NaruHina doesn't happen. It was just showing how stupid Naruto was.

I dunno, maybe it's just that I haven't read much Naruto FF, but this is one of my favorites. Easily.

 

It's not the fact that he laughed that makes me scratch my head.

It's the fact that he can't figure out that it upset Hinata despite knowing that something he did during that very exchange is what is causing her anger.

That's like me going out to dinner a week ago and remembering the restaurant, the people I went with, and what we talked about, but forgetting what I ordered.

If I remember the experience, then I do. If I don't then I don't.

Time travel has apparently damaged Naruto's brain even further than it previously was.

The problem is that there are probably less than five really well written, original, and entertaining Naruto fanfictions in existence.

The rest are either well-written but unoriginal (like this one), or original but poorly written. Some just spiral out of control on the super!Naruto scale.

The point is, the Naruto fandom is generally shit at writing a good story.

 

What are those five fics?

 

I would like to know as well.

 

Well I think they are substantially more than 5, but I'm curious as to which five you think are good.

 

All of the ones that I can really think of are already listed here.

There are a few very old ones that I initially liked, but would probably hate if I reread them, from very early on in my fanfiction life.

Two Halves by DameWren comes to mind.

 

Oh god Howdy don't say it's true! You liked that? All my respect for you --

Yeah I read that too. It wasn't... bad when I read it. But now? MarySue!Teacher meets Naruto and Hinata training trip.

I'd rate it somewhere between a male veela and a soul bonding fic.

Actually, I think this is what happens with many people. We remember we went to a restaurant, remember what was spoken of, and the people spoken to, but not actually remembering what was eaten. Although the meal is the reason for going out to eat, generally it's the conversation and the people surrounding you that dominate that memory.

It's a bad analogy, but I get what you're saying. Naruto is conviently dumb. But I'm sure you'll make Naruto selectively dumb sometime in your stories, Howdy, you might have already and I just can't recall. All writers do this, as a way to keep the story moving. Were the protagonist always able to know what to do, there wouldn't be much of a story.

Orochimaru also makes a fine 'final villain'. Moreso than Pain and Madara do, I think. Is Orochimaru as powerful as he's usually depicted, no. But he makes a good villain.

 

Is that like between Scylla and Charybdis? =(

 

Like I said, I wouldn't like it if I read it again, and don't plan to. It's just one that came to mind. I read it nearly two years ago, so...

Maybe it was a bad analogy, but he's turned it into a somewhat major plot point and it irks me.

I hate the Orochimaru final villain aspect, because people always write it horribly.

HORRIBLY.

I don't mind his character design so much as the fact that he's either:

1. An Uchiha who's a better Uchiha than Madara, Itachi, or even Sasuke. That just reeks like a load of crap.

2. An immortal demi-god who can't be killed by conventional means. It doesn't fit at all with what we know of the Naruto world. In Naruto, you can do almost anything with chakra aside from preventing someone from killing you. There are about a thousand ways to kill an "immortal" in this manga. Falling back on the Shiki Fuujin sucks, and is probably the most overly used plot device ever.

3. Way too smart to beat. Orochimaru might be a "genius," but so is every other major character in this manga. Orochimaru is actually one of the dumber villains in the series, despite his clever jutsu.

Instances of Orochimaru's sheer brilliance:

- Staring Itachi, a prodigy Uchiha, in the eye while trying to take over his body.

- Betraying Akatsuki, a group of ninjas of equal or greater power than his own.

- Attacking the Leaf village with an army of absolute shit fodder ninja and underestimating his own teacher.

- Sticking around to fight KN4 Naruto, which eventually led his current host body to deteriorate to the point that Sasuke could easily defeat him.

- Jumping on the Sword of Totsuka without having an inkling as to what it did.


Dude is not smart. He's an arrogant loser, and I will literally cry if Kabuto ends up being the final villain in anything but a Saruman role.

 

Kabuto - Highly skilled Medic-nin who is almost as powerful as Kakashi.

Naruto - Powerful ninja.

I fail to see how Naruto would adapt to changes in his body quickly, just because someone with ridiculous understanding of physiology, especially his own, did.

 

Don't bash Kabuto dude, he doesn't afraid of anything... only character in Naruto I still really like. No one seems to like him though, he's rarely more than a villain. He's such an enigma, there's some play there. He could be a very intriguing character.

 

QFT.

Especially when said Medic Nin shocks Tsunade with such a quick adaptability.

lol, Howdy, you sound a bit jaded about Orochimaru. But you're letting other terrible writings and canon!Orochimaru's idiocy cloud and bias your thoughts of TaA!Orochimaru.

TaA!orochimaru is a genius that has knowledge of the future. His arrogance made him do the stupid things you listed but now that he's been given a second chance and with knowledge of his past failures (why and how they failed), do you think he'd go the same path again? No. He's gonna be sneakier, subtler, SMARTER. and just like Ky did, you're not gonna know the his movements in the ninja world until the last minute. Ky, unintentionally did a good thing by making Oro's story the last chapter.

 

I read the first chapter and the eight that followed it.

All I saw was an Orochimaru with stronger Uchiha skills than Itachi or Madara.

It's a poor characterization.

I mean the guy didn't even know how Kamui works but is supposedly stronger than either of them?

No.

 

All I saw was an Orochimaru being a true ninja by not being flashy. by being SMART. He waited till the right time to strike and execute his plans. He waited until Sasuke killed Itachi and Naruto killed Madara to attack. He whittled down Leafs' ninja forces and all surrounding nin villages while steadily increasing his own.

Now, with 50+ years worth of ninja knowledge, one of the ultimate bodies designed for pure ninja combat, and time to put all the things you've painstakingly gather about said body to good use? It's not that hard to imagine an Orochimaru with stronger Uchiha skills that Itachi or Madara. An Orochimaru who's secondary life purpose was to obtain the Sharingan in the most effective way (with the Uchiha body). An Orochimaru who could have (and probably did) fought/trained with countless of Uchiha before his defection, and noted anything worthy. An Orochimaru who used the years of train Sasuke to study how the Uchiha body behaves, grows, and react before, during, and after combat/stress while training the body to it's limits. We all seem to forget that Oro is a ninja first and foremost, but also the ninja form of a scientist second. He RESEARCHES, performs EXPERIMENTS, and REPEATS until he's reached a desired result.

Another thing. Rock, Paper, Scissors. It was Naruto that defeated Madara but that doesn't mean Naruto can beat anyone and their grandma. For all we know, Naruto's combat style was effective against Madara's but had no effect Orochimaru's.

Also you seem to be contradicting yourself. In Naruto, just as you yourself pointed out a few posts ago, even the people who are considered 'immortal' still get killed one way or another. Even the people who should and could bring the nin world down to it's knees are easily beaten by the most unassuming opponent. it's not always strength that wins the battle. It's smarts, sometimes luck, and other factors. So yeah, Oro may not have been stronger that Madara or Itachi but had he been smarter, he could have beaten them. Case in point, Shika vs Hidan. Nuff said.

EDIT: I'm not saying you're wrong or right, Howdy, just a bit bias.

 

IMO, you are missing something great. Most time-travel fanfiction fail in that although there are alterations, the author sticks with canon. But by the middle of the story, its clear KyLewin isn't affected by this fallacy, and the most recent chapters have completely moved from fanfiction to original fiction.

However, you do bring up a valid point. It isn't until chapter 17 or 18ish when we see a change from canon events. Still, I recommend you stick with the story; there's bound to be times when you have nothing to read and don't feel like looking for new stories. At these time, I urge you continue reading Time Again. If you can get past the Wave Arc (which only loosely sticks to canon), you won't regret it.

 

Apparently the sequel is up now, Orochimaru Gaiden was the last chapter.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Howdy, I think this argument has come up before (between you and I at least). You're more fond of Madara/Pein for the BBEG and it tends to color your perception on fics where Orochimaru ends up being the main focus.

While canonically it may be true that the snake sennin doesn't really live up to expectations, the sheer volume and depth of his powers would make him a damn good villain if Kishimoto didn't make him the right combination (too much and too little) of creepy and obsessed to have all the fans (and the editors) want him dead and past.