Authors Notes

I am sorry that it has taken me so long to update this fic. About mid-August, my laptop, with all of my information on the various konoha ninja, their techniques, styles, strengths, weaknesses, etc. died on me. Sadly, I had no back up of this information. Suffice to say, this has put a considerable damper on my ability to update. Combine this with my status as a junior in an exceedingly difficult college program, and I hope you understand that I have had a devil of a time getting my act together.

I will hopefully be able to update for you before the end of the year. For those who are waiting for an update on Different Toys, you will be waiting a little longer, but I hope to have an update out before mid-January.

To further elaborate on a few points that I will not have the opportunity to address fully for some time.

Battle Saints: A class of shinobi that are a force unto themselves. In series, although Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Gai are all jounin, there can be no doubt that there is a vast difference between the skill levels of Asuma/Kurenai, and Kakashi/Gai. Usually, Kakashi and Gai are referred to as part of the informal classification of "elite jounin", while Asuma and Kurenai are usually categorized as simply jounin. Battle Saints are another informal category. As an example, Jiraiya's name in the register does not call him a "battle saint", merely a jounin, just as Kakashi or Gai's name would not necessarily say "elite jounin." It is in his mission record that the story of his power would be truly told.

Danzou and Konoha: I will not say much. All I can say is that I do have a well-thought out logic to how Danzou acquired so much power so fast, as well as why he does not really view Naruto as a threat. I do plan to address everything with Konoha in time, but I do not intend to do so immediately. I want to handle the Orochimaru issue first.

Akatsuki: Akatsuki will get its time in the spotlight. Just like in the series, where they did not really become a major player until the series was in its second half, you will have to wait a while before Akatsuki really becomes more of a pain. Remember, they harvest Biju in numerical order, and they haven't even caught number 2 yet.

Definitions: Although I can understand the request to put translations for Japanese terms in parenthesis after their use, that is not a method that I have ever appreciated. As you may have noticed, I try to avoid breaking the actual flow of my story if I can at all help it. To put parenthesis in the middle of my paragraphs would be quite contrary to that goal. Also, there's a few terms that I either forget to translate, or purposefully neglect to translate. Battle Saints was one such term, as several more observant readers might notice that I introduced the term 3-5 chapters before I actually gave it a definition.