Konohagakure

Konohagakure ("Village Hidden Among Tree Leaves"), or Konoha for short, located in the Land of Fire, is the main Hidden Village, it has a Kage as its leader, known as the Hokage. On a mountain overlooking the village, the faces of every Hokage are carved into the rock referred to as "Hokage Stone". Although Konoha, much like the country in which it resides, has been peaceful for the past twelve years and has grown accustomed to that peace, it remains one of the most powerful villages in existence, with an overall ninja population much greater than that of any other village, and therefore has great military power and influence. The hiragana is painted on the entrance gates of the village (one hiragana on each door). This means hermitage or retreat.

Konohagakure was founded by an alliance between the Uchiha and Senju clans, which were led by Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, The First Hokage, respectively. The two leaders eventually quarreled as to which would lead the village, and fought at the Valley of the End, a fight which the First won. Eventually, the village was governed by the Senju clan and its Military police was under authority of the Uchiha clan. Madara Uchiha, who was thought to have died during his battle against the First Hokage, secretly returned to Konohagakure years later and trained Itachi Uchiha. When the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox appeared and attacked the village, it was defeated by Fourth Hokage, though the villages deduction behind the incident alleged suspicion of rebellion amongst the Uchiha clan. The villages mistrust eventually lead to the Uchiha clan plotting a coup d'etat, to take over Konohagakure. Itachi Uchiha, under order of Konohagakure, annihilated every other member of the Uchiha clan except his little brother Sasuke with assistance from Madara.

Notable locations
Forest of Death
The Forest of Death , also known as the 44th battle training zone, was the stage for the second part of the Konoha Chunin exams. Its primary function served as a testing grounds for the survival and fighting skills of Genin trying to become a Chunin. It is a very dangerous place, filled with hordes of flora and fauna; often gigantic, poisonous, or, even more likely, both, hence its name.

There are 44 entrances into the forest. A metallic fence surrounds its perimeter with 44 gates equally spaced around it; this perimeter is where the ninja enter to initiate the test. Inside is a river, the forest, and a tower located in the center; the forest's radius is about ten kilometers.

The tower is the destination of the ninja after they have collected two scrolls. Each team starts with only one scroll; therefore, to pass the exam, a team must find a team with the opposite scroll and steal it by any means necessary. Inside the tower is the large arena in which the third test preliminaries are held, if too many teams manage to survive to that point. Relatively few teams complete this part of the test; in the Chunin exam arc, seven teams completed the test, prompting preliminary matches.

Ichiraku Ramen Bar
The Ichiraku Ramen Bar is Naruto Uzumaki's and Iruka Umino's favorite place to eat. The Ichiraku Ramen Bar is run by Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. The two seem to be some of the few civilian villagers of Konoha to not see Naruto in a hostile light, and consider him their favorite regular.

The Valley of the End
The Valley of the End is the location of the battle between Hashirama Senju (the First Hokage) and Madara Uchiha, where the former defeated the latter. The valley and the river that flows through it are said to be remnants of their fight. The valley is located on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields. To remember the battle, two large statues of the combatants were built on opposite sides of the valley, bordering a large waterfall. Many years later, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha fought in this same location. Following Naruto's defeat, Kakashi Hatake notes Naruto and Sasuke to be ironically similar to Hashirama and Madara, respectively.