First Shinobi World War

The, or simply the , was the first of the great wars that involved the majority of shinobi villages and countries. Little is known about what happened during this war.

The war started not long after the system of one shinobi village per country was established by the founding of Konohagakure. To try and maintain a balance of power, the First Hokage divided the Tailed Beasts among the villages. This was not enough to prevent the war, though, and might have actually increased hostilities.

Both the First Hokage and his brother and successor, the Second Hokage, died during this war. The first Hokage died whilst attempting to save a group of shinobi from falling debris from a destroyed bridge leaving himself open to a kunai which struck him in the heart. His brother the Second Hokage died under similar circumstances as he was forced to choose between saving himself or a group of citizens about to be washed away by a rapid current caused by unnamed jutsu used by the enemy leaving himself open to an barrage of shuriken his body was never recovered but was washed over a waterfall