The fact that Sakura, who's deeply interwoven with nature theme-wise, also possesses such a humanized portrayal is so intriguing to me because she simply exists within nature's framework in the purest sense, not outside it, because that's ACTUAL human nature... This alone practically establishes her whole narrative of what she is versus what she "must" become in the eyes of the system, and how she ultimately can't because she's too human to do such a thing. The same way humans ruin the environment, the system (tries to) corrupts Sakura's humanism.
Sakura forces others to confront who they really are beneath the façade they've built due to the system's polluted ideology; she serves as a narrative foil for characters who have either dismissed the value of human lives, detached from their own humanity or both, although this is something she, somewhat, and contradictorily denies herself; the fks, thus, serves as an opportunity for Sakura to face this most vulnerable, human side of herself she tried so hard to repress as well as it does showcase the ideological/philosophical battle that was happening inside her head...
Another thing is that, similar to the way nature is reduced, fought against and forgotten, Sakura Is always treated as either a challenge and/or with indifference in these moments, yet she wins every single time! She's the true winner (even against herself) because you cannot ignore nature no matter how much you try to.
sakura’s inferiority complex: one of the more interesting parts of her character
you know, as much as i say sakura is a pretty straightforward and tame character (and i’m not even that much of a fan of hers), i do think one aspect of her character i find genuinely interesting is her inferiority complex.
compared to the rest of team 7, sakura had a relatively sheltered and privileged upbringing. she wasn’t burdened by a clan massacre, a tailed beast or the expectations of a prestigious bloodline. but just because her struggles were less extreme doesn’t mean she didn’t have any.
from her childhood flashback, we see she was bullied, deeply insecure and lacked confidence in herself. i think that’s where her inferiority complex really begins. we see it throughout the story.
- during the chunin exams, she constantly compares herself to naruto and sasuke and feels like she’s the weak link who always needs saving.
- when sasuke leaves the village, she breaks down and begs naruto because she feels completely powerless to stop him herself.
- when naruto loses control and enters his four-tailed state, she once again realises how little she can do.
- during pain’s invasion, where all she can really do is call for naruto’s help.
- even her relationship with sasuke reflects this. sakura repeatedly tries to reach him with her words because, for most of the story, that’s all she feels she has to offer. but her words never reach him in the way she hopes they will.
linking back to her childhood, after ino befriends her and stands up to the girls bullying her, sakura gradually becomes more confident. ino even points out how much she’s changed.
people love mocking sakura for ending their friendship over a crush (which i also think is pretty ridiculous, but they were literally around 10 years old), yet i’ve always seen it as more than that. to me, it felt like the breaking point of a friendship that was already changing. sakura no longer wanted to live in ino’s shadow or constantly rely on her protection. she wanted to prove that she could stand on her own.
and i think that motivation quietly stays with her throughout the rest of the series.
one of sakura’s defining traits is that she almost always throws herself into situations where she’s clearly outmatched because she wants to help, even when she knows she isn’t the strongest person there. we see this:
- when she fights the sound ninja while naruto and sasuke are unconscious.
- when she jumps in against gaara despite knowing she’s completely outclassed.
- after the first VoTE fight, instead of wallowing in self-pity, she decides to train under tsunade because she wants to stand alongside naruto rather than constantly relying on him.
- she tries to comfort naruto during his four-tailed transformation even though it resulted in her being harmed.
- during the five kage summit arc, she convinces herself that killing sasuke is something she has to do alone because she wants to carry that burden herself and free naruto from the promise he made to her, even if the way she goes about it is deeply flawed.
- against sasori, she’s willing to sacrifice herself for chiyo and even offers her the last antidote she has.
- during the war, she insists on fighting alongside team 7 instead of staying behind, and later uses the last of her chakra to help obito rescue sasuke.
- smaller moments support this, during the chunin exam, when she calls sasuke a coward (yes, it was definitely a facepalm moment).
it shows that sakura’s instinct is to push forward rather than retreat. she expects herself, and sometimes others, to keep fighting no matter how difficult the situation is. in a weird way, her inferiority complex becomes the thing that motivates her. because she constantly feels like she isn’t enough, she keeps pushing herself to become someone who can actually help the people around her instead of standing by and watching.
i also think this explains another aspect of her character that often gets overlooked is the way she hides her own feelings.
throughout the series, sakura often puts on a front or forces a fake smile around the people she cares about. i’ve always read that as another consequence of her inferiority complex. she doesn’t want to become another burden that other people have to worry about because, to her, that’s the role she’s spent most of her life trying to escape.
i honestly wish kishi explored this side of her character more because it makes her feel really human and realistic in a way.
the rest of team 7 begin the story with extraordinary abilities, tragic pasts or powerful legacies that allow them to hold their own from the very beginning. sakura didn’t really have that.
i always thought that’s one of the more compelling ideas kishi had for her character. i just wish he committed to exploring it more.
The information presented in this post has been checked and revised. My aim is not to hate or to discredit any of the characters mentioned. Please read about me for further information.
This post will contain evidence in picture format directly from the novels published by Shueisha in 2015 - 2019.
This informative post will explain the roles that Sakura Haruno/Sakura Uchiha has fulfilled in each novel. Please consider that I will be giving a summary of each novel, so if you want to read the full work you can purchase each novel online or your local bookstore. Remember that due to Tumblr's image limit, I won't be able to upload every screenshot from the novels.
This meta is crossposted in AO3. Please read here for the complete information.
I give my permission to use or share this thread with informative purposes as long as you credit me.
I do not support the anime or the work of Studio Pierrot in regards to Naruto because I consider it over exaggerated and beyond biased. Furthermore, these fillers include some actions that these characters are unable to do in the canon according to official sources and they also generate unnecessary debate.
Please, take this into consideration.
The Naruto light novels are a series of light novel projects launched by Shueisha and VJump that tell the story of one or more characters who are commonly used as protagonists. Each novel explores a story set between chapter 699 of Naruto and an uncertain point in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
The novels are written by different authors and all illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, who is also credited as the creator. Each novel occupies a space within the official Naruto timeline.
Complete timeline of Naruto and Boruto.
The Naruto novels are often overlooked and surrounded in mystery as some of them never received a proper and fair adaptation into the anime, with only a few making their way into Naruto Shippūden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations with a much shortened version of the full work and omitting key characters from each.
Despite light novels making their way into many universes in the world on animanga as one of the methods to flesh out blank parts of the story or characters, many fans reject the written format.
Usually, non-readers who have had access to information about their contents, more than once find incomplete or erroneous summaries or explanations. Some of these novels have also not been translated to English, which contributes to the lack of public knowledge about them outside Japan or the correct version of the story.
Many others consider that these novels are not canon and reject them despite being officially part of the universe because they’re not written by Masashi Kishimoto, instead being written by people affiliated with the franchise whose story has been approved by the editorial.
Although people are free to believe what they want, without novels, a lot of material from the anime wouldn’t exist, as well as any potential sequel. The only projects written by Masashi Kishimoto are Naruto, Naruto Gaiden and Boruto: Naruto the Movie, as well as the recent prequel Minato Gaiden.
Nonetheless, Masashi Kishimoto does offer his ideas and is in contact with the many writers and illustrators that write content for the franchise.
Despite differences of opinions, all novels are canon, although the concept of “canon” doesn’t exist in Japan. Novels, as well as mangas and other movies are all written to follow the original work of Naruto, so they are all a spin-off.
A spin-off is a piece of media created based on an earlier work or an original work to act as its prequel or sequel. For example, Naruto Gaiden is a spin-off of Naruto despite being written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto himself, as it’s all Boruto material and the light novels.
A spin-off isn’t the same as filler.
The Naruto novels are divided in four installments:
Naruto Hiden (NARUTO -ナルト- 秘伝) published in 2015.
Naruto Shinden (NARUTO -ナルト- 真伝) published in 2015.
Naruto Shinden (NARUTO -ナルト- ナルト新伝) published in 2018.
Naruto Retsuden (NARUTO -ナルト- 烈伝) published in 2019.
Sakura Haruno/Sakura Uchiha is mentioned in almost every novel and plays a big role in the majority of them.
Naruto Hiden (NARUTO -ナルト- 秘伝) is a series released in 2015 that was part of the first Naruto Project in commemoration of the manga’s 15th anniversary. The project has six different novels released between February and July of 2015 written by different authors.
The time chosen for the stories lies between Naruto chapter 699 and 700, a period known as Blank Period.
The Blank Period is the official young adulthood era of Naruto. It’s one of the fan favorite periods and it contains some of the most popular and preferred designs of the main characters. Because Naruto suffered an abrupt timeskip of 15 years from chapter 699 to 700, many fans aren’t privy to what happens in that time frame, so the novels offer a very interesting perspective into the lives of the main characters.
The Hiden novels contain six stories about some of the most beloved characters: Kakashi Hiden, Shikamaru Hiden, Sakura Hiden, Konoha Hiden, Gaara Hiden and Akatsuki Hiden, all published in chronological order.
Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky (カカシ秘伝 氷天の雷) or Kakashi's Story: Lightning in the Frozen Sky is a novel written by Akira Higashiyama and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on February 4th, 2015. The book is one of the six novels written for the 15th anniversary of Naruto dubbed Naruto Project, where different authors explored the “hidden” stories of some of the most popular characters including the Gaara, Shikamaru Nara, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and two books about individual stories of the Konoha 12 and Akatsuki.
Kakashi’s Story was the first novel to be published. It focuses on Kakashi Hatake, the jōnin leader of Team 7 and former ANBU currently preparing to assume his new Hokage title. He takes the role of protagonist where he goes on one last mission before being appointed Konoha’s Sixth Hokage.
The summary reads:
“A year has passed since the Fourth Great Ninja War, and Kakashi’s appointment as Hokage blooms. But first he heads to the Land of Waves for a dangerous mission rescuing hostages from a top-secret airship. There he confronts a ninja whose heart is frozen by tragedy.
Having lost both his friend’s eye and his greatest abilities, can Kakashi protect anyone from his cold-hearted foe? What is the true meaning of the Will of Fire gained in the distant heavens? Kakashi finds these answers and more as he enters a ninja ninja era.”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include his friend Might Guy, Tsunade, his students Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno and their classmates Sai, Team 10, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka and Team 3 who participate in the mission, and the main villains Rahyō, Kahyō and Garyō.
SAKURA HARUNO IN KAKASHI HIDEN:
Months after Sasuke left for his journey of redemption and in the wake of a new Hokage, Kakashi asked Tsunade to keep her title as leader while he prepared his last mission as a shinobi: overseeing the security of the Tobishachimaru, an airship developed by Tazuna and Inari in the Land of Waves. Meanwhile, other Konoha shinobi guarded Hozuki Castle (Blood Prison) after the previous guard, Mui, had passed away.
However, the airship was hijacked by the Ryūha Armament Alliance, who delivered a message to Konoha about their intentions with the Tobishachimaru. Tsunade then contacted Shikamaru, who was in charge of guarding Hozuki Castle, and informed him of the situation. She instructed Sakura to put together a team of medical-ninja and head to Hozuki Castle in case they needed to shoot the airship.
At the castle, Sakura saw the Ryūha Armament Alliance descending from the airship to infiltrate the prison. She watched the roof of Hozuki Castle along with Sai, Rock Lee and Chōji. Later, as the Tobishachimaru glided to the ground, Sakura and her comrades rushed to put the prisoners to safety.
After putting everyone to safety, Sakura and Tsunade rushed to treat any injured.
Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness (シカマル秘伝 闇の黙に浮ぶ雲) or Shikamaru’s Story: A Cloud Drifting in the Silent Dark is a novel written by Takashi Yano and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on March 4th, 2015. The book is one of the six novels written for the 15th anniversary of Naruto dubbed Naruto Project, where different authors explored the “hidden” stories of some of the most popular characters including the Gaara, Shikamaru Nara, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and two books about individual stories of the Konoha 12 and Akatsuki.
Shikamaru’s Story was the second novel to be published. It focuses on Shikamaru Nara, the heir of the Nara Clan and a jōnin member of Team 10 that is currently preparing himself to become Naruto’s advisor. He takes the role of protagonist where it explores one of his most dangerous missions as captain.
The summary reads:
“Two Years after the Great Ninja War, Shikamaru spends his days racing around, hands full as one of Konoha’s key protectors. Then one day a large number of ninja from every region are reported missing. Even Sai disappears. And the place where the missing shinobi end up is the mysterious empire, the Land of Silence.
As a ninja, as an adult, to protect all that he is responsible for, Shikamaru must do battle with the shadow of a new generation.”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include his teammates Chōji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka, his classmates Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno and their allies from Sunagakure Temari and Gaara who participate in the mission, his two ANBU teammates Rō and Soku, and the main villain Gengo.
SAKURA HARUNO IN SHIKAMARU HIDEN:
Two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, several Konoha shinobi mysteriously went missing, including Sai, amidst peaceful times. Kakashi sent Shikamaru on a mission to the Land of Silence to investigate with two of the best ANBU experts on infiltrations with him.
Some time before the mission, Shikamaru was pensive, at one time remembering when he almost died at the hands of the Ten Tails and his desire to become Naruto's advisor while Sakura treated his injuries in the battlefield. When Shikamaru arrived at the Land of Silence, Sai and several shinobi had been put under genjutsu.
One day while visiting Sakura at her workplace, Naruto voiced his concern about Sai’s sudden disappearance from Konoha and Shikamaru’s suspicious behavior. She discussed it with Naruto, but Sakura reminded him that Shikamaru and Sai are powerful shinobi and they would ask for his help in case they needed it.
Some time later, Sakura arrived at the Land of Silence with Naruto, Chōji and Ino, where she saved Temari from a direct attack from Sai by sending him away with her taijutsu. She removed the kunai plunged in Temari’s abdomen and quickly treated her wound. As Chōji held Sai, Ino used Mind Body Switch to free Sai from the genjutsu while Sakura and Chōji joined forces to protect her body by fighting the other incoming enemy.
Inside Sai, there was a warm chakra inside of him that belonged to Sakura and Team 7.
By the end of the mission, Sakura healed Shikamaru’s wounds and stayed behind with Naruto in the Land of Silence to wrap up and tend to other people.
This novel received an anime adaptation from episodes 489 to 493 in 2017. Despite being part of the mission to rescue Shikamaru, Sakura was completely erased from the adaptation.
Sakura Hiden: Thoughts of Love, Riding Upon a Spring Breeze (サクラ秘伝 思恋、春風にのせて) or Sakura's Story: Love Riding the Spring Breeze is a novel written by Tomohito Ōsaki and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on April 3rd, 2015. The book is one of the six novels written for the 15th anniversary of Naruto dubbed Naruto Project, where different authors explored the “hidden” stories of some of the most popular characters including the Gaara, Shikamaru Nara, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and two books about individual stories of the Konoha 12 and Akatsuki.
Sakura’s Story was the third novel to be published. It focuses on Sakura Haruno, the Fifth Hokage’s student turned the world’s best medical-ninja and a jōnin member of Team 7 that is currently on her path to innovate Konoha’s medical branch. As the former main female character, she takes the role of protagonist and fights one of her most powerful battles.
The summary reads:
“The Great Ninja War did not only harm adults, but left many damaged children behind. Medical ninja Sakura travels the land, opening clinics dedicated to healing children of the mental trauma they experienced. She learns of a series of attacks against Konoha, and her investigation leads to an impossible conclusion: Sasuke is the terrorist mastermind behind them all!
Using her skills and her heart, Sakura strives to clear Sasuke's name and bring the real perpetrator to justice.”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include her teammates Naruto Uzumaki and Sai, Kakashi Hatake, Ino Yamanaka and Tsunade who support Sakura with her project, and the main villains Kido Tsumiki and Magire.
SAKURA HARUNO IN SAKURA HIDEN:
Because this is Sakura’s novel, she appears throughout it and all the plot points are centered around her, so rather than giving a summary of her role in the story, I’ll try to explain some of the most important aspects.
Months after Hanabi’s rescue mission to the Moon, Sakura attended a meeting at Konoha Hospital to review reports about her new Children’s Therapy Center, a new hospital ward to assess children’s hearts and minds that she had established six months after the Fourth Shinobi World War, a new revolutionary concept that had proved a success in Konoha. Days later, Kakashi summoned her to his office to inform her that, guided by Gaara’s interest in her Therapy Center, Sunagakure was seeking to follow the same path. She began preparing a trip to Sunagakure accompanied by Ino to help their Medical Corps establish a similar center at their own hospital, where Sakura delivered a speech about the results obtained in Konoha and solved any inquiry they might have about the project.
In Sunagakure, Sakura and Ino learned from Gaara that Sasuke had been plotting an attack against Konoha and Sunagakure. Back in Konoha, they were informed that Sai had been investigating an attack against the Fire daimyō and one of the advisors, with whom Kakashi had recently met to allocate funds on Sakura’s center, per the Hokage’s orders. All eyes pointed to a coup organized by a former ANBU Root, Kido Tsumiki, and his accomplice, the medical-ninja Magire. In the meantime, Sakura pondered about the idea of Sasuke trying to plot against Konoha, but Naruto convinced her that it couldn’t possibly be him. Both friends became teachers at the Ninja Academy for the day.
Sakura learned about Sasuke’s recent whereabouts from Kakashi, but both believed that it must have been an impostor imitating Sasuke’s chakra to carry out a plan. In a meeting with Tsunade, Sakura theorized if it was possible to take DNA from Sasuke and draw out his chakra to impersonate him. At the Hokage office, after Sakura explained her theory to Kakashi and Ino, Sai believed that Kido might have used Magire’s medical knowledge to replicate Sasuke’s chakra. Kakashi appointed Sakura, Sai and Ino to form a team, which Ino called “Ino-Saku-Sai.”
During one of her rounds, Sakura found herself in a genjutsu that she couldn’t dispel in time, which gave Kido a chance to kidnap her. She woke up bound and unable to knead chakra in Kido’s hideout. He told Sakura that he planned to use her to lure Sasuke to Konoha due to the nature of their relationship, also planning to kill Sakura before him to develop his Sharingan and replicate it to use it as a weapon. In order to buy time to regain strength, Sakura interrogated Kido and he confessed that he was using Sasuke and Naruto’s DNA to make synthetic weapons to sell them to villages. After his confession, Sakura used her strength to break herself free. Outside the facility where she was kept captive, she found Sai and Ino.
After beating several ANBU, Sakura suggested she fought Kido and his Tailed Beast chakra alone, while Sai and Ino joined forces against Magire. Kido used his synthetic Tailed Beast drug to draw nine tails in order to defeat Sakura as a Pseudo-jinchūriki, but using Creation Rebirth and her previous knowledge of how bijū cloaks heal damage, she defeated him with a jutsu of her own that applied the principles of medical ninjutsu to her advantage in battle: by killing the cells that healed themselves by over-replication, Sakura managed to stop Kido’s regeneration and defeated him with a powerful blow.
After his defeat, Kido confessed that he came from a poor family and couldn’t afford medication to help his sick father, but his father preferred to give up his medication so he could send Kido to the Ninja Academy. Decades after his father’s passing, Kido wondered about how different his life would have been if they had money. Sakura was hopeful that her new center would help children in need and prevent cases like Kido’s. Days later, Sakura was summoned by Sunagakure to deliver another speech.
At the end of the novel, a long time had passed and Sasuke returned to Konoha.
Konoha Hiden: The Perfect Day for a Wedding (木ノ葉秘伝 祝言日和) is a novel written by Shō Hinata and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on May 1st, 2015. The book is one of the six novels written for the 15th anniversary of Naruto dubbed Naruto Project, where different authors explored the “hidden” stories of some of the most popular characters including the Gaara, Shikamaru Nara, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and two books about individual stories of the Konoha 12 and Akatsuki.
Konoha’s Story was the fourth novel to be published. It focuses on several characters from Konoha, narrating the adventures of pairs of Konoha 12 shinobi in their quest to find the perfect wedding gift for Naruto and Hinata. Each pair is the protagonist of a chapter.
The summary reads:
“In Konohagakure, there was an announcement of a certain special mission by the Sixth Hokage Kakashi. It was a confidential mission that Naruto and Hinata could not know about at all: “The people who are attending the wedding ceremony of Naruto and Hinata are to bring celebratory gifts”.
And so, the shinobi of Konohagakure raise the curtain on a mission to procure the items. Lee was even thinking about it while running several laps around the spacious village. Then, Neji appeared in a dream. Tenten was worried about the ninja weaponry in her hands. At once, she began training in throwing kunai. Shikamaru and Chōji held a tactical meeting over barbecue. There, Temari appeared. Sakura and Ino bumped into one another at a general store. For some reason, a cooking showdown began. Ichiraku's Teuchi, Naruto's former teacher Iruka, and Hinata's teammates, Shino and Kiba… What celebratory gifts did everyone choose?”
The main pairs include Rock Lee and Tenten with Might Guy, Shikamaru Nara and Chōji Akimichi with Temari, Naruto Uzumaki and Teuchi, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka and Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka with Tamaki, Iruka Umino and Kakashi Hatake.
SAKURA HARUNO IN KONOHA HIDEN:
While looking for the perfect unique gift, Sakura found a beautiful photo frame she was sure nobody could copy. As she reached for it, Ino reached for the frame at the same time and both tried to seize the object from each other’s hands. With her strength, Sakura took the photo frame from Ino’s hands, which prompted a loud and heated discussion that got both kicked out of the store.
Pointing out that she could only use force to her advantage, Ino tried to manipulate her friend into thinking the photo frame was ugly, but Sakura was confident that those tactics wouldn’t work on her anymore now that she had surpassed her former rival in everything. As a response, Ino claimed that if there was one thing she could beat her at was in femininity, the opposite of the brutality Sakura offered, like cooking and being a good wife. Sakura felt insulted by the accusation and challenged Ino to a cooking competition with Chōji as judge.
They decided to cook Soldier Pills, a mass of preserved transportable balls of nutrients to use on missions. Sakura ultimately made soldier pills using Ino’s favorite food, and Ino did the same. During the competition, Chōji was so overwhelmed by the taste that he fainted, so Sakura and Ino tasted each other’s plates and called it a draw. Then, they decided to get a joint wedding present.
This novel received an anime adaptation from episodes 494 to 500 in 2017. Despite being a more accurate representation compared to other works, a lot of material and lines were erased.
Gaara Hiden: A Sandstorm Mirage (我愛羅秘伝 砂塵幻想) is a novel written by Ukyō Kodachi and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on June 4th, 2015. The book is one of the six novels written for the 15th anniversary of Naruto dubbed Naruto Project, where different authors explored the “hidden” stories of some of the most popular characters including the Gaara, Shikamaru Nara, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and two books about individual stories of the Konoha 12 and Akatsuki.
Gaara’s Story was the fifth novel to be published. It focuses on Gaara, the son of the Fourth Kazekage and current Kazekage who is approached by the village’s elders in order to produce an heir that would continue the family’s tradition. He takes the role of protagonist and it explores Suna’s political state.
The summary reads (taken from the Japanese as this novel was never translated to English):
“The Ninja Alliance has overcome the danger posed by the moon, but for one of its most prominent members, the trouble is far from over. Gaara, Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, is summoned by one of the elders. Now that he has turned 20, they insist he take steps toward finding a suitable marriage partner. Meanwhile, intrigue surrounds Kankuro, as the stability of the village begins to crumble. Politics, blood ties, and fate intertwine as the man famous for his solitary nature strives to protect this new era.”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include his siblings Temari and Kankurō, his former sensei Baki, several Sunagakure officials and Shikamaru Nara.
SAKURA HARUNO IN GAARA HIDEN:
Sakura doesn’t participate in the affairs happening in Sunagakure, but Gaara mentioned her a few times when talking about a shinobi’s skillset.
Gaara remembered that shinobi villages were founded by several shinobi clans filled with hidden techniques and Kekkei Genkai whose power were revered, but there were times where coming from a good family or bloodline didn’t mean becoming an outstanding shinobi. Gaara thought about Sakura, a kunoichi with a regular civilian background that had surpassed others by hard work and pure strength. He also compared the difference between the taijutsu level of a medical-ninja with his own, a shinobi sent to the frontlines, and recalled that Sakura was the exception of the rule, managing to be both a medical-ninja and a battle-type.
He also revealed that Sakura was one of the few shinobi who taught him about love and became his pillars.
Akatsuki Hiden: Evil Flowers in Full Bloom (暁秘伝 咲き乱れる悪の華) is a novel written by Shin Towada and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on July 3rd, 2015. The book is one of the six novels written for the 15th anniversary of Naruto dubbed Naruto Project, where different authors explored the “hidden” stories of some of the most popular characters including the Gaara, Shikamaru Nara, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and two books about individual stories of the Konoha 12 and Akatsuki.
Akatsuki’s Story was the sixth and last novel to be published. It focuses on the many missions the Akatsuki members went on before the start of Naruto.
The summary reads (taken from the Japanese as this novel was never translated to English):
“During his travels, Sasuke Uchiha meets a boy whose family was murdered by Akatsuki. Clad in dark cloaks covered with red clouds, this group of gifted ninja killed, stole, and destroyed. Selfishness, to protect loved ones, money, religion, art, peace, hope...the motives of its members could not have been more varied. As a new age dawns for shinobi, light is shed on the true story of these ninja renowned for their darkness.”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include Sasuke Uchiha, the Akatsuki members, and the brothers Ōmitsu and Komitsu.
SAKURA HARUNO IN AKATSUKI HIDEN:
While remembering his days as a shinobi of Konoha, Sasuke thought of Sakura and how much love she made him feel.
The Last: Naruto the Movie is a novel written by Maruo Kyozuka and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on December 8th, 2014. The book is the written adaptation of the movie The Last: Naruto the Movie, also written by Maruo Kyozuka, for the 15th anniversary of Naruto dubbed Naruto Project, where the official Fourth Databook and the Blank Period’s databook were released.
The Last: Naruto the Movie novelization was the first novel to be published about the Blank Period. The story revolved around Toneri Ōtsutsuki, a descendant of the branch family of Hamura Ōtsutsuki, who kidnapped Hanabi Hyūga and Konoha is sent on a rescue mission to the moon. It takes place shortly after the events of Shikamaru Hiden and before Sakura Hiden.
The summary reads (taken from the Japanese as this novel was never translated to English):
“The moon begins to collapse and meteorites rain down on Earth! As the last day of the Earth approaches, in the Hidden Leaf, Hanabi is kidnapped by Ōtsutsuki Toneri, and Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Shikamaru and Hinata embark on a mission to rescue her.”
Some of the main characters of the novel include Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sai, Shikamaru Nara and Hinata Hyūga, as well as supporting characters Kakashi Hatake and Konoha shinobi, Hanabi Hyūga, and the main villain Toneri Ōtsutsuki.
SAKURA HARUNO IN THE LAST: NARUTO THE MOVIE NOVEL:
The novel isn’t very different from the movie, but there are things that are explained more thoroughly than in the movie, where things happened sometimes for plot convenience rather than having a logical explanation (that the novel explains or removes because in the movie it makes no sense). I’ll explain the parts where the novel offers insight about Sakura’s role.
After learning from Hiashi that Hanabi had been kidnapped, Kakashi chose Sakura, Sai and Shikamaru as the original lineup to rescue Hanabi. Shikamaru thought that Sakura was needed for her medical ninjutsu, ideally following the norm that every team should have at least one reliable medical-ninja, but had doubts about Hinata and Naruto
When the team fell for Toneri’s genjutsu Sakura dreamt about her closest friends, Tsunade, Sasuke, Ino and Naruto. She identified inconsistencies common in genjutsu like blurry vision, and dispelled the illusion.
While healing Naruto, Sakura mentioned that his heartbeat was weak after having his chakra drained by Toneri.
(In reality, a jinchūriki’s chakra can’t be absorbed that quickly. It took the full members of the Akatsuki several days to extract Shukaku from Gaara, just as it took Momoshiki a long time to partially absorb the power of Kurama with Rinnesharingan. In reality, it would take Sakura a while to replenish, although she has quicker options like her seal and Katsuyu.)
While working, Shikamaru offered Sakura to take a break before she lost consciousness, which is the prelude of Naruto finding her later resting after saving his life. The following day, Sakura was still not at full strength but decided to join the rescue team. Shikamaru mentioned she was a great kunoichi.
It was Sakura who had put Hanabi’s eyes back in place and healed her completely.
Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise (サスケ真伝 来光篇) or Sasuke’s Story: Book of Sunrise is a novel written by Shin Towada and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on November 4th, 2015. The book is one of the three novels written for the Naruto Project.
Sasuke’s Story was the third novel to be published. It focuses on Sasuke Uchiha, the last member of the Uchiha Clan and a rogue ninja member of Team 7 who possesses both the Mangekyō Sharingan and Rinnegan that is currently traveling the world. He takes the role of protagonist where it explores one of his adventures as a traveler.
The summary reads:
“The Great Ninja War has ended, but to untangle the mystery that remains,Sasuke sets out on a journey-a journey that he hopes will allow him to atone for his sins. During his travels, those ninja faithful to the avenger Sasuke bring about tragedy. Meanwhile danger closes in on the villages of Konoha, Kiri, and Kumo, where red eyes burn with hatred. What is the future Sasuke staresdown?”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include his teammates Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, Sai, Kakashi Hatake, several other Konoha shinobi, his two companions Chino and Nowaki, his former master Orochimaru and Team Taka.
SAKURA HARUNO IN SASUKE SHINDEN:
A few months after the incident on the Moon, Sakura and Naruto questioned the disappearance of several Konoha citizens along with Sai. Shortly after, an explosion near the A-Un gate alerted the trio and they headed to the place with Team 10 following behind them. They found ninja from the Barrier Team fighting the missing Konoha citizen, one of which was a regular customer at the Yamanaka flowershop. Noticing the irregular pattern, Sakura and Shikamaru realized the intruders were Konoha shinobi that had been placed under a genjutsu that forced their bodies to explode upon contact.
Even though they managed to take one down, it wasn’t an efficient remedy because the foreign chakra inside them would start manifesting inside their bodies if it wasn’t removed, so Aoba Yamashiro tried reading the mind of one of the fallen intruders to find a solution. While delving into their mind, Aoba fell into a genjutsu trap placed inside them. Sakura pointed it out to Ino so she could free him with Mind Body Switch, resulting in both shinobi being exhausted from the effort of dispelling the illusion. Sai sent them to Konoha Hospital to get immediate treatment from Sakura.
In a facility outside Konoha, Sakura was tasked with leading the investigation of the mysterious genjutsu to find a way to remove the foreign chakra from their bodies. She had asked Hinata to use her Byakugan to locate where the foreign chakra was located (even though Sakura has a medical ninjutsu technique to sense chakra inside the body) and test a theory. Using the Byakugan to locate the foreign chakra, Sakura used her medical ninjutsu and managed to find a cure to treat the patients. Now free from any potential genjutsu trap, Aoba read the intruder’s mind for a second time and discovered that they were under the Dark Thunder, a group Sasuke had been after.
Some time later, after clearing the Arena, C, the Raikage's assistant, informed Sasuke that the Konoha medical-ninja were on their way to treat the people affected by Chino’s Ketsuryugan. Sasuke believed Sakura was among those.
Sakura and her medical team travelled to Kumogakure and Kirigakure and treated everybody that had been affected by the Ketsuryugan. When she returned, Naruto visited her and told her about what Chino had confessed to him about Sasuke. She recalled that the Uchiha Clan used to be Konoha’s Military Police Force and Naruto let Sasuke know that both considered him like the police running after the bad guys.
This novel received an anime adaptation from episodes 484 to 488 in 2017. The adaptation shortened Konoha’s role in the pursuit of the Dark Thunder and Sakura’s scenes as well.
This novel received an anime adaptation from episodes 484 to 488 in 2017. The adaptation shortened Konoha’s role in the pursuit of the Dark Thunder and Sakura’s scenes as well.
The Boruto novels is a project of individual series set after Boruto: Naruto the Movie but disconnected from the plot of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, so the novels official bear the Naruto seal on them despite being set in their adult era.
The Shinden and Retsuden novels tell the stories of some of the most beloved characters in their adult lives and are all published in chronological order.
Two of these were adapted by Studio Pierrot.
BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE NOVEL:
Boruto: Naruto the Movie is a novel written by Ukyō Kodachi and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on August 10th, 2015. The book is the written adaptation of the movie Boruto: Naruto the Movie, written by Masashi Kishimoto in collaboration with Ukyō Kodachi, for the 15th anniversary of Naruto dubbed Naruto Project, where the official Naruto Gaiden and the Boruto era’s databook were released.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie novelization was the first novel to be published about the parent era of Naruto. The story revolved around Boruto Uzumaki, Naruto’s son, who develops a disdain for the Hokage title and makes it his mission to show his powers to his father during the Chūnin Exams. It takes place weeks after the events of Naruto Gaiden.
The summary reads (taken from the Japanese as this novel was never translated to English):
“The Seventh Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, runs the Hidden Leaf Village. His son, Boruto, works as a genin with Sarada and Mitsuki everyday. He wants to surpass his father, Naruto, the hero of the village…! Boruto applies to become an apprentice to his father’s friend, Sasuke…?!”
Some of the main characters of the novel include Boruto Uzumaki, Sarada Uchiha, Mitsuki, Shikadai Nara, Inojin Yamanaka, Chōchō Akimichi, Metal Lee, Shinki and others, as well Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, Sai Yamanaka and Hinata Uzumaki, and the main villain Momoshiki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki.
SAKURA UCHIHA IN BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE NOVEL:
The novel isn’t very different from the movie and Sakura’s role doesn’t really differ from that of the movie’s or even the anime’s, but she does get special mentions about her position in the village or her status.
As members of the same team, Sarada maintained a rivalry with Boruto because her dream was to become Hokage. Due to this, Boruto was acclaimed for being the famed Naruto’s son, while Sarada was acclaimed for being the daughter of the famed Sasuke and Sakura, so she couldn’t lose to Boruto.
Later on, as Boruto expressed his anger that Naruto kept prioritizing his job over his family, he remarked that Sakura was a suitable Hokage replacement.
When Momoshiki and Kinshiki attacked Konoha, one of the people Sakura saved from the falling piece of debris was Sarada. When Sasuke saved Sarada from another piece of debris, he took her to Sakura along with Mitsuki, telling his wife that the enemies were the same ones he had told her about. Shikamaru also mentioned that Konoha didn’t send more powerful shinobi because some needed to stay in case something happened. Jonin were also in charge of Konoha, with Sakura being one of them.
In the epilogue scene, when Sakura is sitting on the rooftop with Sasuke, it’s mentioned he offered her a smile he showed anyone but his wife.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations are six novels written by Ukyō Kodachi and Mikio Ikemoto and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction from May 2017 to January 2018.
Because these books have never had an English adaptation and they haven’t been properly promoted as the rest of Naruto novels, it’s hard to find translations. However, they received anime adaptations from episode 1 to 37 where Sakura makes some appearances.
Konoha Shinden: Steam Ninja Scrolls (木ノ葉新伝 湯煙忍法帖) or Konoha’s Story: Steam Ninja Scrolls is a novel written by Shō Hinata and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on August 4th, 2016. The book is one of the four novels written for the Naruto Light Novel Project’s Naruto Shinden (2018).
Konoha’s Story was the first novel to be published. It focuses on Mirai Sarutobi, Asuma and Kurenai Sarutobi’s daughter and a chūnin that is currently on a mission escorting the Sixth Hokage and Might Guy. She takes the role of protagonist where it explores some of her adventures. It takes place during the events of Naruto Gaiden and before Boruto: Naruto the Movie.
The summary reads (taken from the Japanese as this novel was never translated to English):
“A new era in which the Seventh Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, rules the Hidden Leaf Village. Retired Kakashi, Might Guy who is pursuing eternal youth, and the chūnin Sarutobi Mirai who is assigned to guard them, head to the hot springs of the Land of Hot Springs! From parent to child… from master to disciple… a heartwarming story of bonds that connects the feelings of the new generation.”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy, Tenten, Kiba Inuzuka, Chōji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Temari, Tatsumi and the main villains Ryūki and the Jashin cult.
SAKURA UCHIHA IN KONOHA SHINDEN (2018):
The epilogue of Naruto Gaiden is written in the last chapter with Kakashi on the phone with Naruto telling him about Shin Uchiha and Sasuke’s return to Sakura and Sarada.
This novel received an anime adaptation from episodes 106 to 111 in 2019. It also received a manga adaptation from October 2022 to May 2023 in a bi-weekly format. Sakura appears in chapter 14 described as one of the most successful Konoha shinobi.
Naruto Shinden: Parent and Child Day (ナルト新伝 親子の日) or Naruto’s Story: Family Day is a novel written by Mirei Miyamoto and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on May 2nd, 2018. The book is one of the four novels written for the Naruto Light Novel Project’s Naruto Shinden (2018).
Naruto’s Story was the second novel to be published. It focuses on several parents from Konoha and their lives as family. Each pair is the protagonist of a chapter.
The summary reads:
“To celebrate Family Day, Konohagakure village's new holiday, Naruto and his daughter Himawari are on the hunt for an elusive must-have item. Hinata wants to make the day memorable for her family, Hiashi, Hanabi and Boruto. Even Sasuke makes special time with his daughter Sarada and his wife Sakura! At the end of the day, will Family Day be a success?”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include Naruto Uzumaki and Himawari Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara and Chōji Akimichi, Hinata Uzumaki and Hanabi Hyūga, Sakura Uchiha, Sarada Uchiha as well as other Konoha shinobi.
SAKURA UCHIHA IN NARUTO SHINDEN:
As Sasuke arrived in Konoha to visit his family, the house that Sakura told him she had built for the family was gone. Sarada found him looking at the materials left while the house was in the process of being rebuilt, and reminded him of the temporary apartment they were occupying where they had enjoyed dinner after defeating Shin Uchiha. On their way, Sarada told Sasuke about the new Parent and Child Day.
As Sasuke struggled to please his daughter’s wishes, he arrived home to his wife. Sakura offered him tea and to cut his hair. She could tell that Sasuke was frustrated after a failed holiday spent with his daughter even though Sasuke didn’t offer any details about it. To encourage him, Sakura recommended him to act naturally with Sarada, as she doesn’t really know Sasuke from everyday life, but admired him nonetheless because he was a special shinobi stronger and cooler than other fathers in Konoha. Sakura compared their father-daughter relationship with Sasuke’s desire to spend time with his own father, Fugaku, when he was young. Sasuke also learned from his wife that their daughter dreamt of becoming Hokage.
This novel received an anime adaptation from episodes 93 to 95 in 2019. Sakura’s scenes don’t differ much from the novel except some dialogues and situations such as Sasuke’s haircut.
Sasuke Shinden: Parent and Child Day (ナルト- サスケ新伝 師弟の星) or Sasuke’s Story: Star Pupil is a novel written by Jun Esaka and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on June 4th, 2018. The book is one of the four novels written for the Naruto Light Novel Project’s Naruto Shinden (2018).
Naruto’s Story was the third novel to be published. Sasuke Uchiha, former Team 7 member and patriarch of the Uchiha Clan and Konoha’s Supporting Hokage that is currently replacing Konohamaru as the new Team 7 leader. He takes the role of protagonist where it explores his new role as a sensei.
The summary reads:
“Sasuke is given the task of training Team Seven, and Boruto is delighted. But he also has trouble accepting his master’s teachings. Then pop star Himeno Lily jumps in with a mission for them, challenging what it means to be master and student. And what does this mean for the future of the ninja?”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include Boruto Uzumaki, Sarada Uchiha and Mitsuki, Konohamaru Sarutobi, as well as other Konoha shinobi, Lily Himeno and the main villain, the Purple Moon Religion.
SAKURA UCHIHA IN SASUKE SHINDEN (2018):
When Sarada worried that her father might leave on a mission abruptly, Sasuke reassured her that he talks a lot with Sakura late at night so she’s informed of all his missions.
Later on, Lily Himeno, a famous idol from the Land of Fire, recognized Sarada to be Sakura Haruno’s daughter, who is famed for being a student of the Fifth Hokage.
Just as Sasuke was preparing to leave on another mission, Sarada teased him saying he had lipstick on his mouth. Sasuke cleaned the area to find it clean, and Sarada reminded him that Sakura didn’t wear lipstick.
Naruto Retsuden (NARUTO -ナルト- 烈伝) is a trilogy released in 2019. The project has three different novels released between June and October of 2019 written by Jun Esaka. The time chosen for the stories lies after Boruto: Naruto the Movie.
It contains: Kakashi Retsuden, Sasuke Retsuden and Naruto Retsuden, all published in chronological order.
Kakashi Retsuden: The Sixth Hokage and the Failure Boy (カカシ烈伝 六代目火影と落ちこぼれの少年) or Kakashi Retsuden: The Sixth Hokage and the Failed Prince is a novel written by Jun Esaka and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on June 4th, 2019.
Kakashi Retsuden was the first novel to be published. It focuses on Kakashi Hatake, the Sixth Hokage, who now retired, assumes his role as a bridge between Konoha and the Land of Redaku to discover information about the Sage of the Sixth Paths. He takes the role of protagonist where he goes on a long term mission during his resting days.
The summary reads:
“When Kakashi sets off on a mission to the lush land of Redaku, he encounters its people suffering from a severe drought. The prince of Redaku can bring water to the land, but he has left his royal home for another village. When Kakashi locates the prince, he discovers a more elaborate plot long in the works that involves the fates of both Redaku and Konoha.”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include Redaku’s Prime Minister, Nanara, Margo, Hakubi Shin, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Uchiha.
SAKURA UCHIHA IN KAKASHI RETSUDEN:
While researching in palace’s library, Kakashi found a book that could contain clues about the Sage of the Sixth Paths and sent it to Konoha for studying. He said that if they used Sakura or Shikamaru’s help they would be able to decipher the contents.
Sasuke Retsuden: The Uchiha Descendants and the Heavenly Stardust (サスケ烈伝 うちはの末裔と天球の星屑) or Sasuke Retsuden: The Uchiha and the Heavenly Stardust is a novel written by Jun Esaka and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on August 2nd, 2019.
Sasuke Retsuden was the second novel to be published. It focuses on Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, the strongest married couple of Konoha who embark on a long term mission together in the Land of Redaku to discover information about the Sage of the Sixth Paths. They take the role of protagonist where they investigate the Astronomy Research Institute and defeat its leader.
The summary reads:
“Uchiha Sasuke heads for an astronomical observatory, far from the Land of Fire. There, he syncs up with Sakura, and together they dive into an undercover investigation in search of traces of the Sage of Six Paths! They discover a plan that goes beyond life and death, and a battle that will test this husband-and-wife team till death do they part.”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include Zansul, Jiji, Ganno, Penjira, Menō, Fandal, Shikamaru Nara and Kakashi Hatake.
SAKURA UCHIHA IN SASUKE RETSUDEN:
Because this is Sakura’s novel, she appears throughout it and all the plot points are centered around her, so rather than giving a summary of her role in the story, I’ll try to explain some of the most important aspects.
After deciding she would also travel to the Land of Redaku, Sakura saved Sasuke from Menō, the prison’s guard lizard, whose claws were laced with some mysterious potent poison that Sasuke couldn’t resist. When Sasuke woke up, Sakura informed him that she infiltrated the Astronomy Research Institute as its new doctor to aid him in his mission, much to Sasuke’s persistence that she returned home ahead of the dangerous task. During the mission, both needed to hide their marital status from the staff and prisoners, although they told Jiji, one of Sasuke’s cellmates.
Sakura decided to look for more information about the polar particles in the archives using Penjira’s love for gambling to obtain the key to the basement. Initially, Sasuke wanted to use genjutsu on Penjira, but Sakura stopped him, using her intellect and memory to force each round of Hoshinarabe into a draw and exhausting her rival, which earns her the key. On their way to the basement, Sasuke crafted a ring made from his own chakra to lure men away and Sakura used a sensory jutsu to search for traps and map the area, and she found a secret room accessible from Zansul’s office. Among the archives, they found the map that would lead them to the polar particles, a map drawn by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki himself containing images of animals similar to Hoshinarabe. Sakura compared them to an astronomical map and took the it to her office to decipher the code behind the illustrations.
The following day, Sasuke told Sakura that the animals from the map were the Tailed Beasts. In turn, she managed to sneak into Zansul’s office to discover he had an appointment with a messenger from Redaku’s Prime Minister. When Sakura escorted the messenger, she knocked him down and used transformation jutsu to impersonate him, while Sasuke transformed into his cane. Once inside, Sakura stalls Zansul long enough for Sasuke to gather clues inside his secret room. He found chickens inside.
Days later, after receiving a message from Kakashi informing of Nagare village, Sakura rushed to tell Sasuke but started a conversation with Ganno instead, who, upon seeing her ring, guessed Sasuke was her husband by the brief description she had made of him and Sasuke’s longing for the plum blossoms to bloom. When they finally met, Sakura informed Sasuke that the animals also represented hand seals and could be the clue to obtaining the polar particles. At the lake, Sakura and Sasuke have a private conversation about their relationship and their family. Then, after Sakura successfully used the hand seals to reveal the polar particles, an explosion took place in the prison and dragons invaded the place.
Sakura rushed to the prison to evacuate the prisoners and on her way she’s stabbed by Jiji using Menō’s secret poison, revealing his collaboration with Zansul in the process. Unable to move or knead chakra, she was trapped under the rubble after the prison collapsed. Sasuke found Sakura using the chakra from her ring and removed the poison from her body, and then she resumed fighting the dragons to buy time for the prisoners to escape. Jiji arrived at Sakura's location and she lured him to a trap she had prepared. Jiji confesses that he wanted to use Edo Tensei to revive his lover, Margo, who had died back in Redaku; however, Margo was alive. One of the last dragons moved to attack Sakura but Jiji took the blow for her, and he’s later healed by Sakura.
Back in Konoha with the polar particles, Sakura met Ino for tea after a successful long mission. They spoke about their families until Ino noticed the ring on Sakura’s finger. Ino comments about how Sakura will always remain a girl in love even after years of marriage. Back home, Sarada cooked dinner for the family. Shikamaru rang the bell and brought some reports about the polar particles and Zansul’s immune eyes. Both agreed that they would make progress about Naruto’s condition.
This novel received an anime adaptation from episodes 282 to 286 in 2023. The adaptation shortened many details from the novel and Sakura’s scenes as well. It also received a manga adaptation from October 2022 to April 2023 in a bi-weekly format. The manga is a perfect way to enjoy the details of the novel without major changes.
Naruto Retsuden: Naruto Uzumaki and the Spiral Destiny (ナルト烈伝 うずまきナルトと螺旋の天命) or Naruto Retsuden: Naruto Uzumaki and the Spiral Destiny is a novel written by Jun Esaka and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto published by Jump J Books and edited by VIZ Media: SJ Fiction on October 4th, 2019.
This novel is the bridge between Kakashi Retsuden and Sasuke Retsuden.
Naruto Retsuden was the third novel to be published. It focuses on Naruto Uzumaki, the Seventh Hokage and jinchūriki of the Nine Tails currently suffering from an unknown disease that blocks his chakra pathway system. They take the role of protagonist where it explores Naruto’s life inside Konoha and his frustrations.
The summary reads:
“When Naruto is no longer able to use chakra, the shinobi of Konoha come together to help him. Even Orochimaru offers to assist with scientific ninja tools. While directing the people around him with all the dynamic ferocity of a mighty whirlpool, Naruto stands tall, facing this trial with an unbreakable spirit!”
Some of the supporting characters of the novel include Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara and Kakashi Hatake, Orochimaru, Hinata Uzumaki, Yamato, Ino Yamanaka and Chōji Akimichi, Chihare Amano, Furie Kanhen and other Konoha shinobi.
SAKURA UCHIHA IN NARUTO RETSUDEN:
In the Land of Stairs, Sakura became part of Naruto’s Hokage Guard Team along with the rest of Team 7 and Shikamaru. She took down one of the clones made by Yanaru Aze, an assassin hired to kill Naruto.
Some time later, Naruto began complaining about his inability to knead chakra and sudden dizziness. He met in a secret location provided by a close friend of Sakura, Tami, whom she had saved during Pain’s attack, with his teammates and Shikamaru. They all agreed to follow Kurama’s guidance to investigate Hagomoro Ōtsutsuki’s whereabouts in the Land of Redaku much to Naruto’s opposition, who considered that the most important people of Konoha shouldn’t interfere in his personal affairs. After Kakashi and Sasuke left for Redaku, Sakura found Naruto passed out on the Hokage Rock and informed him that she had made an accurate diagnosis after studying his medical analysis. Sakura then decided to follow Sasuke to Redaku.
After Kakashi and the Uchiha’s long term missions, the polar particles that Sakura and Sasuke obtained from the Astronomy Research Institute had been destroyed by Naruto. Back in their secret location, the pillars and Chihare discussed a way to reach the celestial body to access the other half of the polar particles. In order to reach it, Team 7 would need to climb up a pillar and open the meteorite.
The next day, Sakura picked Naruto up riding the motorbike they would use to climb the pillar. Sakura would be in charge of maintaining the team on track with her chakra control. During their ascent, they encountered some stormy clouds and the men became separated from the pillar for a brief moment while hanging by a kunai attached to the road, Naruto worried that Sakura might have been knocked out, but Sasuke reassured him that she would be back soon, and in that moment Sakura picked them up and went back on track. Unfortunately, Team 7 made it to the celestial body too late, so Sasuke had to sacrifice himself to destroy it in order to free the particles. Sakura kissed Sasuke and threw the headband hanging on Sasuke’s coat to use Amenotejikara.
On their way down, Gaara and Kurotsuchi aided Yamato and Kakashi with their rock pillar. Several pieces of it started falling over Konoha, but Temari blew them away with her Folding Fan. Tenten, Rock Lee, Kiba, Karui and Kankuro also joined Temari.
Several days later, Sakura watched the fireworks from the recent festival while drinking with Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi.
If you want to read some of the passages from each novel, please read on AO3.
Hm so as I’ve seen many people lump Sakura in with Naruto and Kakashi as ‘bootlickers who ignore all the state’s atrocities in favor of keeping that status quo’, so as both a radical and a Sakura fan I’d like to share why and how I think Sakura could be turned into a radical character.
This isn’t gonna go very deeply into her fighting abilities or any of that, it’s more an analysis of her personality and narrative role than anything.
So I think one of the main points that attracts me to Sakura taking a radical direction is, unlike Naruto and Kakashi, she’s so rarely allowed any agency outside of male character’s desires. Like there’s multiple points where Sakura is about to do something or go fight, especially during Pt 1, where she’s stopped by someone while Naruto, for example, isn’t given any of the same opposition. While her willingness to drop her plan as soon as an authority figure demands it are something I’m going to further address, the fact remains that more often than not Sakura is only allowed agency so much as it benefits the male characters (ex, yelling at Sasuke to spur him out of his fear to fight Orochimaru).
This lack of agency is continued on throughout Shippuden. While Sakura’s delegation to the sidelines isn’t as noticable (as it’s often just that she’s barely there at all or is visible but doesn’t contribute to the plot), Shippuden Sakura is again not allowed her own voice in the narrative. She’s never given vital pieces of information (ex, the truth about the Uchiha massacre) that would allow her to actually position herself within the story the way Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi are able to do so. We don’t really know what Sakura’s reaction to the truth of the world around her would be, unlike Sasuke (fight again the oppressive forces) or Naruto & Kakashi (favor the status quo), because she is never able to find said truth out.
What damns this even more for me is that there are instances of Sakura breaking out of the Shinobi conditioned mindset sometimes!! The clearest is during the Wave arc, where her sobbed uttering of the Shinobi code as she thinks Sasuke is dead is used outright to question the morality of the shinobi system (side note there’s a reason Wave is imo the best arc). Sure, you could chalk it up to her being a wimpy and emotional 12 year old, but her emotions are directly used here to point out the cruelty of the shinobi system. There’s a moment like this again at the end of her fight with Sasori as well, where Sakura demanding the value of life is met by Sasori asking her if “that’s what a shinobi should be saying”. Again, this is proven by Sakura’s hesitance to stab out Obito’s eye - Sakura’s value for life and compassion have, multiple times, been used to question her position in the shinobi system. But we never really get to see this come to fruition because Sakura is not given the agency nor the information to do so.
In fact, I think if given the information like the true cause of the Uchiha Massacre, Sakura would become radical fairly quickly. She’s very good at memorizing and researching huge amounts of information, she’s noted to be observant and good at noticing details, and she’s incredibly stubborn and wouldn’t be put off if the information was hard to find - the qualities that made her an excellent academic student and medic would make her very good and finding out what she needs to. Additionally, Sakura is shown to have very little loyalty to the state at all. She offers to choose her friend/romantic interest/cared person Sasuke over Konoha twice and seems to genuinely mean it, which shows me that the only real reasons she remains loyal to Konoha are a) many of her precious people (ie, Ino, Tsunade, Naruto, Kakashi) are in Konoha, b) she’s grown up there and it’s easiest, and c) she’s been given no real reason to question it. The violence she seems at least a bit uncomfortable with could be a reason, sure, but as far as Sakura’s seen almost everyone partakes in that, even the revolutionaries.
However, I think if given something that forces her to seriously reconsider her worldview of Konoha as, if not the good guys then a lesser evil to be loyal to, something that forces her to choose between her value for life and her care for her precious people and the state, I think she could very well be turned into a revolutionary. Sakura’s not against enacting violence, but she is shown to have a value for life that the shinobi system ordinarily discourages (one that I do believe she had even prior to her apprenticeship under Tsunade). Playing on this as the catalyst and using her academic skill could turn her into a radical character easily.
However, in order for that to happen, her arc would have to confront what I said I’d address earlier: Sakura’s adherence to authority regardless of her personal wishes and lack of faith in herself.
These, I think, play into each other. While there’s speculation about Sakura’s family and abuse, what we do know from canon is that Sakura was both a teacher’s pet and a bullying victim from a young age. Both of these reinforce this part of her personality; the bullying hurt her self esteem and her faith in herself (and if we go by the anime movies, her emotionally abusive parents sure weren’t helping in that regard either), and being a teacher’s pet allowed her to get the validation her broken self esteem craved so long as she did exactly as the authority figure told. I think for a lot of ‘gifted kids’, we either grow up strictly abiding by authority as it’s what got us positive reinforcement growing up, or we go in the complete opposite direction and trust no authority at all when it inevitably fails us.
Is it as exciting a backstory or reasoning for her personality as some of the other characters? No, but it’s what we have. Sakura is one of those kids, with an academic performance that got her validation as long as she was obedient, and her peers (and parents) hurting her self esteem so she couldn’t trust her own opinion anymore. I think this is why she’s so quick to back down whenever someone she sees as more qualified or in a higher position than her demands it. I don’t think this was ever actually addressed in the show or manga, tbh. I think this would be Sakura’s main barrier to radicalization; her arc would need to be her gaining confidence not just in her abilities, but in her own opinions and personality, and learning that authority figures are not to be trusted.
Anyway, I think Sakura is a very interesting character to take a radical route. You just need to understand her character and motivations.
Analysis: can you see the similarities between this Sakura’s blunders in war?
So this obvious similarity caught my eye:
CHAPTER 641: Sasuke and Naruto rush at Jubito, but with a good plan in mind that’s immediately picked up by Tobirama and Minato. Tobirama outright backs it.
Jubito (Jubi-Obito) blocks their combined-attack, but it still results in a successful hit to gauge Jubito’s abilities. Tobirama and Minato don’t end up rescuing Sasuke and Naruto. They end up aiding them with their own plan as Tobirama caught on to what they were doing.
This is almost exactly the same as this:
CHAPTER 676 (PLEASE NOTE THE CHAPTER NUMBER):
She wants to show off that she’s caught up to them again!
I didn’t take a single panel out. The bottom panel follows the top one! Can you see the similarity? Sakura charges at Madara like Sasuke and Naruto did at Jubito. She wants to impress Sasuke. Yes, and that fool Kakashi is completely mum on his student’s juvenile behavior, on a battlefield no less.
Kakashi’s “shocked” for some reason when he didn’t stop his student when she ran headfirst into a Jubi-Jinchuriki, but he’s “screaming” off-panel, I suppose.
Obito said it best (God, I love this panel)!
Sakura finally realizes something very important: “I didn’t have a plan!”
I suppose, she wanted to give Sasuke the full view of her buttocks again (?), but Sasuke doesn’t seem interested. Kishimoto made a parody out of Sasuke and Naruto’s successful strategy through Sakura’s foolishness: she was trying to impress Sasuke, earn his affection and acknowledgement.
CHAPTER 678 (NOTE THE CHAPTER NUMBER):
Here’s what I don’t understand: why’s Sasuke a bad guy for being fed-up with her childish antics, bullheadedness, absurd behavior on the battle-field that happened in CHAPTER 676? Two chapters before he calls her out here in CHAPTER 678? And Kakashi has the nerve to ask to be let into the whole thing when he didn’t bother stopping Sakura two chapters back!
This is the same “WATCH MY BACK!” nonsense she pulled off in CHAPTER 632:
^ She blindly charges at the enemy to impress Sasuke, punches and makes really big explosions, and that’s it! She’s got no plan after these three moves. Pretty much never! (Why’s she considered to be anywhere near as intelligent as Sasuke, exactly? It’s ridiculous to even think like that.)
Here, she’s shown directing an insulting remark at Tsunade. For what reason? I can’t say, but it paints her in a very bad light. And don’t try anything with the “She exceeded Tsunade’s strength” argument. That’s a complete lie!
Hashirama died when Tsunade was still a child. Hashirama compared Sakura’s Byakugou strength with Tsunade’s natural strength because Tsunade invented the seal in her late thirties or early forties. After she left the village. Hashirama was long dead by that time! Even Orochimaru didn’t know what it was when she released it. Someone who fought wars alongside her.
Orochimaru, who’s in his 50′s, is seeing this Jutsu for the very first time. Then how is Hashirama comparing Tsunade’s “seal-released strength” to Sakura’s seal-released strength? This is the Sōzō Saisei. She created and mastered the Ninpō Sōzō Saisei — Byakugō no Jutsu, as well!
The only difference between the two is that the Byakugou heals a bit faster and doesn’t require seals. The former does. Tsunade created and mastered both. They’re literally the same Jutsu!
Hashirama also compared Tsunade’s regular strength to Sakura’s Byakugou strength as Tsunade invented the parent-Jutsu in her late thirties or early forties! So what did Sakura improve on and how is her strength over Tsunade’s? All of this “she surpassed Tsunade” concept is basically Fan-Fiction.
Coming back to the argument: she ran at the Jubi clone and didn’t realize that others are in tow?
There’s a large shadow on her, and she still doesn’t realize that she’s in deep trouble. Sasuke and Naruto immediately react and save her just in time. And she doesn’t even know what happened. She adores charging into things with Plan # 1 that’s got three steps in it that play on repeat throughout the manga.
PLAN # 1: charge ahead, punch, and impress Sasuke. PLAN # 2? Nothing?
And she’s happy that Sasuke noticed and saved her!
I don’t even like the blond kid, Naruto, but he saved her, too. She doesn’t acknowledge that.
This isn’t the hill any fan of hers should want to die on, when her scene’s the scan-by-scan parody of Sasuke and Naruto’s against Jubito. It plays out the exact same way! “But Sasuke’s so mean ...” is a reductionist-take and deliberate twisting of canon content. She literally ran at Madara without a plan, didn’t tell anyone, and made the task harder for Sasuke. The fate of the whole world hangs in the balance. Why shouldn’t Sasuke be upset with her? Why shouldn’t he call her out? Why shouldn’t she be thrown back into her own space when she’s being nothing but trouble? I’ve never understood this blatant hypocrisy.
(Yo, some time ago someone asked me to translate Sakura's profile from the Boruto manga, and now they sent me a raw scan. I don't know if I have the permission to edit the image, but here's the translation)
Ninja Great Illustrated Reference Book: Number Nine
I just about never write anything of this sort but... lol I was very upset about Sakura late at night so this happened. It’s pretty minimally edited. I haven’t written in a while my apologies.
This takes place sometime after the chuunin exams. Sakura frustrated that she’s always looking at her teammate’s backs. Mostly based off of my own feelings on the topic. Feel free to read.
It was always Sasuke. Or, Naruto. Always receiving extra lessons, special time with sensei. New trainers, new jutsus. When was the last time she had learned a new jutsu? At the Academy? Had it really been that long?
She shouldn't be upset. Of course, they received more training than her. They had more chakra, more stamina, more potential.
Sakura balled up her fists in frustration and slammed them into the pillow wedged between her legs. She bit back a sob, cursing the stupid tears that streamed down her face. She raised her tiny shaking fist and hit the pillow again before giving into her tears and allowing another loud sob.
She continued to maul her pillow, hating herself for even having this tantrum. This wasn't the first time. She wiped away a stray tear, brushing the short strands away from her wet cheek. Sakura had promised herself that nobody would see her cry ever again. She'd save her tears for the bedroom.
Sakura had been raised a proper kunoichi. She knew better than to question her teammates treatment or throw a fit in public. She'd been trained to smile even if that smile was false. To put her faith in her comrades and propel them forwards. What were the wants and needs of one shinobi compared to the future of the village?
She thought of her long talks with Ino. They'd come home after a long day of training and rest barefoot basking in the summer sun. Ino would regale her with stories of her teammates' antics. Of their continued progress on the InoShikaCho formation, a three man formation requiring each participant to play an active role.
"And what did you learn?" Ino would ask, cocking her head as she waited for her friend to answer. Their rivalry not quite forgotten.
Sakura would quickly change the subject.
Sakura had been told that she was the heart of the team. They couldn't do any of it without her, Naruto had assured her. What good was a heart if it gave out first?
She continued to force sobs out of herself long after she had wrung herself dry. It felt good just to wail, to choke even if nobody could hear her. She clutched the comforter between her hands and squeezed.
A dull ache, tell tale signs of an impending headache overwhelmed her. Sakura sighed, this was a near daily occurrence. She groaned, pushed the pillow aside resting her head atop it. She sniffled some before drifting off into a fitful sleep.
— An insight about summons: Katsuyu, the slug of the Shikkotsu Forest
The information presented in this post has been checked and revised. My aim is not to hate or to discredit any of the characters mentioned. Please read about me for further information.
This post will contain evidence in picture format directly from the manga Naruto (1999 - 2014) created by Masashi Kishimoto and published by Shueisha in 1999. I will also use information from the official databooks of Naruto.
This informative post will analyze the concept of animal summons in the world of Naruto and highlight Katsuyu’s unique abilities throughout the series providing evidence. This meta will also mention other animal summons from the Three-Way Deadlock. I will not use information present in the novels because there is none.
This meta is crossposted in AO3.
I give my permission to use or share this thread with informative purposes as long as you credit me.
I do not support the anime or the work of Studio Pierrot in regards to Naruto because I consider it over exaggerated and beyond biased. Furthermore, these fillers include some actions that these characters are unable to do in the canon according to official sources and they also generate unnecessary debate.
Please, take this into consideration.
Katsuyu, also known as Katsuyu of the Shikkotsu Forest, is a giant slug from the Shikkotsu Forest, a secret and legendary place from the Three Unexplored Sage Regions (仙人三大秘境, Sennin Sandai Hikyō).
The Three Sage Unexplored Regions according to the Fourth databook.
She is the personal summon of the Fifth Hokage Tsunade, and later, her disciple Sakura Haruno; both women are probably the only people in the world that have been able to summon the slug.
Katsuyu possesses one of the most unique qualities and abilities among animal summons, most of which are still a mystery within the series.
— WHAT IS A SUMMON AND ANIMAL SUMMONS?
A summon is the ability to invoke objects, weapons, people or animals. This action is carried out through a Summoning Technique (口寄せの術, Kuchiyose no Jutsu), a special hand seal based jutsu to transport any element to the user’s location for a limited amount of time.
A Summoning Technique is classified as a space-time ninjutsu and a C-Rank (chūnin level) difficulty jutsu.
Summoning Technique according to the First databook.
Usually, in order to summon objects or weapons, users apply scrolls or special sealing techniques to contain the desired material. This is the case of Tenten, for example; she uses scrolls to seal multiple kunai, shuriken and any weapon of her choice, granting her the title of “Master of space-time ninjutsu”.
However, for animals and living creatures, this is different.
An animal summon is a technique that adds to the ninja’s ninjutsu repertoire, as a shinobi can take advantage of the animal’s abilities for battle or other purposes.
Before any animal can be summoned, the animal and the user must sign a contract with the species or the specific creature using their blood. In order to summon said animal, the user applies some of their blood, normally by biting their fingers, and channels their chakra to their hands thus invoking a sealing pattern that transports their summon to that same location. The amount of chakra used to summon the creatures determines the size and number of summons.
The summoning contract of the Toads of Mount Myōboku, Naruto chapter 92.
In the case of the Three Unexplored Sage Regions, the summoning contracts vary.
Naruto Uzumaki Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze sealed a contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku using their own blood, so when they perform a Summoning Technique, any available toad can offer their services to them.
Orochimaru has his contract with the snakes of the Ryūchi Cave tattooed on his arms. The methods his disciple Sasuke Uchiha uses to summon snakes from the same location is unknown.
Tsunade and Sakura Haruno do not have a physical contract, or at least it has never been revealed. However, by reading the manga, the contract with the Shikkotsu Forest might be through their Strength of a Hundred Seal, as it is only possible to summon Katsuyu if the summoner possesses this seal.
It is unknown if there is a blood contract involved, but it is likely that there is since the method of summoning is blood like his companions.
Orochimaru's contract Naruto chapters 165 and 344.
— KATSUYU AND HER ABILITIES, WHAT MAKES HER SPECIAL?
Katsuyu is a very intriguing and interesting animal and the only one whose past has never been explored.
Summon’s habitats and the Three Unexplored Sage Regions are home to a single species of animals.
The Ryūchi Cave is home to snakes such as the White Snake, Manda or Aoda, and Mount Myōboku is home to toads like Gamakichi, Gamamaru or Gamabunta.
But, unlike those, Katsuyu is the only organism living in the Shikkotsu Forest. She does not have any other slug companions.
Following the same scheme as the rest of summons, Katsuyu resembles a real slug.
She is white or ivory in color, with three turquoise stripes running on her head and sides that start on her head and end in her tail.
One special feature about her appearance is that her true size has never been seen. Using one summoner, Katsuyu is bigger than the Hokage Residence, and using two summoners, Katsuyu is the size of the roots of the God Tree, which is just one tenth of her real size according to Tsunade.
Katsuyu's size summoned by one person or two, Naruto chapters 422 and 650.
Her size changes depending on the amount of chakra used to summon her. She can appear as a small slug used to gather intel or help in supplementary tasks, or she can appear as a giant creature using one or two summoners.
Small Katsuyu summoned to assist Headquarters Naruto chapter 561.
Her age is a true mystery. It is known that toads and snakes live many years and have descendants, such as Gamabunta and Gamakichi’s father and son relationship, or Aoda having great grandchildren; or certain summons retiring when they reach an age while their companions or children replace them.
The Three Unexplored Sage Regions are legendary places known for many generations.
Katsuyu, on the other hand, is the only inhabitant of the Shikkotsu Forest. She does not have descendants or companions in her home habitat. Her age or her true origins are a mystery. The first shinobi to discover her existence or previous masters before Sakura Haruno and Tsunade are also unknown.
The first and most important thing to point out is that Katsuyu can only be summoned by users of the Strength of a Hundred Seal. This seal is an extremely difficult jutsu to learn and achieve, so there have only been two summoners in history.
The reason for this is that Katsuyu is such an enormous animal that it requires an immense amount of chakra to summon, and that chakra is stored inside the seal.
Tsunade and her disciple Sakura Haruno are the only beings able to summon Katsuyu Naruto chapter 650.
The primary skill Katsuyu has is the ability to divide herself in many fragments, hundreds or thousands of them in fact. This technique is called Slug Great Division (蛞蝓大分裂, Katsuyu Daibunretsu) and it can be used for supplementary purposes, as well for battle.
In a fight, thanks to her rapid ability to transform her body and divide herself, she can separate herself to nullify attacks by avoiding any strike at incredible speeds. She can do this as many times as she wants without exhaustion. Each of these fragments are also quite fast, able to throw themselves in front of people to shield them from danger.
Manda trapping Katsuyu but she escapes Naruto chapter 170 and Second databook.
She also has the ability to spit a sticky and elastic acid, a jutsu called Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid able to melt stones and vaporize everything it touches (probably senjutsu although never truly revealed). It is also very difficult to dodge due to its unpredictable nature.
Slug acid, Naruto chapter 170 and Second databook.
Unlike Shadow Clones or other regular clones that are independent from each other and are not interconnected, what Katsuyu does is divide her own body in equal parts, so she is in as many places as she wants at once. She is one entity divided into many other independent and interconnected parts while remaining one single body. Each of her divisions behaves like their own person, so she can complete different tasks while also knowing what her other parts are doing in other places.
Being the summon of medical ninjas, Sakura Haruno and Tsunade take advantage of Katsuyu’s ability to divide herself in order to channel their healing chakra and treat as many people as necessary.
With a technique called Immense Network Healing (蛞蝓・網療治夥, Katsuyu: Mōryōjika), Katsuyu collects chakra from the Strength of a Hundred Seal to transform it into healing chakra and treat the injured.
Using the Great Division and Immense Network Healing in tandem, Katsuyu has the ability to heal and protect everyone she makes contact with. Healing any kind of injury or absorbing people inside her in order to shield them from attacks or sudden explosions is her specialty. Her body is able to resist explosions and even Kurama's corrosive chakra.
Katsuyu divides her body and heals the Alliance Naruto chapter 634 and Fourth databook.
In fact, Katsuyu's power is not only limited to healing wounds, but regeneration too. One of her most impressive feats is the ability to maintain a patient in suspended animation, keeping them alive for as long as she possesses chakra from the seal in order to ensure their survival.
Katsuyu was able to keep Tsunade alive despite having her body bisected, which on normal circumstances, would mean instant death. However, the slug's regenerative abilities allowed Tsunade to remain alive until she obtained a chakra boost from a third party. This fact is known as Tsunade does not really present the unique Uzumaki Clan ability to keep themselves alive for as long as possible.
Katsuyu kept Tsunade alive despite having her body cut in half, an impressive feat Naruto chapter 635.
This jutsu also acts as a sensing technique due to Katsuyu being connected to the chakra of the injured in order to heal them and her master. Katsuyu is able to relay Kakashi Hatake and Chōza Akimichi’s conditions to Tsunade through their connection, as the slug is connected to the Strength of a Hundred Seal; as well as being able to tell Sakura that Kurama’s chakra was still connected to the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Katsuyu can transmit the chakra levels and the condition of everyone she is in contact with Naruto chapter 427.
This way, Katsuyu was able to protect Konoha’s citizens from Pain’s Shinra Tensei and even survive Kurama’s toxic chakra.
Able to be in many places at once, her ability to cover infinite distances while her parts remain interconnected allows her to fulfill communication and intel gathering roles. Being in many places and her clones being part of the same body, Katsuyu relays information to one person or multiple people, something she could do by attaching herself to someone’s shoulder and speaking.
It was Katsuyu the one giving Naruto Uzumaki information about Pain and also told him that Nagato had revived Konoha citizens through the clones that stayed in the village, kept every villager informed about the situation and followed evacuation protocols when Naruto transformed into six tails, and told Tsunade everything that was happening in the battlefield thanks to having another body summoned by Sakura on the other side of the country, and vice versa.
Sakura instructing Katsuyu to evacuate the area through the multiple clones Naruto chapter 438.
This communication ability can cover immense ground at once because the communication is instant. It works similar to regular telepathy, but instead of hearing the other person's voice in their head, people are talking to Katsuyu, and Katsuyu in turn is actually talking to herself through her clones.
Katsuyu's clones on different parts of the Land of Lightning tell Tsunade and Sakura the events that have taken place on both ends Naruto chapters 635 and 647.
An animal summon can only perform at the top of their abilities for a limited amount of time, what is known as the summoning time limit.
It is unknown exactly how long the invocation lasts, or whether it varies between animals. A summon will help its master before the jutsu runs out or the summon has exhausted its power.
Gamakichi mentions the summoning time limit Naruto chapter 642.
However, for Katsuyu, this is not the case.
The slug can be summoned for unlimited periods of time and several times a day, as seen when Katsuyu spent the Fourth Shinobi World War by Tsunade’s side in the Headquarters, primarily helping Shikaku Nara and participating in the planification of the troops, and later with the Five Kage against Madara and Sakura with the Allied Shinobi Forces.
This could be explained by the symbiotic bond Sakura and Tsunade share with Katsuyu through the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
The seal stores unimaginable quantities of chakra inside, which are used by Katsuyu to perform healing on people. As long as Katsuyu has been transmitted every drop of chakra in the seal, she will continue her work, as seen when Tsunade gave the slug all the chakra inside her Byakugou to the point it disappeared but Katsuyu physically remained in Konoha until her services were no longer needed.
Tsunade's Byakugou disappears but Katsuyu still serves her purpose as a summon to evacuate Naruto chapter 430.
Still, like any other summon, Katsuyu can be exhausted from battle and disappear. When the Ten Tails absorbed the chakra of every shinobi in the battlefield as the Kurama Chakra Cloak, every Katsuyu fragment attached to them was also absorbed and vanished, but the main body remained intact protecting Sakura Haruno form the tree.
Katsuyu's clones disappeared absorbed by the God Tree Naruto chapter 647.
— THE PERFECT SUMMON?
Katsuyu is very different from the rest of summons.
From the immeasurable amount of chakra it requires to summon her, to her multiple multitasking and supplementary abilities and her mysterious origins, Katsuyu might be the perfect summon and the strongest animal summon of Naruto and Boruto.
Her ability to divide herself in thousands of fragments, a body and chemical composition resistant to blasts that can reshape her own state, no summoning time limit, outstanding healing and regeneration factor, the unlimited wide range communication she offers, acidic attacks, useful to gather intel by herself and turn small enough to offer battle assistant, and a sensory connection with her master and other people she is attached to.
Katsuyu is the ultimate creature.
Without a doubt, the most essential ally in desperate times. A valuable help in case a village is being attacked by powerful enemies that threaten to destroy everything around them, Katsuyu is the only weapon able to protect thousands of people from any attack and offer assistance while in contact with her master and everyone she is with.
Thanks to her, every Konoha villager that had not been killed by the Pain Paths previously could survive the Shinra Tensei explosion that destroyed Konoha, which later allowed the surviving shinobi to handle evacuations, as well as allow Naruto to obtain intel about Pain and Nagato or be told that Konoha's villagers were revived.
Katsuyu is an unrivalled intel summon Naruto chapters 431 and 449.
She was also the main link of communication between the Headquarters and the two different fronts of the war, Five Kage and Allied Shinobi Forces, and the reason why the Five Kage survived the fight despite their fatal injuries.
Lastly, it was also Katsuyu who protected the Allied Shinobi Forces against the roots of the God Tree, saving a large portion of the shinobi from death, and later offered a healing area for their future fight against the Kanzeon Lotus King.
— CURRENT WHEREABOUTS.
Ever since the death of Madara Uchiha, Katsuyu has not been summoned again.
With no threats to the destruction of Konoha or the need to establish connections between battlefields, Katsuyu was not summoned in the Blank Period.
In Boruto, Katsuyu’s debut is strictly linked to Sakura’s appearances: if Sakura does not appear, neither does the slug. This is something that is hard to fathom considering that the village has been exposed to explosions, invasions and multiple deceased shinobi ever since the start that could be prevented by Katsuyu like previous times.
Katsuyu appeared in the anime arc “Kawaki and Himawari in the Academy” where the students had to put on a play about the Sannin and Kawaki dressed as Katsuyu.
Kawaki representing Katsuyu in Boruto episode 267.
