The story of Naruto is packed with colorful and exciting characters, starting with the shonen protagonist himself, Naruto Uzumaki. Early in the story, Naruto graduated the ninja academy and was assigned to the newly-formed Team 7, along with the talented Sasuke Uchiha and the energetic Sakura Haruno. It's not easy being in this team.
It quickly became clear that all three genin of Team 7 had their own challenges and harsh realities to face, and Sakura had plenty of problems of her own to deal with. In her girlhood, the first major story arc, and in Naruto Shippuden, Sakura Haruno had to contend with more than a few harsh realities that come with her career and her life.
10 Sakura Doesn't Hail From A Notable Ninja Clan
Sakura is fortunate enough to have two loving and supporting parents at home, as opposed to the orphan Naruto Uzumaki or Sasuke, who lost his parents to Itachi's rampage. Then again, there is nothing special to say about the Haruno family as a ninja clan.
Hinata Hyuga has the benefit of coming from the mighty Hyuga clan, and moderately successful clans such as the Aburame, Inuzuka, Akimichi and Yamanaka clans are all respected names as well. Sakura, though, was born into a forgettable family at best, and that might be a bit disappointing for her.
9 Sakura Had No Access To Hiden Techniques
A "Hiden" technique is one that is only taught to members of a specific ninja clan as a rule. In theory, any ninja could learn and use a hidden jutsu, but certain ninja clans take care to keep the secrets of their Hiden jutsu under wraps.
Sakura's family is not only unremarkable, but it has no Hiden techniques to its name, either, which means Sakura didn't have a head start when she launched her ninja career at age 12. She didn't have her own version of the shadow possession jutsu or partial expansion jutsu, for example.
8 Sakura Has No Kekkei Genkai, Either
Hiden techniques are clan-exclusive by design, while a kekkei genkai is clan-exclusive by genetics. Ninjas inherit more than eye or hair color from their parents -- they can also inherit unique jutsu, or kekkei genkai, and this can give them a serious advantage. Kimimaro's bone jutsu, for example, is a kekkei genkai.
Only a minority of jutsu are kekkei genkai, and plenty of Leaf Village ninjas don't have any kekkei genkai of their own. This isn't a source of shame, but then again, Sakura lost this genetic lottery, and that, combined with her lack of Hiden techniques, means she has no special jutsu of any kind.
7 Sakura Has Body Image Issues
Ninjas are supposed to care a lot more about their techniques and their equipment than their physical appearance. No one has to be handsome or beautiful to be a ninja, but all the same, a young Sakura Haruno struggled with body image issues, and it made her miserable.
Sakura compared herself unfavorably to the other girls in her kunoichi class, lamenting her large forehead in particular. The young and insecure Sakura suffered from low self-esteem this way, and even in Team 7, Sakura was still concerned that she wasn't attractive enough for Sasuke's tastes.
6 Naruto Is Unbearably Annoying To Sakura
This became less of a problem over time, but at first, one of Sakura's biggest headaches wasn't her lack of kekkei genkai or her large forehead, but Naruto Uzumaki himself. Team 7's genin didn't get along well at first, and this issue plagued Sakura just as much as it did Naruto and Sasuke.
Sakura saw Naruto Uzumaki as a poser and an obnoxious troublemaker, and she often grew frustrated and angered by Naruto's vain boasting and antics. She once cruelly remarked to Sasuke that Naruto acts that way since he had no parents around to discipline him, and Sasuke took that comment very badly.
5 Sasuke Didn't Like Sakura At First
Naruto fans know that in the end, Sasuke and Sakura did end up together, and they have a family as of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. For the longest time, though, Sakura tried in vain to get Sasuke to like her back, and it was an agonizing process for her.
Sakura lamented Sasuke's lack of interest in her, despite them both belonging to Team 7. In fact, Sasuke often snubbed her or looked down on her, and Sakura was heartbroken. How could her perfect prince Sasuke reject her so coldly?
4 Ino Always Seems To Be Better
Sakura has a childhood friend, the genjutsu-slinging Ino Yamanaka, who has a Hiden jutsu of her own -- the mind transfer technique. Sakura and Ino belonged to the same kunoichi class, and Sakura envied Ino's popularity and talent. Sakura felt completely inferior to her.
Sakura even admitted this to Ino at one point, and she also envied Ino's expertise with flowers, not to mention Ino's looks and Hiden. Fortunately, Ino was compassionate rather than arrogant about all this, and helped support Sakura however she could. The way Ino put it, Sakura was a flower bud waiting to blossom one day, an ugly duckling that had a good future to look forward to.
3 Tsunade Is An Unforgiving Mentor
Lady Tsunade of the Sannin became the Fifth Hokage, and after that, she took it upon herself to train Sakura Haruno, while the toad sage Jiraiya trained Naruto elsewhere. Tsunade taught Sakura a lot, but it was a rough time for Sakura, who was not prepared for training of this caliber.
Not much of this training has been seen, but it's easy to infer that Sakura's body, chakra and mind were all challenged and strained to the limit so she could realize her potential. No doubt Sakura was nostalgic for the easier days of her career during this time.
2 Losing Sasuke Really Hurt
This is a harsh reality that Sakura shared with Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke kept inching closer to leaving the Hidden Leaf Village, and then one fateful night, Sasuke really did abandon the village. Naruto was asleep at the time, but Sakura personally witnessed Sasuke's departure.
Early in Shippuden, the topic of Sasuke was still a sore one for both Sakura and Naruto, and when Kakashi casually brought Sasuke up, the two of them both fell into brief but intense despair. Sasuke's name was practically taboo at the time.
1 Sakura Fell Behind Naruto & Sasuke
The three genin of Team 7 all became stronger and smarter as the series progressed, but this progress was not always smooth or consistent. Sasuke gained all kinds of powers such as the Mangekyo Sharingan, the Rinnegan eye, the curse mark, and even his Kusanagi sword. Naruto gained a biju cloak, Sage Mode, fancy Rasengan variants and more.
Sakura, however, lagged behind. She was the weakest link early in the series, then caught up somewhat early in Shippuden with her chakra punches and medical ninjutsu. Then she fell behind once again as Shippuden continued, and she stayed that way. Poor Sakura never even stayed on par with Naruto and Sasuke, let alone surpass them somehow.