Watch My Back As I Move On

Chapter 27: Chakra Strings

"This is how they are handy." Sasori said, throwing a shuriken on the other side of the training grounds. He attached a string then the shuriken came flying right back at them. Sakura took a step to the side and saw the shuriken hit the place where she was just at. "I thought they were just for puppets." Sakura muttered. "Let's begin." Sasori said.

"Mold your chakra into a thin string. Make sure that it's barely visible." Sasori said. Sakura did as she was told and looked at her finishing product. "Thinner." Sasori said. Sakura focused and made her string barely visible. "Good. Let's start with unmoving objects." He said, laying a piece of paper in front of Sakura. "Move this around the training grounds using only your chakra." Sasori said, watching Sakura.

"Wait, how do I even attach the string?" She said, raising an eyebrow. "Find that out yourself." Sasori said, making Sakura twitch. Sakura simply layed the string of Chakra on the paper. She stared at it and it looked like the paper was absorbing the chakra.

She tried pulling but nothing happened. She looked at the chakra string and found it too long. "How do I cut the chakra string short, sensei?" Sakura asked. "Absorb the chakra back." Sasori said. Sakura did so with much effort. She pulled a little then the paper hit her face. "Control your finger's strength to avoid it hitting you. Again." Sasori said. Half an hour later a paper was flying across the training grounds. "Well done. Now do it with a shuriken." Sasori said.

An hour later, Sakura let out a frustrated cry as the shuriken made no sings of moving. "Why won't it move?!" She asked herself, glaring daggers at the shuriken. "Try letting the shuriken absorb the chakra string as much as it could." Sasori said. Sakura did so, barely making the shuriken move. Half an hour later Sakura shouted in joy as she finally made the shuriken fly throughout the training grounds.

"Now that you know the basics, let's go on with the real thing." He said, standing up. "I want you to redirect the shuriken using chakra strings. Your target number will be fifty. We start over if you dodge." Sasori said. Sakura successfully fully redirected 25 shurikens. Her eyes widened when she saw a kunai headed towards her. 'Shinobis deceive their opponents.' Sakura thought, getting over her shock and also redirected the kunai, making Sasori smirk.

Fifteen minutes later, Sakura panted as she smiled at her accomplishment. "50 shuriken and 5 kunai. Not bad." Sasori said, looking at Sakura. "Expand your chakra storage. That's all for now." Sasori said, walking out of the training grounds.

Sakura sighed and walked towards the kitchen. "Hands up, Sakura." Kisame said, throwing her an apple. "Thanks, fish face." Sakura said, grinning as she happily took a bite out of the apple. "Woah, you look...um...worn out." Kisame said, finally laying eyes on her as he sat beside her. "You hesitated." Sakura said, twitching. "Well, how can I not? I mean, have you seen yourself?" Kisame said.

"The bruise on your side is showing too." Kisame said, sweat dropping as Sakura hurriedly fix her shirt. Sakura continued to eat apple, she almost choked when Kisame suddenly grabbed her wrist. "K-kisame!" Sakura said as Kisame removed her weights, looking at the now bruised up wrists. "Itachi's going to kill me if he found out the weights were removed!" Sakura said.

"Itachi is not dumb enough to let you wear 100 pounds weights everywhere you go idiot." Kisame said, sighing. "I wanted to get stronger." Sakura said looking down. "You know what? You're pushing yourself too hard. Itachi and I have a mission in an hour to the village hidden in the mist. Tag along." Kisame said, grinning. "I thought you told me I was pushing myself too hard." Sakura muttered to herself.

"Go get yourself ready!" Kisame said. Sakura grinned and nodded at him and went to her room. She took a quick shower and packed her things. She still has half an hour before Kisame comes barging in. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and eventually got succumbed into slumber.

To Be Continued...