Hi all! This is my second ever fanfic and my first ever Naruto story!
Well… it's not exactly the Naruto you all know, yes the characters themselves all act like, well, themselves, and the world is mostly the same, but there are a few major differences that affect the entire series after the beginning, and also many huge differences in the past, though those do not affect the story quite nearly as much.
I will quickly run through some of the major differences in the past so as to not spoil anything, so here goes:
The Ōtsutsuki clan do not exist, instead, all beings on earth had chakra from the very beginning.
The Sage of Six Paths/Rikudō Sennin (who is not an Ōtsutsuki) did have children, but they were not Indra and Asura. Instead, those two came later on, and bear no relation to one another.
Speaking of Indra and Asura, they have no transmigrant sibling rivalry, though they did leave legacies.
The Uzumaki clan is not related to the Senju clan, this was done (by me) in an effort to make them more unique and standalone, as opposed to being an offshoot of the Senju.
Another thing, this is small but still, I'm anal about the specifics of things, especially anime life energies, I've been thinking a bit about the nature of chakra and its capabilities and limits, and have decided to tweak it a little, so some jutsu will be a bit or very different. Overall, I came to the conclusion that chakra should be a mystical yet straightforward power (in order to fit with the theme of the series). More on the differences this causes later on in the story.
Not really a difference but this story will include a lot of less explored but still cannon (or at the very least anime only) characters. OC's are very limited and either do not do much in the current story (except maybe one) or who did do stuff but are long dead. Most characters will be cannon though.
Oh yeah and there are differences with the Bijū, Jinchūriki and Akatsuki as well, but that will be explored later on.
So, with that being said (and I hope it hasn't put you off) let us begin!
"Naruto," - Talking in present tense
"Naruto," - Talking in past tense
Naruto,- Thinking
Our story begins in the village hidden in the leaves, with a rambunctious young boy….
"Iruka-sensei, I'm telling you! I'm going to be Hokage someday!"
"As you keep saying Naruto, but that does not detract from the fact that you need to pay more attention in class - in fact, how can you be a good Hokage when you don't even know the theory behind shurikenjutsu?"
"I do know sensei!"
"Oh really? Well then why don't you go ahead and explain it to me"
"...
… I don't know, sensei" Naruto said as he looked down in shame
Iruka signed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, he faced Naruto and spoke "Naruto,"
Naruto looked up at his sensei, a look of shame still present - Iruka cringed slightly as he saw that look, he didn't want Naruto to have that look - "Naruto, why don't you pay attention? I know you want to learn, so why not?" Iruka asked
"Ugh! The academy is just so boring! All these lessons and talking isn't making me an awesome ninja! I can't just sit around twiddling my thumbs or else someone will steal my place as Hokage!"
"You're not Hokage yet, Naruto," Iruka chided "plus, all great leaders must understand the fundamentals of all their endeavours, and you don't get that with only training and nothing else"
"I can save all that stuff for later! Right now, I've got to get strong!" and with that, Naruto bolted off and hopped out the window
Iruka stated at the open window and shook his head, I'll try and talk to him later
With that thought, he went back to his classroom.
"Stupid Iruka-sensei, always lecturing me about this and that! Why's it so important to learn about the "theory" behind this stuff anyway? Why can't I just do it?!"
Naruto was loudly venting to himself as he jumped around the village. Iruka had kept him behind after class yet again, all just to tell him that he should "focus" and "not start shouting in the middle of a lecture about how boring it is".
Seriously, why couldn't he do that? It was boring!
Naruto made his way to the top of the Hokage mansion and stared at the faces lining the cliffside,
Was it paying attention in a classroom that got you all to the position of Hokage?
Hmmm…
"Nah, it's because they were super cool ninja and everyone respected them! Yeah, that's it…"
Satisfied with his conclusion, Naruto hopped off the rooftop to go back to his home.
Naruto arrived at his front door and began fumbling around for his key
"Hey, Naruto" a nearby voice spoke up in greeting
"AHHHH!" Naruto yelled as he nearly jumped out of his skin, gathering his breath, he spoke to the approaching figure
"Don't scare me like that, Takajō!"
"Ohhh, I'm sorry Naruto, I didn't mean to sneak up on you," Takajō said in a teasing manner. Seeing the implied meaning, Naruto growled at the man and barked out "THE ONLY REASON I DIDN'T HEAR YOU WAS BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING FOR MY KEYS!"
"Yeah yeah… alright Naruto, but that's not gonna be an excuse when you're face to face with an enemy now is it?" Takajō said more seriously
Naruto frowned at Takajō
If he's here just to bother me, then he can save it! I've already had enough of that today from Iruka-sensei
Takajō, seeing Narutos worsening mood, decided to change the subject
"So, how've you been holding up lately?"
Naruto, thankful for the change in conversation, responded,
"Well, I'd say I'm doing pretty great in the academy, but Iruka-sensei seems to think otherwise"
"Oh? Why Would that be?"
"He keeps saying I should be more focused on my studies and pay more attention to boring stuff like…"
"Shurikenjutsu theory?" Takajō finished Naruto's lingering sentence with an amused smile
"Heh! That's exactly what Iruka-sensei said to me! Do you two know each other?"
Takajō made a thinking face "Well, we went to the academy together so yeah, I suppose we do, but that's besides the point. Are you not paying attention in class Naruto?" he asked seriously
Naruto scrunched his face up at this "It's not like I don't concentrate on anything we do in the academy, it's just that I can't concentrate on the boring stuff!"
"Every part of what you learn is important, otherwise they wouldn't teach it to you," Takajō said with a firm tone
At this Naruto wilted slightly, he knew the truth in Takajō's words and knew there were many important parts of being a shinobi, but did he really have to sit in a classroom all day long not doing anything?
Naruto voiced his complaints "But why? Why do I have to sit in a boring classroom all day long? I don't see Chūnin or Jōnin doing that"
"Well Naruto, when there are new implementations and such that we all have to be made aware of, we are educated about them, though not in the same environment of course… but I don't think that's the biggest difference between an academy student being educated and a full-fledged shinobi being educated, you see Naruto, the true difference is mindset"
"Mindset?" Naruto asked quizzically
"Yes, mindset. What I mean by that is, when I, for example, am learning something, I know I must pay full attention to it, because knowing and understanding that information could mean the difference between success and failure on a mission, even between life and death. Knowing this helps me do my job, it also helps my comrades and I work more efficiently as a cohesive unit. But, above all, it helps the village itself, the people can be safe in the knowledge that their defenders are always working hard to be as good as they possibly can be" Takajō finished with a proud look on his face. He then faltered and looked down, thinking he would have fried Naruto's brain with such a speech, but what he saw made him cease his doubts
Naruto was looking up at him with an expression of amazement
wow…
"You're awesome Takajō!" He said as he snapped out of his awe-induced stupor
The chūnin gave a smile of gratitude at that, "Ah, I'm nothing special" he said bashfully, "But thanks anyway, Naruto" he said grinning
"Oh, would you look at that?" Takajō suddenly said as he looked up at the sky, I spent longer than I thought talking, l didn't even get my food from inside
"Look at what?" Naruto asked as he squinted at the sky to see what Takajō was talking about, what's there?
"The time," Takajō said as he looked back down at Naruto, "it's time for me to get back to work"
"Huh? Oh yeah, well, see ya around" Naruto said, immediately going back to fiddling with his keys
This kid… Takajō thought with a smile on his face, he really brightens up this place, and with that, he leapt onto the adjacent rooftop and left.
"Uhg, finally" Naruto grumbled to himself as he managed to get his door unlocked and stepped inside, putting his keys next to the sink, he immediately went to his cupboard and grabbed a cup of instant ramen and soaked it in boiling water, the smell created as the water hit the dry noodles almost caused him to eat them then and there, but Naruto decided they'd taste better when fully soaked, so he went and sat down to wait.
This was part of Naruto's evening ritual, he hadn't crafted it that way on purpose, it had just sort of… come about.
While taking this moment of respite on his worn sofa, he thought back on the conversations he had had with Iruka and Takajō (well, more of an argument in Iruka's case, but still), he honestly did feel shame at having to tell Iruka he didn't know something he had already been taught, though whether that was because Iruka was the one he had to admit that to or because he was genuinely ashamed about not paying attention he didn't know.
As for the conversation with Takajō, I don't really understand what he was talking about, but it sure sounded cool.
Then he remembered, a part of his and Takajō's conversation
Is this stuff seriously that important? Will I not become the kind of shinobi I want to become if I don't focus?
Just as he was contemplating his earlier conversation, the smell of miso ramen wafted over to his nose, pulling him away from his thoughts,
"Oh boy, that smells good!" Naruto said to himself as he made his way to the counter, grabbed his chopsticks and dug in. With all thoughts of today's events leaving him, Naruto enjoyed his ramen in peace.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage mansion…
The only sound that could be heard was the tapping of pen on paper, as the village leader signed off on this and that, finalising letters and approving plans - generally doing what Kage do best
Paperwork
While yes - he was a brilliant shinobi, paperwork was what he spent a lot of his time doing, it was only natural though, he was the Hokage.
He was rather at peace when doing this, there was no fighting, no blood, no war (well, directly at least), it was such a stark difference to the lives of other shinobi, and even his own life prior to his becoming Hokage,
I sit here, enjoying the peace granted to me by my position, while others go out and risk their lives every day for the village?
"Ahh, look at me, questioning the sacrifice of my brothers and sisters, I really should be-"
*Knock knock*
Before he had time to reprimand himself for such thoughts, a knock sounded on the window. Turning to face the source of the noise, the man smiled and quickly went over and opened it, letting the source of the knocking in,
In stepped a tall white-haired man, his clogs clacking on the floor as he greeted the other,
"Long time no see, Minato"
A/N:
To clear some things up, I will give some info:
Naruto is 9 years old at the beginning of the story
Minato is still Hokage (I said some things would be changed, and this is one of them)
That's it for this chapter, but I will be explaining certain things after every future chapter as well (though obviously, not spoiling anything).
So yeah…
Well, tell me what you thought about the first chapter. I myself have some thoughts on this, but I want to see how you respond.
Thank you for reading - SkimpyJohnny