Which is fine. Not everyone is going to be leadership material, most people are followers.
Tome of the Orange Sky (Naruto/MGLN)
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Wait, most people taking the chunin exams aren't asked to lead anything in the exam, how could he be failing over things that aren't in the test?
There are certain qualities that tend to indicate for 'good leader' that don't necessarily involve Command-level 'taking charge.'
FaerieKnight79
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Strategy and tactics, ability to assess a situation and make (then execute) plans, intelligence gathering, all these things are what a chunin needs beyond enough chakra and some high powered jutsu. Admittedly, the chunin exam shown in the anime/manga doesn't do a good job of actually testing for these. Or at least it didn't for Naruto and the rest of Team 7. Naruto didn't even realize the first part was testing intelligence gathering capabilities. Neither did Sakura, because she was so book smart she was able to answer the questions anyway. Sasuke may have realized it, but also failed to realize it was also a test of the ability to work with a team for intelligence gathering.
The Forest of Death put other skills to the test. These included planning and preparation (do you have enough supplies for a lengthy mission?), recon (finding other teams and identifying who has the intel you need), and the ability to operate in hostile territory without backup (the forest of death IS hostile territory to anyone other then maybe Anko). I'd imagine a certain lazy Nara got some serious points towards his promotion when he organized fellow Leaf genin to both support and protect Team 7 while they were incapacitated. He displayed the ability to lead, the ability to assess the situation, and the ability to handle a crisis. All while further supporting his fellow Leaf ninja, a trait which Konoha really likes in it's ninja. Well, most of Konoha. Danzo thinks that having emotions, initiative, and the ability to think for yourself are critical flaws which must be stamped out in any ninja that isn't him.
Meanwhile Naruto had demonstrated that he's kind of oblivous. Sakura demonstrated she is a decent battlefield tactician, if she has time to prepare a shitload of traps. And Sasuke demonstrated that he is incapable of working with others, as well as that he probably shouldn't be trusted with leadership since he primarily cares about personal "power" (read strong jutsu he thinks give him an advantage). Something that Sasuke then reinforced with his actions during the finals and invasion.
The Forest of Death put other skills to the test. These included planning and preparation (do you have enough supplies for a lengthy mission?), recon (finding other teams and identifying who has the intel you need), and the ability to operate in hostile territory without backup (the forest of death IS hostile territory to anyone other then maybe Anko). I'd imagine a certain lazy Nara got some serious points towards his promotion when he organized fellow Leaf genin to both support and protect Team 7 while they were incapacitated. He displayed the ability to lead, the ability to assess the situation, and the ability to handle a crisis. All while further supporting his fellow Leaf ninja, a trait which Konoha really likes in it's ninja. Well, most of Konoha. Danzo thinks that having emotions, initiative, and the ability to think for yourself are critical flaws which must be stamped out in any ninja that isn't him.
Meanwhile Naruto had demonstrated that he's kind of oblivous. Sakura demonstrated she is a decent battlefield tactician, if she has time to prepare a shitload of traps. And Sasuke demonstrated that he is incapable of working with others, as well as that he probably shouldn't be trusted with leadership since he primarily cares about personal "power" (read strong jutsu he thinks give him an advantage). Something that Sasuke then reinforced with his actions during the finals and invasion.
Well, Naruto wasn't meant to succeed as even the dumb muscle normally expected of Jinchūriki, because scared / angry people didn't want to teach a demon how to more effectively slaughter them. Of course if he'd been anything but a freaking saint, half the shit he got subjected to during his formative years would by itself ensure that he went nuts one day and just started butchering everything and everyone in sight until he either escaped, ran out of victims, or was put down like the rabid beast they'd raised him to be.
As the offspring of two highly intelligent people, him being naturally below average is suspect, which is why I don't reject assertions in fics that his intelligence was artificially lowered / restrained somehow. Of course, giving him the Harry Potter treatment1 didn't exactly help things there.
Edit: Yes, I'm aware this rant is likely almost entirely bad fandom. I simply can't believe anything else happened even though many people have said this is bad fanon. Everyone agrees Jinchūriki are treated badly (look at Gaara's canon treatment. Suna didn't have a village massacre in the the living memory of their older population, the only one to die was Gaara's mother, and the sand demon was literally the weakest of the set... Opposed to Naurto whose situation was basically the opposite of Gaara's).
1: Beatings when he showed interest in learning anything judged 'beyond his level' / "How dare you show real children up in class you freak! You must have cheated somehow, since half the things on the test we deliberately covered during the many, many times you'd skipped class. And the librarians wouldn't have given an unstable delinquent like you access to anything other than the most basic of picture books!"
As the offspring of two highly intelligent people, him being naturally below average is suspect, which is why I don't reject assertions in fics that his intelligence was artificially lowered / restrained somehow. Of course, giving him the Harry Potter treatment1 didn't exactly help things there.
Edit: Yes, I'm aware this rant is likely almost entirely bad fandom. I simply can't believe anything else happened even though many people have said this is bad fanon. Everyone agrees Jinchūriki are treated badly (look at Gaara's canon treatment. Suna didn't have a village massacre in the the living memory of their older population, the only one to die was Gaara's mother, and the sand demon was literally the weakest of the set... Opposed to Naurto whose situation was basically the opposite of Gaara's).
1: Beatings when he showed interest in learning anything judged 'beyond his level' / "How dare you show real children up in class you freak! You must have cheated somehow, since half the things on the test we deliberately covered during the many, many times you'd skipped class. And the librarians wouldn't have given an unstable delinquent like you access to anything other than the most basic of picture books!"
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FaerieKnight79
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Well, yeah. While it's never confirmed that Naruto was being actively sabotaged by the academy teachers, it's a sure bet that most of them flat out weren't teaching him. Or at least not correcting his mistakes. Combined with malnutrition due to stores only selling him over priced (and probably expired) foods, and his obsession with raman soup (probably created by the only food venders who don't think Naruto is a demon running a raman stand)...
Well, I believe it's canonical that Naruto spent most of his training trip during the time skip having his taijutsu skills fixed from the poor state they were left in the academy. Something which Kakashi should have been doing. Then again, he also should have been ensuring that Sakura met the minimum physical capabilities that genin are expected to have. Instead he did trust exercises (HA!) Which was a waste of time since Sasuke didn't trust or want to work with Naruto or Sakura, and Sakura just wanted to moon over how "cool" Sasuke was in her opinion. While Naruto was willing to work with the others, they liked to shut him out for differing reasons.
Of course, in this story that's not the case. Naruto graduated early, and then proceeded to revolutionize how the village handles certain things.
Well, I believe it's canonical that Naruto spent most of his training trip during the time skip having his taijutsu skills fixed from the poor state they were left in the academy. Something which Kakashi should have been doing. Then again, he also should have been ensuring that Sakura met the minimum physical capabilities that genin are expected to have. Instead he did trust exercises (HA!) Which was a waste of time since Sasuke didn't trust or want to work with Naruto or Sakura, and Sakura just wanted to moon over how "cool" Sasuke was in her opinion. While Naruto was willing to work with the others, they liked to shut him out for differing reasons.
Of course, in this story that's not the case. Naruto graduated early, and then proceeded to revolutionize how the village handles certain things.
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Personal opinion on the ranks:
-Genin - Expected to be able to do routine ninja missions like D-ranks unsupervised, and not be total dead weights on C-ranks under either a Chunin or Jounin.
Very minimally, whats in the Academy should be enough, once you add on Water/Tree Walking.
-Chunin - This is the officer jump, primarily revolving around leadership and independent action, but if you're personally powerful enough Chunin is the rank where they can trust you to do whatever is needed away from a village without a supervisor hovering over you.
So you have actually two types with some overlap:
1) Officer types intended to lead a Genin team(likely their old team, freeing up the Jounin), personal combat ability needs a certain minimum but no more than that - the team is expected to cover the many C-ranks needed to function as a Hidden Village
2) Specialists who just need to prove they can function without a leash. Long term infiltrator or combat monsters, or whatever other specialist work that need independence or special clearance. Prospective Special Jounin in essence.
-Jounin - HAVE we actually seen any promotion criteria for this in canon?
-Genin - Expected to be able to do routine ninja missions like D-ranks unsupervised, and not be total dead weights on C-ranks under either a Chunin or Jounin.
Very minimally, whats in the Academy should be enough, once you add on Water/Tree Walking.
-Chunin - This is the officer jump, primarily revolving around leadership and independent action, but if you're personally powerful enough Chunin is the rank where they can trust you to do whatever is needed away from a village without a supervisor hovering over you.
So you have actually two types with some overlap:
1) Officer types intended to lead a Genin team(likely their old team, freeing up the Jounin), personal combat ability needs a certain minimum but no more than that - the team is expected to cover the many C-ranks needed to function as a Hidden Village
2) Specialists who just need to prove they can function without a leash. Long term infiltrator or combat monsters, or whatever other specialist work that need independence or special clearance. Prospective Special Jounin in essence.
-Jounin - HAVE we actually seen any promotion criteria for this in canon?
I agree. The bit about not wanting to empower a demon in any way is actually pretty sensible... provided you're actually dealing with a demon (they weren't).
Oh, this reminds me of a oneshot on FF where...
She Who Dwells in Eternity.
Oh, this reminds me of a oneshot on FF where...
the third Hokage decided since the Kyūbi apparently took the opportunity to escape and go on a rampage while it's container was too occupied giving birth to stop it, the new container had to be sealed in an empty pocket dimension created expressly for that purpose.
Naturally this backfired since if this Kyūbi hadn't used it's infinite chakra to setup life support and provide nutrients, Naurto would have died pretty much instantly. She proceeds to groom Naurto to be her completely devoted slave / bodyguard / lover by telling him nothing but the truth (he was discarded by his village and that he owes her for his existence past his first sunset) and allowing him to work things out for himself. She even lampshades this before the Council ("Come now, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Do you think I manipulate him with lies and secrecy, such that a few grains of knowledge will turn him against me? I've been completely open and honest with him from the start.")
Naturally this backfired since if this Kyūbi hadn't used it's infinite chakra to setup life support and provide nutrients, Naurto would have died pretty much instantly. She proceeds to groom Naurto to be her completely devoted slave / bodyguard / lover by telling him nothing but the truth (he was discarded by his village and that he owes her for his existence past his first sunset) and allowing him to work things out for himself. She even lampshades this before the Council ("Come now, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Do you think I manipulate him with lies and secrecy, such that a few grains of knowledge will turn him against me? I've been completely open and honest with him from the start.")
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Aren't D-ranks joke mission busywork?
That seems like it's entirely missing a category for actual private equivalents - not expected to operate independently, but expected to fill out the ranks in work of all sorts rather than being considered unfit for any serious mission. The purpose of leadership is to deliver these where they can do the work!
From what documentation I can find, it seems like they really don't have such a distinction...and basically select for leadership and then form teams composed entirely of 'leader' ranks.
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There is a reason many have a fanon genin and chunin combat equivalent general pool which implies we only see the elites and their training/testing.
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Yeah, most of those fanfics take a fairly sensible approach in that the Elites are the ones that are generally expected to make Jonin sometime while the rest will either retire after a few years or barely make Chunin but then 99% will basically be stuck there. This is because only 9 graduates per year doesn't give anywhere near enough personnel each year to account for losses, let alone to actually grow your forces.
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Read about the multiple Academies in a Fanfic or two, but not the thing about the "Elite" one, which does kinda make sense why naruto got in as due to Kurama being his Tenant since the day Naruto was born, it'd make sense to get him the best education possible and if some asshat tries anything like taking the students hostage, said asshat would find themselves on the wrong end of a pissed off Hokage
Except that doesn't explain why they wouldn't screen their instructors to keep the likes of Mizuki from doing his canon-typical shenanigans.
FaerieKnight79
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Because Danzo is a power hungry madman who was intentionally sabotaging Naruto's chances via various things, in the hopes that he could snag Naruto and brainwash him into the "perfect ninja/weapon". AKA an emotionless biological robot with zero self direction, imagination, and completely loyal to Danzo himself rather then the village. You know, what Danzo thinks is the "prefect ninja".
The irony is that Danzo constantly works to undermine the village, all in the name of strengthening it. And this is something that completely eludes Danzo. Fortunately in this timeline his plans got wrecked by a surprise (and unknown to him) team of infiltration experts uncovering Danzo's various shinanigans by accident. Oh, and his heart attack.
Ah, but Danzo's logic is perfect, you just have to understand his definitions. When Danzo says Konoha, he means Danzo. When Danzo says ninja, he means extension of Danzo's will. When Danzo sees anything other than his minions or himself, he sees obstacles and opportunities. Danzo does not see other people, Hiruzen was almost a person to Danzo, but failed the test of true personhood by not being Danzo.
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It's sad that this is IIRC really quite compatible with his canon behavior.
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No, what's sad is that in his own twisted way, Danzo in canon is actually loyal to the village. Every alliance he undermines, every S rank Konoha missing nin and clan slaughter he arranges for, and every murder of a high ranking Konoha government worker he masterminds, he thinks it's ultimately strengthening the village. He had ran the deep black ops part of the Konoha ninja forces during the 2nd and 3rd Shinobi War, and then blindly assumed that the methods used to destabilize your enemies can be used to strengthen your own village. He also failed to recognize that the village is strengthened by having strong allies, rather then being weakened by it.
Beyond wanting all the Sharingun eyes he could get his hands on (creepy), he probably thought that having a clan of technique thieves that weren't under his personal control was a weakness in the village. Thus fanning the flames of resentment until the clan was planning a coup and then sabotaging chances of peacefully resolving things. Nevermind that the clan was the village's police force and internal security. Never mind that by wiping out an entire clan the rest of the ninja corps would be over extended due to having to cover law enforcement and internal security as well. He thought this would strengthen things.
Then again, the thought that allowing Orochimaru to abduct clan members and conduct his horrific experiments on them was strengthening the village too. Equally, he thought it somehow strengthened the village to help Orochimaru in his attempt to destroy Konoha. How this works, I've never quite been sure. He also thought it was a great idea to encourage the civilians and the bulk of the village's ninja to hate, ostracize, and (probably) regularly try to kill the only thing keeping the 9 tailed fox from destroying the village. All with the goal of snapping up the kid and brainwashing young Naruto into being an emotionless and near mindless slave.
Considering in canon it's Naruto's force of personality which let's Naruto reign in and eventually convinces the fox to work with him? What would have happened if Danzo had actually gotten his way regarding Naruto? I mean, his plan was to presumably brainwash Naruto to be a personalityless and emotionless automaton like the rest of Root, then have him trained to use the 9 Tailed Fox's power. Could Naruto have actually controlled (let alone contained) said power in such a state? Or would Karuma have easily broken free after the seal having to be fixed via Minato's last ditch contingency plans during initial "use the fox's power" training sessions?
Hell, Garra showed what happens when someone without a strong enough will is made into a living sacrifice, and that was 'just' the one tail.
Beyond wanting all the Sharingun eyes he could get his hands on (creepy), he probably thought that having a clan of technique thieves that weren't under his personal control was a weakness in the village. Thus fanning the flames of resentment until the clan was planning a coup and then sabotaging chances of peacefully resolving things. Nevermind that the clan was the village's police force and internal security. Never mind that by wiping out an entire clan the rest of the ninja corps would be over extended due to having to cover law enforcement and internal security as well. He thought this would strengthen things.
Then again, the thought that allowing Orochimaru to abduct clan members and conduct his horrific experiments on them was strengthening the village too. Equally, he thought it somehow strengthened the village to help Orochimaru in his attempt to destroy Konoha. How this works, I've never quite been sure. He also thought it was a great idea to encourage the civilians and the bulk of the village's ninja to hate, ostracize, and (probably) regularly try to kill the only thing keeping the 9 tailed fox from destroying the village. All with the goal of snapping up the kid and brainwashing young Naruto into being an emotionless and near mindless slave.
Considering in canon it's Naruto's force of personality which let's Naruto reign in and eventually convinces the fox to work with him? What would have happened if Danzo had actually gotten his way regarding Naruto? I mean, his plan was to presumably brainwash Naruto to be a personalityless and emotionless automaton like the rest of Root, then have him trained to use the 9 Tailed Fox's power. Could Naruto have actually controlled (let alone contained) said power in such a state? Or would Karuma have easily broken free after the seal having to be fixed via Minato's last ditch contingency plans during initial "use the fox's power" training sessions?
Hell, Garra showed what happens when someone without a strong enough will is made into a living sacrifice, and that was 'just' the one tail.
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To be fair about Gaara, he had 2 problems outside his control working against him, first was that his seal was defective trash made by third rate hack, the second is that Shukaku has intrinsic ability with seals himself to take advantage of the flaws in said defective seal.
Also if I remember correctly the stability/effectiveness of the seal holding Kurama in Naruto was specifically tied to Naruto's emotional state as a part of it's fundamental design, this would mean that if Danzo had managed to brainwash him like the rest of root it would immediately trigger the failsafes back to back before Kurama would break free and the village would have to deal with half of the strongest Biju while it is both pissed off and not under the control of a sharingan, the latter likely making even half of Kurama at least 10 times as dangerous as what they had to deal with when Obito was manipulating the attack/rampage.
FaerieKnight79
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Exactly my point. Danzo may think he's strengthening the village with the various schemes he does, but his plans are actually harming it. And if he'd ever gotten his way with Naruto, it would have been catastrophically bad.
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I think his plan with Orochimaru and the Uchiha rebellions could best be summed up as "They're going to be a problem eventually, might as well guide them to happen when I can take maximum advantage of it."
Danzo doesn't believe free will is a privilege anyone but he can be trusted with.
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Except wasn't it in large part Danzo's fault that the Uchiha were planning the coup, and his fault that said coup's best (and maybe only) chance to be defused was quite literally killed (so Danzo could steal the eyes)? And didn't he first cover up Orochimaru's actions, then help the madman escape (I think), then work with Orochi in regards to the invasion during the chunin exam in canon? All of which ensured there were problems that needed "guidance". All of which undermined his village's capabilities.
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Just zis guy, you know?
That fits. Unfortunately, this combined with other aspects of his ego results in all sorts of tragedy, while keeping him from realizing that he's making things worse for his own side.