Sakura Haruno

She is very cunning and not shy As Part I progresses, Sakura becomes increasingly exposed to the cruel realities of the shinobi world, difficulties for which she cannot rely upon Inner Sakura to cope with alone. When she was an Academy student, Sakura succeeded through studying alone to the point of pride. As a shinobi, however, this is proven insufficient as missions cannot be truly completed merely with book smarts, and it is necessary to be able to fight so that other shinobi will not kill her or her teammates. The latter makes Sakura particularly disappointed in herself, as she is unable to contribute much in battle and must rely on Naruto and Sasuke to save her. She sets out to change this about herself, dedicating nearly three years of training to making herself as capable as Naruto and Sasuke; in the meantime, she becomes willing to sacrifice herself to protect them, coming to value them both very deeply. She particularly looks to Naruto as a model for her goal, inspired by his rapid growth and his determination to be there for her and all those he held dear. When Sakura realises that she has been as rude to Naruto as Sasuke usually is to her at the latter's urging, she starts treating him a lot better, loudly cheering for his accomplishments, and confiding her hopes and fears with him. Despite Sakura violently reprimanding not only Naruto, but occasionally Konohamaru Sarutobi, Sakura herself has a perverted side which she often keeps hidden. When Konohamaru showcased his Sexy: Girl on Girl Technique, Sakura seemingly displayed her disgust at the technique, but Konohamaru quickly countered by quickly creating the Sexy: Boy on Boy Technique to spite her, and instead of admonishing Konohamaru for it, she was immediately drawn to the technique, responding with a pleasured screech upon seeing the technique, with the two cloned individuals resembling Sai and Sasuke. However, Sakura is embarrassed of her own perverted nature, and upon realising her reaction was noticed by Team 7, she quickly tried to make an excuse, but Konohamaru's suspicions that Sakura is just as much a pervert as he and Naruto are is all but confirmed.

Sakura has been in love with Sasuke since childhood; her infatuation for him was rooted in his good looks, prodigious skills and calm, collecting attitude, but as teammates, she came to appreciate his bravery and protectiveness towards his loved ones more. She initially focused on getting his attention above everything else, and his rejections failed to deter her. Despite being grateful of her loving him after she confesses to stop him from defecting from Konoha, he rejects her but genuinely thanks her before leaving. Sasuke's defection deeply upsets Sakura, driving her to plea for Naruto to bring their dear teammate home and, when Naruto fails, motivating her to become stronger so that she can bring Sasuke back herself.[20] Her love for Sasuke sometimes clashes with her duty as a ninja; for example, she tries to separate herself from her feelings when Sasuke becomes a criminal, even attempting to kill him to prevent a war, but her love for him proved to be too great for her to harm him. Even during their shaky alliance during the Fourth Shinobi World War, she still holds out hope that she may mean something to him.[23] Despite his crimes and betrayals, she was able to forgive him after he sincerely apologised to her for how much he hurt her and others. Sakura was pleasantly surprised when he exhibited a much softer side with her and poke her on the forehead, an affectionate gesture he picked up from his brother.[24] After marrying Sasuke, Sakura became very loyal to her husband and refused to leave his side while she was pregnant with their daughter, Sarada, whom Sakura raised on her own due to Sasuke being away on a mission for many years. Sakura is very patient as her love and patience for Sasuke never faded even though Sarada was barely a toddler when he left. Although Sakura is very supportive of his duties, she is playfully disappointed when he teases her by refusing to show her affection in public. Likewise, even after years married, she remains as smitten with her husband's good looks as ever.

As a mother, Sakura is loving, affectionate, understanding and very protective towards Sarada. For years, Sakura frequently reassures Sarada that Sasuke loves them both and will return home once his mission is over, much to her daughter's rightful anger and disappoinment. Nevertheless, Sakura and Sarada have a very close relationship; Sakura will praise Sarada for her achievements just as quickly as she admonishes her for her wrongdoings, and will honestly apologize to her daughter when she makes mistakes. Their dynamic remains as strong as ever after Sasuke is more free of his mission, and the entire family strives to spend more time together even with their duties to the village.