Orochimaru is the creepiest creation to have ever been introduced into anime. It's odd how he can be so sensual when he's probably asexual (as evidenced by his disinterest on peeping on girls when Jiraya did so). I seriously hope that Shino's family gets their chance to get their revenge.

I like that you're highlighting the side characters.

Kurenai is doing kind of a sucky job at protecting her students. No offense to you, just her.

I read Sappique!

But what is his name?

I liked the sentence where Sakura plays that lie so well.

Chills with the final line.

Dude, the chuunin examples are extremely unethical. I don't care how cruel the world is. It doesn't justify sending off a bunch of 12 year olds to their doom. They could reach their potential without the cruelty of the exams. Case in point, Karin would have died in the forest if Sasuke hadn't saved her, and she became a fantastic ninja when she grew up. What's the purpose of testing a bunch of kids to see if they can survive on their own when they need all the ninja they can get?
Also, Orochimaru is an evil sob. Kisame failed this test. I hope that Shino's family gets a crack at Orochimaru for what he did to him.
Scary scene with Gaara and his family. But I'm glad Kankuro was able to indirectly save Sakura. It looks like there was a bit of a crush implied. Interesting.

Kurenai is a sharp one. I like how she figured how what Shino meant at the end.

I loved the interaction between Orochimaru and Kisame! Brilliant!

I love the Catherine Fisher poem. So simple yet so amazing and profound.

I immensely enjoyed this chapter just like I always enjoy all the other chapters you write.

So, does Lee still have a crush on Sakura in this universe?

Wow, this was everything I could ever want in a story. Loved it!

Your writing is incredible, and I enjoy it immensely.

As a side note, there was just one problem. The first chapter says Kisame got married at 16, but this chapter says he got married at 15.

Kurenai is the absolute best. And I love your writing: "Even if there are targets drawn on your backs, I won't let anyone get the chance to aim. I am your sensei, and I will be your shield. Not even the Hokage can take my duty away from you."

I wonder if the tongue seals can be reversed. I also was wondering if the paralysis was temporary or permanent if they tried to say something.

This is one of the best stories on fanfiction, truly! I love getting to learn more about Shino, Kiba, Kisame, Kurenai, and the dark side to Konoha.

Have you seen the Naruto Abridged series on YouTube? They make fun of Hiruzen, which is fantastic, considering he turns out to be an evil, incompetent jerk.

I wonder who gave Shino the gift. My stomach tightened when his dad announced it.

Now I’m mad at myself for not realizing they were laying papers with the kids names in the water (from chapter 20), and thought they went to the memorial stone. Guess I cried so much I didn’t read the thing clearly. Haha

Dude... that entire chapter was beautiful. I found this story after reading Stumble... and your work is amazing. At the start of this story, I knew it would be good, but... holy shit. The entire process of them figuring things out, I just smiled. When Kisame found Sakura I smiled and actually laughed with joy. Then they found the lab. I almost cried. Then they were brought to Sarutobi, and I was shocked, with how much they really knew. How they got the seal on their tongues. How Yamato was thankful someone finally knew. And then I just fucking lost it when they went to the memorial stone dude. I realized what was happening at the same time as Yamato, and similar to how he dropped his mask I threw my phone down and just cried. Your work is some of the only stuff that has ever made cry this hard, and actually want to solve the puzzles created for the characters myself. I thought it couldn’t get any better after Stumble. God damn was I wrong.

This was so freaking awesome

idk, i think u shattered my soul with this chapter. its 12am and im sobbing for the three kids, and i cant seem to stop, and everything hurts so much