Fanfic / The Moon Cries in Reverse (Naruto)

Konoha's Chuunin Exams have barely begun when Anko reveals something shocking to her fellow jounin instructors: her genin have spent the last several months apprenticing under Ibiki at T&I. She's surprised by their reactions, quite honestly — after all, why else would they been assigned to her in the first place? All three kids are clearly troubled: Naruto's spent his whole life coping with the hatred of the whole village, Sakura was heavily bullied, and Shikamaru... well, she, Ibiki and Hiruzen are all concerned about his potential to pull an Orochimaru on them all.

So begins Lunar Lamentations, the first story in The Moon Cries in Reverse. It's said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and it swiftly becomes clear that paranoia makes good mortar, for Team Ten has been condemned for the high crime of being deemed "different". Jiraiya soon arrives to find that Hiruzen's zeal to prevent "another Orochimaru" may have instead set a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy into motion — but can the damage that's already been done be mitigated enough to keep history from repeating itself? Can Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru be convinced that Konoha deserves their loyalty after how poorly they've been treated?

Other works in the series include:

• Trinity: A Prequel focused on the growing pains of this universe's verion of Team Seven: Sasuke, Ino and Chouji, focused on how they deal with Kakashi, the bell test, and having to learn how to work together.
• Endless Dreams: Serves as a Late-Arrival Spoiler for the main work, following the perspective of certain characters throughout Lunar Lamentations.
• Nepenthe: A sequel from Sakura's perspective, as she copes with several Internal Reveals about the events of Lunar Lamentations.
• Stage Controls: A sequel that casts a spotlight onto Shikamaru dealing with the fallout of Lunar Lamentations, and the question of just how far he was willing to go to achieve his goals.

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Lunar Lamentations

Lunar Lamentations contains examples of:

• Accusation Fic: The story takes a very dim view of Konohagakure as a whole and Sarutobi Hiruzen in particular, expanding upon how he allowed Naruto to be socially isolated for years while still expecting him to remain loyal to the village and people who mistreated and rejected him by having him extend that same treatment and expectation towards Shikamaru and Sakura.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru are subjected to this courtesy of Anko, who forced them through Training from Hell and to spend several months working in T&I.
• Adults Are Useless: Zig-Zagged and Played for Drama; most of the adults in Konoha were worse than useless, as they were either complicit in treating Team Ten like crap or otherwise failed to do anything about what was going on. Jiraiya averts this by virtue of actually intervening on the trio's behalf.
• All Take and No Give: Jiraiya secretly sees the shinobi system as hopelessly lopsided in this fashion, believing that the hidden villages expect Undying Loyalty from their ninja without offering anything in return.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • During their initial confrontation, Tsunade attempts to reason with her grandfather by telling them that Team Ten is made up of monsters who have been working with Orochimaru. They respond by asking her point-blank "Why should I care about what they've done for a man I don't even know?"
  • Played With and Exaggerated when Naruto asks Nagato point-blank "What good is a world without death? What good is a world where nothing bad ever happens?" His opponent attempts to respond, but stops because they just suffered a heart attack.
  • Zetsu gives Naruto a taste of his own medicine by countering a similar query with one of their own: "What good is an imperfect world where everyone suffers?", proceeding to point out just how much Naruto himself has suffered.
• Berserk Button: Shikaku unintentionally hits one of Hashirama's when they witness him aiming for his opponent's blind spot, reminding them of how their younger brother Itama died.
• Betrayal by Inaction:
  • Shikaku was blissfully unaware of just how Anko was running Team Ten, only finding out half a year later that she was concerned about his son's supposed similarities to Orochimaru. Even then, he chose to stand back and quietly observe rather than immediately intervene, something he regrets upon learning just how terribly they were treated.
  • Jiraiya feels much the same way, especially when it comes to Naruto. Shortly after meeting his godson for the first time, he reflects that Minato will likely never forgive him for letting him be mistreated for so long, and that he doubts he'll ever be able to forgive himself.
• Bittersweet Ending: By the time the dust settles, Shikamaru, Sakura and Naruto have managed to take down Zetsu, preventing the Fourth Shinobi War and everything that led to their Bad Future. However, in order to restore control to their past selves, the trio of time travelers must dispel the seals keeping them anchored in their bodies, meaning those incarnations are gone for good. This also means that Team Ten must deal with the lingering repercussions of the actions of their future selves, such as the fact that they murdered the Sandaime and went missing-nin for several months. But they still have each other, as well as Tobirama as their teacher.
• Blaming the Victim:
  • So far as Hiruzen is concerned, everything he signed off on regarding Team Ten was "sadly necessary", as he's convinced the kids were already on the path to potentially betraying Konoha rather than being set on that course by the shitty treatment they endured at his command.
  • Following the Konoha Crush attempt, Jiraiya ironically subscribes to this same mentality, refusing to admit that his efforts to prevent the kids from turning on Konoha came too little, too late. It's simply easier for him to decide they were secretly evil all along.
• Blind Obedience: Downplayed in that some shinobi are capable of recognizing that Sarutobi Hiruzen is not completely infallible. They just don't like having to acknowledge it, preferring to parrot his insistence that everything he does is justified and accept whatever "logic" he offers up, regardless of how flawed it might be.
• Came Back Wrong: Played With when Edo Tensei is used to revive Senju Hashirama, who proves to be more than happy to assist the ones who brought them back.
• Children Forced to Kill:
  • On top of being Child Soldiers like the other genin, Team Ten was forced to learn how to torture at T&I.
  • Shikamaru kills the Kumo-nin that were threatening Team Seven. Several days later, he breaks down crying in Naruto and Sakura's arms while recalling the incident, while they reassure him that he did what he needed to do.
• Commonality Connection: A Running Theme with Team Ten:
  • Even before Anko and the Sandaime got involved, Shikamaru and Sakura both endured some Intelligence Equals Isolation, running parallel to the All of the Other Reindeer treatment Naruto got from most of the village.
  • Their Training from Hell in T&I led to them bonding even further, as the only people they could truly rely upon were each other.
  • Eventually, it's revealed that the three of them were possessed by their future selves, trapping them within their own bodies. This contributes to their closeness after the mental time-travellers leave, as they share their respective experiences with each other.
  • Naruto also helps Sakura and Shikamaru deal with the coldness of the villagers after their return to Konoha, as he was long accustomed to such treatment.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Shikaku finds himself torn between his roles as Jounin Commander and Shikamaru's father after noticing that his son is giving off Kyuubi-laced chakra. Duty demands that he report this, yet he also recognizes that doing so could destroy what little trust Shikamaru has left in him. Ultimately, he makes the report and ruins their relationship.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Naruto delivers one of these to Kiba during their preliminary match in the Chuunin Exams; it's noted to have barely lasted a minute. Shikamaru also takes Kin down much harder and far more directly than he did in canon.
• Death by Adaptation: Sakura's parents are killed during the Konoha Crush.
• Deconstruction Fic:
  • Effectively takes a sledgehammer to the shinobi system's concept of Undying Loyalty and My Country, Right or Wrong. Much of the conflict could have been avoided or mitigated were the adults involved more willing to challenge their Hokage, ask more questions, or not blindly accept that Hiruzen's judgment was sound. Even Shikaku, Konoha's "hidden weapon" and one of their brightest minds, falls into this trap, as does Jiraiya — the Toad sannin is more willing to challenge his old teacher, but still ultimately lets his reverence for the man get the better of him.
  • It also deconstructs a certain type of Peggy Sue story by exploring the side effects of Mental Time Travel. Namely, the fact that the younger versions of the characters are trapped within their own minds, displaced by their older counterparts. On top of this, once the seals keeping their minds anchored are removed, the time travelers immediately die, while their vessels have to spend time recovering from the whole ordeal.
• Deliberate Under-Performance: While Sakura still lost her match with Ino, she later reveals that she intentionally took a dive in an attempt to encourage her former best friend, thinking that a win would help Ino's shaken confidence. Tsunade later read her the riot act upon learning what Sakura had done.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Anko was concerned about her students' potential to follow in her ex-mentor's footsteps, so she introduced them to T&I... and proceeded to leave them in the dubious care of Ibiki and his coworkers, effectively holding them hostage inside the department in order to teach them about staying in "less than desirable places". Not only did this leave the trio severely traumatized and shattered their faith in Konohan authority figures having their best interests at heart, the Sandaime points out that this put sensitive and forbidden knowledge within their reach, with Naruto already having the ability to make shadow clones.
  • Played for Laughs with Hashirama, who only thinks to ask about what they're made out of after testing one of their theories by lunging into a deluge of heavy rain. Specifically, they thought they might be made out of dirt, with Naruto pointing out that if they'd been correct, they might have turned to mud.
• The Dog Bites Back: Exploited by Orochimaru, who offers Team Ten the chance to take out Hiruzen themselves.
• Everyone Has Standards: Tobirama absolutely despised the Uchiha Clan, yet unhesitatingly helps his brother avenge them the instant they discover how Danzo stole dozens of Sharingan.
• The Farmer and the Viper: Upon learning of Team Ten's defection, Jiraiya wonders to himself 'Is this like that story about a man saving a snake, only to be bitten for his kindness? For expecting a reward from the wicked?'
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Hiruzen uses the concept of The Needs of the Many as a crutch to excuse how his decisions hurt others, outright Blaming the Victim when it comes to Team Ten by insisting that they needed to be "reined in" through horrific means. Ultimately, this costs him his life.
  • Jiraiya's faith in his old teacher Hiruzen is one of his greatest flaws; despite seeing firsthand what kind of damage the Sandaime's poor judgment has wrought and being repeatedly disappointed by his decisions, he remains blinded to the simple truth that Hiruzen's choices destroyed Team Ten's faith in Konoha and made him an Asshole Victim in their eyes.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Shikamaru doesn't speak to Ino and Chouji at all when his team helps theirs in the Forest of Death; during his match with Kin, Shikaku notices that his son's voice is raspy and that he's acting like a Terse Talker. It's later revealed that his throat was damaged during his time in T&I.
  • Several hints are dropped prior to The Reveal in Chapter 24 that the Team Ten trio has engaged in Mental Time Travel.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Anko was one of Orochimaru's biggest victims, having been subjected to several of his experiments, including having a cursed seal branded on her skin. As far as Shikaku is concerned, this does not justify how she treated Team Ten.
• History Repeats: Fear of this is what drove Anko, Ibiki and Hiruzen to treat Team Ten like they were already monstrous. Once Jiraiya finds out, he rips into the lot for failing to learn anything from what happened with Orochimaru and running the risk of driving the trio out of Konoha.
• Hypocrite:
  • Hiruzen is more than happy to treat children like monsters and take extreme measures in order to "deal with the potential threat" they pose, yet has allowed Danzo to go largely unchecked, taking his old friend-slash-rival at his word.
  • Jiraiya proves his own Moral Myopia after Team Ten defects, as he's quick to convince himself that their defection means they were evil all along and deliberately decieving him, rather than admitting they were driven away just like he'd feared.
  • In Chapter 13, Jiraiya privately acknowledges that he sees the shinobi system as unbalanced and All Take and No Give, questioning just what a village does for the ninja who serve it, and that uncertainity is what led him to leave after Minato's death. Yet he still refuses to admit that Team Ten might have had the same questions and doubts.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • All of the preliminary matchups are the same. While Naruto and Shikamaru win their matches much faster, Sakura still gets knocked out during her fight with Ino.
  • When Jiraiya asks Team Ten what they'd like to learn, Sakura expresses an interest in learning medical ninjutsu, which leads to her working with Tsunade.
• Internal Reveal:
  • In "Conversations", it's revealed that ROOT was responsible for Sakura and Shikamaru being experimented on during their time at T&I. Crucially, this comes coupled with the revelation for Team Ten that Hiruzen had known about ROOT and Danzo's connection with it, but had not done enough to shut them down.
  • Chapter 23, "Catch-up", centers around Team Ten briefing Hashirama and Tobirama on various topics they were previously unaware of, such as what happened to the Uchiha clan.
• Intelligence Equals Isolation: Played for Drama. Not only are people worried about Shikamaru's potential to become "the next Orochimaru", it's also noted that Sakura is both highly intelligent and was badly bullied back at the Academy. This is used to 'justify' the Training from Hell their team was subjected to, which only served to isolate them further.
• Kill It with Fire: After burning Obito alive, Shikamaru remarks on the irony, stating that "For an Uchiha, he's... surprisingly weak to fire."
• My God, What Have I Done?: In Shikaku's case, it's more what he hasn't done that he laments upon learning about his unintentional Betrayal by Inaction:
  Shikaku: (cradling his head in his hands) No wonder I haven't seen Shika lately. He's been trapped down there and I... I had the gall to think he was hiding the fact he was like Orochimaru from me, when in reality he was being made into that monster.
• My Greatest Failure: Chapter 10 reveals that Shikaku was the one who suggested Anko be placed in charge of Team Ten rather than Asuma. Suffice to say, he deeply regrets this, along with his failure to notice what was happening with his son until it was too late.
• My Greatest Second Chance:
  • Played darkly with Hiruzen. Upon learning about Anko and Ibiki's concerns regarding Team Ten, he allowed them to shunt the kids into T&I, asking one of the Interrogation specialists to monitor them while hoping that they're catching the problem soon enough to prevent Shikamaru from following in Orochimaru's footsteps. This desire blinds him to how he's inadvertently raising the chances of Team Ten defecting from Konoha.
  • Jiraiya also hopes to prevent "another Orochimaru", but by treating the kids like kids rather than monsters in the making and mitigating the damage that has already been done.
• Parents as People: Shikaku is not a bad father, but was kept in the dark about just what his son's training under Anko consisted of, and was briefly convinced that the paranoia she, Ibiki and Hiruzen displayed about his son wasn't just them jumping at shadows and creating their own monsters. Upon learning what was actually going on, he's appropriately horrified... and disgusted that he let things go so far.
• Point of Divergence: Instead of Asuma, Anko is put in charge of Team Ten, here consisting of Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru.
• Poor Communication Kills:
  • Anko assumed that the whole reason she was entrusted with Team Ten in the first place was to employ extreme methods to ensure they remained loyal to Konoha. Not even she knows just how extreme those methods were, and is just as shocked as Shikaku upon learning they were effectively held hostage within T&I and forced to torture captives.
  • Hiruzen let his paranoia get the better of him and ensured that Shikaku had no idea what his son and his teammates were being subjected to. This enabled Shikaku to be temporarily caught up in their concerns due to only having One Side of the Story, without knowing Shikamaru's point of view.
  • While in the Forest of Death, Team Ten assists Team Seven against some Kumo-nin. Ino and Chouji are creeped out by Shikamaru's actions and how little he speaks, wondering whether the dramatic change in his behavior is a sign of him hiding his "true colors" from them all their lives. They're blissfully unaware of precisely what their childhood friend has spent the last six months enduring, much less that he can barely speak.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • Jiraiya calls out Ibiki, Hiruzen, and all of the jounin gathered to discuss "the potential danger of Team Ten" for not learning anything from what happened with his team:
    Jiraiya: You don't trust [Shikamaru], and so you're here making plans to handle him before he ends up like Orochimaru? Do you not realize that it was this doubt, this fear, that pushed Orochimaru to do what he did? That pushed him to commit horrible acts out of a mere desire for you all to go 'oh, we were wrong! He would do anything for the village!' and stop fearing him? (coldly) Where is Team 10?
  • Shortly afterwards, he reams out Anko for how she's handled the trio:
    Jiraiya: Apologies for the intrusion, Lord Hokage, but I have come to request a formal change of the Jounin teacher for Team 10.
    Hiruzen: May I inquire as to why?
    Anko: Hey, are you not going to include me in this conversation? Those are my students you're talking about, y'know?
    Jiraiya: And yet, I have reason to believe that those students haven't been treated anywhere near well under your tutelage, Mitarashi Anko. Have you heard what Shikamaru sounds like when he speaks? That his teammates have learned how to communicate efficiently with him without a single sign, showing that his struggle to communicate is far from new? Did you know that those kids stick together because they are scared that something will happen to the others if they're separated?
    Shikaku: (looking to Anko) How did I not know about this? Why wasn't I told?
    Jiraiya: There's more. The kids have been forced to not only learn how to work in T&I, but participate in torture.
    Shikaku: (as Anko looks shocked) They were what?!
    Jiraiya: They told me themselves. They hadn't been allowed to leave, were just... stuck down there, torturing people.
  • In the aptly named chapter "Failures", Shikaku calls out Jiraiya and Tsunade on their blatant Hypocrisy, particularly their tendency to give up the moment the going gets tough and blame everyone but themselves for their problems.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Zig-Zagged with Hiruzen. While he readily agrees to appoint Jiraiya as Team Ten's new jounin instructor, he also signed off on Anko, Ibiki and T&I putting the kids through hell in the first damned place, so he can hardly claim to have the moral high ground here.
• Rule of Symbolism: The damage to Shikamaru's throat reflects how nobody is willing to listen to him or his teammates prior to Jiraiya's arrival, as everyone projects their fears upon the trio and assumes the worst of them without letting them defend themselves or have any say in how they're treated.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:
  • For years, Orochimaru was regarded with fear, distrust and suspicion due to his high intelligence, with others presuming the very worst of him. Jiraiya firmly believes that this fueled his former teammate's decision to delve into terrible avenues of research, such as trying to recreate the Mokuton, in hopes of 'proving' his willingness to do anything for his homeland. This eventually led to his defection after said experiments were discovered.
  • Jiraiya fears that this will happen with all of Team Ten, given how Naruto was treated for the 'high crime' of having the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of him, how Sakura was bullied, and how they spent six months going through Training from Hell from people convinced that they were already "problem children". Ultimately, his fears are validated.
• Skewed Priorities: Played for Laughs during the denouncement. While being brought up to speed on everything, Sakura complains about "the weird diamond on my forehead", with Shikamaru questioning why she focused on that of all things.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Naruto, being Naruto, attempts to reason with Nagato in this fashion, trying to convince them to stand down. Turns into a rather literal example when the strain of arguing with him while trying to control all the Paths causes Nagato's heart to give out.
• Tautological Templar: A Running Theme in the story is how loyalty to Konohagakure blinds many of its shinobi to its faults, as well as those of their leader and the shinobi system as a whole. Even those who do recognize its issues, such as Shikaku and Jiraiya, are prone to falling into this trap... especially when they find the alternative far too painful to face.
• Team Member in the Adaptation:
  • In this universe, Anko was put in charge of Team Ten, made up of Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru. Later, Jiraiya replaces her as their jounin instructor.
  • Team Seven is made up of Ino, Chouji and Sasuke.
• Theory Tunnelvision: Once Anko, Ibiki and Hiruzen got it into their heads that Team Ten might be dangerous, they interpreted everything they observe about the trio as "evidence" of just how troubled and terrible the genin might be, without considering the fact that they are children forced to endure hellish treatment.
• Toxic Friend Influence: With Ibiki and Hiruzen's help, Anko swiftly sways her fellow jounin instructors into viewing Team Ten as a potential threat, to the point that within the course of just one conversation, Asuma goes from protesting how the trio was shunted into T&I to proclaiming that it's too dangerous for allow them to remain genin. Even Shikaku is swayed enough to second guess himself and wonder whether his own son has managed to deceive him all along.
• We Need a Distraction: Ino finds herself cast into this role while dealing with Deidara.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: With Anko and her co-conspirators, the problem is the "problem": they're operating under the assumption that Team Ten were already dangerous and teetering on the verge of turning their backs on Konoha. So they treat them like they're already criminals, putting the trio through hell and unintentionally providing them with ample reasons to abandon the village that has already betrayed them.
• Wham Episode: The whole premise gets flipped on its head in "Final Round", when Team Ten defects, murdering the Sandaime and leaving with Orochimaru while Jiraiya and Tsunade are preoccupied dealing with Gaara.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Naruto reflects upon this after Hashirama's Surprisingly Sudden Death, noting that while he knew they had been brought back by the Edo Tensei and were effectively living on borrowed time, that didn't stop him from growing attached to them.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Both Shikaku and the Sandaime call out Anko after learning that she had no idea what her own students were going through in T&I, though their priorities lie in different places. Namely, Hiruzen is more concerned that they could have accessed forbidden knowledge during their stay there, while Shikaku is more concerned about how they were mistreated.
• Would Hurt a Child: Hiruzen is more than happy to let Team Ten be outright abused by T&I under the guise of "keeping them in check For the Greater Good".
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Jiraiya overhears Sakura and Naruto comforting Shikamaru, reassuring him that he only did what was necessary to ensure that Kin and the Kumo-nin couldn't hurt anyone.

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Trinity

Trinity contains examples of:

• Friend-or-Idol Decision: Downplayed at the conclusion of the bell test. Kakashi tells Ino that she can choose whether Sasuke or Chouji gets to pass with her, forcing her to choose between her crush or her childhood friend. Naturally, she takes a third option and rejects the offer outright.
• If Only You Knew: Initially, Kakashi has no idea what Ino's name is; while he figures that the Yamanaka heiress is likely named Ino-something to follow their Theme Naming, he doesn't know what it could be, and dubs her "Ino" without realizing that's all her name is.
• In Spite of a Nail: Team Seven still winds up taking the mission to the Land of Waves, and take down Zabuza during their first encounter with the same shuriken trick seen in canon.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Team Seven collectively decides to do this after they all wind up staring at the sun together.
• Limited Wardrobe: Played for Laughs when Ino insists on taking Team Seven out to address one of her teammates' reliance upon this:
  Ino: I have the best idea ever. Let's go shopping and get Sasuke an outfit that isn't just shorts and a high collared shirt. Seriously, do you wear anything else?
• My God, What Have I Done?: Sasuke enters a Heroic BSoD after one of his fireballs accidentally connects, giving Kakashi a good roasting and reminding Sasuke all too keenly of what Itachi did.
• Secret Test of Character: The bell test, though Kakashi puts a special spin on it here: since Ino came closest to getting the bells, he offers her the opportunity to pick which of the boys gets to pass.
• Stunned Silence: Hiruzen falls headlong into this when Kakashi shows up late to his office only to casually inform him that Team Seven passed.
• Tempting Fate: When Kakashi attempts to break up a squabble over one of their D-ranks, Sasuke sassily asks "I suppose you're finally going to train us now, Kakashi?" Cue Training from Hell.

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Endless Dreams

Endless Dreams contains examples of:

• And I Must Scream: The plight of the protagonists.
• Everyone Has Standards: While Kurama initially has No Sympathy for Naruto, he's disgusted to learn just how much his unwitting jailor has been kept in the dark.
• Internal Reveal: Throughout the first scene, Kurama delights in bluntly and brutally informing Naruto about all the things the Sandaime had concealed from him. Such as his status as the Nine-Tailed Fox's jinchuuriki, who his mother was, what the Sharingan is...
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: As noted above, the entire story serves as one to Lunar Lamentations, exploring the story from the perspective of the younger Team Ten as they deal with being possessed by their older selves.
• No Sympathy: On top of his treatment of Naruto, when the Kyuubi first learns that Sasuke has been orphaned, he laughs:
  Kurama: The Last Uchiha? How hilarious! Fitting for scum such as them.

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Nepenthe

Nepenthe contains examples of:

• In Harmony with Nature:
  • Downplayed with the Nara Clan; as they enter the compound, Sakura takes note of how their homes seem to almost be one with the forest itself. She also privately muses that she now understands why civilians like her aren't often permitted onto clan grounds, as many of the people she knew through her parents' connections would love to profit off the lush lands.
  • Sakura, meanwhile, discovers that she herself is much more attuned with nature than she'd ever realized, as she initially assumes everybody else can hear the trees like she can.
• Poor Communication Kills:
  • As it turns out, Naruto wasn't aware that "boyfriend" had any connotations beyond "I'm a boy who happens to be friends with you". So he didn't understand why Sakura always reacted so poorly to his declarations of friendship... until Shikamaru finally explains it to her.
  • On a more dramatic level, Sakura isn't informed right away that her parents were killed in the Konoha Crush. As a result, she initially assumes that they just... don't want her anymore for some reason.
• Related in the Adaptation: Sakura learns that she's related to the Senju family on her father's side.

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Stage Controls

Stage Controls contains examples of:

• Four Is Death: Shikamaru divided his contingency plans up into carefully sectioned pages, complete with cross-references. Section 4 on Page 87 emphasizes the importance of quickly eliminating any potential threats, such as killing Inoichi or Ino should they happen to catch on too soon.
• I Did What I Had to Do: As the future Shikamaru writes, "I'd apologize, but you and I both know I wouldn't mean it."
• One-Steve Limit: Played With in that Shikamaru starts referring to the one who possessed him as 'Maru' in order to avoid tripping himself up.
• Sole Survivor: It's fully confirmed here that Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru were the only ones who survived in the Bad Future.

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