Karin continued.
Again and again, she drew in natural energy through her tenketsu, mixed it with physical and spiritual energy, and forced herself to endure the consequences of failure.
Each mistake taught her something.
Too much natural energy, and her flesh swelled into grotesque mutation.
Too little, and the balance collapsed before it could stabilize.
Too much spiritual energy, and the mixture became unstable.
Too much physical energy, and the overwhelming vitality of the Uzumaki body distorted everything.
Over the next couple of days she repeated over and over again
She narrowed the flow through one tenketsu and widened another. She reduced the pace at which her body produced physical energy. She compressed the spiritual component until it became clear. Then, with painstaking precision, she allowed natural energy to enter once more.
One part physical energy.
One part spiritual energy.
One part natural energy.
The instant the three reached true equilibrium, the violent instability vanished.
Karin's body went completely still.
The swollen remnants of earlier mutations shuddered once, then began to recede. Flesh that had bulged unnaturally smoothed itself. The torn skin across her arm and shoulder knit together at visible speed. Bruised flesh faded. Microtears within her muscles disappeared. Even the lingering pain beneath her skin was washed away by a warm, all-encompassing vitality.
The senjutsu chakra circulating through her coils did not rampage like before. Now it moved with perfect order, flooding every pathway of her chakra network with calm, overwhelming life.
Her crimson eyes slowly opened.
Red markings emerged around them and on her forehead.
Every breath felt richer than the last, as though the world itself had become part of her body. She could feel the rhythm of life in everything around her.
the trees, the river, the insects beneath the soil, the roots buried deep underground.
More importantly, she could feel herself.
The chakra coils that had been pushed to their limit no longer ached. Instead, they felt expanded, tempered by the successful circulation of senjutsu chakra.
Karin lowered her gaze to her hands.
Not a trace of the earlier grotesque swelling remained.
"So this," Karin murmured, "is Sage Mode."
Karin rose to her feet.
Her body felt lighter, yet far more powerful. The ambient vitality saturating her senjutsu chakra nourished her continuously, repairing damage almost as quickly as it could occur.
Her crimson eyes slowly opened.
Red markings emerged around them and upon her forehead.
Every breath felt richer than the last, as though the world itself had become part of her body. She could feel the rhythm of life in everything around her.
The trees.
The river.
The insects beneath the soil.
The roots buried deep underground.
More importantly, she could feel herself.
The chakra coils that had been pushed to their limit no longer ached. Instead, they felt expanded, tempered by the successful circulation of senjutsu chakra.
Karin lowered her gaze to her hands.
Not a trace of the earlier grotesque swelling remained.
"So this," Karin murmured, "is Sage Mode."
Karin rose to her feet.
Her body felt lighter, yet far more powerful. The ambient vitality saturating her senjutsu chakra nourished her continuously, repairing damage almost as quickly as it could occur.
The damage from her failed attempts had disappeared. Torn skin had sealed, swollen flesh had returned to its proper shape, and the strain within her muscles had faded beneath the constant nourishment of senjutsu chakra.
Yet the older scars remained.
Karin slowly pulled back her sleeves.
Bite marks covered her arms.
Some were shallow and pale. Others had healed into thick, uneven circles where teeth had repeatedly broken the same sections of skin. They crossed over one another without pattern, each scar preserving a fragment of the life this body had endured before she inherited it.
Her expression became cold.