due to his powerful genetic heritage, the Sharingan. This forces one of the three legendary ninja, Jiraiya, to search for his former teammate Tsunade, who has been nominated to become the Fifth Hokage. During the exams, Orochimaru, a criminal at the top of Konoha's most wanted list, attacks Konoha and kills the Third Hokage in an act of revenge. After several missions, most notably their mission to Wave Country as Tazuna the bridge builder's guards, Kakashi allows Team 7 to participate in a ninja exam in which they can advance to a higher rank, and thus, take part in more difficult missions. Like all the ninja teams from every village, Team 7 is charged with completing missions requested by villagers, such as doing chores or being bodyguards. Naruto is assigned alongside Sasuke Uchiha, whom he often competes against, and Sakura Haruno, whom he has a crush on, to form a three-person team named Team 7 under an experienced and severe sensei, the elite ninja Kakashi Hatake. When Iruka almost dies while protecting Naruto from Mizuki, who also reveals that he is the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox, Naruto uses the Jutsu he learned from the scroll that creates multiple clones of himself, Shadow Clone Technique, to defeat Mizuki. Years later, Naruto is tricked by the renegade ninja Mizuki into stealing a forbidden scroll that would teach him a secret ninja technique, but he is stopped by his teacher, Iruka Umino. This included Naruto, who was not aware of the demon inside of him. A decree made by the current Kage, the Third Hokage, forbade anyone mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone else.
Konoha, however, regarded Naruto as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood. In response, the leader of Konoha– the Fourth Hokage– sacrificed his life to seal the demon inside the newborn Naruto Uzumaki.
Twelve years before the start of the series, a powerful creature known as the Nine-tailed Demon Fox attacked the ninja village Konoha, killing many people.