First off, I want to give credit where credit is due.
Parallel dimensions/ alternate realities, the RL theory:
Possible results if such a thing were true:
Relating this theory to Naruto:
How Kishi might be implementing this idea into his manga:
What would all this mean?
The Theory:
The Conclusion:
If you are still here at this point, I want to thank you for taking the time to read. This thread was a long time coming and I really hope that people consider the possibility. I don't know what to expect from posting such a thread, but I hope it at least gets some people's mind's wandering. Again, thank you for reading and I want to hear everyone's thoughts on this!
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has had some great ideas on this topic and his ideas inspired some of my own. Thank you Gyakusetsu for being another person who likes to push the envelope! So with that, lets get to the theory!Parallel dimensions/ alternate realities, the RL theory:
I first want to explain the RL theory which I will relate to the Naruto world after.
Note: I do not personally believe in this theory, but that doesn't mean its not possible. In addition, that does not mean that a manga writer like Kishi doesn't believe it and perhaps utilize it in his manga.
The theory is that every decision you make on a daily basis can, perhaps, create an alternate reality of our own that differs slightly. If you consider the hundreds of decisions you make on a daily basis, the number of alternate realities you may create is staggering. Compound this with the millions of other people all around the world, causing potentially just as many alternate realities as you. Compound this even further by taking a chunk of time, say 20 years, and imagine how one random person's decision from back then might affect your current reality.
Note: I do not personally believe in this theory, but that doesn't mean its not possible. In addition, that does not mean that a manga writer like Kishi doesn't believe it and perhaps utilize it in his manga.
The theory is that every decision you make on a daily basis can, perhaps, create an alternate reality of our own that differs slightly. If you consider the hundreds of decisions you make on a daily basis, the number of alternate realities you may create is staggering. Compound this with the millions of other people all around the world, causing potentially just as many alternate realities as you. Compound this even further by taking a chunk of time, say 20 years, and imagine how one random person's decision from back then might affect your current reality.
Possible results if such a thing were true:
If you consider the possibility that decisions made by other people a long time ago can affect your current reality, then the limits on its influence are potentially unlimited. Lets take some simple examples.
Are you currently wearing a shirt with a brand and logo on it? If so, what if a decision make 20 years ago affected the logo of that brand? Lets say your shirt logo is a mountain top. What if in an alternate reality its a snow-capped mountain top? What if in another its a snow-capped mountain top with a man hiking up it? What if, in even another alternate reality, it shares the same logo but the brand name is different?
Continuing this line of thought, what if decisions make 20 years ago affected your current state of being? What if there's a version of you that was involved in a terrible car accident? There might be a version of you that's a paraplegic. There might be a version of you that's missing an arm. There might be a version of you that after loosing your arm, decided to invest in an artificial arm. The point is that the possibilities are endless.
Are you currently wearing a shirt with a brand and logo on it? If so, what if a decision make 20 years ago affected the logo of that brand? Lets say your shirt logo is a mountain top. What if in an alternate reality its a snow-capped mountain top? What if in another its a snow-capped mountain top with a man hiking up it? What if, in even another alternate reality, it shares the same logo but the brand name is different?
Continuing this line of thought, what if decisions make 20 years ago affected your current state of being? What if there's a version of you that was involved in a terrible car accident? There might be a version of you that's a paraplegic. There might be a version of you that's missing an arm. There might be a version of you that after loosing your arm, decided to invest in an artificial arm. The point is that the possibilities are endless.
Relating this theory to Naruto:
What I am suggesting is that perhaps Kishi is using this idea in his manga. Do you recall all those dozens of mistakes being made in the last chapters? Do you recall the hundreds of mistakes that Kishi has made during the war arc? If you haven't, then I suggest you get out from under your rock.
What I'm suggesting that these mistakes that Kishi is making perhaps aren't mistakes, but intentional. Potentially, these mistakes can be explained with the alternate reality theory. I'm gonna pick three very obvious mistakes and concentrate on them, but please realize that there are literally hundreds of others out there.
We all know about Minato's missing flames on his coat:
What if, in an alternate reality, decisions lead to Minato's coat design not having flames on it? Don't shy away now, I'm just getting into the nitty-gritty.
We all also know about Minato's missing arm suddenly appearing then disappearing again a page later:
Who's to say there's not a reality where Minato didn't loose his arm in the fight with Obito?
Most recently, we saw Madara's sharingan in the wrong socket and swapped back to being correct in just one panel:
Who's to say there's not a reality where Madara had his Rinnegan in his left socket rather than his right?
What I'm suggesting that these mistakes that Kishi is making perhaps aren't mistakes, but intentional. Potentially, these mistakes can be explained with the alternate reality theory. I'm gonna pick three very obvious mistakes and concentrate on them, but please realize that there are literally hundreds of others out there.
We all know about Minato's missing flames on his coat:
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What if, in an alternate reality, decisions lead to Minato's coat design not having flames on it? Don't shy away now, I'm just getting into the nitty-gritty.
We all also know about Minato's missing arm suddenly appearing then disappearing again a page later:
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Who's to say there's not a reality where Minato didn't loose his arm in the fight with Obito?
Most recently, we saw Madara's sharingan in the wrong socket and swapped back to being correct in just one panel:
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Who's to say there's not a reality where Madara had his Rinnegan in his left socket rather than his right?
How Kishi might be implementing this idea into his manga:
Now you might be asking, "How does the alternate reality theory potentially relate to these mistakes?". The answer is quite simple. Perhaps, for very short periods of time, individuals from alternate realities are swapping for very short amounts of time. The durations are so short, that they can span a single page or as little as a single panel. In addition, the differences between these alternate realities are minor enough to where the individuals swapping into the other realities don't even know it happened.
So considering the examples I gave above, is it impossible to think that for one panel, Minato was swapped with a Minato from a reality where he has no flames on his jacket? Is it impossible that a version of Minato that never lost his arm while fighting Obito swapped realities with our Minato for a short duration while they were counter-attacking Obito?
In Madara's wrong eye case, isn't it possible that in an alternate reality Obito was crushed on his left side rather than his right? In the same reality perhaps Kakashi was wounded on his right eye. In such a reality, Kakashi would have been given Obito's right eye and all the eye placements would be revered. In such a reality, Madara would have stolen and implanted Kakashi's right eye rather than his left. Who's to say that version of Madara did not swap into the last chapter for 1 panel then swapped back again after?
Again, all these swaps would happen seamlessly and would be subtle enough that not even the victims of the transfer would realize it happened.
So considering the examples I gave above, is it impossible to think that for one panel, Minato was swapped with a Minato from a reality where he has no flames on his jacket? Is it impossible that a version of Minato that never lost his arm while fighting Obito swapped realities with our Minato for a short duration while they were counter-attacking Obito?
In Madara's wrong eye case, isn't it possible that in an alternate reality Obito was crushed on his left side rather than his right? In the same reality perhaps Kakashi was wounded on his right eye. In such a reality, Kakashi would have been given Obito's right eye and all the eye placements would be revered. In such a reality, Madara would have stolen and implanted Kakashi's right eye rather than his left. Who's to say that version of Madara did not swap into the last chapter for 1 panel then swapped back again after?
Again, all these swaps would happen seamlessly and would be subtle enough that not even the victims of the transfer would realize it happened.
What would all this mean?
At this point you might be asking, "Why would Kishi do this?" or "What would be the purpose of introducing such a complication?". Well it would be to establish another player in the Narutoverse. It would imply that there is perhaps someone of a higher power manipulating things to go the way they want it to. Now they might be directly causing these reality swaps, or perhaps their manipulation of reality is unintentionally causing these swaps. Either way, I believe someone else is causing them, and the answer might have come very recently in the manga:
Madara absorbed the God Tree, but he did so because it told him to. This means the tree is conscious. We see implications that it might be Kaguya's that resides within the tree. Is she conscious in the tree? That we do not know but the possibility is there.
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Madara absorbed the God Tree, but he did so because it told him to. This means the tree is conscious. We see implications that it might be Kaguya's that resides within the tree. Is she conscious in the tree? That we do not know but the possibility is there.
The Theory:
Perhaps Kaguya is manipulating current events. Perhaps she wants Madara to succeed. Is she on Madara's side? She could just be using him in order to make her takeover more easy. Perhaps she plans to use him later. Is Kaguya's influence causing realities to be swapped right before our eyes? Is she using some insanely immense power that alters reality and space-time in such a way?
The Conclusion:
1. Perhaps Kishi is introducing the idea of alternate realities into his manga. These alternate realities differ only slightly and changes as simple as the look of clothing or symbols may exist. In addition, the course of battles and their outcomes might have differed in these realities.
2. The mistakes we see in the war arc could be explained by individuals from separate realities swapping temporarily with their alternate reality counterpart. These swaps are noticeable because they live in a reality where they look different or experienced something different in their reality.
3. There could be a higher power manually controlling these changes, or they could be a result of this person taking sides and attempting to aid one side in winning this fight. Kaguya could be the culprit, and she's helping Madara to win his current battle.
2. The mistakes we see in the war arc could be explained by individuals from separate realities swapping temporarily with their alternate reality counterpart. These swaps are noticeable because they live in a reality where they look different or experienced something different in their reality.
3. There could be a higher power manually controlling these changes, or they could be a result of this person taking sides and attempting to aid one side in winning this fight. Kaguya could be the culprit, and she's helping Madara to win his current battle.
If you are still here at this point, I want to thank you for taking the time to read. This thread was a long time coming and I really hope that people consider the possibility. I don't know what to expect from posting such a thread, but I hope it at least gets some people's mind's wandering. Again, thank you for reading and I want to hear everyone's thoughts on this!