The morning sun bathed Konoha in a golden hue, and a soft breeze swept through the trees lining the edge of the training ground.

Tsunade stood in the center of the field with her arms crossed, clad in her usual green coat and grey blouse. Her expression was calm, but her eyes held a spark of fierce focus.

"Alright, brats," she said loudly, "this is where it begins."

Sakura stood at attention, fully awake and dressed in a modified training outfit, short-sleeved and light for movement. She looked nervous but determined, her fists clenched at her sides.

Beside her, Karin stood with her arms behind her back, slightly relaxed but still more alert than usual. She still had her signature red glasses, now reinforced with chakra-reinforced lenses that Kakashi had given her.

Living with him for a month had made her more open, and cheerful, she wasn't as timid as in the beginning anymore. So she didn't hesitate to ask him to do this for her.

"Heh, this is gonna be fun," Naruto said as he sat cross-legged on a nearby log, munching on a steamed bun.

Sasuke stood behind him with arms folded, his expression unreadable. "You're supposed to be training too."

"I am!" Naruto said, spraying crumbs. "I'm doing observational research!"

"Do you even know what that means?" Sasuke asked as he looked at Naruto with disdain.

Kakashi leaned casually against a tree with his arms tucked in his sleeves. He'd escorted Tsunade there but had no plans to interrupt. This was her show now.

Tsunade clapped her hands, snapping attention back to her.

"First test, chakra control."

She pointed to a line of large boulders behind her, each one the size of a small cart.

"Your job is simple. Focus your chakra on your fists and shatter those rocks. Don't hold back. If you can't crack at least one of them, you're wasting my time."

"Wait, already?!" Sakura's eyes widened.

"What happened to stretching first…?" Karin tilted her head.

Tsunade gave them both a look. "You'll be doing plenty of stretching after you break every bone in your hand if you mess this up. So focus."

Sakura took a deep breath and stepped forward. She remembered Kurenai's words about concentration, how she had already improved with genjutsu and water style because of her control. This was just an extension of that.

She raised her hand, formed a tight fist, and channeled her chakra slowly and carefully, then launched it into the center of the rock.

CRACK!

The stone split almost halfway through with a loud noise. Dust billowed.

Karin jumped slightly. Naruto dropped his bun.

"Hn."Sasuke raised a brow.

"Not bad."Tsunade gave a short nod.

"I… I did it?" Sakura blinked.

"Don't celebrate yet. That was one rock," Tsunade said. "Try to do that a hundred times and we'll talk."

"Whoa! Forehead's got fists now!"Naruto whistled.

"Say that again and I'll give you one!" Sakura turned and snarled.

"Let's see if I got this…" Karin stepped up next, muttering to herself.

She took a deep breath. Her chakra didn't move the same as Sakura's, but hers was more vibrant and dense, like water mixed with energy. But she focused it down into her hand like she'd practiced with Kakashi's meditation technique.

Then she punched.

CRACK-CRACK!

Two chunks flew off the side of the boulder, and Karin flinched, cradling her hand slightly.

"Not clean enough," Tsunade said. "But the chakra amount was very good."

"Guess I'm still not graceful…" Karin sighed.

"You're not here to be graceful. You're here to hit things until they fall apart."

"That sounds awesome." Karin gave a slight smirk.

"Good," Tsunade said. "Now, both of you. Run ten laps around the training field. Then we move to healing basics. If you pass out, I'll drag you by the hair."

Sakura and Karin groaned in unison and took off running.

Kakashi chuckled as she saw the two girls run like they were running for their lives.

Naruto ran up beside him, grinning. "She's already terrifying. Sakura-chan is going to become a monster after this training."

"That's the idea." Kakashi nodded.

He was very pleased with how things had gone until now. Team Seven is many times stronger than the Original.

"I mean… I'm proud and scared at the same time." Naruto said as his face morphed into one of fear.

"Healthy reaction," Kakashi responded.

Naruto tilted his head. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, how come I don't get chakra punch training?"

"You'd probably break your own spine doing it wrong." Kakashi nonchalantly replied.

"Hey!!"

Tsunade walked over to Kakashi, watching the girls as they ran.

"You were right about them. Sakura's got good control, and Karin… that girl's chakra is very large. Dense, and full of vitality."

Kakashi nodded. "Karin told me her mother had a similar chakra and had rare healing talents. I think you can train her better than anyone."

Tsunade crossed her arms, looking satisfied. "I'll whip them into shape."

"You already are."

She turned slightly toward him, eyes amused. "You're enjoying watching this chaos unfold, huh?"

"I like seeing them grow. And I like seeing you in action. It makes you very hot." Kakashi said as he whispered in Tsunade's ear.

"Flatterer."She smirked, cheeks slightly tinted pink.

Behind them, Naruto screamed, "SHE BROKE ANOTHER ROCK! WHY ARE YOU GUYS SO VIOLENT?!"

CRACK

Another stone split under Sakura's now gleeful punch.

"She's having too much fun," Sasuke muttered. Surprised at Sakura's sudden change of personality.

"Good," Tsunade said. "She should enjoy her progress."

"Do you still want her to become your successor?" Kakashi asked, his tone softer now.

Tsunade looked at him for a long moment. "One day. Not soon, but yes. She's got it in her."

"And Karin?" Kakashi nodded and asked.

"She's a wild card. But with training, she'll be just as deadly. Maybe even better than Sakura."

Kakashi nodded. He believes that Karin has much more potential than Sakura, after all at the end of the day Karin is a bloodline ninja, which Sakura isn't.

The sun's bright light shone over the training field. Shizune arrived a few minutes later, watching with surprise as Sakura shattered yet another boulder and Karin held her bleeding knuckles stubbornly, refusing to stop.

"Is it going well?" she asked quietly.

"Better than expected," Tsunade smirked.

"You had a meeting this afternoon. Want me to push it back?" Shizune said as she handed her a scroll.

Tsunade glanced at the girls and then at Kakashi. "Push it back. This is more important."

Naruto was now running laps beside Sakura, yelling some words of encouragement, and occasionally screaming when she swung too wide and almost hit him by mistake.