Team 8: Difference between revisions

The story is currently{{when}} in the "Search for Tsunade" arc, although events have naturally progressed quite differently. The author maintains [http://www.viridiandreams.net/ a blog] and [http://www.viridiandreams.net/forum/index.php an active forum] where he posts occasional word count updates and is also involved in several other projects, such as the equally well-written ''[[Harry Potter and The Nightmares of Futures Past (Fanfic)|Harry Potter and Thethe Nightmares of Futures Past]]''.

Of related interest is ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3079936/1/Snapped Snapped]'', a Team 8 AU also written by S'TarKan, which is a one-shot scenario detailing what it would take for Hinata to... well, [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|snap]].

{{quote| '''Shino:''' *Embarrassed sighs*<br />

* [[Battle in Thethe Center of Thethe Mind]]: {{spoiler|Kurenai overcomes Tsukuyomi this way. By working ''with'' the genjutsu rather than against it.}}

** Kurenai does this on separate occassions to both the Third and Jiraiya regarding Naruto's poor upbringing and unfair treatment in the village. Unlike the other examples presented here, both [[Daddy Had a Good Reason For Abandoning You|had decent reasons and good intentions,]] [[It Seemed Like a Good Idea At Thethe Time|eventually realized they made serious mistakes there]], [[It's All My Fault|and feel incredibly ashamed of how things turned out]].

* [[Can't Catch Up]]: Discussed by Shino and his parents when they learn of the [[Training Fromfrom Hell|insane training regime]] that Naruto (and later Hinata) takes daily. In order to avert it, Shino gets training with a new fighting style and [[Nothing Up My Sleeve|some cool new weapons]].

* [[Chekhov's Skill]]: In chapters 4 and 6, Kurenai is shown teaching some simple jutsu to her students. Given his [[Power Incontinence|enormous chakra reserves and poor chakra control]], Naruto ends up supercharging the jutsu leading to hilarious effects. It turns out the supercharged versions become very useful later, {{spoiler|particularly during the Chuunin exam and Orochimaru's invasion.}} The most relevant include:

* [[Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like]]: Hanabi does. Loudly. Obnoxiously. Ungratefully.

* [[Disney Death]]: {{spoiler|Iruka. During the border patrol mission in chapter 7, Naruto and his team confront a trio of missing ninjas that kidnapped Konohamaru and Hanabi. Konohamaru tries to prevent Naruto from fighting them, telling him that they killed Iruka, which only contributes to Naruto's moment of [[Unstoppable Rage|unstoppable rage]]. Turns out later that Iruka was alive, just badly injured, and Naruto visits him in the hospital. This instance only makes it more poignant when another character [[Killed Off for Real|really dies]] later in the story.}}

* [[Elephant in Thethe Living Room]]: Hinata's [[Big Screwed-Up Family]]. All of Team 8, the Third and Jiraiya know about it. Gai, Kakashi, Asuma and Iruka also seem to have an inkling. Not only can they not really talk about it publicly, but Hiashi has such powerful connections that he won't answer for his actions (something the Sandaime points out). They collectively decide to come up with plausible reasons for her not to be at her house or near her father.

{{quote| ''"No one wins an argument against him!"''}}

* [[The Heart]]: Hinata has some traits of this. Despite her poor self esteem issues (or maybe [[Deconstruction|because]] of them), she is very gentle and kind, always willing to help other people. She tends to act as a conciliatory voice between the [[Red Oni, Blue Oni|rather disparate personalities]] of her teammates. More importantly, she helps Naruto to overcome the [[Heroic BSOD]] mentioned above, she is the first person to point out to Shino that Naruto is actually a valuable teammate when the Aburame had initial doubts about his competence, {{spoiler|and she even convinces Naruto of sparing Neji's life despite what [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|he did]] to her.}}

* [[I Hit You, You Hit the Ground]]: Chuunin Exam preliminary battles. {{spoiler|Naruto hits Sasuke out of the Chuunin Exam. Sasuke hits the ground with a broken jaw.}}

* [[Jerkass]]: As mentioned before, most members of the Hyuuga clan fall into this, including Neji, Hanabi and ''especially'' Hiashi. The members of Team 7 are initially portrayed as this as well. {{spoiler|Turns out Kiba is more of a [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]], who genuinely cares for his teammates but is too brash, while Sakura [[Character Development|eventually realizes the bad elements of her personality]] [[Took a Level In Kindness|and vows to change]]. Recently, like in canon, Neji seems to start changing his ways after Naruto defeated him. It's still in the air whether Sasuke will turn like his canon counterpart or not, but so far his rather [[Curb Stomp Battle|humiliating defeat]] at Naruto's hands seems to be pointing him into a more positive direction.}}

* [[Kick the Dog]] / [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: While is still in the air whether or not Sasuke will go the same path as in canon, some of his actions can be interpreted as either one of these tropes. {{spoiler|Namely, [[Kick the Son of Aa Bitch|his killing of one of the Sound team]] in the Forest of Death after receiving the cursed seal from Orochimaru, and his [[Berserk Button|mocking of Hinata to Naruto's face]] during the preliminaries.}}

{{quote| '''Kiba:''' [[You Bastard]]! You hurt Akamaru!}}

* [[Nakama]]: One of the most heartwarming elements of the story is seeing the members of the eponymous team turning into this as time goes on. Specially in the case of [[All of the Other Reindeer|Naruto]] and [[Abusive Parents|Hinata]], as the team eventually becomes their main solace given their horrible childhood and the closest thing they have to a real family.

* [[Never Mess Withwith Granny]]: Hi, Tsunade!

{{quote| '''Sakura:''' I never thought Naruto could be so... brutal.}}

** To a lesser extent, Naruto's first sparring sessions with Lee and Gai, with the latter having Naruto describe it as 'knowing what a pachinko ball feels like'.

{{quote| '''Elder''': "He's still a damn demon!"<br />

{{quote| '''Shino and Sakura:''' Can't you control him?<br />

'''[[Beat Panel|Beat]]'''<br />

{{quote| '''Neji:''' That's impossible.<br />

{{quote| '''Naruto:''' Well, he told me he didn’t think I’d have any problems at all... like I’m some monster that would probably enjoy killing.<br />

{{quote| '''Naruto''': ''(to Rock Lee)'' Have you forgotten what [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|Gai-sensei]] said?!}}

{{quote| "Send them<ref>a group of Hidden Stone ninja encountered during the border patrol mission.</ref> my grades from the Academy. Let them know they were scared of the 'dead last' in his class." }}

* [[Shipper Onon Deck]]: There's [[Team Mom|Kurenai]], [[The Stoic|Shino]], [[Cool Big Sis|Ayame]], [[Took a Level In Kindness|Sakura]] and [[Dirty Old Man|Jiraiya]], all for [[OTP|NaruHina]].

{{quote| "There is no fate but what we make."}}

* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: Shino fires one off to the Aburame elders when he notices [["It" Is Dehumanizing|they refer to Naruto as "it" and not "he."]]

{{quote| "Your choice of pronoun speaks volumes, esteemed elder."}}

* [[Spanner in Thethe Works]]: {{spoiler|Naruto becomes this in chapter 17 and 18. During the invasion to Konoha, Kurenai orders Naruto to use his chakra pulse (see [[Chekhov's Skill]] above) to remove the genjutsu that Kabuto put on the stadium. Naruto creates such a giant pulse that it covers the entire village with impressive results: By pure accident, the pulse ends up not only dispelling the genjutsu but making Orochimaru's plan fall to pieces. The summoning of the giant snake that breached the village's walls in canon instead goes horribly, horribly '''wrong''' for the invading forces. The pulse also creates a temporary breach in the Sound 4's barrier, allowing the abovementioned [[Chekhov's Gunman]] to help the Sandaime and change the outcome of the fight.}} The nature of this trope is even pointed out by S'TarKan in his Author's Notes regarding said chapter.

* [[Spared Byby the Adaptation|Spared by the Fanfic]]: {{spoiler|Haku, Hayate and Sarutobi}}. By [[Death Byby Adaptation|contrast]], {{spoiler|Kurenai and Tazuna}}.

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: Kurenai pays far more attention to training her squad than Kakashi did in the original series, going to such lengths as enlisting Guy's assistance to get Naruto up to speed on his taijutsu. This eventually results in Naruto relying far more on skill and actual fighting ability and far less on luck and spamming shadow clones. The difference is most easily seen in Naruto's battle with Neji in the Chuunin Exam finals, which culminates with {{spoiler|Naruto blowing open his closed tenketsu points and beating the bejesus out of Neji in hand-to-hand combat, which is Neji's specialty}}, all without ever drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra. If he hasn't taken a level already, the experience points are piling up.

* [[Training Fromfrom Hell]]: Naruto starts working out with Guy and Lee to improve his taijutsu skills. Somewhat subverted, since Naruto’s nigh-inexhaustible stamina makes it difficult for even Lee to run him into the ground.

{{quote| '''Shino:''' What variety of flowers would be appropriate?<br />

'''Tenten:''' What?<br />

{{quote| '''Shino:''' We are establishing a precedent regarding acceptable behavior towards allies and team members. To that end, we propose to demonstrate a willingness to use any and all means to obtain an equitable response, ranging from coercion, influence, and tactical intelligence, to, as needed, extreme levels of physical violence.}}

* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: Naruto using the Nine-tails chakra for the first time. {{spoiler|During the border patrol mission in chapter 7, Team 8 confronts a trio of missing ninjas who kidnapped Konohamaru and Hanabi. Two of them manage to knock out Hinata and Shino, while Naruto learns from Konohamaru that they killed Iruka (who turned out not be dead, see [[Disney Death]] above). These two situations, combined with one of the kidnappers saying in a rather derisive tone that he was planning to [[Squick|"take his time"]] with Hinata and Kurenai is the final trigger for Naruto to draw from the demon's chakra and [[Curb Stomp Battle|massacre them]]. This later results in the [[Heroic BSOD|heroic BSOD]] mentioned above.}}

{{quote| '''Jiraiya''': It's ''that'' serious?}}

{{quote| '''{{spoiler|Hinata}}''': Is {{spoiler|my father}} involved?}}

{{quote| '''Naruto''': There's a lot going on here that I don't understand. I'm used to not knowing things. But now I can't accept that. I don't understand how you can see yourself so differently than everyone else sees you. I don't understand why you...why you seem to hate yourself. Something is not right. {{spoiler|And I do not think that something is you, Hyuuga Hinata}}.}}

* [[You Got Spunk]]: [[Eldritch Abomination|The Kyuubi]] says this to {{spoiler|Hinata}}. Really.