The Sakura Legend

Leaf Village Ninja Academy Classroom

Sakura released her grip on Naruto, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Sasuke.

"Explain yourself, Sasuke. Why did you attack me?" Sakura's face was expressionless, but she was clearly waiting for a good explanation.

Sasuke didn't know why Sakura was calling him 'Sasuke' (using a very informal, almost mocking nickname - like calling him 'Sasukins'), but he didn't bother asking.

His family had been annihilated overnight. The honor and pride Sasuke had once held so dear had been crushed to dust in a single night. He had once been so proud to be a member of the Uchiha clan, so proud of its strength.

How ironic. Betrayed by the person he trusted most. Sasuke had never hated his own weakness as much as he did at this moment. To have his wounds ripped open in front of him, and to lack the strength to defend his honor... He'd been taken down in a single move.

"..."

"You're not going to say anything?" Sakura watched as Sasuke continued to stare at her, head turned slightly, clearly refusing to speak.

"If you don't start talking, don't blame me if I hit you," Sakura threatened, shaking her small fist at him.

"Do as you please."

Sasuke's voice was stiff as he spat out those words. Sakura, however, couldn't help but feel like he was provoking her.

"Sakura-chan, why are you stopping me? Sasuke, that jerk, dared to treat you like this! I won't let him get away with it!" Naruto exclaimed, incensed by Sasuke's response.

"Shut up, Naruto. Stay out of this," Sakura snapped, feeling a headache coming on. Sasuke's strange behavior, coupled with Naruto's yelling, was irritating her.

"You'd better think carefully, Sasuke. You saw the power of my punch last time. If you don't give me a good explanation, you know what the consequences will be," Sakura continued, her threat hanging in the air.

Sakura genuinely couldn't understand why Sasuke had suddenly attacked her. She'd only come to invite him to dinner at Naruto's house. Given their history of sparring together, even if Sasuke disliked Naruto, he shouldn't have refused her, right? But he'd attacked her without a word.

She wasn't one to be trifled with, either. Even a clay figure has some fire in it. It all depended on his explanation.

"Do as you please," Sasuke repeated stiffly. The memory of Sakura's punch smashing into the ground six months ago flashed through his mind, stirring a feeling of fear. It wasn't fear of death, but of failing to complete his plan for revenge. That man... he had to kill him. But the pain of having his wounds reopened prevented Sasuke from backing down.

"Hehe, looks like you're prepared to face my wrath. Then, prepare to die! Haaaa~~~!"

Seeing Sasuke's stubborn refusal to cooperate, Sakura grew annoyed. She decided to scare him, winding up for a punch.

Just as her fist was about to descend, a hand clad in a standard-issue ninja glove caught it. Sakura felt an immense resistance against her downward strike.

"What are you two doing? Stop it, all of you! Sakura, get off Sasuke, now!"

Sakura, in order to restrain Sasuke and prevent him from moving, was currently straddling him. She looked to the side and saw Iruka-sensei. No wonder he'd been able to stop her punch.

She mentally compared Iruka's strength to her own, based on how he'd just blocked her. She concluded that she couldn't beat him at this stage. It wasn't that Sakura's ninjutsu lacked destructive power; if she landed a direct hit on Iruka, he'd be dead or seriously injured. Her water blade could pierce him through and through.

But strength wasn't a simple comparison. Iruka also possessed ninjutsu capable of killing Sakura in one hit. Practical combat experience was the deciding factor.

Sakura, who had been just an ordinary person in her previous life, had never experienced anything like this. Even though she'd had some sparring matches over the past few years, it was nothing compared to Iruka's experience forged through life-and-death battles. She wasn't some kind of combat genius, either. Who knew if she'd freeze up or turn tail and run on a real battlefield?

One moment of carelessness in a fight, one hit from those deadly ninjutsu, and it was the difference between life and death.

That's why the Ninja Academy only taught the basics. There were no flashy ninjutsu because the students were too young to use high-powered techniques. Only after graduating would ninjas choose their own paths based on their individual aptitudes.

"You two, come to my office. The rest of you, study quietly." There wasn't much time left in the break anyway, and the next class was about to start. Iruka had no choice but to have the students study on their own. Dealing with Sakura and Sasuke was the priority, as the Third Hokage had instructed.

"Iruka-sensei, it was my fault. I asked Sakura to go get Sasuke. It has nothing to do with her. If anyone should be punished, it should be me," Naruto quickly interjected, seeing that Sakura was about to be called to Iruka-sensei's office.

Sakura was a good student, and she'd never been called to Iruka-sensei's office for a scolding. Naruto, on the other hand, was a frequent visitor due to his dead-last grades.

Naruto didn't want to see Sakura, a model student, get reprimanded. He had promised to protect her.

Iruka looked at Naruto and Sakura with surprise. He didn't realize their relationship had become so close. Wasn't Naruto ostracized by the rest of the class?

"Iruka-sensei, this has nothing to do with Naruto. I'll go with you. Naruto, stay in the classroom and behave. Don't worry about me," Sakura said to Iruka-sensei, then turned to Naruto.

"But, Sakura..."

"Don't say anything more. Let's go, Iruka-sensei," Sakura interrupted Naruto, turning and walking out of the classroom.

Iruka watched Sakura's retreating figure and rubbed his nose. She truly was a genius; her behavior was extraordinary. It seemed he would have to report this incident to the Third Hokage.

Iruka's Office

"Alright, Sakura, tell me what happened," Iruka said, deciding to hear Sakura's side of the story first, given Sasuke's sullen demeanor.

"Iruka-sensei, I was going to invite Sasuke to come to Naruto's house for dinner during the anniversary celebrations. But I don't know why, Sasuke suddenly knocked me to the ground. Even though I'm the top student in the class, I'm a girl, and I can't beat Sasuke. And then you arrived, Iruka-sensei," Sakura explained to Iruka with a look of utter innocence.

Iruka watched Sakura lie through her teeth, his lips twitching involuntarily. He decided not to question her further.

"Is that so, Sasuke?" Iruka turned his gaze to Sasuke, hoping he would reveal the truth.

"Yes, Iruka-sensei," Sasuke replied.

Sasuke had calmed down considerably. When Sakura's fist was coming down, he genuinely felt like he was going to die. A multitude of thoughts flashed through his mind in that instant. The final one was that dying like this wouldn't be so bad. He could see his father and mother again. It was just a shame he hadn't avenged them.

It had to be said that Sasuke had become quite extreme after the night of the massacre. If this had been before, he would never have thought Sakura was trying to kill him. But when he saw her fist descending, he felt as if that man had returned to kill him, as if he saw that man's shadow in Sakura.

By the time Iruka-sensei arrived, Sasuke had calmed down somewhat. With a little thought, he realized that Sakura wouldn't have actually killed him; she was just trying to scare him. But now that Iruka was asking, he would never admit that he had been frightened, so he simply confirmed Sakura's story.

Iruka's lips twitched again at Sasuke's response. He felt that if he had to listen to a few more sentences from these two, he might become the first ninja in history to die from a facial twitch.

"Sasuke, what I saw was Sakura straddling you, preparing to hit you. Don't you have anything to say about that?"

"We were just sparring. If Iruka-sensei has nothing else, I'll take my leave," Sasuke continued.

"Sigh... Alright, you can go. Sakura, stay here," Iruka said wearily. It seemed he would have to try to get the truth from Sakura.

After Sasuke left, Iruka turned to Sakura.

"Sensei, I really don't know anything. I already explained everything in detail."

Sakura had initially intended to twist the facts to force Sasuke to tell the truth. But she hadn't expected him to so readily admit to attacking her, leaving her at a loss.

"Alright, you can go back too. Get ready for class," Iruka said, seeing the confused expression on Sakura's face. Perhaps she really didn't know the reason. He wouldn't question her further. He would report everything to the Third Hokage and let him make the decision.

The truth was, Sakura wasn't from this world. Although she seemed to have integrated into it, her worldview was fundamentally different from the people here.

Family honor being more important than life was a core belief for those born into large clans. Sakura couldn't comprehend this feeling. In her view, the massacre had happened a long time ago; time might dull the pain, but life had to go on. Even in grief, one had to live. That's why, when Sakura mentioned, "Anyway, you're the only one left in your family," it instantly reminded Sasuke of the night of the massacre.

The Uchiha clan, which had been so glorious just the day before, had been completely wiped out the next. This was something Sasuke could never accept. If it had been an ordinary family of three, perhaps time could have dulled the pain.

But the Uchiha clan had existed since the Warring States period. They were one of the two founding clans of the Leaf Village. Their annihilation was an unspeakable disgrace.

Even after so much time, when Sakura brought it up, Sasuke felt as if she were mocking him: "Look, the mighty Uchiha clan, now you're the only one left."

Sasuke was now blinded by hatred, unable to see the light he once possessed. He could only interpret the actions of those around him with the greatest malice.

Only when Sasuke completely calmed down would he be able to temporarily emerge from the shadow of the Uchiha clan's destruction.

Sakura had inadvertently walked right into a minefield.