"Come on, let's do a flashback."
Hongshi: "We're forcing it in like that?"
One month earlier.
Sakura and Hongshi arrived at a training ground deep within Konoha.
Sakura was rather annoyed. "Seriously! Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei went off for special training, and Naruto disappeared somewhere with some weird old guy. I'm the only one left. This sucks!"
Hongshi carried a scroll of unknown origin over his shoulder. "Sakura, getting stronger isn't just about special training."
As he spoke, they reached the training ground-the very place where the four of them had undergone survival training when they first met Kakashi.
Sakura put on her black fighting gloves. "All right, what are we training today? Strength or control?"
Hongshi set the scroll aside. "Sakura, just like Naruto, you now have enormous chakra potential within you. Starting today, what I want you to train is something rather advanced: a Kekkei Genkai."
"A what?"
Hongshi spent half an hour explaining Kekkei Genkai.
Hongshi: "In short, if you mix Earth Release and Water Release in equal proportions under perfect control, then add Yang Release, you can theoretically produce Wood Release."
Sakura: "I see. You think I have the potential to develop Wood Release?"
Hongshi patted Sakura's shoulder. "I don't know whether you'll succeed, but if even you can't develop Wood Release, I can't think of anyone else with the talent for it."
Hongshi opened his right palm, and a black rod grew out of it. "Go ahead and focus on forming it. If anything goes wrong, I'll use this to knock the chakra out of your body."
Sakura swallowed. "Okay! I trust you!"
For some reason, Sakura felt a strong sense of security from Hongshi's imposing figure.
Sakura sat cross-legged where she stood, cleared her mind of distractions, and began practicing chakra fusion.
Hongshi guided her from the side. "Just like when you controlled the Cursed Seal's chakra before. Be precise, but keep the whole picture in view."
Crack, crack.
The ground beside Sakura split open, and a tiny flower broke through the soil, slowly growing.
Hongshi lay down with his head against the ground. "Ohohoho, there it is! There it is!"
Sakura: "Hongshi-kun, why does my mouth feel a little numb? Is that okay?"
But when the little flower stopped growing, Hongshi looked up and nearly had his soul scared out of him. "∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll)! Sakura, why have you turned into a wooden person?!"
Sakura's face and exposed skin had begun to yellow and crack, like tree bark.
"Hi-yah! Begone, evil!" Hongshi struck Sakura's back with the black rod. With the help of the chakra rod and the Preta Path, all the unsuccessfully fused chakra vanished, and Sakura's body returned to normal, though she had lost a great deal of chakra.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she said, "Hongshi-kun, there might have been a little too much Earth Release chakra that time. Let's try again."
Three minutes later.
Hongshi: "Ohohoho, Sakura, you've done it agai... Ah! There's grass growing on your head! Hi-yah! Begone, evil!"
Three minutes later.
Hongshi: "Ohohoho, Sakura, you've done it agai... Are those two apples on your hands for me to eat? Oh no, your hands have turned into apples! Hi-yah! Begone, evil!"
"Hi-yah!"
Hi-yah!
The two spent three full days working on it without ever succeeding.
After taking a Super Military Rations Pill that Hongshi had improved, Sakura leaned against a wooden post, somewhat dejected. "Where exactly are we going wrong?"
Hongshi scratched his back with the chakra rod. "That can't be right. That's how it works in theory. Look, if you don't believe me."
Hongshi flicked the scroll open. At its beginning were the words "Hashirama Ninja Art Scroll." It was the First's scroll. After obtaining its location from Danzo's mind, Hongshi had found time to send a Shadow Clone to copy it and bring it back.
Sakura leaned over too. "What ugly handwriting."
Hongshi: "This is art!"
Sakura's reading comprehension was considerably better than Hongshi's. "Earth Release... Water Release... Yang Release... That's right. That's exactly what we did."
They thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. "Ugh, forget it!"
Hongshi looked at Sakura. "Sakura, how about we do that?"
Sakura thought for a moment. "I don't really like eating that."
Hongshi: "It's fine. It tastes great. Haven't you eaten it before?"
Sakura: "All right."
Half an hour later, Sakura and Hongshi appeared at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop...
Lord God: "Wasn't that exciting?!"
Sakura: "Slurrrp! (•͈ᴗ•͈ૢૢ) A bowl of ramen after some hard training really makes my whole body relax!"
Hongshi: "Gulp, gulp! Ah! Heaven!"
Teuchi watched the two wolf down their food without a shred of decorum. "Oho, Hongshi-kun, Sakura, just what kind of training have you been doing?"
Hongshi tipped his head back and drank down the broth. "Teuchi, another bowl!"
Teuchi: "As full of energy as ever, Hongshi-kun!"
Hongshi: "I'm going to become the strongest ninja!"
Sakura set down her bowl, her beautiful eyes fixed on Hongshi. "Hongshi-kun, you're so strong. Why are you still hanging around with a bunch of Genin like us? I don't think even Kakashi-sensei could necessarily beat you."
Teuchi, standing nearby, was surprised. "Oh? You're actually stronger than Kakashi, Hongshi-kun? I never would've guessed."
Hongshi blew on his steaming ramen. "Because I like Konoha."
Teuchi chuckled as well. "People only find the will to grow stronger when they face something they cherish. Just like ramen-only when you put your energy into it does it gain a soul."
Teuchi: "Hongshi is right."
When Sakura heard this, something seemed to break open in her mind. "That's it! Soul! Will! I've got it! I've got it!"
Sakura slapped the table and ran outside. "Hongshi-kun, I'll be waiting at the training ground."
Hongshi: "(°ー°〃) You've got what???"
Teuchi: "Could my ramen have helped him realize something? It really is ramen with a soul!"
Hongshi: "Who knows? Oh, Teuchi, can I put this on my tab? (͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧ I spent all my money on medicinal herbs."
Teuchi: "All right."
Hongshi: "Great! Then I'll have another bowl!"
Teuchi: "Could you be any more shameless?!"
The training ground.
It was already midnight. Sakura sat cross-legged on the ground, and just as before, a little flower slowly grew in front of her. Unlike before, however, her body hadn't changed, and the flower was growing steadily.
By the time Hongshi arrived, Sakura had already produced a tree as thick as an arm.
Hongshi: "Sakura! You did it! How did you do it?!"
Sakura let out a breath as well. "Our method really was right. We just overlooked one thing: the balance between the body and the will."
Hongshi: "The body and the will?"
Sakura grinned. "Exactly. The body forms Wood Release chakra, while the will determines where that chakra goes. I was too focused on forming the chakra before, and that was why I failed."
Hongshi: "Now that you've succeeded, let's start intensive training!"
"All right! I'm definitely going to beat Sasuke!"
Over the next twenty days, following the records in the First's scroll, Sakura chose her own direction for developing Wood Release. She abandoned strengthening her body and instead focused on combining Wood Release with Genjutsu.