Tsume's face screwed up. "Overt physical exertion? You're not expecting me to sit around all day, are you?"

She pushed at the bonds with her chakra, feeling the earlier sluggish movement slow to a crawl. She could still focus it--she pushed it into muscles and felt it respond--but it was difficult. Like sucking tapioca through a straw.

Still, he hadn't lied. She could feel Kuromaru, even if she was only barely more powerful than she'd been when they'd walked in--and not half as powerful as she'd been moments ago. Tsume clung to that presence, even as it faded once more to an unconscious awareness.

The rest of what Haruichi said she filed away: most of it she'd expected. Hard to do ninjutsu of any sort, when your chakra didn't flow quickly.