A/N: What's up guys, I hope you've been enjoying the story so far, but I could really use some help or advice right about now.
Basically, I'm kind of stuck a few chapters ahead of where we are on webnovel right now.
I'm having issues with being creative and making up a cohesive storyline. There are literally over 60 ideas for different ways Kuroichi's powers and skillsets could develop, as well as scientific discoveries he could make in my notes, but I have literally zero plan for the whole plot behind that.
I've got my chapters planned until about chapter 60 right now, but even then a lot of the planned plot is kind of shitty in my opinion. I want his growth to be kinda realistic, but entertaining and somewhat "slow" enough so that you readers can clearly imagine the different things going on in the story.
If any of you have ever written a fancfiction, how do you plan out the storyline? Should I plan the complete but rough outline beforehand or maybe plan ahead a little but generally make things up as they go? And if so, how can I make sure that everything makes sense at the end? I feel like in Naruto there is so much great potential to completely deviate from the plot, but a lot of stories that try to do that go completely off the rails until they're discontinued because the authors get demotivated to write or perhaps it get's too complicated etc. etc.
I'm trying to avoid this issue lol, but I already kinda feel that I don't like where the story is going with my current plans right now and haven't really been motivated to write much these past few days. I'm also somewhat stuck on a more or less pointless fight scene which makes me want to just say fuck it lmao.
Anyways… do any of you have experience with this? If so, what should I do to make sure I can create an enjoyable and interesting story?
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Nearly six weeks into their journey, they reached the outskirts of the city known as Nakanoura, which meant something akin to the Bay in the Middle. It was an older coastal trade city bordering the islands of the Land of Water, and it got it's name because it was nestled in a bay surrounded by three large mountains.
The gray stone walls surrounding the city's edge stretched high and curved like the waves of the sea, just frozen in time. It was a city supposedly not only known for it's fishing economy, but for it's smuggling businesses as well.
From a distance, the city looked vibrant, banners flapping above rooftops, boats rocking in the docks and the scent of sea salt carried by the breeze.
But looking closer, the mood changed. Kuroichi, hidden under the hood of his new coat, watched from a distance as samurai acting as city guards in dull armor checked the wagons and foot traffic coming through the main gate. Everyone passed through a narrow checkpoint between two reinforced towers. Some were questioned, while others simply flashed their papers and were waved through.
Kuroichi stepped closer to a loose group of travelers to listen to their conversation.
"… don't even bother if you don't have a registration pass. Inner gate's sealed to all outsiders unless you've got it."
"Look! Some guy is actually trying to crawl in under a cart right now!" another one of them said in an astonished voice. "They'll definitely catch him and throw him into prison so he has to work for them. Poor idiot."
Kuroichi's eyes narrowed. He tilted his head just in time to catch a glimpse of someone else, someone who had tried using the exact same method he had thought of using to get into Nakanoura.
A man had wriggled beneath a bull cart's undercarriage, trying to sneak past. Just as he thought he'd made it, the guards dragged him out by the legs and slammed him into the dirt. The man's screams were short lived as he was carried away by more samurai that came to see what the commotion was.
"Unlucky," someone muttered nearby. "He's going to be peeling bark for making soap or cleaning waste for at least the next two years to come."
Kuroichi turned and vanished into a side path without a word.
He knew he had chakra, and he should be able to easily sneak in, but he simply didn't have a good way to go unnoticed.
'Normal ninja must definitely learn things like this in the academy.. Ugh damn it.' He wished he had the hiding like a mole earth jutsu right then, thinking how easy it would be to just burrow into the ground and come up on the other side of the wall.
He didn't want to take any big risks, he couldn't be involved in any more dangerous situations lest he get exposed. He needed a smarter way.
Hidden away on a remote trail far from the main road, Kuroichi crouched behind a thicket, completely still. Kurai watched from above, gliding in slow, lazy circles like a bird waiting for prey.
The irony in his situation wasn't lost on him. 'This is what I've become, huh? Waiting on a road, ready to strike someone who's just minding their own business, just because they are at the wrong place at the wrong time, and my needs are more important than theirs.'
He felt no real anger or guilt over his planned actions, instead he felt a cold calm necessity, as if he was truly the one in the right. And perhaps, according to the norms of his new world, he actually was. After all, in a world of shinobi, only strength truly matters.
Eventually, a lone traveler appeared, an older man, maybe sixty, walking slowly with his back hunched under the weight of a modest pack. Kuroichi waited until the man passed, then struck fast. A well-measured strike to the back of his neck, and the man slumped to the ground unconscious.
Kuroichi dragged him off the path and bound him to a tree with some leftover rope that he had. It wouldn't hold for long, he wasn't a professional kidnapper after all, but the man would be out for at least another hour and then he'd have to make it all the way back into the city. By then Kuroichi would already be wearing a new disguise.
He rifled through the man's bag. A small amount of coins, dried fish and a small identification scroll with an entry stamp.
'Perfect,' he thought to himself. 'I'll only take what I need, he can keep the money and food at least.'
Then Kuroichi performed the transformation jutsu, adjusting his height, features, posture; everything to match the ID. Then, with the man's likeness, he made his way toward the gates.
He kept his head down, his voice quiet. The samurai guards barely gave him a glance before waving him through.
Immediately he turned three corners, then ducked into an alley and switched appearances with another transformation jutsu. Now looking different, he went back out onto the main road and walked for a few minutes until he had repeated his previous actions of changing his looks.
Switching his disguise once more in a small side alley, he walked out into the streets of Nakanoura looking similar to his original self, with the main difference being shorter hair, a different eye color, a softer jawline and a bit of a stronger build.
By the time he had reached the central district, no one who might have seen him at the gate would have recognized him. But even then, his thoughts returned to the man he had bound to the tree.
He hadn't just simply killed him, he couldn't. Not yet.
But he knew, deep down, that mercy like that might one day come back to bite him in the ass.
'Next time, I might not have the luxury to hesitate anymore.'
Walking along the streets, he took a few ryō and bought two pairs of more comfortable pants with some standard blue shinobi sandals.
The city had multiple weapon shops and the general population was naturally eager to dress in ninja apparel as well, hence the different shops selling "modern" ninja clothes.
When he found a small inn tucked between a tea shop and a tool store, he thought about buying a different shirt to complete his new outfit as well, but decided to postpone it until another time.
The inn's simple wooden beams and paper-paneled windows all converged towards a handwritten sign that read "The Willow Nest".
Opening the door, Kuroichi didn't see anyone inside. Knocking again, he called inside, "Hello? Is anybody there?"
"Coming, just a second," came a young voice from further down into the house.
"Sorry I was cleaning back there. What can I do for you young man?"
Kuroichi, looking like a total child, told her, "I need a room for the next week, and I'm supposed to book a room for me and my big brother who will arrive soon as well."
"Aww okay no problem, we can definitely get you a room. Maybe for the full next week if you'd like?" she asked in a kind voice, never expecting the child in front of her to be an accomplished killer already.
"That is good. I already have the money with me, here," he paid for the full next week, before eagerly being guided to his room.
The woman who ran the inn seemed like a kind and trusting person. She explained that she lived upstairs with her daughter and offered Kuroichi the option of eating with them if he so wished. There weren't any more questions asked as they arrived in front of the room.
'Perfect,' he thought, as he closed the door to his room and arranged some of his belongings on the floor. Standing back a little, he quickly created a water clone that transformed into someone who looked like the image of an older teenager, someone tall and well-built enough to be mistaken for a guardian or older brother.
'Tomorrow I'll look for a calligraphy teacher' he thought. 'But for that, I'll need someone else official looking by my side.'
The clone would do, and eventually as a long term strategy he planned to gradually faze out the presence of an older brother from his life. In the end it all depended on how long it would take him to learn calligraphy.
For now though, he had a bed, a roof and time to improve some of the finer details of his repertoire of techniques. As he laid down and stared at the wooden beams above him, Kuroichi allowed himself to drift off to sleep, sleeping more soundly than he had in a long time.
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Advanced chapters on pa*treon.com/WavyWriter