The Silent Fox

by EmotionalInvestmentBanker

Naruto grows up without an irrepressible enthusiasm, and instead learns to cope with his isolation by drawing in on himself. After being thrown out of the orphanage and found by the ANBU agent 'Dog', the Sandaime is too concerned to leave him to his own devices given Naruto is still non-verbal at the age of 6. Rated M for violence. Slow Burn, but frequent updates.

1. Preface

The Silent Fox

Preface – 18/06/2021

Hi all, and welcome to my first published piece of fiction. Below I'll give a short explanation of what I plan for this story to be, and why, and also some of what to expect, although feel free to skip this as its not absolutely necessary for the plot.

So I love Naruto, watched as a kid on CN, rewatched at uni, and have come to love fanfics of it. There is one thing that I always wondered though, which is what if Naruto grew up withdrawn rather than extroverted as a coping mechanism for the abuse and neglect he received as a child. I think both, or anything in between, are plausible outcomes. Although I did not grow up an orphan, my own relationship with my father, who rarely had time to listen to me, has resulted in me being very talkative, which I attribute to being scared of people not wanting to listen for too long, even as an adult. I also am very solitary, and will happily spend hours alone reading etc.

As you may have guessed from the title, I plan for Naruto to be non-verbal (at least initially, and for a good while into the fic), and will be starting with him pre-academy, although with some timeskips. I plan to split this into a two, maybe three part series, the first of which (The Silent Fox) will be a coming off age style story in approximately pre canon timeskip period.

I don't plan on having any serious pairings in this first part, since what kind of 12 yo ever did more than kisses in the playground, let alone emotionally stunted trained killers. The story, however, will put a focus on the development of Naruto's relationships.

I do plan for Naruto to be competent, although with a slightly smoother curve of improvement. I'll be trying to avoid too many OC s, since they do be kinda effort. I shan't spoil too much of the planned plot here however.

One major change I'll be making will be Naruto's age. TLDR: I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want for Naruto to be a young prodigy, without having to have a bunch of OC / Side characters for him to interact with. Therefore I'll be making Naruto a little younger than his peers so that he can slot in with the canon rookie 9 despite his early graduation. I think it'll also make some of the developments in his relationships more compelling.

I'll likely come and add to this preface at a later date, as I'm writing this now alongside the first chapter. Hope you enjoy :).