So I've been working on an outline and content for a Naruto fic in the same vein as Team 8 and Patriot's Dawn, in that some minor change in the timeline occurs and causes drastic differences between canon and the generated universe.

But there's the issue: In Team 8, the divergence point is not explicitly stated right at the beginning (and is, in fact, still a mystery for the most part) whereas in Patriot's Dawn the divergence point is immediately pointed out.

I've been unable to convince myself either way is more effective, and while it is completely possible I'll end up coming away with a "personal preference; do what you want" type of response, I figured I'd ask a group of people who may actually have a preference. Go figure.

So, what do you think?

 

It's very hard to do an immediate reveal and not seem like you're just infodumping. The best case of it is definitely Circular Reasoning which has one of the better openings I've read in fanfiction. Do what you're most comfortable with; I personally prefer a Gradual Exposition as it tends to work more into making the tale feel like a story rather than a glorified "what if," but it depends on the piece