Third Shinobi World War

Little was been mentioned about the Third Great Shinobi War, other than information given in the "Kakashi Gaiden" mini-series. The known combatants were the Rock, Leaf, Grass, Sand, and Cloud villages. Other combatants are currently unknown.

Causes
One of the known causes of this war was the mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage. The Sand Village grew desperate and was willing to find their Kazekage at all costs. They mustered their forces and this became the reason for Sunagakure's enemies invasion. Decades later, it was discovered that the missing Kazekage was killed by Sasori and turned into one of his Human Puppets.

Development
Konoha was fighting against the joint forces of Rock and Sand villages. In the beginning of the war the Rock ninjas were very successful and they almost reached the borders of the Land of Fire. But Team Minato managed to destroy a vital bridge which was used for supplying the Rock village's forces. The destruction of the bridge became the turning point of the war.

Minato Namikaze, also known as Konoha's Yellow Flash, who became later the Fourth Hokage, was a hero of this war and the Iwagakure ninjas were given a flee-on sight-order because of his skills.

Kakashi Hatake also gained fame during this time, as the only ninja known to have a Sharingan implanted in his left eye in order to replace one lost in battle. He became known as Copy Ninja Kakashi and has since copied over one-thousand jutsu.

Although not explicitly stated, it is possible that this war came to its conclusion with the signing of a peace treaty between the Cloud and Leaf villages. The enormous reception of this peace treaty implied that the war was officially over (as well as a lack information that indicated further aggressive actions between enemy villages), though the attempted kidnapping of a young Hinata Hyuga by the Cloud ambassador made the happiness short-lived.