#multiple instances where he goes out of his way to save sakura (even after shes a chuunin) but dropped the ball teaching her

[doveywovy]

its interesting that kakashi failed sakura as a teacher but succeeded as a protector. and that he succeeded as a teacher for sasuke but failed as a protector.

[sneezemonster15]

You know what I noticed, Sakura is a judgemental person in general, she thought Lee was a freak and Naruto was nothing but a nuisance until they saved her ass. Yet, while her behavior towards Lee did a 180, she still kept beating Naruto over nothing and berating him. It's so weird. It's like she has it against him specifically or something. Like something about Naruto's very self pisses her off. Which is weird because no one saves and comforts her when she's sad as much as he does.

She does seem unreasonably violent towards Naruto. Their dynamic where Sakura beats Naruto up is typically a shounen thing where the hero gets scolded or beaten by a female cohort who is hot headed (I don't find it funny but I guess part of the target audience does), but you see Kishi doesn't write stereotypes just for stereotypes' sake. He adds meaning to it, by subverting it or adding another meaningful layer to it. He wrote Naruto the protag as someone who uses what we perceive as perversion (perversion is also a pretty common device meant for humor in shounen) to deflect from his closeted gayness. He does it so subtly and smartly that people with a deeper understanding of media get it while others take some time. Or they skip it entirely.

Sakura, as a result of her poor perception, thinks Naruto comes between her and Sasuke.

Not to mention that Naruto took Sasuke's first kiss that she really wanted, and thought had the rightful claim to, eyeroll. The way she talks in the above panel, it seems something like this has happened before and keeps happening. Not the kiss per se, but incidents that make her feel that Naruto takes away Sasuke's attention from her or foils her plans to get with Sasuke. She thinks Naruto is the one who blocks her way to Sasuke, without giving a second thought to the fact that Sasuke pays next to no attention to her. Like this panel, she is getting unreasonably mad at Naruto for doing, what? Sitting? Hehe. Well sitting next to Sasuke where she thinks she should ideally be.

She gets unreasonably mad at Naruto for doing nothing offensive. For instance, here.

When Naruto and Sakura arrive at the spot where Sasuke is fighting Gaara after Konoha is attacked by Oro and sand village, she immediately goes to Sasuke, as usual, who is struggling under the curse seal. So when Naruto brings her attention to Gaara who is only a few feet away, she gets mad at Naruto. Why? Naruto is being aware of his surroundings, like any other ninja. This is a battle ground after all. So why is she getting so pissed over such a simple thing? Except it's not so simple. She thinks Naruto always creates distance between her and Sasuke. She is too daft and delusional to realize it's not Naruto's doing, it's Sasuke's who just isn't interested. Well she isn't as smart as she thinks she is, something that Kishi points out again and again. That and Sasuke and Naruto have a special bond, that she doesn't really get.

She starts to get it eventually, in the sense that Naruto and Sasuke definitely are close in some way, even if she doesn't understand the extent or nature of it.

She clearly admires Naruto's strength and battle instincts when she sees him fighting but still calls him stupid and whatnot, implying multiple times that she is better than him when she is the least useful ninja in the entire team, who basically just stands there and watches while Naruto (along with Sasuke in part one) is the one who wins the battles for the team. Her sense of superiority is unfounded, but she has been consistently portrayed by Kishi as narcissistic and self congratulatory for no reason.

Naruto I guess is amused by her and as a response to his own people pleasing tendencies rooted in his abandonment issues growing up as an orphan, he entertains/tolerates her violent behaviour towards him.

But.

Naruto knows where to draw the line. Where his bond with Sasuke is concerned, no one gets to intervene. It's just the two of them. No third party required or warranted.

And I think Sakura understands it. Towards the end. Because of how little to no attention Sasuke pays her, especially during the war arc.

I remember you also talked about this. She realizes that Naruto and Sasuke have a special bond and Sasuke would ignore her quite effortlessly but give his undivided attention to Naruto. She cannot exchange blows with Sasuke, unlike Naruto. (Off topic, but if superior shinobis can read each other's minds just by exchanging blows, and Sakura is unable to given how puny she is infront of Sasuke and Naruto's skills since Naruto is the only one who is capable of fighting Sasuke, then the claim made by Sakura stans that she is equal in strength to Naruto and Sasuke kinda falls apart, no?? I mean she is admitting this herself.)

Anyway. Sakura is jealous of Naruto. Not just in terms of strength and skills, which she admits in part one itself but also because of Sasuke's care and fondness for Naruto which she wants for herself, which isn't said so explicitly. However she also admits she was wrong about her estimation of Naruto's resolve.

She also admits that Naruto helped and cheered for her when she needed it most.

So if she sees Naruto's skills, strength, determination and resolve, then what makes her so antagonistic towards him? If she can change her mind about Lee whom she had known for a matter of days, then why not for Naruto who is her team member, who has saved her life time and again and has been her cheerleader during battles?

Is it in keeping with her character to be antagonistic to anyone in regard to Sasuke no matter what happens or who the person in question is?

Well.

I guess that pretty much sums it up. Kishi obviously couldn't have shown the reason for her jealousy towards Naruto explicitly. Because of the gay. But what's clear is this. She disliked Naruto at first because he was brash and unskilled and 'came between' her and Sasuke. Then he got better and she came to admire his skills and appreciated his emotional support towards her. So what's left??

Naruto and his bond with Sasuke, all the attention Sasuke gives Naruto. While all she gets is a measly thank you, consistently well deserved savage mockery, attempt to murder without a second thought and some serious mental harm.

[love-sapphirerose]

Naruto: 10 Worst Things About Sasuke And Sakura's Relationship

By the time of Boruto, Sasuke and Sakura are a loving married couple, but their checkered history included some troubling low points.

BY HANNAH GRIMES

Sakura harbors a crush on Sasuke before the two of them even graduate from the Academy and end up on the same team. He's always at the forefront of her thoughts and actions, and the two of them do end up getting married and starting a family of their own in the end. On paper, their romance seems relatively dreamlike.

However, that's not the full story of the ups and downs of their relationship. Sasuke initially doesn't care enough to give Sakura the time of day, and there are even multiple instances where he seems indifferent to her life being in danger — or actively endangers it himself. Sakura's unhealthy obsession with Sasuke also stunts her growth in other ways.

10. Even After Starting A Family, Sasuke Is A Largely Absent Father Who Can't Connect With His Daughter

There's a long period of time between the original series and Shippuden where Sasuke is absent after he turned his back on the Leaf to instead seek revenge. He eventually does come back and start a life with Sakura, but even then he's absent most of the time.

While this is due to being sent out on missions and he doesn't have much of a choice, he fails to properly connect with his daughter Sarada when he does get to spend time with her. He's so bad on this front that he actually ends up getting scolded by his old squad leader, Kakashi.

9. Sakura Ignores Naruto And Treats Him Like Garbage Because Of Her Initial Infatuation

It's one thing to have a crush on someone and to value their opinion more than anyone else's. It's another thing when this infatuation causes someone to treat others around them poorly, especially when their crush doesn't even want to give them the time of day.

In the beginning, Naruto continually makes efforts to connect with Sakura and get to know her better. She not only brushes him off but straight-up calls him annoying and tells him to get lost, simply because he's not the object of her romantic affection, instead of making any attempt to bond with her teammate.

8. Sakura Appears Blind To Much Of Sasuke's Suffering, Instead Focusing On Her Own Feelings

Sakura values Sasuke above everything else in her life, and this remains true even after he defects from the Leaf. Despite this, though, it oftentimes feels as if she doesn't consider his feelings and struggles and is instead remains much more focused on her own.

In the beginning, she doesn't consider his feelings regarding his murdered family when talking down on Naruto, saying he's so undisciplined because he doesn't have parental guidance. She's also quick to say she'll help Sasuke with his path of revenge when he goes to leave the village despite this being an incredibly destructive and harmful path.

7. Sakura Throws Away Her Best Friend For Sasuke When He Doesn't Care At All About Her

Back when Sakura was much younger, she completely lacked self-confidence and was a consistent target of bullying from other girls. It's Ino who stepped in, got the bullies to back off, and showed Sakura that she shouldn't hide her insecurities and instead have more confidence in herself.

Sakura then decides to throw away their friendship simply because she hears that Ino also has a crush on Sasuke. She says it's for the sake of them becoming rivals, but they both would've been much stronger if they worked together rather than letting a guy split them apart, especially a guy who doesn't care for either of them.

6. For A Long Time, Sasuke Shows No Interest In Her While Both Naruto And Rock Lee Do

Sakura stays completely devoted to Sasuke even though he betrays no romantic interest in her whatsoever. This might make sense if there were no one else who cared for Sakura and wanted her to be happy, but both Naruto and Rock Lee care immensely for her.

Lee goes as far as to risk his own life for Sakura's sake in the Forest of Death, and the two of them bond when Sakura goes to Lee's hospital room nearly every day to spend time with him after the tournament. Naruto consistently offers to spend time with Sakura and gives her positive attention, and she instead chooses to yearn after Sasuke, who's totally caught up with his curse mark and revenge business.

5. Sakura States She Has No Interests Or Hobbies That Don't Involve Sasuke

During the initial introduction that Kakashi has everyone participate in, the members of the newly-formed Team 7 all go around stating a bit about themselves. Sasuke focuses on his future revenge, and though Naruto mostly talks about ramen, he at least also states his dream of becoming Hokage.

Sakura, on the other hand, states that all of her likes and hobbies have to do with Sasuke. Because of this, she also declares that the thing she hates is Naruto. This is incredibly immature, and it's not a good foundation for any relationship if one's entire world revolves around the person they like and they don't have anything else to bring them happiness.

4. They Don't Put Equal Effort Into Their Relationship After Getting Married

Sakura essentially gives up on her life as a shinobi in order to raise her and Sasuke's daughter while he's away. He's gone for so long on missions that Sakura admits that the main reason she keeps so many pictures of Sasuke is so she doesn't forget what he looks like, which is heartbreaking.

Sasuke, on the other hand, doesn't make any effort to stop by and see his family while he's away for years at a time. He could at least send letters to get updates on how their daughter is doing — something he should care deeply about — but he never does.

3. Sakura Plots To Steal A Kiss From Sasuke When He Has No Interest In Her

After graduation, on the day when the teams are made up, Sakura asks Sasuke if she can sit by him. He completely and utterly ignores her, but this doesn't stop her from sitting beside him regardless.

She states internally that she'll be "stealing his first kiss today," which comes off incredibly creepy when he hasn't expressed any interest in her or desire to kiss her. It doesn't make her look like someone who actually cares about him when she's willing to try to get a kiss from him without his consent.

2. Sakura's Self-Confidence Early On Is Completely Reliant On Sasuke

Before the Chunin Exams, Sakura asks Sasuke if he'd like to train with her. He coldly brushes her off and comments that, when it comes to trying to push her plans onto others who aren't interested, she's just as bad as Naruto.

This rejection completely crushes her self-confidence and she immediately agrees with him instead of standing up for herself. She stays in this funk until Sasuke later compliments her ability to see through genjutsu, after which her self-confidence is immediately restored. It's incredibly unhealthy for her sense of self to hinge on how Sasuke treats her.

1. Sasuke Almost Successfully Ended Sakura's Life

If there's one thing that should have made Sakura realize Sasuke didn't care about her the way she cared about him, above all else, it's the moment he tries to kill her.

Sakura goes after Sasuke declaring that she'll be the one to kill him herself after he becomes an international criminal, but she freezes in the moment. He then tries to kill her instead. He would have been successful in this endeavor, too, if Kakashi hadn't shown up just in time to deflect Sasuke's Chidori and save her. Her infatuation with him doesn't waver whatsoever after this, which feels incredibly off-putting after this vicious interaction.