Twelve years before the start of the series, the ninja village of Konohagakure was attacked by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. The village was only saved from complete destruction by the actions of Konoha's leader, the Fourth Hokage, who sacrificed his life to seal the Nine-Tails into a newborn: Naruto Uzumaki. Orphaned by the attack, Naruto grew up shunned by most of the villagers, who hated and feare