Sakura Haruno

Also see the original: Sakura Haruno Sakura Haruno is a Shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She is a Genin in Team Kakashi along with Naruto Uzumaki and Matt Warren.

Background
At an undisclosed point before the start of the series, Sakura and the members of Team Kakashi encountered the Demon Brothers. She also participated in the Chunin Selection Exams alongside her teammate Naruto as well as Sasuke Uchiha.

Appearance
Sakura is a young girl with slender build. She has solid pink hair down to the bottom of her neck. She wears a red qipao dress along with green shorts. She has her Headband tied at the top of her head as a hairband.

Personality
Sakura has shown herself to be a pleasant person, as she warmly greeted Matt and welcomed him as the new member of Team Kakashi. She is deeply affected by the revelation that her former teammate Sasuke has been spotted. She spends the journey to the Land of Waterfalls silent. She is bothered when Matt demonstrates his affinity for Fire Style Jutsu, a trait he shares with Sasuke. She feared that with Matt joining Team Kakashi, people would forget about Sasuke and not try to recover him. Her worries are eased somewhat by Matt who states that as long as she continues to search, people will want to help her. Sakura is determined to locate Sasuke, and refused to be split up by Kakashi when she would be isolated from finding him. She is silently disappointed when Team Kakashi is unable to locate Sasuke.

Sakura is an intelligent individual, however this can sometimes be to a fault; she has been known to look too deeply into a problem and miss solutions that are much simpler than she is expecting. She also takes great pride in her intelligence as a benefit to her teammates, as when she failed to decipher the intel during the Season One Chunin Selection Exams, she was ashamed of herself and wouldn't speak.

Abilities
Sakura seems to be well-versed in botany, as she was able to gather edible plants and herbs for her and her team as they camped out. She is also very skilled in Taijutsu, as she was able to overpower Water Clones of both Meizu and Gozu at the same time. Due to lessons consulted on by Might Guy, she is very versatile in extended combat, being able to engage in hand-to-hand battle successfully. She compliments this with extreme levels of physical strength, being able to break the ground apart across a wide area with a single strike. This was enough to scare off a team of Genin that had attacked them. She has been learning Medical Ninjutsu from Tsunade.

Season One
Sakura is first introduced in Tsunade's office as Kakashi brings Matt. Matt is introduced to her and Naruto Uzumaki, officially becoming the newest member of Team Kakashi. Sakura warmly greets Matt, and Tsunade then assigns the new team its first mission. They are to travel around to each of the Hidden Leaf's allied Villages and gather participant counts for the upcoming Chunin Selection Exams. Team Kakashi leaves Tsunade's office, but as they are about to leave the Village, they are stopped by Shizune, who informs them that Sasuke Uchiha has been spotted. Team Kakashi's mission is changed to go to the Village Hidden in the Waterfall to locate Sasuke. After a full day of traveling, during which she is silent with concern, they set up camp for the night. Matt demonstrates his Fire Style Jutsu, bothering Sakura who witnesses it. She does not initially state what is bugging her.

Later on, she finds Matt practicing his Jutsu. She reveals that Sasuke also knew Fire Style Jutsu. When Matt presses the issue, she tells him that she is afraid that with his arrival, people will forget about Sasuke and not try to find him. Matt disagrees, stating that as long as people see her trying to find him, that will be enough to make them want to help her. This somewhat eases her worries. The next day, they continue traveling and enter the Land of Waterfalls. Eventually, they come to a massive waterfall that is the entrance to the Hidden Waterfall Village. Team Kakashi takes the passageway to the Hidden Waterfall, and Kakashi tasks Sakura with ensuring that Matt makes it through safely. Upon arriving in the Hidden Waterfall, the four meet with Shibuki who tells them that Sasuke has been spotted near the Great Tree. Kakashi deliberates with his team about splitting up, but Sakura adamantly refuses, stating that she deserves to find Sasuke as much as anyone.

Kakashi concedes, and the four move as a singular unit. They search the Great Tree before moving to the Hidden Waterfall and the territory outside. They are unable to locate Sasuke, but Shibuki is still satisfied that Sasuke's absence eliminates him as a potential threat. Team Kakashi then resumes its original mission and collects Shibuki's participants in the upcoming Chunin Selection Exams. They then travel to the Hidden Leaf's allied Villages, first coming to the Village Hidden in the Stone. They meet with the Tsuchikage Onoki before moving on. They travel to the Village Hidden in the Grass and the Village Hidden in the Rain. Eventually they arrive at the Village Hidden in the Sand, where they are met by Gaara. Gaara greets them all, and he provides them with his Village's participants for the Exams.

As Team Kakashi leaves the Hidden Sand, Kakashi explains that Gaara was once used as a weapon by the Hidden Sand in a plot to bring down the Hidden Leaf. This caused the Hidden Leaf to want to vet the participants for the Exams, thus the need for their current mission. They travel back through the Land of Fire to the coast, where they take a boat to the Land of Water. They arrive at the Village Hidden in the Mist where they meet the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi. She provides them with her Village's participants and invites them all to stay. Kakashi declines the offer, seemingly offending Mei, but she says nothing as they depart. As Team Kakashi leaves the Hidden Mist, they are attacked by the Demon Brothers. Meizu and Gozu attack Kakashi while clones of each of them surround Sakura, Naruto, and Matt.

All members of Team Kakashi begin fighting, and Sakura battles two Water Clones, overpowering and defeating them with ease. As she sees Matt about to be killed by more Clones, she tries to go to him, but knows she won't make it in time. Naruto intervenes, defeating the Clones that would attack Matt, and both Genin go to Matt's side. They see that he has been poisoned, and they are unable to help him. Kakashi defeats the original Meizu and Gozu and gets to Matt as well, and he sends Sakura back to the Hidden Mist to locate a hospital. Later, Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi are in a hospital lobby at the Hidden Mist, where Matt has been submitted for treatment.

Matt eventually wakes, and Sakura and the members of Team Kakashi visit him. They are relieved to see him recovering, and Matt laments delaying their mission. Mei Terumi arrives, apologizing to the team as a whole for setting them up to be ambushed. The members of Team Kakashi leave the Hidden Mist, travelling by sea to the Land of Lightning and arriving in the Village Hidden in the Clouds. They meet the Raikage A Yotsuki, who begrudges providing them with his Village's participants for the Exams. With their final destination having been reached, Team Kakashi travels back to the Hidden Leaf. Happy to be home, the team splits off in their own directions.

Later on, Sakura and Naruto are together, discussing Matt. Sakura asks Naruto what she thinks of their new teammate, and Naruto comments that he is not easy to talk to and that he complains often. Sakura agrees, but concedes that this is understandable, as he did not grow up around the life of a Shinobi. They both agree that he has not been seen with any friends in spite of being in the Hidden Leaf for two months. Sakura states that he reminds her of Sasuke, but Naruto disagrees, citing a lack of superiority complex on Matt's part. Sakura suggests inviting Matt to spend time with them, and Kakashi arrives. Having overheard their conversation, he agrees with Sakura's suggestion and reminds them that while Matt's reluctance towards the life of a Shinobi can be irksome, he did not spend his childhood years preparing for combat. He asks them to introduce Matt to their Genin peers, stating that being around people his own age will be beneficial to him.

Naruto and Sakura agree, and Kakashi discusses the upcoming Chunin Selection Exams with them. He informs them that exceptions have been made for them, and therefore Matt can choose to participate despite not being technically eligible. However, if he should not want to participate, this would not effect Naruto's and Sakura's eligibility. As Kakashi departs, Sakura and Naruto go to visit Matt. They find him recovering from exhaustive training, and when Naruto wants to spar, Sakura intervenes, pointing out that Matt is clearly in no shape to fight. She invites Matt out to eat with them, where Matt announces that he wants to participate in the Exams. A month later, they arrive at the Hidden Leaf's Shinobi Academy. After meeting Sakura's and Naruto's former instructor Iruka Umino and handing in their registration paperwork, they go to the destination of the First Exam.

Here, they are met by the Genin of Team Kurenai. Kiba Inuzuka comments on their participation despite the trials of their last Exams. After Team Kurenai walks away, Ibiki Morino arrives with several other Shinobi to announce the start of the Exams. Ibiki explains to them that each team must locate several pieces of intel across the Village and decode them, the first of which is in the classroom. Ibiki disappears, thus beginning the Exam. Team Kakashi eventually finds the intel on the roof of the Academy. They at first struggle to decipher the intel, but Naruto eventually figures it out, leaving Sakura ashamed of herself. Team Kakashi gathers all of the intel pieces and arrive at a small café where Ibiki is waiting to inform them that they have passed the First Exam.

Sakura questions the Exam, stating it does not seem like something Ibiki would devise. Ibiki explains to them that the Exam tested candidates' ability to solve a problem using methods already available to them. He also explains that it did not hold each candidate to a standard of skill that not everyone may possess. Anko Mitarashi then enters the café, destroying a large portion of it in the process. She and Naruto banter with each other, and Sakura has to hold Naruto back from starting a fight with the Second Exam's proctor. Anko explains that the Second Exam will be identical to the last time they took it. Later on, Team Kakashi arrives at the Forest of Death along with all of the other teams still in the Exams. Each team is given one of two types of scroll and must battle for the other type and make it to the tower at the center of the forest in order to pass the Exam.

The Second Exam begins, and as Team Kakashi enters the forest, they are almost immediately confronted by Team Todoki. Todoki Jikyogu declares battle with Team Kakashi despite the two teams having the same scrolls. Shikuri Hagemo is the first to make an attack, and Sakura battles her while Matt and Naruto face off against Todoki and Kento Gansha. As the two teams battle, Sakura is injured by Shikuri in an unseen conflict. The members of Team Kakashi are cornered, and Todoki threatens to kill them for their scroll if they don't surrender it. Team Kakashi makes a stand, and Sakura fights Shikuri again. As they struggle, Shikuri attempts to cast a Jutsu, but Sakura punches the ground, using immense strength to break the ground apart. Shikuri is thrown amongst the rubble, and the members of Team Todoki surrender their scroll, retreating in fear. As this is the same scroll as what they already possess, this is hardly considered a win.

A day later, they are confronted and surrounded by Team Masuta. The two teams battle, and Sakura defeats Tagaki Shizukuta. They observe Matt battling Masuta Tatsumaki, and Sakura asks if they should help him. Naruto declines, stating that his will be good for Matt and not fearing the loss of the scroll that Matt is carrying. As they watch Matt and Masuta fight, Matt unintentionally kills Masuta. The members of Teams Kakashi and Masuta are horrified, and Sakura tries but fails to heal Masuta. She apologizes on behalf of her team to Masuta's teammates, who give their Earth Scroll to Team Kakashi before taking Masuta's body back to the Hidden Sand. Team Kakashi is left in the wake of what has happened, and Matt is overcome by panic. He wishes to leave the Shinobi World, but Sakura and Naruto try to talk him down. Naruto and Matt get into a verbal altercation, and Sakura tries to calm them both down. Sakura suggests that they take the night to think things over, and Matt finally agrees. However, the next day, Sakura and Naruto wake up to find that Matt has disappeared.

They search for him, and Sakura finds him after having not slept the previous night. Matt confides in her, and she assures him that she does not believe he is a bad person. She tells him that he should work to move forward from the battle with Masuta, and she finally convinces to return with her. Naruto regroups with them, and the three progress to the tower. After arriving, they open the Heaven and Earth Scrolls, bringing forth Kakashi. Kakashi explains to them that if enough teams pass, they will participate in a Preliminary Exam to determine who will proceed to the Third Exam. As the Second Exam comes to a close, the eight passing teams gather at an arena inside the tower. Tsunade confirms that the candidates will participate in the Preliminary, and Sakura and the others observe each of the matches.