Fanon / Naruto

• Up until The Reveal that the Fourth Hokage was Minato Namikaze, fans had a long-standing theory that the Fourth Hokage's name was Arashi. This had apparently come about through the misunderstanding of a scene in the manga where Jiraiya lays out his frog summoning contract, clearly revealing the place where the Fourth's name was written. The writing itself was illegible nonsense, with Word of God holding that the Fourth's handwriting was at fault from an in-world perspective. That didn't stop fans from trying to piece it together or photoshop in the blanks, though.
• Fanon proclaimed that the majority of the Kyūbi's fight ended when the Hokage arrived on Gamabunta and immediately performed the sealing. Later chapters reveal Minato fought the Kyūbi twice during the battle, and Gamabunta was only present to distract it so it could be dragged further away from Konoha.
• Related to this is the reason Naruto was chosen as the host of the Kyūbi. Fanon was that Minato chose Naruto because he was his son. This turns out to be true. However, the context was way off the mark: Fanon held that his reason was he was the Hokage and so the sacrifice should be his. The actual reason was because he trusted Naruto to handle the Kyūbi. Also, he told everyone (Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi and the Third Hokage) not to say anything about him or his wife until Naruto reaches either Jounin or 16.
• Fanon has the notion that only a newborn could hold the Kyūbi without dying. Jossed in ch.500. This false theory extended to all Bijuu, but after the revelation that Bee was made a Jinchuriki at age five, Yugito at age 2, Mito sealed the Kyūbi inside herself when she was an adult and it was later extracted and was sealed inside Kushina when she was a child. Also Obito plans to become a Jinchuuriki at age... Well, he is at least Kakashi's age.
• Fanon holds that Iwa holds a nearly psychotic grudge against the 4th Hokage for his victory in the war which would extend to killing his son at first opportunity if they knew. Canon does tell us that Naruto's heritage is a secret because the 4th had enemies but never who.
• It's also common in war fanfics for Iwa to follow the mantra of "quantity over quality" in its ninja forces compared to Konoha's smaller and more elite forces. Ironically, the second databook tells us that Konoha is the most populous ninja village (5 v. Iwa's 4 stars), and Iwa is tied with Kumo for the greatest military strength (4 v. Konoha's 3 stars). The fanon could still be true, but with the spotlight shining on the other villages in the Fourth Shinobi War, we're starting to see that they have their own share of unique bloodlines and legendary ninja. It is also likely that the idea comes from Hashirama and Madara's era. Comparing to those two, other Shinobi may as well be cannon fodder.
• Iwa shinobi are often attributed brutish qualities. Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi have a stocky build, but act far more like a Gentle Giant, while Deidara & Onoki are Fragile Speedster types.
• It's hard not to find a Naruto fan fic that doesn't make reference to "the Council", an Omniscient Council of Vagueness that can undermine or even trump anything the Hokage does. The closest thing to this in the source material is the council seen following Pain's attack. Its membership includes the well-known elders along with several prominent ANBU and jounin. However, this one was directly overseen and subservient to both the Hokage and the daimyo.
  • This Fanon mostly exists in western (especially English speaking) fandoms. Japanese and Chinese fanfics would typically model Konoha similar to ancient dynasties in east Asia where the Hokage is the imperial ruler. Powerful and influential Shinobi (such as Danzo, Shikaku, etc) are treated as ancient nobles (that is, they are subservient to the Hokage, but the Hokage need their support as well to function). It is also interesting to note that the reception to Danzo is somewhat better in Eastern cultures.
  • Another version of Fanon council of evil consists of the Hokage's advisors. The advisors Danzo, Homura and Koharu are often portrayed as evil and seem to be out for Naruto's blood. Canonically, Danzo is militaristic, extreme, and does seek to control Kyūbi, but none of the advisors actually have any personal grudge against Naruto. Homura and Koharu's only action "against" Naruto is the part where they suggest to Tsunade that they should keep Naruto in the village to avoid the risk of capture. The databooks describe Homura and Koharu's personalities as prudent and humble, hardly the material for evil schemers. At worst, they’re simply more militant when compared to Hiruzen and Tsunade.
  • Interestingly, this actually has a bit of Ascended Fanon in the story Itachi Shinden: Book of Dark Night, wherein it is revealed that Danzo actually leaked the knowledge that Naruto hosts the Nine-Tails, helping instigate hatred against him.
• Speaking of banishment, the idea that "the council" or all the Konoha higher ups other than the Hokage would prefer to have Naruto banished is also fanon. No-one has ever called for it in the source material, and in Shippuden, Homaru and Kotane are shown attempting to persuade Tsunade to keep Naruto IN the village more, to reduce the risk of him being taken by the Akatsuki, and state that if they had their way, he wouldn't be able to leave at all. Considering that Kiri has a unit devoted to destroying corpses to prevent village secrets from getting out, the concept of banishment as punishment seems rather unlikely to be used in the Naruto world. Similarly, Kumo keeps its Jinchuuriki close.
• According to a lot of fics, the Hyūga family also has a "Council" that makes Hiashi a figurehead, and with living Main Family members besides Hiashi, Hinata and Hanabi. Lots, in fact, but for some reason the Head's twin brother and his son were not a part of this group. Oddly, an old man is shown talking to Hiashi in the flashback of just before Hizashi's death, and it is possible that he outranks Hiashi, since Hiashi's decision to sacrifice himself to avoid war with the Cloud Village is overruled. Additionally, there is a shot when Neji is talking about the "Main Branch" that illustrates almost a dozen. Moreover, there is a Mist-nin with a transplanted Byakugan later in the manga which implies that there must be at least some main family members beyond Hiashi's immediate line (unless he stole it from a Branch Family member before killing them).
• One of the most continuous beliefs in Fanfic (and Jossed by Word of God) is that the Uchiha and Hyūga had a rivalry of who was the "strongest" clan of Konoha, probably by the trash talk in the Chunnin Exam. It is actually between the Uchiha and the Senju, the co-founders of Konoha who had a rivalry transcending centuries since the conception (by the Sage of Six paths-figuratively and literally) of the "Ninja World". In fact Tobi in canon has shown complete indifference to the Hyūga and by canon alone it made the Hyūga look like the Clan version of the Kid Samurai compared to the Uchiha. Somewhat subverted near the end, it is shown the Hyūga family is, in fact, descendent of Hamura Ōtsutsuki, the brother of the sage of six paths. Though this kind of mindset is justified due the fact that the Senju Clan doesn't seem to exist anymore, with its only two representatives (the first two Hokages) being dead for decades when the story started (not even Tsunade is considered a Senju, despite being Hashirama's granddaughter). Add to the fact that said clan and its relevance to the plot wasn't introduced until very late in the story, coupled with their lack of a Bloodline Limit (Wood Release was exclusive to Hashirama only, and not even his descendants nor closest relatives had it) and the fact that the Hyūga's Bloodline is another doujutsu, made for many fans to think a rivalry with the Hyūga makes more sense.
• According to a lot of fanfic, Naruto was basically physically abused as a child. The frequency varies from regularly, to annually (anniversary of Kyūbi attack). A number of fics with abuse and many without hold that there's an annual festival on October 10th to celebrate the defeat of the Kyūbi . This results in anything from annual, near-fatal beatings by drunks and vandalism of Naruto's apartment to him simply never celebrating his birthday. There isn't any canon evidence to support this.
• The fanon idea of hostile sabotage against Naruto by his teachers is often used to justify power-ups when such sabotage is taken away. No, he's not a hyperactive, poor at concentrating, late bloomer—he was supposedly never taught to read or was tested differently or taught wrong. While fanon does tend to grossly exaggerate it into a conspiracy of outright sabotage, some of the anime filler does indicate that Naruto's non-Iruka instructors were not trying particularly hard to educate him. Mizuki, at the very least, certainly hated him in particular.
• Some fanfiction have Naruto Obfuscating Stupidity so that the villagers won't try and kill him, but they'll still beat him.
• Naruto fanon's extreme physical abuse leads many authors to assume that he must have been aware of his ability to heal rapidly since early childhood. However, Naruto shows no awareness of this ability when it first appears after stabbing his hand to bleed out poison, he later ends up being Covered with Scars, and later on, he puts on Hinata's ointment, and assumes that it's why his wounds are healing quickly, rather than the fox's chakra.
• Similarly, Naruto is immune or at least resistant to poisons due to his fast healing. Based on a chapter where he began foaming at the mouth due to a poisoned kunai and was still queasy even after treatment, this seems unlikely.
• Fanon also likes the idea that shopkeepers conspired to overcharge Naruto or deny him service or flat out sell him low-quality/spoiled goods. In (anime) canon, Naruto does get kicked out of a store once, but it's for reading pin-up magazines without any intention of paying for them and not for being who he is. And Naruto forgives all of them anyway despite not knowing why he was abused in the first place. Unless, it's Team 7. And despite this the Sandaime does nothing but cry and contemplate on his failure. Also when the subject of Naruto's parents comes up the excuses are either: that it's for his protection from his parents' enemies or is expected to Go Mad from the Revelation. It usually is the parents' fault for they conveniently wrote some time in their will and told others not to tell him anything until he's strong enough. All within a night when the strongest Bijuu is attacking the village and his mother is practically half-dead.
• Fanon states that Sasuke got preferential treatment from the villagers before his Face–Heel Turn, but we do not see much of this beyond his fangirls. In light of how the Uchiha clan was treated from the time of the Kyūbi's attack to the massacre, this seems doubtful. Then again, we only have Tobi's word on the Uchiha clan being persecuted by the village, and he's not exactly the most reliable source. It's true that the leadership of the village distrusted the Uchiha clan, but there's no indication that sentiment extended to the general population. In fact, it's likely that it didn't, because the circumstances surrounding the Kyūbi attack were secret. The ending, however, shows that while civilians do not know much, the Shinobi at large are at least aware of Madara's affliation with Kyūbi and distrust the Uchiha.
• Another often overlooked Fanon is that Sasuke has hordes of fan girls wherever he goes. He really doesn't. In the canon, only Ino and Sakura were after Sasuke post-Academy. A lot of that was due to their rivalry and Ino showed far less interest after they graduated. Hinata was only interested in Naruto and no other woman in Konoha actually showed any interest in Sasuke. The only other woman in the series that showed any interest in Sasuke is Karin, but she has enough mental issues to fill several psychology textbooks.
• A common fanon trope is that Kakashi favors Sasuke to the detriment of Naruto and Sakura and spends time teaching him special moves out of favoritism. He had done this once in the manga in the Chunin Exams and with good reason. Sasuke was facing Gaara, a known bloodthirsty Ax-Crazy killer who had killed Genin in the exam before and had tried to kill a Rock Lee right in front of multiple other Leaf Ninja and then attempted to kill Rock Lee again in the hospital. Meanwhile Neji had tried to kill Hinata, but he only really had a grudge against the Main Branch and the worst he would probably do to Naruto would be to just beat him up. Gaara was definitely far more dangerous and psychotic compared to Neji. Sasuke needed everything he could get against an opponent like that. Kakashi was also worried about Sasuke's mental state because of the Curse Seal, and he thought that Orochimaru might try to come after him again. Not to mention that a flashback shows that Jiraiya has already requested to takeover Naruto's training. The only person that can actually legitimately protest about lack of training is Sakura, but she is not participating in the third round anyway. Also Kakashi has always been portrayed as having massive favoritism towards Sasuke because of Obito being an Uchiha and hating Naruto, practically spitting on his sensei and Obito's sacrifice and ninja code. To the point that he states time and time again on how he's the only who can teach Sasuke about his Sharingan. This is based in large part on Kakashi choosing to train Sasuke for the month between the Chunin Exam preliminaries and final round, largely because of Sasuke having gotten the Curse Mark recently, and facing an opponent who wants to kill him. Another point is from the statistic books. All three members of team seven showed significant improvement while under Kakashi's watch, so while the training isn't shown, it is likely they did receive a significant amount of it.
• Dark Naruto mainly focused on how hypocritical it seemed for the village to go from hating Naruto to viewing him as a hero. Unbeknownst to Naruto, Iruka's flashback montage showed the process to be gradual, going from hatred to disbelief at his accomplishments to starting to respect him, to showing sympathy for his troubles (failing to bring Sasuke back, being threatened by Akatsuki and losing Jiraiya). Naruto responds that what's most important is his own belief in himself.
• Naruto and Hinata are sometimes hit with a Zero-Approval Gambit by the "Council/Hyūga". Actual manga and canon anime shows that the Hyūga family, like the rest of Konoha, has gradually come to appreciate Naruto. It used to make more sense prior to his graduation, because Naruto is largely a noisy prankster with very limited skills. It is understandable that a clan of highly accomplished ninjas such as the Hyūga do not think highly of him, but once Naruto demonstrated his strength and will, they come to see him in a much better light. It is likely that after Naruto's defeat of Pain, the Hyūga clan is in full support of Hinata pursuing Naruto. This is especially notable during the Fourth Shinobi World War, where Hiashi isn't at all bothered by the sight of Naruto holding Hinata's hand to transfer some of his chakra to her, after Hinata motivates Naruto to get back into the fight after both Neji's Heroic Sacrifice and Obito's subsequent Breaking Lecture caused him to hesitate. In fact, Hiashi was more focused on Hinata's growth in strength and power after the chakra transfer than the actual Holding Hands moment.
• The same applies for a legal statute found in Harem Fan Fiction commonly referred to as the Clan Restoration Act. This law states that the last male of a clan may practice polygamy in order to increase the number of children with his or her Bloodline so that the military power of the village will increase and that one untimely death will not truncate a genetically powerful family tree. This is not so much fanon as a popular tool used to explain away multiple pairings for a fan fiction's favored character. It's doubtful anyone takes this seriously. To be fair though, ancient Japan did practice polygamy. Powerful leaders were also expected to take on multiple spouses for both political reasons as well as increasing the chance to provide a heir. So it is not too far stretched.
• Naruto's teammates have suffered Ron the Death Eater treatment that's pretty much considered canon by the fans:
  • Sasuke (pre-Face–Heel Turn) has a MASSIVE sense of entitlement and superiority as a result of being one of the Uchiha clan, and claims to be an "Uchiha Elite", in addition to having most of his abilities and achievements just handed to him because of this. In canon, he's never once demanded things just because of his heritage, and is not above working with others (e.g. with Naruto against Zabuza) or surrendering to foes he considers superior to him (the disguised Orochimaru in the Forest of Death). There's also no evidence to suggest he's gotten his skills and position as "Rookie of the Year" in any way other than hard work. The last fight between Naruto and Sasuke at the end also revealed that Sasuke is always in appreciation of Naruto's strength and determination, possibly far more than anyone else in the village.
  • Sakura doesn't give a damn about any boy other than Sasuke. Never mind the fact that she was quite clearly worried for Naruto's safety during the bell test, and openly cheered on him and Lee during the Chunin exams.
• One of the most commonly held fanfiction beliefs is that Naruto routinely evades ANBU despite wearing a bright, orange jumpsuit. Naruto has never done this in canon. The closest thing to it was Naruto evading a crowd of Chunin and then getting caught shortly later by Iruka, his teacher. This also brings up the question why ANBU, elite special forces, would be sent to track down a child prankster. In the manga, instead of evading his pursuers, he's seen brazenly painting on the monument in front of a large crowd of Chunin including the Hokage, until Iruka tells him to come down. This is also often used to justify/justified by giving Naruto fox-enhanced super-senses, usually a heightened sense of smell or hearing on the level of an Inuzuka.
• Naruto's choice of orange clothing is frequently criticized and must be justified because it should "obviously" impair stealth. In the series, no one says anything about it, other characters wear outfits that are just as flamboyant (e.g. Jiraiya) and have even brighter hair colors (e.g. Sakura), and it never acts as a hindrance. Some fanfics attempt to justify the outfit by claiming it was a good disguise against the orange of the monument. In many works, Naruto only wears his "garishly orange" clothes because shopkeepers refuse to sell him better looking clothes.
• It is fairly common belief (and device in fanfiction) that Naruto's short height is caused by malnutrition due to him living almost entirely on ramen. Given that he's significantly taller after the Time Skip, he either must have changed his diet or was just a late bloomer in the first place. There also remains the fact that Naruto is, aside from Hinata, the youngest of his classmates by several months. Completely Jossed in the ending, where the adult Naruto is 180 cm or 5'11". He is actually slightly taller than his father Minato.
• Compared to this is the constant belief that Sakura had so low level Chakra and stamina (which she doesn't, it's just that Naruto and Sasuke had enormous capacities for genins) because she went on a severe diet and skipped lunch thanks to her Fan girl-ism. The whole diet thing was a one-time joke in the Manga and appeared a second time during the "cook nin" episode and it showed the entire Kunoichi population in the phase. And this is not only haters since even "redeeming" fics go with it.
• Related is the notion that Naruto has unlimited chakra and stamina thanks to the fox. On the contrary, Naruto does get tired and does run out sometimes (e.g. when he is tree climbing with Sasuke). It's stated in canon that Naruto has 2-4 (depending on the translation) times as much chakra as Kakashi, but 100 times with the Fox. Naruto has a large amount of chakra, but he only gets close to unlimited chakra when he has the Fox's chakra at his disposal.
  • There's also a fan theory that Naruto "uses too much chakra," which prevents him from using the normal Clone Jutsu, but he can still use the Shadow Clone jutsu because of this. In actual canon, Ebisu explains during the Chunin Exam arc that while Naruto draws up more chakra than is necessary when performing jutsu, he would end up putting less than he needed into the jutsu, and wasting the rest.
• Several Fan Fiction writers gave the third Hokage's given name as Sasuke, after the famous ninja Sarutobi Sasuke. One of the guide books revealed his given name to be Hiruzen, and he is later referred to by his first name by Minato and Danzo. In chapter 500, Hiruzen's father is revealed to have been named Sasuke.
• Naruto fanfiction writers often write that Naruto and the Kyūbi are the best of friends, that they have a mind link, and that Kyūbi refers to Naruto as "kit", despite canon evidence that the Kyūbi is highly resentful of being sealed within him and would most likely tear him to shreds if given the chance. Also, Naruto and the Kyūbi only communicate when Naruto is in his mindscape (although funnily enough, both casual relations and easy communication between a host and tailed beast turned out to be true for the eight-tails host). This does happen but it happens after he breaks the seal.
• A sizable portion of those fanfiction writers also believe that the Kyūbi is female, despite his incredibly gravelly voice and male mannerisms. And can turn Naruto female. Or the very least enable pregnancy. Since Kyūbi's seal is the weakest at childbirth, it would be an huge advantage for the Kyūbi to enable pregnancy. In fics where the Kyūbi is female and friendly, when ever these facts are revealed to the Sandaime/the jounin, someone will ask something along the lines of "It's female?" and either Naruto (speaking for the Kyūbi) or if present Kurenai will make a big deal about "The strongest creature in existence" being female. This fanon was given a Fandom Nod when Naruto mistakes his redheaded mother for Kyūbi in human form.
• Fanon often holds that the Kyūbi is strongly associated with fire, probably because of the color of its fur and chakra, despite never showing any fire powers. At least until the Loony Tunes version of the Invasion of Pain arc. It's actually the Two-Tails that's associated with fire. During the fight with Kaguya, when Naruto used chakra from all nine tail beast to form nine rasenshuriken, the one represeting Kyūbi is simply a fuuton rasenshuriken. Since Kyūbi never exhibit any wind related power, it is likely Kyūbi's element is simply neutral or pure chakra.
• Fanon sometimes portrays Kyūbi as a Summoning boss like Katsuya. Granted, it is possible to use the summoning jutsu on Kyūbi, but the fox (and incidentally, the other tailed beasts) are shown in canon to be chakra constructs, whereas the other summons are flesh and blood animals.
• In some stories Kyūbi can take over Naruto at the drop of a dime. It is possible, if Naruto wants to let the Kyūbi be in control, but otherwise it's a struggle. He can even manipulate his genetics such as give him bloodlines or teach him new techniques or something. You'd think that Kyūbi would try that during the battle with the masked man, when him and Naruto started getting along, if it were possible.
• It seems that only Sakura and Sasuke know about the Kyūbi. It hasn't necessarily been mentioned but it has been heavily implied judging from Hinata's reaction after Kabuto said that Naruto held the Kyūbi. During the Shinobi World War Arc, it's shown that at the very least, Shikamaru knows about Naruto and the Kyūbi.
• Evidently the Akatsuki live in the same building and share the same facilities, despite the fact that most of them do not even seem to know one another and are constantly on the move in pairs with minimal contact beyond the sealing ritual. Word of God actually states that pairs of members each get their own rooms when they stay at inns, for whatever reason. Probably because most members hate the guts of their partners.
• And let's not forget the most elaborate Fanon theory of all: "The Legend of the Tailed Beasts". Prior to the reveal of Gyūki and Killer B, a lot of Western fans believed it to be a real Japanese myth which Kishimoto based the designs of the beasts from. It drew upon both Japanese and Chinese mythologies, involving The Eight Immortals and several species of youkai—claiming that the Three-Tailed Beast was a shark-like monster, the Four-Tailed Beast was a bird, and the Eight-Tailed Beast was the Yamata-no-Orochi. The story, in actuality, is a Japanese fanfiction, and even though the author has admitted it to be fake, many fans in the early-to-mid 2000s believed that's how they really look like. The reveal that they were completely differed—starting with the reveal that the Eight-Tailed Beast was an ushi-oni—left many Western fans confused and upset that Kishimoto wasn't following the supposedly real legend.
• The Sharingan being a genetic offshoot of the Byakugan was stated to be a rumor and even then only mentioned once, but almost everyone took this to be undeniable evidence and started getting pissy when it was shown that they were unrelated and that the Sharingan was derived from the Rinnegan.
• Fans sometimes believe that in the flashback regarding Hinata joining Team Kurenai, Hinata was essentially disowned by her father and adopted by Kurenai, despite her later being seen at the Hyūga compound before leaving to train with her team in the anime. In the manga, Hinata is accompanied by a Hyūga branch member in the Pain Invasion, and she implies in the anime that she was left in charge while Hiashi and Hanabi were away.
• Something between fanon and just a misconception is that the puppets Sasori made that looks like his parents are made out of their corpses. Actually, he made them from regular materials when he was a child, long before he went crazy enough to do such a thing, and the only known human puppets were made from Hiruko, the Third Kazekage, and himself.
• Naruto's Sexy Technique is somehow special and different from a normal Transformation Technique. Common fanon holds that a normal transformation is just an illusion, and that Naruto's technique is a full shapeshift. In fact, there is ample evidence that all transformation techniques physically change the character. (e.g. Gamabunta asking to be changed to gain claws to use against Shukaku, Sasuke not freaking out at Naruto turning into a shuriken before successfully throwing him, etc.) Fanon holds that this is a unique, fox-granted ability of Naruto or the result of him learning the technique wrong due to teacher neglect.
• Related to the above, a lot of fans seem to be under the impression that the transformation and the basic clone technique are genjutsu. They're actually both ninjutsu. As mentioned previously, the transformation is an actual physical change, and the clone, while lacking substance, is a chakra construct created outside the body, as opposed to genjutsu, which works by pushing chakra into the target to make them see a false image. Genjutsu can be broken by pain or stopping the flow of chakra; this doesn't work on clones.
• Fanon often holds that, despite creating the Sexy Technique, Naruto is kind of... puritanical towards perverts. It's true that Naruto gives any adult he nails with the technique loads of disrespect for being perverts and hates the Icha Icha series, but he's not so innocent himself as shown in the anime by how he trains Konohamaru in the Sexy Technique.
• Tenten is almost invariably the daughter of a weapons shop owner or blacksmith in fanon as an explanation for where she gets her weapons and interest in them, though whether either are alive anymore depends on the fan. A few authors have also adopted the last name "Mitsashi" for her. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Tenten was orphaned (or abandoned) as a baby, never was adopted by anyone, and literally has no surname.
• In many fanworks, Tenten and Hinata happen to be best friends. She roots for Neji (or at least thinks with pleasure that he will win) in his fight with Naruto, despite him almost killing Hinata (which, admittedly, happened while she was most likely unconscious after losing her own fight). An alternative take on that is that they became friends sometime after the Chunin Exams.
• Tenten and Kurenai are usually portrayed as feminists and the reason they became kunoichi was to prove that women are as good as men. Besides Shikamaru, no one in-universe have ever mentioned it. Tenten's characterization is based off two scenes. When Ino and Sakura are not seriously fighting against each other in the anime, Neji asks if this is the extent of the rookie kunoichis' skills, and Tenten says "It's not because they're girls, Neji", and suggests that their personal rivalry is at play. Tenten also notes that her dream is to become a powerful kunoichi like Tsunade.
• Anko and Kurenai are alleged to be best friends but have only appeared in the same room once in the entire series; even then, Anko was a proctor standing with the Hokage while Kurenai was standing across the room with her students. Probably based on the scene where Kurenai claimed to be out buying dango for Anko (as an excuse for being seen hanging around with Asuma).
• There is also the Fanon belief that Anko is a hypersexual, deranged sadist and poison mistress with almost no self control, that she's partially alcoholic, is part of the Torture and Interrogation Team, and is derided for being "the traitor's student". In her brief scenes and filler arc she showed herself to be friendly, energetic, hyperactive, and tomboyish, if kind of creepy and nonsensical — a lot like a female Naruto in many ways. She had a good relationship with her comrades, and liked being a chunin examiner. Her favorite hobby is the Tea Ceremony, and her only sexual act so far is wearing a Stripperiffic outfit and licking a kunai creepily to spook Naruto. The Fanon belief seemed to grow from the kunai incident (especially since in the manga she licked Naruto's face instead) and the fact that Ibiki and she worked as proctors during the chunin exam.
• There is also a misconception that Anko is "strong". In truth, while she's earned her Special Jounin position, that's all she's earned. She's easily outclassed by all of the Jounins introduced.
• "Sabaku no Gaara", Gaara's nickname, which he only provides during his introduction (in most other cases, in writing, his name is simply listed as "Gaara") is usually thought to be his last name and is passed on to his siblings.
• Sometimes Kurenai, Tenten, Temari, Anko, and even rarer times Kushina would usually have the extremely dull nickname "*insert specialty* mistress of *insert village*"
• Another Fanon concept fanfiction users use is that the minimum age requirement for graduating the academy is 12. This is despite the fact that Konohamaru was 11 when he became a genin and Kakashi was 6. A subset of this also insists that Naruto was in fact two years older than the rookies as a result of delayed graduation, canon be damned.
  • It does raise the question of why the "genius" Uchiha Sasuke, driven to become strong enough to kill his brother as soon as possible, didn't even make his first attempt to graduate from the academy until Naruto had already tried and failed twice, despite them being the same age...It is possible that Naruto's system simply gives you the chance to try the graduation exam multiple times in short period. Remember, this is a school that turns out trained soldiers. Of course you will not want them to leave the school unless they are ready. Also, from Lee's and Gai's cases, it is also obvious that the school system is rather flexible and Shinobi can graduate as long as they are competent overall.
  • The Bunshin (clone) Jutsu of the Academy is implied to be at least 90% of your grade because if you fail that, then it's over. Which is a case of Fridge Logic since Lee passed it, although Neji says that his doing so is more "unusual" than proof of Lee's skill. It is more likely that Naruto's other grades are also nothing to write home about and failing a practical portion simply dragged his overall evaluation over the limit.
• Usually it's stated that after they graduate the team assignments are usually scheduled the next day. Also, usually the Jounin's name is announced during the assignment despite that not being the case.
• Team 9 is usually Team Gai or otherwise not assigned, despite Iruka announcing Team 9 in the background in the anime. Unfortunately, we never hear their names, so this is mainly a matter of convenience, though no one minds ignoring Teams 1-6. "Team Gai" is fanon, but only in the sense that they haven't been called that way in canon (although Naruto does sometimes refer to his team as Team Kakashi); it's used for convenience, or as a Fan Nickname, if you will. It's not incorrect, though. The team is called "Team Gai" because Neji was stated in canon to be "the previous year's number one rookie," which means he wasn't in the same graduating class as the rookie 9. We do not know what their actual number was. The team 9 called out by Iruka in episode 3 was team 9 for that graduating class and so it has nothing to do with Neji, Tenten or Lee— it's just three random genin that get ignored because they're not main characters, just as it happens with teams 1-6. In the anime, Team 9 is presumably called out while Ino is talking with Sakura and Shikamaru. Filler and the Rock Lee spinoff jossed this by stating that the Team’s numerical designation is "3".
• Also, every female hates Jiraiya's work, and will gladly burn or otherwise destroy Icha Icha at every opportunity. Major offenders are Kurenai and Kushina, and the one female who may not mind is Anko, who Fandom has decided, Really Gets Around. Never mind the fact that, apart from maybe Tsunade, no one cares. And even then it is more about Jiraiya than his books, which she seems ambivalent about. Kurenai apparently gives major flak to Kakashi for reading it in front of minors, despite no one ever caring in-universe, and Kushina liked Jiraiya enough to let him name her son. Icha Icha Paradise however, if it wasn't for the 18 sticker or if you look at the title, you could never guess that it was inappropriate.
• There are also things that extend to Icha Icha; for example, they have been around for years - long enough that people like Minato and Kushina will give him flak - this is doubtful, considering his first book, not Icha Icha, came out barely months before the Kyūbi attack. The idea he writes about people around him (and poorly disguises their names) is also fairly common. Related to this is the idea that the main female of the first novel at least is a busty blonde. Finally, there have only been 4 books that are titled in both the manga/anime and supplementary material, while many more can be made up into a whole collection. Also in a Shipping fic, he's usually scribbling in his notebook about Naruto's female relationships. Then in Yaoi fics, there's a "yaoi edition" of Icha Icha that a Cast Full of Gay read all the time, not to mention a Yaoi Fan Girl or two.
• Icha Icha is always depicted as orange despite Violence being red and Tactics being green.
• Power Levels are frequently discussed, often using "Sannin-level" or "Kage-level" despite the fact that there is no set standard for these positions.
  • It is popular for fans to use "Tier Lists" in regards to the level of power of each named character in the series (God-tier, High-Low Kage-tier, High-Low Jonin-tier, etc),especially on GameFAQs, where several fan-favorite characters get their Memetic Badass status as their own tier (GameFAQs Jiraiya can kill anyone with Swamp of the Underworld, GameFAQs Minato can't be hit with any attacks because he's too fa-, GameFAQs Itachi only needs to use Tsukuyomi to defeat the entire cast, and said cast has a better chance of defeating all the Bijuu in existence then they do at hitting the Raikage with any of their attacks.
  • Relatedly, the ability of a village leader to announce themselves as a Kage when their village has previously lacked such a distinction is a dubious prospect. Lesser villages are led by jounin bosses, not Kages. Orochimaru as "Otokage" is the most common offender. In (anime filler) canon, only the master of Hidden Star had the brass balls to call himself a kage without being the leader of the 5 major villages, and hoped the star would enable his village to become a great nation.
  • Also considering the fact that Sannin is just a nickname meaning "Three Ninjas," not a ninja class. And was bestowed to them by managing to survive against Hanzo in their youth, who gave them this title during one of the Ninja Wars.
• The concept of 'seduction missions' has been repeatedly brought up. (Further details may cause readers to repeatedly bring their most recent meals up.) There is no canonical evidence of this. This is not so much fanon as it is taken from how real life ninjas worked. Most people do not mistake it for the real Naruto, they just prefer it. In the real world, seduction specialist are generally trained very differently from front line combat soldiers. Since the Konoha 12 are obviously front line soldiers, it is very unlikely for them to be put on that sort of mission.
• Hinata's relation to her immediate family tends to vary. In canon there's no evidence to prove she had any ill-treatment or that any of her family members hate her, especially not her sister (who doesn't even have a personality for most of the series other then her being loyal and apparently sweet, wondering how Hiashi survived the demands for his death and showing concern as he went off to see Neji). In fanon however Hiashi is anything from a father that disowned his oldest daughter, a hidden Papa Wolf to both his children, to a ruthless, abusive, sexual abuser who plans on either branding Hinata or killing her and only cares for Hanabi. Hanabi gets similar treatment. She can either be a caring little sister who looks up to her big sis, a cold girl with a Sugar-and-Ice Personality, the complete opposite of Hinata and her clans parallel to Sasuke (who may or may not love her sister), a generic annoying little sister, a determined destiny fighter... Or an abusive, sarcastic, tattle-tale, liar of a sister who loathes her sibling, or simply a scared little girl who believes she has to constantly prove herself to be better than her sister in order to avoid being branded with the Caged Bird Seal. The series eventually jossed much of the fanon perceptions of Hanabi by portraying her as a sweet little sister (especially after she Took a Level in Cheerfulness by The Last) with a case of Big Sister Worship towards Hinata. While Hiashi himself is shown to be disappointed on Hinata's combat ability, it is simply a true and honest assessment.
• In fanon Kiba has always had Akamaru ever since he was a child despite the fact it has been stated that Akamaru is 3 in the original Naruto. An anime-only flashback during his fight with Sakon and Ukon shows him getting Akamaru while not looking much younger than he is in the present.
• Jinchuuriki can identify each other at a simple glance. In canon Gaara and Naruto never knew the other was a jinchuuriki until he admitted it to him.
  • Funny enough, this might be canon as Bijuus can speak to other Bijuus telepathically through their Jinchuurikis if they want to. If this happens, it would tip off each Jinchuurikis that there is another Jinchuuriki in their presence/nearby.
  • In canon, the existence of "bijuu" as a series of creatures and the concept of "jinchuuriki" is a retcon. If you reread the chuunin exam arc with the benfit of hindsight it's painfully obvious that Shukaku and Kyūbi were not meant to be actually related and Naruto and Gaara were merely meant to be "similar" (young boys who'd had monsters sealed inside them and had grown up lonely and neglected as a result). For one thing, Shukaku's nature and powers are NOTHING like any of the other bijuu to appear; for another Gaara actually explains the backstory of the Shukaku in chapter 97 and not only is it not a "tailed beast", it was once a HUMAN. Of course this could be just a myth made up by people, similar to the Sharingan being an offshoot of the Byakugan, and Suna just told Gaara that Shukaku was a mad priest.
    • Seems to be Word of God that it was a myth born from Shukaku's last host. He was a monk who was constantly referred to by the bijuu's name and left in a cage.
• Another widespread idea is "ANBU are unstable/insane/frighteningly sane" because they do all the dirty jobs, like assassinating children or the like. Though it seems likely the elite would be given such tasks, we know nothing of the sort of missions the regular jounin are given, and the few ANBU who have appeared so far seem relatively normal. Aside from Root, anyway.
• In Fan Art there is Kakashi's red scarf. At least 60% of drawings showing Kakashi as an ANBU will include it, yet the only evidence is a 5s scene in one of the films, where the scarf — if that is what it was — was brown.
• Another idea was that Team 8 knew each other from the get go. Sakura only had passing moments with her teammates until they became a squad, and even Naruto and Sasuke just secretly thought of each other as relatable prior to graduating.
• Many fanfics have Hinata fainting at the mere mention of Naruto. She has only fainted twice: once when Naruto was in the hospital after failing to retrieve Sasuke and her first appearance in Shippudden when Naruto practically jumped in front of her for the first time in two and a half years. Of course, her Flanderization in the anime probably encouraged that notion.
• EVERYBODY knows about Hinata's crush. But this has never been mentioned - hinted a few times but never stated. By The Last, it's revealed that everyone gradually found out about it and supported it.
• Hinata has a stuttering problem every time she talks. This depends on the translation, but in most cases, she will talk normally around everyone, even Naruto, eventually. By the Invasion of Pain arc, she's completely outgrown her stutter.
• Lee and Gai hugging is not what creeps people out, it's the Sunset that appears out of nowhere. In Japan the sunset is the symbol of youth. Many authors treat it as some kind of scarring genjutsu. Not to mention that Naruto has openly stated that he thinks Gai and Lee to be cool and likes their jumpsuit/genjutsu. Apparently everyone wants him to think they're freaks.
• Speaking of Lee, people have got it into their heads that he has some sort of defect and that is why he can't use chakra. Except he can and does use chakra in the form of the gates and in the same way as other ninja. He just can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. Because he sucks at them.
  • It may not be the case that he simply sucks at ninjutsu/genjutsu; there may be some sort of genetic defect that allows him to continue accessing chakra, but can't shape it to form ninjutsu/genjutsu. In the spin-off Springtime of Youth, there was an episode in which Naruto/Lee switched bodies. Naruto himself is, of course, very proficient at using ninjutsu, but found he couldn't even do a simple transformation in Lee's body suggesting it may be more of an issue than just lack of talent. Adding evidence to this, after the body switch, Lee found that he was fully capable of using ninjutsu. It should be noted that the spin-off is meant to be funny and can't be taken seriously though.
  • In the anime, you can see Lee trying to do clones. Nothing happens when he makes the seal and attempts the jutsu, not even something like Naruto's failed clones.
• Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) for some reason is stated to be well too stiff and earth-like, always used a "Freudian Excuse" to justify Hinata's inability to master it at her age. Actual Jyuuken (or other related martial art techniques) are generally associated with water or wind.
  • Going off this, it’s believed that Hinata has a water affinity because of her "inability" to use the Gentle Fist. While it has not been confirmed which one is her affinity, the Fourth Databook reveals that her natures are actually fire and lightning.
• Also, especially in Kakashi/Iruka Fanfiction, there is apparently a "Mission Desk" usually manned by Iruka in rotation with Kotetsu and Izumo. At this mission desk 'Mission Scrolls' are handed out, and reports are dropped off, despite the fact that we never see anyone write a mission report in the manga, and all missions appear to be given in person by the Kage, usually verbally. This might have been perpetrated from the various games which often have Iruka manning some kind of desk for accessing menus or missions.
• Similarly in Yaoi fics, Kakashi and Iruka are are almost always paired, with Iruka being a Tsundere, and Kakashi (as well as all jounin) are described as being batshit crazy, in some form or another. Kakashi may also be angsty over something (his father's suicide usually, which he was...over a decade ago), and may be feared and/or incredibly respected, which he is in-universe to an extent, but it's incredibly exaggerated to the point that no one will cross him in any way, fearing he'd kick their ass, despite the fact he seems really laid back.
• Iruka is often described as having Kotetsu and/or Izumo and/or Anko as close friends and even part of his Genin team in his younger days, even though they are never seen together and Anko was Orochimaru's student in canon.
• In Yaoi fanfiction in particular there are a number of very popular pairs seen in most works, those being Iruka/Kakashi, as described above, Genma/Raido (with Raido being incredibly nice and respected by everyone and Genma being a Casanova Wannabe and total playboy), and Kotetsu/Izumo, who can vary in portrayal but are usually relatively easy-going/normal by comparison.
  • Also, in response to Jounin being 'batshit crazy' and that's often the exact words used, fanon has it that you take a Jounin test to be made a Jounin. In canon no test has been mentioned, and you'd think one would have been.
    • RE: Jonin test - before Road To Ninja (iirc) there hadn't been any reference to how people did get promoted, so it's not unreasonable to think that it would be a similar process to Chuunin promotion.
• A popular concept is that Naruto's clones are different entities such as there a difference between the clone and that the clone has no idea what to do until Naruto tell him. The clones will know everything that Naruto knows and will instantly know what it is they have to do, but only if Naruto thought of it before he made them. If his plans change in any way he would have to tell them, as they do not share a mental link, and Naruto will only know what the clone even did after he disperses the clone. He is never really shown doing this, probably because the clones typically last about 2 seconds before he gets them killed, but this is how it is explained.
  • This has some bearing in canon as of the final arc when Naruto splits himself into clones to go to all the battlefields. All the clones make their own judgment calls and act independently of one another, and the fact that none of them are in communication with each other or the original Naruto becomes a plot point when one of them wants to relay information to Naruto and Bee without dispersing and weakening the presence on the battlefield, and relies on a communication shinobi.
• There's the idea that Naruto can modify the durability of his clones by putting more or less chakra into them, when canon states it splits a ninja's chakra evenly between the clones and creator. Speaking of durability, thanks to the anime filler, mass shadow clone technique is often casted as endless folder which anyone can dispatch with ease. In the manga, the only person actually fought through mass shadow clone with success is Kimimaro due to his near-invulnerability. While Sasuke shows some success in fight it, he is quickly overwhelmed after dispatching a few.
• When you become a ninja, you are an adult and therefore allowed to drink. Both Lee and Naruto have stated that they are too young to drink, which makes sense considering the drinking age is based on physical, not mental maturity. Related to that, there is the adage often stated in Naruto/older women fics, old enough to kill, old enough to fuck. This was probably born from the more disturbing realization that by following the belief of "pure and chaste" genins, it would mean sending immature children to fights to the death than small adults. Believing killing, spying and brutally fighting against other assassins is more acceptable, upright and mentally safe activities than drinking and fucking is a very... odd idea.
• It's common during a ninja's first kill for them to go into post traumatic stress after the fact.
• Danzo, the guy who believes that emotions are key to hatred, smiles (smugly) way too often.
• Naruto tends to have a lot of unfortunate In Series Nicknames:
  • Sasuke always calls him a Dobe despite only calling him that once in the series. He usually calls him a Usura Tonkaichi. Usually they have Naruto calling him a teme. 'Teme' in itself being a form of fanon. It is actually just a rude form of the word 'You', yet the fans would have you believe it was a noun or an Honorific. A far more accurate nickname to convey the 'sentiment' would be 'bastard' or 'jerk'. Apparently Dobe aka (Dead last/ Bottom Feeder) is treated like an affectionate nickname but when he calls Tsunade, Baa-chan it's treated like a grave insult.
  • Tsunade and Jiraiya calls him gaki/brat and they never called him that after they got to know him.
  • Also the Villagers calls him a demon brat/scum.
  • And of course Kyūbi's infamous Kit.
• Mei Terumi (sometimes Ao & Chojuro) is the leader of a resistance faction against Yagura. This could be true, but there is no hard evidence except the fact that Mei speaks with disdain about the Bloody Mist.
• Naruto is often the opposite of Tsunade: i.e. very lucky with gambling. Mostly used for Rule of Funny, but some attribute this to being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyūbi. This is undoubtably inspired by a brief throwaway gag in chapter 156 when Jiraiya and Naruto are looking for Tsunade in a casino- Naruto finds a single coin on the floor and experimentally puts it into a nearby slot machine. One Gilligan Cut later and he's grinning over his wallet which is stuffed to bursting with money, with Jiraiya noting that Naruto seems to have "a real talent" at that sort of thing.
• Usually it's stated that a village leader's worst enemy is paperwork.
  • Apparently Hiruzen, who was Hokage for several decades, hates it so much that it became the bane of his existence, beating out Orochimaru; and then it turns out that one can beat paperwork by use of the Kage Bunshin, which will then cause the Sandaime Hokage to slam his head on his desk repeatedly while chanting "stupid" over and over again. This fanon gag is everywhere.
  • Naruto (usually) is the one to point out the solution.
    • Which is ironic, considering his work habits in Boruto
• Tsunade and Hiruzen tend to get annoyed whenever someone comes in from a window when in truth they're rather indifferent too it.
• Tsunade is usually portrayed as the Naruto's godmother. And sometimes it's taken one step further and making Minato a Heroic Bastard with Jiraiya as the father.
• According to some crossovers Jutsu (Technique) is a completely foreign word.
• Having a Story-Breaker Power equals every girl genuinely and instantly falls for one person despite the relations, age, the fact that it's a demon who killed your parents, or is in a completely different universe.
• There's a trend in many fics to portay Sasuke as having a very low opinion of Sakura's skill as a ninja, believing her to be weak and useless and being absolutely shocked when she demonstrates her post time skip abilities. This tends to happen both in stories where he's portrayed as a jerk but also in shipping fics between the two. In canon, Sasuke showed healthy respect to Sakura as a fighter in their two encounters after the time skip, especially during the second encounter when he lied to her to get her unaware so he can strike her from behind, despite Sasuke usually being very up and front if he's trying to kill you.
• The reason behind the Schizo Tech of the series is that ninjas use a variation of the usual summoning techniques to summon technology from other universes. Another consensus is that it takes place in a modern day Retro Universe but the fact that ninja exist is holding them back in certain technological ways, which is why their world seems like such a mix of times.
• Probably the single most Egregious and persistent piece of fanon has to do with Naruto's clothing, of all things. Fanfiction would have you believe that Naruto's outfit in part one is a jumpsuit. It isn't. His jacket and pants are separate articles of clothing. This should be obvious to anyone who looks at him.
• A lot of fanfiction states that Konoha is the strongest of the Hidden Villages. This is never stated anywhere in the manga (although this may come from Konoha being the village with the most entrants in the Chunin Exam and by far the most finalists), and there are several things that contradict it, for example, sacrificing Hizashi rather than going to war with Kumo, which is not necessarily indicative of someone negotiating from a position of strength, although losing one person is a serguably preferable to having another war. In fact, the databooks list both Kumo and Iwa as having greater military strength than Konoha.
• Another thing that pops up a lot in fanfic is everyone being able to sense chakra, which is actually a fairly rare ability in canon. While characters can sometimes feel particularly potent chakra, such as that of a bijuu, only specialist sensor ninjas have ever displayed the ability to detect a person by their chakra. If everyone could do it, techniques that block vision- like Zabuza's mist jutsu- would be useless, and they quite clearly aren't.
• A lot of fans seem to think that a bijuu dies if it's jinchuuriki is killed, which leads to a massive case of Fridge Logic, as all nine of the bijuu are still around, so that would mean that no jinchuuriki had ever died before the bijuu was extracted, which is... improbable, to say the least. It has since been revealed that the bijuu will in fact die with their jinchurriki, but will eventually be revived. How this actually occurs hasn't been revealed, but it is clear that the bijuu will not be permanently killed in this manner. Some characters believe that killing the remaining jinchuuriki will thwart Akatsuki's plans, only to have it pointed out that it would not be a permanent setback.
• One common mistake is the assumption by a lot of fans that genin are "rookie ninja", usually fresh out of the academy and that the natural progression for most ninja is from genin to chuunin then eventually to jounin. As is made quite clear during the Chuunin Exam arc, chuunin are squad leaders, not simply more experienced ninja, while jounin are elites, a rank only the best ninja can reach. Genin aren't rookies, they're simply 'rank-and-file' ninja- you could consider them equivalent to privates in a modern military force, with chuunin being roughly equivalent of sergeants and jounin being closer to captains or lieutenants. This is partly due to many cases of teams in the series consisting only of chunin or jonin. To be fair, Kakashi does say early on that to battle other ninjas would make a mission B-ranked at the least (Tazuna lied about how dangerous the mission was because he couldn't afford a higher-ranked mission request, which unfortunately resulted in him getting lower ranked ninja as his escort), and there was a whole explanation on which ranked missions go to which ninja. Also supporting this idea of Chunin as a natural progression is how everyone gets promoted after the time skip. Also of note is how the data books credit Chunin characters with having multiple A-ranked missions and even S-ranks. The fact that Guy's father Dai was mocked for still being a genin in his late thirties gives further evidence to the idea that yes, all genin are expected to at least become chunin at some point in their lives (usually in their teens or early twenties).
• That jinchuuriki can mark their love interest.
• Many authors also assume the members of the Inuzuka clan go through heat and require sexual pleasure to satisfy it despite there being no evidence in the manga
• Hyūga are usually painted as too arrogant to use anything other than the Gentle Fist. Despite that other clans specialize in their family style as well (the Aburames mainly use insects, with taijutsu a last resort). There is also the fact that during Neji's fight with Naruto. He pulled out a kunai in the end when both are exhausted and presumably on their last leg.
• Usually every evil ninja (Kumo in particular) is portrayed as a rapist outside the Akatsuki and sometimes Orochimaru (when he isn't portrayed as a Memetic Molester), though Orochimaru's soldiers are a different story.
• Another common bit of fanon is that Sakura's parents are civilians, usually part of the evil civilian council. Until very recently we were given practically nothing about them, in contrast to most of the other Rookie Nine, who had at least one parent as a ninja with similar abilities, but they were introduced in the a movie. Neither of them are actually revealed to be ninja, the one time we see her mother use taijutsu was an Anime-only scene, and the Road to Ninja movie, develops in an alternate universe where Sakura's father was the fourth Hokage, and both of them are deceased, so far there is absolutely no evidence of neither of them being either ninjas or civilian.
• Also in the above kinds of fics, or indeed any with Sakura's parents in them at all, Sakura's mother has pink hair (usually with Sakura being a younger clone of her) and hates Naruto more than anything. While the last point could be true, because of Naruto's treatment by the people of Konoha, the sixth movie shows that she has blonde hair; Sakura got her hair colour from her dad.
• A sector of the fandom believes that Tsunade and Sakura are related (and by extension Sakura being related to the Senju clan); in reality no such relation has been established by the canon, other than a superficial physical appearance and a master/apprentice relationship. Tsunade is actually distantly related to Naruto.
• Tsunade constantly losing her temper at Naruto falls into Fanon, when in the manga she's more patient with him than most of the rest of the cast, and than you would expect of someone with her temper. She only tells him not to demand a high-ranked mission soon after coming back and telling him to show respect to Fukasaku^note which, along with her using -sama on him despite typically not using honorifics, is indicative of how much she respects Fukasaku, notably refusing to get angry and insisting that Naruto get some space when he blames her for in his mind, allowing Jiraiya to go to his death. This fanon is due to the anime exaggerating her temper in filler episodes.
• The Nibi is often very perverted, to the point of embarrassing Yugito with its comments.
• When Kyūbi is not a female, it is often portrayed as perverted or as a Deadpan Snarker.
• It is commonly believed that Kushina is a katana specialist.
• One idea which shows up fairly often in fics detailing Minato and Kushina's lives is that Kushina's genin team was trained by Sakumo Hatake. Or that Minato and Hiashi (or Fugaku) are teammates and best friends. Minato's teammates under Jiraiya have so far been unnamed.
• It's also commonly believed that Hinata's mother dies sometime after the birth of Hanabi. Seeing as she has never appeared outside of a family photo when Hanabi was a baby, the thought is not all that off
• On the topic of Hinata’s mother, she’s usually assigned the name of either Hikari or Hitomi.
• The Byukugan's Power Perversion Potential has led fans to believe all Hyūga are Covert Perverts. In particular, Hinata is given this hard (And often fans will point out 'ever wonder why the girl with X-Ray vision is not a Sasuke fangirl). As hilarious as a Hinata more perverted than Jiraiya would be, outside of Road to Ninja Neji, no Hyūga has ever shown this behavior
• The Sound genin from the chunin exam arc are often portrayed in fanfiction as generally worthless, at least without their augmentations. This is despite the fact that the augmentations in question were noted as tools for generating soundwaves, which the trio were then able to control with their own power. Furthermore, they were portrayed in canon as possessing formidable speed for genin, having been trained primarily to test a curse-mark-enhanced Sasuke's limits, not just entered to die for Edo Tensei.
• The same Sound genin are often referred to as "Team Dosu," despite Dosu only appearing to be the most wary of the trio, never an official leader. A disguised Orochimaru serves as their sensei.
• According to fanon Naruto is extremely muscular and "well endowed" while in canon he is seen as moderately muscled and nowhere does it imply the size of his genitalia is large.
• Nowhere in the canon does the author portray any of the male characters as having larger genitalia
• Many fan stories and artwork portray the male characters as being much more muscular and buff than they actually are drawn in the manga. For example Naruto and Kiba are portrayed as a lot more slim and toned in the manga and anime while fan works portray them as having larger muscles.
• It is popular to portray Kiba or the Inuzuka clan in general as being hyper-sexual and going through heat while there is no reference to this in the source material.
• That there's a heavy bias toward becoming a ninja. Most, if not all, of the important characters we see are shinobi and that we rarely see kids who aren't ninjas or training to be ninjas. Civilians appear as background filler most of the time and have more "boring" lives than the ninja. Clans always talk from an early age about how their kids will become ninjas; it's expected from you to become a ninja and there are even clans like the Aburame who give infants insects after birth, no matter whether they'll become a ninja or not. Fans tend to see being a ninja, in the eyes of someone young enough to go to a Ninja Academy, as comparable to being a police officer. A lot of children want the authority and respect that comes from it, or they think it's cool, without really realizing what the job requires. The difference is that in the Naruto world you can become a ninja at a young age while in Real Life you have to wait until adulthood, when you can actually realize the reality of it. This is supported by Team 7's general lack of knowledge and naivety about being a ninja in the early chapters.
• It's a rather common belief that Gai and Lee's clothes are spandex or leotards. Firstly, if they were spandex, anyone watching would be seeing much more of their bodies than they would ever want to see. Secondly, looking at Gai's official art would show that you can see inside the sleeves, which would be impossible with a skin-tight outfit. In actuality, their clothes are more akin to loose jumpsuits.
• Good luck finding casual fans who do not realize that Karin's supposed "ravage" line is a mistranslation. Large portions of the fandom are convinced that she attempted to rape Sasuke, despite there being no canon evidence for it, due to a mistranslation that was then spread by people who either disliked her or disliked the threat she posed to their ship.
• Sasuke being a doting or overprotective toward his daughter is a common fanon. In fact, chapter 1 of Naruto Gaiden shows that he has not been back home since Sarada is a baby. His actual attitude towards her remains to be seen, but the relationship is certainly not close.
• Killing Intent is used a lot more frequently and casually in fanfics than it is in canon. Despite the fact that it's more easily detected by experienced ninja, it's often used against genin, just to mess with them. Fandom effectively treats it like some kind of free perk you get when hitting jounin rank.
• It is frequently believed that several clans still practice inbreeding in order to "keep their lines pure". Most common are the Hyūga and Uchiha, with other clans often finding the concept outdated. It's not uncommon to see Sasuke's parents be depicted as distant relatives due to them both having Uchiha traits or for Hinata to have an Arranged Marriage to either Neji or some Hyūga OC. Hanabi and Hinata's mother is almost always a distant relative of Hiashi's (the anime showed a picture of her but she had her eyes closed, making it unclear if she's a Hyūga or not).
• In fanworks Hanabi has a high chance of being in the same class as Konohamaru. In canon, it's never even shown if Hanabi is a ninja and she's only shown interacting with Konohamaru as an adult (where she calls him "senpai"). There's also a high chance of her being shipped with him (or at least them being friends), playing up the Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl trope (though which-is-which depends on whether the work is from prior to Hanabi getting characterization or afterwards).
• If you're writing a Next Gen fic and their undergoing the Chunin exams, odds are the exams will be a re-tread of the exams Naruto and his friends had. Which is partially justified, as beyond Naruto's Chunin exams we do not see any other ones and Anko mentioned kids getting their blood all over the forest, in the second portion. It's not until Boruto: Naruto the Movie, that we see a different Chunin exam (which is much tamer than the exam their parents first took).
• Fan-art of Sakura as an adult traditionally gave her long hair in a style much like her pre-haircut design. The manga later canonized that adult!Sakura has longer hair than she did in Shippuden but it's not nearly that long, though when Sarada was younger she grew her hair out. Fans have since switched to her canon design.
• Prior to the reveal that Sasori was a redhead, fans most commonly depicted him with blond or silver hair. Likewise, Karin was seen as having black hair until colored artwork revealed her to have bright red hair.
• Ino's father is often depicted as a single dad in fanon. This is due to a misconception that Ino has a Missing Mom. Ino only mentioned her mother once in all of Part 1, and she only first appeared on-screen in an anime filler late into Shippuden.
• Almost every depiction of Sakura and Sasuke's kids depicts them with at least one pink-haired son. The manga eventually revealed that they only had one child together, a black-haired daughter, however many fans still depict Sarada as later becoming the older sister to a pink-haired brother.
• Not soon after he was revealed, many fans began depicting Tobi as an amnesiac version of Obito who ended up picked up by the Akatsuki somehow. Tobi ended up being Obito however the circumstances were way off. His Manchild behavior was an act, he wasn't amnesiac, and he was really the Big Bad behind a lot of the tragedies that happened over the course of the series.
• Boruto used to be depicted as enjoying ramen like his father. His own series however clarified that he isn't that into ramen and actually prefers burgers by far. It's thus become fanon that he liked ramen when he was little but grew out of it.
• Prior to her appearing in canon, Sakura's mother was seen as an older version of Sakura. In canon, Sakura actually inherited her hair from her father. The idea of her parents being civilians, however, did end up canon.
• Karin is revealed late into the series to be an Uzumaki. However, her relation to Naruto is unclarified. They could be distant relatives, however fans pin them as either first or second cousins in order to streamline their relationship.
• In Naruto/Hinata fanfics, Naruto often refers to Hinata affectionately as "hime" (Japanese for "princess").
• Tenten as the mother of Rock Lee's son, Metal Lee. They have relatively similar eye shapes and Metal's name could be seen as relating to weapons. In canon it's unspecified who Metal's mother is. An alternative fanon is that Tenten is Metal Lee's aunt figure.
• Boruto, Sarada, and Inojin being Childhood Friends. This is due to the fact that their parents are all friends, so it's assumed that their kids spent a lot of time together. While Boruto and Inojin are friends (however, seemingly unrelated to their parents), Sarada preferred to spend time with Chocho. In canon, Sarada knows who Boruto is prior to Boruto but seems to only know him as "The son of my mom's friend". Boruto also states this verbatim for his relationship with Sarada. However, Boruto and Sarada's canon interactions, particularly in episode 9 and 34, do imply that Sarada and Boruto were close to each other in early childhood and even their respective best friends Chocho and Shikadai have pointed out their status as childhood friends as compared to the entire group of Boruto, Sarada, Shikadai, Inojin, Chocho and Metal who are all childhood acquaintances with each other in the least.
• To go along with the above, Ino and Sakura want Sarada to end up with either Boruto or Inojin.
• Fanart frequently depicts a more grown Sarada with long hair.
• In fanon, the kids refer to their parents teammates and childhood friends as "Aunt"/"Uncle". This however doesn't appear in canon^note Except on Episode 51 where we see that Boruto calls Sakura "auntie" on his birthday. Sarada seems distant towards Naruto, calling him by his title instead of by name, while simply addressing Ino as "Ino-san". An alternate take on meshing fanon with canon is that the characters used to treat their parent's friends that way but have switched titles as they've grown.
• Even amongst fans who do not particularly ship them, Tenten having feelings for Neji (be they unrequited or not) is common in fanworks if only to give her character more depth. Neji will usually be The Lost Lenore to her.
• In fanon, Sarada will eventually use the Affectionate Gesture to the Head she learned from her father, Sasuke, and her uncle, Itachi, before him, to her sentimental partner (usually Boruto in Boruto/Sarada fics).
• Road to Ninja versions of Boruto and Himawari are almost always a Shrinking Violet and Enfant Terrible respectively. Boruto usually has black hair as well.
• Himawari is usually depicted with long hair as a teenager.
• Gaara's aversion to romance leads fans to pin him as either gay or asexual.
• Himawari as either being the heir of the Hyūga clan or the heir after Hanabi, due to her more Hyūga-looking design than Boruto, her Byakugan, and the fact that she's Hinata's child.
• Fans tend to exaggerate Boruto and Himawari's age difference. In canon they're only two years apart.
• Prior to the manga ending many fans assumed that Naruto and Sasuke would end up ANBU.
• Sasuke is shy about romantic public affection and that's why he avoids it with Sakura, even around Sarada.
• A late Shippuden episode has Hinata fainting for no apparent reason while fighting. This scene isn't in the original novel but the novel is stated to occur after Hinata was already married^note The novel does take place after Naruto and Hinata's wedding, but the aforementioned Shippuuden adaptation takes place between The Last and The Perfect Day for a Wedding, as the latter was used as the Shippuden finale. The fan explanation for this is that she was (already?) pregnant with Boruto but didn't know it at the time.
• Mirai is considered Shikadai's Cool Big Sis who he usually has a Precocious Crush on.
• Prior to Sarada, Sasuke in future fics always had a large family due to his comments about wanting to revive the clan.
• Konohamaru's parents are absent throughout the series so fanon was that they're dead. It wasn't until Naruto ended that supplementary material revealed that they're busy ANBU.
• Naruto being a prankster is apparently a multiversal constant, even in AUs when he's not ostracized by everyone and desperate for attention.
• Canon shows that Tsunade is distantly related to Naruto through Kushina, but a lot of fans take this one step further and see Tsunade as Naruto's paternal grandmother. The theory is that she had Minato with either Dan or Jiraya and gave him up for adoption.
• On the other hand, depending on who you ask, Minato has a different origin either being from the Namikaze clan, a civilian family, or is an orphan.
• Prior to the manga ending, many fans wrote Temari and Shikamaru as being in a Secret Relationship during Shippuden. Supplementary material, and later the anime adaptation, jossed this interpretation. It turns out that Shikamaru was Oblivious to Love the entire time, not hiding a relationship.
• It is fairly common for Itachi and Kisame to be friends even in stories where they aren't in Akatsuki. At least one had Kisame befriending Itachi and joining Konoha instead of Akatsuki and in stories where Itachi betrays Akatsuki Kisame is there right by his side.
• If a character with Only One Name hails from a named clan and/or is closely related to someone with a family name, they're usually assigned with that name, i.e: Karin Uzumaki, Kimimaro Kaguya, and Shizune Kato. In the case with Tsunade and Nawaki, they're given the Senju name as opposed to the Uzumaki name, likely due to the fact that Japan is traditionally a patrilineal culture, not to mention that the identity of Hashirama's wife was revealed well after Tsunade was introduced.
• Hinata historically is often given the Animal Motif of a rabbit (for her cuteness and shyness, plus it's a prey to foxes). However, the manga eventually gave her a lioness motif.
• Unlike with other kage who are on a First-Name Basis (using titles in combination with their name such as "Lady Tsunade"), Naruto is near exclusively called "Lord Seventh" by others, including his Childhood Friends like Shikamaru. Fans explain this as being Naruto liking the title because being hokage was such a life-long dream to him. Another explanation is that Naruto doesn't want Boruto to be as impolite as he was as a kid, so he enforces titles.
• Unlike other Mangekyō users, Tobi/Obito has never been seen having issues with it affecting his eyesight from overuse. It’s believed it’s the result of his body being augmented by Hashirama’s cells.
• Inoichi and other Yamanaka sometimes are shown being knowledgeable in human psychology, often being depicted as being therapists of sorts.
• Tsume (Kiba and Hana’s mother) is sometimes seen as being the Inuzuka clan head.
• Various characters (such as Rin, Choji, and Kiba) have Facial Markings. This is generally considered to be make-up by fans, but it's never specified in canon if it's make-up or natural. An anime-exclusive scene shows Kiba taking a bath without the markings on, Jiraiya's changed as he grew, and Chocho doesn't have Akimichi markings, which implies that characters aren't born with their markings.
• Obito/Rin shippers commonly theorize that Rin was in love with Obito, but he was Oblivious to Love.
• Multiple fan stories state that the Byakugan and Sharingan, due to having super vision, have the Logical Weakness to flash bangs and other bright lights despite this never comming up in the anime or manga.
• It's believed in some circles that Gaara's seal is imperfect especially when compared to B's or Naruto's, hence why Shukaku has such an influence on him.
• Because she spent so much time as having Only One Name, it was theorized that Rin was a member of the Inuzuka clan because of her Facial Markings. When her surname was revealed as Nohara, people began instead suggesting that her family was an offshoot branch of the Inuzuka.
• Due to the nature of the Uzumaki Clan's Chakra Chains, it's theorized that it's a Kekkei Genkai.
• From Sakura/Naruto shippers, they were a surrogate couple during the time Sasuke was out of Konoha, usually going on dates together and trying to make a romantic relationship work, but failing and giving up at the end, probably from the anime fillers where they pushed the ship hard.
• To most fans, a slashed headband is the sign of a rogue ninja who has no loyalty to a village. This is due to the fact that all the members of the Akatsuki who have their headbands have a damaged headband. In reality, it's done to show one's loyalty to Pain. Many Ame ninja also have the same slash on their headbands.

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