As always, it's fantastic to see a new chapter, anyway intriguing plot developments and character development. When I first saw the scene with Tifa and the revealing of her lingering thoughts about Naruto and her role in his childhood attack, it had raised my hopes that she would join his harem and I was definitely glad to see that this hope was realised. It was interesting to see how Naruto was able to relieve her guilt, pique her interest and finally reel her in.
On another note, it's always great to see an elaboration of your world's background, and the history behind the Sarutobi clan's emergence was a pretty interesting addition to the fleshing out of the Naruto-verse. The clans are an integral portion of the world and their mechanics and functioning will continue to be an important component in Naruto's plans.
In addition, I liked how each of your characters appears to be progressing, in the case of Yakumo, having her ponder and stumble upon how to raise the Kurama clan's usefulness and status in one fell swoop, by taking her clan's roots and expanding them in a direction never before taken or realised. It certainly made sense to take advantage of her clan's ability in genjutsu and bypass its members limited ability in the art of illusion by specialising in the countering of their use. While a limited number of its members hold the potential and ability to practice genjutsu at a sufficiently high level, a considerably larger number would be sufficiently talented to counteract its effects, made even more effective by the knowledge and skills held by the Kurama clan.
The highlight of this chapter (beyond the induction of Tifa into Naruto's harem, and the unveiling of her character and dreams) was of course the thickening of the plot regarding Councillor Joseki's death and Gaara's subsequent framing. I have to admit that I was blindsided by the true culprit of the matter, but rather than disappointed, I was enthralled by the possibilities. I had hoped that Shukaku would take the appearance or at least draw inspiration from the appearance of Gaara's mother since I wanted her in Naruto's harem in some way. And her appearance in this chapter, and in a form that was not unprecedented (after all there have been other Kunoichi resurrected for nefarious means), certainly intrigued me. After all, Naruto has already seduced at least one MILF and is well on the way to charming others.(That reminds me, I really liked the scene regarding Mikoto and her plea for forgiveness. I had been wondering about that plot arc and it was nice to see the culmination of it. Even nicer to see was Mikoto's (and Kushina's) increasingly favourable response to Naruto and it definitely provided hope that she too will soon succumb to Naruto's charms)
It was certainly due for Kabuto to make a reappearance and for his plans to once more rear their ugly heads, so it was interesting to see that he was the one responsible for the death of Joseki and his allies along with the subsequent framing of Gaara. I have a nagging feeling that Kabuto is in fact working alongside the Daimyo factions, since his and their plans seem awfully fortuitous in timing to be just sheer coincidence. Nonetheless, this continues to show that the various Daimyos are developing into a credible threat to Naruto's dreams, and that Naruto will soon have to take steps to eliminating or disarming that threat.
Anyway, the foreshadowing the previous chapter quickly became apparent with Gaara's framing and his lack of alibi, and I have to admit that Sari's attitude toward her and Gaara's relationship was a little disappointing. For her to so quickly (well relatively quickly) think of giving up on their relationship because of their lack of physical intimacy (which is rather justified in Gaara's case due to his inexperience and history of 'backstabbing'), especially after 'bagging' the most eligible bachelor of Suna and one of its most loyal ninja. Well, it wasn't a credit to her character. While it was understandable to have doubts and worries in a relationship, she should have known that a jinchuuriki would come with at least some emotional baggage, given their usually morose history, so her musings of leaving Gaara were rather saddening. Now, hopefully this framing incident will provide both her and Gaara a suitably large impetus to their relationship, one which will finally allow them to progress further and satisfy both of their needs and wants.
On another note, I loved the fact that many Suna Kunoichi just can't seem to get Naruto out of their minds, even if they don't know his true identity, it definitely sets up some potential for Naruto to insert more influence into his village's greatest ally, and it's evident that he certainly needs the help with the developments this chapter.
The introduction of Senjumaru Shutara was really captivating, the talk of Suna's puppetry had actually raised my musings about the lack of eligible female puppeteers in the Naruto-verse (and in Naruto's harem) so her appearance came as a welcome surprise. She's certainly an apt choice for an extremely powerful puppeteer given what's been shown of her character in Bleach so far, and display of artificial arms already provides a lot of potential for her battle prowess and abilities in the future. Unfortunately, it seems like she'll be a foe at present, though we all know Naruto's track record for converting his opponents into allies (and more).
Anyway, really enjoyed your latest chapter and I'm definitely looking forward to your next.