Don't think I've ever seen that done before. Kumo would totally do it and screw over many different plans. Though I don't see why they'd want him to specifically counter Kakashi.

 

I didn't really think so, either. Anyone else? And after reading up on Kumo, I would not doubt they would do so at the drop of a dime, either, given the chance.

I was thinking of any of the other villages with the previous post, though, rather than just Kumo in particular, and why a counter to Kakashi? Think about it, who would appreciate their villages techniques being stolen by Konoha(who are already pretty damn well off in every regard, be it money, skill, and population).

Given enough time and training, Sasuke could theoretically become just as dangerous for the same reasons, and overcome Kakashi if they ever met.

 

Don't you love it when an entire post gets erased? Stupid busy server.

Anyway, it think it's more likely that they would have developed tactics, tools and jutsu to combat the Sharingan. Training Sasuke to act as a counter would be a rather cumbersome method. That's not to say that they wouldn't use him to counter Kakashi, just that I doubt they'd have the purpose specifically in mind unless they're about to enter conflict with Konoha.

Kiri might do it since Tobi's in charge and this would give him a Uchiha who'd be easy to mould to his will. Iwa could be interested due to what happened between Onoki and Madara; he could see it as a form of payback. Suna's unlikely. The lesser villages probably wouldn't mind taking a shot but I'm not sure how that'd be incorporated into a story.

 

Sasuke would have been used as far more than a counter to Kakashi. I imagine he'd have fallen in with Kumo's version of ANBU/ROOT if he had been taken (as Hinata would have been), and then trained up to be the best he could be as one of Kumo's aces in the hole. Hell, if they had any idea of the power the Sharingan could wield over the Kyuubi, Kumo would likely have trained him specifically to counter Naruto rather than Kakashi.

That could make for an interesting story, actually.

 

That does sound potentially awesome.

Though I'm not sure how you'd write it since I don't think Sasuke being a Kumo-nin would work as the premise for the story. Preferably, the focus would be on Naruto's story (whatever that may be) until Kumo and Konoha come into conflict and he and Sasuke finally meet. Whilst the "missing Uchiha" would be mentioned beforehand, he wouldn't immediately be relevant to the plot.

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Early on in the story there would be a mention of Sasuke having gone missing from the Uchiha Compound, before the massacre, and then it would be Naruto's story (greatly affected by the lack of Sasuke, obviously) until Kumo starts their war and everything is revealed. That said, a Konoha/Kumo war is practically cliché at this point, so I'd probably take it a different route and simply have Sasuke be a masked Kumo ANBU that is tasked with capturing Naruto and extracting the Kyuubi from him by whatever means possible. It would be interesting to see him go up against Kakashi for the first time.

 

Sasuke's absence could have an immediate effect on the Uchiha Clan since he's the son of the clan head and to his relationship with Itachi.

Fugaku and Itachi could take wildly different actions than they originally do, Uchiha's fate could change, Sarutobi's own actions could differ and Konoha could end up a different place from what it is when canon starts.

 

It wouldn't have that much of an effect. Itachi was the heir, and the Uchiha would still be planning their coup. It would just mean that Konoha would be left without any Uchiha whatsoever.

 

Well, one of my ideas was that communication breakdowns between Fugaku and Sarutobi even faster than before, leading to the Uchiha starting the coup before expected. The other was that Itachi's emotional unrest leads to him giving away his position as a spy.

Though I guess the end result is the same as canon just with a weakened Konoha and no Uchiha, so I suppose it's not that significant. Any other changes I could think of would make it too similar to One Small Kindness.

Other things Sasuke's absence would impact:
- Sakura and Ino wouldn't be fawning over him so they'd have a better relationship and the latter would have a different personality (perhaps more honest, timid or whatever).
- Naruto wouldn't have a genius/lonely to feel inferior towards towards or idolise. I don't think it would change much for his development, pre-canon.

Sasuke doesn't become really significant until the Chuunin Exams, other than small portions of Wave Arc (which could be fulfilled by other characters). This plot bunny would definitely tie-in better with a pre-existing idea e.g. Naruto has a twin, he gets adopted, new team/sensei or graduates early blah blah etc etc.

 

Like I said, no real change there.

Chances are they'd find someone else to fall out over. Neji, maybe, while he was still in the Academy. Ino's just too confrontational to not get into a fight with Sakura, though if the person they both obsess over isn't in the same class as them they may have a slightly less antagonistic relationship.

Naruto would find someone else to compare himself to. He's not as bad as Sasuke in regards to proving himself against other people, but he's still the type of person that needs a target to aim for. Keeping to the people in his class, he'd probably have a similar rivalry dynamic with Kiba, though with less hatred since Kiba isn't as much of a dick as Sasuke.

Bad idea. Bad, bad, bad idea. If I ever write a Naruto fic it will completely ignore Wave Country except possibly to mention how it got wiped out by a tsunami. It's been done so many times now that it just gets boring to read about it. The only one I can recall that actually interested me was where Zabuza took Team 7 to meet up with Terumi Mei and the rebellion against Yagura in Water Country.

Second, in my mind Sasuke wouldn't go to the Chuunin Exams. He'd be in ANBU, and they're not part of the official roster like that. Plus, how stupid would A have to be send a kid he kidnapped from Konoha to the Chuunin Exams in Konoha?

And finally, this plot bunny wouldn't really require an additional tie-in like that. the Butterfly Effect would be more than enough to fuck over the canon plot and all it would take is deciding how each person would react to it to forge a new one. Like say, Kumo has the Sharingan so they can up their bloodline theft shenanigans (since even a normal Sharingan gives a shinobi almost unparalleled ability to subdue targets without killing them - almost as much as the Byakugan). Orochimaru's plan goes out the window when Sasuke is no longer in Konoha (he can't bypass Kumogakure's defences like he could Konoha's). Madara's plans take a big hit since Sasuke would be around to help defend Yugito and B, and given A's propensity for actively training his subordinates, Sasuke would rise to power in meteoric fashion.

Not sure what I'd have Naruto doing though. He'd have a different team, or perhaps he'd be inducted into ANBU as well, so that the parallels between him and Sasuke remain. Don't want to fall into the pits of ANBU clichés though, so probably not. Could run with teamwork trumps individuals, which would likely be how Naruto would be able to defeat Sasuke's greater power in the early arcs, and I do have a soft spot for good teamwork fics. I'd probably have him fall into the role of squad leader too, forcing him to become Chuunin material quicker than in canon.

I'll think of something, and I've even been on a writing kick this weekend so I may even get it down in print too.

 

Oh, I didn't mean that at all. I was referring to how Sasuke didn't become a truly significant character in canon until the Chuunin Exams, and that before that point, his role (as a rival/fellow teammate) could have been done various other characters.

Go for it, bro. For some reason, when it comes to the Butterfly Effect, I regularly fall into the pitfall of only thinking of how the people in Konoha would be effected rather than the world at large i.e Akatsuki, Hidden Villages, Tobi etc.

EDIT: And what's that story where they join the rebellion? I've only seen one fic where Naruto gets involved in the civil war (Cutting Loose) and I'm tempted to try my hand at it in my own fic (should it ever exist).

 

I approach fics from the opposite angle. I work out what the bad guy wants first, then construct my plot around his plans. After all, the hero is defined by his actions against evil, and if evil isn't doing anything there's no need for a hero.

As for that fic, I think Cutting Loose may be the one I was talking about. Features a bit where an illusion of the Kyuubi is used to draw Yagura into a trap (or something similar), but then Naruto eventually goes Kyuubi mode attacks him anyway.

 

Oh, that's the one. Naruto and the jounins headed to Kiri to speak with Yagura (about jinchuuriki things), he sees a bloodline kid get killed and swears to kill Yagura. Zabuza and Haku pop up later.

And I think I'll try your way of doing things next time around.

 

The only reason I tolerated Hinata being kidnapped was because she had a clan to protect her. It doesn't make any sense for Konoha to let their only Uchiha be without protection, let alone that he would be kidnapped and no one would be able to figure out who did it. And if they are discovered, queue Itachi laying the smackdown in whichever village did it so be can return Sasuke to his rightful place.

If Sasuke was kidnapped at some point, I can't see any reason Itachi would stick with The Plan. He would be much too busy trying to get his brother back, with the help of Konoha. Hell, if there was even a vague idea of where Sasuke would be, considering the actual power of Konoha, it wouldn't surprise me terribly if they started laying the smackdown on anyone who might have him. Can you imagine Itachi, Jiraiya, and Sarutobi heading around to the other villages and pulling a Pein on them? I haven't seen anything in he manga that would be able to really stop that trio from decimating even Kumo very quickly.

Notice how in the manga, even after Sand and Sound invade the village, all of the others don't even try to make a move? That is because Konoha is top dog in the EC by a large margin.

The whole scenario seems to be beyond reasonable suspension of disbelief. That a village like Konoha would allow anyone to be kidnapped at all is ridiculous. The village is based off of teamwork and protecting the next generation. And beside, if Kumo is in Konoha and able to kidnap somebody, why not just take Naruto? With killer B there to teach him to talk with the kyuubi, and also respect and guidance, Naruto becomes a killing machine far easier than Sasuke, who to date in he manga has been genetically modified and fed enhancement drugs. And also, Kumo would have 3 nukes to hold over the EC and the other villages.

 

While it may be possible that the Sandaime/Root/Council would have an eye on Sasuke, it really doesn't seem like anything more than the occasional ANBU in the same manner that Naruto probably has a couple of them keeping an eye on him.

Kumo has successfully stolen Kushina right out from under Konoha's nose and it was only her efforts and that of Minato that brought her back in one piece, and unless I'm mistaken, she was already the village jinchuriki at that point- proving that Kumo has the skill to outwit Sarutobi and possibly Jiraiya and everyone else in the village, and they can't do jack about it.

If an even stupider Naruto was snagged, again, they are screwed, but perhaps no one in Kumo knows who the next jinchuriki is when they decide the mission- after all, why didn't they try to get him instead of Hinata in canon? For whatever reason, Naruto just doesn't show up in their net of information, while the destruction of the Uchiha clan would probably be far more wide spread.

And given A's speed and such, if he lead the mission per his father's orders, I very much doubt any other shinobi could stop him. Regardless, if Kumo claimed Sasuke, there isn't much his older brother could do about it.

Itachi might break from his orders and risk the Akatsuki's wrath by going after Kumo, but he is far younger and not as skilled with all of his techniques at that point in time, and I do not believe he could stay any of the heavy-hitters that would defend the village.

 

If Kumo attempted to abduct Naruto like you suggest, I think it very likely that Sarutobi himself would step in, and I don't care how fast A is--even up to his death, Hiruzen was one of the baddest motherfuckers in the valley.

Also, Itachi is, well, Itachi. If Kumo took Sasuke, he isn't going to blast through the main gates and fight his way to his brother, Kumo is going to wake up one morning and realise Sasuke has disappeared. Itachi's motivations are strong enough that whatever became necessary for his brother's safe retrieval, he would accomplish, be it becoming skilled enough to do it himself or enlisting either Jiraiya's or Tobi's help.

 

Now I have this idea of Kumo and Konoha constantly kidnapping Sasuke from each other, always when he is asleep, so every time he wakes up he is not sure in which Village he is right now.

 

Why are we assuming that Konoha would automatically know that Kumo are the culprits? Suspicions, sure. But they aren't the only enemy villages around, big or small. They could leave false tracks or evidence or various other ninja crap I'm too tired to think of. Alternatively, they'd leave no trace at all and leave Konoha stepping on eggshells as they try to find the truth. It would be like when the Third Kazekage was kidnapped/killed from Suna, leading to the Second War.

This isn't like the Hyuuga Incident (if that even happens in this fic), where the perpetrator was caught and killed in the atc. This time Kumo sends in their man who gets in and out successfully with Sasuke.

 

I'm sorry, have we been discussing a fic about Sasuke for the last page?

Do not want.

 

No. It would be Naruto-centric with Sasuke as the primary antagonist, who would be attempting to either kill or capture Naruto, depending on Kumo's aims at a given point.