After finding the information about Kurenai’s name I went prowling for more funny facts/symbolism. This time for Sakura and I found a funny coincidence that fitted with your fic and more funny facts:

The blooming of the cherry blossoms have through history been associated with the samurais. (Norwegian Wiki)

Sakura is also an omen of good luck (Yeah… right, tell her that) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakura#Symbolism

“The cherry blossom is the flower of flowers to the Japanese people. It symbolizes their national character. This is because the life of a samurai of feudal times was proverbially compared to the short-lived cherry blossoms that last “no more than three days”, for a samurai was always ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of his master. Another saying is that “what the cherry is among flowers is the samurai among men”.

Beautiful as it is in bloom, the Japanese cherry tree does not yield fruit like other cherry trees. A critic once remarked that the Japanese cherry does not have to produce a market crop because it is born aristocrat and its single mission is to be beautiful. But it renders a very useful service to the Japanese people. The wood of the cherry tree is very valuable. It is used for producing color prints, furniture, trays, ornamental columns for alcoves and so on. In old days Sakura wood was used for making printing blocks for books and pictures.” http://www.welcome-moldova.com/articles/sakura_symbol_japan.shtml

Also I have done some thinking about Sakuras family crest/clan symbol, a white circle her connection with Anko and indirectly through her Orochimaru and snakes particulary white ones and found some more symbolism:

Circle: Totality, perfection, unity, eternity. The circle can also represent a sphere and is a form potentially without beginning or end. Concentric circles can in Buddhism stand for stages of spiritual development.

A circle can be seen as a simplified ourobos/uroboros:

The Ouroboros is a symbol that is associated with many different religions and customs, and is also claimed to be related to Alchemy. The Ouroboros or Oroboros is a snake eating its own tail in a clock-wise direction (from the head to the tail) in the shape of a circle, representing manifestation of one’s own life and rebirth, leading to immortality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake#Symbolism

“tail-devouring snake/dragon”. The Ouroboros often represents self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself. Plato described a self-eating, circular being as the first living thing in the universe—an immortal, perfectly constructed animal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros

The ouroboros motif of a snake swalowing it’s own tail symbolise not only eternity but a divine self-sufficiency.

Serpents are connected with renewal or regeneration. This trait is connected with the practice of snakes of shedding their old skin and growing a new one.

Serpents are connected with vengefulness and vindictiveness. This connection depends in part on the experience that poisonous snakes often deliver deadly defensive bites without giving prior notice or warning to their unwitting victims. Although a snake is defending itself from the encroachment of its victim into the snake’s immediate vicinity, the unannounced and deadly strike may seem unduly vengeful when measured against the unwitting victim’s perceived lack of blameworthiness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpent_(symbolism)#Renewal.2C_rebirth.2C_regeneration

The protective-destructive symbolism that runs through serpent myths illustrates the degree to which the snake is a dualistic force, a source of strength when mastered but potentially dangerous and often emblemic of death or chaos as well as of life.

In Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese tradition, white is the color of mourning and death, as per Confucian custom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White#Asian_culture

Orochimaru also has a special connection to snakes, white snakes in particular. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orochimaru_(Naruto)#Abilities

Also if you want know the japanese folktale that most likely inspired the the idea of the three sannins then you should read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orochimaru

I could go on and on, but should probably have stoppet a while ago. Hope you found at least some of this interesting

Thank you.

This has long been one of my favorite Naruto fics, and one of the few to address the ninja world with any degree of realistic world-building — the other is Nugar’s _People Lie_, which I highly recommend…

Keep up the good work, Eimii, I’m really looking forward to the next bit.

I just finished reading the begining of chapter 14 and for the first time in many months I felt like drawing Naruto fanart again. I was so hyped up that I imideatly started scetching a pic with Anko, Sakura and a white snake. It’s sort of based on Suiren and I was wondering if it’s OK with you if I make some fanart based on your story and post it on my DeviantArt gallery? I will of course give your story credit and make a link to the fic.

My gallery: http://black-petal.deviantart.com/

If you like the idea, I would be happy to make some pics for you. Please send an e-mail with your answer, or leave it on the top of your new chapter.

I love the way you portray Sakura. You are one of the few authors I know that are able to make her stronger and more special in a (in my opinion)realistic way. I like the idea of her getting samurai training as is seems to be heading. It would certainly give her an exstra egde in a ninja village. I also hope that her connection with ANBU will continue and maybe grow.

Just imagening Sasukes reaction if he ever finds out that she’s well known to ANBU, has been temporarely imprisoned and is still being monitored after having developed a justsu so dangerous it has been made forbidden makes me laught my ass off.

UPDATE SOON!!!

Sakura seems to be turning Hinata into her own Yuuhi.

I have found your work most inspiring, when I fginnished reading Wolves, I felt a desperate need to see more fics with a Sakura as the main character.
I only found two others, so now I’m working on my own.

I cant wait to see more of this story.

At least it’s not like the Heaven Seal/‘The lucky ones are the ones that die,’ — there’s discrepancy in the way you stylize thoughts; you used quotation marks in one while just italicizing in the other(and the rest, actually).

when the men — When the men

she spat a bitterly — she spat out(?) bitterly

Genjutsu-enhanced puppy-dog eyes… that’s a sure kill technique right there. lol

Oooh, interesting development. I’ve been missing the taijutsu/training/fighting bits in this story. There’s been a lack of real action for the past couple of chapters (the Sakura/Ino fight didn’t really count, since it was more like hide and seek than anything else). Sakura-chan needs to kick more arse!

I love how she wants to improve herself, and how even with all her previous complaints she enjoyed training with Gai.