Naruto Challenge
- Thread starter Andrew Joshua Talon
- Start date
The thing is, he isn't a ninja. None of the people in Naruto really are, except maybe the Root members. However, they are only ninja by the loosest of definitions.
A ninja, like a spy, is someone who lives so covertly in their black ops, their participation and knowledge of that world is completely cut-off from civilized society. True shinobi, hashishin, Spetznaz, and SOG types perform their missions without any knowledge getting out about their existence, and their personal lives are so separated from their professions, it would be next to impossible to believe such a person is capable of being an assassin.
So, the concept in itself of a ninja village is completely insane. How could one have a village so open to the outside world that participates in clandestine warfare? That would put everyone in said village at risk from conventional warfare, which, if they weren't portrayed as a bunch of superheroes flying around without enough kryptonite in the world to stop them from wearing obscene mesh shirts with nothing underneath (I can only imagine how the cheese grater scars look on someone with breast augmentation), they wouldn't live very long.
You want to portray Naruto, Hinata, or even Konohamaru as a ninja? It's simple: you play Konoha off as a fully independent city-state within Fire Country, and keep any clandestine activities restricted to the Fire Lord's personal knowledge. All missions are paid outright to the village, not to individual teams, like government funding to a branch of the department of defense. Even knowledge of the team makeup is limited to the extent that Naruto would have no idea that Shikamaru or Tenten were, infact, genin.
As for the induction and training off new academy students, that would have to use the cover of a reform school, or perhaps a military academy for teaching conventional warfare, with that sub-category for clandestine operations that is kept rather secretive.
A ninja, like a spy, is someone who lives so covertly in their black ops, their participation and knowledge of that world is completely cut-off from civilized society. True shinobi, hashishin, Spetznaz, and SOG types perform their missions without any knowledge getting out about their existence, and their personal lives are so separated from their professions, it would be next to impossible to believe such a person is capable of being an assassin.
So, the concept in itself of a ninja village is completely insane. How could one have a village so open to the outside world that participates in clandestine warfare? That would put everyone in said village at risk from conventional warfare, which, if they weren't portrayed as a bunch of superheroes flying around without enough kryptonite in the world to stop them from wearing obscene mesh shirts with nothing underneath (I can only imagine how the cheese grater scars look on someone with breast augmentation), they wouldn't live very long.
You want to portray Naruto, Hinata, or even Konohamaru as a ninja? It's simple: you play Konoha off as a fully independent city-state within Fire Country, and keep any clandestine activities restricted to the Fire Lord's personal knowledge. All missions are paid outright to the village, not to individual teams, like government funding to a branch of the department of defense. Even knowledge of the team makeup is limited to the extent that Naruto would have no idea that Shikamaru or Tenten were, infact, genin.
As for the induction and training off new academy students, that would have to use the cover of a reform school, or perhaps a military academy for teaching conventional warfare, with that sub-category for clandestine operations that is kept rather secretive.
Naruto is a Ninja with a demon fox sealed in him.
Okay, first problem; how are we defining Ninja? I'm going to assume that we'll scrap the canon definition in favor of the more popular conceptions of a ninja. To me that means that Naruto must be sneaky, stealthy, cunning, and capable of both subterfuge and subtlety. In terms of typical activities, I'll assume that Naruto would need to be capable of effective assassination, spying, sabotage, body-guarding (clandestinely or openly), commando/guerrilla combat, and on occasion, open field combat.
The first problem with this? Where is Naruto going to learn this? Because there are really only two possibilities as I see it; Naruto teaches himself to be this kind of ninja, or someone else teaches Naruto to be this kind of ninja. Given Naruto's personality and past activities, why on earth would he teach himself anything that doesn't lead to massive, ridiculous spectacle with everyone within a five-mile radius thinking "Oh my god, who was that totally awesome ninja that everyone in a five mile radius just totally noticed and thought was totally awesome?"
As for someone else teaching Naruto...who? Who in the entire fucking Naruto universe can be considered a REAL ninja. Who in the entire Naruto universe has demonstrated anything even remotely resembling subtlety? Or while we're at it, common sense, logic, or basic strategic thinking? Seriously, everyone in Naruto has the exact same problem; they think the only way to solve a problem is with a bigger, flashier jutsu.
Seriously, the only people I can think of who MIGHT be able to do this (at least of those with any real development) are either Gekko Hayate or Kabuto, and even then neither really strikes me as being 'real ninja.'
As for the Demon Fox thing, I have to agree with Jansviper on this; the idea that it's A demon fox as opposed to THE demon fox is a great idea; get rid of the whole idea of the nine tailed beasts in favor of just having various mythological beings to use.
More Later...
Okay, first problem; how are we defining Ninja? I'm going to assume that we'll scrap the canon definition in favor of the more popular conceptions of a ninja. To me that means that Naruto must be sneaky, stealthy, cunning, and capable of both subterfuge and subtlety. In terms of typical activities, I'll assume that Naruto would need to be capable of effective assassination, spying, sabotage, body-guarding (clandestinely or openly), commando/guerrilla combat, and on occasion, open field combat.
The first problem with this? Where is Naruto going to learn this? Because there are really only two possibilities as I see it; Naruto teaches himself to be this kind of ninja, or someone else teaches Naruto to be this kind of ninja. Given Naruto's personality and past activities, why on earth would he teach himself anything that doesn't lead to massive, ridiculous spectacle with everyone within a five-mile radius thinking "Oh my god, who was that totally awesome ninja that everyone in a five mile radius just totally noticed and thought was totally awesome?"
As for someone else teaching Naruto...who? Who in the entire fucking Naruto universe can be considered a REAL ninja. Who in the entire Naruto universe has demonstrated anything even remotely resembling subtlety? Or while we're at it, common sense, logic, or basic strategic thinking? Seriously, everyone in Naruto has the exact same problem; they think the only way to solve a problem is with a bigger, flashier jutsu.
Seriously, the only people I can think of who MIGHT be able to do this (at least of those with any real development) are either Gekko Hayate or Kabuto, and even then neither really strikes me as being 'real ninja.'
As for the Demon Fox thing, I have to agree with Jansviper on this; the idea that it's A demon fox as opposed to THE demon fox is a great idea; get rid of the whole idea of the nine tailed beasts in favor of just having various mythological beings to use.
More Later...