What kind of things do you want to read about in Naruto fanfiction?

The original series is long over and the less said about everything came after the better... but there’s still plenty of things I want to see in the Narutoverse and I’m wondering if anyone else feels the same.

These could be ideas that you've never encountered before but want to see or ones you've seen before but would love to see done in a different way or just done right. Major events such as a conflict against the samurai, character development like Gaara converting to Jashinism, worldbuilding about Konoha’s inner workings, alternative universes where Akatsuki doesn’t exist or small details like Naruto learning Earth Release.

Anything that could still catch your interest even after all these years.

Now allow me to get the ball rolling:

• More self-contained stories rather than multi-arc epics

In the same vein as Spying no Jutsu or Monkey Business, fics that have next-to-nothing to do with the canon storyline and are essentially a single episode in the character’s life.

The Narutoverse provides the perfect setting as Naruto and his peers have an entire career that is based on performing missions that could send them all around the continent with a variety of objectives e.g. escort this individual, assassinate that target, explore this area, investigate that organisation etc. And it is normal enough for ninjas to be shuffled into different teams depending on the mission, providing the opportunity for unusual groupings like Naruto, Sasuke, Lee and Neji, Naruto and the Sand Siblings or the entire Konoha Twelve to go on an adventure.

And I don’t particularly mind if there are divergences before the fic’s starting point to mix things up or if the events of the fic would result in unseen changes to the canon storyline to give them some freedom.

• A Fourth Shinobi World War fought between the Five Great Shinobi Nations

A story about Konoha fighting against the other hidden villages.

It could start before Part 1 with things like the Nine-Tails Disaster, Hyuuga Incident or Uchiha Massacre acting as the trigger so Naruto's generation grow up in an era of war like the previous one. Or it could happen after the Konoha Crush encourages enemy nations to start a war just as Orochimaru had planned. The series itself and many fics threaten the possibility of a war between nations but almost never deliver.

• Genin learning jutsu in a relatively linear progression

Normally, Naruto and his genin team are learning at least C-rank jutsu soon after graduation but everyone seems to forget that D-rank jutsu are literally intended for a genin's skill level. I'd like to see more use of basic techniques such as the Temporary Paralysis Jutsu and Body Flicker Jutsu before delving into anything more advanced. I don't mind if they teach themselves higher level jutsu, learn jutsu from their clans or if circumstances require it but, overall, I want rookie ninja to get a more solid foundation of basic but useful tricks before jumping into anything more powerful.

• Naruto with the Wood Release or Ice Release kekkei genkai

Wood Release because of the implications that come from possessing its power; the ability to suppress the Tailed Beasts and their Jinchuuriki, how it affects his connection with the Nine-Tails (if he has it) and the expectations that stem from having the First Hokage’s jutsu style. I’d also like to see it applied outside combat situations considering it could, theoretically, grow any type of plant including ones with edible fruit and vegetable or have medicinal/poisonous properties.

Ice Release because it gives Naruto a relatively unique fighting style and powers based on ice, snow and cold just make my day. But it also comes with the added difficulty that he practically has to re-invent it all himself because no-one in Konoha would be able to teach him how to use it except in the most general sense.

Both options also provide the opportunity to explore how elemental kekkei genkai in regards to learning nature transformation.

• More stories with Haku, Juugo and the Sound Five

Not as the protagonists like in The Broken Tool but just having bigger roles in fanfiction.

Haku was once listed as being the only character to have latent potential on par with Naruto and Sasuke (albeit back in the series' early days). So I've long wanted to see a Haku that lives up to that idea and reach the shinobi world's top tier, regardless of whether he's a missing-nin, Kiri-nin or Konoha-nin.

Juugo's abilities are just plain cool and his potential's high considering everything he did in canon was spending years in a cell. His connection to natural energy offers an opportunity to look at senjutsu in more depth, especially if he ever encounters Jiraiya and/or Naruto and isn't merely Sasuke’s lackey. I carry the faint hope that something might happen with Juugo in Dreaming of Sunshine given the protagonist’s interest in natural energy.

Finally, there’s the Sound Five who usually die as soon as they appear in a variation of the Konoha Crush or Sasuke Retrieval Mission. But considering their unusual abilities, cursed seals and youth, it'd be interesting to see them survive the next few years and become a much more dangerous threat as both individuals and as a group.

 

I've always wanted to read/write a Naruto as someone who doesn't want to use the Kyubi at all, and basically becomes a BAMF with just basic jutsu - the academy three and kage bunshin only, for instance.

I really got over Naruto when it turned into DBZ, and I can feasibly see a new kind of conflict appearing as a result of this - people hating on Naruto because he refuses to use the powers other Junchuriki are more than happily throwing around for their own villages.

I also want to see more Hinatas written in the vein of the one in that story 'And Then Suddenly, Ninjas' (sp). Basically a spoilt Yakuza ojou-sama with the same fixation on Naruto, lol.

 

I like the idea of seeing more village warfare. One AU that I would like to see (and have been kinda brainstorming for a few years now but never really fully committed to it) would be one where all the big missing nin never really did their crime sprees and remained with their villages and the villages are all locked in war.

A well explored shinobi war where they use techniquesand where S-class people can turn battles with their unique capabilities but aren't necessarily one man armies who can tear through jonin and ANBU without care. Where numbers actually matter and where catching someone off-guard is actually a vital tactic.

The one thing that is a bit concerning here is that Konoha would have by far the most S-rank shinobi in that case. The sannin, Kushina, Minato, Itachi, Shisui, (uchiha clan in general) on top of Hiruzen, Kakashi and Gai is probably more than few villages have in total together. Well, Sand would gain that scorch woman, Sasori and two Kazekages back so it wouldn't be completely hopeless, and with the third in charge I doubt they'd be that friendly towards Konoha. Still, could be interesting. Konoha with an advantage could lead to different problems altogether, like that advantage actually making the others band together in a far more direct manner. So yeah, that's something I'd be interested in reading.

Edit: Basically, I want the manga Kingdom but with the Naruto characters. Just, maybe not Naruto per se.

 

I want this too, whenever I read Kingdom. Even seemingly overpowered characters can be overcome with a clever strategy. But I don't think ninja warfare would work quite like how it did in Kingdom.

I do want to read Naruto characters and techniques in a more military setting. Meaning that there are no ninjas, everybody is part of the state's military program. Naruto's flashy techniques suit a soldier in an organized army more, I think.

 

More self insert fics because I’m a filthy degenerate with no taste.

 

Well, you wouldn't of course go for the exact same thing since warfare in kingdom is between armies that range from between a few hundred soldiers to hundreds of thousands of soldiers. The numbers, technology available and types of strategies that can come from all of that are to different to copy exactly for Naruto.

However, you can go with the spirit of things. To focus on shinobi warfare, with the focus being on how genin, chunin and jonin fight with the commanders being, at times, the s-class larger than life epic ninja who can motivate and fight exceptionally. Not clashes between thousands of soldiers but rather dozens or hundreds of ninja for outposts or strategic positions or actual village defenses using various ninja tactics and the bloodline limits creatively. Konoha's strength could be that while their village is relatively easy to approach, it's impossible to get near it or sneak in unnoticed since their dojutsu and various clans together counter pretty much everything that isn't instant teleportation. And you do that with every village and invent stuff for those we don't know much about so they each have their distinct flavor.

Think that can be done interestingly enough, while still focusing on the spirit of the ninja stuff as well that would be sneaking, mind games while also still having them be basically battle mages throwing spells around. Both have their place in the Naruto world.

It's why I would like for the dead or defected S-class ninja to remain with their villages. They tend to have some of the more interesting techniques. Preferably make them active clans with several people having their abilities and the ninja we know just are the exceptional ones of said clans.

Have the Uhciha alive but because they don't have the seal thing, most of them aren't going for the front lines since their eyes could be stolen relatively easily, whereas the branch Hyuuga don't have that problem and are employed more offensively because of that. Stuff like this.

 

I'd say I like reading apprentice fics. Konoha's Anbu was a good fic for that because it showed Naruto apprenticed to Sarutobi, which is an interesting perspective for me.

It doesn't even have to be a Hokage doing the training. I mostly just want to read a fic where the main character has a clear line of progression and an definite endpoint. I don't like OP characters, but when your entire world is made up of people that can kill you in your sleep, I tend to not look favorably to the ones that try and maintain "the innocence of a character." Or they purposefully gimp their character because they don't want to fuck with canon too much in that there are S class characters, and they change landscapes with their attacks, yet you have someone that might be able to fight them, and they end up getting lucky or something.

So tl;dr I want to see skill v skill type fighting. Where they're so evenly matched, they have to rely on dirty tricks to be able to win. And not lower the abilities of the obviously stronger character so that a weaker character could even hope to face them.


Additionally, no eye shit. I get tired of that. People think they're so smart combining those. It goes back to them gimping their main character so they have more to write about.

 

I’ve always wanted to see a story where the assumptions we had from part one remained true and that history backed it up.

• Bijuu were malevolent Chakra entities. Not ‘bros.’
• Akatsuki were seeking world domination and were planning to hold the bijuu hostage as a “nuclear option.”
• Sasuke kills Itachi, Naruto kills Sasuke.

Simple wants, really. Kishimoto had a fine story. He just turned it into fucking nonsense because he had to have the power of friendship on every level imaginable.

 

So I’m not the only one who thinks of Naruto when reading Kingdom? Good to know.

There, we're shown all kinds of aspects of war such as conscripting any able-bodied men to fight, marching cross country, working in formations, building fortifications, sieging cities etc. The question of how large-scale warfare would translate into the Narutoverse considering the practically alien abilities of ninja is an interesting one.

We only gets glimpses and mentions of shinobi warfare in the actual series like Konoha ninja being drastically outnumbered by enemy Iwa ninja upon the Yellow Flash’s arrival, a few ninja looking for food in the ‘abandoned’ house of an evacuated area, a mission to destroy a supply bridge, one woman single-handedly destroying an entire fortress and a famous ninja sending a legion of samurai running.

Shinobi can run faster than the eye can see, jump several stories in a single leap, hit hard enough to break concrete, walk up walls and run across water. And that’s just the genin. Once you bring jutsu into the mix then most are capable of reshaping the surrounding terrain, either constructively or destructively, and everyone has a few of their own tricks to get by. Take that even further with the potential for cooperation ninjutsu where entire groups could perform matching or complementary jutsu to magnify their effects several times over, techniques which are presumably practiced specifically for war. Then there are ninja clan with specialized jutsu that they don’t share with outsiders that can completely change how one hidden village can fight in comparison to another, such as scent tracking of the Inuzuka Clan, long-range telepathy of the Yamanaka or the doujutsu wielders that Nemrut mentioned. Other hidden villages likely have equally useful skills that allow them to do things that Konoha could not.

Now through in illusions, chakra sensing, protective barriers, giant animal warriors... you get the idea.

And something else I like the idea of is for characters from non-canon materials to be adapted into the story without necessarily limiting them to their original roles. Similar to how characters such as Pakura and Chuukichi originated from a movie before they appeared in the manga. Some are perfectly fine as they are like Tsurugi from Kirigakure but others would be worth some experimentation. The crystal-wielding Guren and mud-slinging Gozu could be partners in Iwagakure instead of Orochimaru’s henchmen and prisoner, the three ninja villains from the Land of Snow could be leaders of Shimogakure or the ocean demon Isarabi would be a Kiri-nin with a specialized shapeshifting jutsu. Things like that to expand upon the known cast that live in the other major nations with semi-familiar faces instead of creating wholly original characters.

 

I want to read...

A Patriot Dawn update...
The Second Uchiha Update...

ANY of Menace's fics updated...

 

Mostly, I'd like to read stories that are more character driven than the typical Technique focused drivel with "romance" Naruto stories become. There are literally dozens of compelling characters throughout the series, and it seems like most authors get so hung up on the action sequences that everything other than the flimsy plots they concoct to string these sequences together is thrown out the window.

I'd also like to see more stories incorporate the playfulness of the early Naruto chapters. Everyone seems to think by amping up the grittier aspects of the Naruto setting they'll make it better. I don't really think so. The reason the early chapters work so well is the contrast between the lighthearted tone in the first arc, and the much more realistic tone of the second and third.

Frankly, I'd rather have OC's than some of the crappy villains from the movies.

Hmmm... Well, sort of. Naruto is very heavily influenced by the Shonen Jump editorial staff, often in ways that made Naruto as a story a little weaker. Sasuke was created solely to give Naruto a rival, at the editors behest. I'd also guess that the power of friendship nonsense got shoveled in by the editors as well, since their analytics said that's what sells well to 12 year old boys. Kishimoto wanted the story to end with the Pein arc, IIRC, so I'd say that everything after that point probably is at least mostly their fault.

Also, a note of caution on the Ninja World War story front. Most of the pieces I've read that focus on this idea do a rather poor job of representing how such a conflict would work. Hell, even Canon has moments that make no sense- like the trench the Konohan ninjas are hiding in during Kakashi Gaiden. Or that blowing up a bridge will somehow affect ninja supply lines (the only way that makes any sense is that conventional forces were involved in the conflict, which there was no mention of in canon).

 

I’d like to see a Naruto who masters the Shadow Clone Jutsu to perfection.

He’s considered a master of shadow clones almost by default since he uses it more than anyone else and he's remarkably good with it. There are plenty of stories where he gets to do that kind of thing all the time.

But I don't believe I've encountered one where he has truly worked to master shadow clones in every possible way. One where he realizes its potential, learns its every limit and then tries to break them.

Learning exactly how many clones he can create at any given time, how far they can exist away from himself, how much chakra each one uses, their relative strength and durability, from how far away he can create them and how all of those factors affect one another. Devising new moves and cooperation techniques in his own time and practicing to make them work in battle rather than just relying on spontaneous tactic mid-fight. Using it so damn often that he could perform it with just one hand or even no hands at all.

Then there’s learning - and inventing - clone-based jutsu to really expand on what’s possible with shadow clones like being able to see through their eyes, retrieving their memories without dispelling them, summoning himself with them or telepathically communicating with them over long distance. Combining them weapons and other jutsu to multiply shuriken/kunai or creating clones transformed into other people, or turning them into explosions, smokescreens, flash bangs etc.

And it would make for a change of pace if Naruto came up with the shadow clone training method entirely himself for once. Instead of Kakashi coming up with idea like in canon or it being a pre-existing method that someone eventually mentioning it to Naruto, he notices some benefit from his prolonged use of clones or just from doing some trial and error with the clone’s memory trick and figures things out from there. Then abuses the ever-living hell out of it.

But enough of this technique focused drivel. (ಠ‿ಠ)

There some aspects of Naruto’s personality, relationships and history I’d like to get more emphasis or tweak how they are commonly depicted.

Like the Third Hokage being Naruto’s surrogate grandfather, Iruka and Naruto going on regular meals out, Naruto being a lifelong customer of the Ichiraku Ramen and him regularly hanging out with the guys from his class during his school years. That's how things usually go when based on the canon storyline but aren't necessarily true. I want Naruto to just see Hiruzen as the leader of the village (even if he likes him), for his meals out with Iruka to be a new experience for the two of them, to only just start being a regular customer of Ichiraku Ramen following his graduation instead of being a lifelong one, and to really not give a damn about any of his peers at first as suggested by their introductions.

I prefer a Naruto who enjoys conflict. Not something as extreme as a warhawk but someone who thrives on challenges and learns to love a good fight as a way to test himself and improve himself. An example of that was when Team 7 learned Zabuza was still alive, Naruto was literally trembling with excitement. I don't know whether it was the idea that he was capable of surviving that battle or the prospect of fighting him again, but I like a guy who can get excited about fighting a powerful, mass-murdering psychopath like Zabuza.

Then there is Naruto's goal to surpass all of the past Hokage to make everyone respect him. I would like that to see that treated as an ambition rather than just a dream, one he pursues for selfish reasons. And I want to see actively him pursue that goal in more than the generic fashion of just training and doing missions. Such as what the the past Hokages had accomplished to become one and what they did when in office, exactly what the Hokage does within the village on a day-to-day basis and what all of the different divisions were for and how they functioned. And not being content to remain a mere genin so he actively pursues promotion to chuunin, special jounin and jounin because they're important stepping stones to accomplish his goals.

Just things to indicate that he's at least trying to realistically pursue his dream instead of just going along with things.

 

I want a Sasuke centric story. For me, the only way to make Naruto interesting is to make him not retarded. Yet, an intelligent Naruto should be able to stomp most everybody in Narutoverse with his OP chakra reserves and the Kyuubi. And additionally, Naruto being intelligent isn't really Naruto.

So, my great idea is to write a Sasuke centric story. As he has a main role to play in the Naruto universe and is fairly intelligent. The only issues are he is an unlikable cunt and he only wants to do one thing: kill his brother.

So yeah, I just want a Sasuke story which is good.

 

Honestly, I like Part 1 Sasuke. He was a good guy, all in all.

Talented enough to learn practically any skill (magnified by his kekkei genkai), highly motivated to train as much as possible rather than rely on talent alone, had a very clear goal he wants to achieve, enjoyed a good fight, and got saddled with a pair of pain-in-the-ass teammates but was still willing to die for them and (at least tried to) even put them ahead of his personal revenge when in danger.

A Sasuke-centric story could be if he'd lost to Naruto at the Valley of the End and had the sense knocked back into him when he returned to Konoha. He has to continue to work for his goals during the next two years or so while fighting for Konoha during Naurto's training trip, dealing with the repercussions of his near betrayal in regards to the people closest to him as well as the higher-ups who would be keeping a much closer eye on him. And, of course, Orochimaru who would still seek his body for his next reincarnation.

Or one where Sasuke still leaves Konoha and it follows him as he becomes the leader of the Sound Four/Five as ‘planned’ and works within Oto for the next few years, getting up to all kinds.

On the flipside of that, I'd like to see a story where Sasuke is genuinely an enemy. Where either Naruto wasn't his teammate and doesn't develop an obsession to save him which was why he wasn't properly branded a missing-nin, or where Sasuke does something unforgivable during or after his betrayal that clearly cuts his ties with Konoha and any encounters following that are just confrontations between enemy shinobi.

 

This.

I always wanted to read something like this, and since my resolutions for 2018 included actually writing and not just complaining about what others write, I might go with this idea (if you don't mind).

I'll start brainstorming as soon as I get home. You know how in the Naruto fighting games he can make clones pop into existence behind his opponent and use them for crazy acrobatic moves? That's what I'm thinking about right now. No more making a thousand clones to swarm the enemy, just make three and coordinate them properly.

Uugh, I need to start writing this all down.

 

Well, I'm here to throw a wet blanket on your burning desire to write:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7214990/1/Master-of-Shadows
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4573620/1/A-Drop-of-Poison
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5207262/1/Indomitable

It's kind of a subgenre in the super!Naruto genre, right alongside the mastery of Henge. The best of the bunch is A Drop of Poison, which is like a 3.9 out of 5. Not quite library-worthy, IMO, but enjoyable none the less.

 

Also https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4277029/1/ which is okay imo.

Across Dimensions: Parting Reality's Veil btw

 

Oh, don't worry, I know it's not an original idea, really hard to have those when there are 500K+ Naruto stories in just FFNET alone.

I don't even want that to be the main focus of the story. I've been playing around with ideas that involve the Bijuu being more like malevolent chakra constructs (like pbluekan mentioned above) and how they can't be sealed inside people and things that could make the story very different from canon.

One of the big problems with that is how Naruto would not be able to create large amounts of clones to swarm the opponent. I really like the jutsu so I want to keep it in the story for him to use, so that's where using a few clones with more strategy involved would come in.

A big problem I see with a lot of Naruto fanfiction is how they change just one aspect of the character (like being a master of the Shadow Clone Jutsu). I really don't want that to happen in anything I write, I wanna explore a lot of new things and combine them.

That said, I'm not a prodigy or anything and I will mess up a lot since I'm pretty new to writing stories.

 

Cool. The other fic that I recommend is the classic: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3118898/1/Death-of-a-Kage-Bunshin
It gets into some of the more interesting ways Kage Bunshin can effect one's psychology.

 

I really would like to read a Naruto fic where he learns Hiraishin and to actually use it like his father. And by that I mean can murder armies Hiraishin and not something like in the Deja Vu and Dreams Series, where Hiraishin seems to completly pointless in actual combat.

A plus would be if it actually explores what it would mean to have ninjas like that around that can actually kill whole armies of other ninjas politically or economically.