Where are the ANBU? Indeed. I think that every fanfic. There's no answer that's truly sufficent. It's the plot... Kabuto is a literal support wizard? Orochimaru is stealthy even when creating fireworks? It would look bad for Kohona to interfere in the exam? Regardless of all the clan heirs...

I'm sick and tired of the seal tightenings being used as a deus ex machina. It's the ultimate nerf.

The argument with the clone is stupid. The clone is obviously right. Why must you make Naruto selectively insane?

Why didn't he seal away kusangi? He had multiple chances. He could have killed the summon without springing his trap. Why did he not open the gate sooner? The first fight was very exciting but from after the water dragon, Naruto seemed to make progressively worse decisions. Starting with giving ororchimaru time to summon or at least not using that time to do something. It didn't feel like Orochimaru overwhelmed Naruto, which I could easily buy, so much as Naruto started to not keep up mentally. He knew the type of damage that could force Orochimaru to change bodies and he got stuck in a position where he couldn't deliver it.

Why wouldn't Naruto still have clones with team 7? Hell, where are Rin's clones? This is too convenient.

Naruto isn't Itachi, Orochimaru, or dark Sasuke. You keep hitting this time and again from different angles and povs, and I've never bought it and I don't buy it now. Naruto believes he will become a sage before the forest of death, where is this doubt coming from? I don't understand his supossed temptation. He is growing very strong and will be able to use Hurin to pass information. I don't buy that the "forrbidenn fruit" is the best, or even a good answer to all Naruto's concerns and even disregarding Rin's dissaproval, and I don't think Naruto would be dumb enough to buy that either.

The last parts of the chapter, from when Naruto determines to fight, were absolutely excellent.

"I don't know what the actual hell possessed him to do it." Your plot did. You wanted more drama to slow down this already glacial story. The constant turning to the past is too much. And sometimes inconsistent. Naruto feels this shame about Sasuke? What about when Sasuke almost attacked Hinata? In this story Naruto cannot have a chapter without angst, and you manipulate what he thinks and feels to a sometimes unbelievable extent to achieve that.

Why does Naruto seem to not know all Hurin is doing/causing? More forced drama?

The coincidences of these encounters are frankly not believable. You waste the quality of your writing if the premise is not believable and the reader's immersion is broken.

You've really been doing Naruto a disservice with the high frequency of his panic and emotional explosions.

I mean it's good but we don't need a filler arc. It took 30 chapters and a few hundred thousand words to get through wave. If that stays consistent this story will never be completed

"I wasn't holding out on Zabuza remaining silent." I'm sorry but there isn't a good reason for he and Haku to be alive. Mei doesn't need them. The deal didn't happen. Zabuza chose to fight. Haku chose to fight, interfering in what her Zabuza-sama specified as a one-on-one duel. Respect their choices. Collect their bounties.

Sex jokes are funny, but it's a real, vital part of life too, and it feels like you're writing too many scenes just for humor. The situation you're describing for Naruto isn't healthy. He need an outlet.

I've always bought into the fanon idea that a curse mark won't work on a jinchuriki, so I hope Orochimaru does not take that kind of interest in Naruto.

What is the relationship with Asuma and Naruto? In either of their shoes, I would have problems with the other.

I don't think Inoichi will be much help with the seal. He needs to get rid of the "tightening," and take control of the Yondaime's masterpiece with his own willpower and intelligence.

Yes it's a great fight but was there any natural reason for it to come about? You had to turn Naruto into an emotional idiot and have Kakashi give him insane amounts of autonomy to make it happen. Regardless of Naruto wanting to show mercy to Haku because of metaknowledge, in any realistic scenario Kakashi would have killed them all and Gato before the bridge when he was "hunting." Or did you forget how good a tracker and assassin he is?

You spend a frustrating amount of time on side characters but come the action you turn them into spectators. With the hostages gone, Naruto shouldn't be fighting Haku alone. More to the point he shouldn't have possibly given her time to make her mirrors. Wave always brings out the height of stupidity. This is supposed to be a real world in this fic, no? Where rasengan kills and there's no talk-no-jutsu? But you have to do more than that. You have to put them in realistic situations in the first place. Naruto fights Zabuza and then Haku on his own while two full teams watch? That's not how Kohona shinobi are supposed to work! Naruto may be the protagonist but you're turning the other characters into NPCs!

Why on earth is Naruto talking to Gato? It should be Kakashi. You've let him hijack this whole mission! He's acting deranged with delusions of grandeur about fixing the world even without Kurama's help! Why even waste words on Gato? Just kill the fuck!

Naruto is not a shinobi. He is not something that prowls in the night. He is not professional. Not subtle. He is dramatic. He is a warrior and predator but far from a professional shinobi.

Kakashi at the end of this chapter is great. I do love this story which is what makes it so frustrating. I honestly like where this story is now in terms of Naruto's power and the relationships between the characters.

He can't make seals to give him and Rin privacy? And with Mizu Bushin and henge he can get plenty of relief! It's a joke but it's also an example of how sometimes this fic isn't practical and leaves problems that it should deal with just to create drama. Don't nerf a character. Give them a legitimate challenge.

Naruto couldn't let Asuma do the interrogation? He has no basis to think he can get more or better information than Asuma. The protagonist doesn't have to take the lead all the time. You are forcing too much unnecessary drama and conflict into this story.

Why didn't Naruto make more clones to further delay the "hunter nins"?

They've had six years with Naruto's seal since the yin imbalance got resolved. Why it the tightening still on? For this drama, not for any logical reason! You're forcing drama and forcing Naruto to have weaknesses.

Man, Asuma always comes up short in fanfics. Not strong enough, not "good" enough, not smart enough. Zabuza and Haku should be dead. Naruto may talk about about not being scared of changing the plot but you sure are.

It was a great fight between Rin and Naruto but he better not have truly lost. I have to imagine he had multiple ways to end the fight before she got her seal set up and even after I would hope he would have more speed or lethal jutsu to escape in a real fight. Going all out, Rin should not be able to dodge his chidori or rasengan, his speed should be greater, his jutsu should be much more heavy hitting than a simple ball of water or lightning. If that's the actual best he can do than this has all been for nothing.

Creating more drama out of mistakes and misunderstanding but the story is not going anywhere. It is literally memory lane. Ino should have been told not to use her jutsu. I wonder where this glaring oversight came from? Maybe for the sake of this dumb subplot. Ino's mom has no right to manipulate Naruto like that. But why is Naruto wasting his time in the first place? I'm sick of all the time both the story and Naruto wasted on the Yamanaka. I liked Naruto when he was focused on himself and his sister. Naruto doesn't need a bloodline ability. He needs you to actually let him grow properly. He can train and grow at a stupendous pace and you haven't truly let him. He still struggles with Asuma but really the only people in the village who should outclass him should be Hiruzen and Gai and Mangekyou Kakashi. Why hasn't he contacted Kurama? That could help him in so many ways. But you don't want to help him. You're forcing drama and struggle by leaving weaknesses. Struggle is good but not if it comes about because you didn't solve a problem you could easily have dealt with. The "seal tightening" has been used way too much now as a dues ex machina and a drag on Naruto. It was good for its initial purpose but it should have been gone after he got his memories back. I pray Naruto gets with an older girl and avoids all the drama you seem intent on forcing.

"Go sit over there with the other genin." That's what this story feels like now. You've set up a brilliant story but aren't progressing it. Stuck in the psychological muck, creating issues and over-the-top behaviors for Naruto so he doesn't grow. Too much Ino. Too much psyco-drama. Inoichi is interesting, Ino is a little brat.

Also I like the Uzumaki last stand, but it does not fit into the context of this world. If they made that strong a stand, at least a couple dozen Uzumaki would have reached Kohona. Or those villages would have collapsed on the other war fronts. They did not have the strength to send the force you imply to Uzu, block a relief force/escape and match Kohona on the other fronts. With the sannin, the white fang, prime Hiruzen and Danzo, Kohona would have achieved near total victory if their enemies lost two jinchuriki and a kage.

I'm kinda sick of everyone analyzing Naruto, whether it be Ino or the jonin, there was enough of that earlier in the story. I'm frustrated with the games Kakashi and others are playing with Naruto's training and how much of Naruto's time and effort he spends on the other genin. I feel like he's really been slowed down both by the author and by his trainers. Bullshit that he hasn't learned rasengan yet. If you're going to slow him down there has to be a reason beyond making future fight scenes "dramatic." At this point I don't enjoy the words spent on Ino, maybe it will be worth it later. The conflict with the store owner is so forced and dumb. You're making him more out of control than he is and too dumb to use a henge?

What's the point of continuing to interact with Ino and Sakura one way or the other? Maybe his antagonism helped them in the academy but leave them to their sensei now. THE MC DOES NOT HAVE TO BE AT THE CENTRE OF EVERY CONVERSATION... He could just keep reading his book and ignore ino-pig.

It's weird that Kakashi and Anko were so concerned about these "romantic issues." You can't manage or plan for everything and that's a relatively harmless area to let your students stumble. Not that they wouldn't help but I just don't see them focusing on it when they have so much going on, but you showed first Kakashi bringing up Hinata and then Anko determinedly pursuing the conversation, and it wasn't like anything was really off between Hinata and Naruto outside of Naruto's head. This Hinata now has multiple pillars of support and precious people to be strong for, I don't think a rejection would send her crashing down. Naruto did learn a valuable lesson about "canon," but it one he should already know and took a lot of angst and words to get there. On the one hand I love all the details but it feels as if the story isn't progressing. I worry this story will spend so much time on all the different trees that we never get to see the whole forest.

good chapter but I'm concerned with the slow place. hope you don't get stuck

Very good as usual. I'm not loving Naruto's angst in the last two chapters. I get it, just not my preference. I'm glad he's finally getting strong. If you want a weak SI, you shouldn't choose Naruto. I worry how you're reverting to canon, both with the massacre and Naruto graduating with his class. I guess my fears will be relieved if we make it through the Kohona Crush without excessive canon elements.