Fanfic / A Leaf of the Tree

Art by mawkishtongue

Chiba Takeo, a civilian born shinobi with exceptionally high scores, he was intended as just another body to fill the ranks, meant to be another piece of fuel to fan the flames. Instead, somehow ascending past his station through a mixture of talent and hard work.

— Danzo Shimura’s thoughts on Takeo Chiba

A Leaf of the Tree is a Naruto quest written by thedave, or just Dave. This story was started on April 2021 and is still ongoing.

The original premise for this fic was that the readers would follow the story of a standard Konoha shinobi in the author’s AU, with no bloodlines or clan techniques to rely on as they make their way through it all.

That is until Dave's dice gained sentience, disagreed, and changed everything.

Follow Takeo Chiba, a shinobi from Konoha born to civilian parents, who manages to climb the ranks to become the next greatest ninja in his generation, thanks to a combination of hard work, natural talent, and incredible luck. Hard work in the form of intensive training and studying under multiple teachers. Natural talent he does his best to grow stronger and greater. And incredible luck that sees him go far in his life with many possibilities being presented.

Be a part of the adventure and decide what actions Takeo takes as the author updates the story live based on what the viewers vote on.

The tropes listed are based on the main story, the character lists, and the canon omakes.

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A Leaf of the Tree provides examples of:

A-M

• Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: After Temari and Takeo break up due to not wanting to strain their relationship with long-distance dating, the latter ends up hitting it off with Sakura, and eventually those two become official.
• Actually Pretty Funny: Asuma manages to salvage the meeting with Utakata after the initial Wave delegation tried to get past his bubble wall.
  Asuma: Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble, but we figured just waving wasn’t going to get a response.
  Utakata (pleased): …That’s funny.
• After-Action Healing Drama:
  • Totagi gets poisoned by some missing-nin during Team 24's first C-rank, and is rushed to Suna to get treated. It takes her months to fully recover from the attack.
  • Happens again to Totagi, as she gets beaten in the Suna Chunin Exams and is left in a bad state. Both Takeo and Suro go with her to the hospital, where a waiting Hoheto informs them she’s going to make a full recovery after a few days of rest. They still stay with her and miss out on seeing the conclusion of the exams.
• Alternate Universe Fic: This story is set in a firm alternate universe with multiple changes to canon.
  • Kaguya is not a thing.
  • Madara is dead and has been for a long time.
  • The Rinnegan is a myth.
  • Root does not exist.
  • Orochimaru has taken over Itachi’s body.
• Amazon Brigade: Team 24 becomes "Team Girl Power" during the Suna Chunin Exams, consisting of Ino, Suro, and Totagi.
• An Arm and a Leg: Kakashi manages to tear an arm off of Orochimaru during the second test of Konoha's Chunin Exams.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: When the Fourth Great Shinobi War is starting and Konoha is readying orders for their troops, Takeo finds Sakura, who is glad he's still in Konoha. As the two embrace and Takeo sees a messenger holding his mission details, Takeo takes this moment to say he loves her, to which she says she loves him back.
• Animal Jingoism: Takeo, with his otter summons, fights against an Iwa-nin named Toi Sangaku, who has beaver summons. Both kinds of summons are semiaquatic mammals, and the former has been known to eat the latter.
• Anti-Climax: The resolution of the initial Wave delegation mission ends with Utakata, who beforehand looked ready to fight, telling the group that Wave will accept a proper delegation at a later point. When this is accepted, Utakata disappears back into Wave behind his barrier of bubbles. Takeo and the other chunin are somewhat disappointed.
  Takeo: That’s it?
• Ascended Meme: Naomi, originally deemed Herzo, was supposed to be only a one-off jonin during Takeo's mission in Ame, but was meme'd into existence by the chat. A lot of hype surrounded the character, but this ended up being Naomi's undoing as although the reveal was well received, the character ended up being quite disappointing to interact with.
• Attack Pattern Alpha: Team Sonoda, an Iwa genin team, has a formation called 'Heavenly Crane', where the two girls in the genin team trap the target physically in quicksand, the jonin-sensei traps the target mentally with a genjutsu, and the boy in the genin team Body Flickers up a makeshift ramp made of Earth Release and descends upon the target with a Lightning Release. Their intended target, Takeo, had already previously trapped them in a genjutsu of his own, so their attack had only hit an illusion of him.
• Bad Date: Takeo and Umeni’s first, and only, date. What starts as awkward small talk turns into a disaster waiting to happen as Takeo notices Umeni’s henge and decides to use one as well, aging himself to his mid-20s. Thankfully ends on a bittersweet note, as Umeni gets a laugh out of the situation and the two decide that they are better as friends.
• Bar Brawl: A drunk Neji convinces Rock Lee to drink with him during a get-together of the other members of the Jonin Bootcamp. This brings out Lee’s violent and inebriated side and he fights the remaining attendants. The resulting clash brings down the walls of the bar and the whole place becomes completely demolished.
• Batman Gambit: The Konoha delegation planned to kill Juzo with one of these during the treaty signing with Noodles. After Sugishi notifies the rest of the Konoha-nin of her animosity with him, they planned for her to taunt him and then retire from the rest of the group, planning on her target to follow her and strike first, letting her kill him in self-defense.
• Battle in the Rain: A rare nonviolent example. During the Ame diplomatic meeting, Takeo plays against Shoichi Tsuchiya in a game of Shogi, who is considered one of the best in the whole village. As they are about to begin, heavy rain starts happening, so the two play underneath an awning while onlookers watch.
• Bazaar of the Bizarre: Suna has a large winding indoor marketplace, teeming with life and all kinds of wares. During his first visit to Sunagakure, Takeo buys a black shawl and some local cuisine for himself, as well as some wood carving tools for his father.
• Behemoth Battle: Boss Yi vs. Ibuse.
• Betty and Veronica: Sakura, as Betty, and Temari, as Veronica, are both vying for Takeo. Sakura has known Takeo since the Academy, both even taking advanced classes. She also sees Takeo as an inspiration for shinobi born to civilians, and follows his example by training as hard as he does. Temari met Takeo when he first came to Suna, and acted as his guide. She fell for his kind-heartedness, such as him bonding with her brother, Gaara, when no one else would. The two kunoichi did their best to win Takeo over to their side, only to fall for each other as well when they got to know one another.
• Big Brother Worship: Takeo's younger brother, Sezaki, idolizes his older brother as a great shinobi and someone who can’t be killed.
• Blinded by Rage: As a way to distract Ken Ogasawara of the Kiri delegation from interrupting Sugishi’s task, Takeo brings out Baketsu in front of them, counting on the fact that Kiri resents Konoha for holding the otter contract. Ken and all of the other Kiri-nin are entirely focused on Takeo, not hiding their stares or bloodlust as the otter is brought out, leaving them distracted as Sugishi kills Juzo.
• Brain Bleach: Watching Kisame adjust his crotch while staring at Sugishi, Takeo realizes that the Swordsman has the hots for his sensei because she killed his comrade, Juzo. It leaves him so disturbed, that the next hour for him passes in a blur.
• But Liquor Is Quicker: A drunk Kurenai is very ecstatic to be escorted home by a flustered Hoheto after drinking at the Torn Silk, with this being the start of their romance.
• The Butcher: Nikuya Shinsato, the Red River Butcher, is a genin from Tanigakure who got his name by slaughtering some bandits in a river, with their blood turning it red for a bit. He has a preference for axes and hates the bigger villages looking down on his own.
• Call to Adventure: The Hokage tells both Sugishi and Takeo that he expects the next great war to break out in the next few years. He then says how many of their greatest shinobi are either dead or not the fighters they used to be. Then, he looks at Takeo and says that the next generation of elites are needed, which includes him.
  "We need to increase the number of, and strengthen the ability of, our answers to other villages’ heaviest hitters,” The Hokage breathes out heavily, his head leaning forwards for a moment, before he seems to find his resolve once more, his stare pinning you in place, “We need the next generation to step up and take their place amongst our strongest. Simply put, we need you."
• Cat Up a Tree: As Takeo casually wanders around town, he comes across a young girl whose cat is up a tree, which he is more than happy to help get down. He even notes how cliché of a setup this is.
• The Cavalry: In an effort to put down a rampaging Han in Tailed Beast Mode, the Hokage Gaurd Platoon teleported away from the battlefield to find reinforcements. At first, they don't succeed and the Hokage orders them to keep searching. Their second attempt is a tremendous success, as they bring Rasa Sabaku, the Fourth Kazekage, to the battlefield.
• The Chase: For one of his competitions against Rock Lee, Takeo proposes the first one to chase and touch Kakashi first wins. They both take off and search all over Konoha, with Kakashi becoming aware of the two and playing along by leaving clues and showing brief glimpses of himself. It ends with Takeo chasing Kakashi onto a roof and pleading to Kakashi that he has to win, to which the Copy-nin relents and stops. This gives Takeo the moment to touch him, making Takeo the winner.
• Chef of Iron: Boira, a personal summon of Sugishi, is a chef who wields a sword.
• Childhood Friends: Takeo Chiba, Suro Etsuyomi, Totagi Kaneze, Kugi Utaboru, and Umeni Katsuno all became friends during their first year at the Academy and still regularly hang out together when they have the time.
• Civil War: Ame goes through one that was brewing for some time. Aika Nakai and Mano Goto, both being possible successors to Hanzo the Salamander, were clashing behind the scenes to gain an advantage while Hanzo was unwell. Eventually, this erupted into a civil war, with the fights taking place in Amegakure. It resolves when Hanzo comes back into play, and makes both sides cease.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: The first part of the remedial lessons on operational security has the students subjected to simulated torture and interrogation as if they were captured by enemy forces and must not reveal any information.
• Collateral Damage: Takeo’s portion in halting Ame’s metalworking was destroying a mine. For this task, he sent Water Clones with explosive tags inside to collapse it from within, as well as flooding it with a charged Exploding Water Colliding Wave directly into its opening. However, while some of the civilian miners retreated, more than half remained and sought shelter deeper in the mines, the latter dying from Takeo’s demolition. That being said, Takeo was unbothered by this fact, only noting that it was simply unfortunate before moving on.
• Collectible Card Game: BIN-GO! The popular trading card game based on bingo books. Collect teams of shinobi and beat your opponent!
• Combat Commentator: Kakashi takes on this role, with added whimsical speech, during their airborne assault against the Ame defectors. When he jumps down to finish the fight on land, Takeo takes over this role in his stead.
• Commonality Connection: Both Sakura and Temari bond over feeling overshadowed by their teammates during their time in Ame. Sakura remarks how being on the same team as Naruto and Sasuke, who both have flashier skills, ends with her being overlooked most of all out of the three. Temari empathizes and tells of how Kankuro has revolutionized puppetry as well as won the Suna Chunin Exams and Gaara, being a Jinchuuriki, has his own unique abilities that set him apart from everyone.
• Cooldown Hug: Takeo gives one to Suro after she started tearing up from the aftermath of Totagi’s near-fatal poisoning as well as her own assault on him.
• Crack is Cheaper: While Takeo and Sezaki play a game of Bin-Go, where Takeo is using his brother’s secondary deck, Takeo can’t help but point out how inferior in card quality his one is compared to the one Sezaki uses, that being his main deck. When Sezaki mentions how much a pack of the most basic cards cost, Takeo quickly tries to change the topic.
• Curse Cut Short: Takeo only gets as far as “Oh shi-” before he gets hit by a Hidden Lotus used by a Lee empowered by the Gate of Life.
• Dare to Be Badass: When Kakashi appears at the end of Sakura’s loss against Takeo, Sakura yells at her sensei that he hasn’t taught her anything worthwhile. He responds that she wasn’t willing to learn, but tells her if she’s willing now, he’ll train her.
• Dead Person Impersonation: Takeo conjures an illusion of Tobirama Senju with a genjutsu, and uses this mirage to assault Akatsuchi while they are in the Cloying Bog. Thanks to some interactions with Danzo, Takeo is able to produce an accurate portrayal.
• Deader than Dead: Kakuzu the Mercenary suffers this during the hunting mission. First, he has all but one of his Mask Monsters, the Lightning Monster, defeated thanks to Takeo and Shikamaru. Then, with a combination of Kurenai’s Genjutsu and Sugishi’s attacks, the two kunoichi initially killed the Mercenary. The Lightning Monster manages to reach Kakuzu’s body and is able to revive him. Wanting to escape, Kakuzu begins a Lightning Release, but not before Kurenai, Sugishi, Takeo, and their otter summons intercepted and counterattacked him while he was performing the jutsu. The result is that Kakuzu’s technique misfired and the Lightning Release detonated on himself, his corpse torn apart and no more hearts for him to use.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Orochimaru and Kabuto both die during the assault on Otogakure
  • Akatsuchi dies during his fight against Takeo during the Fourth Great Shinobi War.
• Death from Above: Temari flies both Takeo and Kakashi on her tessen while the two Konoha shinobi unleash Nature Releases, shuriken, and kunai with explosive tags against Mano’s group.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation:
  • The Third Raikage, A, still died during the Third Great Shinobi War, but the battle was different. Instead of fighting a force of ten thousand shinobi single-handedly for three consecutive days and nights, he and 12 of his jonin were ambushed in a trap consisting of Hiruzen, Minato, Sakumo, and a group of Anbu. The only survivors of this battle were the named Konoha shinobi.
  • The Ame Orphans, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko, all die together during the Amegakure Civil War instead of separately throughout the series.
  • Juzo doesn't die from Yagura, but is instead killed by Sugishi when the Swordsman strikes first.
  • While he still dies to a bunch of Konoha shinobi, here Kakuzu dies to Takeo, Sugishi, Kurenai, Shikamaru, and Shino.
  • Itachi doesn't die after battling Sasuke and succumbing to his disease, but instead gets assimilated as Orochimaru's newest body.
  • The Sound 4 don't die during an invasion of Konoha that was a mission from Otogakure, but instead during an invasion of Otogakure that was a mission from Konoha.
  • Onoki doesn't get to die from old age, instead meeting his end during the Fourth Great Shinobi War at the hands of Hiruzen and Takeo.
  • Instead of dying from having the Five-Tails extracted from his body, Han meets his end against a combined effort from Takeo, his otter summons, Hiruzen, Baki, Kurenai, Shikamaru, and Rasa.
• Disaster Dominoes: A chain of these are set off that eventually leads to the total destruction of all of Orochimaru's plans. Kakashi was assigned to teach an advanced Nature Release course in the Genin Academy as a condition for being able to instruct the future Team 7. As a result of this, Kakashi realizes how far he has to go as a mentor and seeks guidance from other teachers in Konoha, primarily Gai. Gai encourages him in ways to care and instruct his students, which in turn encourages Kakashi to train obsessively in order to better protect said students. Due to this training, Kakashi is far more prepared once the Chunin Exams take place, and is subsequently able to take Orochimaru unaware and sever his arm from his body. Said ninja's weakened state makes them unable to interfere as severely in the Chunin Exams which means that Konoha has more fieldable S-ranks available once the Fourth Great Shinobi War breaks out, and are fully capable of sending a squad of eight of their greatest shinobi to Oto in order to slaughter the village's entire population, Orochimaru included, down to the last man.
• Escort Mission:
  • The very first C-rank mission of Team 24 was escorting a trading caravan to the Land of Tea. Unfortunately, the genin team was ambushed by nukenin, and the battle saw Totagi poisoned and in need of immediate emergency healing.
  • The second part of the Suna Chunin Exams is an escort mission, where some teams have to escort mock caravans and other teams have to raid and attack those same caravans.
• Eye Scream: For the final part of Takeo’s operational security torture simulation, Ibiki takes a carving knife and places it at the corner of Takeo’s eye, where any movement would cause it to be cut open.
• Femme Fatale: Manami Isa, a Suna jonin who has been teaching Temari in the arts of seduction. She tells Kakashi how she would have enjoyed persuading him to their side before the alliance.
• Festival Episode: Takeo and Sakura have a date during Konoha’s midwinter festival. The celebration is mainly civilian, so the two shinobi both enjoy time away from their usual group. During the festival, they both take in the sights, enjoy delicious food, dance together, and have their first kiss together under dozens of sky lanterns.
• Fight Clubbing: The Red Drop bar hosts a Fight Night once a month where shinobi can battle each other in matches only using Taijutsu.
• Fish People: Otogakure has a large population of aquatic horrors, ranging in all forms, as a result of Orochimaru's experiments on people.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • Interactions with Takeo had ended up giving Team 7 and Kakashi early wake up calls, Kakashi to shake off the rust, Sakura to take her training far more seriously, Sasuke to be better emotionally, and Naruto to be less Naruto.
  • Kakashi successfully fights off Orochimaru and grievously injures him, leaving Orochimaru with one arm short. This results in the Chunin Exams being uninterrupted, and Konoha not being betrayed by Suna, as the issues with the budget cuts never happened thanks to Hiruzen's good diplomacy afforded by Takeo's team having interacted with Suna prior to the Chunin exams.
    • This also leads to Hiruzen still being alive after the Chunin Exams.
  • The Sannin, oh where do I even start?
    • Tsunade: Not afraid of blood, still in Konoha, and is a respectable member of society as the Directress of the Konoha Hospital.
    • Jiraiya: No longer into Tsunade, because apparently Jiraiya said the wrong thing at the wrong time and was hit with a blow to the nuts courtesy of Tsunade. Had she aimed better, she would have blown his balls off, literally.
    • Orchimaru: Lost an arm, still hasn't recovered it, why? because he is too attached to Itachi's body, and yes, he has the Sharingan.
  • The Ame Trio get punched, killed, wiped out, and scattered, and finally, get put on spikes by Hanzo the Salamander. How did this happen? No Obito, no Obito means no manipulating Akatsuki to be whittled down one by one, so this would mean that they would be successful this time. Nope, Hanzo gets motivated to finally get back on to the scene as an active shinobi.
    • This then results in the second iteration of the Akatsuki having never even been created, and so its members are out in the wind. Some of their locations and fates have already been confirmed. Nagato and Konan's heads are mounted on spikes outside ame. Itachi is dead and assimilated into Orochimaru. Kabuto and Orochimaru are on their own in Otogakure. Kisame is loyal to Kiri. Kakuzu lived as a bounty hunter until he was killed. Juzo was loyal to Kiri, until Sugishi killed him. The Zetsus don't exist. The ones who are yet to be comfirmed are Sasori, Deidara, and Hidan.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Suro apologizes to Takeo for hurting him after reacting negatively to both Totagi’s injuries and Takeo’s attempt at calming her down right after. Takeo forgives Suro and says they’re still friends, but clarifies that they will have a problem if it happens again.
• Friendship Favoritism: A friendly argument between Takeo and Totagi devolves into Takeo claiming he’ll form a new team between himself, Suro, and Taeko. Totagi asks if, between Takeo and herself, Suro would pick him over her. Takeo can only concede to her point.
• Friendship Moment: Rock Lee hears that Takeo requested him and, not knowing it was simply to hang out, automatically assumes he needs his help in some form. When the two meet, Takeo clarifies he just wanted to hang out, much to Lee’s own disbelief that someone would want to hang out with him, to which he excitedly agrees.
• Girl on Girl Is Hot: The first thing Takeo says after Sakura and Temari are done having their first kiss was that it was extremely hot.
• Glamour: Umeni used a henge to make herself appear more womanly and mature during her date with Takeo. When he finds out, Takeo decided to copy her and make himself older and with a beard.
• Gone Horribly Right: Takeo managed to break the Genjutsu that would have simulated torture during his lesson on operational security. Danzo at first complimented the performance, but seeing as he still needed to understand the lesson, the elder had Takeo subjected to a torture session done by Ibiki Morino himself.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: This happened to Team 24 during their first C-rank. What was supposed to be a simple escort of a trading caravan to the Land of Tea, Team 24 got ambushed by a pair of missing-nin, one of which was a jonin, and attacked at a time when Hoheto was distracted. Though both missing-nin were killed, Totagi suffered the most out of the genin, being poisoned and needing hospitalization, forcing Hoheto to get her to the closest allied village, being Suna, and Takeo and Suro to finish the escort on their own until reinforcements from Suna could arrive.
• Guilt-Free Extermination War: The Hokage sends a high strength taskforce under Jiraiya’s leadership to Otogakure to end Orochimaru, as he is both not at his best and his immense intellect and complete lack of morals could turn the balance against Konoha in the Fourth Great Shinobi War. The assault on Otogakure ends with Orochimaru and his entire village dead with no casualties for Konoha.
• Hammered into the Ground:
  • As part of the introduction to the Jonin Bootcamp, all of the chunin participants fought against both Kakashi and Might Guy. During this fight, Kakashi piledrives Naruto into the ground, head-first so hard and fast that all that's still visible of him are his knees and lower legs. Takeo briefly wonders if he’s even alive before he sees Naruto kicking his legs.
  • The finale of the bar brawl against a drunken Rock Lee has him perform a Dynamic Re-Entry against Takeo. Takeo, however, has been waiting for this moment for a while, and counters with a mid-air grab and gives him the Dynamic Greeting, which involves slamming Lee into the ground and burying him a foot beneath the earth.
  • Takeo does it again to Sutsu. As the two have their fight at Fight Night, Takeo dominates throughout it. As a finisher, Takeo sets up Sutsu for a powerbomb, which he’s eager to use, much to Sutsu’s panic. The result is a Sutsu-shaped crater with the guy being buried a foot deep from head to ass.
• Head-in-the-Sand Management: Averted by Yoshiaki Ando, village leader of Yugakure, who after hearing a report from one of his chunin that Kumo is attacking Frost, he immediately checks his village's files and finds that Kumo had been attending to their village more frequently as of late, and puts it together that they will be next when the assault on Frost is finished. His immediate response is to write a request for help from Konoha.
• Hero of Another Story: While Takeo is having his adventures, Jiraiya has been busy fixing any problems that could face Konoha. So far he’s fixed Gaara’s seal before the Jinchuuriki was ever met, reported on the aftermath of Ame’s civil war, and located and fought Orochimaru, revealing that he is in the possession of the Sharingan.
• Heroic Second Wind: Takeo gets one during his spar against Sasuke when the two were still attending the Academy. After initially being overwhelmed by Sasuke’s greater agility and specialized taijutsu, Takeo manages to create some distance and ready himself as he starts to enjoy this fight. After Takeo’s Syrup Field clashes with Sasuke’s Great Fireball, the resulting steam puts Takeo in the perfect position to sneak around from behind and catch him in another Syrup Field, leaving the Last Uchiha incapacitated and winning Takeo the spar.
• Honesty Is the Best Policy: Hoheto tells Team 24 to not omit any details of their first C-rank mission report, specifically calling attention to his own failure by being distracted during the ambush.
• Honey Trap: Kumo managed to get one of their kunoichi pregnant with a Hyuuga bastard while at Hot Springs. She was immediately caught and killed by Konoha, leading to more tension between the two.
• Hungry Jungle: The Forest of Death is full of beasts that are more than eager to kill and devour whatever they can. During the Konoha Chunin Exams, Team 24 is attacked by a man-sized centipede, a leopard, a porcupine that can shoot its quills, and a giant venomous spider. The latter manages to incapacitate Suro until she is healed by Totagi.
• Improvised Lightning Rod: Kakashi decides to give Takeo his first lesson in Lightning Release by demonstrating the Lighting Rod Jutsu…on Takeo.
• In Love with Your Carnage: Kisame was really turned on by seeing Sugishi carrying the dead body of Juzo.
• In Spite of a Nail: Just as there are many changes, there are just as many things that stay the same.
  • The canon teams and their senseis are still the same, just merely added ones.
  • Team 7 still gets their respective teachers, even if some of their arsenal is missing or have new ones in their kit. Sakura is still with Tsunade, and far earlier, but has learned some earth jutsu on top of it. Naruto has trained with Jiraiya, and though the Rasengan wasn't mentioned he has signed the toad contract. Kakashi still teaches Sasuke, with much better results.
• Inadequate Inheritor: When Hiruzen gives command of Konoha to Shikaku Nara while the former goes to Ame on a diplomatic mission, it is noted that Shikaku doesn’t have the raw power to be a Hokage nor has he improved since the time of the Fourth Hokage.
• The Infiltration: Their last mission on the border has Sugishi and Takeo go undercover in Ame to gather intel and cause destruction. When they make it through under false identities, Sugishi gets a job as a singer in a shinobi bar while Takeo becomes a janitor at Ame’s Academy, with each position being prime for collecting intel. When a Civil War breaks out, the two use this opportunity to cause damage. Takeo manages to kill many enemy shinobi while in a fight at a hospital, and Sugishi brings down Hanzo’s tower.
• Instant-Win Condition: If two natural 100s are ever rolled in a single round of combat, the fight is automatically won. So far, this has happened twice, the first was against Sasuke while he and Takeo were still in the Academy and the second was against Akatsuchi during the battle at Iwa's Great Dam.
• Interrupted Intimacy: During the Suna Chunin Exams, Takeo tracked down Kurenai to a teahouse with the intent to practice his Genjutsu. When he finds her, he sits across from her and expresses his want to train at the moment, only to be informed by a suddenly appearing Hoheto that Kurenai is in a prior engagement and that Takeo is sitting in his seat.
• Intimate Telecommunications: Temari, trying to win back Takeo from Sakura, sent an arousing photo of herself to him in a letter, asking what he thought of it. Wanting to be honest, Takeo revealed this to Sakura, and she decided to respond to this with her own message to Temari. She took her own seductive photo, giving a copy to Takeo, and sent another copy to Temari, with the message that she can keep sending more pictures like that, and that for every photo she sends, Sakura will send one to her to compare.
• Ironic Echo: During the first part of their spar, when Sasuke has the initial advantage against Takeo he says “Tch. Pitiful.” When Takeo gets his second wind and manages to trap Sasuke in a Syrup Field, he has this response.
  Takeo: Pitiful, right?
• It Only Works Once: Sugishi explains to Takeo that summoning Boss Yi against Hanzo was a one-off and it was only allowed to happen because Hige and Kotai insisted.
• It's Personal: The otter contract originally belonged to Kiri, before Konoha managed to kill the then-current contract holder and take it for themselves. Anytime an otter is brought up in front of a Kiri shinobi, they feel nothing but insulted and vengeful.
• Karaoke Box: Takeo has plans to build a karaoke bar after he bought the land from the owner of the bar destroyed during Lee’s drunken rampage.
• Killed Offscreen:
  • Kochi, Komaza, and Nejiri, The genin of Team Otokaze, die during the Forest of Death stage of the Chunin Exams, with it being reported by Hoheto to Takeo.
  • Aika Nakai gets killed by Mano after the latter defects from Ame.
  • Orochimaru and Kabuto are killed in a raid by Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi and Guy, with it being reported while Takeo, Neji, Sasuke and Totagi are fighting the Sound Four.
• Killing in Self-Defense: This is how Sugishi is able to justify killing Juzo to both Kiri and the daimyo of Noodles, with one of his servants witnessing the fight so Sugishi can be declared innocent.
• Large and in Charge: Boss Yi is the boss summon of the otters and is kaiju sized.
• Leave No Witnesses: When Takeo questions why he never heard of Naomi in any of the bingo books, she says this as her response.
  Naomi: Never leaving any survivors definitely helps.
• Loners Are Freaks: Takeo’s mother gives her son a verbal reprimand after the boy spent a week straight training and planned to spend more time creating his own jutsu.
  Takeo's Mother: I won't have you becoming some kind of isolated pariah. You're going to go into the village and you're going to spend time with your friends. And you're picking up a new hobby as well! A proper one, not just training in disguise!
• Look Behind You: Suro pulls one of these on Naruto during the Suna Chunin Exams. She feigns shock and horror at something behind Naruto, and when he turns around to check, she runs up to him and starts beating him down, winning her the match.
• Love at First Punch: Sasuke manages a win in a close fight against Tenten during the Suna Chunin Exam, which he does in an “interesting fashion”. Whatever it was, both became attracted to the other and begin dating.
• Mana Shield: The Chakra Pelt is a secret technique of the otters. It acts as a full-body cloak of chakra that acts as a shield. Taru teaches this to Takeo to further his learning of the Shell Shattering Fist.
• Mark of Shame: Juzo’s cheek scar was courtesy of Sugishi, and he wants to pay her back.
• Mean Boss: Hayama Shirakumo proved to be this during Takeo and Sugishi’s border duty. He was generally unimpressed with having the two instead of the full chunin squad as he wanted, despite the pair being extremely skilled. He was especially unimpressed with Takeo, seeing him as untested. When Takeo proves his prowess after coming back from Ame and recounts what happened, Shirakumo's face was reddening.
• Meaningful Name: Otters have a strong naming tradition, with each of their names translating to either their personality, appearance, or role.
  • Baketsu means bucket, and he is a water carrier.
  • Taru means keg, and he is a hefty guy.
  • Hige means whiskers, and her own whiskers are what make her an exceptional sensor.
  • Kotai means solid, a reference to Solid Snake.
  • Boira means boiler, and he is a cook.
  • Kyuti means cutie, and she is adorable.
  • Yari means spear, which is his weapon of choice.
• Meet the In-Laws: Temari introduces Takeo to her father, introducing him as her boyfriend. She then introduces him to Sakura, saying she is dating her as well, and that the two Konoha-nin are dating each other too. Takeo notices how even the Kazekage was stunned by this.
• Mêlée à Trois: The final fight of the Suna Chunin Exams is this, with the combatants being Sasuke, Neji, and Kankuro. Kankuro emerges victorious.
• My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad: The brother variant. Sezaki takes Takeo to what the latter thinks is just him showing off shinobi skills for his brother’s friends. In reality, Sezaki was arguing with another boy about whose brother was tougher and brought Takeo to them both, keeping his shinobi nature a secret. When they see the shinobi headband, the pair run off. Takeo gets reasonably angered at Sezaki for this.

N-Z

• Neck Snap: During his assault on the Ame hospital, Takeo gets into a Taijutsu battle against a tokubetsu jonin. He managed to get the upper hand and put her in a blood choke, and from there applied enough force to snap her neck.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: When Kabuto gave Takeo all the ninja info cards, he probably didn’t expect them to be brought to the attention of the Hokage. This led Hiruzen and Danzo to realize the faulty security of Konoha, and have more safeguards to prevent another breach.
• Official Kiss
  • During the Suna Chunin Exam, Temari kisses Takeo, away from the village and under the stars, to which he reciprocates. Though they both like each other, the couple agrees to only date while Takeo is still in Suna, not wanting to resent the other while they can’t be for one another, and both promise that if it becomes feasible to stay together while there is still something between them, they'll revisit these feelings.
  • While Takeo was back in Konoha, he and Sakura started casually dating. Takeo resolves himself and plans for his date with Sakura during the midwinter festival to be where he makes a decision, either he’ll kiss Sakura tonight and become official or tell her he wants to remain friends. In the end, he does kiss her and they become boyfriend and girlfriend.
  • Temari and Sakura don’t just have a kiss, but instead an official makeout session.
• Orgasmically Delicious: Sakura and Temari both let out a moan after experiencing Amegakure cooking. Takeo notes that they’ve both made similar sounds around him before, just under different circumstances.
• Out Sick: Hanzo's current state was mostly unknown. He was still alive and in control of Ame but his well-being was contentious, with many of his own shinobi not knowing the details. After the Civil War, Hanzo was thriving again and ready to fight.
• Over-the-Top Secret: Sugishi and Takeo’s report on what they experienced during their covert infiltration of Amegakure, which includes the inner workings of their shinobi and Academy teachings, gets a double black band with direct orders that it be personally given to the Hokage.
• Parents as People: Takeo’s parents, especially his mother, are quite fearful that one day their son won’t return home when he leaves for a mission. At one point, she asks if it is at all possible for Takeo to leave the shinobi lifestyle, but he dismisses the notion and tells his mom even if he could, he wouldn’t.
• Physical Fitness Punishment: During a chunin meeting, Shikako decided that the chunin who doubted Konoha’s elites have just “volunteered” to help Might Guy with his personal training for the evening.
• Poisonous Person: Hanzo the Salamander and his granddaughter, Naomi, as they are holders of the salamander contract.
• Polyamory: After Temari and Sakura kiss, followed by the two of them kissing Takeo each, the three come to realize they each have feelings for one another and decide to make it all official.
• Precision F-Strike: Takeo has one thing to say after listening to Hige about summoning Boss Yi before he was given permission.
  Takeo: … Fuck it.
• Private Tutor: Takeo’s father managed to acquire the services of a tutor for Takeo before he started the Academy. Osato Inuzuka, a retired chunin, and his ninken Taka helped train Takeo early on in basic chakra control and target practice.
• Raging Stiffie: The table on Takeo’s side rises by an inch or so as he watches Temari and Sakura aggressively makeout.
• Rank Up:
  • Takeo, Shikamaru, Lee, Temari, and Gaara are promoted to chunin following the Konoha Chunin Exams
  • Suro, Totagi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Shino, and Kankuro are promoted to chunin following the Suna Chunin Exams.
  • At least Takeo, Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, and Shino have been given a field promotion to jonin following Konoha preparing to enter the Fourth Great Shinobi War.
• Rare Random Drop: Sezaki is having a hard time finding Takeo’s Bin-Go card, as not only is it rare, but the card packs are in low print.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Orochimaru reveals he is in possession of the Sharingan.
• Releasing from the Promise: Hanzo the Salamander releases the promise of his desired rematch against Sannin as he received a well-fought match against Takeo, deeming that he honored it instead of them.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: After Ame signs a treaty with the Konoha and Suna alliance, Mano and his followers rebelled. He slew his previous rival, Aika, and defected with his group. They didn’t get far.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Kyuti, Sugishi’s scout otter summon, is a small otter with a positive attitude. She also happens to be Sugishi’s favorite for being excessively adorable.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: As soon as Han sees that the Hokage and Takeo have not only survived but killed Onoki, he immediately goes into his Tailed Beast Mode and starts to go berserk.
  Han: ... I failed? I failed… Kokuo, we take our revenge.
• Romantic Spoonfeeding: Takeo, in an effort to see if Temari and Sakura are into each other, offers a spoonful of bingsu to Sakura and then does the same to Temari. After both girls each give him a share, he says it’s only fair that they offer each other a taste, which they do. It all comes together when Takeo feeds the girls at the same time, which culminates in Sakura and Temari kissing.
• Rousing Speech: Kugi gives a toast to Totagi, Takeo, Suro, and Umeni after the five meet up and are all back in the village. For himself and Umeni, he is grateful for how far they’ve come even if they haven't been promoted yet, just happy being alive and coming along to the average age to reach chunin. He thanks Totagi in advance, knowing her medical skills are going to save their lives at least once each. He remarks how Suro is going to make a name for herself collecting a multitude of bounties while she’s away. And for Takeo, he doesn’t bother with any predictions, knowing he’ll blow past them eventually.
• Running Gag: The dice seem to regularly conspire against Takeo any time he is about to be greeted by Lee, giving him just enough time to realize what's about to happen before taking a Dynamic Entry to the face.
• Sacred First Kiss: After Takeo and Temari kiss underneath a starry desert, they both mention they were each other's first kiss.
• Scoring Points: This is how Whack-a-Naruto is played. Naruto summons a bunch of clones and creates traps for the other players. Meanwhile, the players pop the clones and find the real Naruto. Every popped clone is worth a point and the person who gets the real Naruto earns ten points and the game ends. The player with the most points by the end wins, or if Naruto traps all the players, he wins.
• Sexy Discretion Shot: Takeo is met in Ame's onsen by Sakura and Temari, who've all been planning this after they all agreed to wanting to progress their relationship physically. Takeo can only describe what happened as "indescribable".
• Side Bet: Konoha’s jonin sensei decide to have a bet on whose student makes it the furthest in the Chunin Exams, with the winner getting three nights of free drinks from the losers. Hoheto wins the bet with Takeo.
• Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: Takeo gives a speech to Kugi after the latter has been suffering from severe depression stemming from his past teammates' fates, and his own failures, saying that even though what happened is tragic, Kugi's dream is still achievable and can make sure their efforts weren't wasted by doing what he can to achieve it.
  Takeo: There's no guarantees for us. None. That was never a secret. What happened to your team is terrible, but it's not something you can change at this point. The only thing you can influence, is where you go from here. You were the only one to walk out of Suna alive and unharmed. Are you really going to insult their losses by living a half life? Because that's what giving up would be. They knew what your goals were going in, just as you knew what they wanted out of life. Of those 3 dreams for the future, two are impossible now. But yours isn't. And you owe it to them to make it a reality.
  Kugi: None of that is going to help either of them though.
  Takeo: No it won't. But it'll help you. And if you were a good team, then I believe that they'd both want that. And that will have to be good enough.
  Kugi: What if it isn't?
  Takeo: It'll have to be.
• Sliding Scale of Free Will vs. Fate: This is an arguing point that Takeo and Neji were divided on during their initial meetings, with Neji on the side of fate against Takeo on the side of free will. After Neji has multiple conversations with both Takeo and the other members of Team Guy, he comes to realize that there is no such thing as a predetermined destiny. Neji becomes a firm believer that true destiny is about overcoming obstacles and reaching new heights in spite of whatever or whoever seeks to hold you back.
• Spare a Messenger: Hiruzen gives the order to Takeo to take out an Iwa genin team and their jonin-sensei, but to leave one alive so that they can report back about the attack and with hopes that it would draw the Tsuchikage himself into the conflict and away from his defensive position.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • The Konoha Crush never happened, in part due to Hiruzen and Rasa coming to agreements beforehand. As such both Kages are still alive.
  • Not only are both Zabuza and Haku alive, but they are also loyal to Yagura.
  • Though he has yet to be encountered, Mangetsu is noted as still being alive.
• The Spartan Way: This is the purpose of the Jonin Bootcamp, to train the members of Team 7, Team Guy, Shikamaru, Takeo, and Shino into the next elite fighting force to combat Konoha’s enemies. They each have personalized regiments and are taught by jonin that they themselves are specialists in their own distinctive fields.
• Student–Master Team: Sugishi and Takeo form this when the latter becomes the apprentice of the former and both travel to Ame's border.
• Stuff Blowing Up: The bridge Takeo blew up while he was traveling to Ame was utterly devastated as if it never existed at all.
  Bridge? What bridge? You mean that single rock in the middle of the river?
• Stripped to the Bone: All that remains of Onoki following the combined assault Hiruzen's Great Konoha Guardian Dragon Technique and Takeo's Lightning Rod Sensor is a child-sized skeleton atop a cooling glass spire.
• Succession Crisis: Takeo notices everyone else's reactions when Hiruzen gives Shikaku overall command and makes Danzo his second in command. Shikaku is unhappy but saw it coming, Danzo is irked at the decision, and Kakashi is gleeful that he wasn’t given the position. And seeing as both of the loyal Sannin are absent from the meeting, this clues in Takeo to the fact that Konoha doesn't currently have a suitable candidate lined up to take up the mantle of Hokage should Hiruzen pass.
• Swamps Are Evil: The swamps around Ame contain murderous chakra beasts of all kinds as well as other dangers. This becomes subverted due to low encounter rolls, as when Sugishi and Takeo take a detour through it to Ame, they find no danger through their run and arrive back on the road safely.
• Swiss-Cheese Security: Ame’s security practically held the door for Takeo and Sugishi during their infiltration. Their false identities fooled the shinobi on security. The two were then able to get jobs with access to easy reconnaissance, with Sugishi working a shinobi bar and Takeo employed at Ame’s academy. Bonus to Takeo because he convinced the teachers he couldn’t read, so he had access to all their paperwork. And thanks to an abrupt conflict in the city, the two escaped without being caught or identified.
• Tactical Rock–Paper–Scissors: This is the system for taijutsu battles, which uses strength, agility, and endurance. It’s explained as strength can't hit agility, agility can't hurt endurance, and endurance gets overpowered by strength.
• Take a Third Option: Hanzo, after finding both Mano and Aika to be lacking after regaining control of Ame, decided to name his granddaughter, Naomi, as his successor.
• Tastes Like Friendship: For every initial otter summon, Takeo brings a food offering as a show of respect in hopes that they accept him as a summoner.
• Teach Me How To Fight: This is Takeo’s main reason for initially summoning Taru. Takeo notes he lacks a defined Taijutsu style and wants to be trained in a proper fighting style to overcome this.
• Thicker Than Water: The Sand Siblings and their father, despite all their misgivings, love one another and have each other's back no matter what.
• This Is a Drill: The Hardened Water Drill, a Water Release move where the user condenses and spins water around their hand to create a piercing drill.
• This Is Gonna Suck: This is Sugishi’s tone when she sees and identifies Kakuzu as the missing-nin her and the rest of her team are hunting.
• True Companions: Team 24 is this as a whole. Being friends since their Academy days, the three have absolute faith in each other. Suro and Totagi don’t let their failures over their own performances at the Chunin Exams stop them from cheering on Takeo as he continues forward. Takeo himself chooses to remain a member of Team 24 after his promotion, wanting at least one other to become a chunin before the team is disbanded. Kakashi notes that the three would have crushed the bell test due to their friendship before their team was even formed.
• Two Girls and a Guy: Team 24, consisting of Takeo Chiba, Suro Etsuyomi and Totagi Kaneze.
• Unexpected Kindness: When they meet again for Konoha’s Chunin Exams, Gaara doesn’t understand why Takeo was being friendly and taking him and the others on his team. When Takeo explains it’s because he’s already friendly with Temari, he wanted to know more about her brothers. Gaara takes a moment to process this, and thanks Takeo for the invite.
• Unnamed Parent: Takeo's mother and father are not named, despite having multiple lines throughout the story.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The sight of an exhausted shinobi bringing in a wounded ally isn’t an uncommon sight for the medics at the Konoha Hospital, so nobody spares a second glance at Takeo bringing in a badly injured Shino.
• Was Once a Man: It is noted that the abominations surrounding Otogakure are the result of Orochimaru's experiments on people, either that they are just civilians or are the dregs he tossed out when he made advancements.
• We Can Rule Together: Sone, The daimyo of Noodles, offers Takeo a position in his future Village Hidden in Broth if he chooses to serve him, with him hinting Takeo could rise up and become the first Burokage. The daimyo entices him with promises of money, women, and power as well as the right to bring any friends and family with him under the daimyo's protection. Takeo refuses, as he already has plenty of money, is in a happy relationship with Sakura, and would rather earn his power rather than take a shortcut.
• Wham Episode: Chapter 24.5 has the official start to the Fourth Great Shinobi War, with Iwa leading a surprise attack on Taki, forcing many of their shinobi and Fuu into retreating from their home, Kumo attacked the Land of Frost and subjugated them, and Hot Springs has requested Konoha for aid in the oncoming war.
• What the Hell, Hero?: After Sakura admits to Takeo that she doesn’t train outside of team meetings, he can’t help but harshly asks what she does with her spare time, followed by telling her she should train more as Team 7 is a combat team and he beat her easily and he isn’t a combat specialist.
• Witty Banter: Expect to have this whenever Takeo interacts with someone he is friendly with, a prime example of which during the First Chunin Exams, in which Takeo and Temari can’t help themselves but engage in this both before and during their fight in the Chunin Exams. Sugishi finds it as adorable as it is childish.
  (Before the fight)
  Takeo: What’s up with the flying? Wanted to make your last fight a memorable one for the crowd?
  Temari: No, I was just looking if I could find you a good seat for when you’re not allowed in the competitors’ galleries anymore. I’d hate for you to miss my next two matches after all.
  (During the fight)
  Takeo: Aww, you getting tired already? I was just starting to feel that!
  Temari: Oh really, you were beginning to feel it? I’m supposed to ignore the scraps of clothes and the drops of blood I saw flying off of you then?
  Takeo: What, those little cuts? I’ve had papercuts that hurt worse!
• Woman Scorned: Shino warns Takeo of this when he mentions dating both Sakura and Temari. He simply explains that they are all together.
• X-Ray Sparks: When Kakashi watches as Takeo uses the Lightning Rod Jutsu on himself as practice, Kakashi is sure he can see the boy's skeleton right through his own skin.
• Zerg Rush: This is Naruto's specialty thanks to the amount of Shadow Clones he can produce. One particular instance is when he lets loose an "Orange Tide" at the Iwa Front during the war.

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