Quote:Really? Can you point me to an official source for this assertion? As I actually sort of like the series, I've watched every single episode that has actually been aired by my local cable provider (up to season 5 of Shippuden) and read most of the manga, but cannot recall any proof that anyone (even Mizuki) actively sabotaged Naruto's education.My response is in spoiler text as a curticy for space concerns. If you want futher discusion we need a new thread. The short answer is Naruto was shunned.
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Spoiler
I'm going with the manga/anime canon as the sorce... that and basic sociology. In fact one of the basic themes of the early show is establishing the active sabatoge of his academy days, as well as his social life in genral. The active sabatoge is describable with a two sylable word: Shunning. Its one of the most devistating things any soceity can do to anyone at all. Mostly reserved for the those that did something so bad its basically war crime equivalent. The specifics of this vary, but the point is to actively traumatise the target into submission with the raw force of their collective displeasure through malignantly ignoring them.
Naruto got this from the time he was at least sixish, perhaps sense he was born. They make it flagrantly clear that the Third Hokage made a law that forbade them from just walking up to Naruto and declaring him the 9 tails and beating him to various stages of close to death. They couldn't beat him to death or assualt him with out getting ninja/ANBU assisted Darwin Awards. So they did something that the Third couldn't stop them from doing. So they did the social equivalent of making Naruto walk around with a billboard proclaiming ignore me till I die of it. They put a Shunning on Naruto.
All those flashbacks to Naruto's childhood. All the kids being directed away from Naruto by their parents. All those scenes with him on the swing... completely alone staring miserably at happy children with their happy parents. Are all on screne examples of Naruto being actively shunned. Naruto didn't break though, he dedicated his life to being impossible to ignore. Its why he did pranks that culminated in doddling all over the single most obvious thing in the city. He decided he'd be the Hokage... at first so everyone had to acknowledge him. The reason he fixates on his 'precious people' is they are his real acheivemnts in life. Every single one of them that breaks the shunning is a won battle. One thing I wonder is if Sakura (probably from Ino's influence) treated him like he was annoying for something he actually did or if he fixated on her, because she reacts like he is going for with pranks.
The reason Gara starts off so screwed up is that he also got a Shunning. Only with Gara his father actively made it worse, instead of instituing a stop gap counter measure. To the tune of favorite relatives attempting to assassinate him... then going sapper on him while loudly proclaiming everything he knows that is positive in the world is a lie... he was 5 or 6 at the time. When Gara calls his demon 'Mother' he wasn't kidding. The psychotic Kaiju in his shoulder was literally the best parental figure he had to raise him. All things concidered, Gara turned out a rather well adjusted, well toward demon society, even before Naruto beat some humanity into him. Not sanity, Naruto beat humanity in Gara.
To get back to the active sabatoge of his skills at the academy, the instructers didn't need to 'teach him wrong, you know as a joke!' all they needed to do was give him the minimum they legally could in instruction. Then spend all their class time fixating on everyone, but Naruto. They can even point out he did fine in Taijutsu, got replacement down without the need for hand signs. His Henge is imfamous. He excells at stealth and traps (seriously the pranks and the chases he leads adult ninja's on on a regular basic in those days. Well that and the whole pwned the Kage's tower fotress solo thing, detected by only the Kage who has active ANBU guards)... the only gaps are his classroom work and the bushin jutsu. The series openly says what screwed him into failing is the bushin... Mostly as he isn't illeterate or incapable of handleing money... so basic skills are there. Classroom grades can be written off as average or meh.
The canon reason for bushin failing is he has far too much chakra for it to function. This is something that should be known at some level of the academy... and watched for as this indictes future major player. Naruto isn't the first one with tons of chakra to run through the place... so the only reasons can be stupid instructors or conviently failing to remember this factiod. Repeatedly... over 18 months to 3 years. He failed 3 times on bushin. A little, 'but he brute forced his way through everything else' here. A bit of 'I'm pretty sure I mentioned that' there. Suddenly Presto! Instance accontable deniabity... its not like he hasn't failed on that portion before... I mean after the first two times he failed, someone had to have been assigned to look into that. One token 'but I did try to teach him... I though he just needed practice and I can't do that for him!'and some active passive agressiveness and Ba'da'bing! Ba'da'BOOM! no ninjahood for the demon! His fault completely.
The only other explaination is it never occured to the teaching staff that maybe, just maybe they should try teaching him one of the 50 million other types of bushin... I mean Rock Lee passed that portion with after images. Granted it wouldn't be shadow clones, I'm pretty sure that would have killed some random copy catting student and it is restricted for good reason. However, water and earth clones or any over type of clone would have worked just fine. The only other workable theory is that the academy is made of complete fail having 20 other students in Naruto's class (over half of which weren't from major class) pass the bushin skill examine, I just can't warrant that as a nonjoke explanation.
Naruto got this from the time he was at least sixish, perhaps sense he was born. They make it flagrantly clear that the Third Hokage made a law that forbade them from just walking up to Naruto and declaring him the 9 tails and beating him to various stages of close to death. They couldn't beat him to death or assualt him with out getting ninja/ANBU assisted Darwin Awards. So they did something that the Third couldn't stop them from doing. So they did the social equivalent of making Naruto walk around with a billboard proclaiming ignore me till I die of it. They put a Shunning on Naruto.
All those flashbacks to Naruto's childhood. All the kids being directed away from Naruto by their parents. All those scenes with him on the swing... completely alone staring miserably at happy children with their happy parents. Are all on screne examples of Naruto being actively shunned. Naruto didn't break though, he dedicated his life to being impossible to ignore. Its why he did pranks that culminated in doddling all over the single most obvious thing in the city. He decided he'd be the Hokage... at first so everyone had to acknowledge him. The reason he fixates on his 'precious people' is they are his real acheivemnts in life. Every single one of them that breaks the shunning is a won battle. One thing I wonder is if Sakura (probably from Ino's influence) treated him like he was annoying for something he actually did or if he fixated on her, because she reacts like he is going for with pranks.
The reason Gara starts off so screwed up is that he also got a Shunning. Only with Gara his father actively made it worse, instead of instituing a stop gap counter measure. To the tune of favorite relatives attempting to assassinate him... then going sapper on him while loudly proclaiming everything he knows that is positive in the world is a lie... he was 5 or 6 at the time. When Gara calls his demon 'Mother' he wasn't kidding. The psychotic Kaiju in his shoulder was literally the best parental figure he had to raise him. All things concidered, Gara turned out a rather well adjusted, well toward demon society, even before Naruto beat some humanity into him. Not sanity, Naruto beat humanity in Gara.
To get back to the active sabatoge of his skills at the academy, the instructers didn't need to 'teach him wrong, you know as a joke!' all they needed to do was give him the minimum they legally could in instruction. Then spend all their class time fixating on everyone, but Naruto. They can even point out he did fine in Taijutsu, got replacement down without the need for hand signs. His Henge is imfamous. He excells at stealth and traps (seriously the pranks and the chases he leads adult ninja's on on a regular basic in those days. Well that and the whole pwned the Kage's tower fotress solo thing, detected by only the Kage who has active ANBU guards)... the only gaps are his classroom work and the bushin jutsu. The series openly says what screwed him into failing is the bushin... Mostly as he isn't illeterate or incapable of handleing money... so basic skills are there. Classroom grades can be written off as average or meh.
The canon reason for bushin failing is he has far too much chakra for it to function. This is something that should be known at some level of the academy... and watched for as this indictes future major player. Naruto isn't the first one with tons of chakra to run through the place... so the only reasons can be stupid instructors or conviently failing to remember this factiod. Repeatedly... over 18 months to 3 years. He failed 3 times on bushin. A little, 'but he brute forced his way through everything else' here. A bit of 'I'm pretty sure I mentioned that' there. Suddenly Presto! Instance accontable deniabity... its not like he hasn't failed on that portion before... I mean after the first two times he failed, someone had to have been assigned to look into that. One token 'but I did try to teach him... I though he just needed practice and I can't do that for him!'and some active passive agressiveness and Ba'da'bing! Ba'da'BOOM! no ninjahood for the demon! His fault completely.
The only other explaination is it never occured to the teaching staff that maybe, just maybe they should try teaching him one of the 50 million other types of bushin... I mean Rock Lee passed that portion with after images. Granted it wouldn't be shadow clones, I'm pretty sure that would have killed some random copy catting student and it is restricted for good reason. However, water and earth clones or any over type of clone would have worked just fine. The only other workable theory is that the academy is made of complete fail having 20 other students in Naruto's class (over half of which weren't from major class) pass the bushin skill examine, I just can't warrant that as a nonjoke explanation.