Chapter Summaries

Sakura and her companions returned to Konoha after the invasion was repelled, where they learned that the Third Hokage was gravely injured and had lost an arm. The next morning, Sakura reviewed the casualty report and received a rebuilding assignment alongside Naruto, while Sasuke was assigned to patrol.

• Sakura and her companions entered Konoha through the breached wall, and the fleeing Sound Ninja avoided them as they hurried past.
• At the temporary command post, Kakashi sent Shikamaru for treatment and told Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata to rest before reporting for duty the next day.
• Kakashi revealed that the Third Hokage was unconscious and in grave danger after cutting off his arm to slow the spread of snake venom.
• That evening, a red-eyed young man and a tall man in a straw hat watched Konoha from the wall, concluded their mission had failed, and left.
• The next morning, Sakura read the invasion casualty list while Shikamaru complained about working all night to compile it.
• Kakashi assigned Sasuke to patrol and Naruto to repair houses; Sakura discovered that she had also been assigned house-rebuilding work.

Sakura helped rebuild homes after Konoha’s invasion and attended the funeral for the thirty-seven fallen ninja. With missions suspended and little to occupy her, she met Naruto and Sasuke at the training ground, where Sasuke asked her to fight him for real.

• Kakashi explained that Sakura and Naruto had been assigned to repair homes for villagers displaced by the invasion, and Sakura accepted the mission.
• Haku’s service during the invasion earned approval in Konoha, and her application to join Konoha Hospital was accepted.
• Tsunade led the funeral before the Memorial Stone, reading the names of the thirty-seven dead and honoring their sacrifices.
• Konoha suspended missions while its senior ninja reviewed village defenses and Genin undertook combat training; Sakura had no required training or guidance.
• Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke met at the training ground during their break and failed to agree on what to do.
• Sasuke asked Sakura to fight him for real.

Sakura declined Sasuke’s proposed full-strength spar because she had used up her Ultra-Pure Water, then offered to test her new Ice Release techniques instead. After demonstrating how quickly she could cast a cutting water technique, she and Sasuke agreed to spar and took their stances.

• Sakura considered Sasuke’s likely strategy and realized he had probably awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Sakura reflected that Ice Release Chakra seemed to be improving her speed, reactions, and composure in battle.
• Sakura refused to fight with Ultra-Pure Water because she had used it all, and said she would not use Wind Blade Torrent because it was becoming too dangerous for sparring.
• Sakura demonstrated that she could cast Water Release: Super Water Gun Technique with a raised hand, cutting through a distant stone.
• Sasuke agreed to test their recent progress, and he and Sakura formed the Seal of Confrontation.

After Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage, Sakura became a Chunin and began studying Medical Ninjutsu under Shizune’s guidance. As Sakura adjusted to her book-heavy training, Konoha healed and reopened its mission system, and Team 7 resumed its routine.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi woke and presided over Tsunade’s inauguration as the Fifth Hokage.
• Sakura and Shikamaru were promoted to Chunin, and Sakura treated Team Kakashi to a barbecue meal.
• Tsunade began Sakura’s apprenticeship by assigning her a stack of books, while Shizune took charge of her reading and tests.
• Sakura studied medicine and biology from library and archive books, then returned most of them after learning the basics.
• Sakura suggested that Ms. Mebuki Haruno have another child, but her mother declined.
• Konoha reopened its mission system after recovering from the invasion, and Team 7 reunited for missions, training, and study.

Sakura Haruno reflected on how her actions had made the future impossible to predict and how her teammates’ exceptional potential threatened to outpace her own. She resolved to rely on her effort and continued growth, while discovering that long-term Ice Release training might gradually improve her physical abilities.

• Sakura recognized that her changes to Konoha and the story had left her unable to predict future events, and she knew little about the later plot.
• Sakura assessed her Jonin-level strength and worried that Naruto and Sasuke would soon surpass her because their potential far exceeded hers.
• Sakura compared her recent progress with Naruto’s and Sasuke’s rapid gains, including Sasuke’s Sharingan and Lightning Blade and Naruto’s Chakra reserves and Summoning Technique.
• Sakura judged most of her Water Release techniques too costly for their combat value and found that Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals demanded more reaction speed than she possessed.
• Sakura discovered that learning Ice Release was slowly improving her physical abilities and might eventually pass the Kekkei Genkai on to a child.

Sakura worried that her lack of speed would leave her vulnerable to faster opponents, so she developed a highly realistic Ice Clone as a test subject for a technique to enhance her nervous system. Hinata confirmed the clone reproduced a human body in full, and Sakura prepared to experiment with it.

• Sakura considered how Sasuke’s growing speed and the threat of powerful opponents could exploit her weakness in fast combat.
• Sakura brought Hinata to her laboratory and showed her an Ice Clone modeled on Sakura’s body.
• Hinata used her Byakugan to examine the clone and found its organs, blood vessels, meridians, and nerves were all accurately reproduced.
• Sakura explained that she wanted to develop a Ninjutsu to improve her reaction speed by strengthening her nervous system, and planned to test it on the clone.

Sakura used an Ice Clone to inspect how accurately it reproduced her body, but the clone’s pain transferred back when it vanished and knocked her unconscious. Elsewhere, her father mistook the disappearance of Sakura’s work clone for her running off, while Naruto lost his 101st duel against Red Eye.

• Sakura reassured Hinata that she would not conduct forbidden experiments on real people, then prepared to dissect her Ice Clone.
• Sakura cut open the clone, examined its organs, and used Medical Ninjutsu to keep it alive while Hinata watched.
• The damaged Ice Clone turned into ice, and the accumulated pain overwhelmed Sakura, who collapsed into Hinata’s arms.
• Kizashi Haruno found that Sakura’s clone had vanished while helping renovate their house and assumed she had gone off to play.
• Naruto lost his 101st duel against Red Eye after a lightning attack dispersed his clones and left him raising a white flag.

Sasuke and Naruto finished sparring, then realized Sakura had left an Ice Clone behind while she went to the laboratory. After Sakura recovered from a dangerous experiment under Hinata’s care, she prepared to test her new Ice Clone technique again.

• Sasuke ended his sparring with Naruto and challenged Sakura, but discovered she had vanished, leaving only ice behind.
• Sasuke and Naruto realized Sakura had used an Ice Clone and hurried to find out whether something had happened to her.
• Sakura came to in Hinata’s arms after pain from her clone’s failure, and Hinata scolded her for taking such a risk.
• Sakura teased Hinata by calling her “Mama Hinata,” then assured her she had recovered and could continue the experiment safely.
• Hinata asked how Sakura planned to test the Ice Clone, and Sakura readily agreed to explain.

Sakura tested a new Ninjutsu based on Body Pathway Derangement that was meant to enhance nerve signals and reduce reaction time. The Ice Clone’s speed improved, but its movements became confused, and repeated experiments left Sakura with unresolved problems.

• Sakura explained to Hinata that she wanted to adapt Body Pathway Derangement to speed up her own nerve signals instead of disrupting an enemy’s.
• Sakura created an Ice Clone, and Hinata used her Byakugan to verify it before the clone applied the technique to its nervous system.
• Sakura threw an ice Kunai at the clone, which caught it almost instantly but used its left hand despite intending to move its right.
• The Ice Clone returned its experience to Sakura, who concluded that the technique had improved reaction speed but also caused confusion in the nervous system.
• Sakura and Hinata repeated the experiment, but the technique’s old problem persisted and a new one appeared, so Sakura acknowledged that development would not be easy.

Sakura finished testing the Ice Clone technique with Hinata, then wrote a detailed report describing its three variants and their uses. She also drafted a private report for Tsunade about a reaction-speed technique, but hesitated over whether to mention that human-experiment data could help develop it.

• Sakura and Hinata repeated Ice Clone experiments until Sakura was exhausted, then Hinata left using a Shadow Clone.
• Sakura wrote a report detailing combat, reconnaissance, and medical research Ice Clones, including their requirements, strengths, and risks.
• Sakura removed a reference to human experimentation from the Ice Clone report and emphasized its warnings before preparing it for submission.
• Sakura drafted a progress report for Tsunade about developing a technique to accelerate reaction speed.
• Sakura wondered whether to tell Tsunade that human-experiment data could speed development, concerned that the suggestion might invite comparisons to Orochimaru.

Sakura brought Tsunade the completed Ice Clone technique and a report on her new Ninjutsu, where she met Danzo for the first time and held her ground against his probing greeting. After the Third Hokage reviewed the technique scroll, he asked Sakura to demonstrate the Ice Clone.

• Sakura decided not to include human experimentation in her report and went to the Hokage's office with her scrolls.
• Sakura met Danzo, Tsunade, and the Third Hokage, and responded coolly when Danzo said he had heard so much about her.
• Sakura gave Tsunade the Ice Clone secret technique scroll and her report on problems developing a Ninjutsu based on Body Pathway Derangement.
• The Third Hokage read the Ice Clone scroll, recalled how his advice and Hashirama Senju's Wood Clone scroll had helped Sakura develop it, and praised her work.
• The Third Hokage asked Sakura to perform the Ice Clone for the people in the office.

Sakura demonstrated combat, reconnaissance, and medical Ice Clones to the Third, Tsunade, and Danzo, though she stopped an embarrassing attempt at the medical clone. The next morning, Naruto and Sasuke confronted her for sending a clone to train with them, and the chapter ended with Sakura apologizing.

• Sakura created a combat Ice Clone that guarded her and impressed the Hokage, Tsunade, and Danzo with its battle-ready movements.
• Sakura demonstrated a reconnaissance Ice Clone, then halted an attempted medical Ice Clone before successfully summoning a lifelike version.
• Danzo noted that the Yuki and Haruno clans could carry on Ice Release in Konoha, and the Third welcomed the idea of Konoha's growing clans.
• The next morning, Naruto and Sasuke confronted Sakura after discovering that an Ice Clone had trained with them in her place.
• Sasuke accused Sakura of disrespecting them, and Sakura formally apologized while privately recalling a joke about apologizing.

Sakura revealed her new Chunin rank and led Naruto and Sasuke to seek higher-level missions, but the assignment-office dispatcher refused to take their request seriously. The chapter ended with Sakura demanding a B-rank mission that would send them to their deaths.

• Sakura showed Naruto and Sasuke her Chunin vest and identification booklet, and explained that her promotion let the team take C-rank missions.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura went to the mission assignment office looking for a B-rank mission.
• A dispatcher explained that B-rank missions were rarely handled at the low-level office and warned the team about the dangers of high-level missions.
• Sasuke and Naruto defended their strength, while Sakura insisted the dispatcher had no right to decide which missions they could accept.
• Sakura leaned toward the dispatcher and demanded a B-rank mission that would send them to their deaths.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto uncovered a B-Rank escort mission and met its client, who recognized them from the Chunin Ninja Exams. The client’s overexcited reenactments embarrassed the team, especially Sasuke, and the chapter ended with him enthusiastically imitating Sasuke’s Chidori.

• Sasuke spotted an unclaimed B-Rank escort mission, and Sakura forced the dispatcher to hand over its description.
• Sakura read that they would escort the Princess Gale's Great Adventure film crew to the Land of Snow, and the dispatcher fetched the client.
• The client recognized Sakura and enthusiastically reenacted her ice techniques from the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Naruto eagerly asked the client to remember him, and the client celebrated his feats with Gamabunta.
• The client clasped Sasuke's hand, called him the black-haired, red-eyed warrior, and shouted an imitation of Chidori, leaving Sasuke deathly pale.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto accepted a mission escorting a film crew to the Land of Snow, where they would protect the crew during filming. Before their departure, Sakura gave Sasuke and Naruto tickets for a couples’ movie box, and the team continued its routine while waiting for the mission to begin.

• Sakura confirmed with Asama Takehiko that the Land of Snow film mission would take about ten days to three weeks and that the crew needed protection at remote locations.
• Asama amended the mission details, and Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto officially accepted the B-Rank mission.
• Asama gave Sakura three tickets to Princess Gale, including two VIP tickets for a couples’ private box, and Sakura handed the VIP tickets to Sasuke and Naruto.
• Gossip spread through Konoha after Naruto and Sasuke watched the movie together in the couples’ box.
• Team Kakashi trained and completed short missions in the days before their scheduled departure for the Land of Snow.

Sakura completed and named her new Ninjutsu, Cherry Blossom Impact, after testing it in sparring and improving her combat performance. As she headed home feeling confident about the upcoming Land of Snow mission, two unidentified people confronted her in an alley.

• Sakura used her new Ninjutsu in sparring and defeated Naruto and Sasuke five times each, prompting Sasuke to resume basic training.
• Sakura named the technique Ninja Art - Cherry Blossom Impact - Stage One and demonstrated its enhanced reaction speed while leaping across rooftops.
• Sakura considered ways to develop Stage Two and felt more confident about the Land of Snow mission, though she briefly wondered whether its director was suspicious.
• Sakura stopped in a deserted alley near home and asked two unseen people what they wanted with her.

Sakura Haruno was confronted by two Anbu who tried to take her for questioning without showing an order, and she realized their authority was suspicious. After defeating their ambush, she faced Shimura Danzō, who had been watching from hiding.

• Two masked Anbu told Sakura Haruno to come with them for a political screening and threatened to arrest her when she asked to see an order.
• Sakura recognized that the Anbu were likely acting without the Hokage’s authorization and refused to submit.
• Sakura walked past the red-patterned-mask Anbu, who ordered his partner to attack her from behind.
• Sakura used Ninja Art - Cherry Blossom Impact to knock both Anbu away before they could draw their weapons.
• Shimura Danzō ordered the Anbu to stand down, and Sakura greeted him respectfully while keeping her Chakra ready.

Sakura passed Danzo’s political screening after answering an Anbu interrogation truthfully, but she could not tell whether his invitation to join Root was a sincere offer or part of a plan. She continued practicing Cherry Blossom Impact’s second stage and learned that mastering it safely would take another month or two.

• An Anbu ninja questioned Sakura under a Silence Barrier and Yamanaka secret technique scroll, and every answer produced a green light.
• The Anbu asked whether Sakura had secretly read the Scroll of Seals, and she truthfully said she had not.
• Danzo invited Sakura to join Root, but she refused before he and the Anbu ninja disappeared.
• Sakura practiced Cherry Blossom Impact’s second stage on an Ice Clone and suffered the feedback from its damage to the nervous system.
• The next day, Sakura passed her political screening.

Sakura watched her Ice Clone spar with Sasuke while Director Asama filmed from a cruise ship, and she explained why Sasuke would not simply wait for the clone to run out of Chakra. The clone trapped Sasuke behind Absolute Defense and launched a relentless Ninjutsu barrage, leaving the fight unresolved as Sakura wondered what Sasuke would do next.

• Sakura recited a short poem about the sea while Director Asama filmed her Ice Clone fighting Sasuke nearby.
• Sasuke dodged the clone’s Water Dragon Bullet, then overwhelmed her with a rapid series of attacks until she used Ice Armor to stay intact.
• The Ice Clone formed Absolute Defense and began bombarding Sasuke with Water Release and Ice Release techniques from the sea and air.
• Sakura told Director Asama that Sasuke was controlling the pace and could outlast the clone, but would consider winning that way equivalent to losing by timeout.
• Sasuke continued dodging the clone’s attacks, and Sakura wondered what he would do next.

Sasuke defeated Sakura’s combat-type Ice Clone with a concealed Lightning Blade, but its final explosion sent him into the sea unharmed. After collecting the training footage, Sasuke and Sakura returned to the cabin and went to wake Naruto, who had slept after running beside the ship all night.

• Sasuke used a Shadow Clone and Lightning Blade to strike Sakura’s Ice Clone, which revealed it was actually a Water Clone before dispersing.
• The Ice Clone detonated with its Ice Release: Clone Great Explosion Technique, but Sasuke survived and climbed out of the sea without serious injury.
• Sasuke asked Director Asama for copies of the training footage and requested that the original recordings be deleted after useful material was extracted.
• The crew argued over whether Sakura and Sasuke were a couple, while Director Asama joked about taking them all.
• Sasuke walked into a wall after overhearing the crew, then asked Sakura where Naruto was.
• Sakura told Sasuke that Naruto was still asleep after running alongside the ship all night, and they decided to wake him.