{"id":3767,"date":"2021-07-11T12:57:47","date_gmt":"2021-07-11T16:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=3767"},"modified":"2021-07-14T09:38:31","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T13:38:31","slug":"chapter-49-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=3767","title":{"rendered":"49 – Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chapter Themes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u201cMaster and Student\u201d<\/i> \u2014 So, on the surface, \u2018Master and Student\u2019 refers to the version of Chiyo and Sakura from the manga, where she\u2019s a powerful-but-nutty old woman who imparts her knowledge to Sakura. In the middle of the chapter, the meaning twists to represent Chiyo and Sasori, and that she withheld knowledge from him and that\u2019s how they wound up enemies. And finally, by the end, Sakura admits that she is learning more from Chiyo than she did from Tsunade. So Chiyo becomes an unintentional teacher to Sakura, because in this story\u2026..<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Chiyo is a villain!<\/i> \u2014 Mwuhahaha! She totally should have been in the original. She\u2019s way more bad than good. And there\u2019s no reason for her to be a mentor to Sakura. After all, she was only partnering with the Leaf to get what she wants. More on this in the spoiler notes\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura and Chiyo\u2019s chakra colors<\/i> \u2014 Their chakra colors and qualities tie in to who they are. Sakura\u2019s is a vibrant green, the color of warm tropical waters. Sakura is a nurturing person, so her chakra is the color we identify with life and growth. Chiyo\u2019s chakra, however, is an icy blue-white, the color of glaciers. It grinds up and crushes whatever is in its way. Life cannot survive in it. Both have aspects of water too, but where Sakura\u2019s is naturally fluid and pliant, Chiyo\u2019s chakra is the hardest form of water, ice. The colors correspond to how they approach healing too. Sakura has been taught to preserve life, whereas Chiyo\u2019s only cares about who lives or dies for her benefit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura fighting for a different nation<\/i> \u2014 As puppet masters, Chiyo and Sasori fight in an entirely different style than anything Sakura has ever encountered before. It\u2019s part show, part distraction, all while they are try to taking each other down from a distance. There is always another trick up their sleeves. Sakura has to stretch her skills and work harder than ever to succeed. Having an \u2018ally\u2019 in Chiyo doesn\u2019t make it much easier for her.<\/p>\n

Expanded Chapter Themes<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u201cMaster and Student\u201d<\/i> \u2014 So, on the surface, \u2018Master and Student\u2019 refers to the version of Chiyo and Sakura from the manga, where she\u2019s a powerful-but-nutty old woman who imparts her knowledge to Sakura.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But this chapter is also about Chiyo and Sasori, and in this story, how she withholds knowledge from him. So it\u2019s about what made them enemies.<\/p>\n

And lastly, it\u2019s about Sakura, learning on the fly from someone outside her village, in this unintentional way. Sakura is never shown having this partnering type experience with Tsunade, her true teacher. She is never shown fighting side-by-side with her like this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is dangerous because\u2026Chiyo should have been a villain.<\/p>\n

Chiyo tried to kill Kakashi because she thought he was his father. She hated Tsunade. She\u2019s actively hunting (with the intention to defeat) her own grandson. And if she\u2019s the most powerful in her village, then she must have known about, if not had a hand in, turning Gaara into a jinchuriki.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But no matter if Chiyo was good or bad, she never would have taught Sakura a thing if it wasn\u2019t useful to her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At best, Chiyo is a morally \u2018grey\u2019 character. She serves herself and her country\u2019s interests. So it\u2019s not hard to rearrange her motives (family power struggle, hatred of Tsunade) and her willingness to do anything to reach her goals (fake a partnership with a young enemy medic), and she easily becomes the villain she always should have been.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Chiyo and Sakura\u2019s chakra colors <\/i>\u2014 Sakura\u2019s is a vibrant green, the color of growth, the color of warm tropical waters. Its watery quality is still being fully revealed and there will be more to come, but her chakra, like Naruto\u2019s power source, is strongly tied to an element, in its purest form. Chiyo\u2019s chakra, however, is an icy blue-white. Her chakra is the color of ice, of glaciers. It is very similar to Sakura\u2019s watery nature, except hers is water of the hardest form. It grinds, crushes or moves whatever is in its way. Life cannot survive in it. Sakura has been taught how to preserve life, Chiyo\u2019s goal is controlling who lives and dies, for her benefit. The forms they choose correspond to this elemental nature too. Sakura is able to coat everything, like water. But Chiyo chooses to make her chakra harder and harder as the chapter goes on, until the end, it looks like steel.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Deeper questions about puppets as vessels<\/i> \u2014 On the surface, the struggle between Chiyo and Sasori is about who puppets \u2014\u00a0who gets to make them, who gets to use them, what ends do they serve. But it\u2019s also on a deeper level about power over jinchurikis. Who makes vessels out of humans? Who is powerful enough to transfer energy into another human. Who is powerful to receive it and become a host? Who builds the spaces inside humans to house other creatures inside them? And who holds and passes down this knowledge? Lastly, this all leads directly to Sakura: Where will she fall on this spectrum? If she\u2019s already as powerful as Tsunade and Chiyo, then when she finds out the truth, will she grow to be an ally to a jinchuriki\u2026or will she take the path of learning to make one? This question of who holds the power and who controls it will be turned revisited many times in the coming chapters.<\/p>\n

Chapter and Spoiler Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cLady Chiyo, your weapons were puppets, right?\u201d Chiyo answered, \u201cYes\u2026. But that was long ago.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Chiyo\u2019s true weapon of choice was poison. Not puppets. Her first skill is as a medic\/assassin. She poisons people. She just happens to be incredibly good at puppetry as well. She\u2019s just like Sakura, who\u2019s incredibly proficient in both healing and weaponry. So Sakura asks the wrong question. And Chiyo doesn\u2019t give her a full answer. Even from the start, she\u2019d hiding all her capabilities, while Sakura is still very trusting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 She palmed one of her kunai. She had not packed extra weapons, only the standard kit for Leaf shinobi: two kunai, and a few braces of throwing stars. So she had to make each one count. <\/i>\u2014 Sakura\u2019s a young shinobi, going up against two much older, much more experience shinobi. They have skill and, in Sasori\u2019s case, massive amounts of weaponry on their sides. Sakura\u2019s not even wearing pants. So this fight forces her to dig deep and use her own resources to survive, since she\u2019s so under-prepared as a shinobi.<\/p>\n

\u2022 With a slow exhale, she let her energy spread out from her body and surround the chakra cords. Sakura breathed into each of the points where they attached to her, imagining them flare with green light. She pictured Chiyo\u2019s silvery blue stream of chakra connecting to her at those spots, and spilling into hers like water.<\/i> \u2014 Sakura is beginning the journey of using her chakra differently. At first, it\u2019s just the dots where they connect. In the beginning, she thinks Chiyo\u2019s chakra is like her, very much like water. By the end, it\u2019s revealed that her chakra, although of the same element, is very much a different form \u2014 like ice.<\/p>\n

\u2022 As long as she stretched out her senses, she could feel the harmony.<\/i> \u2014 Sakura is beginning to thin out her chakra, like water. As long as there is a source, it\u2019s never ending how far it can go. So as long as Sakura is the source, it will go on forever. She\u2019s learning to stretch out her chakra and reach further beyond herself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter? Don\u2019t you want to live forever? Everyone does.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 This is very much a statement about Chiyo, about himself and about everyone in the Akatsuki. They all want power, but more importantly, power over death. This theme will come back again for both Naruto and Sakura, when they look at how other people want to use them.<\/p>\n

\u2022 He nodded at her obedience and returned to admiring her face again. He stopped at her eyes. \u201cYou really are a unique specimen.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 The eyes, and then calling her a specimen. He collects humans to become puppets. He doesn\u2019t see her as a person, even as he is remarking on her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cAnd the old stories\u2026.\u201d Chiyo sighed dramatically. \u201cWell, there is so much I could have told you, if you had only listened\u2014\u201c<\/i> \u2014 Hinting that there is something unique about Sakura as well. Something that Chiyo and Sasori know that she doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Sasori made a guttural noise of disagreement, like a child who\u2019d heard the same thing too many times. \u201cBut then,\u201d she continued, \u201cyou have always been such a disappointment\u2026.\u201d <\/i>\u2014 Chiyo is definitely manipulating him. And clearly did from his childhood. She is very much like Itachi \u2014 they will do or say anything to get what they want. Sasori is no innocent victim. He\u2019s just as bad. But Chiyo definitely knows how to press his buttons, and Sasori falls for it every time.<\/p>\n

\u2022 She closed her eyes and let her chakra explode outward. It raced up into Chiyo\u2019s strings, pumping more and more green light into the lines. When it hit a wall, she knew she\u2019d found where he was blocking Chiyo\u2019s. She continued to force it in, flooding the space. Then, like a bursting dam, it broke through\u2014 Her chakra shot sideways up his network, electrifying his tail like a branching green lighting bolt.<\/i> \u2014 Sakura is leveling up her abilities. She is stretching her chakra out, and using it as a powerful weapon in its own right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Sasori stared dumbfounded at broken pieces of his tail. Finally, he looked up at Chiyo. He didn\u2019t even seem to notice Sakura was gone. <\/i>\u2014 He does not see Sakura as a human, even though Chiyo does. He sees Sakura, as he does all humans now, as a means to an end. They both want to use her, but Sasori really only sees her as a weapon.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cSakura of the Leaf\u2026.\u201d He brushed the dust off the front of his cloak.<\/i> \u2014 He acted like he didn\u2019t care, but he knew who she was the whole time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cDo you like my new body? He\u2019s beautiful isn\u2019t he?\u201d He caressed his dewy cheek. \u201cI just knew it when I saw him\u2014 I had to have him.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 So, the idea is, somewhere in his travels Sasori saw a child who looked like him. So he killed him and restrung him as his prize puppet. The puppets that he and Chiyo use were once humans. It just levels up how bad they and how gruesome the practice is. And it also connects their skills to Naruto\u2019s storyline. The whole story is about bodies as vessels, and using them to hold power. Using puppets that were once humans, only hollowed out to serve a purpose, is very much in line with what Pain wants to do to Naruto, in a more sophisticated way. Pain wants to turn him into the ultimate living vessel. So the concepts in this chapter will be built on in the rest of the story, not just a side adventure to showcase Sakura\u2019s strength.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura glanced back. Chiyo was pale and shaken, aghast at the sight before her. Her hands were lifeless at her sides. The chakra strings between her and Sakura were slack, leaving Sakura feeling dangerously exposed. <\/i>\u2014 Chiyo is partly shocked. It\u2019s the first time she\u2019s seen these puppets in decades. She knows who they are, or who they were<\/i>. But it\u2019s also partially an act, because she\u2019s the one who made them. She stopped seeing them as human a long time ago.<\/p>\n

\u2022 She pushed her chakra out of herself and raced it up into Chiyo\u2019s chakra strings, the same way she had when Sasori had caught her. She felt the cords come alive behind her and knew immediately which ones that were tangled. <\/i>\u2014 Sakura again is leveling up her chakra abilities. This time, she\u2019s learning what it feels like to keep it alive outside her body. Not attached to a weapon, or a patient, but as a focused piece of energy in the air.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura thought she could actually feel the strings pulling together, wanting to reconnect. It seemed like all she need to do was fan out her fingers, then direct her chakra back to the spots with her mind. She listened to her intuition. It worked. She opened her fingers and her chakra reached for itself like a magnet. <\/i>\u2014 Sakura is observing, listening to her chakra and trusting her intuition. This will help her in the future.<\/p>\n

\u2022 She had no time to dwell on what she\u2019d done, but she guessed this must be some of the power of a puppet master. The ability to direct objects from a distance\u2026. It was powerful feeling. <\/i>\u2014 Sakura definitely is experience some horizon-expanding power. This could have been how Chiyo felt when she first expanded her energy outward. They have the same skills, just one is bad and one is still making decisions about her path.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Her shocked expression shifted from the two puppets to the girl darting across the cave. She nodded and lifted her hands, purpose suffusing her old face as she renewed her fight. \u201cYou are exceptionally powerful,\u201d she said as Sakura drew near for a moment. \u201cMuch more than I even realized.\u201d \u2014<\/i> Chiyo\u2019s hunger for power wins out over her sentiment about long-dead humans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0It felt like she\u2019d never been more alive, like she could take on both puppets at once. The chakra that usually just overflowed from her hand and dripped off the edges, now seemed to bubble up from her center. <\/i>\u2014 The chakra has changed here for Sakura. It\u2019s not just something she uses, it\u2019s something she is. She is now the spring that it bubbles from. Her whole body is the conduit, not just her hand.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura\u2019s perceptive green eyes saw it all. The puppets used the same moves to block themselves, over and over. They were predictable. And since Sasori protected himself with Father, then Mother was the weaker puppet. The expendable one\u2026. Sakura would take her down first. <\/i>\u2014 Sakura is now strategizing just like Katsuro did, looking for the weakest one, the expendable one. She\u2019s not a cold-hearted killer, but she\u2019s become a very powerful shinobi \u2014 on par with him \u2014 without even realizing it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 But Chiyo didn\u2019t respond. She was preoccupied, watching Sasori\u2019s movements with the puppets. Her fingers were trembling slightly, dancing in that subtle way they did when she was operating the chakra strings, but Sakura couldn\u2019t feel the vibrations.<\/i> \u2014 Chiyo is using the distraction to attach her strings to Gaara.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0The glimmering of jade green at her knuckles where the chakra was pooling just because she thought about it.<\/i> \u2014 Reference to her training with Katsuro, when he tells her to tighten her chakra around her knuckles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 When Mother stopped, they were so close their heads almost touched. Her head was slumped, her puppet mouth hung open, and her eyes were hollow and lifeless. But she still held onto the sword. \u2026 Sakura\u2019s green eyes were going glassy, and her head dropped a little more with each increasingly shallow breath. Disheveled bangs covered her eyes. Her messy, dusty braid spilled over one shoulder. Blood seeped out from the corners her mouth, forming two lines down her chin. \u2014<\/i> Parallel between Sakura and Mother. Both have been the expendable ones. So in that moment, it looks as though she has lost to someone that was her equal in the fight. But Sakura is not an instrument. She can control what\u2019s happening to her. And she does.<\/p>\n

\u2022 She looked at Sakura, then back at Gaara. Her mouth parted in pain or horror. \u2014<\/i> While Sakura is stabbed, and Chiyo and Sasori are speaking, Chiyo realizes that Sakura is still alive and somehow healing herself. She is pulling on Chiyo\u2019s chakra, now more than ever before, and it makes Chiyo look old, weak and tired. But it\u2019s just the drain on her system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Chiyo was slowly straightening, strength and defiance returning to her voice. \u201cYou only cared about weapons and building puppets. You neglected your studies and never did what I told you. It is you who never learned the rules, so never learned precisely how and where to break them.\u201d Her voice was rising, beginning to shake, holding his attention firmly. \u201cIt is you who will not outlast this!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u2014<\/i> At this point, she realizes that Sakura is going to be okay, and she changes her \u2018allegiance\u2019 to Sakura. Chiyo\u2019s not just disappointed in him, she\u2019s actively comparing him to the one that\u2019s secretly healing herself right in front of him.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cI hated you,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cYou turned your own children into puppets! Everyone thought is was from grief. But I knew. I always knew. Even as a child. You didn\u2019t do it for me. It was just for revenge. It was always only power that you craved. If there was ever a part of you that was human, it died with them.\u201d <\/i>\u2014 Chiyo\u2019s motivations connect to Nagato\u2019s motivations in resurrecting Yahiko as Pain, forcing a body to live out your orders, all in the name of revenge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u201cI would have made you apprentice. My legacy. I would have taught you everything I knew,\u201d Chiyo said softly. \u201cBut you never listened.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Foreshadowing for next chapter. Again, Chiyo has someone else in mind for her legacy now\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cNot healers, grandson.\u201d Chiyo\u2019s eyes were shining, there was a little color in her cheeks. \u201cFor them, everyone is their puppet, if they are brave enough to take control. Every bit of energy is theirs for the taking. Not a stupid vessel.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 She\u2019s speaking directly to Sakura now.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Deep red blood ran backwards up the sword and down the Mother\u2019s pale arm, dripping offer her elbow.<\/i> \u2014 Foreshadowing to a traumatic event in Sakura\u2019s future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 But there was no other movement. Behind Mother, Father was waiting, sword up, ready to defend. But Sasori just watched, almost curious to see what would happen next, as if it was a real puppet show.<\/i> \u2014 Language of Sasori watching a puppet show. Just a reminder that these are people who fight with deception. Who use a distracting show to hide the murder they are about to commit. Sasori is a master at creating this, but he is also susceptible to it. Sakura is understanding her opponent and starting to fight on their level.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Her hair had come loose and fallen in front of her face. But when she lifted her eyes to look out through her messy bangs, her eyes glowed with the same green light. She looked straight at Sasori.<\/i> \u2014 Sakura is so fully feeling her power that her eyes are glowing. This should have happened every time she was at her most powerful. Also\u2026since she\u2019s allowing the chakra to come from her core, bubbling up from her middle and not just out of her hand, it is manifesting all throughout her system. Including a subtle emerald green glow from her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0They impaled each other, in the same place, with matching swords. Their heads fell together, foreheads touching. They were hopelessly entangled. <\/i>\u2014 The puppets have killed each other. Sakura has taken herself out of the realm of a puppet and is now operating one. Even if it\u2019s not very good. So the two weapons that were made as a pair, defeat each other in the same way. Sakura has leveled up the fight to be between Sasori and Chiyo, and elevated herself out of the realm of a mere puppet\/instrument\/weapon.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Chiyo shook her head, unable to contain her glee. \u201cA distraction, yes. But I didn\u2019t heal her. She did that all on her own. As well as taking over your prize puppet.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Chiyo has disconnected from the puppets as humans. Just like Sasori, she just sees them as weapons. They are very similar, which is also why they hate each other.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cSasori, take note. If you had shown a fraction of the Leaf\u2019s girl\u2019s determination and ingenuity, then you would be so much more powerful. Instead of still playing with empty dolls\u2014\u201c<\/i> \u2014 implication here is that Chiyo has moved on to a \u201clive\u201d doll in Sakura.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 She was deeply impressed to see that Sakura was much farther along in her heal than she expected. Sakura had not been deceiving them with lies or distracting them showy chakra. \u2014 <\/i>Sakura is the only honest one there. She is not a puppet master, so she doesn\u2019t have to have control or put on a distracting show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cFrom the moment the blade went in, I cauterized what had been cut and coated the sword in a thin layer of my own chakra.\u201d She nodded at her hands. \u201cLike with your chakra strings, I kept the edges of the wound \u2018alive,\u2019 then reattached it when the sword went out. It was a much faster heal.\u201d She shrugged a shoulder. \u201cI didn\u2019t know if it would work. But I had to try something\u2026.\u201d <\/i>\u2014 Sakura is taking what she\u2019s learned, in the moment, applying it and innovating it to save her life. This is her real superpower. There are lots of overpowered characters in this story, but Sakura\u2019s ability to use it so well is what sets her apart. And other hyper-talented shinobi recognize that in her, for better or for worse, in the days to come for Sakura.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cWe should try to get out. My group, I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll be looking for us\u2014\u201c \u201cNo\u2026. We\u2019re not finished here yet.\u201d \u2014 <\/i>It\u2019s subtle, but there Chiyo has shifted the balance of power. She\u2019s made a new plan, and she is calling the shots now. Sakura is too respectful to disagree \u2014 she is a foreign shinobi on Chiyo\u2019s soil, Gaara is her village\u2019s leader. But Chiyo and Sakura have different goals. Sakura wanted to get Gaara\u2019s body back, and she thought that\u2019s what Chiyo wanted too. But Chiyo is there for something else\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0The truth was, she had learned more in this battle so far than she\u2019d learned from Tsunade. Not about healing, but about fighting. Tsunade only taught her to protect herself and bring things back to life. Chiyo seemed to be speaking of control over death. It was very different from what Tsunade taught.<\/i> \u2014 Couple things here: Chiyo is teaching her more practical things than Tsunade ever did. You can infer from this that Tsunade was holding back, Sakura believes right now, because she was trying to protect her or teach her the \u201cgood\u201d way of doing things. But Chiyo is more opportunistic, and bends and uses chakra in a way she\u2019s never realized. In the future, Sakura might come to suspect her teacher\u2019s motives. Also, Chiyo\u2019s teaching style \u2014 control over death \u2014 ties in to the seal that Sakura remembers at the end of this chapter. More on the seal in those notes\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cI don\u2019t think Tsunade-sama meant to be a teacher,\u201d she began. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not official\u2026but I am actually her appr\u2014\u201c<\/i> \u2014 Sakura was just about to declare that she was Tsunade\u2019s apprentice and, more importantly, own it to herself. But sadly, Sakura\u2019s declaration is cut short.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura would have darted behind a pillar or tried to find the upper ground, that was her instinct from her shinobi training. But she found that her limbs were not under her control. Chiyo would not let her duck or dodge.<\/i> \u2014 This is Sakura\u2019s first inkling that she is out of control, and that Chiyo is making the decisions now.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Chiyo just chuckled. \u201cTrying to use my own recipes against me grandson?\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Another hint that Chiyo is first a potions master.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura realized that they were still puppet masters. He fully expected Chiyo to have the antidote to his poison. It easily could have killed her. It should have killed her\u2014 But it all seemed like a game to them.<\/i> \u2014 Sakura should have some lag in fighting in the style of another country. She doesn\u2019t know either of them. Sakura thinks Chiyo is saving her\u2026but really, Chiyo was expecting that level of poison all along, and allowing Sakura to stay out there to draw it out of Sasori. Again, Sakura is starting to realize she\u2019s in over her head.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The center of his chest was a hole, with doors thrown open on either side. It spiraled in on itself, twisting like the inside of a giant clock. The cloak was thrown back onto his shoulders and flapped behind him. He looked like a beautiful angel of death. Her death, she was certain. \u2014<\/i> There is a parallel here to Gaara\u2019s hole in his middle. Sasori has built his, but a natural energy has carved the one in Gaara. Both hold different forms of death. Sasori\u2019s is meant to kill a physical body, whereas Gaara\u2019s hole opens up to devour human energy. So Sasori, just like the puppet master that he is, has created an ultimate weapon that attacks the outer shell, the vessel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 The blade was so black it gleamed like wet ink where the light hit it. It looked like it came from an ancient, hand-hewn sword that had been broken off at one end. There was no handle, just a rough chop of raw metal.<\/i> \u2014 This type of metal has already been referenced. It\u2019s used by Pain and Konan for their piercings. It\u2019s the super rare, super chakra-conductive metal they like to use. Chiyo secretly had a whole blade of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Even from a distance, Sakura could tell it was no ordinary weapon. It looked like it came from an ancient sword that had been broken in half. \u2014 <\/i>In this chapter, both the broken sword and the broken seal that Sakura remembers at the very end have deep ties to Tsunade. Both have already been revealed on her desk back in Chapter 43.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 The blade was so black it gleamed like wet ink where the light hit it. Chiyo\u2019s ice-blue chakra still popped at the edges, its reflection fracturing like lightning across the rough surface.<\/i> \u2014 This type of metal has already been referenced: It\u2019s used by Pain and Konan for their piercings. It\u2019s the super rare, super chakra-conductive metal they like to use. Also\u2026the other half of the blade has already made an appearance in the story\u2026. More on that to come! But Chiyo\u2019s backstory of how she had it, and where is the other missing piece, will tie in to Tsunade and Sakura\u2019s story. It will also be a part of Sakura\u2019s future as she encounters Konan. This is a weapon that only extraordinarily proficient chakra wielders (not healers) can use. Sakura does not yet know something like this exists. But she will\u2026.and with it will be the introduction of a new character that will bring some of Sakura\u2019s biggest challenges yet\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura expected to see Chiyo\u2019s chakra strings shimmering in the air, attached to it, but no matter how she tipped her head, she could not see them.<\/i> \u2014 Chiyo is not using strings. This weapon is so powerful, she can charge it with her chakra and use it from a distance. Another villain does this\u2026Pain. And what is more powerful than a puppet master that no longer needs strings? More on this to come.<\/p>\n

\u2022 But Sakura wondered, if she\u2019d had a weapon that powerful the whole time, why didn\u2019t use it earlier? She could have decided the battle in her favor from the beginning. Perhaps that was why she was so confident in seeking out Sasori on her own\u2026. <\/i>\u2014 Sakura is beginning to see through Chiyo\u2019s deception here. Though she could have used this super-powerful blade the whole time, instead, she decided to sacrifice Sakura to get what she wanted. But something changed her mind\u2026. She started to see Sakura as a better weapon than a lifeless blade. She could accomplish all her goals with one super-powerful girl and still retain control. Chiyo\u2019s true motives will be revealed next chapter.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It had been a trick on Chiyo\u2019s part. She had used Sakura as the bait. But for Sasori, this was truly the end.<\/i> \u2014 Sakura sees that their battle was just increasing levels of deception. And she sees her part in it \u2014\u00a0as bait \u2014 and thinks it\u2019s over now\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sasori found his voice. \u201cYou\u2026you had it all along. The Sand Dagger. It\u2019s legendary\u2026.\u201d \u2014<\/i> Sasuke and Naruto both have signature weapons\/skills that they hone. Sakura needs one too. A chakra-focusing blade like this would be suited to Sakura\u2019s skills. This type of weapon, or the abilities associated with it, would be one passed down through medics\/chakra wielders, like Sakura or Konan. It\u2019s very much connected to the chakra-controlling abilities that Pain and Konan use. More on this idea to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u201cBut you gave it up. For\u2026. For her?\u201d He looked at Sakura, there was a note of jealousy in his voice. But he shook his head, then looked at Gaara. \u201cNo\u2026. For him.\u201d He looked at Chiyo. \u201cI-I don\u2019t understand. That was your way in. You\u2019ll never be able to force the vessel open now.\u201c<\/i> \u2014 More clues to the strength of the blade. It can be used to force open jinchurikis. So if she no longer needs it, then she\u2019s found a new conduit for her chakra to run through\u2026in Sakura.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura was confused. Was she calling Gaara a weapon?<\/i> \u2014 Because the nature of jinchurikis, how to seal them and how to control them, is so secretive, only a small amount of people know anything about them. It\u2019s considered forbidden knowledge, because they are secret weapons. Sakura has no reason to know anything about them. And if she did, it would just be more about the myth of \u2018the chosen one,\u2019 like Sasori has mentioned. Sakura still thinks they are fighting about the assassination of the leader of the Sand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura stood over Gaara. Chiyo had flipped him over on his back. He faced up, eyes closed. There was no visible life left in him. His face was pale. His clothes were in tatters and bloody in the center from some as-of-yet unknown wound. His face was deathly pale. His crimson hair was so covered in dust it looked brown.<\/i> \u2014 Sakura will remember Gaara\u2019s broken body in the future, when she learns of another traumatic death.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 A memory floated through her mind. \u201cAll Akatsuki are monsters\u2026.\u201d Gaara\u2019s body was in front of her, but it was a voice from her past, one she didn\u2019t allow herself to listen to, that was echoing back to her. This one time, she let herself answer it. He was right. And he, of all people, would know\u2014 \u2014 <\/i>In these moments of deep stress, it is always Katsuro\u2019s voice she hears. So even though she\u2019s told herself she\u2019s pushed him out of her life, he\u2019s still with her, just underneath the surface. This will come back to break her heart though\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cI know she can! I\u2019ve felt her power. She doesn\u2019t even know she has it. That foolish Slug Princess sent her out into the world without teaching her what she was\u2014\u201d Chiyo laughed maniacally. \u2014<\/i> This story is about characters with a lot of power who are cut off from the knowledge of what they are and how to use it. It\u2019s Naruto\u2019s story, being a jinchuriki without any understanding of his power except that it could destroy everything. It\u2019s Sasuke\u2019s story, being a clan prodigy without a clan. It\u2019s Kakashi\u2019s story, having no family and an Uchiha eye an having no one to show him how to use it. It\u2019s Sai\u2019s story, being an orphan with unknown but extraordinary skills. Now it\u2019s Sakura\u2019s story\u2014 there are massively powerful medic\/chakra wielder type shinobis in their world, but she knows nothing about her own skill. She will have to seek them out to understand her unique abilities. Chiyo, for all her villainous nature, is more open to her about this than Tsunade (for her own reasons). If she wants to learn more about her power, Sakura will have to choose which path she wants to take, good or bad, just like Katsuro\/Naruto and Sasuke.<\/p>\n

– This quote is also a reference to what Katsuro said to her early on, that she was unprepared to be out in the world as a shinobi. Sakura thinks she\u2019s come so far, but this will set her back to the beginning, when she feels like she doesn\u2019t know what her power is. This is very much part of her \u201cOdd One\u201d storyline.<\/p>\n

\u2022 These were different than the others. They glistened like silver and looked as strong as steel. <\/i>\u2014 Chiyo\u2019s chakra is revealed to have a very different quality than Sakura\u2019s. It is described in terms of ice and steel. Like a crushing glacier. Like a sword. And when Sakura becomes the Sand blade, it becomes clear that this was what Chiyo planned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Sakura\u2019s chakra was being activated without her doing it. It was glowing green, but it wasn\u2019t just dripping off her. Instead it was running into long veins, like channels of rushing water. They were running to her hands, pulsing and pushing there, forming a growing ball of light.<\/i> \u2014\u00a0Sakura is pure energy, like water. Unfortunately water, in the wrong hands, can be easily manipulated. There is a connection here to Naruto, who\u2019s power in the wrong hands can also be controlled and used for bad.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Sakura squinted at it. She didn\u2019t know what Chiyo was doing, but she knew from her medical books it was bad. All her texts warned about using too much chakra. It could permanently harm the healer, and it could burn up the patient. <\/i>\u2014 Much later, there will be a time when she needs to perform this same technique to save a life. It will not go so easily next time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Chiyo forced her hands closer to Gaara. The spinning ball of energy blew back the tattered remains of Gaara\u2019s tunic, revealing a blood red spiral on a his stomach. <\/i>\u2014 Chiyo is forming a small sort of rasengan. Like Naruto\u2019s. Chiyo has a lifetime of practice controlling energy. So she knows how to keep it in a small-ish ball. That\u2019s all she can make. Naruto will have the opposite problem. (More on that to come.) Also, the spiral on Gaara\u2019s stomach as part of the sealing process is no mistake either. Both these shapes \u2014 the rasengan and the spiral seal \u2014 tie to Naruto and the legacy from the Whirlpool nation. So although he\u2019s not in this chapter, his presence is all over it. Sakura is encountering things that tie to him without even realizing it.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It felt like the very darkest parts of the Forest of Death. Worse, even. And it did not want her there. \u2014<\/i> Tying the jinchuriki energy to natural energy, not manmade. And therefore extremely unstable.<\/p>\n

\u2022 For the briefest of moments, she saw the spiral-shaped wound in her mind, turning and opening in its entirety. It was going\u2026backwards\u2026. She had seen this before\u2026. A memory flashed through her mind\u2014 the partial seal she\u2019d seen in the old book in Tsunade\u2019s office, the one that went the wrong way \u2014 but she tore through the it as Chiyo pushed her deeper and deeper. \u2014<\/i> The seal from the book on Tsunade\u2019s desk (Chapter 43), is the one that neither she nor Sakura can figure it out. It\u2019s not a seal about saving life. It goes the opposite way \u2014 it\u2019s a seal about controlling death. This is what Chiyo is imparting to Sakura. That there are other ways to use chakra. Also, \u2018she tore through it,\u2019 is a reference to the torn seal in the book and the idea that they are only passing down half knowledge, scraps of it. The original seal is torn up, and now Sakura is even tearing up her fragmented memory of it. So this all points to the legacy passed down of those who sought to harness and control jinchurikis. This would be the dark, shadowy world of those who wanted to turn humans into demon containers. There would be a body of knowledge about how to do that. It also hints that Sakura may have discovered something about Tsunade\u2019s past that she\u2019d rather not know about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 She heard Sasori\u2019s voice through the whipping wind. \u201cStop it, old woman! It will never work! You\u2019ll only destroy them both! You really are a monster\u2014\u201c<\/i> \u2014 This comes right after Sakura said all Akatsuki are monsters. Now Sasori, an Akatsuki member, just said that that Chiyo is a monster. She\u2019s the one who made him the way he is. So you know she\u2019s got to be really bad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Chiyo drove Sakura farther down, using her own chakra at her back and pushing her forward as if she were on the tip of a long blade. \u2014<\/i> Sakura is literally replacing the Sand Blade here. She has become the instrument that breaks the vessel open. Chiyo\u2019s chakra provides the engine, it drives her, but it is her pliant chakra that allows her to break through. Chiyo knows that Sakura\u2019s energy is like water. And water is the most powerful element on earth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 She was suddenly being wooshed inward, sucked down a drain into a giant whirlpool of dark energy. \u2014<\/i> The sealing chamber has an opening like a whirlpool. It\u2019s no accident that the original \u201cbuilders\u201d made it this way.<\/p>\n

\u2022 She had never known darkness like this. She felt, rather than knew, that light didn\u2019t exist here. <\/i>\u2014 She has left earth and slipped into something apart from earth, something in between life and death, consciousness and subconsciousness. This is also physically happening in a space inside Gaara\u2019s body, literally a place between Sakura\u2019s body which is overflowing with \u201clife,\u201d and the statue of the Death God. Sakura is not dead, but she has slipped through the cracks of the real world.<\/p>\n

\u2022 She fought the panic that rose in her throat and closed her eyes. Tears slid out. She wiped them away, but there was no water on her face. No tears wet her fingers.<\/i> \u2014 She\u2019s not a body anymore. Just energy.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Chiyo\u2019s far-away voice echoed down through the darkness. It was clear and unforgiving. \u201cGet to work. It\u2019s is the only reason I let you live.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Chiyo\u2019s gambit is finally revealed. She\u2019s not an old woman who acts crazy to hide the fact that she\u2019s powerful…but is also secretly nice, wants to save Gaara and support Sakura. She\u2019s a crazy old woman who turns out to be the villain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter Themes \u2022\u00a0\u201cMaster and Student\u201d \u2014 So, on the surface, \u2018Master and Student\u2019 refers to the version of Chiyo and Sakura from the manga, where she\u2019s a powerful-but-nutty old woman who imparts her knowledge to Sakura. In the middle of the chapter, the meaning twists to represent Chiyo and Sasori, and that she withheld knowledge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-notes","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hctF-YL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3767"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3787,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3767\/revisions\/3787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}