Well, I don't like very much to put Author Notes in my story, but there are a few points I have been asked over and over, and I'd like to give a few answers somewhere

Q) Is this a Naruto/Hinata? Naruto/Sakura? Naruto/Tenten?

A) Not in Dance of the Pyreflyes. Naruto is barely 13, and while girls (and with girls I mean just Hinata, for now) may already like him, he isn't likely to see them as more than friends.

After Naruto's training trip is likely, though, but I will conclude the story before that and start up a sequel with a new summary.

Q) Naruto is lame! Why is he so weak?

A) Naruto always wears weights (after Jiraya allowed him to, naturally), and he spars with those. Naruto sometimes simply forgets he has them on (see chapter 25) because his increased regeneration enhances his muscles faster than ordinary people. He didn't have them at the finals, though, but he simply could not outshine his opponents that day in taijutsu, either because he didn't use it or because they had a superior style already mastered.

As a side note, Naruto is still weaker than Sasuke in taijutsu, but not as much as depicted. (And yes, I have a planned scene with Sasuke complaining that Naruto was holding back his 'true strength')

However the basic fact still remains: In the hospital roof and in the chase Naruto is clearly much inferior to Sasuke in Taijutsu: despite his greater strength and stamina he has almost no style. He can compete with the Uchiha only with numbers (Shadow clones, that DotP Naruto won't use in pure taijutsu spars) or the Kyubi's chakra.

That, at least is my personal opinion after reading the manga. I have never watched the anime past the Wave mission, I found it extremely unsatisfying, especially because I read about a whole bunch of fillers later on...

Q) Why doesn't Naruto spam 300 clones every day and train until he drops? That way he will get super strong fast!

A) Because his chakra regeneration ability is mostly redirected to the seal. Unlike canon Naruto, whose chakra was constantly replenished by the chakra leaked by the seal, this AU seal work in the opposite way. If he were to create that many clones, the original would take a really long time regenerating his large chakra stores and would feel weak and sluggish for hours. An example is in chapter 15: he had to take a soldier pill to help his chakra regeneration, while canon Naruto simply drew out pile after pile of chakra in the equivalent fight, apparently from nowhere. The Gates are an exception because the seal has been designed to allow their fast replenishing. The Shadow Clone jutsu is a Konoha kinjutsu, Whirlpool didn't know it, so it had no provision to 'recharge' ordinary chakra stores. It was also uncommon for a seal to last more than a few years and children at Academy age would have already killed their prisoner. But he has the Kyubi as a prisoner, and had had no maintenance on the seal itself to keep it at maximum efficiency before he himself learned how to do it (maintenance that Jiraya should have done, btw)

As for taijutsu practice, shadow clones could help with muscle memory and mastering the style and yes, in chapter 34 Naruto thought it would take years to master Whirlwind Strike, but he doesn't have a way to really estimate the needed time. After all, he didn't really learn the Academy taught style, but after a while he will realize that katas can only condition your body only that much. (think of an asymptotic curve, with the limit as his potential) and after he reaches a comfortable point he can just pile up the practice with clones, until he master the style. Jiraya forbid him to use clones to master katas because his body wasn't used to moving in the required way and using a mastered style while your body hadn't developed the necessary range of movement is asking for a crippling muscular injury mid-fight. Once he passes that obstacle, he will be free to indulge with hundreds of clones. It will take just weeks, at that point, naturally, but I plan on getting to that point off-screen, in the training trip.

Meanwhile, he is just using clones to master jutsu, chakra control exercises and theory, all stuff he has to learn while he trains his body to reach that optimal fitness level that would allow him to truly get a bit crazy with taijutsu clones :)

Q) Will Naruto be forced to impersonate a girl in true infiltration missions?

A) Very unlikely. The true reasons for those lessons is his potential as an information gathering agent. Think at the future: Naruto as Hokage at the center of a web of informers that keep him aware of the problems in the whole city. And before he becomes Hokage, he can use that very same network to help Konoha as well. Remember that Jiraya is also a spymaster and he is going to be alone with him for a few years. Shizune is giving him the female half of the job, since he has talent at impersonating girls.

Q) Will Akiko be required to sleep with guys?

A) I won't let my story go that way, thank you very much! However, that doesn't mean that someone won't try! :D

Q) Why are there so many portions regarding all those characters? I want Naruto!

A) Naruto's change has influenced a lot of people, and it creates a domino effect. I want to let people see how different those people become after a few of their preconceptions get torn down regarding the dead last. If you take notice, Neiji has had the least “screen time” in recent chapters because he had been changed more or less the same way as in canon. Inversely, the other characters have been heavily influenced by Naruto, especially Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura naturally influenced Ino and both of them touched the others. Domino effect :)

I also plan on using the shown changes in upcoming scenes...

Q) What about Anko and Sasuke's cursed seal?

A) This is a minor spoiler for the next few chapters, so skip this question if you don't want them:

The cursed seal level 1 is vulnerable to Esuna, as shown in chapter 14. It will make it recede into dormant form in a rather painful way, but no more than that.

The second level is a stable form, so Esuna will be unable to counter it, but it will still purify a good deal of the corrupted chakra. Esuna simply isn't powerful enough to force it back. (it's an e-rank White Jutsu...)

The true counter to the cursed seal is Dispel, but Naruto doesn't know it. Not only that, he doesn't even know of its existence because his mother has not yet told him about it.

Dispel will work by removing all chakra influences on the target, seals included, and Kushina never even told Naruto about it because it could damage the Dead Demon Consuming Seal that is keeping the Kyubi locked up if he used it on himself.

Actually the seal is somewhat protected from that very jutsu, but she doesn't wish to risk it at all, if possible.

Dispel is also an a-rank White Jutsu, in the jonin range...