Early Naruto still has Sakura's most iconic show of intellect

Modified Oct 26, 2024 03:30 GMT

Early Naruto still has Sakura's most iconic show of intellect (Image via Studio Pierrot)

The Naruto series has introduced many intellectual as well as conventional prodigies, including Itachi and Shikamaru. However, Sakura's status as a prodigy often goes overlooked due to her minimal screen time and impact. Her intellect is a very underappreciated part of her character, reduced to flavor text in favor of her portrayal as a powerful healer.

Despite the lack of exploration around Sakura's role as one of the most intellectually capable characters for the majority of the series, the Chunin Exam arc in the early episodes serves as one of the few displays of her intelligence.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Naruto series.

Early Naruto hinted at Sakura's later status as the best medical ninja

Sakura as shown in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Sakura was one of the earliest characters to be introduced in the series, alongside Sasuke and the protagonist Naruto. Although her initial demeanor towards Naruto made her somewhat unlikable, she later became an integral part of Team 7 as a support and medical ninja.

Sakura's full-fledged training as a medical ninja began under Tsunade, through which she managed to acquire the 100 Healings technique as well as Tsunade’s signature superhuman strength.

The Chunin Exam arc serves as the series' second story arc, marking the initiation of young shinobi into the actual shinobi roster. The initial test consisted of an overwhelmingly difficult set of questions meant to test the young shinobi's resolve to remain in the exam despite it being seemingly insurmountable. This test ultimately became one of the greatest displays of intelligence gathering within the show.

While most of the upcoming shinobi used their specialized jutsus to gather information from other students' papers, Sakura was the only character who answered the questions correctly, as indicated by one of the extra panels published alongside the manga.

Amado as shown in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Although her lack of a specialized jutsu for information gathering may have driven her to excel simply based on her own abilities, this remains a unique display of her sharp intellect. This intellect is in addition to her status as the best medical ninja currently present in the story.

The title of a prodigy in the series was later passed on to characters like Shikamaru and Sasuke as the story evolved towards strategy and combat prowess. The only character with a similar combination of intellect and medical expertise is Amado, who demonstrates Shikamaru's analytical skills as well as technical and physiological knowledge akin to Sakura’s.

Although Sakura’s intellectual capabilities were not a primary focus in Naruto, the incapacitation of Naruto and Sasuke opens possibilities for Sakura's intellect to shine. This is especially relevant given that many medical complications are sure to arise amid numerous shinobi being turned into trees in the Boruto series.

Final Thoughts

Sakura has continued to be one of the most overlooked characters in the series, despite being one of the strongest from the previous generation and currently one of the greatest medical assets in the story.

Given that the narrative in Boruto is steadily progressing towards a civil war-like setting within the Hidden Leaf Village, it is highly possible that Sakura will become more involved in the overarching plot. This would mark a shift from her current role as an integral character who rarely appears in the story.