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Masashi Kishimoto's unforgettable masterpiece Naruto follows the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a boy who dreams of becoming the Hidden Leaf Village's Hokage. The series emphasizes positive values such as perseverance, determination, friendship, and hard work, which the main character perfectly embodies.
Naruto is absolutely pivotal to the story, to the point where the series is named after him. However, this piece will try to speculate on how the story would play out if the orange-wearing ninja had never been born. A similar "what if" was even featured in the franchise's anime, with some filler episodes telling an alternative narration of the story's main events.
Based on Tsunade's dream within the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the filler changes the story according to the content of one of Jiraiya's books, in which, in fictional reality, Minato and Kushina stopped the Nine Tails without dying. Granted, that "what if" was absolutely not canon, it's fun to imagine hypothetical scenarios, which is what this thread will also try to do.
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Disclaimer: This article is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer.
Naruto's actions changed the ninja world, but how would the events play out if he never existed?
Without the orange-wearing shinobi, the story may change significantly
In the Naruto Shippuden anime's filler "what if" storytelling, Naruto Uzumaki still exists, and the Nine Tails attack on the Hidden Leaf happened, just that it wasn't caused by Obito Uchiha and didn't cause Minato and Kushina's deaths.
If, by absurdity, the future Seventh Hokage never existed, the attack likely would not have happened, as Obito assaulted the village simply because he knew that Kushina's pregnancy would have notably weakened the seal on the Nine Tails, facilitating his attempt to seize the Tailed Beast.
Hypothesizing that Kushina wasn't pregnant with Naruto, Obito would have had to rethink his plans, possibly focusing on getting other Tailed Beasts or, in any case, leaving aside the attack on the Hidden Leaf, at least for the time being.
With Obito not attacking the Leaf, the massacre of the Uchiha wouldn't have happened, as the main reason for it was the Hidden Leaf villagers suspecting them of being involved in the Nine Tails' aggression. As a result of that, the Uchiha clan was put under surveillance, which only caused the tensions to increase, leading to the unavoidable incident.
If the strife between the Uchiha and the Hidden Leaf doesn't surpass the breaking point, Shisui likely won't be forced to sacrifice himself, which means that Itachi would never unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan and would never join the Akatsuki.
It's true that Danzo may retain his hunger for power, but with Minato still around, he probably wouldn't dare to make his move. With the Uchiha massacre never happening, Sasuke's life would also be totally different. He wouldn't have his feud with Itachi, with the two brothers instead happily living in the village.
Admittedly, Indra Otsutsuki would probably reincarnate himself in Sasuke regardless, but with Naruto not existing, Ashura would have to find a new host. Naruto's absence would also mean that Gaara would still be a psychotic killer, as no one would show him an outstretched hand of sympathy.
Minato being the Hokage instead of Hiruzen implies that Orochimaru wouldn't try to attack the Leaf. He also would never get his hands on Sasuke, as the latter himself wouldn't be interested in coming to his side, not having the lust for additional strength caused by the rivalry with Naruto and the obsession with revenge towards Itachi.
With Minato and Hiruzen still alive and Kakashi not being put into a coma, no one would go looking for Tsunade. As such, she would never return to the Hidden Leaf, which also implies that she won't train Sakura, meaning that the pink-haired kunoichi might remain a weak fighter forever.
Jiraiya, instead, would stay in the village, only leaving it for occasional travels, given that he wouldn't have to chase after Orochimaru. The latter would probably be killed at the hands of Minato, who, once he discovered his experiments, would not be as accommodating as Hiruzen.
Not dying on the fateful night of the Nine Tails' attack, Minato and Kushina, who were still relatively young, would continue improving their skills. Likewise, Kakashi, who as a child was Minato's genius student, would train with his former teacher, with the two helping each other to become stronger.
Possibly, Minato would pass his Flying Raijin Technique on Kakashi, which would render the "Copy Ninja" immensely powerful, as he would combine that jutsu with his Mangekyo Sharingan's Kamui, obtaining unparalleled combat prowess as a space-time user.
While Akatsuki would still cause problems, unlike in the actual story, where the Hidden Leaf had its own issues to solve, the village would have more freedom to deal with the entire ninja world's state-of-the-art. Noticing that the organization is kidnapping jinchuriki to seize their Tailed Beasts, the Leaf would likely take drastic measures.
With the likes of Minato, Kakashi, Might Guy, Sasuke, Itachi, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Fugaku, and more all fighting together against the Akatsuki, the organization would be overpowered. Potentially, Kushina may have learned to control the powers of Nine Tails and would thus be another exceptionally effective asset on the Leaf's side.
Moreover, that's not even considering a possible partnership between the Hidden Leaf and the other villages with the aim of fighting the Akatsuki, like it happened in the actual story with the birth of the Shinobi Alliance. While the chain of hatred in the ninja world may never break, the immediate danger would be overcome.
In some way or another, Nagato's eventual attack with the Six Paths of Pain would fail. Even Obito would be forced to withdraw and delay his intentions to realize Madara's "Eye of the Moon" Plan, which means that Black Zetsu's schemes to revive Kaguya may not materialize.
Summing up, how would Naruto be without the future Seventh Hokage?
Clearly, it's difficult to speculate how the Naruto story would have developed if its main protagonist had never been born. The only sure thing is that the events would have been very different in his absence, influencing the various characters featured in the series and the relationships between them.
Naruto Uzumaki played a role that no one else in the series might be able to replicate, especially concerning the achievement of peace. Major incidents were solved and additional allies were gained thanks to Naruto's ability to talk to people's hearts, making them realize that the path they chose was wrong.
Sasuke's life without meeting Naruto would be totally different, not only because, assuming that the Uchiha massacre never happens, he would live happily with Itachi and his parents, but also due to the lack of a serious rival to push him to improve.
Granted, Sasuke would still learn a lot about the Sharingan with Itachi and Kakashi's help, but without the stimulus represented by his antagonism with Naruto, he would never obtain the same mighty eye powers he achieved in the canon story. It's highly doubtful that Naruto's replacement in Team 7 would trigger him as much as the former.
