Haruno Sakura

Sakura Haruno (Japanese: 春野 サクラ, Hepburn: Haruno Sakura) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sakura is depicted as a kunoichi affiliated with Konohagakure (木ノ葉隠れの里, English version: "Hidden Leaf Village") and a part of Team 7, which consists of herself, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and their sensei Kakashi Hatake. Sakura initially has an infatuation for Sasuke, praising him at every juncture, and heaps scorn upon the less-skilled teammate Naruto. Over the course of the series, she begins to shed this singularly driven persona and grows more appreciative and accepting of Naruto. Besides the main series, Sakura has appeared in several pieces of the Naruto media, most notably the spin-off Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring (2015) and the sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (2016) where she is portrayed as a doctor named Sakura Uchiha (Japanese: うちは サクラ, Hepburn: Uchiha Sakura).[1] Sakura has become the series' female lead, although she was not immediately intended for the role. Kishimoto had difficulty drawing her character, resulting in Kishimoto inadvertently emphasizing certain parts of her appearance, including her large forehead. In order to make the character more appealing in the second part of the series, Kishimoto designed her costume in a way that makes her look more like a martial artist as well as more beautiful during later chapters. Chie Nakamura voices the character in the animated adaptations of the series, while Kate Higgins plays her in the English dub. Numerous anime and manga publications have praised and criticized Sakura's character. She was initially noted to be a stereotypical shōnen character, representing a love interest for the protagonist, and was said to serve little purpose at the beginning of the series beyond being comic relief. Her emergence from this stereotype as the series progressed has been celebrated by many reviewers. Amongst the Naruto reader base, Sakura has been popular, placing high in some polls. Several pieces of merchandise have been released in Sakura's likeness, such as action figures and key chains. In Naruto Sakura is a young ninja who is a part of Team 7 alongside Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha under the leadership of their sensei Kakashi Hatake.[15] Within Sakura resides "Inner Sakura", a manifestation of her inner emotions; in addition to comic relief, Inner Sakura represents Sakura's actual opinion on things when she outwardly displays something opposite.[15] As Sakura has a deep infatuation for Sasuke, many of her earlier appearances are dedicated to her continued effort to win his affection.[15] She accompanies the rest of Team 7 during all of its early missions, though she does little to contribute to the battles that take place. Sakura lacks any unique traits that would set her apart from the rest of Team 7, although Kakashi notes that she has an excellent control over her chakra early in Part I.[16] As a result, Sakura stays on the sidelines, content in allowing her teammates to protect her and defeat their opponents. During the Chunin Exams, when the rest of Team 7 is left in need of her protection, Sakura realizes that relying on others to fight her battles has been unwise. She resolves to better her ninja abilities from that point further,[17] and she takes a more active role in Team 7's battles throughout the rest of the series. After Sasuke's defection from Konohagakure at the end of Part I,[18] Naruto's failure to bring him back,[19] and Sakura's inability to help either of them, she becomes Tsunade's apprentice so that she can do more for her teammates in the future. Since then, Sakura makes it her personal goal to bring Sasuke home.[20] After training under Tsunade for two-and-a-half years, Sakura acquires the ability to heal wounds, becoming one of the most experienced medical ninjas.[21] In order to secure her survival to heal others, Sakura also develops superhuman strength by building up chakra in her fists; by storing a vast amount of Chakra in her body over 3 years, she awakens the Byakugō Seal, a jutsu considered to be the pinnacle of chakra control.[22] Thanks to this, Sakura joins Team 7 as a medical ninja to save their ally Gaara from the criminal group Akatsuki. With help from the elder Chiyo, Sakura defeats the Akatsuki member Sasori, who gives her hints of Sasuke's whereabouts.[23] The new member of Team 7, Sai, uses his intelligence to track Sasuke down, but once again they are unable to prevent him from escaping.[24] While disappointed in their failure, Team 7 tries once again to find Sasuke, although after almost apprehending him they lose his trail and are forced to return home. As they search for Sasuke, Sakura learns of the various hardships Naruto faces because of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox creature sealed inside him, which is being pursued by the Akatsuki. Saddened by the impact both forces have had on his life, Sakura becomes protective of Naruto and tries to do whatever she can to help him overcome these obstacles. Sakura later resolves to kill Sasuke after understanding he is becoming a menace to the villages.[25] However, when she fails to do it, Naruto decides to settle things with Sasuke himself. When a war against the remaining Akatsuki is announced, Sakura participates as a medical ninja.[26] She later moves to the fighting side when the Ten-Tails creature is released, and she battles it alongside Naruto and Sasuke.[27] After Sasuke is pardoned for his crimes, Sakura sees him off as he decides to travel the world in search for redemption and shows signs that he finally accepts her feelings for him; he pokes her forehead and thanks her right before his departure.[28] In the epilogue, set years after the end of the Fourth Ninja War, it is shown that Sakura and Sasuke had married and had a daughter, Sarada Uchiha.