Tip Of The Spear
Disclaimer:
Characters from Naruto and Neon Genesis Evangelion as well as other franchises characters making cameo appearences belong to their respectful owners and all rights are theirs. I own nothing but the plot of this story and any Original Characters that appear. No money is being made from this and no money is expected. I do this only to tell a story that I hope is enjoyable.
Forward, Dedication and Summary,
This story is dedicated to the Shipmates I made in my twenty years serving in the US Navy. Unless noted to a specific unit all sea stories told by Naruto or Sakura are based on the general sea stories and experiences of myself, my father or my friends. Without my old man's stories and my Shipmates my life and this story would be very boring. Incidents mentioned fall under Small Island Rules, names and details are changed to protect the guilty but all stories are "No shit, This really happened" and the "There I was, 10,000 feet in the air and my parachute was dropping me into an alligator and snake infested swamp surrounded by hostile natives and, missionaries and hippies" style of Sea Story. Don't know what a Sea Story is? Then ask a Sailor or Marine, the older they are the better the stories they have to tell. THis is also dedicated to my late Father, RD1/OSC G.V. Jones, USN/USNR Retired, 1955-1987. Dad, you had the best stories in the world.
What would happen if during one of the villagers fox hunts they fatally injure Sakura and Naruto is so mortally injured the the Fox is released? What happens when it decides to not only remove the pair from the abuse and train the them himself? And what would happen if Sakura was not only Naruto's only friend that shares his pain of being a street rat but bound to him by a marriage contract? A contract her parents have tried to either suppress or declared invalid only because of their belief that the son of Mebuki's best friend died with his mother and the fox has taken human form as her future son in law. What happens when the fox takes the two children away from the village and off their world to live and grow on another world that fights wars differently and what is normal on the their home planet is the stuff of legends and magic, found in manga's and anime?
You get two very strong ninja that will live up to their full potential. Naruto and his mate Sakura will take the ninja world by storm on their return but first they have to survive Boot Camp, BUDS and Aircrew school. Strong and smart Naruto, Strong and even smarter Sakura. Naruto and his mate return as final year academy students even though they had grown up and "died" at 22 in a forgotten hell hole in South America. On their return those close to the pair notice a major change in both personalities as well as skills and knowledge. They also notice that the couple are only devoted to one another first, their loved one's and precious people second and the village last. They also notice that while Naruto is now very serious in his duties he's still an unpredictable knucklehead and idiot that only Sakura can truly understand and keep under control.
Like a determined maelstrom of change Naruto and Sakura have plans for the continued safety and growth of Konohagakure, big plans. They also have a second agenda, to right the wrongs did to them, their families, their village and Kurama that were inflicted upon them all the night of his birth. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, if so then the traitors to the Land Of Fire, Land of Whirlpools and the Village Hidden In The Leaves will soon be the main course. The others, let's just say every good meal begins with good appetizers. The Elemental Nations will soon be set on it's ear as the Leaf hides away it's entire class of clan, merchant and shinobi heirs under a shroud of secrecy that will soon be shown to be a force that will write their own history instead of repeating the mistakes of the past.
Kurama the Nine Tailed Fox is not evil but strict in his training of Naruto and Sakura that takes the task he set as a guardian seriously. His clan of foxes take human form to help the couple train growing up. Naruto and Sakura have what they had wanted for so long, friends and a family that loves them, who cares if the family are foxes from the summoning world? Family is family at the end of the day.
This story was inspired by ones I have read and re-read over time. I wish I could list those that inspired my work but I really can't as my memory is not that good. To list one would deny three as the list is long and some are lost due to the great purge a few years ago. That said, the deviation from canon is based on some of the earliest fan fictions that were written before the principles of the Fourth Shinobi war were revealed. This is because for one, I want to do something not seen in a long time and two, personally for me the mange jumped the shark with an over population of uber powered foes.
In the beginning of Naruto's story there was much that was unknown and Orochimaru was the big bad wolf and boss villain. I felt sorry for him as I felt he got a raw deal when the Akatusuki was introduced and he was shunted to a supporting villain that was then reduced further to be the sensie on an ungrateful Uchiha. I and others I've talked to feel that he was a waste of a perfectly good ner'do well.
as much as I hate the Emo Uchiha I enjoyed the chapters that dealt with Naruto and Sakura trying to bring him back to the fold and trying to deal with the Snake sanin's plans as well as stories that either show Sasuke repentant and ashamed of his actions. The latter mostly time travel AU's that give him, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Team Seven or any combination a chance to fix what went wrong. Team Tenchi is a good example of that, in my opinion it's one of the templates that all others should be measured against, in which see's Team Seven given a second chance and allowing them to start earlier in that life than they dis in others. It's also one of the templates that I've based this Sasuke on. Sasuke is an interesting character that was also short changed as over time he became a cardboard cutout of the Avenger gone wrong. In canon he's the poster boy for manga psychotics and it hurt him over time as his actions against his best friend and future wife are just reprehensible.
Of all the members of Team Seven Sakura is the one that was dealt the shittiest hand. She and Naruto had such good chemistry that developed into a budding romance over time but how is she viewed by the majority of fans? As a 'pink haired banshee that is blindly devoted to an Emo Avenger and is so short sighted that she abuses mentally as well as physically the only boy that actually loves her. The reason? because she was a pink haired abusive banshee fan girl at the beginning of the story. Those few episodes and chapters colored everyone's view of her to the point that most felt she deserved to be with Sasuke and Naruto deserved the 'love' Hinata had for him. I don't see her that way, I see a twelve or thirteen year old girl that's not sure what love actually is and blindly follows a crush that Naruto unintentionally reinforced when he henged into Sasuke.
Sakura is actually who Naruto needs in his life as over time they become closer and closer. Remember, Kushina actually told Naruto to marry a girl like his mother. Now, other than Sakura, Ino would be a good choice, Tenten would be a good choice but not Hinata. Look at the disaster Naruto's life has become in canon because of Hinata's failure to set her husband straight on what is exactly important. Look at how their son turns out to be. Now look at how Sakura keeps her Fox's eyes on what is actually important and how their son respects and loves his father. That is the relationship that I'm shooting for in this story and it will come with time. But getting there is nearly all the fun, so read and enjoy.
A/N, the one that actually matters:
This is a living work and at any time I reserve the right to change and make corrections to earlier content based on legitimate critiques and pointing out of spelling and grammatical errors. Canon is not only diverted but thrown out the window entirely. I should also point out that the 'fourth wall' is not sacrosanct in this story and will be broken from time to time but only when, and I quote a famous cartoon rabbit that was once framed for murder, "..only when it's funny."
Now, I think I've bored you enough with my ranting, chapter one is next.