Fanfic / White Eyes

She blinked, and her Byakugan fell away in her confusion. "Neji?"
Her older cousin turned towards her, away from the dead bodies of her parents. There were no visible pupils nor irises in his eyes. They were orbs of pure lavender, tinged white. "Tell me, Hinata." He spoke. "Do you believe you can defy fate?"

— Hinata coming home to the Hyuuga Clan Massacre.

White Eyes by adamant39 is an Alternate Universe Naruto fanfic, with a unique twist on canon: what if Danzo, instead of having the Uchiha massacred, decided to appease them by having the Hyuuga Clan murdered instead...by Neji Hyuuga? Because of this change, Sasuke no longer grows up without a family, while Hinata, well, does. This leads to a number of major changes from canon, spiraling outward into a wildly different universe.

This fic was completed in May 2020, sitting at 96 chapters and 402,889 words.

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White Eyes provides trope examples of:

• The Ace:
  • Neji and Itachi proved to be this when they were younger, to the point that they both aced the written portion of the Chunin exam without cheating. As in, the part of the exam where they were supposed to cheat. On top of this, Neji wrote on the back of his paper all the ways the other examinees were cheating that the proctors didn't catch, while Itachi wrote on the back of his paper all manner of blackmail material about the proctors themselves. And the boys did all that WITHOUT using their respective dojutsu. The whole thing left Ibiki fuming and calling for the Third Hokage to handicap them for the second portion of the exam...which they still beat in two hours, even after being deliberately split up from each other (traditionally, the Forest of Death is expected to be traversed in five days). Neji even states afterward that he was inefficient, and that they could have beat it in half that time.
  • Sasuke, much like in canon, is the best male student of the academy. Hinata is the best female student of the academy.
  • By the end of the story, all of Team Seven has become this by virtue of being the world's strongest ninjas.
• Adaptational Badass: Several examples.
  • Since Tenten is matched up against Sasuke instead of Temari during the Chunin exams in this story, she gets to showcase her full weapon-mastery talent. In her words, "I'm expert in twenty-five, and proficient in forty more."
  • Kimimaro Kaguya, due to Neji's use of the Byakugan to analyze his unique physiology, is cured of his terminal illness. He even fights and survives Itachi during the Konoha Crush, and doesn't go down in the Hinata Retrieval Arc against Sasuke until the boy busts out Amaterasu.
  • Speaking of Neji, he's one of the biggest examples of this. Older and stronger than in canon, he also possesses a variant of the Byakugan called the Gokei Byakugan, which allows him to use an anti-Tsukuyomi sensory deprivation technique called Kokosora, a chakra manipulation technique called Hiragekoma that lets the user remove curse marks and disarm ninjutsu, Kesshotoketsu, which lets the user create nigh-indestructible opal crystals, and Vishnu, which is basically the Mangekyo Sharingan's Susano'o, but as a physical transformation. The downside is deadlier than the Mangekyo's though - it causes opal to crystallize through the user's body until their heart stops.
  • Haku is taught Medical Ninjutsu by Tsunade. And later becomes the Mizukage.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Sasuke is this along with Adaptational Nice Guy, as the prevention of the Uchiha Massacre allowed him to be more well adjusted.
  • Due to being Forced into Evil by Madara and Black Zetsu, Obito is Good All Along in this story. It is later double subverted when after Obito convinces Kakashi to remove the control seal in his heart via Chidori, Obito mocks Kakashi for being gullible enough to buy his story of working with Madara against his will... before quickly pointing out that he was joking and assuring that he's on the good guys' side for real.
  • Due to being brainwashed by Danzo, Orochimaru is Good All Along as well.
• Adaptational Personality Change:
  • Due to the nail, Hinata is the avenger while Sasuke is relatively more normal than in canon.
  • Madara in canon loved to showboat his powers and toy with his opponents. Here, Madara is a No-Nonsense Nemesis that will use the full extent of his powers in order to defeat his enemies in the most efficient way possible.
• Adaptational Sexuality: Quite a few examples in this story.
  • Sasuke at one point identifies as being possibly asexual. Doesn't stop him from testing the waters as to a possible relationship with Karin later on, though.
  • Hashirama and Madara were boyfriends, with the former's marriage to Mito Uzumaki being more a marriage of convenience. Apparently, Madara was the top.
  • Haku identifies as gay and expresses a crush on Naruto at a few points. He later enters a relationship with Sai, though he's flexible enough to go for a threesome with Ino.
  • Tsunade is hinted to maybe be attracted to Shizune.
  Tsunade: I would bang Shizune before I even kissed Jiraiya.
  EdoTensei!Dan: Oh, I'm sure you would, if that one time I caught you staring in the baths is any indication.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • Mei Terumi is introduced as a Faux Affably Evil woman who wants to marry Haku so that their children can get three bloodlines. When he refuses, she has no problem with sending him on a suicide mission. She Took a Level in Kindness, that being said. Albeit Haku notes that she'll still attempt to assassinate Haku from time to time.
  • In canon, Hinata's mother was a kind-hearted individual, if lacking in actual screen-time, with the person's mannerisms recounted via secondhand testimony or flashbacks. In this story, during the Hyuga Massacre, she's the one who willingly activated the Cage Bird Seal's clan-wide variant that killed all the Hyuga clan's branch-family members save Neji (Itachi and Neji had only intended to kill the main house family members except Hinata and Hanabi, but things spiraled out of control when Hiashi saw through their intended facade and, thinking it was a branch house plot, told his wife to activate the seal).
  • Danzo Shimura is far worse in this story, having brainwashed Orochimaru into committing his crimes, brainwashing Yamato into being his minion, forcing Sai to kill Hinata against his will and brainwashing Hinata herself before forcing her to try to kill Naruto. While he's a genuinely Well-Intentioned Extremist, he planned to Take Over the World as well.
  • Madara is slightly worse in this story as well, putting a seal on Obito's heart to force him to do his bidding, instead of just manipulating him.
• Adaptational Wimp: The Third Raikage lacks his trademark invulnerability, and goes down to a single Rasenshuriken. Naruto points out that if somebody could shrug off a Rasenshuriken as if it was nothing, said somebody could easily take over the world.
• Adaptation Deviation: Sasuke receives two standard Rinnegan from Hagoromo instead of one with six tomoe.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Neji was partnered with Itachi and became his best friend before the Hyūga Massacre.
  • Neji takes Itachi's place as The Mole in the Akatsuki and as Kisame's partner.
  • Due to the above and getting the Age Lift treatment, Sai takes canon Neji's place in Team Guy.
  • Sasuke and Naruto are bona fide friends even before graduation in this story.
  • Sakura and Hinata switch places in their teams.
  • Haku takes Sakura's place as Tsunade's apprentice
  • Hinata "defects" from Konoha and becomes Orochimaru's apprentice.
  • Sakura is revealed to be in a relationship with Gaara instead of Sasuke when Shippuden starts.
• Adapted Out:
  • While Hinata recruits Karin and Jugo after dealing with Orochimaru, she does not recruit Suigetsu, claiming that he's not relevant to the plot. Suigetsu's only scene in the entire fic is walking away while stating that he's going to collect all seven swords of the Mist, prompting a Sneeze Cut to Sasuke^note Who has been collecting said swords himself, and already has five of them.
  • Two particular jutsu get this treatment in this story. Izanagi and Izanami don't exist in this universe; Itachi simply made up their existence to placate a much younger Sasuke. He himself says that an Uchiha being able to actually use such techniques would be just broken.
• Age Lift: Instead of being a year older than Hinata, Neji is roughly five years older.
• Agony Beam: One of Fugaku's Mangekyou Sharingan abilities. It lets him instantly induce extreme pain in anyone he makes eye contact with, earning him the title "Wicked Eye" Fugaku.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Sasuke recalls how he'd used to dislike Naruto when they were kids (largely the result of the influence of Konoha's mothers telling their children to hate Naruto), until Itachi took him aside and pointedly asked him why he hated the blond boy; to his embarrassment, Sasuke had been unable to come up with an answer. It was that, plus advice from Itachi to only judge Naruto based on his own merits and not on the word of others, which would lead to the two boys eventually becoming friends.
• Armor-Piercing Response: While discussing alternative candidates for the position of Hokage, Fugaku nominates himself. Itachi also nominates himself to stop his father from gaining the position, while Fugaku dismisses his son's claim since he is not the head of the Uchiha Clan. In response, Itachi challenges his father to a Duel to the Death to decide who will become the new head of the clan, which leaves Fugaku speechless.
  Fugaku: You would kill your own father? For power?
  Itachi: I would do anything to protect the hidden Leaf village. Short of making it not worth protecting.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:
  • When our protagonists go to confront Danzo during the Kage Summit, the charges they bring against him include, in order: conspiring with a terrorist against his home village, ordering the massacre of an entire clan full of innocent people, betrayal of loyal Konoha agents, mind-controlling people, and being "a generally treacherous, slimy, ugly, bandage-faced, Halloween-decoration-looking-ass motherfucker!"
    Danzo: (deadpan) I don't believe I particularly have to orate that they are lying.
    Temari: Even about that last one? You sure?
  • In outlining Madara's status as The Dreaded, Tsunade describes him as "the scariest Uchiha to ever live, AKA the fucking unstoppable god of death, AKA my granddad's boyfriend."
• Ascended Extra:
  • Hinata. Not only does she take over Sakura's role as Team 7's only girl and the story's main female lead, she also takes over Sasuke's canonical revenge plot.
  • Haku. Not only does he survive, but goes on to play important roles in post-Wave arcs, such as the Search for Tsunade and the Kazekage Rescue.
  • Temari and Kankuro are more prominent in Part II than they were in the manga.
• Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: Raikage A pulls this in Chapter 88, and it would be funny...except for the fact that he was leading a charge against Madara.
  "ATTAAAAAAACK!" Raikage A roared, leading the charge of some of the world's strongest ninja on the forming Ten-Tails.
  A very much not distracted Madara Uchiha glanced at them.
  "RETREEEEEEAT!" Raikage A screamed, leading the charge of some of the world's strongest ninja away from a storm of fire and a giant blue sword.
• Author Appeal: The author admits at the end of Chapter 70 to having a thing for blindfolds. In this story, several characters are shown wearing them at different points, including Sasuke and Kankuro (the former while recovering from the surgery to transplant Itachi's eyes, the latter after being blinded by Sai).
• Author Tract: Downplayed. At one point Naruto goes on a tirade on why the Chunin Exam Finals are an awful way to determine who's ready for the rank, but also criticizes the preliminary battles, since it doesn't ensure that only the best ninja move to the finals (since it's possible for the best and second best examinees to end up fighting each other, or the worst and the second worst). The author admitted at the end of the chapter that Naruto was voicing his opinions.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Karin quickly develops a strong sense of loyalty towards Hinata since she's the only one among Orochimaru's underlings who treats Karin like a human being.
• Bird People: Hinata's Level Two curse-seal turns her into this. Her later Vishnu transformation turns her into a Winged Humanoid.
• Blood from the Mouth: Remember how, in canon, Itachi was slowly dying from an unspecified illness? Well, here, this trope plus the Incurable Cough of Death is one of the early signs that the disease is advanced (though he excuses the cough as a bug he got while on a mission in a foreign land and he hides his subsequent blood-soaked hand from Sasuke).
• Blow You Away: Naruto's natural elemental affinity is for wind, as in canon. Here, he gets to learn quite a few wind-based jutsu from Haku (who combines wind and water elements to create his signature ice-based jutsu).
• Brother–Sister Incest: While researching information in Konoha's library (read: cheating during the Chunin exam's written test), Sasuke comes across a theory proposed by one Jinato Kusunaki—a suspected older penname of Jiraiya's—that the reason Hashirama passed over Madara to choose Tobirama as heir to the Hokage hat was due to an "illicit sibling relationship" between the Senju brothers.
• Calling the Old Man Out: At one point Hinata does this to EdoTensei!Minato and EdoTensei!Sarutobi over how the decision to make Naruto a jinchuriki resulted in him being poorly treated by the rest of Konoha. For Minato's part, the response is a combination of acknowledging that that poor treatment was his own biggest failing while also declaring that the decision to seal Kurama inside Naruto was what he had to do to save everyone.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: "Not to interrupt, but do you mind if I start casting ice jutsu? Because Itachi set the door on fire and now the tent is burning down." And this is far from being the first or only example throughout this story.
• Chain Pain: Naruto is able to manifest chakra-chains to restrain opponents, just as his mother Kushina (and the Uzumaki clan by extension) could do before him; he first uses this while fighting the Shukaku-possessed Gaara during the Sound-Sand invasion. Karin also has this ability, being an Uzumaki on her mother's side.
• Chekhov's Gun: Hinata's forehead protector, which she (or rather, a clone of her) leaves with Naruto for safekeeping in Chapter 44 when she goes off to join Orochimaru, Hinata herself being unwilling to carve a line through its symbol as a definite mark of defection. He returns it to her 24 chapters later as a way of breaking Danzo's Mind Manipulation jutsu on her.
• Child Soldiers: Sasuke's personal notes about the Third Ninja War sums it up succinctly: "They were teaching kids a few basic jutsu, drilling them in a few taijutsu kata, and throwing them out to die. Most historians agree it was the worst war out of all of them."
• Christmas Episode: Two of them.
  • Chapter 22, titled "Mandatory Christmas Special." The chapter's plot has Naruto and Sasuke try to deliver presents for Hinata, who hasn't gotten any Christmas cheer since the Hyuuga clan was massacred. It also reveals that Sasuke, at age 13, still believes in Santa Claus (which Naruto and Hinata mock him for) and that Hinata Sleeps in the Nude (her owl summon Forsooth implores her to put on some clothes, to which she responds that pajamas are uncomfortable and nobody else is around anyway).
  • Chapter 76, "Mandatory Christmas Special #2." This one has Team Seven working to "save Christmas" by bringing presents to as many people as possible. It involves Naruto disguised as Hiruzen wearing a Santa costume, and also includes the also-red-clad Jiraiya delivering presents to Amegakure (which Konan correctly assumes is literary smut) and Haku using his powers to make it snow in Kirigakure.
• Compensating for Something: Sasuke wonders aloud whether this isn't the case with Kisame and Samehada.
  Kisame: Wow, nobody has ever made that joke at me before.
• Crippling Overspecialization: The Gentle Fist style relies on manipulation of the user's own chakra flow...but since the cursed seal can be powered by even the slightest use of one's chakra, and Hinata's trying not to do that, it significantly reduces her fighting effectiveness during the Chunin exam's tournament.
• Deadpan Snarker: Several characters get in on it throughout the story. Just for one example, we have Itachi's and Neji's first in-person meeting in the present day.
  Neji: Still a lapdog for the village, I see.
  Itachi: Woof.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • With the exception of Hinata and Neji as well as Hanabi, every Hyuuga is killed off due to the nail.
  • Ao was killed as well.
  • Guy, Kakashi and Obito (earlier than canon in his case) are all killed by Madara. It doesn't stick, their killer eventually reviving them.
• Demoted to Extra: Plenty of characters.
  • Sakura goes from being the female lead to pretty much being absent for most of the story. She disappears from the story after her team fails to complete the second part of the exam, returns once again at the beginning of Shippuden to help rescue Gaara, and disappears once again, only making small appearances here and there.
  • While they never were prominent characters to begin with, Kiba and Shino pretty much vanish from the story during the Chunin Exams. Lee and Tenten disappear as well after Part I ends.
  • Kaguya Otsutsuki appears in the last third of the final chapter almost as an afterthought, while Toneri shows up midway through the story and subsequently becomes a Butt-Monkey.
• Denser and Wackier: With several Genre Savvy characters, the fourth wall being obliterated daily, and villains not taken as seriously as they were in canon (though still threatening, especially Madara and Danzo), the fanfic easily fits this trope.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: It's established that showing off and flexing your power is called a "chakra dickflop". This results in an incredibly innuendo-laced conversation between Kankuro and Onoki about comparing Madara and Naruto's "chakra dicks", with them not even saying the word "chakra" in the latter part of the exchange. Temari has to step in the make sure they're talking about chakra.
• Double Entendre: "Hope that's enough stimulation for you all to get it up! Who's ready for round two?" In context, that's Kurama after sharing his chakra with the entire Shinobi Alliance. And this is FAR from the only example in this entire story.
  Sakura: Why does he have to phrase it like that?
• Dude Looks Like a Lady:
  • Haku, obviously. It gets lampshaded during his confrontation with Naruto in the Land of Waves.
    Naruto: Why didn't you tell me?
    Haku: I'm sorry, Naruto. But what did you expect? For me to tell you I was working with your enemy?
    Naruto: No, not that. You have a penis! You couldn't have warned me?
    Haku: Oh, right. You thought...? I mean, I've been told I look girlish before, but I didn't think—
    Naruto: You were wearing a pink kimono, Haku! Pink! Kimono!
  • A barman mistakes Deidara for a woman. He's annoyed but doesn't bother to correct him.
• Epic Flail: Following the Time Skip, Naruto has developed the Wrecking Rasengan, a variation of the Rasengan that's combined with his chakra chains to essentially create this in weaponized chakra form.
• Everybody Lives: Thanks to Naruto convincing the defeated Madara to use his last breath to revive everybody who died in the war via Rinne Tensei, every good guy who died on Part II makes it to the end of the story alive.
• Everybody Knew Already: In Chapter 64, much to Minato's dismay, Naruto reveals that not only has he already figured out his parentage from having spent time between Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi, but Minato's relationship with Kushina—the only Uzumaki in Konoha at that point in time—wasn't as secret as Minato tried to keep it.
  Minato: Fuckin' Konoha rumor mill.
• Everyone Has Standards: While he's a shameless pervert who writes smutty books for a living, Jiraiya notes that the one topic he's never written about is necrophilia, as that would just be weird.
• Exact Words: Notice that at no point is it ever stated that Hinata killed Orochimaru or that Pain killed Jiraiya. People simply assumed that they did.
• Explaining Your Powers to the Enemy: The tendency for some ninja to do this mid-battle gets lampshaded in Chapter 57 by Hinata, who at least has enough sense not to do it herself.
  Hinata: Why the hell does everyone explain their moves before they use them!?
• Eye Scream: Kankuro gets slashed across the eyes, losing vision as a result.
• Fake Defector: Just like Sasuke did in canon, Hinata ditches Konoha to join Orochimaru for the sake of becoming stronger so she can eventually kill Neji—only, in this case, it's treated as a long-term deep-cover mission for Hinata to infiltrate the Snake Sannin's operations.
• Fantastic Racism: Tobirama is a wee bit too enthused about killing the Uchiha clan. Sasuke, on meeting the man's Edo Tensei self and remembering what his clan told him about the Second Hokage, growls, "Oh, it's the racist dickhead."
• Fartillery: During his match against Hinata in the Chunin exams, Sai creates a skunk that farts out a thick black smoke that spreads across the arena. Hinata suspects the smoke might be poisonous if inhaled, though at least it's not corrosive to the skin. Naruto, for his part, is impressed.
  Naruto: It's farting! This is a level of pranking I've never seen before! I need to step up my game.
• A Family Affair: Although Hashirama and Mito were married, she was cheating on him with his brother Tobirama. For his part, Hashirama was already well aware, but didn't care because his marriage to Mito was only ever for political reasons (that, and he was involved in his own side-romance with Madara).
• Flat "What":
  • This is the initial response in the Christmas Episode when Hinata discovers that her clan's sacred pine tree was cut down, decorated, and shoved into a hole in her living room floor, a brown Labrador is lying there with a pair of reindeer ears on its head and its nose painted red, and there are several presents from her teammates and Itachi (actually Neji). Since Hinata has never gotten Christmas presents since her family was killed, though, the entire gesture is enough to eventually make her cry Tears of Joy.
  • This is Orochimaru's initial response in Chapter 47 when Hinata presents him with a gift-wrapped box for his birthday.
  • In Chapter 60, this is Nagato's response when Jiraiya cheekily asks him which of the Paths of Pain he uses to have sex with Konan.
  • Nagato gives this response again in Chapter 64 when Naruto complains that despite being emaciated and near death from illness, Nagato still has a bigger penis than him (Naruto sees it using Sage Mode).
• For Want Of A Nail: The type of Alternate Universe fic this story is, given the decision to massacre the Hyuuga instead of the Uchiha.
  • The massacre pushes Hinata into training much harder in order to kill Neji, meaning that she ends up as her class' top kunoichi, so she's the one placed on Team 7 instead of Sakura.
  • This, in turn, allows Team 7 to find out about Haku's identity much earlier, since Hinata identified him with her Byakugan, changing the course of the arc.
• Genre Savvy: Most characters, usually Team Seven, have this going for them on occasion, with little sprinklings of Leaning on the Fourth Wall for good measure. For example:
  • When Naruto first hears the story of Madara Uchiha from Hiruzen, he asks what the odds are that Madara is either still alive, or will come Back from the Dead.
    Hiruzen: Not zero.
  • At the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War, Sasuke, who's read a lot of manga, outlines that nameless characters will fight the Zetsu drones, side characters will fight the ninja reanimated by Edo Tensei, and Team Seven themselves will fight the main villain.
  • Related to the previous point: Powerful as they are, Naruto doesn't think the Five Kage can beat Madara. He's the Big Bad, and they're clearly not the main characters of the story.
  • A piece of advice Itachi gives Sasuke is that, if a seemingly defeated enemy praises him and/or starts laughing maniacally, he should worry a lot.
• A God Am I: Madara, the arrogant bastard that he is, makes this declaration in Chapter 84. Problem is, he's powerful enough to back up the claim, and everyone knows it.
  Madara: I am a gracious god. Die now, and nobody else has to.
• A God I Am Not: Hamura Otsutsuki makes this declaration in response to the nearby audience bowing low out of respect.
• Grey-and-Grey Morality: The nature of Itachi and Fugaku's conflict regarding Konoha and the Uchiha clan. While the narrative initially seemed to take Itachi's side due to Sasuke asking him about it, it's ultimately revealed that Fugaku has several good points as well. Both characters acknowledge their mistakes upon finally reconciling after their fight.
• Handicapped Badass: Itachi is almost totally blind from his extended use of the Mangekyo Sharingan, plus he's been coughing up blood due to his illness, yet he's still a dangerous enough shinobi that even when he's slumped against a tree, one opponent continues to regard him with absolute caution. In that particular instance, Itachi had just spammed his Mangekyo abilities to create the Susano'o armor to defend himself.
• Hard Work Hardly Works: White Eyes isn't afraid to point out how many of the strongest shinobi got their position through shamelessly exploiting their kekkei genkai until they win, which causes Sasuke a small amount of angst because he feels he can never win a battle without needing to use his Sharingan - though he later gets over it by honorably dueling Kisame to the death for ownership of Samehada while blinded because of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan transplant.
• Heroic BSoD: Hinata has one while sitting in recovery in Konoha's hospital, on realizing how far she was willing to go, while under the curse seal's influence, to the point of wanting to kill Sasuke just to win their fight in the Chunin exam's tournament, to the point of seeing herself as a monster. Unfortunately, when she voices this in Naruto's presence, she doesn't quite get all the words out or say them in proper context, resulting in him thinking she's referring to his jinchuriki status.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: The various prologue bits across different chapters show that Itachi and Neji were this prior to the Hyuuga Massacre. And still are in the present day.
• Hypocritical Humor: At one point Naruto complains about his opponent being able to spam multiple clones at once. Considering that it's Naruto who's making the complaint, Tsunade's quick to lampshade and call him out on it.
• I Can't Hear You: In Chapter 41, when Naruto and Hinata confront each other at the Valley of the End, they're standing on opposite sides of the waterfall and he's shouting to her...but because they're at least 100 feet apart with the very loud waterfall in between them, Hinata can only barely hear what he's trying to say. To remedy the issue, she has to let out a sharp whistle to get his attention and then make the 'can't hear' gesture with a hand to her ear before beckoning him to come over to her side of the falls.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Itachi cites this trope when confronted about the circumstances of the Hyuga Massacre, on the grounds that the other choices available to prevent the Uchiha clan from launching a coup would have been far worse—target the Uchiha and in turn be targeted for retaliation by Danzo, who wanted to make the fullest use of the Sharingan; kill Danzo and let the village fall into chaos (and be killed in turn for killing Danzo); or do nothing, which would have resulted in Konoha falling prey to a civil war that the other nations would have immediately taken advantage of.
• Innocently Insensitive: In Chapter 14, still embarrassed about Itachi's previously gushing over his impressive tactics during the Chunin exam's written portion, Sasuke grumbles about his family...in front of Naruto and Hinata, neither of whom have any family to be embarrassed by. To his credit, Sasuke realizes and admits to his misstep a moment later.
• In Spite of a Nail: Despite the fact that he doesn't even fight in the finals (as he forfeits as soon as his first match starts), Shikamaru is still promoted to Chunin.
• Jerkass to One: Both inverted and played straight with Hinata. At the beginning of the story, while she was cold to everyone, her ire-—aside from Neji-—was especially focused on Sasuke because he managed to befriend the one person she was nice to, Naruto, before she could. Character Development kicked in and she ends up considering Sasuke one of her True Companions.
• Knight of Cerebus: While the fanfic is overall Lighter, Softer, Denser and Wackier, when Danzo and Madara get involved, the story gets dark quick.
• Lame Comeback: Akatsuki's ominous pre-timeskip reveal near the end of Chapter 45 is ruined by Pain and Tobi indulging in this.
  Pain: It's decided. We will wait. We will watch. And when the time comes...the world shall know Pain.
  (beat)
  Tobi: Your catchphrase is stupid.
  Pain: Fuck off, Tobi, your mask is stupid.
  Tobi: You take that back!
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Happens quite a few times, including in some of the shout-outs. Just for one example, we have this realization from Orochimaru and Sarutobi while they're struggling to kill each other with their respective techniques.
  Orochimaru: How long is it going to take you to die?
  Sarutobi: How long is it going to take you to lose your soul?
  (beat)
  Orochimaru: It's going to be, like, five episodes, isn't it?
  Sarutobi: Oh yeah, at least five.^note In canon, it took seven episodes.
• Living Lie Detector: Hinata, courtesy of the Byakugan.
  Hinata: You are trying to lie to me. I can see it. Don't try.
• Living Shadow: Black Zetsu can become this, both for eavesdropping and for controlling people's bodies.
• Manchild: Believe it or not, Orochimaru is just as bad about this as Jiraiya can be, if not worse. His reaction to getting Volumes 20 through 30 of the magazine "Critters, Creeps, and Crawly Things, the Official Annual" (which Kabuto flatly points out is a children's book series) for his birthday is to stroke them lovingly and then hug them tightly to his chest when Hinata "suggests" taking them back if he doesn't like them.
• Master of Illusion: As displayed in Chapter 61, Itachi is good at webbing illusions inside illusions on top of illusions around illusions within illusions. Tongue-tied yet? Well, during the battle in this chapter, he's good enough to cast an illusion causing his opponent to think for the supposed space of an hour that he, Itachi, has lost the battle—and then on top of that, there's an illusion to bring the target back to the supposed start of the fight.
• Mathematician's Answer: When Team 7 meets Orochimaru and his giant snake summon in the Forest of Death.
  Naruto: Is it me or does it look hungry?
  Sasuke: The ninja or the snake?
  Naruto: Yes.
• Maybe Ever After: Sasuke and Karin.
• Mind Manipulation: Danzo is revealed to have been pulling this on a lot of people in order to covertly build his own power-base. Including Orochimaru.
• Mistaken for Gay: Karin assumes that Sasuke's gay (when in reality he's more asexual than anything). It throws Sasuke for a loop when she admits this to him.
  Sasuke: It's...have either Naruto or Hinata told you that I'm, uh—
  Karin: Gay?
  Sasuke: For the love of—NO, I— (sighs) Is that really the vibe I give off?
  Karin: ...kinda?
• Morality Pet: Hinata might be pretty cold, but she usually acts like her canon self around Naruto.
• Mundane Utility: A few examples here and there.
  • By casting a genjutsu on willing participants, Itachi can give them a Sharingan-enhanced replay of past events like in a theater. He does this to give a few of the other characters a play-by-play replay of the Chunin exam tournament preliminaries. Of course, to anyone else who hasn't been affected, it simply looks like the participants are looking at a blank wall.
  • Sasuke can summon fire-release chakra in his palm to create an impromptu torch for dark places. He can also use it to heat up a bag of popcorn.
  • Neji can use his Byakugan to cheat at cards.
• Mythology Gag: At one point during the Forest of Death, after having been attacked by Orochimaru, Sasuke briefly hallucinates about Itachi turning evil and leaving Konoha...you know, pretty much what happened in canon except for the part where Itachi was Good All Along.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Madara, unlike his Blood Knight canon counterpart, doesn't fuck around. If there's a threat to his plans, he'll take it down ASAP. Best seen when he out-smarts and kills Obito and Kakashi.
• Noodle Incident:
  • Jiraiya recalls that the last time he saw Tsunade, she made it very explicit to him that she never wanted to see him again. It involved the Hidden Swamp village. All Jiraiya says about it is that the village will never be the same again.
  • During their three-way fight, the Sannin recall an incident that involved four cats and a woman from the Hidden Stone village. They don't get to reminisce in much detail before Kabuto (who's just been hit by the Rasengan) snaps at them that he needs medical attention.
  • Sasuke recalls an incident that Naruto was involved in back in the past, dubbed "The Incident with the Kage Statues and the Imported Fish." He gives no further details than that.
  • Apparently, there was an incident where Itachi burned a certain family photo and blamed it on a cousin.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Apparently, Fugaku's entire fight with EdoTensei!Shisui turned out to be this, though he declares that "it can go in filler or something."
• Oh, Crap!: Multiple examples, multiple times.
  • Kakashi has this reaction when Sarutobi informs him that Sabaku no Gaara will be competing in the Chunin exams.
  • During the second part of the Chunin exam in the Forest of Death, Hinata's owl summon Kudos has a very appropriate reaction to seeing Orochimaru's giant snake summon coming at Team 7 from out of nowhere at blinding speed. Hinata herself has a corresponding reaction seconds later: "Sage creature! MOVE!"
  • Naruto and Sasuke share a horrified moment on realizing that, while they were successfully able to use Sasuke's forced-sleep Sharingan genjutsu on Gaara... "Who's keeping Shukaku in check?"
    Sasuke: ...fuck.
  • Izumi has a panicked "Oh fuck" reaction in Chapter 60 after Sasuke, disguised as Itachi, tricks her into revealing she knows about Itachi getting his intel on Akatsuki from Neji.
  • Everyone has a Mass "Oh, Crap!" moment in Chapter 77 when EdoTensei!Madara summons a massive meteor to flatten them. And then he summons a SECOND one right after that.
• Only Sane Man: Tenten sees herself and Sasuke as this for their respective teams.
  Sasuke: (on seeing Team Gai for the first time) Well, it's good to see we aren't the only dysfunctional genin team in Leaf.
  Hinata: (deadpan) I don't know what you mean.
  Sasuke: You wouldn't.
  Naruto: (genuinely confused) Yeah, Sasuke, what do you mean dysfunctional?
  Sasuke: (to Tenten) Please help.
  Tenten: I wish I could, fellow sane person. I wish I could...
• One-Man Army: Played straight, lampshaded, extensively discussed and deconstructed:
  • Towards the end of the series, when all remaining villains and some heroes are this, Sasuke points out that if you're not this trope, you don't matter and your contributions are meaningless. Hinata also laments that the power scaling makes skill and tactics irrelevant, and most fights are basically fighters spamming their strongest attacks, the winner being the one with the more powerful jutsu.
  • After Madara drops a meteor on them, Gaara uses most of his sand to protect a clone of Naruto. Said clone tearfully calls Gaara our for saving him instead of real people, prompting Onoki to tell Naruto that, even as a clone, his power makes him worth more than most of the other ninjas there put together.
  • Sasuke theorizes that, after the Fourth Ninja War, ninja training will aim for this trope: rather than armies of ninjas, villages will simply pick the three or four more promising kids from every generation and pour all their resources into turning them into this.
• Pass the Popcorn: Several times across the story. Just for a few examples:
  • In Chapter 47, Karin and Kabuto share popcorn while watching Hinata fighting a feral Jugo (to calm him down).
  • Then in Chapter 52, Sasuke and Yamato share a bag while watching Naruto attacking Orochimaru while in two-tails-of-chakra mode.
  • And then in Chapter 57, it's Karin's turn to munch popcorn while Hinata, with her owl summon Kudos, fights Deidara's bomb-spewing clay dragon.
• Plot Tailored to the Party: Sasuke lampshades this trope in Chapter 74 when he and Hinata meet upon their very first Edo Tensei opponents during the Ninja War arc. The opponents in question being Itachi and Neji.
  Sasuke: Seriously, of course this would happen. I mean, it's just the laws of dramatic storytelling at this point, right?
• Power Perversion Potential:
  • The Byakugan's capability to see through anything, including people's clothes, gets touched on often in this story. In fact, in Chapter 4, when Naruto spots Hinata outside his apartment and tells her he'll be downstairs after he gets dressed, she very pointedly turns off her Byakugan with a blush on her face.
  • Temari thinks Shikamaru's pulling this with his Shadow Possession Jutsu during their Chunin exam match in Chapter 19. He's managed to trap her via the jutsu, he makes her walk toward him...then his hand starts going to his crotch, a move she mimics to her visible horror... and then when he pulls out a kunai (from a rather suspicious place on his thigh) and her own hand comes up empty, Temari sighs in relief (and disappointment—not that she'll ever admit it).
  • By EdoTensei!Tobirama's own sheepish admission, he created the Flying Raijin technique because he needed a way to sneak in and out of his sister-in-law Mito's room without being seen (oh, and also to kill Uchiha). He also created the Shadow Clone Jutsu because he needed a way to keep up with Mito's incredible Uzumaki-born stamina longevity, and "Shadow Clones don't get tired."
  • Sasuke at one point admits he can do some "pretty weird shit" with genjutsu. Karin does not mind that idea.
• Quality over Quantity: While witnessing the events of the Fourth Ninja War, Sasuke makes a note that if there's ever going to be a fifth war, quality will trump quantity.
  Sasuke's note: It's going to be very simple: each village is going to pick the three or four most promising kids, and lavish all their attention onto those alone and turn them into the most terrifying creatures possible. Quality makes a joke out of quantity, especially when the power cliffing at the highest levels makes fighters who are to Kage what Kage are to academy students.
• Red Baron: In his heyday, Fugaku had the nickname "Wicked Eye," based on his mastery of his Sharingan and his Agony Beam Mangekyou ability.
• Replacement Goldfish: During her time under Orochimaru's service, Hinata quickly latches onto Karin because her chakra looks very similar to Naruto's.
• Role Swap AU: Rather downplayed compared to most examples, but the story's premise revolves around Neji and Hinata changing roles with Itachi and Sasuke respectively, although Hinata and Sasuke retain their canonical relation to Naruto.
• Running Gag:
  • Anytime two of the younger ninja start engaging in a super-powered brawl: "The following fight could be accurately described as two very strong children beating the stuffing out of each other." Or variations thereof.
  • People mistaking Haku for a girl on the first meeting. Tsunade's proven to be the exception, though, on the grounds that she's a medic-nin and can tell at a glance just what kind of junk someone's packing.
  • Starting with Chapter 51, any time a character is asked how or why they were able to pull off a supposedly impossible technique or feat: "Because I'm (insert name here). Fuck you, I can do whatever I want." Although Madara defies it when he gets the chance, on the grounds that Hashirama was the one who came up with it first.
  • If someone starts singing Smash Mouth's "All Star" song, it means said someone is going to kick ass with extreme brutality.
  • People saying "yo, holy shit" whenever they snap out of Mind Control. This is especially noticeable after Danzo's death.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: Sasuke has some...very unmanly screams when he's abruptly startled.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • A random villager does this at the beginning of Chapter 37 when, on his grocery run, he sees a giant purple snake, a giant red toad, and a giant white slug (the Legendary Sannin's respective summons) engaged in battle while a busty lady (Tsunade) threatens a blue-haired teen (Kabuto) while two younger children (Naruto and Haku) and a boy in white (Kimimaro) watch, with a flaky-skinned man (EdoTensei!Dan) standing very still while a green ghost bounces against several blue mirrors (Dan's spirit trying to escape Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors jutsu).
  • In Chapter 95, the chief of Konoha's civilian police department opens up the cabinet that contains ready-made papers announcing his resignation from the post, plus a bottle of Hidden Stone single malt whiskey, both of which are earmarked to be opened only if the Legendary Sannin ever reunite in Konoha. Which, considering Jiraiya's been Spared by the Adaptation, Orochimaru's had a Heel–Face Turn, and both of them are out parading with Tsunade, is exactly what's happened, with chaos rampaging all across the village.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl: While still keeping a good bit of her canon personality, Hinata has a few shades of this, being quite casual about being nude around others. In her defense, given the Byakugan's Power Perversion Potential, the Hyuuga had long ago abandoned any enforcement of modesty within their family compound.
• Shipper on Deck: On learning that Karin's got a crush on Sasuke, Hinata declares that she'll have to introduce the two once she returns to Konoha.
• Shock and Awe:
  • Hinata utilizes a few lightning-based jutsu to include the Chidori, made easier by her natural elemental affinity being for lightning.
  • Much like canon, Kakashi and Sasuke use the Raikiri/Chidori.
• Shout-Out:
  • Occasionally some of the lyrics from the song "All Star" by Smash Mouth are said. "Somebody once told me the world was gonna roll me," the first line of the song, is the most frequently-cited one, usually when somebody is kicking ass.
  • When Sasuke asks Naruto and Hinata what do they do when he leaves, Naruto's reply is a tearful "wait for you to come back".
  • Naruto calls one of his toad-summons "Blastoise", despite that creature being a tortoise.
  • Rock Lee's appearance when he opens the Gates in Chapter 40 is described thus: "The boy's skin had gone red, his eyes white, and his hair was straight up like a fucking Super Saiyan."
  • On seeing Sasori's puppet body for the first time, Temari says it looks like a cross between Bane and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
  • Minato reveals his relationship to Naruto in a manner similar to The Empire Strikes Back.
    Minato: Kakashi never told you what happened to your father.
    Naruto: He told me enough. He told me you killed him.
    Minato: No, Naruto. I am your father.
  • During the fight at the Kage Summit, Sasuke and the Raikage make a direct reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
    A: Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right to me?
    Sasuke: I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer.
    A: Oh ho! Then come as close as you like!
    • And the same reference is later used by Itachi, to Neji, after the former is freed from the Edo Tensei technique.
  • Sasuke cites the "Phantom Menace" rules in terms of how to defeat the Zetsu and Edo Tensei army during the Fourth Great Ninja War: "Kill the Big Bad and all the minions go down."
  • When EdoTensei!Madara calls forth a meteor to flatten the good guys, Naruto demands to know, "What kinda Majora's Mask bullshit is this?"
  • Sasuke goes "Omae wa mou shinderu" while using a Susanoo arrow on Kabuto in Chapter 82.
  • In Chapter 86, Hashirama reveals himself to be a fan of Kung Fu Panda 2.
    Hashirama: Just wish all the fans weren't fucking furries or the fanfiction would be amazing...
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Sasuke can be counted on to let loose with a Precision F-Strike at least once per chapter.
• Sophisticated as Hell: Gaara, giving his speech to the gathered troops at the start of the Fourth Ninja War. "Esteemed ninja of the Great Shinobi Alliance...kick his ass."
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • The Uchiha Clan due to the nail.
  • Haku as per the Fandom-Specific Plot.
  • Jiraiya.
  • Obito Uchiha survives the war. Or more accurately, he's killed by Madara, but the latter resurrects him after his defeat.
  • Neji and Itachi, after being revived by Madara, end up amongst the living as well by the end of the fanfic.
• Spit Take: Fugaku does this twice in succession when Sasuke, having just been placed on Team 7, tells him who his teammates are. First he almost chokes when Sasuke reveals that Hinata is one of his teammates; then he sprays water all over the table on learning that the other teammate is Naruto.
• Stockholm Syndrome: The trope is referenced verbatim when Naruto explains to Haku why he couldn't immediately come and check on the other boy after they came back from Wave Country; apparently, the Konoha higher-ups refused to let Naruto visit Haku specifically because of this, given that Haku had just lost Zabuza and started latching on to his association with the blond boy as a result. Pretty understandable, given the revelation a few seconds later that Haku was asking for Naruto three times a day and had six separate breakdowns, all during the first month following their coming back to Konoha.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Just like in canon, Naruto's "talk no jutsu" is very prevalent here. Its very first appearance is during Team 7's bell test when he convinces Hinata that they need to work together as a team if they're going to win against Kakashi. Sasuke is in awe by it, especially since Hinata had moments earlier refused to heed his warning, but was willing to listen to Naruto.
  Sasuke: The talk no jutsu...I'd only heard rumours.
• Teeny Weenie:
  • The Kyubi threatens to tell Naruto about Minato having a, ahem, small size, in response to Minato telling him to be quiet.
    Kurama: How about I tell Kit about how little your dick is, huh? I saw everything Kushina saw, remember.
    Minato: (groans) Kami, it was hard enough to deal with you when I was hearing your comments filtered through my wife...
  • The Uchiha clan as a whole suffers from this.
• Time Master: One of Madara's Mangekyou Sharingan abilities, which allows him to rewind time.
• This Is Gonna Suck: What's Haku's response when EdoTensei!Madara regains his living body and is at full strength? "Please don't fuck me too hard."
• Title Drop: Itachi's and Neji's long-term covert operation—which included the prevention of the Uchiha's coup, Hanabi's safe extraction from the Hyuga Massacre, neutralization of any threat posed by Toneri Otsutsuki (by making him Hanabi's caregiver), Danzo's elimination, overseeing of Sasuke's and Hinata's emotional, mental and physical development, and overall protection of Konoha, the Fire Country, and the world at large—was labeled by them as "Operation White Eyes."
• Took a Level in Kindness: Hinata started out as cold to anyone not called Naruto, and especially hated Sasuke because he got the courage to talk with Naruto and befriend him before she could. She's gotten better, and by the time of the Hinata Retrieval Arc, she considers Sasuke one of her True Companions.
• Training from Hell: Predictably, any training session with Gai as the sensei is going to turn into this. Team 7's first session with him (brought about as a result of a dare Kakashi puts to Gai) starts with them running "only" three laps around the village. And if you know the size of Konoha, you know it's a BIG place all around.
  Tenten: I'm so, so sorry. You're either going to become total beasts or you're going to die.
• Tranquil Fury: Minato's reaction when, during her Calling the Old Man Out moment, Hinata implies that he saw the then-newborn Naruto as just a convenient potential new jinchuriki for the Kyubi. His response is to ask if she thinks he enjoyed making that choice, and he asks it calmly and with hardly a hint of menace...but Hinata gets the impression, in that moment, that Minato can easily retain that calm tone while slitting someone's throat.
• True Companions: Team 7 eventually becomes this, after starting out as Fire-Forged Friends, while still having a few vitriolic moments here and there. It's cemented during the Third Hokage's funeral, after Naruto confides that, for the longest time, Sarutobi was the only one in the village who gave any care about him.
  Naruto: Well, I've still got you guys, right?
  Sasuke: Whatever you need.
  Hinata: Whenever you need it.
• Verbal Backspace: Gekko, the proctor for the Chunin exams, pulls this when attempting to disqualify Sasuke and Hinata for not being at the arena on time after Naruto—having been prepped for such an eventuality by Kakashi—pulls a little blackmail on him.
  Gekko: Your teammates aren't here. So by my reckoning that means they're both disqualified.
  Naruto: Kakashi said you might say that. He also said that he knows exactly when the ANBU member Possum gets off shift and three topics she finds interesting.
  Gekko: Your teammates are both undisqualified.
• Villain's Dying Grace: While the defeated Madara isn't entirely convinced by Naruto's ideals, he still agrees to revive everyone who died in the war.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: As in canon, Sasuke really wants to win his father Fugaku's approval. Here, though, it causes him serious internal conflict when Fugaku urges him to defeat Hinata during their upcoming match in the Chunin exam. He eventually chooses his friendship with Hinata over his father's approval by forfeiting the fight, even while under the influence of his curse-mark.
• Wham Line: "...Hanabi? Is that you?"
• Your Head Asplode: Danzo meets his end this way, courtesy of Hinata's Gentle Fist.

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