Sometimes a technique can lead to new discoveries, new paths. A chance discovery lets Naruto learn that which he was never taught... using the memories of others to aid his progress.
Memories Of Others
(mirrored here) is a Naruto Alternate Universe Fic written by TheBeardedOne.
The story follows Naruto, who decides that he doesn't want to be on the same team as a girl who keeps hitting him, an emo who communicates in grunts and a teacher who is always late and probably hates him. His decision made, he abandons the bell test and strikes out to make a name for himself his own way, as an independent genin of Konoha.
A re-interpretation of the story is currently in progress by Valentine 20xx and can be found here.
The story contains the following tropes:
- Accidental Aiming Skills: During her fight with Kiba, Sakura throws a kunai to keep him separate from Akamaru - only to end up accidentally spearing the food-pill Kiba usually throws at Akamaru.
- Action Girl: Hinata's the most obvious example, but most of the others have moments where they shine.
- All Issues Are Political Issues: Discussed as to Sasuke's fielding as a Shinobi. Kurenai assumed it was internal politics, but it turned out to be related to Konoha's reputation as seen by the other villages.
- Badass Army: Uzushiogakure as related by Asuma. Three villages united to wipe them out, using trickery to take down the outer defences. Uzu inflicted a 7-to-1 loss ratio despite being caught by surprise and only a tithe of the attackers survived to leave.
- Batman Gambit: When doing a test for Team 7, Naruto learns that Sasuke just awoke his Sharingan, and realizes the latter will try to copy any jutsus he uses. Naruto takes advantage of this to trick Sasuke into using Oiroke no Jutsu.
- Book Dumb: Naruto never really learned how to read. Once he learned and began to read everything he could, he became much more capable.
- Brick Joke: Kiba tricks Hinata into declaring that if Naruto calls himself an idiot, she'll give him a good kissing. A few chapters later, Naruto does exactly that.
- Contrived Coincidence: The Preliminary round is occasionally adjusted to showcase more talents in the finals by removing duplication and weaker genin.
- Cool Old Guy: Kosuke Maruboshi, the Eternal Genin. After Naruto becomes a genin, Kosuke takes up to mentor him in everything he's learned throughout the years.
- Covert Pervert: When training in a spar with several Naruto clones, Hinata's mind tries to bring up what she could do with them.
- Deadly Dodging: Sakura tricks Kiba and Akamaru into a head-on collision while they are both doing the Gatsuga.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: When Sakura learns that Jiraiya is the author of the books Kakashi reads, she punches him because, in her words, "it's not just smut, it's badly written smut!", to which her teammate asks how she knows that.
- Dramatic Irony: Being dead-last, put on a team with the beloved Uchiha and a fan-girl, and given a test by their jonin sensei that will only pass two of them, Naruto concludes that the test is rigged to get rid of him, and decides to become a genin in his own way. In reality, Kakashi's test was designed to foster teamwork, and he specifically requested Naruto for his team out of respect for his old teacher.
- Entertainingly Wrong: During her fight with an Oto kunoichi, Temari is shocked when she realizes the kunoichi is using the launchers Sasuke dropped during his fight, and believes it was a deliberate action and a sign that Oto is going to betray Suna during the planned attack.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: While discussing Naruto, an incoming team talk themselves into realizing that Naruto was alone, meaning he isn't on a team, meaning that he's an ordinary genin, and if he's that strong, then they barely stand a chance against elite and on teams genin.
- Ghost Memory: Naruto gains the experiences of his clones, even the clones he has made of other people. The effect is limited to new memories, however.
- Heel Realization: Naruto walking out on the bell test causes Kakashi to take a good look at himself and decide to become a better mentor.
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Used by Naruto after he captures a large number of mercenaries. "We could always kill them, but that'd be such a Gato thing to do...
- Leeroy Jenkins: When Gai puts his team through Naruto's trap-filled obstacle courses, Lee's reaction is to basically charge headfirst and set off every trap in his way, to the exasperation of his teammates.
- Logical Weakness: Gaara's control over sand gets muddled if the sand is wet. Shino takes advantage of this by bringing several tons of water in sealed scrolls into the fight, preventing Gaara from using his sand.
- Megaton Punch: Jiraiya, after getting on her bad side, mentions that Sakura punches almost as hard as Tsunade did at her age. During the Oto invasion, she punches one of the attacking ninjas through a wall.
- The Minion Master: The new facet of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, allowing Naruto to make clones of whoever is touching him if he has enough chakra. And when those minions are potentially clones of the Hokage... There's a reason his new epithet is Op-Force Uzumaki.
- Mundane Utility: Naruto uses his father's teleportation technique for shopping runs.
- "No. Just… No" Reaction: Most of the prospective genin teams get an explanation behind their status (i.e. partial fail with one or two students salvageable), except for Team Six which gets a simple "Fail. Just… fail."
- Noodle Implements: One trap set up by Naruto that Ino gets caught in uses three lemons and a paperclip. She doesn't like the results. It was designed by Madara Uchiha.
- Noodle Incident: Sasuke was forced to use the Orioke no Jutsu on a mission. He doesn't like to talk about it.
- Oblivious to Love: Naruto doesn't realize that Hinata truly cares for him until he gets a copy of her clone's memories.
- Oh, Crap!: Orochimaru has this reaction when, thanks to Naruto, he finds himself facing not one, but twenty Hiruzen Sarutobis and twenty Diamond Staves.
- Point of Divergence: Naruto running into Hinata and Kurenai after graduation is what kicks off the plot.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Hinata becomes well versed in the Kawaii no Jutsu, which lays down even Jiraiya.
- Shipper on Deck: Several people (including Hiashi Hyuuga) are quite glad to help in setting Naruto and Hinata up.
- Shout-Out: To Babylon 5, amongst others.
- Spanner in the Works: Orochimaru's attack on Konoha goes completely sideways due to Naruto's Kage Bunshin and Hiraishin, Baki Spotting the Thread, and Kirigakure sending genin as part of a plan to ally with Konoha.
- Spotting the Thread: Baki realizes that the Kazekage (a disguised Orochimaru) isn't the real deal when he responds to a message using the secret Suna no Me sign-language with a message using Suna's normal sign-language.
- Stealth Expert: Much to Hinata's shock, Naruto's very good at hiding even when he's wearing his bright orange clothes, to the point that she needs to use Byakugan to track him.
- Take a Third Option: Naruto misinterprets the Bell Test as a way of getting rid of him, so he decides to take an alternative path using the way he graduated to become an independent genin.
- Took a Level in Badass: Naruto with Hinata's help, Hinata with Naruto's help.
- Most of the current genin gain at least one or two levels thanks to Naruto's influence.
- Training from Hell: All training situations involving Naruto end up like these, especially early on when his fellow genin don't know what they're walking into.
- Trap Master:
- After finding a book on traps, Naruto becomes this. He is regularly hired by Jounin-sensei to build trap-filled obstacle courses for their students to run through.
- In self-defense due to having to run the resulting courses, Ino Yamanaka becomes a Trap Mistress so she can get through the traps without setting them all off. And to get revenge on Naruto by getting him in a trap of her own.
