Excellent, there is a sequel!

I like your thought process of how the story came into existence; thanks for sharing it. It feels like a set of techniques to be applied in my own writing, so...much appreciated. On a more story-specific topic, I'm still liking how you made Sakura effective within her stated limits. She didn't suddenly develop super chakra level, she didn't master some awesome new technique that only she could use because it turned out she had some sort of unrecognized bloodline...no, she just trained a lot and used a couple of basic techniques (medical and earth clone) very effectively.

Nicely done.

That was fantastic. I love how everyone had appropriate power levels, yet they all go to be useful. The use of the medical table was well set up - I didn't see that coming. The solution to the poison was ingenious, and very believable...I was wondering if we were going to get a complete asspull where Sakura, powered by Naruto's chakra, managed to defeat a legendary poison with just her own skills. This was way more satisfying.

This has been an excellent story and I hope there is a sequel. I'll go check as soon as I finish this.

Hang on, what just happened there? Sakura just turned from a low-mid power nin into a total badass who is able to throw three times her body weight like it was nothing and use the chidori? (That WAS the chidori, right?) At first I was thinking that it was Sasuke transformed into her but no, apparently that really was Sakura. What did I miss?

Nice to see Sakura getting to be something other than a weak sister. Her earth clones are damn durable if they can fall from height and survive it. And if Sai's constructs can fly, high altitude bombardment suddenly seems like a good option.

I figured the red and black cloak (you have "clock", by the way) was an Akatsuki sign, but I don't know who he is supposed to be. Earth armor boy seems pretty overpowered, so I hope our team survives. Oh, wait, they have plot armor, never mind. :)

As always, Kakashi's "cute little students" line always makes my pedophile detector go "eeewwwwww", but I'm pretty sure that's canon. Meh.

I hope we'll see some of Kakashi's fight. That would be pretty epic.

Heh. Princess Bride and Time Braid references in one chapter - that "magma whips and regenerating limbs" thing was from Time Braid?

I'm enjoying this a lot. Nice to see someone acknowledge just how dangerous medic nin would be in a fight. All this, and she hasn't even mastered any serious applications of it!

Sasuke is his usual annoying self. Man, that little schmuck makes me want to smack him so hard. I hope you beat some of the bastard out of him.

I loved the Omake!

Awesome story. Sakura is my favorite character and this story was a blast to read. I am looking forward to the sequel. Thanks so very much for sharing.

Now an A-Team reference. I'm on Cloud Nine.

I'm really happy to find that Kabuto is still evil. It's nice to be reassured that my natural distrust of him has not yet been unfounded.

I love you forever for the Princess Bride references. FOREVER.

I also really enjoy this story. You've managed to manipulate just enough to change the outcome of certain canon events, keeping in the realm of reality without propelling everything into ridiculousness.

I hope you do continue this story, because this sounds like it's got loads of potential for politicking. Someone wants Sakura in the village - I'm guessing Danzo wants to recruit her for Root or something, and it'll be easier if she's stuck there where he has his spider like control over things. And Akatsuki would be an excellent antagonist, much like Sound was in this fic.

Aaaaaah, that was awesome. Great ending to the fic, and to Kabuto and Orochimaru as well. (I just hope the two of them are really dead. Given how they regenerate in canon, I feel like beheading isn't enough. Their brains need to be squished to a pulp, and then their remains burnt.) I like what you've done with Team 7, making them awesome in their own ways, and while not everything is resolved (Sakura and Naruto's differing moral philosophies, Sasuke's desire to kill Itachi), this was a great journey.

re: your A/N - If my vote counts, I would love a sequel.

I really like seeing Sakura and Naruto interacting together. Over the course of this story, Sakura's changed a lot with regard to morals, while Naruto is as idealistic as ever. Seeing those two things coming into contact makes for really interesting reading. The part with Team 8, even more than the genjutsu torture scene, is what most clearly shows the difference between them. Naruto (especially in canon) would see Team 8 as his friends - so of course, threatening them would never, ever be an option, just like giving up on Sasuke his friend would never be an option. While Sakura has a much more ninja-like mission mind to things.

Ooooh, great chapter. Both Kabuto and Sakura are so sneaky, and then we get to Naruto, who is his classic innocent/dorky, but loyal self, and I just love it. And I love how all three of them are so clever and show off their non-combat skills, especially Sakura's method of distracting Jiraiya (of course there's a fan club) and Naruto's bathroom trick. And I really should have noticed that it made no sense for Sasuke to be on those away missions without some underhanded way of Konoha keeping him under control.

While Naruto's resolve hasn't changed from canon, Sakura's resolve to rescue Sasuke seems more intense than in canon. I wonder what made the difference - is it just that she had more time with him (since Sasuke didn't leave so soon) or because this fic focuses on her being capable, she feels like she can make those kind of promises to bring him back (while in canon, while she does have awesome abilities, it doesn't near Naruto or Sasuke's level.)

Ooooooh, this storyline with Kabuto is going to be exciting! I've been looking forward to the Kabuto reveal ever since he kept on showing up so innocuously in this story.

In other comments: I adore Natsumi to bits, and I hope that Sakura rescues her and they can be friends, even if they are from different villages. (And so sad about the fate of Natsumi's genin team. You made me like all of them so much in such a short time!)