This is an AU.
If you spot some little inconsistency and feel the urge to write an essay about it... maybe hold it. Or don't. Just one request: if you're going to write me an essay, please break it into paragraphs. The moment I see one giant wall of text covering my screen, I lose all motivation to read it. I'd hate for you to spend an hour writing a detailed critique just for me to give up halfway through because it looks like the Declaration of Independence.
Honestly, I think the age of some characters in Naruto is like a plot hole.
For example:
Kakashi supposedly became a Chunin at 6, yet he was on the same genin team as Obito, who didn't even become a genin until 9. So how were they in the same class?
Orochimaru was said to have left the Akatsuki 7 years before Part 1 after getting humbled by Itachi. But Itachi was only 17–18 in Part 1, meaning he would've been 10–11 back then. Except he didn't even become an ANBU captain until 13, math not mathing.
Kakashi's Chunin Exam flashback is one of my favorite arcs, but it's a timeline nightmare. Asuma, Kurenai, Guy, Ebisu, Ibiki, Aoba, and Genma are all around the same age, so that part is easy enough to accept. But then Anko and Hayate show up, even though they're about three years younger. Kakashi had already become a Chunin before they would've even graduated from the Academy hell, in Anko and Hayate's case, they probably hadn't even entered the Academy yet.
Then there's Naruto. At the beginning of the series we're told he failed the Academy graduation exam three times. If that's true, why is he still the exact same age as Sasuke and Sakura, who passed on their first attempt.
And don't even get me started on Minato, Nagato, and Jiraiya's ages. Those timelines raise more questions than they answer.
So yes, I'm taking a few liberties here. If you find age of some characters wrong consider it AU, butterfly effect etc.
Who knows? I might even throw in a few popular Naruto fan theories or running jokes, like Teuchi secretly being the strongest ninja alive.
I'll do my best to keep everyone's personalities as faithful as possible, but I'm human, and I'm bound to make mistakes. If you catch one, feel free to point it out. If not, just enjoy the story for what it is.
At the end of the day, this is an AU. I'm here to writing a fun story, not spend hours trying to make a timeline that even Kishimoto could barely keep consistent.