Sakura Haruno

Age 12-13 in Part I
Date of birth March 28
Current rank Chunin
Ninja team Team 7
Sakura’s personality is largely built off her relationships with other characters. At the start of the series her infatuation with her teammate, Sasuke Uchiha, is her most prominent relationship. Because of this, many of Sakura’s early appearances are dedicated to her continuing effort to spend time with him and win his affection. Her interactions with Sasuke soon shift to a recurring concern, both for his well-being and the possibility that he will someday abandon her and the rest of Konohagakure. When this latter fear eventually comes true at the end of Part I, Sakura does all that she can to stop Sasuke from leaving, professing her love for him and offering to join him. Though her efforts are ineffective at stopping Sasuke and he becomes labeled as a traitor, Sakura is unwilling to think of him as such and readily harms anyone who speaks poorly of him. While she still worries for his well-being and wishes to bring him home in Part II, it is unknown if she still harbors any romantic feelings for Sasuke. She willingly attacks him during their first reunion in order to protect the members of her team.

Sakura’s relationship with her second teammate, Naruto Uzumaki, is also featured prominently throughout the series. Initially, Sakura views Naruto as a talentless idiot who does all in his power to ruin her life. As the series progresses and Naruto continually shows his worth as a ninja as well as his dedication to protecting his teammates, Sakura realizes her initial perceptions of him were wrong. After Sasuke defects from Konoha at the end of Part I, Sakura pleads for Naruto to bring Sasuke back after her own failed attempt to stop him. Despite having a crush on Sakura, Naruto does all in his power to return Sasuke to her. Although he fails and is left in the hospital afterwards, he vows to someday complete the task she has given him. Realizing the lengths Naruto will go to for her, Sakura spends the two-and-a-half years dividing Part I and II to training, wanting to be of use during his next attempt to retrieve Sasuke. As she joins Naruto in his searches throughout Part II, Sakura learns of the various hardships he faces: the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and Akatsuki. Saddened by the impact both forces have had on his life, Sakura become very protective of him and tries to do whatever she can to help him overcome these obstacles.

Within Sakura resides “Inner Sakura,” a manifestation of her inner emotions that, aside from comic relief, represents Sakura’s actual opinion on things when she outwardly displays something opposite. Inner Sakura’s appearances are typically marked by an exclamation of “Shānnarō” (しゃーんなろー). The phrase has no literal meaning, but is usually translated as “hell yeah,” “hell no,” or “damn it” depending on the situation. Though Inner Sakura appears quite frequently at the start of the series, her appearances begin to slow dramatically after the Chunin Exam arc; her only two subsequent appearances take place during one of the anime’s filler arcs and at the start of Part II. Inner Sakura’s decreasing number of appearances is likely a result of Sakura becoming more comfortable with herself, as she no longer says the opposite of how she actually feels. Sakura, likewise, now performs the emotional outbursts she once relied on Inner Sakura for, much to the dismay of those who are around her at the time.

For the duration of Part I, Sakura’s abilities go largely unseen and undeveloped. While she is shown to be very proficient with basic ninja abilities during the few battles she participates in, Sakura lacks any unique traits that set her apart from the rest of Team 7. Her teacher, Kakashi Hatake, notes that Sakura has an excellent control over her chakra early in Part I, but it is not until Part II that she is taught to use this ability to her advantage.

After training under Tsunade for two-and-a-half years, Sakura acquires two abilities that rely directly on her precise chakra control. The first and most common of these two is her ability to heal wounds, giving her the position as her team’s medical ninja. Due to the speed and proficiency with which she can heal others, many characters have noted Sakura to be more talented than medical ninja with far more experience. Because a ninja team relies on its medical ninja to survive, Sakura must both avoid opponents and keep them at bay during battle. This is accomplished through Sakura’s second ability: her superhuman strength. By building up chakra in her fists and releasing it on contact with a target, Sakura can reduce most obstacles to rubble.Since a single punch can be lethal, opponents keep their distance from Sakura, giving her a chance to heal others without interruption.