Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any story mentioned or that I take inspiration from.
A/N: This alternate universe has no Bijuu, doujutsu are developed techniques rather than bloodlines, but they're hoarded by the clans that have developed them. Rinnegan doesn't exist or is a legend, much like it was in universe until Nagato was revealed to have it.
Bloodlines are also techniques developed by clans that they keep to themselves, even if they have to kill whoever tries to learn them that doesn't come from their clan.
Minato is irrelevant to the story, as are his techniques except the Rasengan. He was not the 4th Hokage, Sarutobi has been the only one ruling during this whole time. Minato died off-screen in shady circumstances. Instead of Minato, the Sannin were the ones to play major roles in the third Great Ninja War.
Kushina is ginger and she's a stranger, she's pretty much treated like an Irish ginger in England for a good portion of History, superstition and racism are topics here (instead of hate of Kyuubi). She doesn't die since there's no Kyuubi to kill her the night of Naruto's birth. Since the kid had a mother, they're more susceptible to be happy and loudmouth, unlike original Naruto who doesn't follow any of the behaviour patterns of people who have grown in similar situations (Gaara's flashbacks are much closer to what Naruto should have been like, before he became bloodthirsty: lonely, calm, not very talkative, the only difference being that a lonely neglected kid like Naruto would have violent reactions to physical contact etc.).
Power levels toned down. Akatsuki are around Kakuzu's level, you don't go 1v1 against them unless you're a Kage or the Sannin (Sennin here, they're all sages, Tsunade's hundred healing replaced with slug sage, that enhances her healing abilities and give her unique abilities; Orochimaru is a snake sage, which allows him to use his most dangerous snake abilities and to negate the chakra cost of his shed skin ability, and combined with curse mark makes him the strongest of the three). Any of the Sannin are mid-high Kage level, Orochimaru is high Kage.
I'll try to make everything part of the worldbuilding so that it's more reflected in-universe.
If you want to talk about this story or any of mine (Ashera Fanfics), send me an invite on Discord at: Graal DTC#0625 (since the link to my Discord channel is broken on the fanfiction website). For updates, I'm very busy training for a new job so it won't be daily updates like it used to be. I don't update the same story all the time, I update the one I'm inspired in when I have time. Naruto: Away from Konoha has a complete 1st arc for example, so unless I get a high demand, I'll try to finish at least a full arc about my other main stories before going back to it eventually.
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Chapter 1
"Don't look at her, she might curse you!" said a woman while avoiding Naruto.
People got out of her way, the mob ignoring her while moving to avoid her as if they were controlled by a genjutsu or a barrier. Naruto was used to this treatment. Since she was young, her mother and herself had been living like pariahs inside the village. That was why they lived in the Uchiha compound, with the clan that was considered pariahs.
As the girl entered the district with the Uchiha crest, she felt that something was abnormal. She looked around every few seconds while going back home with ramen that she had gotten to surprise her mother. Was she being paranoid? Maybe, or something really happened. As she got closer to the center, she saw people run in every direction, trying to fill buckets with water. She looked at the place they were going to with their buckets filled and saw the police building burning in black flames. She left this dangerous place and ran home with the lunch in her hands.
At home, there was no one to welcome her, which was unusual. She was worried about her mother. Naruto put the lunch in the oven covered with a cloth to keep it hot and went into her bedroom. She hugged her stuffed fox to get some comfort, hiding her tears of worry.
An hour later, her mom came back and rushed into her bedroom.
"Oh my God! You're here! I was so worried! I've been looking for you all across the village! Where have you been?"
"I've been to Ichiraku to make a surprise for you, but you weren't here when I got back home… I've seen the fire at the police station, what happened?"
"Thanks dear… Someone rebelled against the clan leaders who were gathered at the police station. The suspect has left the village right after the attack."
"Is Mikoto alright?"
"Yes, she doesn't work at the police station so she wasn't targeted. But Fugaku is gone."
"He did the attack?"
"No, dear. He is no more…"
"Sasuke will be sad…"
"Yes, dear, he will… At least I've been able to seal away the fire…"
"How can fire burn everything like that?"
"It's not a common fire, these black flames consume everything, it was a powerful ninjutsu."
"Hn…"
"Come, I'll warm the ramen so that we can eat a comforting meal, okay?"
"Yes, mommy!"
The dark ginger woman went for the kitchen and Naruto followed her. They ate in silence, next to each other, comforting each other with their warmth.
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Since the attack on the police station and his father's death, Sasuke had changed. He had become very reserved and he had lost his playful side. Naruto had tried to comfort him, but he had rejected her attempts. The other girls however, as soon as they went to the academy, were completely attracted toward him. His dark, mysterious side was irresistible to these young chicks.
Naruto, however, was not attracted to him. She simply liked him as a friend and she was worried about him. As expected, the other girls glared daggers at her each time she tried to comfort him and pull him back to the living. But she didn't care about these stupid girls who couldn't live for themselves. Their will to cradle Sasuke was annoying for everyone outside their group.
"Hey, ginger!" called a light brown haired girl. "Stop trying to get Sasuke's attention, okay? He's mine!"
"No he's mine!" exclaimed another girl.
Naruto let them escalate the situation with each other and the group ended up doing infighting while she was at the other side of the playground. She went to the only people who weren't outright rejecting her and who weren't grieving their parents' deaths.
"Can I watch clouds with you guys?" she asked.
"Sure…" answered Shikamaru with any unneeded word.
"Sasuke doesn't want to open to me. I've lost my dad too, well, I've never known him. But I know what it's like to be alone with mom."
"Don't be so worried," replied Chouji, "he'll open up when he's ready. Let him more time, when he shows signs of being less closed on himself, extend your hand to him and hope he takes it."
"Thanks for your advice, Chouji. You're a good person, you know that?"
"Uh… Thanks?"
"Wanna be my friend?"
"You…wanna be friends with me? But…only Shikamaru has ever wanted to be my friend…people don't like fatties…"
"I don't care about your looks. You're nice and you don't judge people on their appearance either. You've never chased me away or spoken to me in a mean way. That's better than anyone here except Sasuke, and he's currently busy trying to get over his dad's death."
"You know…my dad doesn't like you nor your mother. He told me that you're witches and that your father died in shady circumstances…"
"So he thinks my mother killed my father? She's not a mantis, you know. My mom's an angel! Her smile is wonderful, she's gentle and she's always protected me from mean people. I remember one time we were attacked by a ninja while going back from the market. She kicked him in the guts and punched him into the wall! It was amazing!"
"Is that supposed to reassure me about her?"
"You're not trying to kill us as far as I know. You have nothing to fear. She'll protect my friends just like she protects me."
"I'm trying to watch the clouds. Quit babbling you two," cut Shikamaru.
"Then I could be your friend…I'll just have to say nothing to my dad…" said Chouji, ignoring the pineapple haired boy.
"It will be our little secret!" said Naruto excitedly.
"Ye...yeah!"
Naruto put her little finger on Shikamaru's torso towards Chouji, and he grabbed it with his own.
"Troublesome children…"
"You're a child too, Shikamaru," replied Naruto.
"But I'm more mature than both of you combined."
"If by mature you mean passive, then sure."
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The day of the graduating exam came. During the last two years, Naruto had been visiting Sasuke regularly, since their moms were friends and the Uchiha woman needed emotional support. The boy didn't really open up, but he still helped her with her homework, since Naruto, just like her mother, was really not good at academics.
The Uzumaki girl had also befriended Hinata. They were going along pretty well. Since Kushina had met Anko, a younger woman working as a ninja, they had been rather friendly towards each other. The young purple haired woman had decided to corrupt Naruto and Hinata, which partly amused the ginger mother, while she kept an eye on what her friend was doing with them and telling them.
She had notably watched the girls spar and had given Hinata a few moves. The Hyuuga fought more viciously than she used to. Naruto mostly played hide and seek with Anko, which made her ninja skills better than the atrocity they used to be. Kushina was already teaching Naruto how to fight like her, brutally, with chakra enhanced strength. Her bare fists were frightening weapons. She could beat all the kids her age in pure power.
Naruto was fearful about the exam, because she was really bad with the clone technique. She ended up talking about it to her mother, who taught her a personal technique she had developed, the Whirlpool Clone, a physical clone that was as powerful and durable as the original and could be dispelled at will or dispel itself. It could even give back the memories it had accumulated. She could only create one at a time, because this was unlike any other clone, it was able to fight and take hits as well as the original.
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"Naruto Uzumaki!"
My turn, I'll make Iruka's jaw drop! Thanks mommy for this wonderful technique!
Naruto jumped in front of the examination room and entered.
"Naruto, show us two clones, a Substitution and a Transformation, please," said Iruka.
Naruto created a Whirlpool Clone, followed by a Transformation into the teachers Iruka and Mizuki respectively and used their variant of Substitution, the Transposition, to swap her and her clone's places with the teacher's. She put her feet on the desk with a victor's grin.
"So, teach, how was it?"
"Well, that was great, but you did only one clone."
"Naruto second, show Iruka why I can only do one clone!"
"Yes, master!"
The clone transformed into Iruka rushed to him and punched him. The teacher blocked at the last moment due to a bad feeling and he was proved to be right when he was sent into the wall. Mizuki threw a kunai at the clone, which took it to the arm and grabbed its wounded limb with a grimace.
"It doesn't dispel in one hit?" he asked, surprised.
"My mom taught me this skill yesterday before bedtime!" exclaimed Naruto triumphantly. "It's a real clone, as strong and resistant as me!"
"It must take a huge amount of chakra to use," noted Iruka.
"Huh? I've been exercising for one hour straight with it yesterday to get it perfectly for the exam, it doesn't take that much chakra…"
"Iruka, I think Naruto is a special case. Her chakra reserves are those of an advanced jounin at least."
"I think it's more than that," answered the scarred teacher. "How many times did she try to do it in one hour, you think?"
"Well, considering it's Naruto we're talking about, I'd say once per minute approximately."
"Sixty real clones, even if the first ones were failures, it should have taken her more chakra than three jounin put together over half a day."
"Indeed, Naruto, you're exceptional. Forget about your crappy academics, you're a brute diamond."
"Thanks, Mizuki!"
"You pass," announced Iruka.
"Yeah!" Naruto dispelled the transformation and the clone and took a headband before leaving in a whirlwind.
"That sure was fast," concluded the scarred teacher.
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"Good morning, Naruto!" greeted Mikoto, who just got out of the Uzumaki's home. "How did you do?"
"Hi Mikoto! I passed over the top! Mizuki even said I was a brute diamond!"
"Oh! Did he? How nice of him…"
Neither Mikoto nor Kushina trusted the gray haired teacher. They felt something was wrong with him. He seemed so…fake!
"How do you feel today?" asked Naruto.
"I feel good, than you for your concern, Naruto."
"Sasuke passed."
"I know, but I want him to tell me himself, so that I can hug him tightly until he chokes! For all the times he's refused to hug me!"
"Good luck with that!"
"Thank you, bye!"
Naruto entered the house. The exterior looked like a pitiful place, but inside it was very nice. The wooden floor was never cold, the furniture was simple, the interior decoration was minimal, a few photographs, paintings of the mother and daughter, and a painting with a twenty-four year old Minato, a thirty year old Kushina and a six year old Naruto, as if her father was still with them.
"So how did you do, my dear?"
"I passed! Mizuki told me I was a brute diamond!"
"Congratulations!" Kushina kissed her daughter's cheek, leaving some slime behind.
"Yuck! Mom! That's disgusting!"
"Hahaha! Love is never disgusting, dear!"
"Slime is!"
"Tell that to your grandma!"
"What? She'll kill me if I tell her! She's the slug sage! Slime is part of her!"
"Hahaha! I'll be sure to tell her when she comes back from her trip, she'll be happy!"
"Don't!"
"I can already see you in the middle of a slug hug! Slurp slurp!"
"Yuck! I let my ration to the old man!"
"He would be heartbroken if he tried to kiss her and ended with a slug kiss! Hahaha!"
"Pfff! It would be so funny!"
"The pervy sage with slime on his face!"
"Hahaha!"
While mother and daughter were laughing, the girl's shadow moved discreetly and entered the living room. They climbed the bookcase and grabbed a scroll. They went back to their initial position, waiting for the best time to get out, when Naruto would leave the house. The scroll had disappeared into the shadow.
"Let's go to Ichiraku to celebrate your graduation!"
"Yay! Ramen!"
"Haha."
They left the house and when they looked away from their shadows, Naruto's got away.
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"Haha! She didn't notice anything! I'm too good! Finally, after all this time, my efforts have paid! With this jutsu, I'll become a powerful ninja and sell it to become rich! I bet Orochimaru would pay an indecent price to get his hands on the Perfect Resurrection jutsu!"
"You shouldn't have stopped fleeing until you were days away from Konoha, Mizuki."
"Kushina? You witch! How did you…"
The ginger woman didn't let him finish his sentence. She punched him so hard that his head made a complete turn while his body flew twenty meters away.
"This scroll is mine. And I must destroy it… Farewell, my love…"
She used a simple Katon jutsu to consume the scroll before dispelling herself.
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"Uncle Kakashi! So, you're our teacher?" exclaimed Naruto doubtfully.
"Huh? Am I not good enough for you?" said the silver haired tall man.
"Well, you can't even take care of yourself, how will you take care of three genin?"
"The Hokage seems to be willing to change my assignments so that I'll grow up."
"Well, you'll be a bit like an uncle for our team, so maybe you'll grow indeed…"
"Ka…ka…shi…" Sakura realized who was in front of her. "What? We're gonna be taught by a hero? And he even looks cool! Sasuke! We're gonna be taught by one of the best jounin of Konoha! Aren't you happy?
"Hn…"
"Sasuke, you're the most reasonable member of your team," commented Kakashi, "can you describe me your level so that I can prepare a program for you three?"
"Naruto is a simpleton but she's actually worth something in a fight, Sakura is smart when she tries, which is rare, and she has shown no talent yet, and I'm able to use the Sharingan jutsu and the Katon: Fireball jutsu. I'm faster than Naruto and more agile, probably because I don't want to try my luck at face tanking my opponents."
Sakura was pale, probably because she had realized her crush really didn't think much about her.
"Okay. Then Sakura will be catching up for the first weeks while you two do basic training and spar together. I'll personally handle your training, pinkie. You're gonna hate me, but you need it."
"Why do I have a bad omen?" asked the girl.
"Because a scarecrow has told you he was gonna make your next weeks a living hell?" teased Naruto.
Sasuke chuckled. He could already imagine his teammate screaming in terror at their teacher scaring the crap out of her…
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A/N: Perfect Resurrection is not Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei). It's an original jutsu created by Kushina to revive Minato during the years after his death. She has hesitated to use it, but finally decided that it should disappear. The dead should stay dead, at least that's what she decided. Twelve years have passed, it would be weird to let the past come back to life as if time had not passed. If Minato found another chick closer to his age, he could ditch her and she would have to kill him right after resurrecting him. And he would be younger than Kakashi, his student. And he would probably like Anko, who has some similarities with Kushina, but is twenty-four years old.
General power levels: genin will be less garbage, chuunin less fodder and jounin will be on a more equal footing with each other. Pretty much Zabuza or sharinganless Kakashi from part 1. No fodder jounin, no useless Anko/Kurenai.
Anko has been a genin under Orochimaru while he was still in Konoha, but he ditched her when he left, so she has a reason to be weak. Which means she has no Curse Mark.
Itachi is Sasuke's uncle and has been in the Root. This gives him a reason to kill the rebels without ass pulls. It also gives him a reason to look 10 years older than he is in canon.
Kakashi has a fake left eye that doesn't see. He's got a good visual memory and good body coordination, which means he's not as effective as sharingan users, but he's able to copy techniques. Hiruzen never had a Sharingan, didn't keep him from being a living repertoire.
