To everybody who's been waiting eagerly for the fourth chapter of Team 9- I thoroughly apologize. In fact, make that a proper groveling apology.
Team 9 is being rewritten. In fact, scratch that. Vast portions of the plot- both the plot so far, what there is of it, and what was to come- are being torn down and refurbished. Team 9 is in the process of being completely reimagined.
Some things, admittedly, won't change. Aoi-sensei will still be there. Iruka, Idate & Hana will still have been his first genin team. Naruto will still have been trained under Aoi rather than in the Ninja Academy.
Some things will. The Ninja Academy- scratch that, the whole Ninja system- will depart radically from canon norms.
The Narutoverse as is was just fine as shounen manga/anime. I, however, desire a more mature Narutoverse (and one that isn't centered around Sasuke, but I digress)- and to make the story more mature, it's central characters must be more mature.
Think of this as a mature (and not exclusively in the sexual or violent sense) reimagining of both the Naturoverse in general and the Team 9 fic in particular.
Now, Adios! Time spent writing this is time taken away from completing chapters! God knows I've been on hiatus far too long already!
lkm