This article talks about some of the characters who appeared in the original work, to make things easier for everyone to follow. In the future, you can use this as a reference when reading Naruto fanfiction. The information is definitely pretty accurate, so you'll be able to point at this article and ask the authors, "Hey? What's going on! Was that person really born at this time?" Hahaha.
Note: Some characters' birth dates and graduation dates are very clear. For those whose dates aren't clear, I've assumed they graduated at age 10, the normal age.
A chronological account of Naruto (most of the characters are Konoha shinobi).
Konoha Year -8: Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu were born.
The year before: Sarutobi, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu trained under the First and Second Hokage.
Konoha Year 0: Konoha was founded. That same year, Hashirama, the First, died in battle, Madara faked his death, and Tobirama, the Second Hokage, succeeded him.
Year 1: Tazuna, the drunk who built the bridge in the Land of Waves, was born.
Year 6: Dan Katō was born (estimated).
Year 8: The "Shinobi Training Facility" (in Japanese; translated, it means a shinobi training institution) was established, and the first six students graduated.
Year 10: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were born.
Year 1: Dan graduated at age 6. The "Shinobi Training Facility," along with the surrounding military and administrative "facilities," came to be collectively known as the "Ninja Academy." In other words, the name "Ninja Academy" was officially adopted!
Year 15: Uchiha Fugaku, the father of Sasuke and Itachi, was born.
Year 16: Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru graduated at age 6 and began training under Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was 4 years old.
Year 17: Teuchi, the future owner of Ichiraku Ramen, was born. (I don't know if this is true either. I always thought the Ichiraku owner was older than the Sannin.)
Year 18: The teacher selection exam for the Ninja Academy was held for the first time. (Did they not have teachers before? I suspect what this really means is that the Ninja Academy was gradually becoming more formalized and important, so teacher selection could no longer be left to chance.)
Year 19: The brothers Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga were born.
Year 0: Nawaki, Tsunade's younger brother, and Mikoto Uchiha, the mother of Sasuke and Itachi, were born. The First Shinobi World War also broke out that year. The Second Hokage died, and Sarutobi Hiruzen succeeded him as the Third Hokage at age 8. (The dates don't match up with the timeline in my previous book, but it doesn't matter.) The father of Gaara, the future Fourth Kazekage, was also born.
Year unknown: Aburame Shibi, Shino's father, was born.
Year unknown: Inoichi Yamanaka, Choza Akimichi, and Shikaku Nara, the older generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, were born.
Year 5: Nara Yoshino, Shikamaru's mother, and Tsume Inuzuka, Kiba's mother, were born.
Year 6: The Ninja Academy underwent its first major expansion.
Year 7: Yashamaru, Gaara's uncle, was born.
Year 9: Namiashi Raidō, one of Minato's future guards—the one with the scar on his left cheek who was beaten badly by the Kakuzu-Hidan duo—was born. The Ninja Academy established a class for kunoichi, and Kaiza, Inari's stepfather and Tazuna's grandson's stepfather, was born.
Year 0: Aoba Yamashiro, the second of Minato's guards—the one who wore sunglasses, saved Namiashi Raidō with a crow illusion, and was beaten badly by the Kakuzu-Hidan duo—was born. Baki was born. Mikoto Uchiha and Nawaki graduated at age 10.
Year 1: Genma Shiranui, the third of Minato's guards and the fourth-round proctor at the Chunin Exams—the one who always had a senbon in his mouth—was born.
Year unknown: Ebisu, the home tutor of the Third Hokage's grandson Konohamaru, and Kisame Hoshigaki were born. Aburame Shibi graduated. The Second Shinobi World War broke out. Nawaki died in battle.
Year unknown: Obito, Rin, Sarutobi Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, Morino Ibiki, Tobitake Tonbo—the one with bandages covering the upper half of his face, including his eyes, who caught a cheating examinee at the Chunin Exams and said, "The fact that I'm stronger than you is proof"—Mizuki, the one who persuaded Naruto to steal the Scroll of Seals, and Kato Shizune, Tsunade's first disciple and Dan Katō's niece, were born. Note: The exact date of Dan's death at age 7 is unclear, but it should have been sometime between Year X and Year Y. Tsunade developed hemophobia. The older generation of Ino-Shika-Cho graduated at age 10.
Year 4: Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy were born. Momochi Zabuza was born.
Year 5: Umino Iruka was born. Nara Yoshino and Tsume Inuzuka graduated at age 10.
Year 6: Mitaraishi Anko, Izumo Kamizuki—one of the two Chunin who wore a bandage over his nose and, along with Kotetsu Hagane, used an illusion to deceive examinees on the second floor of the Chunin Exams written-test building, and who later nearly got strangled to death by Kakuzu—and Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki's partner, whose long hair covered his right cheek and who was involved in the same incident, were born. The Ninja Academy underwent its second major expansion.
Year 7: Gato, the wealthy man from the Land of Waves, was born. Akado Yoroi and Tsurugi Misumi were born. Gekko Hayate, the one who coughed constantly during the third round of the Chunin Exams and was later killed after discovering Baki's secret, was born.
Year 8: Baki graduated at age 8.
Year 9: Kakashi graduated at age 5. Uzuki Yugao, Gekko Hayate's lover, was born. She didn't appear in the manga and was an anime-original character.
Year 40: Kakashi was promoted to Chunin at age 6. Baki was promoted to Chunin at age 10.
Year 41: Guy graduated at age 7. Obito and Rin were both 9. Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo, whose birth date is unknown, committed suicide. Kabuto Yakushi was born.
Year 4: Ebisu graduated at age 10. Sarutobi Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, and Shizune graduated at age 9. Baki was promoted to Chunin at age 12.
Year 4: Itachi Uchiha was born. Morino Ibiki graduated at age 10. Momochi Zabuza graduated at age 9, after killing all the other candidates in his class.
Year 44: Genma Shiranui, age 12, Obito, age 11, and Rin, age 11, were promoted to Chunin. Kirigakure changed its Ninja Academy graduation exam because of what Zabuza had done.
Year 45: Asuma was promoted to Chunin at age 12, and Guy was promoted to Chunin at age 11. Haku was born. Temari was born.
Year 46: Umino Iruka graduated at age 11, and Mitaraishi Anko graduated at age 10. Anko trained under Orochimaru, who was 26. Kurenai Yuhi was promoted to Chunin at age 12, and Kakashi was promoted to Jonin at age 12. The Third Shinobi World War also broke out that year. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin trained under Minato and headed to the battlefield. Kankuro was born.
Year 47: Kakashi's team took part in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. Obito died in battle—or at least, Konoha believed he had. You all know what happened after that, right? The war ended that same year. After the Battle of Kikyo Pass, Kabuto Yakushi came to Konoha and was taken in by the Orphanage. Konoha and Sunagakure signed an alliance treaty. Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga were born. Another person was born. Minato became the Fourth Hokage. (Orochimaru didn't even make the shortlist.) Konoha and Sunagakure held their first joint exercise at the Ninja Academy.
Year 48: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno were born. Morino Ibiki was promoted to Chunin at age 15, and Mitaraishi Anko was promoted to Chunin at age 12. That same year, the Nine-Tails was released by Obito and attacked Konoha. Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, died in battle. Iruka's parents were killed. Most of the Ninja Academy building was destroyed. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, took office again at age 56. Gaara was born, and his mother died. Haku's parents died when Haku was X years old.
Year 49: Gekko Hayate graduated at age 12. Ebisu was promoted to Chunin at age 17. The Ninja Academy was being repaired. That same year, Orochimaru marked Mitaraishi Anko with the Cursed Seal, and several shinobi disappeared from Konoha. The Third Hokage caught Orochimaru conducting experiments to develop forbidden jutsu and stopped him. Orochimaru then defected from Konoha, while Jiraiya also left the village to keep an eye on him.
Year 50: Itachi Uchiha graduated at age 7. Gekko Hayate was promoted to Chunin at age 12. Zabuza took Haku in and trained him. Orochimaru conducted human experiments and devoted himself to founding a new shinobi village. That same year, the Kaguya Clan—also translated as the "Taketori Clan"—rebelled against Kirigakure's tyranny toward bloodline clans, attempting to challenge one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages with their own clan alone. They were wiped out. Orochimaru took Kimimaro under his wing.
Year 51: Kabuto Yakushi graduated from the Ninja Academy for the third time. (He deliberately failed every Genin exam to carry out his undercover missions.) Umino Iruka was promoted to Chunin at age 16. That same year, Kakashi Hatake, who had the Sharingan, joined Anbu at age 17. Konoha and the Land of Snow formed an alliance, and Kakashi was assigned to escort the princess of the Land of Snow. Neji Hyuga was marked with his clan's Cursed Seal at age 4. The failed attempt to kidnap Hinata Hyuga took place, and Hizashi Hyuga died in his older brother's place. Itachi Uchiha awakened his Sharingan at age 8.
Year 5: Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi, the three-member group, were born. Inari, the grandson of the man who built the bridge, was born. Orochimaru performed his first reincarnation.
Year 5: Hanabi Hyuga was born. Itachi was promoted to Chunin at age 10. The Ninja Academy underwent its third major expansion. Inari's biological father died that same year.
Year 54: Six months after Itachi was promoted to Chunin at age 11, he was selected for Anbu and then joined the squad. That same year, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi entered the academy at age 6. Six months after Itachi joined Anbu, Shisui Uchiha drowned himself in a river, and Itachi awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Yashamaru, Gaara's uncle, died, and the kanji for "love" was carved into Gaara's forehead. After that, Gaara's father, the Fourth Kazekage, nearly killed him several times.
Year 55: Itachi Uchiha was promoted to Anbu squad leader at age 12. The Uchiha Clan Massacre took place that same year. Itachi defected from Konoha and joined Akatsuki. Later, after Itachi severed Orochimaru's arm and Orochimaru realized he couldn't take over Itachi's body, Orochimaru defected from Akatsuki. Akatsuki's members began operating throughout the Shinobi World.
Year 56: Orochimaru founded Otogakure.
Year 57: Akamaru was born. (Woof woof!) Kabuto Yakushi began taking the Chunin Exams and failed six times. Temari graduated at age 12. Kaiza became Inari's stepfather. Kimimaro's incurable illness was discovered, and in his disappointment, Orochimaru had no choice but to undergo his second reincarnation.
Year 58: Kankuro graduated at age 12.
Year 59: Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga graduated at age 12. Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan moved into the implementation stage, and Sasuke became his new target. Gato became the de facto ruler of the Land of Waves, and Kaiza was publicly executed soon after. The story begins!
And that's a wrap!
Before you continue