Twelve years before
the events at the focus of the
series, the nine-tailed demon fox attacked Konohagakure.
Powerful enough to raise tsunamis and flatten mountains with a swish of
one of its tails, it raised chaos and slaughtered many people, until
the leader of the Leaf Village – the Fourth Hokage – sacrificed his own
life to seal the demon inside his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki.
The Fourth Hokage, who was celebrated as a hero for sealing the demon
fox away, wanted Naruto to be respected in a similar light by being the
containment vessel for the demon fox.
The Leaf Village, however, shunned him, regarding
Naruto as if he
were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his
childhood. A decree made by the Third Hokage
forbade anyone to discuss or mention the attack of the demon fox to
anyone, even their own children. However, this did not stop them from
treating him like an outcast and as a result he grew up an orphan
without friends, family, or acknowledgment. He could not force people
to befriend him, so he sought acknowledgment and attention the only way
he knew – through pranks and mischief.
