If Kakashi or the boys noticed how her taijutsu had changed rather than just improved, they made no mention of it. Her stance had widened and the fluidity of her movements spoke of long hours training in the basics. Evade and direct were the two concepts of the Yin Style that used an opponents movements against them, something that was well suited for women and those of a smaller stature.

It was a style that her body was instinctively drawn to and Sakura could feel that it was slowly overwriting the stance and techniques that she'd learned at the Academy. Every crack of Atsuko's cane against her shoulders to push her stance lower, against her legs to widen them and give her more balance, against her elbows to keep them tucked in at her sides.

Evade and attack were the concepts of the Yang Style that made use of the openings created when an opponent was off balance from their own attack. It utilised the same wider stance and fluidity as the other, though brighter and bolder than it's softer, quieter reflection.

The two styles could be used separately and they were very effective that way, but used together in balance, the Yin-Yang style of Uzumichi was lethal, even in the hands of a beginner.

Sakura moved through the katas slowly. The weights on her made her limbs tremble slightly as she tried to keep balanced. She breathed in and out on a five count, Atsuko breathed through her katas on an eight count. It was a form of meditation, one that was slowly coming easier to her now that she'd managed to cycle her chakra through her tenketsu points, lighting them up in order, and keeping them lit until they all had a thin stream of chakra being fed into them.

It had taken her weeks to be able to do it. It was harder than tree climbing, harder than water walking and once she'd managed to do that, Atsuko made her do it in reverse, which took another few days to get the hang of.

"That's good Sakura. That's very good. I'm honoured to see my family's arts being practised once more."

"I'm the one who is honoured Bāchan. To be taught the arts and the secrets of your family and bring them into my own," Sakura replied gently ending the kata and bowing to the woman who wasn't getting anything out of teaching her, but who was making such an impact in her life.

"Well then, on that note, I believe it's time to place the Strength of Five Thousand seal on you. We always placed ours over the eighth gate, the last tenketsu point to be lit. It's not required to place it there, but as that was conveniently over our hearts, we felt it was symbolic for the love we had for our clan and how we would give our life for them if need be."

"I'll keep that tradition Bāchan."

"Thank you Sakura. That means a lot to an old woman like me."

Sakura bared her chest enough so that the seal could be painted onto her skin. Two inches in diameter, the cherry blossom sat innocently inside the Haruno clan circle. Atsuko formed a single handed hand sign and the ink seemed to sear into her skin.

"The ink will wash off, but the seal will remain. Once you've saved up enough chakra the seal will darken, first you'll direct your chakra into the circle, then once that's appeared you'll charge each petal one at at time. I'm warning you now, you are going to feel constantly drained until each element is charged since most of your chakra will be feeding into the seal. You will be able to take a break between charging elements, and once they are all fully charged initially, then the seals will start to regenerate the stored chakra if you release them without impacting on your normal reserves or the regeneration of your normal reserves."

"That's amazing."

Atsuko walked her through the seals required to expand her reserves and warned her again that she was only to use the hidden jutsu when she had less than half of her chakra reserves left available to her.

"Never do this jutsu out in the open where anyone can see it, and I recommend that once your seals- all of them are complete, that you never use it again. By the end of this process, you'll have more chakra than most people, only one person's ever come close to a sealed Uzumichi, and that's the man known as the tailless beast. Kisame Hoshigaki."

"I'm going to have that much chakra?" she gaped, not quite believing it. She'd read of the S-class missing nin from Kirigakure in a bingo book that she may or may not have pulled from the shelf to read hidden in the back aisles of the book store. She wouldn't be able to officially buy a copy until she graduated to chūnin.

"Eventually. So you need to learn how to use it and not waste it."

"Hai Bāchan."

Please review.

~G