Unforeseen Consequences Note

There are some things that just need to be said.

I've had a rather varied response to certain specific things about the story, and I want to clear some things up. I'll take this point by point:

A) Naruto's maturity

I am fully aware that I'm writing him as being more mature than he is at that point canonically. I'm aiming for putting him at Sasuke Retrieval Arc level maturity because I have serious difficulty writing him below that level. It was a serious problem I ran into in the past. That said, I do believe that the major deviations from canon (the premise of the story) have had a significant impact on him, and the short-term situation itself will cause him to act out of character.

B) Sasuke's promotion

Again, chalk this one up to a deviation from canonical events. Sarutobi is still around, the invasion ended on a much brighter note than last time (the village isn't distracted by Hiruzen's death, for example), and the events of the pursuit of Gaara are now known to the Hokage.

I'm also not pulling this out of my ass. Recall that Genma, the proctor for the finals, explicitly said that Sasuke was chunin level already when he ordered him to pursue Gaara. Combine that with the events following (Sasuke's declaration that he wouldn't let his friends die, and would buy them time to escape at the cost of his life), and Hiruzen decides to promote him.

Also remember that, at that specific point in canon, Sasuke was probably at his best morality-wise.

ALSO remember that Sasuke underwent major character development from the start of the Chunin Exams, leading to him dropping his overly arrogant attitude (until being mind-raped by Itachi again).

Now, I'm aware that it might rub Naruto the wrong way, but certain things prevent that here. He's got his parents back, for one, has the acknowledgement of them, the Hokage, and in some ways, the village too. I also plan on Hiruzen giving something specific to Naruto as a reward.

Sasuke's promotion was also necessary for later events that I currently plan on writing.

Sasuke was also not the only additional person promoted. Temari and Kankuro will be, along with Shino. You'll receive explanations about those later on, but essentially, when the dust settles, people's contributions to the fight will become known.

C) Mikoto's relationship with Kushina

Now that I look back on it, I think I misinterpreted that interaction. It seems a lot more like old acquaintances or friends (but not close ones). That would explain why Kushina didn't even know what gender Sasuke was (or his name), as well as why Mikoto was never a significant figure in Naruto's life (she may have been forbidden from associating with him, and since she was never that close with his mother, she wouldn't have cared enough to defy them).

But don't count any Kushina/Sasuke interaction out just yet...

D) Itachi and the Uchiha clan

I saved the hardest for last. This is probably one of the more controversial ones.

As a preface: I do like canon!Itachi's character quite a bit. My portrayal of him here is NOT bashing, but the result of logical extrapolation.

The whole Uchiha clan rebellion explanation does not make sense, no matter how you put it. I'll explain why:

1) The Uchiha clan was never very large. At most, it was maybe 100-200 people. Of those, only about 2/3rds, IF THAT, would be capable of participating in the coup. The elderly, the young (particularly genin), and those who are very out of practice would not be helpful in a coup.

2) Konoha's shinobi force of Chunin level or above numbers somewhere between 10,000-20,000 people.

3) The Hokage is a powerful guy with powerful summons. He's also very well loved by the village.

4) The ANBU force are elite, and loyal to the Hokage. Nearly all of the jounin are as well.

5) The Uchiha Clan was all located in a single place in Konoha.

6) The Hokage and the elders knew about the coup, and since Hiruzen tried to negotiate with the Uchiha, we know that the Uchiha knew that the gig was up.

7) Because of number 6, the Uchiha leaders would know that the Hokage could have most of ANBU, and even some jounin, surrounding the Uchiha district at any given moment, ready to move in and neutralize the threat. For the Uchiha leadership to walk away from the negotiating table in any way (or to not go there at all), they would have to be unbelievably stupid and insane.

8) Also because of 6, subduing the ringleaders of the coup would be relatively easy and avoid most unnecessary casualties. The threat of "we can kill all of you at any time" tends to work pretty well in that situation. Subduing the clan as a whole would not be that difficult either.

9) Itachi, ITACHI of all people, had no qualms about following Danzo's "kill them all" order, despite it not coming from the Hokage. If it meant not murdering children, his lover, innocent old people, his mother, and his best friend, such obvious alternative options would have given him pause. Also, no other ANBU or jounin tried to stop him.

10) The Uchiha already HAD tons of power and elevated status. The only thing they didn't have was an Uchiha Hokage, but there was no discrimination against them (Minato was not Senju, nor was Hiruzen, and nor was Orochimaru, who was considered as a candidate). There would be very little incentive to risk everything.

11) Itachi brutally mind-raped Sasuke twice, and drove him to insanity, abandoning his friends and his village, and encouraged him to murder his best friend. Does that sound like a loving older brother to you?

12) Even if the Uchiha clan was larger than we can reasonably guess, keep in mind that a single 13-year old ANBU captain managed to kill ALL OF THEM in a single night, without any of them putting up a significant fight. If that was possible, then imagine what 90% of the ANBU force with many jounin mixed in could do.

13) Itachi's deal with Tobi came from nowhere and—you guessed it—doesn't make sense either. Tobi's power should be capable of crippling Konoha singlehandedly in a single night. Obviously, despite wanting to very badly, he never did. Nor did he ever kidnap Naruto, despite a LOT of evidence that he had the ability to do so. There's obviously some reason why he never did (even long before the Uchiha Massacre), so Itachi's deal does not make sense, even if Tobi had any incentive to keep his end of the bargain. Also, how did Itachi even find out about Tobi, let alone find him?

14) It's not like Danzo to want to exterminate such a powerful kekkei genkai when alternatives exist. Ordering Itachi to spare the children would have made more sense, especially since said children would be easily influenced.

15) Sasuke has every right to want to kill Danzo and the other elders for the Uchiha Massacre. Killing people whom they KNEW were completely innocent, as well as many who could be subdued without killing them, was beyond excessive and monstrous.

16) From the perspective of Itachi actually being less than sane, him leaving Sasuke alive (as well as mentally breaking him and encouraging him to murder his best friend for power) does actually make sense. That way, he would eventually acquire the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

17) During Sasuke and Itachi's final fight, there was always a chance of Itachi accidentally killing Sasuke. Believing otherwise is unrealistic.

I could go on. But I won't, because there is actually one last point I wish to talk about:

E) I will make some changes to the setting/system to make things make more sense. When the setting makes more sense, it is much easier (and more enjoyable) for me to write in. I hope to not have to change much, but chances are that if you think I wrote something that goes against canon, that means that I KNOW and made a deliberate decision to do so. S'Kartan's outstanding story, "Team 8," does this as well—for example, elemental techniques are much easier to learn, though mastering them is still a very difficult process.

I will try to avoid doing something like this again, but I really felt that these things needed to be said.