A Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked Konoha; in a final act to defeat the demon the 4th Hokage sealed its essence within the body of a baby boy whose umbilical cord had just been cut. The child now a young preteen called Naruto Uzumaki attends Ninja Academy; however because of the incident 12 years prior many in the village see him as the demon itself. As a result the only way he can get people's attention is to pull pranks and get in trouble. His dream is to become the greatest Hokage so he can then make the people of Konoha acknowledge his existence and respect him. Naruto's performance in school is less than perfect and the only person who talks to him is his instructor Iruka.

When he fails the exam and doesn't graduate for the third year in a row he is tricked by Mizuki to steal the scroll of forbidden techniques. When Naruto finds out Mizuki's evil plan he runs away in confusion. When Naruto hears Iruka say good things about him he realizes that there is someone who cares about him. So, when Mizuki tries to hurt Iruka, Naruto becomes angry. He then uses a technique he learned from the scroll, called the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and beats up Mizuki. Iruka then gives Naruto the surprise that he graduates the academy. Meanwhile, the Hokage looks on through a crystal ball, smiling.