The Wolf Inside - A Naruto Fanfic - Watty Award Winner 2013

Chapter 74

Third Person's POV

Ashley stares at Kyoku with a deadpan expression on her face, briefly wondering if she had even heard the ANBU correctly. Ashley had been an official Leaf Ninja for a year and a half by now, not to mention having been trained by Orochimaru since she was six.

Why Kyoku would want to cover such a basic topic was beyond Ashley.

"Why are you talking about chakra control?" Ashley can't seem to stop herself from asking, though she manages to swallow the sarcasm she had been about to let out. "I can already walk on water and walk up vertical objects."

"Your chakra control is average at best" Kyoku points out coolly, something that causes Ashley to scoff.

It was true of course, but being told so by someone that she disliked so much hurt Ashley's pride.

"You're already aware that you have a small chakra reserve" Kyoku reminds her reluctant student, watching as the girl glares at her, an all too familiar expression by this point. "We've been working on increasing it for the last two months. However, a person's chakra can only increase to a certain point. Once that point has been reached, you will want to preserve your chakra as much as possible during a fight."

"You and I were not blessed with large chakra reserves, and so we have to do what we can to counteract that" Kyoku continues wisely, her words capturing Ashley's attention, though the blonde does her best to seem disinterested. "Chakra control goes far beyond that of walking on water or running up a wall. You want to have full control over it, to increase your power as much as possible, whilst also using your chakra efficiently and conserving as much as you can during a fight."

Here Kyoku looks directly at Ashley, her words pointed.

"You should only ever use as much chakra as is needed. Any more than that is a complete waste, and you will exhaust yourself faster. Always remember, something as seemingly insignificant as chakra control could be the invisible decision maker in a life or death situation."

Ashley mulls this over few a few moments, before something seems to come to mind, her expression once again turning bland.

"Aren't you supposed to be teaching me how to fight at close range?" the blonde asks in a flat tone. "All you've done in the last two months is beat me up and make me run around with these annoying weights on. And now we're going over chakra control?"

Resisting the urge to sigh at the simplicity of her student's mind, Kyoku darts forwards and knocks Ashley to the ground with a swift punch. As the girl falls onto her back, a choking sound escaping from her lips, Kyoku kneels one knee down beside Ashley's hip and leans over the girl. Pulling one arm back, Kyoku maintains eye contact with a now startled Ashley, before slamming her fist down into the ground beside the girl's head.

Ashley abruptly turns her head and squeezes her eyes closed, having expected the fist to hit her in the face. She feels the ground tremor beneath her, only reopening her eyes after a few seconds of silence.

Kyoku, now standing above Ashley, glances down at the ground pointedly, to which Ashley turns her head. Her eyes widen, when she sees the large crater now surrounding her, the impact of Kyoku's punch having caused the ground to crumble.

"Having full control of your chakra means that you can move faster, or increase the strength of your attacks" Kyoku advises, satisfied that she has proved her point. "Everyone uses their chakra differently, but to be able to use it effectively in any capacity, you need to be able to control it."