The Sakura Legend

Year 54 of Konoha. September.

"Sakura, today is the day you start at the Ninja Academy. Mom has prepared a new outfit for you." Mebuki Haruno walked into Sakura's bedroom, holding a red long-sleeved garment.

Sakura rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked at the clothes Mebuki held out. It was a red long-sleeved top, similar to a qipao, embroidered with a circle—the Haruno family crest. Well, every clan, big or small, had its own crest. The top had been modified so it wouldn't hinder a ninja's movements, and it was paired with black leggings, perfect for ninjas who needed a wide range of motion. As it turned out, Mebuki had made this outfit herself. Which made sense, considering Mebuki, as a housewife, naturally took care of all aspects of the household.

Sakura got up and put on the clothes, standing in front of the mirror for a moment. It was just as she remembered it. She'd been practicing her chakra control too late last night and was still sleepy. Today was the first day of school, and also the day the remaining eight young pillars of Konoha's new generation would enter the Academy. Would she meet those familiar faces from her memories? And Naruto, and Sasuke?

For the past three years, Sakura had been diligently training her chakra control. Although Kizashi disapproved of Sakura refining chakra so early, he couldn't watch her every second. So, Sakura would practice refining chakra when Kizashi wasn't around. By the time she turned five, Kizashi stopped interfering with her chakra training; five was a good age to start. In reality, Sakura hadn't been able to refine much chakra before she turned five, making actual training impossible. So, she'd focused on mastering the theory.

After all, this was a supernatural power unlike anything from her previous life. In her past life, there was no trace to follow, no way to sense spiritual energy or physical energy. So, it took quite some effort to understand the concept of combining spiritual and physical energy to form chakra. Perhaps due to the influence of her transmigration, Sakura, immediately after refining chakra for the first time, could feel the huge gap between her spiritual and physical energies.

So, Sakura's talent for genjutsu was thanks to her strong spiritual energy, i.e., her Yin affinity. Her future medical ninjutsu would also benefit from Yang affinity. Based on her understanding of Yin-Yang Release from her past life, Yin and Yang affinities referred to special nature transformations of a ninja's chakra. They were listed alongside the five basic natures – Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning – but were more unique. Just like the five basic natures, only those with the corresponding chakra nature transformation could use the related techniques (i.e., only those with Yang affinity could use Yang Release, and only those with Yin affinity could use Yin Release).

Naruto and Sasuke only had pure Yang and Yin affinities, respectively. But because of their bloodlines, they could bring these Yin and Yang natures to their ultimate potential. Although Sakura possessed both Yin and Yang affinities, she could only use these two powers superficially. Even this superficial application brought Sakura tremendous benefits: a talent for medical ninjutsu and genjutsu.

Since she had Yang affinity, it meant Sakura's physical constitution wasn't bad. She just lacked time to grow. Sakura didn't believe that monstrous strength was a manifestation of high physical fitness. Monstrous strength was simply a refined application of chakra control.

Over the past three years, Sakura spent the first two years diligently studying the basic theories. After all, this was a completely new power system she'd never encountered before. In the final year, she finally had some results. She could envelop a part of her body with chakra to increase her attack power, or spread chakra throughout her body to enhance her physical capabilities. Because she was young and her chakra reserves were low, this state couldn't be maintained for long. This was a chakra application she'd developed by mimicking Tsunade's monstrous strength and some aspects of the Hundred Healings Jutsu. Naturally, its power wasn't as exaggerated as Tsunade's. This could only be considered a rudimentary application of refined chakra control.

Sakura believed that, aside from the limitations of her chakra volume and body, this wasn't true monstrous strength. Without understanding the principles of training monstrous strength, she was merely imitating the basic applications of chakra. Therefore, the power couldn't be increased significantly. However, Sakura speculated that this was probably the foundation Tsunade had used before developing her monstrous strength. She could perfect the application of monstrous strength based on this foundation.

The next six years at the Ninja Academy were also crucial. She could be exposed to more ninjutsu. Although her strength probably wouldn't increase dramatically, it was a time to lay a solid foundation for her future path. She really didn't know how those geniuses managed to achieve rapid power growth during this stage, like Kakashi and Itachi. Perhaps it could only be said that when war met genius, it equaled progress in strength. But then again, during wartime, those who weren't geniuses probably wouldn't survive, right?

Fortunately, there was plenty of time to find the path to becoming stronger, Sakura thought to herself.

Walking on the street, looking at the bustling crowds and the lively atmosphere, Sakura felt a surge of excitement. After all, she was about to start school and learn ninjutsu. This was the foundation for protecting everything.

On the first day of school, parents would bring their children to register, and the Third Hokage would make an appearance and give a speech. This was a tradition that the Third Hokage had refined since the Second Hokage founded the Ninja Academy. The Second Hokage established the Ninja Academy during wartime, to better provide combat personnel for the battlefield. Therefore, the students at the Ninja Academy at that time were generally older and received accelerated training.

After the Second Hokage died in battle, Sarutobi Hiruzen succeeded as the Third Hokage and reformed the Ninja Academy. He gradually began selecting younger, talented children from the village to enter the Academy, cultivating reserve talents earlier and instilling loyalty to the village from a young age. This measure ensured that Konoha produced numerous talented individuals during the war and never lacked backup personnel, making Konoha the leader among the five great villages. Therefore, the Third Hokage placed great importance on the Ninja Academy's opening ceremony.

Sakura, following Mebuki, stood in the crowd, her gaze darting around, looking for familiar faces. Huh, is that Uchiha Sasuke? Black hair, black eyes, and his eyes are still filled with excitement for the start of school. He hasn't experienced the Uchiha clan massacre yet. He hasn't fallen into darkness. His eyes aren't as cold as they will be later. So, the person next to him is his father? His name is... Uchiha... Uchiha... Uchiha what? I can't remember.

After Sakura turned five, she gradually stopped losing memories of her past life. So, she destroyed the diary she'd written in Chinese to prevent forgetting things. After all, it would be too dangerous if that diary fell into the wrong hands. Sakura wasn't sure if those clever people in the Naruto world could decipher Chinese, so she had to destroy it. Every day, she would go over the plot points she could remember in her mind, reinforcing her impressions. The things she couldn't remember before, she couldn't remember now. Sakura guessed that this situation might be due to her brain not being fully developed yet, causing her to forget those overflowing memories. As she grew older, this situation no longer occurred, but the forgotten memories couldn't be recovered.

"I wonder what exactly I forgot. Would I still forget if I knew what I forgot? I can only take things one step at a time. I hope I didn't forget any important information," Sakura thought with a sigh, shaking her head.

On the stage, the Third Hokage had finished his speech, and the class assignments began. "Shino Aburame... Choji Akimichi... Kiba Inuzuka... Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara... Ino Yamanaka, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga, Sakura Haruno..."

The Third Hokage, hearing Sakura Haruno's name, turned his head slightly and asked the nearby ANBU, "Is that the little girl?"

"Yes, Third Hokage-sama. Today is Sakura Haruno's first day of school," the ANBU replied respectfully.

"Sakura Haruno... forgetting memories due to precociousness, huh... Hmm... Go tell Sakura Haruno's homeroom teacher to keep an eye on her. Sakura Haruno's homeroom teacher is... Iruka, right? Never mind, I'll go tell him myself," the Third Hokage said.

"Yes, Third Hokage-sama."