#badass iruka

[dailyirukapics]

I am frothing at the mouth for this AU! Iruka having the eye make-up like Orochimaru when he summons his snake is just... so peak!!

A bit more Orochimaru's student Iruka

Related pages 1, 2 and 4 and 5

[cool-thymus]

A random kid told Naruto that he would never understand the importance of a master and student's bond. Our boy gave him a "how dare you" look and proceeded with a heartwarming pantomime of his three dads:

Naruto, I love you 💛

[alumirp]

Hound and Witch/Panter&Witch/ Witch and…Monkey?!

"Good morning!"

As always, his greeting was ignored.

Living in a tiny, run-down apartment, next to a grumpy and silent neighbor, working in an unreliable and dangerous job, Hatake Kakashi is a man with smiling eyes, but a face hidden by a mask. With an equally mysterious past, the only small joy in his life is being constantly ignored by his handsome, surly neighbor, but when said past comes looking for him, this handsome neighbor, who is actually a witch(?!), finds himself becomes Kakashi's only salvation

…..

"Good morning~"

Once again, Toji ignored that annoying sound.

Born into a family of ancient magic and old money, Toji could smell a witch or a familiar from miles away without even thinking about it. And while the bastards' organs were worth a lot, the boy next door was decent and cute, despite being annoying, so he didn't see the need to kill him just yet. It didn't mean that Toji wanted to have any connection with the witch… None other than constantly stopping the boy from killing himself or setting the building on fire or simply compacting the entire city into a golf ball, because apparently the brat, a vat Inexhaustible of mana and potential, has no idea what a witch is.

….

As a witch, Law knew the dangers that surrounded him. People would kill him for his organs and blood and enslave him for his magic. Thus, he lived in virtual seclusion, avoiding new people, barely speaking to those he already knew while trying to maintain a semblance of normality by working as a surgeon in a hospital. Things change when a boy appears on his operating table, but not an ordinary boy. Monkey D Luffy was a familiar who had apparently failed to protect his witch, his own older brother, from hunters. Logically speaking, Law shouldn't be interested in him, but it just felt…right.

(this is old lol. very obviously inspired by

Witch & Cat

by Yodaka Kuroi. I love this manga, it's amazing and it helps that the MC looks like Toji ~ I'm not into the Tojigo vibe anymore, but at the time, I thought it looked perfect for both of them. Also, Kakashi and Iruka would also fit in, so I wrote them both. But recently, I thought about how much fun Law and Luffy would be in this scenario.)

[teatitty]

Obviously I'm a "Iruka was being groomed to be the hokage/some other political position" truther but I'm also a "if Kishimoto had kept the setup for Iruka being a secret jounin level badass the Pain arc would've been the perfect time to reveal it by having him go toe-to-toe with Pain when the village was attacked" truther

Like yeah yeah Kakashi saving him as is was great and all but please walk with me and imagine a world with these possibilities instead:

Iruka saving Kakashi's life and fighting Pain to protect him

KakaIru teamup on Pain

Iruka going toe-to-toe with him and getting taken out right as Naruto shows up to see his brother-figure die [everyone gets brought back to life anyway at the end so we can have this]

Counter to the above: Iruka holding off Pain's assault and getting saved by Kakashi only when he's on his last legs and is about to collapse [classic "catches them mid-fall" trope and could lead to Kakashi killing one of the six paths now they're weakened]

This one is for the barrier nin Iruka lovers: he puts up a barrier to protect a civilian area and the only way to bring it down is to knock him out so the whole time he's getting beat on he's maintaining the barrier long enough for everyone to evacuate

There's undoubtably other ways you could fit in such a reveal but I truly think the Pain arc works best from a narrative perspective given how closely tied Iruka is to the very foundations of the village

[getyourmindrightson]

Okay, but like that hair tie looks very similar to what we see Iruka wear here

...I'm just saying that if Kishimoto hinted that Iruka is jonin or ANBU level....why can't he be a secret ANBU/deep cover to protect the clan kids....

fucking around on tsunade's stupid wikia page looking for smth to make me 5% more insane and like

bitch ass Iruka clone jumpscare

[rcmclachlan]

Comfort Fanfic Recs

Tagged by @liminalmemories21

Rules: What are your old school comfort fics? The ones from fandoms that haven't been active in yeeeaaars, but you've read so many times you can practically quote them.

I've been in fandom since 1999 and a lot of my old, old comfort fics have been lost to time (remember Kira and Shell's sprawling X/1999 fic "16:1"? No? Just me?). Here are the ones I can still access:

Sheppard's Law by cesperanza (SGA, John/Rodney)

"Weird? You don't know what weird is. Weird is being in a-- with the-- and the crazy alien--" He stopped, incoherent, hands flailing. "And then your best friend is twelve, and you're his piano teacher. That--now, you're talking weird!"

Aftermath, USA by traveller (Generation Kill, Brad/Nate)

The morning of the assassination, Patti Jankowski got up, took a long shower and towel dried her hair before braiding it into two long ropes that hung over her shoulders. She put on jeans, a t-shirt that showed Mickey Mouse saluting the American Flag, a light tan windbreaker and her comfortable blue SAS sneakers. In her shoulder bag she put a Smith and Wesson .22 caliber revolver, and an umbrella. The forecast was for a 62% chance of rain.

So Are They All, All Honourable Men by seperis (BBC Merlin, Arthur/Merlin)

Considering Arthur's future wife will be chosen less for compatibility than for her political value, Merlin may be the only marriage he'll have that won't end in bloodshed or a great deal of fortifying wine.

Alter Egos by Aishuu (Cardcaptor Sakura, gen-ish)

Yukito and Yue… where does one end and the other begin? To maintain his happiness with Touya, Yuki goes to a counselor and drags her into his world on a dark odyssey that will strain the boundaries of the human psyche. (RC's note: Aishuu finished this fic in 2003. Isn't that wild?)

Beyond the Veil by Atalan/Helene (Harry Potter, Sirius/Remus)

Set after OotP. Trapped in a world where he can be neither seen nor heard, Sirius Black struggles to communicate to his friends that he may not be as dead as they think he is... and that something dreadful lurks beyond the veil.

How to File Form 39-B by thehoyden (Naruto, Kakashi/Iruka)

The first time Iruka met Hatake Kakashi, he was still on some pretty good painkillers.

Transcendental by astolat (SGA, John/Rodney)

tran·scen·den·tal (trăn'sĕn-dĕn'tl) adj. 1. Philosophy. Concerned with the a priori or intuitive basis of knowledge as independent of experience. 2. Surpassing all others; superior. 3. Beyond common thought or experience. 4. Mathematics. Of or relating to a real or complex number that is not the root of any polynomial that has positive degree and rational coefficients.

Blackbird by emungere (NBC Hannibal, Hannibal/Will)

Shortly after Will kills Garret Jacob Hobbs, he and Hannibal stumble into a D/s relationship. It's a relief to have Hannibal telling him what to do, but the closer they become, the closer he gets to realizing who and what Hannibal really is.

Static by nightanddaze (Generation Kill, Brad/Nate)

It starts on the first day of a war with broken radios.

Prayers for the Living by Fahye, littledust (XMFC, Charles/Erik)

AU from midway through the film, looking at what might have happened if Azazel had (sensibly) teleported to Russia and Emma had (sensibly) gone recruiting baby mutants. In which Moira is badass, actions have consequences, and Charles and Erik manage to have some feelings when they're not racing around the country.

Tagging @screamlet, @alchemistc, @geddyqueer, @firehose118, @beanarie

@waldorph, @ephieshine, @iphyslitterator, @theroseandthebeast,

[animeomegas]

can we get the naruto boys reacting to an alpha with horrible eyesight but they refuse to wear glasses because it doesn't make them look as "badass"?

(Me when I was 14 😭)

"You have to wear them! They help you! What if someone ambushes you because you aren't wearing glasses and don't see them and then you die?! Just wear them, you look the great in them!": Shikamaru (if you have very bad eyesight), Lee

"Please just wear them darling, for me?": Gaara, Yamato, Haku

Raises an eyebrow and sends you a *look* whenever he sees you not wearing your glasses: Iruka, Chouji, Hayate, Minato

"Are you suggesting that my glasses don't make me look badass?" (corners you into choosing between wearing glasses and insulting him): Shino, (non-massacre) Itachi

Is a massive jerk and refuses to read signs/menus for you when you can't. "If you wore your glasses, you wouldn't have to ask now would you?": Neji, Kakashi, Kankuro

Laughs at you for being a weirdo: Naruto, Kankuro (again), Shisui

"Listen babe, you're a badass baddie knockout with or without glasses, I promise. So please put them on.": Kiba

*Shrugs* Whatever. If you want to not see things, that's not really his problem lol: Shikamaru (if you have minorly bad eyesight), Sai

"You must never repeat this to anyone but... me too.": SASUKE, (canon) Itachi

[socra-time]

Naruto Episode Comments, Ep. 1-20

(Context: I know a lot of the character’s names and some of the big plot points, but I’m going in blind otherwise)

Ep 1:

-Naruto is kinda annoying but also he’s just a lil gremlin and I can respect that

-I kinda love Iruka. Also he’s hot.

-”Clone jutsu? That’s my worst jutsu!” says Naruto, known for his Shadow Clone jutsu

-there’s just something so charming about the old anime style (but also some of the expressions are so goofy)

-HOLY SHIT IRUKA IS A REAL ONE

-I don’t trust the Hokage. I don’t really have a concrete reason for this yet, but his vibes are off

-oooh Irukaaaaa you’re so sexy for not being an asshole to the traumatized child

-oh I guess Shadow Clone jutsu is different from regular clones so disregard my earlier comment

-honestly this was a better first episode than I was expecting. I’m sold!

Ep 2:

-Naruto continues to be a lil gremlin

-Naruto pls for the love of god stop using your stupid ass “sexy jutsu”

-the Hokage really has had enough of these little kids and honestly I can’t even blame him

-I love the voice of Konohamaru’s trainer (I’m watching dub btw), it’s so pompous

-I love the ninja sandals. I want a pair.

-I like that Naruto’s voice actually sounds childish. It’s a tad bit grating sometimes but I think I’ll get used to it quickly

-STOP IT WITH THE SEXY JUTSU

-STOPPPPPP

-anyways #KonohamaruForHokage

Ep 3:

-again, the ninja sandals are so fucking drippy

-Ino wtf is up with your outfit. Why is half of it bandages

-the amount of sheer passive-aggressiveness in these 12 year old girls-

-Naruto has a crush on Sakura at first???? I didn’t know that lol

-Sasuke does not give a singular shit about anything other than his brooding and tbh I didn’t expect anything less

-Sakura’s little inner monologue is so feral lmao

-I don’t like Sasuke’s voice so far. It’s monotone, but not in an edgy way, just in a kinda dull way? Also he doesn’t really sound like a kid

-no hate to Shikamaru but his ponytail looks painful. My scalp hurts just looking at it

-oh my god not Sakura ragging on Naruto for being an orphan-

-lmao the amount of fucking drama with this team of kids is crazy

-why are the Hokage and Kakashi just casually breaking into Naruto’s home to look around

-rip Naruto’s bowels

Ep 4:

-I was not expecting Kakashi to sound like that but I’m kinda here for it actually

-oh I can already tell I’m gonna hate how the female characters are written in this show. Sakura honey I’m so sorry

-I know Sasuke’s got trauma or whatever but god he’s so fucking edgy. “I hate most things and I don’t like anything” bitch just say your favorite food or something

-oh my god Naruto is so tiny compared to Kakashi

-ok I already see why people love Kakashi so much

Ep 5:

-Kakashi is raining hell down on these children and I’m so here for it

-Kakashi is so COOL

-fucking “HEADHUNTER JUTSU” is the most metal name for a jutsu

-“you think like little kids” says Kakashi to the 12 year olds

-Kakashi really didn’t need to give his “you failed” monologue while pinning Sasuke to the ground. Bro was just doing it to assert dominance lmao

-I know that Sasuke’s reasoning for sharing is logical and not because he cares about Naruto, but I like that he offers his food to Naruto first

-aw the squad is starting to squad just a teeny tiny bit

Ep 6:

-booooo Naruto is a cat hater :(

-I love that Naruto is shorter than Sakura

-I like that we get some worldbuilding early on (also I’m a sucker for a good map so the scene explaining the different regions was cool)

-okay Sasuke is a badass

-Kakashi is also a badass but I already knew that

-I love how chill Kakashi is about literally everything

Ep 7:

-Kakashi is so over the bridge builder guy’s bullshit

-I do wish there was more of a sense of scale regarding how far apart the different locations are, since I have no idea how far away from Konoha the Land of Waves actually is

-okay I was NOT expecting Zabuza to fucking THROW HIS GIANT CLOUD STRIFE SWORD LIKE A BOOMERANG???

-Zabuza 🤝 Kakashi

not wearing their headbands correctly

-I like Zabuza’s voice

-the sharingan doesn’t make that much sense to me in terms of how it works but I’ll just chalk it up to anime logic

EP 8:

-oh the Water Prison jutsu is kinda terrifying to think about

-I can’t get over Zabuza’s fuckin armwarmer thingies

-ah yes gotta love the choppy old anime fight animation

-between Kakashi and Zabuza, Sasuke really cannot get a break from being pinned to the ground

-the demon wind shuriken is so sick-looking

-okay good on Naruto and Sasuke for working together but couldn’t they have given Sakura something to do

Ep 9:

-binging this makes the flashbacks at the beginning of episodes very annoying

-oh Kakashi is fucking PISSED

-shoutout to whoever animated all the hand signs for the jutsus holy shit

-yeah Kakashi would be so annoying to fight ngl

-Sakura is constantly calling Naruto out on his bullshit and that’s the kind of hater behavior I’m here for

-the soundtrack is hitting different this episode

-wow Naruto really saw another kid kill a man and got immediate imposter syndrome lmao

Ep 10:

-I like Haku’s painted nails

-aw Kakashi is actually a really encouraging teacher

-how is Naruto so bad with chakra control and yet was able to master Shadow Clone jutsu????

-Kakashi casually defying gravity to walk up a tree with his crutches was actually kinda hilarious to me for some reason

-I’m still not sold on Sasuke’s voice. There are moments when it’s fine but otherwise it’s just so stiff

-YAY FOR SAKURA GETTING A WIN OVER THE BOYS

-aw Naruto encouraging Sakura was cute (even though he was salty about her beating him)

-I like the difference that’s set up between having a lot of chakra (like Naruto) versus good chakra control (like Sakura)- hopefully this means people are going to go about how they train and fight differently

-Naruto asking Sakura for advice and asking her not to tell Sasuke anything was actually kinda endearing lol

Ep 11:

-dumb question maybe but if Gato is so against the bridge being built and he has the resources to hire a bunch of goons, why doesn’t he just bomb the bridge or something

-ah yes Sakura discovers poverty

-Sasuke is slowly growing on me. He’s very awkward

-Sakura I’m so sorry you have to deal with those two idiots as teammates

-holy fuck Inari’s backstory with Kaiza was darker than I thought it would be

-also rip Kaiza you were a real one

Ep 12:

-lmao not Naruto thinking Haku is prettier than Sakura fjfhshhajasisa-

-aw Sasuke helping Naruto walk home after training was nice, there’s definitely very slight development happening in their relationship as rivals

-Kakashi’s talk with Inari was a really nice moment

Ep 13:

-I like the way Haku talks. It’s very impassive and mysterious

-I’m always a fan of when the MC inspires literally everyone around them and Naruto is no exception

-Haku’s painted nails continue to slay (also I realized his toenails are painted too)

-the needles Haku fights with are really cool-looking but also seem really impractical

-YEAHHHHH NARUTO TIME

-aw Kakashi is proud of his kids

-goddamn Haku is so cool

Ep 14:

-I’m only thinking about this now but did Naruto never wonder why he had a big seal on his stomach

-literally half this episode was recap which was kinda annoying

-Naruto I love you but you’re so stupid

Ep 15:

-I really wish they gave Sakura more to do in this fight. I get that Kakashi’s the only one who can take Zabuza and that we need to see Naruto and Sasuke fighting together, but Sakura is kinda just standing there the whole time

-Haku needs to go to therapy ASAP

-I’m still confused about how Kakashi’s sharingan works tbh

Ep 16:

-aw yeah baby Sasuke sharingan time

-aw yeahhhh Sasuke saving Naruto

-god fucking dammit I think Sasuke is my favorite Team 7 member and I hate that for me

-oh boy Naruto is about to go apeshit

-also there is no way in hell anyone watching this actually believed Sasuke died

Ep 17:

-geez the animation quality really went up this episode

-yeah Haku’s backstory is just as tragic as I thought it would be but also Jesus Christ his relationship with Zabuza is so fucked up

-I’m very curious as to why Kakashi has the sharingan if it’s a bloodline trait of the Uchiha clan (and also why he only has it in one eye)

-Kakashi summoning fucking dogs was so random but also hell yeah doggies

-andddd Kakashi’s a lightningbender? I thought the sharingan was his main thing but apparently not

-Haku PLEASE go to therapy

Ep 18:

-this show’s soundtrack has actually been so good so far

-so like was Naruto actually gonna kill Haku before Haku stopped him

-oh FUCK rip Haku (also first real-time death of the series!)

-Kakashi closing Haku’s eyes and saving his body was nice, you can tell that he feels bad about him dying even though he was on Zabuza’s side

-also they didn’t hold back on the blood, goddamn

-I like that the bridge builder seems to have a bit of a soft spot for Sakura since she’s been with him the most

Ep 19:

-Gato is literally so fucking disgusting I need him dead ASAP

-Kakashi wrangling Naruto back from attacking Gato was kinda funny

-ah yes the big Shonen Protagonist Speech™ from Naruto

-Zabuza’s last hurrah was fucking epic, I really like how his and Haku’s story ended (also the line “where he’s going, I cannot follow” about Zabuza joining Haku in the afterlife was metal). I like that Zabuza got a last moment of humanization

-aw Naruto is such a wholesome, determined lil guy

-oh Naruto is gonna be so insufferable when he finds out the bridge is named after him

Ep 20:

-HELL YEAH CHUNIN EXAM TIMEEEE IM SO EXCITED

-wow Naruto is really out here fantasizing about being Sasuke’s knight in shining armor

-Sasuke is a cocky little shit but also he’s technically right about Naruto and Sakura being “worse” than him

-so far Sakura’s biggest fight has been her beating up fuckin Konohamaru

-SAND SIBLINGS SPOTTED!!!

-I don’t like Temari’s voice

[watermelonsloth]

Hello, can I ask from both this ask game :

https://www.tumblr.com/threecheersforinking/677824836625694720/anime-ask-game?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/rafael-silva/90297624190/send-me-a-fandom?source=share

For anime/manga : Naruto

Thanks 🤩

Sure! If you or others want to ask me stuff from ask games, I’m not against answering! Like I’ve said before, my favorites tend to shift a lot, but here are my most accurate answers for right now:

Favorite Character: Madara and Iruka are most consistently at the top of my favorite characters.

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: As basic as an answer it is, the Chunin Exams is probably my favorite arc. Team 7 talking at Zabuza and Haku’s grave and the Kakashi vs Obito fight are tied for my favorite scenes.

Character I Think is Underrated: Kabuto. Yakushi. I get that people find him annoying and I can see why, but he’s one of the most tragic characters in the series and a walking representative of many of the world’s failings. Plus his dynamic with Orochimaru is as fascinating as it is depressing (please stop shipping them, I beg of thee). I also just have a soft spot for villainous/badass doctor characters who actually use their medical skills in combat.

Character I Think is Overrated: There are a lot of characters I think are overrated or get attention for the wrong reasons, but I think Hinata Hyuga is the most obvious one. I think she’s actually a pretty good character in the manga when she’s not being reduced to Naruto’s love interest, but she is not “have portions of the fandom worshipping her and a bunch of people wanting her to replace Sakura as the heroine” good.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Right now, since I’m thinking about the Chunin Exams, I’d say LeeSaku, but I promise you I’d give you a different answer tomorrow.

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the realistic character complexities carry this series for me. Especially in regards to how their experiences affect their actions and worldviews, how most characters are actually intrinsically motivated, and characters’ greatest strengths are often shown to be some of their greatest weaknesses as well. Even background characters tend to have more going on than what first meets the eye.

[strengthinbloom]

Strength in Bloom [Chapter 7]

(full chapter for you guys this time <3) (this happens while Sakura is being held hostage by a mysterious nukenin!)

Life was good in the Hidden Village of the Leaf. Over the years, Sakura had made real friends and at least one good rival, and had learned so much with Iruka, Kakashi, Tsunade, Shizune and so many others who were so good to her. There were those who looked down on her for not belonging to a prestigious shinobi Clan, but she had proven them wrong time over time.

She had Naruto to thank for that. After all, he had been the one to prove Neji wrong in the Exams, and when that wasn’t enough, he proved Gaara wrong too. Kakashi-sensei taught them tactics and Ninjutsu, but really it was Naruto who inspired them. Their lives had never been the same since the Land of Waves.

And during the Exams… Sakura grasped at the shortened threads of her hair, letting the memories wash over her once again. Naruto and Sasuke were so brave back then. I wish they could see me now. She had considered growing out her hair again, but she came to like the new haircut. Shizune had short hair too, and she was beautiful. Sakura didn’t have to compete with the likes of Ino anymore.

“What is the difference between shinobi and kunoichi, Sakura?” Tsunade had once inquired her. “Can you tell me?”

Sakura took a moment to think. They were both exhausted and covered in sweat after a long session of sparring; All around them, the training grounds had been reduced to cratered earth and shattered trees. “Is this a trick question, sensei? We learned all that mumbo-jumbo in the Academy a long time ago.” She answered with a know-it-all smirk. “Back during Sengoku Jidai, before Shodaime-sama founded our Village, only men were allowed to fight. So shinobi lead field missions while kunoichi infiltrated as princesses, geisha or serving women. Even whores, sometimes.”

Tsunade chuckled softly. “You aren’t wrong, dear student. But there’s more to it than History.” She took a long sip of her water bottle and splashed it across her face, the coolness a welcome relief. “The difference between shinobi and kunochi is simply what the world expects of them.”

Sakura frowned, so the Hokage explained it further: “Men are simple creatures, kid. You’ll learn that soon enough. Most shinobi, friend or foe, will expect less of you simply because you don’t have a weiner hanging between your legs. Your enemies will assume you are the weak link of your squad, and will lower their guard when they’re fighting you. You can use that. Yeah, kunoichi of the past have taken down tyrants and emperors by killing them when they were most vulnerable: naked in bed, their eyes closed, ready for some fun… That’s pretty badass, not gonna lie. But nowadays, any shinobi can pull that off with a good Transformation Technique.” She winked. “We gotta be more creative than that.”

“I understand, sensei.” Sakura took a sip of her own water. Lady Tsunade always gave her lots to think about after these sessions, in addition to the bruises all over her body. She couldn’t help but wonder if Jiraya did the same with Naruto, and if Sasuke…

Tsunade must have noticed the sadness in her eyes. She stood up and hopped from one foot to the other, raising her fists. “Come on, back to work, now. Your stance is still way too off, you need more practice before we’re done for the day.

O, Konoha! O, Hokage-sama! Those had been good times, and for that Sakura was thankful. If only I could see them one last time. Walk among the trees in the Training Grounds, tend to the deers in the Nara woods, get a big bowl of Ichiraku Ramen with her friends… Kakashi used to give them all-you-can-eat tickets after a particularly tough mission. She had been thinking she could do the same with Neji and Kiba once they were back, even if they weren’t exactly friends. She thought it might make things better. They would be going out in other missions as well, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a non-hostile environment.

But none of that mattered anymore. They had encountered nukenin on the road, and had lost the fight before it even started. Neji had been captured or neutralized. With luck, Kiba would stall the puppeteer long enough for her to run, and she would return to Konoha with news that Hyuuga Neji and Inuzuka Kiba had been killed in the battlefield.

Tsunade would be disappointed. “Neji is one of the finest shinobi in this village, and a martial arts specialist.” She had said. “These are difficult times, and we must make do with what we have.”

Konoha found itself in dreadful need of competent shinobi, and Sakura had managed to get one of them killed in his first mission as a Jonin. The Third Shinobi War, the Uchiha Massacre, and more recently Orochimaru’s invasion had costed the lives of many high-ranking shinobi, including notable names like he Yellow Lightning, Fugaku of the Wicked Eye and Shisui of the Body Flicker.

Even if she survived the mission, Sakura would forever carry this failure on her shoulders. Once she aspired to rise to Jonin, and train a trio of Genin just like Kakashi… But now, how could she ever do it? After she let Neji and Kiba behind, unable to save them, to protect them, to heal them.

“That will be enough.” Said a mysterious voice, far away. “Let her wake.”

Sakura opened her eyes with a snap of invisible fingers.

[End of chapter]

[feng1wei]

I had a chat with my friend about Naruto teachers' incompetence. And it's actually really sad when you think about it

We're all always joking about naruto knowing only three jutsu (excluding talk-no-jutsu since it's not exactly a ninja art) but has anyone ever tried to teach him more? He's had so many teachers - Iruka, Kakashi, Ebisu, Jiraiya, Asuma - and yet all of them only taught him one or two things each?

Iruka: two of the three basic academy jutsu. He was an academy teacher, that was his job, and he did it quite well considering how many students he had.

Kakashi: tree-walking and mixing rasengan with wind nature chakra.

Ebisu: water-walking. He was a one time teacher and he did his job great. He even explained to Naruto some theory in a way he would understand.

Jiraiya: summoning, a little bit of controling the kyuubi's chakra

Asuma: basics of wind nature chakra - just what Naruto asked him to explain.

How is it, that f.e. Jiraiya, who had Naruto as his ONLY student for three years, only taught him two things?

It was extremely disappointing watching the first few episodes of Shippuden, thinking that Naruto became a stronger, badass ninja, and seeing him using the same jutsu in exactly the same way as before, just with more chakra.

Also, let's go back to the team 7 as a whole. Before the time skip, out of the whole team, only Sasuke got some kind of education from Kakashi. He didn't even give them any advice on what should they do next, what should they try. He just let them be and then nominated them to the chuunin exams.

That could be of course explained that learning a new jutsu takes a lot of time and effort and he just didn't have time to teach them anything more in the little time he spent as their teacher. But in that situation, Sasuke, even as a genius, would have never learn chidori in a month. Or Naruto a rasengan in a week. It was just the teachers not doing anything.

And don't tell me that the kids just didn't ask, because they did. Naruto constantly asked everyone if they would teach him "some cool jutsu". And if you're expecting a 12 yo to be more specific about their career choices, then let's be honest, that would just be plain unrealistic.

What I mean by all that is: while Jiraiya and Kakshi were good emotional support for their students, they were absolutely sh*t at being teachers.

Thank you for reading my essay!

[italeteller]

Who do you think was the most wasted characters in Naruto? And just for fun, who's someone you think was actually used the perfect amount?

Woof, where to begin. Well, if you're talking about wasted female characters you gotta start with every single female character, I think

No, wait, granny Chiyo got it pretty good. She had her own personal arc, fought a main villain and went out on her own terms in a pretty emotional moment. Even when she got revived in the war she didn't get screwed over, which is pretty rare

Tayuya from the Sound 4 too. Yeah, she was only a disposable mook, but she had a badass design, some sick summonings, kicked Shikamaru's ass, and got killed by Temari. Short, sweet and to the point. The rest of the sound 4 as well were pretty good for being disposable mooks

All the jinchuriki except Naruto, Killer Bee and Gaara got screwed over too, literally offscreened and they got fuck all backstory or development. Same with the biju

The raikage and the tsuchikage got done decently well, though unfortunately I can't say the same about Mei Terumi, the mizukage and the only person in the series with two bloodline limits. You'd think someone like that would be front and center on every fight, showing her vast arsenal of elemental jutsu, but alas, she was a female character in Naruto, so she was fucked from the beginning

Danzo also got wasted. He was hyped as the dark face of the ninja world, and when he finally got some action it was with a hax Uchiha jutsu. And then he died with some half-assed bromance with Hiruzen

Karin, Jugo and Suigetsu got done dirty too. Karin specially, but the boys as well. It's a crying shame Jugo never got to meet the reincarnated Kimimaro, that would've been great to see

Kimimaro was actually used the perfect amount. He came, beat Naruto, served to show Lee's drunken fist, showed off the best level 2 cursed seal design, nearly killed Gaara and died like a beast. Respect

I feel like if we're talking about Naruto character we gotta add a third category besides "wasted" and "perfect" which would be "death by overexposure". Here would be characters like Orochimaru, who went from one of the best villains in the series to... uh... whatever the fuck he became when he got revived

Kabuto too. I don't like that he transformed himself into a dragon sage but it would've been a decent end for his story I think, trying to one-up Orochimaru and failing. Him getting a rushed redemption and ending up running an orphanage was. What the fuck were you thinking Kishi. Seriously

Minato would fall in the same category. Flashback!Minato is a spectacular ninja, truly deserving of the title of hokage. 4th ninja war Minato is lame, makes stupid names for his attacks, and got two power-ups he didn't need and shouldn't have gotten at all

Hot take maybe but I think Kakashi should've stayed dead after the Pain saga. He got one good moment after the war, which was his second fight with Zabuza, and that was it. The whole Obito storyline wasn't good for anybody (although it made one spectacular fight in the anime), and him choosing to become Hokage because Obito asked, when TSUNADE WAS RIGHT THERE was a very bitter pill

Oh yeah speaking of Zabuza and Haku, they both were great. Getting resurrected actually helped show how much Zabuza loved Haku and how much of a travesty the edo tensei jutsu was

Jiraiya was also done perfectly. Whether he was a good character and whether him being a pervert killed his likeability are debatable topics, but he was a good mentor, a great fighter and went down like the best, paving the path for Naruto. I only wish Pain had recovered his corpse and used it to invade Konoha, can you imagine the emotional damage?

Speaking of Naruto's mentors, I think Iruka was done pretty decently. He didn't get much, true, but what he got was generally good

Most of the Cloud guys were there for show, didn't really get to do much. Same with the Rock guys. Same with Kankuro and Temari (Temari should've gone with Chiyo and Sakura to fight Sasori). Oh yeah Team 8, the poster children for wasted potential, alongside their sensei Kurenai "benched for being pregnant" Yuhi

Kisame was done great, I think. Mysterious, massively powerful, kicked his cheating sword aside when it got too horny for Killer Bee's chakra, killed himself to avoid an info leak and even after death he got one up over the good guys

Itachi, not so much. He certainly got too much overexposure after his death. Sadistic criminal Itachi was great. Kind-hearted, super genius, had-the-qualifications-to-be-Hokage-at-12-years-of-age Itachi felt like too much

Oh yeah, here's a niche one: Hanzo of the Salamander. The guy who fought the young sannin to a standstill, who gave them the title of sannin, got revived, had an unnecessary flashback bromance to a samurai and incapacitated himself, and didn't get to do anything cool at all

And well, let's close on a controversial (maybe?) note. Both Naruto and Sasuke got death by overexposure. Sasuke's storyline was way more of a mess than Naruto's but neither of them were good

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

now as for Sakura propaganda.... (This will be like swinging a bat on a hornet’s nest but Naruto fandom frustrate me so much I can no longer be silenced)

Don't get me wrong, that girl has plenty of flaws, but given how much the fandom hate her over equally or even more flawed characters, the hate towards her get pretty excessive, and hypocritical at times.

Now for the list of reasons people hate her... flip list

1- That she never became as "badass" and overpowered as Sasuke and Naruto... nevermind that the power levels at the end were a farce and that by the end nobody could hope to match up the uuhhh chosen by the prophecy descendants of ninja goddess and reincarnations of overpowered DBZ-level characters. And that it's a gap no characters, even those more experienced and talented and with better bloodlines could hope to close. She's the one most bashed over that for some reason that escapes me.

2- on the same branch, people loathe her for not inventing new jutsu at the ripe age of 16 yo, nevermind that she couldn’t possibly have found the time to do that in 3 years in between learning the entire medical curriculum and keeping up with her combat training.

3- somehow more hated than Shimura Danzou, fans will sing praises of Itachi being a martyr and Naruto being perfect for Sasuke while hating Sakura to the core

4- the "Sakura is obsessive about her imagined version of Sasuke and doesn't really treat him as a person" may be true, but then they go and treat SNS as like the purest most wholesome ship ever as if... Naruto... didn't do… exactly the same.

Naruto who obsess over his imagined version of Sasuke and find himself terribly inconvenienced whenever Sasuke has goals or wants that don’t involve staying within the village or staying the cut-in-cardboard school rival he wants Sasuke to be.

He will go on saying he will drag Sasuke back to the village against his will even if he has to break every single bone of his. Supposedly love Sasuke for who he is and somehow agree with Itachi’s demand of keeping the truth about the slaughter of Sasuke’s entire clan, and can’t believe Sasuke would not want to go back to the village who persecuted and genocided his clan. Never listen to Sasuke’s words and story and go on about Sasuke having a darkness and evilness that Sasuke disagree with Naruto over staying in the village because must be Fixed. By Him (Naruto).

The Naruto and Sasuke ship/dynamic will go on to be eternally praised by most Naruto fans despite it being yikes at best, they will display self-awareness of how toxic some of SNS behaviors are only when it come to bashing rival ships.

5- After Sai basically guilt her for not returning Naruto's feelings and asking him years ago to get back Sasuke, she will act rashly to fix this. The fandom will go on to hate simultaneously "Sakura not caring about Naruto's feelings" (that she didn't know about) and "Sakura desperately trying to make up for efforts she believe Naruto made for her in any way she possibly can, including prentending to have romantic feelings for him and doing her hardest to get over her affection for Sasuke, including proactively going to try to murder him."

Now as for things I actually like about Sakura.

I find her personality refreshing, and it would have been an interesting main character, the orphan who had little to no positive relationships and close people to begin with aside from Iruka , the boy who had a beloved family and clan and who experienced love, family and happiness before having it ripped away from him and the spoiled sheltered ignorant girl all make for different and complimentary and IMPORTANT perspectives on the different types of people growing within Konoha, within the ninja continent period. and how they all clash with one another. She has an abrasive personality, often says things thoughtlessly, and her trying to wrestle with how powerless/useless she feels and actively and proactively trying to make up for her flaws when made aware of them.

She often grapple with stuff like in-universe misogyny, including coping with them in all the wrongs ways, like believing she has to nab herself a man (Sasuke) and act all submissive in front of him due to the belief that her being desirable as a girl is a priority, all of point 5, and fandom reacting as if Sakura's personality exist in a vaccuum and that can't possibly come from internalizing stuff constantly said in-universe, nevermind all appearing characters constantly say and think sexist bullshit, and that she has to be a representation and icon of all in-universe and out-of-universe women instead of a character with her own characteristics.

Which makes fandom tend to "fix her" by stripping all that makes Sakura herself in fics in order to make her more palatable.

.

[bogbees]

anyway im still going nuts ab hokage iruka cause like

hokage chooses their successor typically

iruka is with the third in nearly every group scene Hiruzen has. literally the first time we're meeting either of them, they're standing around and Iruka has no reservations ab yelling bloody murder around the hokage.

hokage just chilling with Iruka as they discuss Kakashi having stupid high stands (valid of him tbh)

they're at the mission desk together before team seven goes off on their first real mission

half of Iruka's childhood flashbacks involve Hiruzen

iruka's childhood shirt, the one he wears on the night of the attack has "ichiban" written on it, of all the things in this world that he could relate to enough to wear on his back

the first. the first hokage??? hmmm

so yeah. im going with the idea hiruzen wanted Iruka to wear his big dumb hat but he died before he could do anything ab it

especially if iruka was supposed to be crouching moron hidden badass

[team7-headquarter]

Hmm, but what about a reverse au where Iruka is the most badass jounin in town and the sensei of the most chaotic genin team ever while Kakashi is the cutest and most sentimental academy sensei.

It's a silly thing I'm thinking about, but maybe in another life Iruka would have been a super clever jounin inspired by the death of his parents in the Nine Tails tragedy, while Kakashi would have gone with a more peaceful life after Sakumo's dead.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Uzumaki Kushina

How she approached Naruto with such kindness and openness, but was also willing to smack him for being a little shit who called her a monster. I do not condone parental violence but this is anime and it was funny. Mostly because Naruto, son, why tf was your first thought that she was a monster? 😭😭😭 so rude.

Her nickname! The red hot habenero is a badass name and she deserved to have her enemies call her that. Also convinced Kakashi saw her fight with a frying pan once and was so terrified he decided it was an effective way to fight. It’s the only explanation for why he beat the snot out of 50 jonin ranked shinobi in his book. Kushina taught him the art of whoop ass with a frying pan.

(Anime only) The way she coo’s over Rin and call’s her cute. All Rin did was thank her for food and Kushina’s heart melted. It was adorable.

How she argued with Obito and was hard on him while also considering him her favorite. She was willing to hold Obito to a higher standard cuz she knew she could expect more of him (hope she got on his case in the after life XD)

Her dream. I love that she legit wanted to be Hokage to prove she could be strong and i think she deserved it. She would have been an awesome Hokage.

This is short so i want to add something fun. A headcanon i love!

kushina was Iruka’s Jonin Sensei and when she heard all about him from Naruto her heart swelled with pride for how her student turned out.