History Fanfic / ADropOfPoison

''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4573620/1/ A Drop of Poison]]'' is a ForWantOfANail ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' fan fiction by [=AngelOfSnapdragons=].

Not to be confused with ''Fanfic/AndrogyninjasADropOfPoison'', another ForWantOfANail fic focusing on Sakura.

* NintendoHard: Naruto is asked to participate in setting up a trap evasion exercise for an academy class. No one gets out of it unmarked, whether they be student, teacher, trap-specialist jonin, or ANBU.
--> The first trap that caught Iruka was a simple step that did a slight clicking sound. The chūnin instantly jumped back, preparing himself for attack, but nothing came. He waited a minute, then rose again to start moving, only to find his sandals stuck to the floor, quick-drying glue having seeped from between the floorboards.\\
He had to abandon them there.\\
The chūnin suspected Naruto had hid the mission scroll downstairs, and the rising level of difficulty seemed to indicate he was right. He started getting more marks from close dodges and the like. By time he'd found the bookcase with the scroll, he'd had to catch a pair of eggs coming from both front and back simultaneously, he'd found the ink stamp with fail inscribed and had to block it, and had lost his socks to another glue trap, this one on the ceiling.\\
By now, he was truly paranoid. He verified every inch of the room before even approaching the scroll, and found nothing. He checked the scroll from every angle and found nothing. Only then did he grab it, prepared for the worst.\\
Nothing.\\
Finally, he sighed and went back through the door, only to fall through a pit trap that hadn't been there before. Worse, there was itching dust at the bottom.

When the traitor Mizuki strikes down Iruka, his shuriken is poisoned, causing Iruka to fall unconscious and miss Naruto's rescue. As a result, Naruto doesn't get a field graduation from the Ninja Academy. However, with more time on his hands that evening, Naruto realises that some of his clones still have copies of the Scroll of Forbidden Techniques. Armed with a new appreciation of his shadow clones and a determination to graduate, Naruto launches an epic secret campaign that will change Konoha forever.

--> They'd thought the Leaf weak, but it had only been an act. It was clear they'd been prepared for the invasion.
** As kind and helpful as Naruto is, he is not afraid to kill or outright execute if necessary.

* EnergyAbsorption: One forbidden technique allows the user to drain chakra from other sources. Ordinarily only those of the Akado bloodline can safely use it, but it's a game-changer for shadow clones, who don't have to worry about ruining their chakra coils, and can now persist indefinitely. It's also handy in combat, perfect for taking people alive.

''A Drop of Poison'' contains examples of:

* FluffyTheTerrible: The ultra-secret, anti-invasion, ANBU division which devastated the Sand-Sound Invasion is called 'Doukeshi,' which means...'clown.' Makes sense though when you see their outfits.

** How Konoha is considered in the aftermath of the failed Sand-Sound Invasion, especially after Naruto’s clones created an army out of nowhere.

'''Fumichi''': The girl... I'd say minor nobilty. She has a posture like she's used to getting her way and most non-nobles wouldn't let a child out to play with a pendant.

** To hide their existence when helping fight the Sand Invasion, the swarm disguises themselves as a previously unknown ANBU branch, the Doukeshi. Afterward, the Hokage starts getting requests from ANBU members wanting to transfer to this exciting new unit. [[spoiler: He actually thinks it's a good idea; Naruto's combination of shadow clones with forbidden techniques has proven to be a highly effective strategy worth teaching to others, and the secretive ANBU won't think it's strange to have clones teaching them.]]
** After restoring order [[spoiler: in Wave Country]], the clones keep the peace as supposed samurai mercenaries, the Torasen. Then the remaining non-evil soldiers in the area start asking to sign up...
* FeedItWithFire: Orochimaru's barrier during the Sand Invasion can incinerate just about anything, but Naruto's fire sphere technique is specifically designed to absorb and store fire chakra. [[spoiler:It doesn't take many spheres to cause a complete overload and disable the ninja maintaining the barrier.]]

* TheGlovesComeOff: When it becomes clear that Hinata has the upper hand, her cousin escalates to [[spoiler: lethal force, stabbing her clones through the chest or eye]]. She in turn unleashes [[spoiler: ''Mabushii Kagayaki'', "blinding radiance", leaving him blinded and in hospital for days]].

* HatesMySecretIdentity: Naruto is disappointed at the contrast in Kiritori's treatment of himself and Muremaru, assisting and encouraging Muremaru while resenting and holding Naruto back. [[spoiler: He eventually calls Kiritori out on his MoralMyopia and they begin to form a better relationship.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Kiritori-sensei]] protects Muremaru at the cost of his own safety, making Muremaru feel guilty afterward; after all, he's replaceable.

** Zabuza is initially angry about [[spoiler: the clones killing his employer Gato]], but once his fee is paid off, he mellows out and leaves peacefully.
** He later returns the favour by [[spoiler: making arrangements for the Mist rebels to hire a clone army as part of their uprising]].

* InTheBack: Tora doesn't mess around when dealing with [[spoiler: Gin Shippou's kidnapper]], stabbing him through the heart before he can turn around.

** The Hokage discovers it [[spoiler: when he simultaneously field-promotes Naruto and both clone students after their contributions to thwarting the Sand Invasion]].

** Tsunade [[spoiler: can easily recognise clones, being a medical expert, and makes Naruto come clean]].
** Ebisu [[spoiler: knows something is up when Muremaru takes a fireball without injury, and demands answers]].
* InventedIndividual: Invoked deliberately by the swarm, particularly for the Academy infiltrators, but it does rather grow beyond what they intended when Muremaru [[spoiler: becomes Kiritori's apprentice and legal heir, even inheriting his surname]]. Iruka becomes increasingly concerned, and Naruto [[spoiler: intends to tell Kiritori about the deception before swearing his apprenticeship oath, but circumstances interfere]].
* MadScientist: Shukuen has been experimenting with splicing animal bodies and mechanical parts together, under Orochimaru's patronage. [[spoiler: When he captures Team 1, he takes Ebisu aside to perform experiments on his pain tolerance, and when the team escapes and disrupts his work, he transfers his mind into a giant cyborg/hybrid monster that they have a very hard time fighting.]]
* MagikarpPower: Naruto persuades the Konohamaru Corps to get serious about training their basics, by [[spoiler: trouncing Konohamaru with nothing but Kawarimi substitutions]]. When they're later ready to learn a new technique, he offers them... the Fire Candle, which makes a very small flame appear at the end of one's finger. Because it's the foundation of training control of fire.

** With proper, supportive teaching, and a technique which suits her better, Hinata definitely becomes this. If she was not going to be promoted for her defeat of Neji during the Chunin Exams, the way she turned the medical ward into a meatgrinder against invaders targeting the patients would certainly have done it.

* FluffyTheTerrible: The ultra-secret, anti-invasion, ANBU division which devastated the Sand-Sound Invasion is called 'Doukeshi,' which means...'clown.' Makes sense though when you see their outfits
* ForensicAccounting: Trawling through business records looking for anomalies is a dull and time-consuming business, but the swarm has ample motivation to do it after [[spoiler: their hidden enemies burn Ichiraku Ramen]] -- and they can throw immense numbers of bodies at the problem. It doesn't take all that long before [[spoiler: one of them finds a number of payments with invalid recipient details and suspicious dates]].
* GenuineImposter: When Ariko and Muremaru release their henges and transform back into Naruto, [[spoiler: Sarutobi]] assumes that Naruto is playing a prank, and wants to know where the real Ariko and Muremaru are. Iruka can't stop laughing.