Naruto: Why was everyone so surprised when Sakura cut her hair?

Sakura is probably Naruto's most divisive character. She has a large following of fans who adore her. On the other hand, she receives so much criticism because of her character development, or lack thereof.

Because of the way the character is written, she sometimes appears to be utterly worthless to her team and absolutely unpleasant as a person. Kishimoto has admitted that he is not very good at developing female characters, and fans agree that it is borderline terrible.

However, there are times when Sakura shines in her own unique way. Cutting her hair was one of those moments that surprised everyone in a good way.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Naruto

---

Sakura stunned everyone when she chopped off her hair in Naruto

Why did Sakura cut off her hair?

Kin grabbing Sakura's hair in Naruto (Image via Masashi Kishimoto/Shueisha)

During the Chunin exams, Naruto and Sasuke were knocked out when Orochimaru sent Zaku Abumi, Kin Tsuchi, and Dosu Kinuta from the hidden Sound Village to attack them. Sakura had spent all of her time and energy treating them, and now she had to deal with the attackers.

The Sound Ninjas mocked her from the beginning and labeled her untalented for her inability to use proper traps. Rock Lee arrived to save her, but his taijutsu was easily outmatched, and he was left paralyzed.

At this point in Naruto, Kin appeared behind Sakura and grabbed her hair. She made insulting remarks about the time Sakura spent on hair maintenance rather than her ninja training. This made Sakura feel that she had always been a burden to her teammates, and the time had come for her to step up and repay the favor.

Kin noticed Sakura picking up her kunai, but she was too arrogant to believe it could harm her in any way. Sakura, on the other hand, surprised her by chopping off a chunk of her hair and gaining her freedom.

After escaping from the grasp of her enemy, Sakura quickly attacked Zaku Abumi while other ninjas from the Leaf village also joined her.

---

Why was it shocking to everyone?

Sakura as seen in Naruto (Image via Masashi Kishimoto/Shueisha)

The immediate reason that Sakura chopping off her hair was shocking is because of its ingenuity. While many fans criticized her for not aiming for Kin's legs, which may or may not have been successful, cutting off her hair was undeniably successful.

But the real reason it surprised everyone, from Kin to Ino, who was hiding and watching everything, was because it was so out of character for her. Even her adversaries knew how much she cherished her hair and beauty. She started growing her hair out because she heard Sasuke preferred girls with long hair.

This action represents a change in the person that occurred when all other options were exhausted. In that moment of crisis, a new personality had to be created. Sakura transformed herself by abandoning her shallow materialistic ideals. This is further emphasized by the fact that Ino let her hair down to impress Neji not long before this event in Naruto.

---

Sakura has always been intelligent, but she has also been physically weak. She found strength and put her wits together to devise a plan of action the moment she realized she needed to protect others. This is both remarkable and shocking to those who are accustomed to her old ways.