The Sakura Legend

Year 51 of Konoha. Evening, August 15th.

Dressed in her kimono, little Sakura went to the Summer Festival with Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno. Walking down the street, seeing the completely different style from her past life on both sides of the road, Sakura was filled with curiosity. This was her first time out on the streets since she was two, encountering so many people. The street stalls, goldfish scooping, balloon popping, and all kinds of grilled snacks constantly attracted Sakura's attention.

"Sakura, here's 200 ryo. Go have fun. Remember to make some friends," Mebuki said, handing Sakura 200 ryo.

"Huh? Aren't you afraid I'll get lost? I'm only three years old," Sakura asked, blinking her big eyes in confusion.

"Haha, you do know you're only three, huh? Honestly, it's hard to compare you to a three-year-old most of the time. We trust you. You're a smart child. You know what you can and can't do. Have fun, remember your mother's words, and make some friends. Remember to come home on time," Kizashi said, giving Sakura a thumbs-up, his white teeth gleaming, even catching a bit of sparkle in the lamplight.

Seeing this, Sakura felt a strange sense of familiarity, like she'd seen this scene somewhere before. She decided not to dwell on it. Looking at the 200 ryo in her hand... Truthfully, even though Sakura had been in this world for three years, she didn't have much of a concept of money. How much was 200 ryo, really? Well, probably not too much. After all, it wouldn't be safe for a three-year-old to carry around a large sum of money. It probably wasn't a lot. She decided to wander around and see what she could do with it.

After exploring the street stalls, trying snacks, eating, drinking, and playing, Sakura finally estimated how much 200 ryo was worth. It seemed that one ryo in the Naruto world was roughly equivalent to 0.5 or 0.6 yuan from her previous life. In other words, these 200 ryo were about 100 yuan. That's pretty generous, Sakura couldn't help but think. Back in her previous life, a kid going out to play would be thrilled to get 10 or 20 yuan. It seemed that in Naruto, they also believed in "raising boys poor and girls rich." The thought of her female identity made her lip twitch.

Whatever. This is a world with supernatural powers. With chakra, anything is possible. Even resurrection isn't impossible in this world. There's bound to be a way to change back into a boy in the future. Orochimaru can change between male and female forms... though his methods are a bit too disgusting. I'm going to become Tsunade's disciple in the future. I'll learn medical ninjutsu from her. There's got to be a way to change.

"Mebuki, what did they say at the hospital today?" Kizashi asked after Sakura had left.

"Well, the hospital said this kind of situation is rare, but not unheard of. Because Sakura is only three, her body isn't fully developed, and her brain functions aren't complete. This situation occurs because her precociousness allows her to fully recognize herself as an individual, but because her physical development can't keep up, she experiences memory blurring. However, the hospital said that if it's true precociousness, then her physical constitution should be exceptionally good, and she shouldn't experience memory blurring due to lagging physical development. But it's not absolute, since the human body is so complex, and there are many possible causes. Generally, a child's brain isn't fully developed until they're five or six years old. So, the hospital said there's no need to worry about this situation. As her body develops, this condition will gradually disappear," Mebuki explained.

"I see. That's a relief. As long as Sakura can grow up healthy, nothing else matters," Kizashi said, relieved.

"You bastard, get lost."

"What do you want, you freak?"

"Why are you here, you jinx?"

"What do I want...? I just wanted to look at the masks..."

"This thing...? Here, take it. Now get lost," said the shopkeeper, throwing a mask at the yellow-haired boy.

Sakura watched the scene unfold before her. She'd just been curious about the masks in the Naruto world and, following the directions of a nearby stall owner, had come to a mask shop. Before she even entered, this scene suddenly erupted. That person looked like Naruto.

"It's that kid..." "It's him..." "Don't say anything, just stay away from him..."

Hearing the murmurs of the people around her, Sakura was certain it was Naruto. She saw Naruto, looking dejected, pick up the mask and mutter to himself, "Why?" Then he stood up, saw the cold gazes of the people around him, and shouted, "Why is this happening?!" Then, he lowered his head, his expression darkening, and whispered, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He grabbed the mask and rushed out of the crowd.

"Naruto must be so lonely. That feeling must be awful, to be shunned and hated by everyone around you. No friends, no parents. Going home to an empty house, with no one to say 'Welcome back,' and no one to prepare a meal for him. I've felt that kind of loneliness too, even though it wasn't in this world," Sakura thought.

She wanted to chase after Naruto, but the crowd blocked her view of his retreating figure. By the time the crowd dispersed, Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Sakura lost all interest in continuing her outing. She turned and headed home.

Back home, her parents hadn't returned yet. Sakura took off her shoes, sat on the sofa, and hugged her knees, thinking about the scene she'd just witnessed. In the memories of her past life, Naruto was just a character on a screen. Although she could see from the limited scenes that Naruto had been treated coldly by those around him as a child, eliciting tears from the audience, it wasn't a real world. What she had seen was just a shonen manga. But now, this was a real world. This world wasn't a shonen world. This world was real, cruel, and cold. It wasn't as good as she had imagined. Naruto had lived with the cold stares of those around him until he became a genin. That feeling... it was truly worse than death.

"Click." The sound of the door opening.

"Oh, Sakura, you're back so early. We thought you'd be out later," Mebuki said, surprised to see Sakura curled up on the sofa. "So, did you make any new friends?"

"Mom, you're back. Where's Dad?"

"He was still worried about you, so I came back first. He went out to look for you."

"That's nice. If it were Naruto..." Sakura said, her expression dimming.

"Who are you talking about? Is it a new friend you made?"

"Ah, no, no. Today, I saw a yellow-haired boy, about the same age as me. People were calling him a jinx. Mom, do you know who he is?" Sakura asked, feigning ignorance.

"You said a yellow-haired boy, about your age... and people were calling him a jinx? Did you interact with him?" Mebuki asked, concerned.

"No, he ran away after people called him a jinx. I didn't have any contact with him," Sakura answered truthfully.

"That's good. If you ever see him again, don't play with him. He brings disaster," Mebuki said, relieved. "Remember that, Sakura?"

"Why? Who is he? Why does he bring disaster?"

"He's... Just don't play with him, okay? Remember what I said. This is important."

"Okay, I remember," Sakura said. But in her heart, she thought, "I'm afraid that wish, Mother, won't be fulfilled. Because he's the protagonist."

That night, lying in bed, Sakura began to seriously consider her future direction. She was currently three years old. She had three more years before she entered the Ninja Academy. She would graduate at twelve, spending six years in the Academy. Then, about three years after that, Pain would invade, and a few months later, the Fourth Shinobi War would begin. In reality, the only time she'd have for rapid power growth was the three years after graduation. The previous nine years were all about physical growth and honing the fundamentals. Nine years seemed like a long time, but the actual time she could spend training and improving her strength was quite short. It seemed that in the three years before entering the Academy, she needed to focus on strengthening her foundation.

Sakura's chakra control was supposedly the best in Team 7, right? Her future medical ninjutsu and monstrous strength all relied on chakra control. With that in mind, she'd start refining chakra tomorrow and practice her chakra control. She couldn't worry about anything else. Even if it stunted her growth, she needed to improve her strength. Otherwise, how could she protect everything she wanted to protect? Once she entered the Academy, she'd try to combine her knowledge from her past life and see if she could develop some ninjutsu.

She'd come to this world without a cheat code, without a wise old mentor. If she just followed the conventional path, she definitely wouldn't be strong enough for the final battle. She needed to think of other ways.

Sigh... strength...