History Fanfic / AndrogyninjasADropOfPoison

Not to be confused with ''Fanfic/ADropOfPoison'', another ForWantOfANail scenario centered around a change in Naruto's circumstances rather than Sakura's.

** Naruto ''lacking'' one of these becomes a problem. While the Wave Mission originally serves as a wake-up call, his experiences here are [[ForWantOfANail just different enough]] that he fails to realize just how harsh and unforgiving the lives of shinobi can be, further complicating his relationship with Sakura.

* ForWantOfANail:
** The Uchiha Massacre did not take place in this universe; the deciding factor there is that their police force focused largely on evacuation during the Kyuubi's rampage. As a result, Danzo wasn't able to foster as much suspicion and resentment towards the clan, since the civilians were grateful for how hard they'd worked to save and protect them.
** Kaguya and the Zetsu do not exist; Madara [[KilledOffForReal died for real]] in his final battle with Hashirama, and [[spoiler:Obito was KilledOffForReal]].
** Sasuke's casual cruelty after their spar ''shreds'' Sakura's former admiration for him, and makes her determined to prove just what 'civilian-born ninja' are truly capable of.
** Hinata's compassion towards Sakura after the sparring incident leads to the two forming a tentative friendship. She also winds up growing closer to Shino, especially after they start training together; this builds into a bond with Team Eight as a whole.
** Zabuza never rebelled against Yagura's rule; as a result, he never works for Gato.
** Sasuke doesn't activate his Sharingan during their mission in Wave. Instead, it first activates in the Forest of Death, during their fight [[spoiler:with the disguised Orochimaru]].
** Sakura's quest to master poisons leads her to apprentice under Genma.
** Rather than Baki, [[spoiler:Sasori]] serves as the Sand Siblings' jounin instructor, though Baki is still involved with their training.
** Due to the Forest of Death [[spoiler:claiming the lives of Zaku and Dosu]], [[spoiler:Kin teams up with a pair of Kusa-nin who lost one of their own teammates]], leading to a different roster for the Chuunin Exams' preliminary matches. Kabuto also doesn't drop out, and takes the place Dosu would have in the finals.
** Gaara's preliminary match ends with [[spoiler:Lee ''only'' suffering a broken leg]].
** Naruto's match with Kiba [[spoiler:ends in a tie]], while Sakura's match [[spoiler:ends with her winning over Ino]].
** While [[spoiler:Sakura and Neji]]'s match ends with [[spoiler:her forfeiting, something he'd suggested she do at the start]], it's specifically pointed out that their decision to [[spoiler:fight first]] made a major difference. This comes back to haunt them later during the Konoha Crush: [[spoiler:Sakura's injuries from her match with Neji slow her down enough that she's unable to prevent Enko's death]].
** During the Konoha Crush, Kankuro winds up fighting [[spoiler:a different member of Team Eight: Kiba]].
** Due to the differences in how the Wave Mission and Chuunin Exams unfolded, Naruto retains his naivete for much longer, missing out on his canonical realizations about how harsh the shinobi life can be. This has a terrible impact on his relationship with Sakura when his blind idealism puts them at odds.
** [[spoiler:Hayate]] reflects upon this during "Unfinished Business", lamenting the fact that they were unable to prevent the Konoha Crush thanks to [[spoiler:Kabuto sending him into a five-week coma]].

** [[spoiler:The Sand Siblings]] do not participate in the Konoha Crush, choosing to retreat instead. Despite this -- and despite being explicitly ordered ''not'' to pursue in favor of focusing on actual threats -- Sasuke still goes after them, necessitating others being sent after ''him'' in turn.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Sasuke is astonishingly selfish. It's exemplified during the Konoha Crush when he abandons the civilians he was supposed to protect in order to chase after Gaara in the hopes of fighting him and getting a promotion.

*** During and after the Konoha Crush, Sasuke shows no concern for the civilians he abandoned to go off chasing Gaara for a shot at glory.

** Naruto also struggles with this, which causes him to be extra taken aback when he finally learns about Sakura's body count.

** After the Konoha Crush, Kakashi quietly and Sakura [[TalkToTheFist not-so-quietly]] ream Sasuke for abandoning the mission to go fight Gaara for his own selfish glory.

** Kakashi is introduced while reviewing the basic profiles for his future genin team, and reacts as though her being civilian-born is just as big a problem as Sasuke and Naruto's respective issues.

* AdaptationalHeroism: As a result of various nails in the fic's backstory, neither Zabuza nor Itachi became missing-nin.

* DetrimentalDetermination: Naruto's belief that one can just power through any situation through sheer stubbornness alone causes him to butt heads with the more realistically-minded Sakura, especially when he refuses to let her [[spoiler:bow out of the preliminary battles for the Chuunin Exams]] simply because ''he'' doesn't want her to quit.

** Naruto's is his naivete, [[WideEyedIdealism idealism]], and [[DetrimentalDetermination stubborness]]. He has a very romanticized view of ninja in general and takes very poorly to the grim reality of Sakura being forced to kill in self-defense, especially since his connection to the Nine-Tailed Fox allows him to get away with stunts that would probably kill most other ninja. His refusal to give up and his belief that sheer grit can overcome any obstacle also get him and his teammates into trouble several times, even leading him to [[spoiler:prevent Sakura from quitting the Chuunin Exams]] just because he doesn't believe in folding.

* DeusExitMachina: The author's notes for Chapter 45 note that [[spoiler:with the Third Hokage dead, Tsunade missing, and Jiraiya having no interest in leadership, Danzo is the most logical candidate to become the Fifth Hokage. Since the author does not want that, Kabuto puts him into a coma during the Konoha Crush.]]