A not too quick aside on Sakura now that I’ve finished Part I, but it amazes me how many times her completely valid concerns about Sasuke and his well-being during Preshippuden are kind of brushed off by the people around her. On numerous occasions, she correctly identifies that Sasuke is not only unstable, but also an active danger to himself, but every time she tries to talk to Kakashi, I can’t help but feel he’s intentionally trying to shelter her from what’s going on, resulting in interactions where it can come across as if he’s not really taking her seriously. I want to note that I specifically say 'come across' because he knows that Sakura's concerns are serious, though it's also obvious he very much views her as a child (which she is) and his protective nature towards his students leads to some... complicated things in regards to how he interacts with them due to the whole ninja fiasco.
A very noticeable instance comes directly after Naruto and Sasuke’s rooftop fight, where in seeing Sakura is noticeably shaken after seeing two of teammates nearly kill each other, Kakashi tells her everything will be alright. He specifically tells her in the Viz Media translation that “Everything will be as it is before.” And of course, Sakura is reassured by Kakashi, but considering she later brings up her issues with Naruto, it shows that she still has reservations that she didn’t feel comfortable expressing to her teacher, which makes sense. Naruto is Japanese fantasy society based on those very customs, and in a culture that heavily values age-based hierarchies, I imagine that Sakura probably wouldn’t question a trusted mentor figure to his face.
She attempts to talk to Sasuke into seeking help and telling the adults about the curse mark during the final leg of the exams, but he flat out refuses because it would mean resigning and having to put his personal goals on the backburner. She reaches out to Kakashi at least twice from what I remember, and both times seem to have done not much. She finally confides in Naruto, but he idolizes Sasuke so intently that he just doesn’t seem to believe it’s even possible for him to fall victim to the seductive nature of Orochimaru’s offer. It’s actually kind of amusing how Sakura seems to gradually begin growing out of her idyllic view of Sasuke before the reality of it all hits Naruto near the end of the Retrieval arc. She is aware of the fact that Sasuke could very well fall into Orochimaru’s clutches, and she took the signs he was putting out seriously enough to follow him on the night he left to the village gate. This is no doubt in part to the fact that Sakura has had moments alone with Sasuke where he reveals the more concerning parts of his personality; the awakening of his curse mark, for example, happened while Naruto was unconscious.
Honestly, I think her team was pretty lucky that she seemed to blame herself for not being able to stop Sasuke more than anything else. If I was in her position, I would’ve been livid at the idea that my concerns were completely correct and yet nobody around me seemed to agree until it was too late. At age thirteen, far less was enough to make me incoherent.
