Arc I (SPOILERS!)

Started the blog, did up some of the biographies... Now I guess the only thing left to talk about, for now, is the story arc. Well, I'm still working it all out meticulously. Not everything is planned down to the tiniest detail, but I guess that's the fun of writing, ne? Chapter One is proving to be a tougher nut to crack than I thought, but I'm working on it. And, y'know, all the other seven or eight chapters of Arc I. Arc I will encompass all the events between the trio from Rain joining the Leaf to about Naruto graduating from the Academy. Arc II will focus a great deal on Naruto and Team Seven, and will cover the events from Naruto graduating from the Academy through the Chunin Exams. I call that Arc the Chunin Exam Arc, even though it's more than just that.

Alright, let's get down to business and talk Arc I. Because I like spoilers, and want to summarize it a little.

WARNING! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

So... Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko have joined the Leaf Village after following their wayward Sensei home. And now they're Genin of the Leaf. How will this change the course of the series? With them in the Leaf, will there even be an Akatsuki bent on capturing all the Tailed Beasts? Well, yes and no. Yes, Akatsuki will still exist. No, it won't be about capturing Tailed Beasts, and no, it won't consist of Zetsu, Tobi, Deidara, Sasori, Orochimaru, Kakuzu, Hidan, Itachi, Kisame, Konan, and Pain. Well... it'll still have Konan, Nagato, Yahiko, and, eventually, Itachi and Obito, but the group's not one of Missing Nin. THAT group will be under a different name, and will be led by 'Madara Uchiha', and will have the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist thrown into its ranks. But more on that group later. Akatsuki will be a branch of the Leaf's Military, like the Medical Corp., the Police Force, or the T&I Department. Unlike those other branches, Akatsuki will be completely voluntary, and 'missions' will range from delivering rations to other Hidden Villages, to assisting them in repelling enemy Shinobi. Yahiko runs Akatsuki, and has Nagato and Konan as advisors; Yahiko does still report to the Hokage, and the group is about bringing peace to the world. Of course, the Leaf's generosity isn't always viewed in a good light, and that results in rival Shinobi Villages being wary of the Leaf and preparing for potential war that can come at any time.

Among other changes, Yahiko does not die in this timeline. The Leaf are a big help in finally defeating Hanzo the Salamander in the Third Shinobi World War, and he repays the Leaf and Jiraiya-sensei by still fighting for the Leaf even after the liberation of Rain Country. Yahiko becomes efficient in the art of Kenjutsu, going so far as to rival the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist in the Third Shinobi World War.

Akatsuki's ranks will fluctuate in number over the years; it has a difficult start-up period, but gets more numbers between the Second and Third World Wars. And then after the Third Shinobi World War, its numbers are more moderate. Akatsuki becomes more and more active from the reign of the Fourth Hokage and onward. Anything to prevent another War.

Yahiko and Konan will be in a relationship at least for a time; whether or not that relationship is permanent remains to be seen. 

Nagato and his Rinnegan make a lot of interesting changes for the Leaf. Yes, his power is formidable, and a great asset for the Leaf to have, but it is equally 'troublesome' as well. Nagato's eyes turn many a battle in the Leaf's favor, and that makes the other four Great Nations all the more wary of the Land of Fire. The good news? The Hidden Sand and Waterfall Villages are too fearful to attempt to turn on their ally. The bad news? That makes the Hidden Mist, Stone, and Cloud Villages form an alliance. That makes the two sides balanced, if only just barely. Throw in the group hunting the Tailed Beasts and, well... you have a mess.

 

Despite all the changes, Madara Uchiha will still be around. And he's going to have a legacy, even if Obito won't be the ones pulling the strings this time around. This time it will be Shisui Uchiha that strives for Project Tsuki no Me, and he'll be leading the Hidden Mist from the shadows long after the Third Shinobi World War has wrapped up. And he'll have a little gang of Missing Nin to hunt for the Jinchuriki for him: Orochimaru, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, Zabuza and the other Ninja Swordsmen, Haku, Kakuzu, Hidan, Zetsu, and of course, himself. They won't be hunting for a while, however...

 





This is yet another constant. 'Madara' unleashes the Nine-Tails at Naruto's birth. The attack may go differently with Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan fighting alongside the Leaf, but the end result will remain unchanged: Minato sacrifices himself to save the village. This leads to two things. One, Nagato is now Naruto's caretaker. Two... Nagato Uzumaki is passed the title of Hokage by Minato himself.

With Nagato as leader of the Leaf, this changes history drastically. The 'Uchiha Massacre' never happens, but the purge of Root takes its place. Nagato stops Hinata's kidnapping from escalating to where Hizashi must sacrifice himself for the Clan, but this in turn antagonizes the Hidden Cloud, which makes them more hostile to the Leaf. Nagato strengthens the bond between the Leaf and the Sand, but that irritates the Hidden Stone, making them more cold in relations with the Leaf, which are brittle enough as-is.

Nagato must make some harsh decisions as Hokage, but he does his best to protect the Leaf AND strive for a peaceful world. It's too bad that the rest of the world is too suspicious of all the Leaf's power...

Naruto grows up a lot less lonely, but he still treasures his precious people: Nagato, Konan, Yahiko, Rin, Kakashi, Obito, Hiruzen... and those are only the major ones. Thanks to Nagato, Naruto doesn't have trouble making friends in the Academy, but it's still not a perfect childhood; civilians and some Shinobi still treat him as the Nine-Tails. This time though, he has people to support him. Naruto Uzumaki strives to become the next Hokage, and nothing's gonna get in his way, believe it!

END SPOILERS!

And that's Arc I in a nutshell. I didn't spoil EVERYTHING, but I spoiled a fair amount. Hopefully enough to satiate anyone who was curious. I know I haven't updated for almost two months now, but Chapter One's tough. Once that Chapter is over and done with, the other Chapters will come to me easier. Hopefully. Time skips ahead, but not without reason.

Until next time, ja ne!