The life of a ninja is fraught with peril. This is a lesson that all who choose to follow the nindo must face. Even the greatest of ninja, the legendary Kage—named for the skills that allow them to be nothing less than shadows of Death itself—even they, in spite of their incredible skill and necessary tendency to work in offices rather than in the field, even they must bow to the inevitable and die fighting.

In over a century, in five Hidden Villages traditionally led by Kage, and in the rare cases where an individual was granted the title of Kage even without leading one of those villages, only three Kage have died of natural causes.

None of them was a Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.

Konoha was particularly well-known for the power of its Kage. Shodaime Hokage, the founder of the village, was a legend in all the villages. He created the most powerful individual village in all the Hidden Countries by bringing together all of the persecuted possessors of Bloodlines and Bloodline Limits that he could find and binding them into a single cohesive military and political force. His ability to manipulate the element of wood was incredible, resembling a powerful Bloodline Limit, although it was, in truth, nothing more than an innate affinity combined with an incredible amount of chakra and chakra control. Even in death he furthered his dream, killing himself with an ultimate jutsu that obliterated an overwhelming force before the very gates of Konoha.

But even Shodaime was eclipsed by Nidaime.

Shodaime’s right hand throughout the founding of Konoha, Nidaime proved that a ninja with no Bloodline, nor anything resembling one, could absolutely dominate a village practically founded on Bloodlines. Nidaime invented jutsu after jutsu and even created his own Bloodline, though he had no children to pass it on to. His death ended the first Leaf-Rock War and destroyed Iwagakure no Sato’s chances of becoming a dominant military power for half a century.

But even Nidaime was eclipsed by Sandaime.

Sandaime no Sarutobi, trainer of the Densetsu no Sannin, called “The Professor” by his contemporaries, studied his whole life to be the best man he could be. It was said that he knew every jutsu that existed in Konoha, and he certainly seemed to know many that he should not have been able to learn. He could summon the Monkey King, Enma, and even the Shi no Kami itself. He ran Konoha as a more effective political leader than any of his predecessors, and, upon the death of Yondaime, came out of retirement to continue running the village effectively. He died destroying the ability of a man known as the most powerful evildoer of all time to create seals, thus putting off the potential destruction of the village for many years.

But even Sandaime was eclipsed by Yondaime.

Yondaime was the youngest man ever to be awarded the rank of Kage. He invented some of the most powerful jutsu known to man including the Rasengan and the Hiraishin no Jutsu, for which he became known as The Yellow Flash of Konoha during the second Leaf-Rock War, in which he personally devastated the opposing armies. He died sealing the Kyuubi no Kitsune, preventing the destruction of Konoha and much of the rest of the Hidden Countries.

But even Yondaime was eclipsed by Godaime.

Godaime Hokage, Tsunade of the Densetsu no Sannin had a lot to live up to: student of Sandaime, granddaughter of Shodaime, niece of Nidaime. And she did. Aside from being the strongest woman and greatest medic-nin known to history, Godaime led Konoha through the Sand-Sound War and a decade-long campaign against Otogakure no Sato, the brainchild of her old companion, Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin, known to history as Otokage. She gave her life to destroy the Otokage where even her sensei had only been able to temporarily remove the use of his arms.

But even Godaime was eclipsed by Rokudaime.

Hatake Kakashi, known as Sharingan no Kakashi, as the only user of the Sharingan Bloodline who was not an Uchiha, had even more to live up to, as a student of Yondaime and a man with major personal problems. He put his Sharingan to greater use than perhaps any Uchiha had, becoming known as Copy-Ninja Kakashi for the sheer amount of Jutsu he learned through its use. He also recalled the heady days of Sandaime’s reign, running the village well, even thinking to add several holidays to the village’s annual schedule. He died killing Uchiha Itachi—destroyer of the Uchiha clan and the only man Otokage had ever been known to fear—and the leader of the Akatsuki, whose name is still unknown, and whom even Uchiha Itachi was known to fear.

But even Rokudaime was eclipsed by Shichidaime.

After the unfortunately brief careers of Godaime and Rokudaime, Uzumaki Naruto, known as the Red Flame of Konoha, could be said to have lived through the reigns of four Hokage before his own: Yondaime, who died days after Naruto’s birth; Sandaime, who served as Hokage through most of Naruto’s youth; Godaime, whom Naruto actually helped to bring to power; and Rokudaime, Naruto’s own teacher, and the Hokage under whom Naruto rose to the rank of ANBU captain. Shichidaime forged alliances with Sunagakure no Sato and other villages not run by Kage, preventing the outbreak of a third Leaf-Rock War and a Leaf-Cloud War. He faced and enemies whose power eclipsed even those that had killed his predecessors without dying, in large part due to the incredible healing abilities and chakra reserves granted him as the person in whom Yondaime had sealed Kitsune no Kyuubi. He died destroying the Kazekage Sabaku no Gaaraa who lost control of the demon sealed within him, Shukaku no Ichibi, in his dotage. He utterly annihilated the demon in the process, thus freeing the world from its threat for all time.

But even Shichidaime may yet be eclipsed by Hachidaime.

Sarutobi Konohamaru, grandson of Sandaime and student of Shichidaime...