Hakumei



Hakumei, by Pryotra, is Naruto For Want of a Nail that takes the What If of Danzo's bastardry taken to its logical extreme. Danzo kills the Sandaime and in the following Reign of Terror takes over the village. Unfortunately, he didn't count on six neglected children seeing him. As the kids escape with secrets given by the dying Hokage, aided and abetted by one of the ANBU, they pick up other lost children... and a force that will be the twilight of its enemies is born.

There are a lot of Danzo-as-Hokage fics out there. There are a lot of Naruto-forced-out-of-Konoha fics out there. This one takes both ideas and runs. The divergence happens before the main Naruto story begins.

What really gets you into it is the character development. Pryotra starts off the kids realistically, and they are still the same people-- but with a few twists, they are given very different lives. Their life on the run is harsh, a fact some fics forget to mention in such a situation. Drawing a few favourites from outside Konoha into the group and avoiding a straight Stations of the Canon approach keeps things fresh. In fact, as one troper recommending the fic said, things are much crazier, heartwarming, yet more intriguing and harsh at different scenes.

""I can see that you don't even like what Konoha stands for now. So why pretend?""
 * Action Girl: Sakura notably. Hinata tends to work in the background but she's also not to be sneezed at.
 * Isaribi after she turns and.
 * All the Other Reindeer: Naruto and Sakura when they were in Konoha, Gaara when he was still in Suna, Rock Lee for being unable to mold chakra and Tenten later on for being a foreign-born Konoha nin. As a result, Ten-Ten is trying desperately to fit in.
 * And That Little Girl Was Me: Tsunade tells the kids the story of the Sannin as a warning to keep them from breaking up over something stupid.
 * Anger Born of Worry: After nearly crushing Naruto's lungs in a Bear Hug, Iruka demands to know where the hell he's been for the past 6 years. Loudly.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Gamatatsu is an idiot.
 * Anti-Villain: Isaribi during the Wave arc and the Inuzuka clan.
 * Armor-Piercing Question: to Tenten:

"Tsunade: My, what pretty little...(recognizes Naruto's whiskers, Gaara's eye rings, Hinata & Neji's eyes, Sakura's pink hair)...chil...dren...(flops into her seat) I NEED A DRINK. NOW. Shizune: I knew that you wouldn't want to drink in front of the children, so I've made some lemonade!"
 * Ax Crazy: Zabuza, Anko, Yumi and Sora.
 * Back-to-Back Badasses: Jiraiya, Zabuza, in chapter 32. Hakumei and Kinen also pull this off.
 * Badass Adorable: After the Third's death, the kids manage to survive an entire year by themselves with few comparable mishaps. For reference, they are between the ages of six and nine.
 * Badass Crew-- Starts out as a Five-Man Band with Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Hinata, and Sai. Then they add an essential power trio with another Smart Guy in "closet evil genius" Haku and two much more powerful Big Guys in Gaara and Kimimaro.
 * Badass Grandpa: Jiraiya.
 * Badass Longcoat: In Part Two, the Hakumei uniform includes a white sleeveless coat with blue flames on the bottom, modeled on (but not identical to) the one worn by the Yondaime Hokage.
 * Bat Deduction: Using just, is able to correctly conclude that a)  and b) Konoha done fucked up.
 * Battle Strip: Kimimaro. Apparently removing bones through a shirt is awkward...
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: Between Tsunade and Jiraiya.
 * The Berserker: Sora. Naruto and Gaara have to remind themselves not to do this.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Haku is probably the nicest, kindest member of Hakumei. But if you manage to annoy him, you are in trouble.
 * Beware the Quiet Ones: knew all along who the Hakumei were and simply waited until they needed help to reveal.
 * BFS: Zabuza, as usual.
 * Big Brother Instinct: Kimimaro is the oldest member of Hakumei, and he would do anything for them.  Neji lampshades his by calling Hinata "Imouto" (Little Sister).
 * Hinata and subtly develop this towards their own siblings.
 * Big Brother Worship: Both Sasuke and Hanabi.
 * Big Damn Heroes: Hakumei is this to Tazuna during the Wave arc. During the Chuunin Exams:, and Sai.
 * Big Fancy House: Jiraiya's "hermitage".
 * Blood Knight: Zabuza, Sasuke, Sakura and Neji all love hurting things. Zabuza and Sakura especially.
 * Body Double:
 * Brainwashed and Crazy:  Also, this is what Tsume thinks is going on when the "kidnapped children" reappear.
 * Bratty Half-Pint/Mouthy Kid: Inari and Konohamaru.
 * Breath Weapon: Shizune teaches  a jutsu that involves exhaling Deadly Gas.
 * Broken Bird: Isaribi is mutated to the point of nearly being a Cute Monster Girl and upon seeing how many different personalities are in Hakumei, doesn't understand why they don't just kill each other.
 * Brutal Honesty: Sai, as usual. He never really loses it but eventually learns when to be quiet.
 * Butt Monkey: Kiba. Big Time.
 * Cain and Abel: Expected for Uchiha brothers, averted for Itachi and Sasuke. Their father is somewhat disturbed that Itachi didn't try to kill his younger brother at birth. Dysfunction Junction, much?
 * Also averted for the Hyuuga sisters and their cousin.
 * Cast Speciation: Hinata's Tenshi Byakugan serves to give her a different powerset than Neji's, rather than the canonical situation where their abilities are basically the same but he's better at using them. Also, the three medics- aside from all having completely different fighting styles- end up with different medical specialties; for example, Haku focuses on medical herbs rather than using chakra to heal.
 * Character Development
 * Chekhov's Gunman: is actually mentioned in Part 1.
 * Chekhov's Skill:
 * The Chessmaster: Danzo.
 * Chick Magnet: The Uchiha brothers as usual. Sasuke fears fangirls. Sure enough, they always find him.
 * Cloudcuckoolander/Cute and Psycho: Gaara comes across as vaguely psychotic (in the medical sense) to the others but this is only because they didn't know immediately that the monster in his head is real.
 * Combat Medic: Sakura (at least so far) is this in contrast to Haku's Deadly Doctor.
 * Comedic Sociopathy: Sai and his comments, Kimimaro and his pranks, Zabuza being... Zabuza.
 * Heroic Comedic Sociopath: All of the above plus Sakura and Anko.
 * Cool Teacher: Jiraiya tries. Sometimes, he even is... until Tsunade bursts his bubble.
 * Conservation of Ninjutsu: Mostly played straight. Mostly.
 * Creepy Child: Sai, Gaara and are heroic examples and Yumi is a villainous one.
 * Curb Stomp Battle:
 * Dark Action Girl: Yumi.
 * Darkest Hour: None of the kids are even sure they'll survive their first winter.
 * Deadly Doctor: Haku is turning into this. His medical abilties rely on herbs and chemicals; he also uses drugs and poisons in battle. Hinata may be another example, since her fighting style seems to involve poison; curiously, Sakura isn't. She's deadly, and she's a healer, but so far there doesn't seem to be an overlap.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Sasuke, Sai, Neji and Kimimaro.
 * Designated Girl Fight: Sakura vs Yumi. Hinata vs Matsuri could count, except it wasn't a fight.
 * Discard and Draw:
 * Ditto Fighter: figures out how to use "Dokugiri" after only seeing it once.
 * Doom It Yourself: Do NOT ask Kimimaro to fix your house.
 * Drowning My Sorrows: After the 3rd Hokage's death,
 * Dual-Wielding: Yumi with kunai.
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: This is becoming a sore spot with Haku.
 * Dramatic Unmask:
 * Early-Bird Cameo: Konan and Zabuza in Chapter 3. Zabuza doesn't appear again until Chapter 11, and Konan hasn't yet reappeared.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Yumi. Also, Raven Hair, Ivory Skin.
 * Elemental Powers:
 * Dishing Out Dirt: Gaara, obviously.
 * Extra Ore Dinary:
 * An Ice Person: Haku.
 * Making a Splash: Mist nin, Kakashi and.
 * Playing with Fire: The Uchiha.
 * Enemy Mine
 * Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: BSODs because of this. The others remind him that not being completely heartless is a GOOD thing.
 * Evil Former Friend: Technically she's been dead for 13 years but were once thick as thieves. Yumi invokes this by .  sees Naruto as this.
 * Extreme Omnivore: Sai for awhile after they escaped Konoha.
 * Five-Man Band:
 * The Hero and The Captain: Naruto.
 * The Lancer and Number Two: Sasuke, a role he proves very competent at.
 * The Smart Guys: Sakura and Haku.
 * The Big Guys: Neji, Gaara and Kimimaro.
 * The Heart: Hinata.
 * Sixth Ranger: Sai.
 * The Mentor: Tsunade, Jiraiya and Shizune.
 * Fluffy the Terrible: Naruto dubs the Nine Tails and One Tail "Fuzzy Wuzzy" and "Sandy Wandy" after the rest of the group finds out about them.
 * Forgotten Friend, New Foe: Naruto is actually insulted that it takes so long for to remember who he is.
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: In chapter 18, Sasuke has to remind Naruto just what's at stake in Konoha.
 * Glamour Failure: Naruto can't hide his whiskers.
 * Good Parents: Tenten's foster father.
 * Hannibal Lecture: gives one to Tenten during their fight. It works.
 * Harmful to Minors: Putting aside the murder of the Third Hokage, its effect on the protagonists and their various familial troubles, Itachi once took his mother's place in assisting medic-nin in battle since she was pregnant with Sasuke at the time. Itachi was five. He still has nightmares from the experience.
 * Heel Face Turn: Isaribi, Zabuza, Rock Lee,, though it's debatable how much of a Heel everyone but the first two actually was.
 * He Knows Too Much: The reason why the kids had to leave Konoha in the first place. Later on, Hakumei considers killing when they realize  has put two and two together.
 * Heroic Bystander: Rock Lee (Danzo instates laws that prevent him from attending the Ninja Academy) and the proprietor of Ichiraku's (who manages to clock some utterly surprised Sand and Sound ninja).
 * Heroic Sacrifice: . See "You Shall Not Pass."
 * Hot Amazon: Sakura. Neji thinks this of Tenten.
 * I Call It "Vera": Don't touch Zabuza's sword.
 * I Have No Daughter or Nephew: Hyuuga Hiashi disowns Hinata and Neji.
 * And then he goes and
 * I Know You Know I Know: Since Hakumei is undercover during the Chuunin exams, there's a lot of this going on.
 * Idiot Hero: Kiba.
 * Ill Boy: Kimimaro has mostly recovered from his illness, thanks to Tsunade, but it still saps his endurance.
 * Improbable Age: Naruto and co. successfully escape a very large village with very important information, collect three other strangers, two of which are three years older than they are and live on their own for at least a year, all at the tender ages of six or seven. Then again, Tsunade herself notes that the kids have various amounts of ailments when she finds them and well, ninja.
 * In Spite of a Nail: Not too many things, but Gaara gets the same nickname as in canon, and  despite the changes that have occurred by then.
 * The Insomniac: Gaara, as usual.
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: Tsunade, after having Naruto & co. get all cleaned up:
 * Improbable Age: Naruto and co. successfully escape a very large village with very important information, collect three other strangers, two of which are three years older than they are and live on their own for at least a year, all at the tender ages of six or seven. Then again, Tsunade herself notes that the kids have various amounts of ailments when she finds them and well, ninja.
 * In Spite of a Nail: Not too many things, but Gaara gets the same nickname as in canon, and  despite the changes that have occurred by then.
 * The Insomniac: Gaara, as usual.
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: Tsunade, after having Naruto & co. get all cleaned up:

"Tsunade: From this day on, you are Hakumei, the twilight of your enemies. You will call yourselves that, or I won’t teach you."
 * I Owe You My Life: Hakumei believes in calling in any and all life-preserving favors they've been presented with.
 * It's Personal: Sasuke always disliked Yumi, but when  he declares a blood feud against her clan.
 * Jerkass: Yumi, Gato and Sora. Surprisingly, the Sound nin actually behave themselves outside of battle.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Zabuza would rather be fighting... but given the chance to honestly help, he can be talked/ guilted into it. Also, Kiba.
 * Jumping Off the Slippery Slope:
 * Kick the Dog: Sora during his match against Dosu. Yumi, whenever she talks.
 * Kick the Morality Pet: As You Know, gaining the Mangekyou Sharingan means killing the person closest to you.
 * Killed Off for Real: The Third Hokage, Minato, Kushina, Hizashi, several Uchiha,, and.
 * Lady Macbeth: The author notes that it is rare for a Naruto fanfic to have an evil in it.
 * Large Ham: Konohamaru.
 * La Résistance: Kinen.
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: has absolutely no idea what 's been up to for the past 13 years.
 * Laser Guided Tykebomb: Thanks to his actions, Danzo inadvertently forms Hakumei, who seek to destroy him. Tsunade even points it out. Considering that Akatsuki is one of the reasons that Naruto and Gaara are Jinchuuriki,they also count toward them as well.
 * Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: It was highly probable that members of Hakumei would fight one another in the Chuunin Exams, but for their fight, set their own victory conditions--.
 * Little Miss Badass: Sakura, Hinata, Isaribi and Yumi.
 * Living Emotional Crutch: Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata are this to Iruka, Itachi and respectively, since the former's absence brings about drastic changes in the latter's lives i.e. Iruka becomes bitter and jaded, Itachi falls out of favor with his family and  pretty much gives up on the world.
 * Mama Bear: Tsunami standing up to the goons that Gato sent after her and Inari.
 * The Medic: Sakura, Hinata, and Haku fill this role for Hakumei.
 * Melee a Trois:  Cue a three-way battle between   Things get messy fast.
 * Minored in Asskicking: Haku and Hinata.
 * My Master, Right or Wrong: The Inuzuka clan is loyal to Danzo simply because he's the Hokage. They're pretty decent people- they just don't question orders that seem to come from a legitimate authority.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Tsunade gives the kids some very badass nicknames, partly in the hopes they'll grow into them, partly to give them a treat, and largely to keep from using their surnames, some of which are... conspicuous. Here are the characters' new full names as translated by the author:
 * Sabaku no Gaara (Gaara of the Desert)
 * Haka no Kimimaro (Kimimaro of the Tomb)
 * Shin’en no Sai (Sai of the Abyss)
 * Rasen no Neji (Neji of the Spiral)
 * Hara no Haku (Haku of the Tundra)
 * Gesshoku no Hinata (Hinata of the Lunar Eclipse)
 * Nisshoku no Sakura (Sakura of the Solar Eclipse)
 * Arashi no Sasuke (Sasuke of the Tempest)
 * Shippuu no Naruto (Naruto of the Hurricane)
 * Never Mess with Granny: Tsunade.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Good working running straight to Danzo,.
 * The Nicknamer: Tsunade gave the nine members of Hakumei their distinctive names.
 * Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Kimimaro likes telling weird stories. And reanimating his bones while they're away from his body.
 * Odd Friendship: Neji and Shikamaru. Haku and of all things.
 * Oh Crap: The kids when, after escaping Danzo, finds them escaping Konoha in a merchant's cart.
 * Official Couple: Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura. It's announced in the intro to the first chapter. In-story, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura remain oblivious.
 * Older Than They Look:  manages to fool everyone about her actual age, although most people think something is off about her.
 * One-Man Army: Naruto and Gaara, for obvious reason.
 * Papa Wolf: You will be missed,.
 * Parental Neglect: Sasuke in the opening sequence.
 * Primal Scene: One night, Gaara goes looking for something do with his insomnia-induced boredom and finds Jiraiya's library. Hilarity and mentally scarring imagery ensues.
 * Psycho Ex-Girlfriend:
 * The Rival: Kiba and Kimimaro, Yumi, Sakura and Sasuke.
 * Rose-Haired Girl: Sakura. Noted frequently.
 * Running Gag: Ninja Puffs, Neji kicking people in his sleep.
 * Haku, the "closet evil mastermind" who looks like a girl.
 * Run or Die: At the beginning of the story, the children are faced with these options after seeing the Hokage's death.
 * Sadistic Choice: Yumi imposes one on Sasuke
 * Secret Identity: In Part Two, although with the twist that the kids use part of their real names when masked, and use false names and backgrounds while unmasked.
 * Secret Project Refugee Family: Hakumei again.
 * Shout-Out: To, of all things, Ratatouille.
 * Silk Hiding Steel: Hinata. Hanabi is trying to be this.
 * Spanner in the Works: Hakumei is this And thus 's reputation takes a dive.
 * The Squadette: Sakura and Hinata.
 * The Stations of the Canon: Granted, the events of the stations happen much differently, but the Wave and Chunin exam arcs take up almost the entirety of part 2. Of course, because those events were much different, it would have to be pretty damn hard to follow the stations coming next, so ultimately averted.
 * Stepford Smiler: Sai at the beginning. He still does the fake smiling thing but now mostly when he's angry and doesn't want a normal person to notice.
 * Snark Knight: Zabuza.
 * Stern Teacher: While she does her share of mothering them, Tsunade has high standards for Hakumei and very firmly guides them.
 * Team Dad: Jiraiya.
 * Team Mom: Tsunade.
 * Technical Pacifist: As usual, if Haku can avoid it, he doesn't kill people.
 * Teen Superspy: Being the Good Counterpart to Akatsuki, Hakumei becomes a group of these. Damn proficient ones too.
 * Theme Naming: The two Hakumei girls become “Hinata of the Lunar Eclipse” and “Sakura of the Solar Eclipse”.
 * More subtly: "Hakumei" means "twilight". Since two of the group are jinchuuriki, Hakumei is almost certainly going to end up fighting against Akatsuki- "daybreak".
 * Title Drop: Memorably in Chapter Six:
 * More subtly: "Hakumei" means "twilight". Since two of the group are jinchuuriki, Hakumei is almost certainly going to end up fighting against Akatsuki- "daybreak".
 * Title Drop: Memorably in Chapter Six:


 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Sakura and Hinata.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: While he never stops being who he is, Iruka misses Naruto when he escapes and it shows. He warms back up when he returns.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Sasuke really, really likes tomatoes.
 * True Companions: The group that gives the fic its name. Tsunade calls them the "Mudpuppies" when she's not calling them "Hakumei."
 * The Legendary Sannin used to be this. One of the first things Tsunade does once she takes the kids in is tell them the history of her "family" and warn them not to make the same mistakes.
 * Zabuza muses the hakumei's bond with each other is similar to the bond the seven swordsman once had.
 * Tyrant Takes the Helm: Danzo. After six years of his rule, Konoha is practically unrecognizable.
 * Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Dammit, !!
 * Mikage Satoshi is this for the entire invasion. THE ENTIRE INVASION.
 * Warrior Therapist: Hinata to Matsuri.
 * "Well Done, Son" Guy: Sasuke's case of this leads eventually to enough frustration he runs away.
 * Whip It Good: Yumi.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: Hakumei, Shino, Hanabi and Gamakichi.
 * White Mask of Doom: When the kids begin acting as Hakumei in Part Two, they wear full-face white masks with the kanji of their codenames on the forehead, as shown in the fanart that serves as the page image and the rest of that artist's Hakumei pictures.
 * You Are What You Hate:
 * You Shall Not Pass: Gaara while he's fighting on the Hokage monument.