Today in FAN I discuss how I’d change Naruto as a whole (rather than just the War Arc like my last article), starting with Part 1.
Now many agree that Naruto Part 1 is good, maybe even great, and I agree with them. Because of this, not much will change, though a revamp will occur once I get to Part 2. And because of that, this article will cover Part 1 of Naruto and a decent amount of Part 2 of Naruto (Shippuden).
To start,
In part 1, the only major change I’d make is to have more and bigger consequences during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. in this case, Chouji would actually die (as he said he would) and have a hero’s death, while Neji would lose his arm to Kidoumaru’s bow (which sets him up to be even better, later on in the story).
Everything else, while not perfect, is just fine for my liking (no filler obviously).
Now Shippuden is where almost everything is different.
From the beginning, Naruto is different, having much more and better training from Jiraiya. Instead of being pretty much the same as he was before he left, Naruto will be far stronger and more mature with a plethora of new jutsu. He’ll be jounin level in strength (though below Kakashi) and will have elemental jutsu, elemental rasengan (revealed later as a bit of an ultimate attack), toad techniques, and a head start on Sage Mode. He’ll also have some mastery of the Kyuubi, able to use at least 5 tails without going berserk.
The Gaara arc, where he gets kidnapped and such, will happen much the same except Naruto won’t lose control by going 2 tails nor will his clones be hurt as it’s fairly normal for him. The Kakashi and Itachi fight will differ as well as there will be no Mangekyo Sharingan weakness or blindness, and Kakashi’s clone will get caught in the genjutsu, with Kakashi flanking from the side.
Sasori dies the same, purposely, and it’s made more clear that Sakura and Chiyo have been spared. In general, Akatsuki will be more powerful, akin to monsters, and the only ones who can take on Tailed Beasts for the most part (even most Kages can’t).
Naruto will still team with Sai and Yamato, but Sasuke will kill Sai who’s a mere assassin in this case. Sasuke will also be jounin level with more snake techniques, the same chidori variants, and more fire techniques.
In this version, Sasuke and Naruto have an actual fight instead of just a blitz, while Yamato and Kabuto fight to a stalemate and Sakura fights Orochimaru’s snakes. In their fight, it’s clear that Sasuke is faster and better skilled, but Naruto is unpredictable, able to keep up, and even manages to surprise Sasuke a few times. As an example, he’ll have his clones flank Sasuke from all sides, cleverly distracting Sasuke so he can’t point them out with his sharingan. They’ll all hold rasengans, ready to end it, but Sasuke will use Chidori Nagashi (like an aura of lightning) to dispel them and then turn around to clash Naruto’s own rasengan with a chidori.
Both will be blown back by the force and Sasuke will draw his sword as his Cursed Mark starts up. Naruto will be ready, his Kyuubi energy flaring up, but Orochimaru will step in and tell Sasuke not to bother as he’s far too important and needs to be Orochimaru’s vessel. Sasuke will listen and his Cursed Mark will retreat as he walks away.
Naruto will call out to him, yelling and screaming for him to fight Naruto like a man, but he’ll ignore the cries. Sakura will call his name, causing him to turn and look at her for a moment, but he’ll keep walking. Naruto will go after him, but Orochimaru will intervene. This causes Naruto to rage and he builds up to 4 tails, giving the same 4 tails vs. Orochimaru fight as in the anime, but without Naruto being truly out of control.
Subsequently he won’t actually hurt Sakura, only lash out at her with a roar. When he realizes what he’s done he’ll be very apologetic, calm down and lose his rage, allowing Orochimaru and Kabuto to get away. Orochimaru will comment on the Kyuubi’s power, calling it fascinating.
The team will get back to the village and tell Kakashi what happened, with Naruto being a bit ashamed of his rage. Kakashi will comfort him and opt to train Naruto in how to keep his cool more, as well as how to be a ninja. Kakashi will teach Naruto how to fight better, counter genjutsu, and how to counter chidori with clone training. He’ll also try to teach him chakra control, but Naruto will turn out to be a master at it already thanks to Jiraiya. Naruto will also take time to meditate to try and further his Sage training.
At the same time, Akatsuki will be trying to take down other Jinchuuriki, and there will be epic, large fights that show their power against the hosts and the Tailed Beasts. People will remark that not even Kages can take them on 1v1 and live (as mentioned earlier).
For instance, Kisame will fight the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki and take him down. The Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki will use lava rocks and Kisame will cool them with water. He’ll then outmuscle the Jinchuuriki and try to drown him in the lake. The Jinchuuriki steams the lake with his lava, only to be hit by Samehada. It’ll drain his chakra and Kisame will laugh at the Jinchuuriki’s shock and awe at such a weapon handling a Tailed Beast’s chakra.
The Jinchuuriki will get over it and send more lava rocks at Kisame, but he’ll bat them away with Samehada, and then charge the Jinchuuriki with a vicious swipe. The Jinchuuriki will block the swipe but still be sent back by the force. He’ll go 3 tails and transform into a giant monkey that’s spewing lava everywhere.
This form will grant him super strength so he’ll take the fight to Kisame and attack viciously, lava and extreme heat lacing all of his blow, but Kisame will block his attacks with his own monstrous strength and singed arms. Finally he’ll catch one of the blows, slam the beast, and stab it with Samehada, draining it into oblivion. Another Jinchuuriki taken down.
Meanwhile, enter Kakuzu and Hidan who are met with Asuma, the son of the Third Hokage.
Kakuzu lets Hidan fight Asuma as usual, and this version of Hidan is better with his scythe jutsu (able to cut air and make shockwaves, and throw his scythe like a boomerang). He also seems to get stronger the more he’s wounded and the boost helps him to overwhelm Asuma’s defenses. His regeneration is also better, as even after Asuma decapitates him, his body continues to attack, forcing Asuma away so that it can retrieve his head. Asuma will die to Hidan’s ritual, not due to necessity, but because Hidan wishes to sacrifice him to his god.
Shikamaru will hear of this and opt to get revenge with Ino, Sakura, and Naruto, his closest friends now that Chouji has died. Konohamaru and Kurenai wish to help but Kurenai is pregnant and Shikamaru asks Konohamaru to take care of her and Asuma’s child. All the while, Shikamaru begins smoking as he plots revenge. It takes time, weeks even, for him to track their whereabouts, but he does find them. When his group comes face to face with Hidan and Kakuzu he asks Ino, Sakura, and Naruto to hold Kakuzu off as he goes for Hidan. They agree and go their separate ways.
The team will get annihilated in every which way. Sakura’s super strength will be dwarfed, Ino’s mind games dodged, and while Naruto’s trickiness buys them some time, they’re all caught by his tendrils soon after the fight begins. Right before their death, Ino-Shika-Cho, the fathers of Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji will show up and fight Kakuzu to a standstill.
Shikaku’s shadows are stronger, faster, and more numerous than Shikamaru’s, and Chouza freely mixes his super strength and size growth jutsu, while Inoichi can affect minds without being vulnerable like Ino is. Kakuzu however is old and experienced enough to counter everything they can do and even compliments the trio on their fame as the greatest team. They do the same to him (for his strength).
During the battle, Kakuzu has power and numbers (due to his hearts), but they have teamwork and manage to literally function like one person. Also Naruto, Sakura, and Ino help to try to neutralize one or two of Kakuzu’s hearts.
Simultaneously, Shikamaru will fight Hidan and be ragdolled due to his superior strength and power. He’ll even be cut and dragged on his scythe, clearly seriously wounded, and Hidan will start his ritual. Shikamaru will fight through the pain and use his shadows to bind Hidan only for a second (he breaks through them with his strength) and summons them both to the Nara special grounds, the Shadow Realm.
He banishes Hidan there, just like in the manga, but in this version he has to hold him in the realm at the cost of his own life. Both of them shall suffer in the realm…together. “It’s just me, you, and Asuma-Sensei.” He’ll say with a grin and a cigarette as the hole he opened to get them there, closes up. His father and Ino will see it from afar and try to stop it, but they’ll be too late. Ino will cry and Shikaku will hang his head in shame and failure, only to be stabbed from behind by Kakuzu. Kakuzu will then escape and comment on how it’s a shame that he wasn’t the one to kill Hidan.
As Kakuzu runs, Naruto will rage with Kyuubi’s power and go three tails, roaring and giving chase. Kakuzu is too fast to catch however, so Naruto makes a purple (tainted with Kyuubi’s chakra) rasengan and throws it at Kakuzu, something no one else has ever done before. Kakuzu is caught off-guard due to the rasengan being thrown for the first time in history and he’ll be hit and taken right into a Naruto clone who uses an elemental rasengan on him. A large explosion and nothing but Kakuzu’s 4 masks (hearts) is left behind.
Naruto comes back to his senses and sees Shikaku coughing up blood as Sakura does her best to heal him. Shikaku takes deep breaths and then tells Sakura to stop and to not waste her energy as he’s going to die one way or another. Sakura’s confused as she’s almost completely healed him, so she furrows her brow and asks what he means. He smiles and says he’s going to save his son, and she questions “How?” He doesn’t respond, instead making handseals and having the shadows swallow him whole to everyone’s shock.
Shikamaru and Hidan are still in the shadow realm, Shikamaru smoking a cigarette, laying back, while Hidan is constantly cursing as he’s hung up and constantly tossed about and stabbed by the shadows. Shikaku’s hand will come out of nowhere and snatch the cigarette out of Shikamaru’s mouth, reprimanding him to stop as it’s bad for him, and Shikamaru will look at him with alarm and surprise, asking him what he’s doing there and how he got there.
Shikaku will chastise his son for thinking he’s the only one who knows about the ancient grounds and then says he’s relieving Shikamaru of his duties. Shikamaru protests, but is pushed into a hole that make him fall back into the real world. As he falls, Shikaku tells him to deliver a message to his mother.
When Shikamaru returns, Ino will stop crying and give him a big hug in relief. Naruto and Sakura will both be excited and happy as well, while Chouza and Inoichi are both sad and relieved. Naruto will ask what happened to Shikaku, and Chouza and Inoichi’s expressions will turn to grim smiles as Chouza explains that Shikaku did a father’s duty, something he wishes he could’ve done for Chouji. Everyone goes silent and Kakuzu looks down on them from far away, lamenting that he had to sacrifice his hearts to survive and commenting that Naruto is dangerous and that he won’t make the same mistake of underestimating him.
From there, we enter Part 2…
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