The moon was full that night....

A long time ago, a demon fox with nine tails existed.
When that tail was swung it would destroy a mountain and cause a tsunami.
To counter it, the people gathered ninjas.

The sound of it all was deafening. Just a horrible roar that echoed in the darkness as the beast wrought destruction against the countryside.

One ninja sealed the monster in a life or death battle and died.

Their eyes looked up at the man who held them together as one unit, one force against something so powerfull it was a force of nature unto itself. They watched as he burned brightly for an instant, like a beacon in the darkness...then it was done and the man who had saved them was now lost to them forever.

That ninja was known as the fourth Hokage


He was at it again. The old man could tell just from the sound of hurried footsteps racing down the hall toward him as he continued to paint. That boy was up to something.
"Sarutobi - sama!! It's awful!"
The principal sighed heavilly. "It's Naruto, correct?"
"Yes! He's really done it this time! He's vandalized the statues in the circle garden!"
Principal Sarutobi gave a puff of smoke from his pipe as he cast a quick glance out of his third story window. The statues of the circle garden were of the former principles of this school. Normally that would be severe enough in any school; however, in the Fire Country school district the statues held an even greater meaning.
Yondaime...what am I going to do with him?

Naruto the class clown was busy making his way back to the grade school section of the massive complex that contained the three schools of the Fire Country school district. All three were privately run by the same parent organization and students typically never left the closed system. Furthermore; because of a secret that the school system wished to keep under wraps, even the most unruly students were tolerated.
"Ha! I really am the best! Believe it!"
"Get your butt back here now!" One of the campus security officers screamed as he and a small army of his coworkers raced after the blonde boy.
"What? Can't catch me?" He taunted, turning the corner and ducking from view as soon as possible. Naruto watched with amusement as they raced past him, oblivious to his deception.
As they weren't the only ones oblivious, Naruto was so busy enjoying his victory that he didn't notice the ominous form of his homeroom teacher creeping up behind him.
"NARUTO!!!"
Shrieking in horror the boy tried to run only to find his leg tripped up by a rope wrapped around his left ankle. Panicked, he turned over and pointed at his captor.
"AGHH!!! Iruka-sensei!!! What are you doing tying up a kid!!"
The man gritted his teeth. "First off....WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!??"
Naruto flinched.
Man...Iruka-sensei looks pissed this time...

The class could only stare dumbly as their homeroom teacher, dressed respectably in a nice shirt and tie dragged one of their classmates in the room by a lenght of rope that was now completely wrapped around him.
The students groaned inwardly...they knew what was coming.
"You.....honestly. You're a heartbeat away from failing this grade yet again! Finals are only a week away moron. And what do you think this does to me as a responsible teacher - having to chase you down all the time?"
"Pfft...whatever. Ask me if I care." The blonde boy mumbled. There was an ominous pause as silence filled the room.
"Alright then...." Iruka slammed his bag on the teachers podium, rattling the wooden frame and making every student jump. "Everyone! We're having a little quiz session to make sure everyones up to speed. Close all your books and put away your notes."
"Aww....man..." Most students groaned, grudginly packing away the answers. One student snarled, "Nice going Naruto."
Naruto just snorted and inchwormed his way across the floor in an effort to sneak back out the door. Iruka stepped on the end of the rope.
"Oh no you don't. You of all people are not getting out of this."
Damn...Naruto sighed to himself.