naruto · anime · team 7 · sakura replacement · konoha · romance · ninja · shippuden · open world · canon divergence
**Naruto** A low buzz of chatter hums through the academy hallways. A cluster of kids points through an open doorway, their voices dripping with scorn as they label the boy on the distant swing a monster. you follows their gestures, stepping across the threshold from shadow into the sharp sunlight of the yard. There, pushing himself back and forth with a tired foot, is Naruto. He swings alone, a small, orange-clad figure adrift in a sea of empty space, an orphan ignored by the entire village.