Webcomic / Ffreire's NaruFox AU

In a world where some of the shinobi happened to be a Little Bit Beastly, the human and animal clans of Konohagakure used to get along peacefully. All that changed when a Nine-Tailed Fox attacked. Its rampage through the village led to considerable destruction, as well as the death of the Yondaime... and in its wake, distrust and discrimination against all of the animal clans lingered.

Twelve years later, a young Uzumaki Naruto decides that the best way to set things right is by having another Nine-Tailed Fox become Hokage, showing everyone that they've got nothing to fear. And so begins the NaruFox AU, a series of sketches and short comics by Ffreire that flesh out this world and follow Naruto and his friends on their journey.

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This series includes examples of:

• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Generally speaking, the Rookie Nine are all shown to be on much friendlier terms with each other, forming a much larger friend group.
  • Team Seven is much more immediately ride-or-die for each other, with Sakura and Sasuke happily getting involved with several of Naruto's shenanigans.
  • Sakura and Ino didn't have any kind of falling out over how both of them were crushing on Sasuke, and Sakura is relaxed enough about it to playfully tease Sasuke when he remarks on their differences.
  • Ino's status as a Bully Hunter means that she's leapt in to defend not just Sakura, but Naruto, Hinata, and any other friends of hers who needed the help.
  • While Iruka has not officially adopted Naruto, the two of them started living together at some point.
  • Instead of slaughtering their clan, Itachi got promoted to Sasuke's guardian after their parents passed away.
  • Since both of her teammates are discriminated against for being from animal clans, Hinata finds her confidence in order to protect them.
  • Hinata and Neji have a much better relationship, as he doesn't blame her or Hanabi for being born into the Main Branch, recognizing that they are also victims of their father and the split system.
  • Kakashi is well-acquainted with Zabuza as a mercenary, greeting him warmly and introducing him to Team Seven as a friend.
  • The Sand siblings are much closer, since Rasa's attempt to turn Gaara into a Person of Mass Destruction was nipped in the bud, leaving them traumatized but safely in the care of their uncle.
  • Rather than immediately crushing on Sakura, Lee considers her and her teammates to be potential rivals in the same vein as Gai's Eternal Rivalry with Kakashi.
  • Being significantly less bloodthirsty during the Chuunin Exams, Gaara is much more intimidated by Lee's display during their match, and leery of potentially having to fight him again.
• Adaptational Badass: While Temari was no slouch in the original series, she still takes things up a notch, single-handedly taking care of the Rain shinobi her team encounters in the Forest of Death. Tenten calls her out on it, implying that she suspects she's already past chunin level and is participating for some other reason.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • The Akatsuki are a much more heroic group here, more in the vein of their portrayal in the AU Road to Ninja.
  • While there is still a Konohan Crush attempt, several characters who were canonically involved in the scheme were uninvolved and unaware of it here. In particular, none of the Sand Trio knew, and Baki was secretly investigating, cooperating with Genma and other Konohan shinobi.
  • While Orochimaru still founded Sound, he had a Heel Realization over his actions and sought to atone by joining the Akatsuki.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: In this universe, the Inuzuka's ninken partners serve as summons, as well as a direct reflection of their soul. As a result, Akamaru doesn't constantly accompany Kiba — not in physical form, anyway.
• Adaptational Villainy: While already villainous, Kabuto gains more agency, influence and power in this series, having taken over Otogakure after Orochimaru left and manipulating Kimimaro.
• Adapted Out: Kabuto's team does not pass the Forest of Death, which leads to some different match-ups in the preliminaries. In fact, they didn't participate at all, as Kabuto was busy running Sound.
• All for Nothing: Tragically seen during the Kimimaro Recovery Arc: the Sound Four try to convince Kimimaro to defect in hopes that Kabuto can use the cursed seal to cure his illness, unaware that Kimimaro already has a cursed seal and is still dying. Kimimaro agrees to return to Otogakure with them as a Fake Defector ploy, hoping to potentially save his friends from Kabuto's influence... but all of the Sound Four wind up dead, killed by those who were trying to rescue him. Kimimaro himself is fatally injured while stopping Naruto and Sasuke from fighting each other over Sasuke's desire to take up his 'fake defector' ploy himself.
• Armor-Piercing Question: During their preliminary match, Tenten hits Temari with a series of these in response to her taunting:
  Tenten: What are you even doing here?!
  Temari: Huh?! I beg your pardon?
  Tenten: You said it yourself! You're just bored! This is all clearly too easy for you, so what are you doing here?!
• Back-to-Back Badasses: The Sand Siblings get a three-way example during the climax of the Chuunin Exams, while ordering the Suna rebels participating in the attempted Konoha Crush to stand down.
• Blush Sticker: Downplayed; the shading style tends to highlight the characters' cheeks in this fashion, being the most obvious in the partially colored strips.
• Briar Patching: Inverted by Jiraiya; when the council wishes to appoint one of the sannin as the next Hokage, Tsunade and Orochimaru both balk. He eagerly volunteers, only for both to shriek "ABSOLUTELY NOT!" and kick him out. Jiraiya's little smirk implies this is exactly the outcome he desired.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Shikamaru, naturally. When the written portion of the Chuunin Exams starts, Ino notes that her teammate likely knows at least some of the answers, but is too busy napping.
• Bully Hunter: Ino is very quick to leap in and get involved whenever she sees somebody being bullied. This is likely connected to how she's not only dealt with seeing Sakura bullied and belittled, but how Fantastic Racism has hit the Nara clan as well, making her all the more acutely aware of injustices such as what Shikamaru, Naruto, and certain other classmates have faced.
• Bullying a Dragon: Zaku, being Zaku, taunts Sasuke about how he fought Sakura in the Forest of Death. This doesn't end well for him.
• Butt-Monkey: Downplayed with Kiba; during the Chuunin Exams, he's the last one to be helped, and in the Recovery Arc, Ino, Sakura and Lee unknowingly pass by the ravine he fell into without realizing he's there.
• Cassandra Truth: While Obito has told others just how he survived the ill-fated Kannabi Bridge mission, nobody believes his account.
• Color-Coded Characters: Occasionally used; some comics, such as this one, render the individual characters in different colors from each other.
• Comically Missing the Point: When Kakashi is trying to avert a conflict:
  Kakashi: Alright... first of all, let's avoid any confrontation—
  Naruto: What does that mean, sensei?
  Sakura: It means "fight", Naruto!
  Naruto: (whirling around) FIGHT! GOT IT!
• Commonality Connection:
  • Played for Laughs with Zabuza; upon meeting him for the first time, Team Seven see how similarly he dresses to their instructor and assume he's Kakashi's sibling. Zabuza finds this utterly hilarious.
  • Similarly Played for Laughs at the start of Ino and Kankuro's preliminary match:
    Ino: Hey, nice face paint! Love the color~
    Kankuro: Thanks, but try telling my sister that!
• Composite Character: Done with the jinchuuriki: Instead of hosting the Tailed Beasts, Naruto, Gaara and others effectively are the Tailed Beasts.
• Cruel to Be Kind: Neji attempts this during his preliminary match with Hinata, bluntly declaring that she doesn't have what it takes to be a shinobi and is nothing more than a spoiled child of the Main House. As their fight continues, he freely admits that he was trying to get her to stop because he doesn't want to fight her.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: Tenten puts an interesting spin on it during her match with Temari; while she still loses, she manages to shake her opponent by pointing out just how suspiciously skilled she is.
• Cycle of Revenge: Discussed by Sakura and Shino when the latter admits he was afraid that she'd follow Sasuke's example during their preliminary match. Sakura notes that if she had, that would've ensured that they'd really have to worry about Kiba and Naruto's subsequent match.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Played for Laughs when Sasuke and Chouji attack Jirobo, the latter yelling for the rest to take cover... while they're still trapped in Jirobo's rock dome. Cue the captives collectively and incredulously wondering 'How?!'
  • Also Played for Laughs with how Temari was given no real choice about becoming the next Kazekage. When Tenten expresses her sympathy, Temari reveals that she's all for it:
    Temari: Now when I say something, people actually have to listen! It's perfect!
• Dies Differently in Adaptation:
  • Fugaku and Mikoto passed away a few years prior to the series starting, survived by their sons and the rest of the Uchiha Clan.
  • Rasa was overthrown when the citizens of Sunagakure got wind of how he intended to exploit his youngest son, mysteriously passing away while imprisoned.
  • During the Recovery Mission, Tayuya dies via Sakura slitting her throat the moment Ino leaps back out of her body.
  • Poor Kimimaro also dies differently during the above mission: they strain themselves too much while cutting Naruto and Sasuke's fight short, passing away peacefully afterwards.
• Discriminate and Switch:
  • Played With in Naruto's case. Naruto believes that most of the village dislikes him and calls him a 'demon fox' because he happens to be a nine-tailed fox like the one who rampaged through Konoha. It's implied, however, that there may be more to the story that he isn't fully aware of.
  • Instead of being scared of his wife and son's power, Haku's father betrayed them due to them being rabbit-folk.
• Dynamic Entry: One Flashback shows that Ino dealt with one of Naruto's bullies this way in a fashion that Gai himself would've been proud of.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Hinata used to have long hair; however, after Ino defended her from bullies and Naruto reassured her, she decided to cut her hair into its familiar short style.
• Fake Defector: This is revealed to be Kimimaro's original game plan; pretending to rejoin Sound in order to oppose Kabuto from within. After this comes out, Sasuke tries taking over the role.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Cropped up in the wake of the Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage through Konoha; many of the human residents of the village now regard the animal clans with suspicion. Not just the foxes of the Uzumaki, but all of the other animal clans, such as the Inuzuka, Nara, and Aburame.
  • Implied to be deeper-rooted in Kirigakure, given how violently Haku's own father turned upon his wife and son upon learning about their snow bunny heritage.
  • Inverted in Sunagakure, where the animal clans are seen as vital components of their society. As a result, Rasa's plans to take advantage of his half-tanuki children didn't go over well...
• Foil: Played for Laughs by contrasting Temari's unimpressed reaction to her brothers being cute together with Sakura and Sasuke being shocked at how adorable the sight of Naruto enthusiastically showing Gaara around is.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • Obito didn't die during the mission to take care of Kannabi Bridge, though he was seriously injured and still passed his eye over to Kakashi. Rin has also survived to the present day.
  • The Uchiha Massacre didn't happen in this universe, though the head couple in charge of the clan did die around the same time it would have taken place.
  • Karura's family was highly regarded in Sunagakure due to being tanuki. This led to outrage and outright revolution against Rasa when the public learned what he intended to do to his own children.
  • Team Seven passed the Bell Test a little faster by deciding to work together to secure the bento Kakashi'd brought along as one of their motivators.
  • The Rookie Nine assist each other during the Chuunin Exam rather than viewing their classmates as rivals.
  • Since Naruto immediately latched onto Gaara as a potential friend, Kiba isn't scared of him either when they cross paths with his team in the Forest of Death.
  • Despite Kin grabbing her by the hair, Sakura doesn't cut it off to free herself, as Ino intervenes much faster and possesses Kin before she can.
  • Team Kabuto doesn't make it into the preliminaries; instead of fighting Yoroi, Sasuke faces Abumi Zaku in the first match, while Sakura and Ino are paired off against Shino and Kankuro, respectively.
  • Gaara doesn't attempt to kill Lee during their match, and his internal thoughts reveal just how thrown he is by his opponent being a Determinator.
  • None of the Rookie 12 are promoted after the Chuunin Exams; during the Recovery Arc, Hyuuga Neji is given the honorary title and put in charge of the mission, selecting Shikamaru to serve as their strategist and swiftly put together their team.
  • Since Sasuke is part of the Recovery Team, he's able to prevent Chouji and himself from being trapped in Jirobo's rock dome.
  • The Recovery Team gets backup in the form of Gaara, Kankuro, Lee, Ino, Sakura and Hinata. Said backup arrives with different timing, as well.
• Foreshadowing:
  • In the Forest of Death, Temari deals with the Rain ninja instead of Gaara. Later, during their preliminary match, Tenten notes the gap in their skill levels, and accuses her of being far above Chuunin level and having some ulterior motive for participating. Turns out this was all because Temari was being groomed as the next Kazekage, and intentionally held herself back over the Council's wishes so she could stay close to her brothers.
  • Sasuke responds very poorly to Neji sneering that the Uchiha are "a happy, unpreoccupied bunch". Sakura quickly realizes that his reaction was more than just insulted, building up to the reveal that Shisui was murdered just a few days prior.
• Friendly Rivalry:
  • Ino and Sakura's rivalry over Sasuke is significantly more relaxed, especially since Sakura has gotten to know Sasuke much better and realized he's Not So Above It All.
  • Lee aims to follow in his teacher's footsteps by fostering a rivalry with Kakashi's whole team. Instead of wanting to date Sakura, he requests that she face him in a match sometime.
• Game Face:
  • Shown by Hinata when she declares that anyone who has a problem with her teammates having fun at the festival can complain to her.
  • Sakura and Sasuke both sport the Glowing Eyes of Doom variant when they overhear Naruto getting insulted.
• Green-Eyed Monster:
  • Averted by Sakura; when Sasuke remarks on how he thought it was cool that Ino didn't suddenly start acting like a "delicate and cute little girl" after starting her kunoichi lessons, Sakura responds by playfully teasing him about implying Ino was cooler than her.
  • Implied by the dark looks Sasuke and Naruto shoot Haku when he's hanging out with Sakura during their training sessions.
• Heart Symbol: Rather than constantly drawing the 'ai' kanji on Gaara's forehead, it's more commonly represented by a shaded heart in the proper position.
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • Rasa married Karura partly to take advantage of how well-regarded her tanuki clan was by the citizens of Sunagakure. That same high regard worked against him when the public caught wind of what he intended to do to Gaara, spurring an uprising that landed his butt in a jail cell.
  • During Gaara and Rock Lee's preliminary match, Lee ends up doing more damage to himself with the Gates than Gaara does to him with his sand.
• I'll Kill You!: Neji and Tenten are both visibly pissed-off upon discovering the state the Sound Trio has put Lee into, with Tenten ordering them to "Get lost or we'll kill you!"
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Naruto still lost his parents when the Nine-Tailed Fox rampaged through Konoha.
  • Kakashi still has one of Obito's Sharingan, and Obito was still heavily scarred by his Near-Death Experience.
  • While there was no Uchiha Massacre, Itachi and Sasuke's parents still passed away around the time that it would have taken place.
  • Team Seven still runs into trouble with a giant snake in the Forest of Death, though it's one of Anko's 'pets' rather than Orochimaru's.
  • While Yashamaru is still alive and well, and raising the Sand Siblings, Gaara still has the kanji for 'love' carved into his forehead.
  • The Sound team still attacks Sakura, with Lee, Team Ten, and Lee's teammates all intervening.
  • While Sasuke didn't wake up during the battle in the Forest of Death, he still breaks Zaku's arms — this time, in front of everyone watching their preliminary match.
  • During her match with Kankuro, Ino still cuts some of her hair in order to set a binding trap. She's just careful to cut much less of it in order to hide what she's doing.
  • Ultimately, the preliminary matches end with the exact same roster of candidates making it to the final stage.
  • Tragically, despite the amount of characters who are Spared by the Adaptation, Uchiha Shisui is Killed Offscreen by Danzo a few days before the final stage of the Chunin Exam.
  • Orochimaru founded the Sound village. While he later disbanded it, somebody appears to have kept it going, as there is still a trio of Sound shinobi entered in the Chuunin Exams, and the Sound Four still exist.
  • There is still a Recovery Arc; in this verse, however, the Sound Four target Kimimaro instead of Sasuke. Aside from the addition of Sasuke, the team make-up is entirely the same, due to the group leader immediately putting Shikamaru in charge of organization.
  • Lee still acts as backup for the Recovery Team; however, he's accompanied by Ino, Sakura and Hinata.
  • The first arc of Shippuden still involves Gaara being kidnapped... but since the Akatsuki are heroic here, said kidnapping is by Kabuto, working with more of the remnants who oppose Temari being Kazekage.
• Innocently Insensitive: Haku unintentionally insults Sasuke and Naruto by putting the former to sleep during their fight:
  Sasuke: You didn't kill me?!
  Haku: Of course not! We're not fighting for real...
  (Naruto and Sasuke stare at him in disbelief)
• Lighter and Softer: While the Fantastic Racism creates tensions and problems of its own, a lot of characters get Spared by the Adaptation, and most of the entries focus on cute, heartwarming and entertaining antics.
• Like Father, Like Son: After Naruto blows up at him, Jiraiya notes to himself that while Naruto looks just like his father, he's inherited his mother's temper.
• Little Bit Beastly: Members of the animal clans look just as human as anyone else, aside from a few details here and there, such as the ability to manifest another pair of ears.
• Locked Out of the Loop: When Kakashi officially introduces his genin team to Obito and Rin, it's revealed that Kakashi actually isn't aware that Naruto is Minato's son. While Rin realizes this, she decides against saying anything.
• Loophole Abuse: During the Bell Test, Team Seven decides to get the food Kakashi had brought along and eat it together before resuming their attempts to snag the bells, so that he can't force them to fight over it any longer. Kakashi even thinks to himself that it's on him for not specifying that the food was off limits.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": All four of the jounin-senseis look dismayed upon realizing that Anko is in charge of the second part of the Chuunin Exam.
• Misplaced Retribution: Downplayed when Hinata learns that her teammates have been having sleepovers without her. While Kiba and Shino told her that it was because Neji wouldn't approve, truthfully, they never actually asked him if it was okay. Hinata then bluntly informs her cousin that she's staying over at Kiba's that evening while giving him a teary-eyed glare, convinced that he'd been keeping her from having fun with her friends while Neji can only wonder why she's looking at him like that.
• More Insulting than Intended:
  • When Neji sneers that the Uchiha are a happy and unpreoccupied clan, he's deliberately trying to goad Sasuke. However, he's completely unaware that Sasuke's cousin Shisui was recently murdered, something that makes his taunting hit much harder.
  • Sasuke accuses Naruto and Sakura of not understanding what he's going through, since Naruto "never had anyone" and Sakura's "always had everyone!" This hits Naruto especially hard, as he fears that he really can't comprehend the kind of pain Sasuke and Iruka have felt since he, unlike them, never had the chance to know his parents well enough to miss them.
  • Jiraiya's summoning lessons hit a wall when Naruto keeps getting distracted by his ears and tail popping out, as he can't focus on multiple things at once. His declaration that repressing his kitsune nature should be natural for him rubs Naruto the wrong way, as it reminds him of how much the animal clans have been mistreated.
• Noodle Incident: When Naruto first meets Gaara, Sakura warns Sasuke that she thinks their teammate kidnapped somebody. Sasuke's response is an incredulous "AGAIN?! How does he even get—" before they're struck by the Cuteness Proximity.
• Older Than They Look: Sasori; Sakura's caught completely off-guard when Gaara informs her that the puppeteer is nearly forty, having mistakenly assumed that he was significantly younger.
  Sakura: Eh?! That much?! So that's why he keeps calling me 'brat'?!
• Only Sane Man:
  • Kakashi feels as though he's the most level-headed member of Team Seven, given how the kids can egg each other on:
    Kakashi: Sometimes "teamwork" means stopping your friends from doing DUMB SHIT!! NOT joining them!! Are you listening?!
  • Played With here, as Sakura wonders if Iruka was trying to tell her something by putting her on a team "full of weirdos".
  • Of the Sand Trio, Temari is the most focused on getting things done, and seems to have little patience for her younger brothers.
• Poor Communication Kills:
  • During the Chuunin Exams arc and beyond, Sasuke refuses to confide in his teammates about his troubles with Shusui's murder and Itachi's decision to join Obito in Akatsuki. The stress from this, coupled with how he takes out his frustrations upon them, strains his bonds with Naruto and Sakura.
  • The Recovery arc effectively hinges upon one of these: Kimimaro attempts to become a Fake Defector to Sound without telling anyone. When that truth finally does come out, Sasuke promptly decides to try picking up the mission in his stead, without explaining to Naruto just why he's so intent upon completing it. Ultimately, it becomes literal when Kimimaro throws himself between Naruto and Sasuke to end their fight, straining himself to the point that he passes away soon afterwards.
  • Related to the above, there's also the fact that the Sound Four are trying to entice their friend back to Otogakure by insisting that Kabuto can use the cursed seal to help Kimimaro recover. None of them know that Kimimaro already has a cursed seal, and he doesn't inform them.
  • Downplayed at the start of Shippuden: Shikamaru repeatedly takes low-ranking missions to visit Sunagakure, since animal clans are treated much better there than they are in Konoha. Ino gets irritated and conspires with Sakura to keep him from escorting Kankuro back home, seemingly unaware or not caring about why her teammate prefers it in Suna.
• Positive Friend Influence: Obito has served as this for Sasori, who explains that he joined the Akatsuki after Obito convinced him that they could work together to ensure nobody meets the same sad fate as his parents.
• Rage Breaking Point:
  • Sakura hits hers during the Bell Test when Sasuke calls her annoying and useless, leading to her calling him out in turn.
  • Jiraiya unintentionally hits a nerve when he tells Naruto that he needs to learn how to repress his vulpine traits until it becomes completely natural for him, causing Naruto to declare he's not interested in summoning lessons anymore and storm off.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Sakura gives Sasuke one after he repeatedly insults her while squabbling with Naruto during their Bell Test:
  Sakura: Sasuke-kun... you're... the most annoying of us!! If I'm useless and Naruto's dumb— you're rude! And self-centered! And only know how to put us down and never even help!! This is the worst team ever, and I'm so hungry!!
• Red Herring: During the Chuunin Exam arc, suspicion is cast in such a way to make it appear that Temari may still be involved with the invasion plans. This is not the case; in fact, Temari and her brothers order the Sunan units involved to stand down.
• Related in the Adaptation: Kakashi is related to the Inuzuka Clan here, and is hiding their distinctive fang tattoos under his mask.
• The Remnant: Comes into play during the Chuunin Exams; all of the Sunan forces involved are supporters of the late Rasa, attempting to usurp control and reinstate his ways. Later on, Kabuto works with them during the Gaara Rescue Arc.
• Role Swap AU: A Downplayed example with the Sand Siblings; following the Time Skip, Kankuro is the one acting as one of Suna's primary ambassadors to Konoha, while Temari is instead serving as Kazekage, rather than Gaara.
• Scream Discretion Shot: Played for Drama during the Chuunin Exams; when Sasuke breaks Zaku's arms, the act itself isn't shown — instead, we see the victim's agonized shriek weaving past the reactions of several witnesses.
• Slashed Throat:
  • Becomes the fate of Tayuya — Ino possesses her, and Sakura gets into position, slitting her throat the moment Ino leaps back out of her body.
  • During the Gaara Rescue Arc, Kabuto threatens to inflict this upon Gaara, only to find that his captive was Playing Possum.
• Slumber Party: Teams Seven and Ten have regular co-ed ones as part of their training. Hinata is rather put out to learn her boys were trying to have them without her, as they were scared of how Neji might react.
• Smug Snake: Kabuto simply loves to gloat, seeing himself as an incredible puppetmaster who keeps everyone dancing on his strings.
• Something We Forgot: Played for Laughs during the written portion of the Chuunin Exams. A flowchart keeps track of who helps whom get the answers... and then the last of the Rookie Nine without the answers is shown sitting petrified in their seat, a Visible Silence and mental request for help stretching out behind them.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Obito and Rin are very much alive and well here, though their work keeps them busy and leads to them traveling often.
  • The Uchiha Massacre never happened, so most of the clan is still alive, though Fugaku and Mikoto still passed away around the time that the massacre would have taken place.
  • Haku and Zabuza survive the Wave Arc, with the adults taking care of matters off-screen while the kids enjoy their time together.
  • Yashamaru is still alive, and has taken charge of his niece and nephews after Rasa was deposed.
  • During the Chuunin Exam arc, it's noted that Hayate is 'safely working overtime', while Genma investigates Suna.
• Stunned Silence:
  • Sasuke and Naruto fall into one when Haku casually reveals that he didn't believe they were fighting 'for real', as both boys were fully convinced they were dealing with a serious opponent and giving their all.
  • Orochimaru and Obito share a moment of this after Tsunade visits them just long enough to drop off Karin in their care.
  • During the Flashback depicting how Team Seven met Konohamaru, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto are left staring after Ino in silent disbelief after she picks the kid up and carries him off like a sack of potatoes.
• Tap on the Head: Playfully deconstructed during Konohamaru's introduction. Since Naruto has been repeatedly bumped on the noggin himself with seemingly no ill effects, he thought nothing of smacking his juvenile stalker to make him stop... only to panic when he knocked him out cold.
  Sasuke: Why did you have to knock him out, idiot?!
  Naruto: (pointing to his own head) I'm hit all the time and nothing ever happens!
  Sasuke: Clearly it's damaging your brain!
• A Taste of Their Own Medicine: Lightly done during Neji and Hinata's preliminary match. After Neji attempts to intimidate her into quitting with a series of brutal insults, she returns the favor by bluntly declaring that he's "just being rude!" Neji immediately recognizes that she's trying to provoke him in much the same way he did her; judging by his expression, it worked more than he cares to admit.
• Tempting Fate: Upon hearing that they'll have to face Anko's 'pets' in the Forest of Death, Naruto declares that dealing with a bunch of animals will be easy for Team Seven. This is followed by an immediate cut to them 'dealing' with a Giant Snake.
• This Is Going to Suck:
  • Shikamaru isn't happy about having to fight Kin again after facing her in the Forest of Death.
  • Gaara was already internally struggling with Lee proving to be such a Determinator during their match. Then he drops the weights.
    Gaara: (thinking, as the Heart Symbol on his head breaks) ......ah. This is how I die.
  • Shikamaru gets another moment of this upon learning that he's going to be up against Temari, particularly since he knows she's already overqualified for chunin-level.
• Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Implied with Rin, who developed the power of a Three-Tailed Beast after Obito was presumed dead during the Kannabi Bridge mission.
• Visible Silence: Shows up from time to time, such as the behind-the-back and overhead variants both appearing here.
• Wham Shot: The 'Chouji vs. Jirobo' section of the Recovery Arc ends with the iconic image of him slumping against the tree... with a leg in the foreground showing that he's not alone.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Downplayed in Sakura's preliminary match with Shino. Feeling low on options, she attempts a genjutsu, with Kurenai noting the boldness of doing so against one of her students.
• You Are Not Alone: After being viciously berated by her father, Hinata found herself being defended and reassured by several of her classmates, causing her to realize she had people outside the Hyuuga that she could rely upon.
• Youthful Freckles: Thanks to being half-deer, Shikamaru has several white freckles. While he can hide these, he doesn't always bother with doing so.

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