The Sakura Legend

Year 56 of Konoha.

Sakura had been studying at the Ninja Academy for two years now. In the first year, the school didn't teach ninjutsu, only the history of the ninja world, basic codes and ciphers, introductions to weapons, squad formations and cooperation on the battlefield. Basically, they were learning the cultural curriculum of the Naruto world.

But for Sakura, these were all life-saving skills for future missions, so she studied them exceptionally diligently. After all, only someone like Naruto, with his enormous chakra reserves, could afford to not care about these things. Most ninja battles relied on these fundamentals: traps, reconnaissance, and battles of wits.

Sakura estimated that it would be a long time before she could achieve the kind of mindless ninjutsu dominance some characters displayed, so she put 50% of her energy into learning these subjects, and the other 50% into honing her chakra control and developing jutsu. After all, those were the core of being a ninja. Despite this split focus, Sakura's grades still ranked first in the class. She had, after all, an adult's mind. Even though she hadn't encountered these subjects in her previous life, her comprehension skills were far beyond those of her classmates.

"Sigh," Sakura sighed, propping her head up with her hand, watching her classmates playing kick-the-can on the training grounds. A wave of helplessness washed over her. "Mother always wants me to make more friends at school, but it's really hard to connect with a bunch of brats."

This class was supposed to be for kunai throwing practice, but the teacher had stepped out for a bit, and no one was practicing. In these two years, due to the lack of common interests, Sakura rarely interacted much with her classmates, nor did she play with them. She spent most of her time training her chakra.

Naruto was still a childish kid, always pulling pranks to get attention. Although he didn't receive the same cold stares in class as he did in the village, no one was willing to play with him. Because Sakura didn't fit in with the others, Naruto actually tried to get closer to her. But Sakura was busy studying and training all the time, and didn't have much time to deal with him.

Sasuke, on the other hand, often sought out Sakura... for sparring. Because Sakura consistently topped Sasuke in grades, he saw her as his rival and target.

Sakura was actually happy to interact with Sasuke, because he was one of the only two people in the class who weren't that childish. The other one, naturally, was Shikamaru. But although Shikamaru wasn't childish, he didn't interact much with Sakura either. So, every time Sasuke felt he'd made progress, he'd challenge Sakura to a sparring match.

But in reality, Sasuke hadn't won a single time. Sakura knew her weakness was her low chakra reserves, making prolonged battles unfavorable. So, every time she sparred with Sasuke, she went for a quick victory. She'd envelop her body with chakra, enhancing her physical abilities, then find an opening to concentrate chakra in her fist, and use a weakened version of monstrous strength for a one-hit KO.

Although she used the same tactic every time, it worked because they hadn't learned many ninjutsu yet. Sakura's chakra was low, and aside from Naruto, everyone else's wasn't much better. So, most of the battles came down to basic skills. And Sakura's weakened monstrous strength happened to enhance her basic attack power. Moreover, after two years of studying and training, she'd further improved her chakra control and had a better understanding of the principles behind monstrous strength, significantly increasing its power.

"Sakura, I learned a new ninjutsu last week."

Sakura looked at Sasuke, who had suddenly appeared in front of her, a hint of smugness on his face.

"Oh, yeah, congratulations. I hope you conquer the ninja world soon," Sakura said nonchalantly.

Sakura was currently pondering why her monstrous strength punch wasn't increasing in power. It was clearly the same principle of gathering a large amount of chakra in her fist and releasing it explosively. Why was hers so much weaker than Tsunade's? It shouldn't just be a matter of chakra quantity.

"Hey, why are you still here? What do you want?" Sakura asked, noticing Sasuke still standing there.

"What do you think?" Sasuke countered.

"How would I know what you want? If you don't tell me, I'm leaving." Sakura knew exactly what he wanted – a sparring match – but she really wasn't in the mood right now, so she pretended to be clueless.

"Don't go, Sakura. Let's have a showdown," Sasuke said urgently.

Looking at the somewhat chuunibyou teenager in front of her, Sakura rolled her eyes and said offhandedly, "No time."

"Uh." Choked up, Sasuke was momentarily at a loss for a reason to persuade the girl in front of him to spar.

"Don't leave, Sakura. If you spar with me, I'll teach you this ninjutsu."

"Oh? What kind of ninjutsu is it?" Sakura asked, curious.

"Fight me first, and you'll find out," Sasuke insisted, refusing to give in.

"Forget it then. It's probably not a very impressive ninjutsu anyway. If you won't tell me, I'm leaving," Sakura said, turning as if to leave.

"Wait, I'll tell you, okay? But after I teach it to you, you have to spar with me."

"So much talking. If you don't tell me, I'm going." Again turning as if to leave.

"Listen carefully. This jutsu was acknowledged by Father. It's the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Sasuke declared.

Hmm, Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique? So Sasuke was so well-behaved recently because he was practicing this jutsu. No wonder Sasuke had two bandages on his cheeks recently.

"Then show me," Sakura said.

"Watch closely. Serpent-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger, Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Sasuke puffed out his cheeks and spewed out a stream of fire. The stream gradually spread out, eventually expanding into a massive fireball that seemed to engulf everything.

Sakura stared blankly at the fire in front of her. It was truly spectacular. It had been eight years since she'd come to this world, and this was the first time she'd witnessed the magic of ninjutsu firsthand. Involuntarily, Sakura was awestruck by this jutsu.

Seeing Sakura's stunned reaction to the jutsu, Sasuke said smugly, "I specifically practiced this jutsu for a long time to defeat you. It was even acknowledged by Father."

Sakura snapped back to her senses and asked, "How did you perform that jutsu?"

Sasuke explained proudly, "I extract chakra, gather it in my throat, and then breathe out fire in one go. That completes the jutsu. Father said the power of the jutsu depends on the amount of chakra, but at this level, it's enough to hit you."

"Is that so?" Sakura asked rhetorically. She secretly channeled chakra throughout her body, then, before Sasuke could react, quickly moved behind him, delivered a sweeping kick that knocked him to the ground, grabbed his left arm, twisted it behind his back, and straddled him. "If you can't hit your target, even the most powerful ninjutsu is useless, you know. And it's not just you who's learned a new ninjutsu. I have too."

As she spoke, she concentrated the chakra spread throughout her body into her hand, compressing it and infinitely reducing the area of impact. Then, she punched the ground. The moment her fist made contact, she explosively released the chakra through the minimized point of impact. The ground caved in, layer by layer, and the cracks spread outward. Looking down at the ground, it resembled a blossoming cherry blossom.

Sasuke, seeing such a powerful blow, was stunned into silence. "If that hit me, I'd be dead, right?"

"Uh... Sa... Sakura, what's that move called? When did you learn it?" Sasuke swallowed hard, his voice hollow.

"Hmm, this move is called... Cherry Blossom Impact. When did I learn it? Hehe, just now," Sakura said, with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"What?! You learned it just now?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"That's right. Just now, I watched you demonstrate the Great Fireball Technique, gathering chakra in your throat and then expelling it in one go. But the expelled chakra takes the form of a stream of fire that gradually expands at the end to form a large fireball. That gave me an idea. So, I compressed the chakra wrapped around my hand to an infinitely small point of contact with the ground, and then released it explosively from that minimized point. That's how I created this massive destructive power. In a way, you gave me the inspiration, Sasuke. Although the principle of the Great Fireball Technique is different from my Cherry Blossom Impact, I still have to thank you," Sakura said sincerely to Sasuke.

In fact, she should have known this principle all along. It was just a bit of physics application, plus a little trick of chakra control. But after coming to this world, she always thought of Tsunade's monstrous strength as something profound, so she didn't think in that direction. Then, seeing Sasuke demonstrate the Great Fireball Technique gave her the inspiration, so she tried it, and it actually worked.

Don't underestimate how easily Sakura seemed to grasp the principle and successfully execute the technique. This was due to her five years of practicing chakra control, starting from when she was three. It required not only mastering precise chakra output but also mastering chakra shape transformation. Without mastering both, one wouldn't be able to instantly execute a technique just by understanding the principle. Sakura's ability to use it immediately was inseparable from her five years of relentless practice of chakra control. So, the foundation is key.

Seeing Sasuke's dejected expression, Sakura felt a little embarrassed. She'd dealt quite a blow to the boy's confidence, but she didn't know what to say.

"Is this the gap between me and a genius?" Sasuke said, standing up and staring blankly. "Sakura, I won't give up. You will be the first target I surpass," Sasuke said to Sakura, his resolve firm.

Uh, I feel like I've gotten myself into something. Shouldn't Sasuke's first target to surpass be Itachi? Sakura thought, looking at the earnest Sasuke in front of her with a headache.

"Haha, then good luck. I won't bother you with your training. Bye-bye," Sakura said, seeing that it was time for school to end, and bidding Sasuke farewell.

Sasuke stayed behind in the training grounds, continuing to practice with a sense of frustration.