#Literally one of the strongest ninja

[iloveacronix]

Dragons Rising s2 is coming out next week(In english YAYYYY), how we feeling?

[hehelegos]

can we talk about how crazy strong cole has gotten? he went from barely being able to move a rock he couldnt touch in MOTM and now he is literally sprouting a full blown cave with not alot of resistance??

[denkilightning]

every single character focused season has been about the ninja finding new ways to use their powers and rising up to whatever the challenge as elemental masters. All Except For Jay. both skybound and prime empire put him in places where theoretically he should have the biggest advantage because of lightning and electricity (the sky+a literal game) except the circumstances take his power away from him completely. because his mastery over his power is completely unquestioned and unconquered. his seasons and each and every character arc he has is about him as a person.

jay never in all 15 seasons had any issue with his power that he himself needed to overcome. never in all 15 seasons did jay receive or need any guidance towards his power. hes the first to learn spinjitzu and airjitzu from the og 4, he figures out how to cleanse the nunchucks of lightning on his own and does it in a second with no struggle at all.

even after losing all his memory and training he can go toe to toe with nya, arguably their strongest fighter with his loss being a strategic one.

each trick and move we see of his is developed by himself off screen because he is the one character whose power was never brought into question. the only way he ever lost his power was when all the protector's powers were taken from them.

that boys elemental mastery is fucking unmatched.

and thats not even counting all the different weapons weve seen him use, and how he excels at gymnastics (bro did back to back to back and back again backflips as stimming)

in conclusion, FSM had to make that bitch crazy and traumatised and obsessed with a single person who didnt like him or he would be too powerful because when others has to fight against their own powers multiple times just to control it, jays only enemy has always been his mind.

[taddymason]

Thinking about Jay’s role in the team, and I know I’ve mentioned before that Jay’s main themes are family, and that if given the choice between his close circle of loved ones and the greater good he’ll choose the former, but also another thing that sets him apart from everyone else is the reason why he’s a ninja. With characters like Zane and Cole it’s mentioned multiple times that their purpose is to take care of others, those who can’t protect themselves. Nya and Kai also have this duty/responsibility theme that makes a lot of sense considering the circumstances they both grew up in, and that they both have in common that they want to prove themselves at first and then focus on the role that “they’re supposed to” play (aka; Kai accepting that his role isn’t to be the green ninja and that his duty is to protect Lloyd, and Nya accepting to stop being the samurai X which was her way of proving herself even without being a ninja and in the end becoming the water ninja). Lloyd has a mix of all of this because he's constantly the chosen one in every situation since he was 10, and it's all he knows as a way of life, but back to the topic:

Jay has nothing to do with this.

And I'm not saying that Jay doesn't care about helping people, or anything like that. It's just that it's very interesting that he's the furthest away from having this motivation to be a ninja. Even Wu, in one of the books, confirms that Jay in the pilots saw the opportunity to be a ninja as an excuse to have exciting adventures after a rather humble life in which Jay was going from one hobby to another.

And while the other roles in the team always come back to the theme of protecting others and all that, the reason why Jay is chosen instead is because he's a dreamer. In the flashback and the Ninja of Lightning book Wu explains that the reason he chose Jay was precisely because he had this ability to think outside the box and motivate others with his sense of humor. In almost every first season there is an instance where Jay quickly adapts to a situation just by seeing the other side of things that others don't see, and having this amount of skills: He's the one who discovers how to do spinjitzu, who finds the temple of light, who adapts first to space/digiverse, who does best in the Ninja Roll episode, etc. It's not that Jay is the smartest or strongest, but give him anything and the guy, in some unconventional way, will try to take advantage of it and build a spaceship out of literal scrap metal.

There aren't really many examples of this in the later seasons, BUT, it's worth noting that Wu also chose him because Jay knows how to motivate others with his sense of humor. And what does he do in S12 when he's separated from the others and trapped in a video game? He makes a resistence to oppose Unagami and inspire people who were also trapped in that game.

With all that being said, I just wanted to point out how distinct Jay's role on the team is and his motivation for being a ninja in the first place. It's not like he has this heroic duty, or necessarily wants to do justice, he's just a guy with a normal life who wanted to have exciting adventures and tap into this creativity of his and do some good in the process if it ended up working out. Which is sad with how things are right now but whatever…

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

I was talking to my mutual about Cole when I had a surge of Thoughts so per usual you all have to hear them now. I was considering a couple things, namely his development and place as the "strong guy" on the team and his masculinity (and how it presents in the show vs in fanon).

Cole's pretty often typecast as the gruff strong guy in a lot of fan-media (from fanfics to fanart etc) which isn't wrong because he was like that, especially within the early seasons. The way he spoke, the way he acted, his place as a sort of leading force. In season three you even see him in that stupid lumberjack fit (said affectionately), it's all very traditionally masculine. Which fits his whole Strong and Big guy of the team role (the five man band archetypes etc etc). However, it's interesting to say because at his core, he's very emotional and very driven by a strong sense of internal compassion (with a canonical affinity to children). Which obviously none of that is opposed to masculinity but these traits begin to show more as the gruffness pulls back. The first real example of that I think is in ToE with his fight with Jay. I don't read him as being invested in their fighting the same way Jay was. Jay was fueled by insecurity and a very strong sense of jealousy and possessiveness. Cole? I think he was just reacting to Jay's aggression, which didn't put Nya in a better position but it is a difference. 

So when their match rolls around, he's the first one to realize what they're doing is stupid and give in. He reaches out emotionally to Jay. However, Jays still is a friend so that is easy to write off as a symptom of friendship. And then following ToE we have possession and DOTD which I think are where he really begins to develop, and have the strongest examples of what I'm getting at. I'm going out on a limb and saying that I really see his prior gruffness as a sort of armor, to be good enough for the team (insert that one Wu note of him staying up late before missions) and also there his whole rebellious streak against his father trying to force him to be someone he's not. (Note: I wouldn't be surprised if how Lou raised him really had a impact on all this) Then, we get to Possession and both his self worth and self image are shook badly by literally dying. He outright says he's not a ninja anymore, which I think he based a lot of who he was on (<- which is why struggling with it hit so hard).

Finally DOTD comes up and I think we see the strongest example of where his compassion really become a core trait. It's his fight with Yang. He had no reason to reach out to him, to be honest he had the right not to, but he did and it worked! He didn't get out of DOTD in the end with brute force, he got out of it with emotional support (his team showing up), a stubborn adherence to his moral code, and reaching out to Yang with empathy. From that point on, I think he's softer and more prone to being emotional, it's like there was a very real shift. To circle back to Jay, because I think he makes for a good comparison, he does not develop like that post ToE. Actually, the issues carying from s3 (though, they do exist prior just not as starkly) all the way to Skybound where it gets violently (literally) addressed. Jay fans can probably say it better than me but the season is about his insecurity and treatment of Nya and there's a reason both Nadakhan and Cliff are like that (read: they're parallels). It's just interesting because both Cole and Jay have issues with self worth and image but they present and develop very differently. 

There's also the fanon aspect with those two that's really funny. I think everyone's aware of the infamous fanon-bruise, the 2010s-yaoification. Uwu Jay, Big Strong Man Cole, and how weirdly racist it is. It's just funny to note because the issues projected onto Cole in fanon are ones Jay has, like, in the show. Cole's the more emotional and compassionate one of the two, but because of the strong guy role, it gets flipped around in fanon. Going by the 'traditional' (read: toxic) masculine standards, in terms of personality and character, I think Jay more closely aligns. It reminds me of this post I saw once, it was of Hunted where Jay was making the plane (?) and Cole was with baby Wu. It called Jay the 'mom' and Cole the 'dad' which I find kind of funny because if you look at it through that hetero-normative lense, it really should be the other way around. Cole's the one caring for the baby pretty consistently, Jay's the one making a machine and Working. Did Jay just get called the 'mom' there because people think of him as smaller and weaker and therefore more feminine? Did Cole get called the dad just because he's strong and considered bigger? It's interesting. Fanon does Cole really dirty sometimes.

To get back on topic of Cole's narrative development, then we get to MOTM (like a bajillion years later which no I'm not complaining except I am). Cole's characterization in MOTM is so fucking good. MOTM does a fantastic job at tying together several of his strings. It ties in Lilly, his self esteem, his staunch morality, affinity towards leadership, and compassion into one, pretty bow. MOTM puts Cole back into a leading role, and it gives him several groups to reach out to (Vania, the munce and geckle, the uppily). It draws back the insecurity present in him, letting it show again to be addressed. It even ties in his relationship to Wu in a really lovely way to me. MOTM is the season where Cole finds who he is, his identity and his place as his mothers son.

Speaking of that, I have a very strong love for male characters who exemplify who their mothers were and what they taught them. The scenes with Lilly really put his entire character into a different perspective. At the start he was this tough kid fresh off grief and pressurized so strongly by his dad and himself and he goes through loops and hurdles of strength and identity and by the end he finds himself exactly where he needs to be. Where he's the strongest and it's in his mothers footsteps, as someone both emotional and strong. It's a really lovely character arc to take him on, and though I haven't watched DR, I've heard they continue that on. 

Anyways, consider it positive masculinity, consider it anything else. I just had a lot of thoughts to share and hope I don't sound too 'reading-too-deep' about it. Bye bye Kar ramble over.

[ipostwhatiwant1202]

More Headcanons: Personality Quirks

Leo:

• calm and collected but also very stubborn. it's his way or the high way until you prove him otherwise

• feelings aren't foreign but definitely aren't something he's particularly good at. he's guarded when he's confronted with someone who's heart is on their sleeve

• feelings, that being said, aren't a sign of weakness in his eyes. go ahead, be angry or be sad, but get it together cause shit needs done

• only truly comforting if you're full blown sobbing, and depending on your relationship, big bro leo or soft boyfriend leo come out

• best at de-escalation unless he's the one fighting with the other person

• hates, hates, hates being wrong (i don't make the rules) but weirdly not afraid to apologize for being wrong, in his own way of course

• he hates the word sorry and believes it's just a word. since he's a man of few words, he prefers to show he's sorry. (i've mentioned it before and i'll die on this hill, king of acts of service)

• can dish advice like it's candy but for the life of him can't take his own advice

• the patience of an absolute saint, unless you're one of his brothers

• confrontation is his middle name

• sarcastic but very thoughtful and very appreciative

• besides mikey, he gets the most depressed because he feels like his only identity is a leader at times

• he strikes me as the kind of guy that just comes up out of nowhere and says "need some help with that?"

• willing to try anything once, open minded to an extent if it's not dangerous

• extremely trustworthy and loyal

Raph:

• hothead but the most sensitive out of all the brothers. very quick to cry

• feelings, like mikey, are shown on his sleeve. he makes it everyone's problem

• bad at communication...that's all i gotta say on that

• unhealthy projector of feelings but is willing to hear tips on how to do better

• the type to start crying if you start crying

• not the most patient in the world but if you're new something he tries (keyword: tries) to be as patient as possible

• he gets awkward if he knows he hurt someone's feelings and has to apologize. very bad at words and not the best at showing he's truly sorry

• horrible at advice

• chronic gaslighter in some situations (i don't make the rules)

• he truly does try to better himself if you call him out on his bs, he's able to hold himself accountable..in his own way

• even though he's a hothead, once you start crying, immediately he stops. the first sight of your lip quivering and he's shut up cause he crossed the line and he knows it

• doesn't mind confrontation

• loyal, loyal, loyal

• type to hold a grudge forever and never forget

• the "where's my hug at" guy

Donnie:

• his intelligence is his strongest suite but sometimes it goes to his head...literally

• very awkward with feelings and has no idea what to do in situations that call for comfort

• unless he's very comfortable with you, he will send you to someone else if you're upset so he doesn't upset you more

• not emotional but also not not emotional

• doesn't like confrontation at all unless you're nice about it

• best at communication out of all the guys because if he's bothered, he makes it very known

• besides mikey, he's very easily manipulated

• chronic overthinker

• very insecure in his abilities as a ninja

• hates to talk about his feelings and bottles them up until he explodes

• not one to get angry but he is the passive aggressive king

• germaphobe (no elabortion...he just is)

• he's very kind and very helpful when the situation calls for it

• he's the most gentle of all the guys

• definitely on the spectrum (not sure which, but he's definitely on one)

Mikey:

• number one most emotional out of all the brothers and doesn't show it

• jokester but is able to have meaningful and deep conversations the best

• most empathetic and compassionate but too quick to trust

• explosive temper that only comes out when his family or friends are in life threatening danger

• feelings are worn on his sleeve and he isn't ashamed to show them

• boundaries are an extreme work in progress (do with that what you will)

• sometimes is unable to decifer when not to make a joke

• will take jokes as far as they'll go to the point where the offense level is very questionable

• apologizes until it gets incredibly annoying

• will never be afraid to share his opinion but will always be quick to point out the good

• he cries all the time with no shame

• actually a very analytical and extreme outside the box thinker

• the "i had him/her first" friend if you get into a relationship

• very good listener when needed, but selective hearing most of the time

• he has adhd. nothing further needed.

[comikas-fandom-dump]

Opinion on sasu saku ?

I know that many of my mutuals and followers dislike SasuSaku, but personally, I don't have the strongest of feelings about the ship. If you ship it, that's fine and I support you. If you don't, that's fine too and I support you as well (as long as you don't harass the shippers). My feelings about it aren't strong enough to have any feelings about both critics and fans, just enough for me to have a personal opinion on the ship.

Sakura: Loving a Shadow

To me, Sakura is loving a shadow. For those of you unaware, "loving a shadow" is a trope describing a character's wishful projection onto a love interest. They have fallen in love with a fantasy rather than the person themselves.

A young Sakura fits the description perfectly as her feelings for Sasuke don't appear to be tied to Sasuke as a person but rather the misinterpretation she has developed of him. For example, she listens to Sasuke having no likes - hobbies or otherwise (depression?!) - and plotting the murder of his brother, and rather than recognizing it for what it is (trauma, obsession, and self-destructiveness), Sakura thinks it's "cool". There's not even an "I can fix him" attitude about her because, to her, this is desirable behavior in a cool, brooding guy.

But no, Sakura doesn't know Sasuke. She doesn't even know he is an orphan and she doesn't express any curiosity about him - to get to know him and learn about those things - either up until it's too late. Instead, it's like she already knows him (except she doesn't) and she proceeds to daydream about the generic forms of affection any boyfriend at all could provide, such as kisses and meaningless flirting. This very early version of Sakura views Sasuke as nothing else but the desires she projects onto him.

And yes, I'm aware that it's unfair to shit on Sakura for not grasping the seriousness of Sasuke's trauma with the psychological understanding of a licensed therapist at the ripe age of 12 or having childish romantic fantasies. But that's the point!

Sakura is not being malicious. She is literally a 12-year-old child whose concept of romance is too underdeveloped to realize that even she herself is not a product to be advertised and that romance is more than just a transaction between two parties. Arguably, she objectifies Sasuke in the same way that she objectifies herself, which is evidence of her immaturity and insecurity. Her mind judges the both of them by each of their respective aesthetic appeal and not their value as people.

Sakura is a child and allowed to have those flaws. But that also means that she is living in a flawed, childish fantasy.

Later on, it can be argued that she has escaped that fantasy as she learns about Sasuke's past and her own role as a ninja, but she still hinges what seems to be her entire emotional well-being on this boy she claims to love. She begs Sasuke to stay, tells him that revenge will only further hurt him, claims he is more important to her than friends and family, and, in the end, shows herself willing to leave it all behind so long as she can stay by his side. Nothing else in her life seems to matter if it isn't Sasuke. Needless to say, this reads as an unhealthy obsession.

But again, Sakura is also a very insecure character who used to get bullied and gained confidence not on her own but through the confidence of others. Defining one of your main characters by an unhealthy obsession won't ruin them but the self-damaging nature of said obsession needs to be addressed and/or outgrown unless you want to upset your audience and/or supply them with unhealthy role models.

So, was it addressed? Not really.

And did she grow out of it? Uhm. Somewhat?

Toward the end of the manga, she is still begging and crying for Sasuke to stay but at least she no longer offers to betray her values and loyalties for him anymore. Also, during the Kage Summit, her intention to kill Sasuke proves that Sakura is willing to detach herself from her dependence on Sasuke. That gotta count for something, right? Right?? (Not really)

Then, as an adult, Sakura's relationship with Sasuke is nothing like the childish scenarios she once made up in her head. All of a sudden (or perhaps through years of practice) she can do without constantly being in Sasuke's presence. She can do without kisses and compliments. She now knows that Sasuke was never a "cool guy" but instead a deeply troubled youth. So if her relationship doesn't revolve around her childhood obsessions, then what is it?

Perhaps Sakura has actually grown up (though off-screen). Perhaps she has found the confidence to define herself beyond the attention and acknowledgment that a romantic interest may or may not give her. Her love for Sasuke might no longer be a matter of dependency but one of understanding. She might finally have broken out of her fantasies. Their new relationship dynamic could showcase this growth.

But does it?

Sasuke: Disinterest

(This is a much shorter part, simply because there isn't as much to be said)

Symbols of affection don't define a relationship but that doesn't mean they are merely superficial. Time, effort, and physical presence are not superficial.

In Boruto, Sasuke is out on missions all the time. He can neither provide time nor physical presence. Instead, Sakura must have decided to forgo her need for affection to accommodate Sasuke's lifestyle. All of this begs the question: Did Sasuke also change anything at all about his lifestyle to accommodate Sakura and her needs? Is there some sort of effort he is putting into the relationship at least? Or is their marriage just that one-sided?

Yes, I know that Sasuke isn't an absent father/husband because he wants to but rather because he is bound by guilt and duty and I'm sure there's some canonical reason as to why he was unable to pay a visit to his child even once. But Sasuke has been unable to stop by his own home, say hello to his own daughter, or see his wife outside mission briefings for 10 whole damn years. However unwilling Sasuke may be to spend time away from his family, relationships still need maintenance and their marriage is entirely void of it.

And then also please consider that Sasuke has never definitively (and unambiguously) expressed any romantic interest in Sakura right until the epilogue decided that they should have a child together. And now that the two are married, their relationship seems to run on the bare minimum. So fans have begun asking the question: Does he actually love her?

My Opinion on SasuSaku

You see, I am neither criticizing Sasuke nor Sakura as people. I am criticizing Kishimoto's decisions as a writer because SasuSaku is not believable as a functioning relationship. Really, it is so bad that fans have unironically gotten into conspiracy theories about how Sasuke and Sakura are in a fake marriage and that their child is secretly a SasuKarin ship child.

When I look at their relationship, Sakura is as dependent on Sasuke as ever so that she will accept any scraps she's offered whereas Sasuke himself simply just ✨exists✨ as the other party of their marriage. Not that this is necessarily what Kishimoto intended, but it seems like Sakura doesn't have her needs met and Sasuke doesn't need their marriage. Hence, due to its execution, I dislike SasuSaku. I don't think that their relationship is inherently doomed - I just think it was poorly written.

Sometimes, however, you can instead like/support/respect a ship conceptually because the concept itself has potential, and I believe that SasuSaku is one of those ships. After never feeling safe enough to depend on others for nearly his entire life, Sasuke should've been given the chance to develop a healthy degree of dependency on the people he loves. Meanwhile, after years of making herself miserable chasing after Sasuke, Sakura should've learned that over-dependency is actually quite harmful. Those two journeys could've complemented each other.

I don't know what caused Kishimoto to write SasuSaku's married life to be what it is today instead. I can only guess because maybe he was projecting his own married life of busy schedules and tight deadlines onto his characters. Maybe he just likes his female characters to be loyal. Maybe he just wanted a little more drama in his story. Maybe he thought that this was actually good character development. Either way, it sucked and, much like all of the Next Gen content, the decision ended up harming existing characters.

[berrythep4nda]

Since back when Ninjago was still new I've always had cole as my favorite, but back then I always thought that Cole's true potential was literally the most boring one out of everyone else

Like Zane discovers his true nindroid self, reaches his true potential, fights some giant ass monster in the snow forest where he supposedly comes from

Jay flies and stops a moving roller coaster, saves nya, turns back from snake to human, discovers her as samurai x, and saves the amusement park

Kai literally survives the active volcano, protecting and saving the supposedly green ninja, and discovering his purpose in the team with Lloyd

Nya finds her power, becomes a ninja after being samurai X for so long, MOVES THE TIDAL WAVE to defeat Wu's first student and their strongest villain at the moment,

And Cole's just.... Just make things right with his dad, dance around the stage, save his dad by lifting fallen lights- in a back stage and just.... Move on, that's it

I mean now I see how his relationship with his dad connects with how his character grows throughout the series(I love analyzing the brookstone family connection), and saving his one and only parent from death (he prevents another brookstone death) is deep and emotional but still, I always feel he was being so underrated, and now the only time he's being the focus character is 12 season later

[jinnaizaemon]

Hansuke's Spring and Autumn / Hansuke Shunjuu, from Ninmyu 12 again!

This reveals key points of the story, so be careful!⚠️

It's a popular one and I'm very scared to tackle it lol but I tried. Doi reminisces about his past with Nue from Kaentake ninja and reveals it all to the upperclassmen. It's important to note that this song was written by Amako Soubee herself! On top of that, I think it's an interesting musical to come back to after watching Dokutake's Strongest Tactician. I have sooo many things to say about this part, but again I'll try to keep it for a Doi related post I want to write eventually (I'm uploading this clip + the backstory mentioned in vol 50 to give context to that post once I get to it!).

Still, while I'll try to refrain from interpreting, here's some notes under the cut: (and also because I feel like I have to justify my wording oh my god.)

Yogiri (夜霧), the name Nue gave Hansuke before he was Hansuke, means "night fog".

Nue (鵺) got her name from nue, a chimera-like beast in Japanese folklore.

He who doesn't dare cross a 1-jou moat, Should not strive to cross a 1.5-jou moat. Sorry for the typo in the subs lol. They literally say a "1 jou moat" and a "1 jou and 5 shaku moat", but I didn't want to make the text too heavy. Jou (丈) is an unit of measure that is approximately equal to 3 meters in length. Shaku (尺) is another unit of measure that is approximately equal to 30 centimeters. So 1 jou is equal to 10 shaku, and 1 jou and a half is equal to 1 jou and 5 shaku.

Hansuke Shunjuu (半助春秋) Literally, Hansuke's Spring and Autumn. An expression used in the sense of, the life and times of Hansuke, the highs and lows of Hansuke, but because the song directly references spring and autumn, I guess the title can be translated literally!

As I said, this song was written by Amako Soubee. Sadly, there's no transcription of the lyrics online ; it seems they are only found on the pamphlet sold back when the musical was performed. I had to attempt my own transcription of the lyrics to base my translation on, so I deeply apologize for mistakes.

A maiden joyfully gathers mugwort otomego wa tanoshigeni yomogi tsumu 乙女子は楽しげに蓬生つむ Otomego spelled 乙女子 is maiden, but it could be otomego as in 乙女心, "a maiden's heart/mind/feelings", evoking innocent feminity beyond the more factual 乙女子. Mugwort here refers to yomogi, the Japanese mugwort, primarily used to make sweets with, notably (and relevant to the time period) kusamochi, yomogi leaves mixed with glutinous rice to make sweet, green dumplings. Kusamochi was offered during hinamatsuri, a holiday celebrating girls, and was eaten wishing for the good health of mothers and children.

So this is Hansuke's perfect picture of peace...!

Kaentake Castle カエンタケ kaentake, poison fire coral, a deadly poisonous mushroom. Also spelled 火炎茸, lit "flame mushroom", hence the red accents on their outfits.

[team7-headquarter]

Naruto and Sakura are so babies to me BECAUSE they are fucked up off-putting little menaces.

They're the same and it's so funny how they can't recognize it. There's literally no reason for it, there is no connection between them except that they are both protagonists so the story went "Listen, I'm gonna make a pair that is sooooo ridiculously enjoyable to watch because they are sooo weird."

They listen to voices in their head?? Canonically? Both of them were bullied as kids for not being like the rest?? Naruto has freaking whiskers and Sakura pink hair!!! They are so bright and colored it's like a joke to know they want to be ninjas!!!!!!!! They are impossibly loud and bitchy, always up to beat anyone including kids and old people, don't hold back when it's time for mean comments or rejecting people they find ugly or weird, share a total of zero braincells between them sometimes, refuse to see themselves as being less than other people—

I genuinely laugh so hard with them. Remember that time after Kaguya got sealed when Naruto and Sakura panicked over how they'd go back to the real world? They had just saved the world and somehow still had time for their silly antics.

Their summons are (let me check ...) MULTIPLE frogs and a giant snail that can divide into many little versions of herself. They got those summons from their mentors, who happened to be an old man perverted to no one famously known for his erotica writing and a woman known by all for her alcoholic tendencies and being a giant loser that refuses to stop gambling.

You need more convincing? Okay.

Naruto and Sakura are a little perverted as teens and spend 70% of the manga crying. They are so lame in some of their speeches, epic losers from the very beginning because they were the dead last shinobi and kunoichi of their class. When they face a problem, their solution is "I'll beat it up with my own hands". Them in Naruto classic? For sure the stupidest duo around.

Half (or more) of their plans are the worst plans ever and the rest miraculously work so well you have to admit they were cool. They are obsessive and short tempered and even when they are the strongest shinobi and kunoichi duo around, you can't trust they will complete the mission without making it worse first.

... I correct it, they will make it worse first.

On the other hand, you have to win their respect, because they sure as hell won't give it to you out of the goodness of their hearts. They are the best representation of the Will of Fire of the younger generation. No one ever thought Naruto would befriend Kurama like he did, no one ever counted on Sakura becoming a world renowned medic nin, no one thought they would reach that far. They're naive to a fault and they don't fit the shinobi life at all and if they weren't the protagonists, they'd be the first to die or something, but they are the mcs and they are absurd as they come.

I love them sooooo much for all they are and all they are not.

[rkaln]

• akatsuki!Lee propaganda

txt

> gaara really feels guilty. in general, it looks like Lee literally found himself in the position that Gaara has always been in, and which he is trying so hard to fix. so a one-time dialogue with an apology should end with an unspoken

"you can come if necessary, and you will be accepted/ not handed over"

> So over time it becomes a safe space and a place where one might not be "akatsuki given that, definitely, over time, Lee may have thought that he would like to return home, but understanding how impossible it is now does not give reason to consider such an option

***

a little offtop, but DO YOU REMEMBER THIS FILLER? I know that filler is not canon, but it fits so well into this AU. because my reasoning boiled down to the fact that orochimaru perfectly manipulates emotions and, in fact, there were no guarantees that Tsunade would have been found at all, but Guy? if before the filler, I put it into the fact that Lee could reason that he would prove to him that it was the right decision. And she will only show herself to him when she can prove it. then AFTER this filler, I consider it one of the main triggers for making a decision.

(ok, no one will deny that Lee is very emotional, and in fact there are enough moments in the canon when it acquires an aggressively dark character, but a really difficult emotional state also plays a role here, and if to a huge offense towards Sasuke and doubts about the life position that "really everything can be done with the help of your own work." ADD THIS MOMENT FROM THE FILLER TO IT?? moreover, he is still, you know, a teenager)

s o, this is one of the reasons why I don't consider that he would return to Guy. if at first it was anger and resentment, then with time and the realization of some other things, it would just come down to shame and guilt.

***

> so Gaara and Lee have much more understanding of each other in this AU at the level of life experience.

So even taking into account the fact that they had no interaction here except for the arch of the exam (because the arch with Sasuke's persecution is already superimposed on the time when Lee left), gaara would still be ready to provide unconditional acceptance to him, because he knows that if you do shitty things and everyone around sees only this, matching something else is too difficult

-> running into the "safe space" becomes something quite stable over time

> what about sex? here it is for me the same "slowburn, but they fuck regularly"

AU, in which I believe that sex appeared before "relationships" because:

- no one ever knows if there will be a next meeting at all, because this is not the case when you will receive a letter telling you what happened

- it is also a more "simple" way of interaction, where you do not need to put everything into words or think about social norms

as part of the speech about rough sex, here is a little more detail.

The longer Lee stays in Akatsuki, the more he returns to the fact that, according to his worldview, he is still a bad person.

There was no such dialogue between them, so sooner or later Gaara must turn away from him too.

"he just didn't understand."

"he hasn't seen what kind of person I am yet."

"I don't deserve to be accepted and treated like this."

... and Gaara's absolute indifference to these facts even starts to anger to some extent.

"he just doesn't believe in what I can be."

(actually, it's funny separately, because generally remembering that they are ninjas in the canon, is it that "I will become the strongest ninja who cannot use chakra" actually sounds like "I will be the best at killing on my own," you know)

so one day it will come to Lee's attempts to cross the line, to grope for the boundary of this acceptance. (so sex is involved in this too) "now he'll understand and push me away" "after that he won't be able to accept me"

It's clear that this is pretty stupid considering Gaara's experience.

of course, it doesn't work. more precisely, it works as a confirmation that there were no borders there.

so rough sex is also a separate tool of interaction, in which Lee can be convinced of acceptance, not to mention some other things like personal emotions, feelings of possession, etc., and for Gaara, it's just something in which he (FINALLY) can not be responsible for his actions. (here I'm talking about the fact that Gaara's whole life is surrounded by responsibility for others, and responsibility for what you did in the past), not to mention some other things like personal emotions etc lol

[secret-engima]

Kumo Thoughts

So this will hopefully be quick but the most common take I see for Kumo in the Naruto fandom is that it's a overly militaristic hellhole (pardon the language) that kidnaps and forcibly breeds any bloodline it can get its hands on and like.

I get it?

the Naruto ninja world is absolutely messed up enough to accommodate a village like that. Especially with- *waves at Kiri*, *waves at ROOT*, *waves at Ame*, *wa-*. But I feel like personally I think that's. The shallowest take? Like if that's how you wanna world build it! You can! Lots of angst and interesting subterfuge down that way.

But we seen in canon that shinobi who live in Really horrible villages do tend to go missing-nin en masse; Kiri is the poster child for this, but Iwa and Suna both have some ... pretty noticeable defections. On the flip side the only REAL Kumo missing-nin we see, iirc, are the Kinkaku brothers.

From The First Shinobi War.

Like- what are things we know about Kumo *really* from the show/s?

and the one everyone harps on in worldbuilding- they tried to kidnap Hinata and Kushina.

HOWEVER. The rest of the things we know about them are:

2. Their Raikage is allergic to doors. He refuses to acknowledge doors. He can and will smash through any wall, window, or other non-door entity in order to exit or enter a room when at all possible. This is not the behavior of a Strict Rigid Militaristic Man this is the behavior of a feral gorilla someone stuffed in an office and expected to do paperwork. Which, granted, A is fully capable of doing his paperwork, by all accounts he's actually really good at running his village. But again. This man is allergic to doors or manners and anyone who is willing to arm wrestle Senju Tsunade to get medical assistance for his own men can't be all bad let's be real.

3. Killer B exists. I feel like he alone is enough evidence against the "military breeding program hellhole" fanon but to break it down. This "brother" of A is not actually his brother. In canon, B is literally just- *some kid*, AT BEST a cousin of the previous Jinchuuriki but that is not confirmed iirc, that was among several other kids that were all lined up and told "we need a new Jinchuuriki and A needs a fighting buddy, run at this training dummy and see if you can help him decapitate it" and when B was the one who succeeded they went "congrats you're his brother now, here's your complimentary octopus monster". And like everyone just accepts this? Not a SINGLE person calls B as a fake brother or points out that he and A are not actually related. Not to mention B has the strongest and most stable relationship with his Biju until Naruto and Kurama work out their bromance, and B was rocking that friendship with his biju *years* before Naruto even knew Kurama was a Thing That Existed.

4. B is also beloved by his village. BELOVED. The people adore him and his weird rapping nonsense. And yeah there's flashbacks in the anime to that not being the case when he was first introduced but B was actually able to work on changing their minds. You really think "small feral child rapping at civilians to make them warm up to him" would have flown in Kiri? In Iwa who canonically keep abusing their jinchuuriki to the point of running off? Nope. No sir. B is also allowed to have a team of his own, and seems to not only be an accepted member of the village but also a much trusted and beloved one who is even allowed his own team? Even Konoha doesn't have that good a track record lbr. It took Naruto face punching the guy who just committed genocide on the entire village for Konoha to go "you know what? We like you now".

5. One of the only other jinchuuriki we see that has fully mastered their Biju state and is on good terms with their Biju while also not being a missing-nin (or brainwashed and then immediately dead) is ALSO a Kumo ninja. Namely the holder of the Two Tails. Now on the wiki it says that she was put through a "detestable" training program but we all know how inconsistent Kishi is with... everything worldbuilding ever. And if we go off behavior alone from the brief scenes with her, Yugito Nii is?? Really stable??? And solid with her Biju??? She gave her pawprint for an Uchiha child's book of cat paw prints for crying out loud.

6. throughout the entire show, Jinchuuriki are consistently treated as the lowest class citizens. In basically every village. Naruto in Konoha, Kushina cried when she realized Minato was going to make Naruto a Jinchuuriki and put him through what she went through growing up as one so you know she didn't have a great time either, GAARA is his own entire dissertation on Jinchuuriki treatment and stability, Fuu was raised by the village leader of her village but had zero friends and was canonically super lonely and isolated, Han and Roku straight up ran away from Iwa because of whatever they were put through, a maneuver only repeated in another village by Utakata from Kiri. But in Kumo we find two jinchuuriki who have mastered their biju, are well respected by their peers and fellow citizens, and are basically treated like any other really weirdo ninja from the village barring needing to be monitored with bodyguards in B's case, which is mostly because he keeps running away to go train under rap artists so you can understand why A is ready to go frothing at the mouth feral at his brother sometimes.

All I'm saying is that if even the village's "monsters" are treated that way, why does everyone stick with the fanon that they're a breeding, bloodline stealing hellhole?

Imo it would be WAY more fun to world build Kumo as the feral mountain ninja-mandalorians of the Elemental Nations, who have a reputation for bloodline theft because they keep finding Actual Strays, Refugees from other villages, and Illegitimate bloodline children and going: YO ANYONE GONNA ADOPT THIS? and not waiting for an answer. Your a missing ninja from Kiri and you're fed up with both them and missing-nin life and want to come work for us? Great. Oh you also have a valuable kekkei genkai that can be inherited? Awesome have you heard of our red light district and child support program or better yet our tax deductible program for marrying one of our lovely civilians and raising a family here where no bloodline purges will ever happen ever. Oh you're a stray Uzumaki on the run from bloodline hunters? Well we may have been involved in destroying Uzushio (depends on your fan interpretation since canonically we do not know which villages did that other than Not Konoha) but we also have hot food, good housing, high ninja standards of living, and free weekly entertainment in betting when our Raikage is going to launch his desk at his brother like a high speed missile because B's rapping got too cringy.

Let Hinata's and Kushina's kidnapping either be the exception to their usual playbook of how they acquire bloodlines (hey it's not their fault if the other villages can't keep it in their pants/can't inspire loyalty) OR have it be seen, culturally in Kumo, as something more akin to a rescue mission. Yes these two girls are useful and have useful bloodlines, that's tactically wise, but also have you SEEN how Konoha treats their jinchuuriki? They have seal master princess and are treating her like a dog on a leash! And literally everyone knows what the Hyuuga do to their own kids if they aren't main branch, and we can't rescue any of those kids without their eyeballs exploding and them dying but hey we can snag the heiress and then any kids she has won't have to be branded so-.

Like I feel that would be so much more INTERESTING? Instead of having Konoha be the only "nice" village and make this weird tonal dissonance for how the "nice" village has the most incompetent leadership (Sarutobi) and underground atrocities (Danzo and Orochimaru) while every other village is Horrible All The Time For Everyone why not have Kumo be actually Really Functional and treat their shinobi and Jinchuuriki well and their horrible reputation is *mostly* (not entirely, because. Ninja.) be cultural clashes between the feral mountain ninja and Everyone Else and propaganda from the other villages who would like their shinobi to STOP DEFECTING TO KUMO PLEASE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY HAVE DENTAL.

Seriously I feel like there is so much more you could do with that angle than just "yet another shinobi village that is Bad and Awful and Needs The Power of Friendship yet somehow has this really stupid goofy jinchuuriki man who loves his brother and his village shut up don't think about it".

[desceros]

sometimes i think about the future symphony "i should have married you" post you made and it makes me so sad but the other night as i was falling asleep i was struck with absolute agony by the awful idea of "i should have married you" because marrying her would have made her hamato and maybe just maybe then she would have been able to become a hamato spirit. and the brothers most likely would have been able to make contact with the hamato sprits like they do in the series. and because if he married her at least he would have been able to contact her spirit. hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh anyways thought i should share hope your day is going fabulously captain desceros

oh, this is awful. allow me to make it even worse :)

we’ve seen in the series that you dont actually have to have the hamato name to be ‘a hamato’ as april demonstrates. we’ve also seen varying levels of. hm. ninj-oscity? ninpo skills? from the boys. like raph and leo doing a ninja mind meld. just. just mikey.

and we’ve always seen that donnie struggles with ninpo the most.

his ninpo is mechanical. when he uses it at its most conscious level, we see it manifest as blueprints coming together. literal pieces, as if constructed with real material. when he panics or doesn’t go through this process, it’s a vague shape that isn’t as strong or as defined in purpose.

so let’s take this scenario you’ve brought to us.

viola-chan would have, unquestionably, been a hamato. and for that reason, i can definitely see her having a hamato spirit.

…..but i dont think donnie would ever be able to communicate with it.

mikey would be the most likely, since he has the strongest ninpo. but he’d be in high demand since he’s so strong, so i think it would tire him and i dont know how much time and energy he’d have to talk to anyone. not to mention the stress he’d feel when donnie would come to him like Hey Can I Talk To My Dead Girlfriend and mikey’s like…. dude i just got home from 24 hours of straight ass kicking i’m about to pass tf out.

and raph, i imagine, died not too long after viola-chan, so whether he could or not is moot.

leo. well. i dont think leo could communicate with viola-chan either. leo is rather avoidant when he feels guilty or ashamed, and (without going into too much of spoiler territory) he’d feel largely unworthy to talk to you, i think. and since we’ve seen that it takes an open heart to use the technique, it wouldn’t work.

and donnie. god. donnie would try. he would try so, so hard. he would try, hours upon hours, every free moment, banging his fists on his thighs as he’d meditate until he’d collapse. reaching out. seeking. already not as strong at this whole ninpo nonsense. unable to calm himself from the need to see you need to see you please just let me see you one last time please please please that would make it impossible to focus. he’d start thinking about tech that could bridge the gap. that’s how his ninpo works, after all. modeling his blueprint. so if he can design a machine that can talk to you. his ninpo can bring it to life.

but he doesnt exactly have a lot of time to dedicate to a personal project like that, let alone one so fucking insane in scale, so actually impossible to do. and as the time passes he grows more and more obsessed with thinking about it. yet simultaneously more and more sure it’ll never happen. i feel like his last moments, alone, bleeding, staring up at the rust-colored sky, he’d be smiling. because of course he he has some kind of death drone army set to go the moment his ninpo cuts off, and it’s one last middle finger to krang. …but also i think he’d be a little relieved. hoping his spirit will find yours and lavi’s.

(do they? who knows. no more hamato exist in that timeline to find out.)

[shantechni]

there was an episode where the turtles (+ april and karai) split into teams and mikey named said teams and i feel the names reflect how mikey perceives them

team awesome (mikey and raph). obviously mikey would name any team he’s in like that because he thinks highly of himself but raph is there too (who would probably also name a team he was in like that) and i’m pretty sure mikey has some sort of bias towards raph, or at least thinks he’s really cool. (plus i like the idea that the sunset twins think they’re great shit and flaunt their general awesomeness at people)

team brainiac (donnie and leo). this one’s pretty easy, donnie and leo are very clearly the smartest of the turtles, leo mostly with planning, leading and various ninja techniques, while donnie is generally just a genius (though his strongest point is his skill in inventing and science). brainiac is more a mocking term though so either mikey is a bit jealous of the fact they’re always the ones with an answer, or he’s just being a classic younger brother and teasing them (affectionately).

team beat butt babes (karai and april). i don’t know how to put my thoughts into words here,,,, i suppose it’s because the two of them are super strong, capable and badass and mikey looks up to them both?

i’m not great at analysis so you may have to assist a little here lmao

(i also really like the choices for the teams,,,, team brainiac is a bit dysfunctional but makes their interactions interesting)

This initially doesn't seem like anything to dwell on, but you bring up a good point about how Mikey classifies and labels others (his brothers in particular lol).

"Team Awesome" is such a basic title, but it's very descriptive of what Mikey thinks of Raph and their combined efforts during battle. He boasts quite a bit about Raph's strength and recognizes that he utilizes much more than his short temper to get the job done, as well as his talent when handling his Sai. We see on many occasions that their close combat style of fighting work well together (e.g., their brief fight against the Hamato clan ninjas), and they're the most likely to pull of combos (e.g., when they had to utilize whatever was around them to fight).

"Team Braniac" is yet another basic yet accurate title, and you said it best: Leo and Donnie often concern themselves with the technical aspects of the missions and bounce off of each other with their respective strengths. I wouldn't say Mikey's jealous of their smarts considering how he easily outclasses everyone in Dimension X (sometimes outside of there too) and will never let them hear the end of it when he does something they can't. He's 100% just mocking them for laughs, though he could be using the term in a more literal sense with no intention of mocking them.

"Team Beat Butt Babes" is so out of left field that I totally forgot he called them that💀but it's somewhat fitting and also a partial tease in a way. He's obviously bringing up the fact that they're highly capable of taking someone down, and they're literally the only girls he's personally known until Shinigami is introduced late in the game lol.

Your little analysis was just fine btw, I liked it🤝

[internal-ethics]

so...some tobirama things

[these are my old comments and chats and bullet points so will sound incoherent in a post]

the first major early era capitalist

aside from the literal ninja nuclear bomb jutsu that's his signature, tbrm inventions are all his attempt to redistribute some og bloodline bullshit his bro had and abolish the clan mindset.

shadow clones work the same way as Wood Clones. It tricks all magic eyes, kill time doing shit and for info gathering

flying thunder god is an advanced summoning jutsu (which senju are good at) where "teleporting" just means literally summoning yourself from one place to another as long as you marked the place before. No magic or jutsu could track it.

wood jutsus and sharingans and byakugans are bloodline limits only his bro and big clans could do. he couldnt.

so what do he do? Make similar stuff everyone could learn and do regardless of clans,

Tl dr , bro is an early era capitalist who took power and jutsus from the elite feudal clans, flipped them off together with their clannism, and produced accessible and user friendly means for non-clan , non blood limit people that are willing to pay for it

Cause everyone from big clans was just sticking to themselves and going all Dues ex MACHINA on power

And it really depended on who had the bigger better nukes, who was going to RULE

and that SUCKS for everyone else, the normal people

of course his stuff also served as counters of those very blood limits and middle fingers to them bc he's an bitter asshole that way, just not the kind everyone thinks

in father's time, the eldest son of a clanhead becomes clan heads ALWAYS and they could do what ever they want. this is not father's time. this is the end of the feudal mindset. And the start of their version of democratic national republic, so you gotta get the people's rep votes to decide who rules.

2. sacrifice - the foundations of the new ninja world

Most fans, even his own fans, due to the databook's wording, remember him as "the one who built the village". as in building the infrastructures and concrete things. thats only scratching the surface of who he really was : he IS the village by virtue of his deeds. And the point of him doing all that he does is ...he literally is the only one who ado it to the highest standards and thats both great and ironic, because everyone does it, but NO one else does it like him.

[easy for him to say lol]

he sacrificed himself, so everyone does the same, but others like Shikamaru sacrifice because they think they are the fittest to die, like they are the weakest or most sacrificable. tobiramas sacrifice should have hit hard, bc he sacrificed precisely BECAUSE he was literally the most unfit to die, the strongest, the most nonsensible choice to die. Thats how it paved such a strong legacy. And i think, while not meaning to do anything in that calibre, and never showing these qualities of ninja, and most likely having got a normal death, hashirama was the one tobirama learned from, by his almost suicide to protect tobirama, as the strongest in his clan. The difference is while hashirama was doing it just for his brother and his friend, tobirama imprinted that into his mind and did that for everyone. He made a brothers love into a worldwide legacy, a tradition.

Tobirama didnt just create the chuunin exams, he was the standards based on which they test shinobis in the exams. Intelligence, planning, general smart fighting and info gathering skills, time based choices, bravery and once again, the will to sacrifice yourself. Shikamaru is the only one who passed that time because he acted exactly like Tobirama would in all the exams. The chuunin exams is to sort out who is the most like him.

He didnt just create the Anbu who are special assasins and spies who has no name. He IS the special assassin and spy. Because since childhood he was THAT assassin and that spy, a deadly shadow behind a leader.

He didnt just create the Police Force. He IS the one with all the qualities to be the Police : strictness, caution, principles, law abiding, fraternity and loyalty.

bonus not to mention he is not the one who built the physical village. hashirama is. hashirama was the one with visual thinking and works in the present. he knew what the village is gonna look like and where to build it since he was a kid. hashirama built the physical village like the pillar tree he is, he takes care of it's SPACE, makes sure it exist for people to reside in. tobirama embodies the IDEA and standards of the village and takes care of it's TIME, makes sure it lasts for the next generation.

[narhinafan]

Is it just me or did someone else also thought that sakura was never meant to on team 7? Like she just doesn't fit in? She is supposed to be the part of the main cast but has less relevancy then shikamaru lol and all she does is yell and beg and cry for help every 5 minutes, she can't win a fight unless someone is using her as a puppet or either her opponent is a fodder level Shinobi and even then, she can't win she still needs help and your telling me she is the heroine? The strongest kunoichi? as her stans love to claim all the time Lmao.

Also her character is so shallow, creepy, obsessive and so pick me-ish like what do you mean you want to see your crush urinating? Not only that she also is a harasser who can't take clear NO as a answer that she literally start following Sasuke when he was traveling alone? That's some insane level of obsession and her stans have the nerve to call that obsession love?! And what do you mean you married someone that tried to kill you twice?!! Sakura seriously doesn't have any self respect for herself.

Honestly, hinata should have been the heroine instead like she would have made the story so much better she is already a better character then her, just imagine how much op the story would have been if we saw "the Sharingan vs the Byakugan" fight between hinata and Sasuke and we could have also seen " the Hyuga clan vs the Uchiha clan rivalry" and so much more. Hinata could have add so much depth to team 7 and the story in general, too bad somethings are too good to be true.

No your not like originally Kishimoto didn't plan for teams or even Sasuke, but after his editor suggested a rival he made Sasuke and then Sakura to make the numbers three.

Its one of the reasons why Sakura has so little background and development. It was all thought of as she went along since he couldn't just ignore her since she was on team 7. She was never the strongest kunoichi seriously even Chunin one shot her pre war and she didn't get any stronger besides creation rebirth since.

Yep the only thing about her character was her crush on Sasuke and being his fangirl. It all started off with that so her entire character ended up built around it. Her dream/goal was to get with Sasuke and I honestly think the only reason she ended up with him was to make it so all team 7 completed their original goals back during their introduction with Kakashi.

I know I think Hinata was planned as a civilian at first since her pre concept art shows her in a dress. It was clear she was the love interest from said concept art, but I think making her ninja came later when Kishimoto had to make more teams for the exam which was an arc he didn't plan for.

The story would have been so much better with her though, during the bell test she would work with Naruto and would likely get Sasuke in on the team planning to step down which neither would accept. Would really make the point of team work hit harder cause once they realised Hinata was giving up her chance neither would be willing to accept it. Instead we got them trying alone and Sakura fainting without doing anything. The only reason they passed was cause Sakura liked Sasuke hence offered her food as well as where if it was just Naruto she would never done so. If Hinata was on team 7 she would have been the reason they passed and truly becoming the heart of the team and making it the kind of team Kakashi wanted with her being the bridge between Naruto and Sasuke.

Hinata would help Naruto out and unlike with Sakura, Sasuke would see training with her as a waste of time. We could even gotten the love triangle Kishimoto with Sasuke growing fond of Hinata since she isn't like other girls.

Then during the wave mission she would treat Naruto's wound growing closer, but also the Byakugan would see through Zabuza's mist. Then with the tree climbing she would help both Naruto and Sasuke big time which could allowed some extra training before the fight. Also Naruto and Hinata scenes as well. Zabuza will target Hinata during his fight with Kakashi and it would motivate her to improve since she couldn't do anything, but guard Tazuna. She would also see what is happening with Naruto and Sasuke as well Naruto going nine tails. We could have gotten Naruto opening up and telling her about the fox. It sucks that we never got Naruto revealing his greatest secret nor his classmates reactions.

During the exam it would have Hinata use the Byakugan to get the tab that will seat her next to Naruto wouldn't surprise me if this is what happened in canon. Plus it will show her thinking and how her letting him cheat off her is a calculated move taking advantage of the fact the test deduction system since she would have confirmed all her answers were right with the Byakugan even if they both lose a point for cheating even if they didn't get the 10th question right they would have 8 points putting them in the top end score wise. When the 10th question is asked Hinata would realises there is a loophole and that since they both have the same amount of points neither of them will be disqualified.

Orochimaru might have also given her the curse mark due to the Byakugan, but most likely have left her as is to make sure Sasuke is safe while knocked out. We would get her saving the squirrel noticing the paper bomb and likely the sound ninja she would did really well, but would lose due to being outnumbered. Either Lee, Neji or InoShikaCho can end up saving her. Sasuke goes curse mark when he wakes up and Hinata tries to stop him by hitting his chakra points, but he defends himself hurting her. Naruto wakes up then goes fox and we get a short Naruto and Sasuke fight early.

After which both Naruto and Sasuke feel they let Hinata down and it motivates them. They meet up with Kabuto and Hinata will notice the genjutsu and her Byakugan would help net them win with the rain ninja clones. This leads to them getting to the tower earlier getting more scenes with the rookie 9 and opinions on who else passed.

Hinata would be able to openly cheer for Naruto when he fights Kiba. The scene after the Neji fight would hit so much harder and Naruto would try to see Hinata before the exam. Oh and when Ebisu comes to teach Naruto he asks if he trains with him would he be able to beat Neji. Ebisu expresses doubt however says that your chances are higher with him then Kakashi. So Naruto gets some more training before running into Jiraiya. When Naruto doesn't make head way with summoning Ebisu can come in to help or get Naruto started on other things like his chakra nature. It would also make more sense for Ebisu to figure out the shadow clone training method since he is a dedicated teacher. Naruto will be able to more scenes with Konohamaru as well if Ebisu is teaching him.

Then we get Hinata's proud failure speech and it will hits so much harder.

Basically everything turns out 200% better if Hinata is on team 7.