Outsider Chronicles: Pink Dragon
Getting reborn into a world I haven't touched for a very long time is always going to be annoying. Getting reborn as a character I don't like is potentially worse. Fortunately, this doesn't seem to be a world that strays to far from canon…so why do I have pointy ears?
Right, well this is certainly something I never thought I'd go back to. It has been a VERY long time since I last watched Naruto, but something recently happened to get me back into it. I'm going to try and avoid overpowering the characters in this one, as well as a number of tropes that were common back when I was more into the fandom. That means that Naruto is not a hidden supergenius with 10 different Kakkei Genki and a hot fox waifu, Sasuke is more of a brat than a sociopathic narcissist (although I might end up amplifying his bad aspects since I really don't like the character), the Village doesn't spend their time beating the shit out of Naruto and so on. I won't say that everything will be entirely canon other than Sakura's changes because that is rather unlikely, but I'm going to try and keep them from going too far. Anyway, thats enough gilding the lily, time to get started. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
So, I often thought about how cool it would be to be reincarnated into a fictional world. I love Isekai stories, even if the genre is somewhat bloated with low effort garbage, and the idea has always tickled me. That said, like with most things we think are cool, we never actually thought it was possible, or even necessarily wanted it to really happen. After all, as cool as it sounds, it would also be dangerous. Unfortunately for me, not only have I been reincarnated into a world with a lot of danger, but I've also replaced one the main characters of a series I'd not watched in years. Now I get to be Sakura Haruno. Fuck my life.
On the upside, this world didn't really seem to be one that was too bad. By which I mean that there didn't seem to be any truly bullshit politicking going on behind the scenes, my Mother wasn't a batshit insane hellspawn mix of howler monkey and banshee and Naruto was, while not exactly treated well, wasn't beaten to a bloody pulp on the regular. Hell, my Parents were in Ninja themselves, although Mum had mostly retired and both of them were only Chunin of average skill. As far as I could tell, things were going to be perfectly normal.
Well, mostly. I wasn't the Sakura from the original world after all, so I wasn't going to be the useless brat she was at the start either. I even managed to convince my Parents to give me some basic training, although they really weren't anything special and they refused to teach me anything really advanced, which is honestly fair enough. I wasn't expecting to learn how to shoot wind blades or anything. On the other hand, it would have been nice to learn SOMETHING interesting to give me an edge. The problem is that Shinobi like Kakashi, or hell, even the future Rookie 9 are not common. In fact, most are decidedly unremarkable, with no truly special skills to be found. Just about the only unique skill I could learn from my Parents was my mothers unusual talent with a wok, but there is a limit to how far weaponized cookware can take me when dealing with monsters capable of casually reshaping maps.
I mean, I suppose I could wait until Tsunade shows up, but I'd kinda like to be more useful BEFORE the Chunin exams. Well, to be fair, I probably didn't really need anything truly special, just be a semi-competent Shinobi and hope that I had the same plot armour as canon Sakura to keep from dying.
Unfortunately, knowing my luck, I'll be just strong enough for one of the Sound assholes to consider me a threat worth taking seriously, while still being weak enough for them to wipe the floor with me. There was also the issue that Tsunade's style just…didn't really fit me. Learning medical Ninjutsu sounded cool, but I'm not really the type to charge into combat head first, so her Strength techniques probably wouldn't suit me.
And then theres the bunny in the room.
To be honest, I thought that the introduction of the discount Entities was the moment the series jumped the shark in a big way due to how it utterly broke the power scaling, but regardless of my opinion, assuming that nothing had changed, I WOULD have to deal with them at some point and I had no intention of being left on the side lines if I could help it.
Of course, that was a long time in the future, so I didn't often think about it, but the festival that marked the founding of the Hidden Leaf was always a time when it brought the issue into stark relief. It didn't help that I'm a massive introvert that deals with crowds like Naruto deals with vegetables. As a result, on the day when all my issues were dramatically solved, I was hiding away from the hustle and bustle of said festival, staring up at the moon from a bench.
"Damn it, why do I keep worrying about this?" I muttered, "I have time, surely I can figure something out before I have to worry about that sort of thing…"
But there in lay the problem. When it came to issues like this, I'd never been able to let things go, I'd constantly turn them over in my head for days, trying to figure a way around them. To make matters worse, this was a life and death problem for not just me, but the entire world and I had no idea where to even start fixing it.
"ARRRGGGGHHH, why can't I just stop thinking about this!" I shouted, sitting up and grinding my palms into my eyes, "Especially tonight! I just wanna go have some fucking fun damnit!"
"I tend to find that talking about issues helps to solve them," said a voice from right next to me, nearly making me jump out of my skin.
Of course, people being stealthy fuckers wasn't exactly unexpected in a Village of Ninja, but there is a limit to that. While it wasn't quite as lethal as it was in the past, the fact remained that the Ninja war was still very much within living memory, so old Ninja are something of a rarity and held a certain level of celebrity status. Thats why it was rather surprising that I didn't recognize the old man who had apparently appeared out of thin air next to me.
He also looked rather out of place, clad as he was in grey robes, with a blue pointed hat, a silver scarf and a long, wooden pipe that he was puffing on as he examined me from under his bushy, grey eyebrows. An old staff rested in the crook of one arm, while the other stroked his long, white beard that was tucked into his thick belt.
"Gandalf?" I blurted without thinking.
He certainly looked a lot like the Grey Wizard, right down to resembling Ian McKellen. The old man let out a bark of laughter, his eyes twinkling.
"Ah, no, although I can see why you'd think that," he said, "In truth, I am simply borrowing my old friends' form."
"Who are you then?" I asked, not entirely sure what to make of that last comment.
"Ah, you may call me…Shirogane for now," he said, "Now, why don't you tell me why a young girl like you is sitting here alone in the dark when there is a festival going on?"
I remained silent for a moment, weighing my options. I had no idea who this mysterious old man was, but he definitely wasn't a resident of the village, not least of which because he was speaking English. However, I didn't even know where to begin.
"Oftentimes, I feel that it is best to start at the beginning," said the old man, "But let me see if I can help. I suspect that your fear is due to something you saw in your previous life."
I looked at him in surprise.
"Reincarnation leaves marks on the Soul," said Shirogane, "Death is not within my sphere, but I can still read your Soul. So tell me child, what wisdom did your last life give you that has you so worried?"
I sat silent for a moment longer, before I began to talk. I didn't give any details, I wasn't completely stupid, but I did explain about the upcoming conflicts and the roles I should have played in them.
"I see," said Shirogane once I was finished, "So, you worry that you won't be able to match your future comrades?"
"I don't even know if I'll be in Team 7," I said, "But if I am, I need…something. Just being…me won't be enough. I'm not the same Sakura who lived in that world, so I can't expect the same powers to work for me. Plus…expecting me to match monsters like Sasuke and Naruto is just foolish. I don't want to be left behind, no matter what happens."
"You don't believe that you can reach that level through hard work?" asked Shirogane.
"Its certainly possible," I said, "But people like that are a breed of their own. I am not like that. As much as I wish otherwise, I don't have the willpower or the strength to reach that pinnacle on my own. Plus, the only person I know for sure could help me with that is Tsunade and I simply don't have the right mentality or drive to be any kind of medic nin."
"Hmm, it takes a lot of wisdom to understand ones own shortcomings," said the old man, leaning back and puffing on his pipe.
"Being put into a situation where I either have to accept them or risk being a burden has a tendency of putting things into stark relief," I said.
"Indeed," said the old man.
For a moment, we sat in silence, me thinking and him idly puffing on his pipe. As we sat there, a few yellow birds fluttered up and landed in the tree, with one landing on the point of the mans hat, staring at me with oddly intense eyes.
"It has been a very long time since I visited this place," said Shirogane at length, "Back then, a very different group lived here."
I frowned.
"That must have been a long time ago," I said, "Because I'm fairly sure that no one lived in this area before the Leaf was formed."
"Oh, it was," said the old man, "So far back that not even their bones remain. Before even the Sage of Six Paths was born. Before the World Tree sprouted.
My eyes went very wide at that.
"B-but that was over…"
"1000 years ago, yes," said the apparently VERY old man, "Those people were quite unlike any who still live in this land today. The forest and its inhabitants loved them and they had many powers of their own. They worshipped a God who blessed them with a connection to his children, granting them great power that was quite unlike Chakra, albeit with many similarities. Unfortunately, this power, along with their natural otherworldly beauty, their Human neighbours feared and envied them greatly. Eventually, the people that lived here were driven out as the faith of the World Tree galvanised the people against the people of the forest, forcing them to either leave or risk being wiped out."
"O…K, thats a nice story, but what does that have to do with anything?" I asked.
"That peoples bloodline is still here," said the old man as the yellow birds began to fly around us, "While they are long gone, a few left behind descendants. That bloodline has long since been mostly diluted to the point of disappearing, but the spark still remains. Most people in the Land of Fire still have it to one degree or another."
"Again, what does this have to do with anything?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the man as he got up and stepped out from under the tree, staring off into the distance.
"I have met a great many people who desired power for all manner of reasons over the years," he said, "Some have even come to me for it, seeking the strength to right some grave injustice. Some I have granted my blessing, others I have not."
I frowned.
"Your…blessing?" I asked, "What do you…"
I trailed off as the yellow birds fluttered down and started flying around the old man. Seven yellow birds, canary's to be specific, assuming I was remembering my ornithology correctly. Wait, seven canary's? That sounds familiar…
My eyes went very wide as it suddenly hit me exactly who I was talking to.
"Holy shit, your Ba…!"
The old man cut me off by reaching out and placing a hand on my forehead.
"Your goals are worthy," he said, "I will grant you my blessing. And I think its time for the Eldar to return to this world."
Before I could respond, my world was consumed with light.
My dreams were…strange. I was much more aware than normal and yet I could not tell you a single thing that actually happened. Despite that, I somehow knew that I had learnt…something. What it was, I couldn't tell you, but it was there.
Eventually, the dream ended as I was lured from the depths of sleep by the feel of the sun landing on my face and the soft song of the wind blowing through the branches of an ancient tree. Even as I came up from my slumber, I could tell something had changed. It felt like I could feel every single stitch that made up the bedding that surrounded me, identify the the flowers in the box outside my window by SOUND and clearly pick out whatever was cooking in the kitchen based entirely on smell and tasting the air.
I opened my eyes and found that the sudden dramatic enhancement of senses included sight as I could now clearly pick out the paint streaks on my ceiling. I slowly sat up and got out of bed, stumbling slightly as it appeared that my centre of balance had shifted, and walked over to my full length mirror to see the damage.
It was…surprisingly little honestly. I was still recognizably me, but my features had shifted, becoming more angular and symmetrical. My hair colour had shifted to a perfect match of, well, sakura petals and the texture had changed, becoming far smoother and sleeker than should have been possible. My body had changed as well, although its doubtful that anyone who didn't have hyper sensitive eyes could tell. It wasn't much, a slight shift in muscular tone and my skin now had a very healthy shine. However, more than anything else, what really caught my eye and tipped me off about what the old man had done to me was my ears. They were now long enough to peak through my hair and taped to a point.
"Son of a bitch, I'm a fucking elf!" I hissed.
Right, I'm actually going to leave this here. I could go for longer, but I don't really see the need to. Right, lets get the quips done.
So this idea was actually the result of me joining a Naruto themed DnD campaign, hence the crossover.
I'm not entirely sure if I'd actually go so far as to run 100% canon or toss the shark jumping aliens. I did actually have an idea where I could take the elf idea a bit further for characters outside of the Leaf. Considering that Bahamut is knocking around, I'm sure that some other characters from the Outer Plains or other…more unsavoury places could have their fingers in pies as well. Hell, Hidan is already basically a Warlock and I'm certain that other characters might be convinced to make unsavoury pacts.
That being said, if I do go that route, I won't be overpowering the DnD side of things. It won't be a situation where Jutsu is completely overwhelmed by a half competent Wizard or something.
On that note, Sakura isn't technically a 'canon' elf race. Its more a mix of tropes traditionally associated with Elves. Shes faster, more agile and has better senses than Humans, but isn't as durable or strong and also has access to a kind of racial memory that will let her learn skills from her Elven ancestors. Nothing mad, just things that will let her make some cool gear and learn some spells. Her main class will probably be Drakewarden because I like the vibe of Rangers and not being limited to game mechanics will remove most of the issues with the class.
And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!