{"id":3973,"date":"2022-05-02T12:15:32","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T16:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=3973"},"modified":"2022-05-02T12:16:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T16:16:51","slug":"chapter-notes-52","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=3973","title":{"rendered":"52 – Chapter Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Author’s note: It’s a mix of spoiler and regular notes, so just one big long thread of story notes:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0A single look between Tsunade and Kakashi. She flashed her amber eyes at him, and he cleared his throat softly in acknowledgement. And that was all it took to change Sakura\u2019s fate. <\/i>\u2014 The idea is they both know Sakura is lying. And they both know something else happened. Sakura thinks it\u2019s about her, in a completely negative way. But the reality is they know Sakura is an unknown power source, and that Chiyo was way worse than she let on. This is showing how Sakura\u2019s story about her abilities\/power is parallel Naruto\u2019s story about his power. Both are anomalies. And no one yet knows what they are capable of. Tsunade and Kakashi are not being mean to her. It\u2019s in fact the opposite. They know she\u2019s so much more powerful than she\u2019s letting on. But they are giving her space to come into her own. Although that doesn\u2019t make Sakura feel any better in the moment.<\/p>\n

\u2022 If she told them, then she\u2019d have to reveal what she\u2019d done, to herself and to Gaara. If she let anyone even see her healing chakra now, they\u2019d know how different she was. Just the fact that she had actually changed her chakra form\u2026. She didn\u2019t even know that was possible. Maybe it wasn\u2019t. Maybe that was Chiyo\u2019s poison\u2026. <\/i>\u2014 Just leveling up the consequences of Sakura\u2019s battle. The Leaf and the Sand are not exactly allies. And the nature of jinchurikis is a closely guarded secret by each village. So there is no way Sakura could have known what Gaara was unless he told her himself. And having Sakura\u2019s chakra form be force to change to Chiyo\u2019s rope\/puppet master form to survive just seems like an adequate \u201cbattle scar\u201d from Chiyo and this fight.<\/p>\n

\u2022 She told herself to remember, to never, ever forget: They knew things about her. Perhaps they all did, even back to her teachers at the academy. And they didn\u2019t tell her. She had to find it out from an enemy. <\/i>\u2014 This line could have been said by a young Naruto in the original manga. So I wanted Sakura to be the one to experience that betrayal by the village, since she is the one with the unknown super power growing up in the village instead of Naruto.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Kakashi was grim. Sakura thought she\u2019d never seen him look so anguished. He tipped his head at Tsunade, almost as if he was silently pleading with her.\u00a0 <\/span>Again, another unspoken communication passed between them. \u201cYes, you should go,\u201d Tsunade said quietly. \u201cUpdate the others. Maybe there\u2019s still some hope,\u201d but she shook her head as if even she didn\u2019t believe what she was saying. She dismissed him with a single nod, then he was gone in a swirl of leaves.<\/i> \u2014 Sakura, of course, doesn\u2019t know, but the whole reason Kakashi went to the desert was to try to find Naruto. It\u2019s his whole life\u2019s purpose. So Kakashi is basically begging her to leave so he can go update the small band of shinobi that are still trying to find Naruto.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cBut teaming up with a woman like that,\u201d she growled the words, \u201cthen fighting against a shinobi like Sasori\u2026\u201d Her voice trailed into a long exhale. She looked down at the scroll. \u201cYou should have been better prepared. And I blame myself for that.\u201d <\/i>\u2014 Tsunade and Chiyo were lifelong enemies. She doesn\u2019t address it here directly to Sakura, but it\u2019s in everything she says about Chiyo.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cIt is your choice, of course,\u201d Tsunade said. There was disappointment in her tone, but her words were without malice. <\/i>\u2014 This is a big, unwavering principle of Tsunade\u2019s character. It will come back again and again for both Sakura and Naruto.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Tsunade put her fingertips on writing. Speaking softly, she pushed her energy down into the paper until the writing glowed with her chakra. Then rings of text began to move\u2026. They swirled around and around, faster and faster, until the it looked like a luminous whirlpool. In the center, the glow slowly spread to the diamond.<\/i> \u2014 The sealing jutsu comes from the Whirlpool nation, so the formation it takes on the page is in that shape. And of course, that\u2019s where they perfected the technique of harnessing and housing bijuu. So this is a reference to Kushina\u2019s lineage through Naruto. And the seal that Tsunade uses was from their lost village. Like all things, Tsunade is using it for good, to having extra healing and strength when she needs it. But later in the same chapter, the anbu Hawk insinuates Sakura might be able to use it for something very different.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Tsunade brought her hand closer, and it was then Sakura noticed the swirling pattern that moved with the panes of the crystal. Like a whirlpool. Tsunade paused. \u201cIt is not from Konoha, as you may have guessed. It was retrieved from another country that perfected these types of sealing techniques. A country that long ago disappeared beneath the waves.\u201d <\/i>\u2014 So Sakura\u2019s seal links her directly to Naruto. But she won\u2019t know that for a long time!<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cDo you know how to apply an appearance-shifting jutsu? You learned should have learned it in one of your academy classes.\u201d Sakura nodded, although she was a little confused. It was simple, one of the first justus they learned. It didn\u2019t seem like something that would hide such a powerful mark.<\/i> \u2014 This jutsu is the same one Naruto uses to hide his whisker marks. Both he and Sakura use this simple jutsu in a really powerful way. Because of course Itachi learned it from the top Anbu in Konoha, same as Tsunade. Then he taught to Naruto. So now, both Sakura and Naruto both had hidden symbols of power marked on their faces, hidden from everyone except the most powerful. Another little parallel.<\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/i>She took a shaky breath. It was gone. No one else would ever know. She could go on like it never happened.<\/i> \u2014 Coping skills that are not the best.<\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/i>Tsunade voice was soft but clear. \u201cNo. I would never force her\u2014\u201d Shizune swept aside that line of reasoning. \u201cI know how you feel about letting people have a \u2018choice,\u2019 but this\u2026. This is different!\u201d Tsunade still just shook her head.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>\u2014 All of this about Tsunade and Chiyo will be part of Tsunade\u2019s backstory.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t matter. If she\u2019s finally dead than that history is buried with her. There\u2019s no one left who even remembers.\u201d She smiled briefly, a flicker of triumph in her face. \u201cIt\u2019s like it never happened.\u201d \u2014 Paralleling Sakura here. Tsunade is handling her traumatic past in the same way. Both think if they bury it deep enough it won\u2019t come back to haunt them. And both, of course, are wrong.<\/p>\n

\u2022 But Tsunade didn\u2019t seem to care. Without even looking at it, she flicked back the carved frog and flattened the parchment with one hand. She began writing, not with the practiced hand of a Kage, but in a fast, sloppy, sideways scrawl of a personal note.<\/i> \u2014 So a frog scroll, very old and official looking, but Tsunade is writing a sloppy personal note on it. If you hadn\u2019t already guessed, it\u2019s to Jiraiya. More on him in the future.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The one thing she most wanted an answer about was the one thing she had no words to describe. The monster trapped inside Gaara. She didn\u2019t know what it was. She didn\u2019t know how she had ever trapped it again. Sasori was trying to say something to her at the end, when his voice dwindled down to nothing. \u201cGee\u2014 Joon\u2014 Jin\u2026.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>\u2014 Sakura trying to piece together the word she doesn\u2019t know and that the few people in the village who know what it is are allowed to say. Jinchuriki. It\u2019s the key to unlocking the whole mystery around Naruto\u2026but she just doesn\u2019t have it yet\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Neither option was appealing. And breaking in to the Hokage\u2019s office was a line she was not yet prepared to cross. <\/i>\u2014\u00a0foreshadowing. There will be a time in the future when she will be desperate enough to cross that line.<\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/i>\u201cInteresting,\u201d he said, as if she\u2019d answered him. He looked her up and down again, and then at her forehead before continuing with a conspiratorial grin, as if this was a friendly conversation. \u201cAnd don\u2019t worry. No one else can see it. I am Hawk. And I\u2019m an expert in seals very much like yours.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 So the idea is that, just like there are some who are searching for Naruto because they served and loved Minato, there are also those who are studying and cultivating Minute\u2019s powers, to make sure they don\u2019t die with him. They aren\u2019t so interested in finding Naruto as much as they are interested in controlling him when they do.<\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/i>\u201cIt is. And yet, it is so much more,\u201d he said smoothly taking a step towards her. \u201cIt\u2019s very useful. An empty chamber. To be filled with power. Your own\u2026. Or someone else\u2019s.\u201d He tipped his head so his eyes looked straight out at her, glittering as if he shared a secret with her. \u201cIt is a very powerful tool, in the right hands.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Hawk is directly referencing jinchurikis. Tsunade uses the seal to hold chakra to heal people or to protect or defend. Hawk uses his seal to contain bijuu with. Same resource, entirely different uses. He is dropping hints and testing Sakura\u2019s knowledge as well.<\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/i>The smile returned to his voice. \u201cWe are both on the same side Haruno-san. Anbu has many more resources to someone of your skillset than just delivering scrolls.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 The first overt off of another path for Sakura in the village. This whole scene foreshadows some of Sakura\u2019s struggles in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cYou will not hear it spoken, nor read it on a page. The same Kage that first made that seal forbid it from being recorded. If you want answers within Konoha\u2019s walls, you will have to come to us. We can tell you what you want to know\u2026about what you\u2019re seeking\u2026and about your own abilities\u2026.\u201d <\/i>\u2014 This is all about Naruto and jinchurikis. And it\u2019s an implied offer for Sakura to come be on the highly secretive team of Anbu who keep all the secret knowledge of how to trap and pass on bijuu from one jinchuriki to the next. Sakura doesn\u2019t know this yet. But her power has now made her visible to not only bad people (like Chiyo), but also people in her own village who do bad things for \u2018good\u2019 causes (like Anbu, Root, and those who control jinchurikis).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 He stepped back from her and the air shifted around him as if it was enveloping him. The light slanted, and he had disappeared into it. <\/i>\u2014 His jutsu is a variation of Katsuro\u2019s light-shifting jutsu that allows him to disappear in plain sight. It would have been an Uchiha jutsu, and Katsuro learned it from Itachi. And that\u2019s why Kakashi can see right through it. The idea is that others in the village would have tried to replicate the Uchiha jutsus instead of letting them all die out after Itachi killed the rest of his family. Hawk is searching out old jutsus and reusing them for his own purpose, instead of letting them die with the Uchiha or with the Yondaime.<\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/i>Her relationship with Sasuke was a partnership of strengths. They never spoke about the things that were terrifying. They never spoke about the moments where they felt weak or vulnerable.<\/i> \u2014 NaruSaku foreshadowing. If her relationship with Sasuke is about being strong for each other, then her (future) relationship with Naruto will be about vulnerabilities and things that they can share only with each other. Both relationships are valid, and both come from a place of love and mutual respect\u2026but only one runs truly deep.<\/p>\n

\u2022 She could already hear the excuses, see him pleading earnestly for her to believe him that he couldn\u2019t get away until it was safe, and then begging her to tell him everything. And it felt right. So right. Like throwing open long-shuttered windows and letting light into the darkness.<\/i> \u2014 She is remembering Katsuro, the way he was, and feeling that old feeling of seeing the painting in the temple, of things untouched in the darkness and of bringing them back into the light. Totally connects up with her experience in the cavern as well.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Golden afternoon sunlit streamed down through the trees. Wind rolled through the canopy, leaves fell lazily around her. The open feeling that the breeze across her skin brought was the balm she had been yearning for since she escaped the cavern.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/i>– Sakura blinked at the golden road as it wound through the woods. She only knew one person who would do such a ridiculously stupid thing as sneak up on a shinobi and throw things at them.<\/i><\/p>\n

– That golden feeling of being around him rushed through her. She wanted to see him. Needed to see him. Katsuro\u2026.<\/i> \u2014 Tying the golden color to Katsuro. And his wind thing. Sakura feels all of it, and it\u2019s the perfect setting for him to return in. It feels like him. That\u2019s why it\u2019s all so deceptive\u2026.<\/p>\n

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

Author’s note: It’s a mix of spoiler and regular notes, so just one big long thread of story notes: \u2022\u00a0A single look between Tsunade and Kakashi. She flashed her amber eyes at him, and he cleared his throat softly in acknowledgement. And that was all it took to change Sakura\u2019s fate. \u2014 The idea is […]<\/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_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3973","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-125","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3973","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=3973"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3981,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3973\/revisions\/3981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}