Sakura Shippuden (#2 Sakura Trilogy)

Sakura Shippuden: [Chapter 19]

Sakura stared blankly at Katsuyu. Today the slug was only as tall as her, but nevertheless an odd sight. Katsuyu's antennae twitched before finally breaking the silence. "Today you begin medical jutsu training, Sakura-san. It requires the highest caliber of chakra control because you must monitor the mitotic process of each individual cell as it multiplies. Are you ready?"

Sakura nodded grimly. Learning how to heal someone with chakra would make her an even more important asset to the battlefield. She cleared her head and focused on the task in front of her, boring holes into her hands. They glowed a faint blue she's seen when climbing trees or standing on water. The pink-haired girl listened to Katsuyu's gentle coaxing, and the chakra turned green. Sakura blinked. That wasn't hard at all, for her.

"Good, Sakura-san!" The slug made her way closer towards her. "Now try using it on something."

Sakura focused harder, her chakra reserves wavering. Medical jutsu, it seemed, took up an exponentially larger amount of chakra compared to regular jutsu. She held a hand out to the ground, where the grass immediately grew taller, looming over her, before shriveling to a dried up stalk.

"Too much chakra will end up damaging your patients. Balance is everything, Sakura-san. Internal state of mind will affect the healing process. That is why most medics are either very compassionate, like Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san, or disconnected from their emotions, like Kabuto. The mindset of medic-nin is in fact so sensitive that those being healed would be able to tell the difference between Tsunade-sama and Kabuto's technique." Katsuyu inspected her swiftly, then suggested, "Why don't we take a small break?"

"No," Sakura stated, her hands already glowing once again with chakra. "But if you wish to take a break, you are welcome to."

Katsuyu merely nodded to herself before moving to the refuge of shade underneath the towering trees. She will get far in life with this willpower, she decided. If only Tsunade-sama had the same dedication, though. The slug puckered her mouth, darkly recalling their earlier conversation.

Shizune had been present, too, listening intently and recording the details of their meeting. Even Tonton stood out of the way, not making a sound as he stood anxiously at the base of the desk.

"Katsuyu, I fear Danzō has already made a move towards Sakura. Would you allow her to stay with you for a bit, until the Council settles some more? I'd also ask you to watch that kid from ROOT. Danzō most definitely pulled some strings to have it happen, but it's too late now..." Tsunade leaned back in her chair and massaged her temples.

"Of course," Katsuyu had immediately replied. She watched the blonde sink further into her chair. "Are you also expecting Sakura-san's control over Shokuton to increase when she's there? Is it possible Yamato-san can teach her?"

Tsunade closed her eyes, still slumped in her chair. "For her own sake, Sakura needs to be able to control it. I have a feeling this is a mental block more than anything, which Yamato can't help her in. I thought being in the Shikkotsu forest would help her; I hope it does. She's barely made progress with me, and I know Danzō is getting impatient. He's going to want to act soon."

Katsuyu did not express her worries to her. If Tsunade was this troubled about something, it meant it was big. The slug opened its eyes and scoured the scene. How long had she been thinking? Dead stalks of grass littered the field, each shriveled up and standing rather weakly. "Sakura-san?" Katsuyu slid forward, now on the edge of the little forest of grass. The dryness would irritate her skin if she came into contact, and so she did the next best thing. She circled the edge, calling out to the girl once in a while, not once receiving a response. Danzō is getting impatient, Tsunade had said. Had his operative already acted? Steeling herself, Katsuyu bulldozed through the stalks of dead grass blindly. After a moment of worryingly stampeding, she finally came upon Sakura in the clearing, who was slumped on the ground asleep. She must have been exhausted if she hadn't woken up. Katsuyu, with a little sigh of relief, lurched forward and nudged the girl onto her back, slowly making her way out of the field.