[The fourth strong contender for Konoha from is Haruno Sakura.]
[Although Sakura's personality is highly controversial, in terms of looks, she is still very impressive.]
A woman with iconic pink hair and green eyes, with a tall and well-proportioned figure, appeared on the screen.
She was wearing a cheongsam-style top and white trousers, with the diamond-shaped Yin Seal mark on her forehead. Standing there, without needing any movement, she exuded a crisp, mature, and steady temperament.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. On the Training Ground]
Seeing her future attire on the screen, Sakura was taken aback. "Huh? Is that me? I look so cool!"
Her voice was full of disbelief.
Naruto leaned over, sizing up the pink-haired figure on the screen, then turned to look at the Sakura beside him, scratching his head: "Sakura, you look that good in the future? Way better than now."
Sakura punched Naruto on the head. "I look good now too!"
"Oww!" Naruto held his head, looking somewhat aggrieved.
Sasuke's gaze also moved back and forth between the screen and Sakura, unable to believe it. The currently rude and violent girl would one day actually look so mature and calm.
His brows furrowed slightly, seemingly thinking about something.
'Mm, maybe after marrying me, she learned my virtue of calmness.'
'No!'
Sasuke quickly dismissed that thought. His goal was to complete his revenge first. He had no time to play romance games with anyone.
---
[Konoha, Year 83. Hokage Office]
Naruto, the Seventh Hokage, had previously been watching the screen at home with his family.
But the last broadcast had exposed too much important information, especially regarding the Ōtsutsuki Clan and his own future disappearance, making him very vigilant. So this time, he chose to stay in the Hokage Office and bring Shikamaru along to analyze the intelligence.
However, Naruto did feel that watching the screen with his family earlier had somewhat made up for his guilt over spending too little time with Hinata, Boruto, and Himawari, so he still brought them along, and could also explain the old stories to the children along the way.
"Hey, it's Aunt Sakura!" Boruto said, somewhat surprised. "Why hasn't it gotten to Mom yet? Mom is pretty too."
"And why did the screen say Aunt Sakura's personality is highly controversial? I feel like she's a very good person."
Naruto scratched his head, finding it hard to answer, so he didn't say anything, simply waiting for the screen to continue.
He couldn't exactly say, 'Your Aunt Sakura was indeed a bit unreliable when she was young,' right?
Hinata sat to the side, both hands folded on her knees, smiling gently: "Sakura has always worked very hard."
Himawari snuggled beside her mother, curiously watching the screen: "Mom, when will you appear?"
Hinata stroked her daughter's head: "I don't know. But that's not important."
[In the new generation, the grown-up Sakura not only is no longer as immature and outspoken as she was in childhood, but also has a certain flavor of a perfect wife in terms of looks. Not only is she tall, her features are also extremely beautiful, and because of the Yin Seal, she will always maintain her youth.]
[On this point, Hinata happens to be the exact opposite. Her looks were extremely high during her teenage years, but after marrying Naruto, it was as if she sealed her beauty away. She's always dressed in a homebody style, far worse than when she was young.]
[Moreover, at this time, Sakura takes on the responsibility for both her career and family, single-handedly supporting Konoha's medical department and her daughter, Sarada. On the other hand, Sasuke rarely returns home after marriage, to the point where he didn't even recognize his own daughter, which made him seem somewhat disgraceful!]
The atmosphere in the Hokage Office changed subtly.
Hinata's face flushed slightly, and she reached up to touch her own face. She really did rarely dress up anymore. Every day was just taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning, and she even seldom used makeup.
Naruto felt somewhat guilty inside.
As Hokage, he had basically never managed things at home, and he truly owed Hinata too much. A young lady of the Hyuga clan had now completely become a housewife, with even little time to properly dress herself up.
As if sensing what Naruto was thinking, Hinata slowly walked to his side. "Naruto, I am very happy now. You don't have to worry about these things."
Naruto turned to look at Hinata and said seriously, "Hinata, you have always been beautiful. Whether you dress up or not."
Hinata's face turned even redder. "Naruto…"
Boruto covered his eyes. "Dad, can you not be so corny?"
Meanwhile, Himawari curiously asked, "Dad, was Mom very pretty when she was young?"
Naruto smiled: "Of course. Your mom was the prettiest back then."
Boruto curled his lip. "And now?"
Naruto paused for a moment. "She's still the prettiest now."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window; he was truly speechless!
He had come here to analyze intelligence from the screen, not to watch a couple show off their affection.
---
[Amegakure, Akatsuki's new base]
Itachi, who had returned to the Akatsuki, felt somewhat dissatisfied when he heard what the screen said.
What was going on with the future Sasuke?
Why wouldn't he go home? Sarada was such a cute child, and as her father he actually didn't even recognize her.
Then what had Sasuke been doing in the future? Hadn't it been said that the future had also been peaceful for a long time?!
Also, since he had a wife, why not have more children? The Uchiha clan was dwindling. He really needed to work harder.
---
[Konoha, Year 83. A certain forest in the Land of Lightning]
Sasuke, who had once again found a big tree and was comfortably lying on a branch, sunbathing while watching the screen, quietly formed a hand seal with one hand after hearing what the screen said.
Poof!
A giant hawk appeared out of thin air.
Sasuke lightly leaped and stood steadily on the hawk's back. The giant hawk flapped its wings once and quickly flew south.
If the screen hadn't mentioned it, it would have been fine, but after it did, he felt he really did miss home a little.
[And why is Sakura said to be so controversial? Looking only at her personal growth line, as the only member of Team 7 without a prominent lineage or clan secret techniques, being able to grow from a Genin into a Kage-level shinobi capable of standing on her own is actually very inspirational. It proves that ordinary people can also rise against the odds.]
[As a combination of contradictions, Sakura also has no small amount of criticism around her. To answer the criticisms surrounding her is not something that can be explained in just a few sentences.]
[Though Sakura's most blackened point, one that even makes people physically uncomfortable, is naturally when she said in front of Sasuke that Naruto was an orphan with no manners, and even said she envied Naruto for not having parents and not having to listen to parents nag.]
[You have to understand, there were four people in Team 7. But on the day Team 7 was formed, among the four people, only one pair of parents could be found. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke were all orphans at this time. And that Sasuke did not go up and give her a slap after hearing it showed he was already very well-mannered.]
[Her biological parents probably wouldn't know how to feel either, having raised Sakura to this age, only to have her wish they didn't exist.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. On the Training Ground]
Sasuke looked calm.
Kakashi and Naruto, on the other hand, looked at Sakura in surprise, their eyes full of astonishment.
Sakura felt ashamed, especially as she looked at Naruto's face, her eyes slightly red: "Naruto… I'm sorry, I… I didn't mean it."
Naruto walked over to Sakura's side and patted her on the shoulder: "Hey, it's fine. We're teammates. You definitely didn't mean it."
[The second point she gets blackened for is her plastic best-friend relationship. For the sake of a crush, she treated her best friend like an enemy and stopped interacting with her.]
[Back then, when she was verbally "bullied" because of her appearance and often hid alone in a corner crying secretly, it was Ino's appearance that saved Sakura's confidence, helped her walk out of the shadow brought by her big forehead, and also helped her meet more friends.]
[In the end, because of her so-called crush, she directly broke off with Ino. It was completely incomprehensible.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Location of Team 10]
Ino felt silent after hearing what the screen said. She remembered her childhood, the girl with the wide forehead hiding in the corner crying, her going over to hand her a handkerchief, and the days they spent shopping, chatting, and sharing secrets together.
And what happened later?
Because of Sasuke, they became "rivals in love" and broke off.
"Ino…" Choji's voice came from beside her.
Ino came back to her senses and smiled: "It's nothing. What the screen said is all in the past."
Shikamaru stood with both hands in his pockets, expressionless. "Women really are troublesome. For the sake of a man, you would even give up a friend."
Ino glared at him: "What do you know!"
"I don't know anything, which is why I don't want a girlfriend."
"What about Temari?"
"I don't even know her right now, all right?"
"I'll see if you're still this stubborn later."
[Of course, the last point is naturally that when she needs something, it's Naruto; when she doesn't, it's Sasuke.]
[In the early days after Team 7 was formed, Sakura's attitude toward Naruto and Sasuke differed enormously. It could be said she quite often despised Naruto and used violence on him.]
[Although Sasuke also did not like Naruto, he not only rejected Naruto, but was even unfriendly to the entire Ninja Academy. It could be said that Sasuke's discrimination against Naruto came from Naruto's low strength. As for Naruto's family, background, and so on, those weren't within Sasuke's considerations.]
[Sakura was different. At first, like many villagers of Konoha, she looked down on Naruto, who had no parents, and even more so despised his identity as the demon fox brat. Most critically, Naruto's unremarkable looks were likewise one of the jokes she often made at his expense.]
[But later, every time danger came, she was used to calling Naruto to save her. Later, when Sasuke defected, Sakura couldn't stop Sasuke with her own ability, so she cried and lowered her head to beg Naruto to bring Sasuke back, making Naruto carry that burden all along.]
[Moreover, when Sasuke broke into the Five Kage Summit, Sakura, upon learning the news, immediately found Naruto and begged him to bring Sasuke back, and even insincerely confessed to Naruto.]
[From a god's-eye view, this kind of love that resembles a transaction is extremely unfair to Naruto.]
[Fortunately, Naruto wasn't blinded by happiness. He cruelly rejected Sakura's confession and said that, as fellow members of Team 7, bringing Sasuke back was his duty too.]
[Later, Sakura decided to go assassinate Sasuke, but when the critical moment came, she still couldn't bring herself to do it, which made her even more hated.]
[As for things like "I've finally caught up to the two of them," that is less about being hated and more about being funny."]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Tsunade had a headache.
She felt she needed to properly educate Sakura.
Absolutely do not be so love-brained. Women should prioritize their careers first.
[However, as the only female member of Team 7, Sakura also has quite a few shining points.]
[For example, in the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams, in order not to be a burden and in order not to let Naruto and Sasuke fall into danger, she directly cut off her cherished long hair. At that moment, Sakura was actually still very charming.]
[In addition, the battle against Sasori should be Sakura's highest highlight moment. She easily dealt with Sasori's newest poison, was crisp and clean when shattering Sasori's first puppet, was decisive enough in using Explosive Tags to blow open the poison fog even at the cost of injuring herself, was brave enough to volunteer to become Chiyo's puppet, and there was also the scene where she took a blade for Chiyo. It was simply highlight after highlight, and every moment was exceptionally cool.]
[Also, as an ordinary shinobi, training Medical Ninjutsu to the extreme is also very inspirational.]
[She not only mastered A-rank Medical Ninjutsu such as Mystical Palm and Chakra Scalpel, but could also use the 'Extraction of Precise Illness' to accurately clear the virulent poison that had spread to the five internal organs, and even Chiyo praised her as a genius.]
[During the Fourth Great Ninja War, she summoned the summon creature Katsuyu, splitting it to cover the entire battlefield. By herself, she treated more than 200 wounded, becoming the Shinobi Alliance's mobile medical station.]
[And when Naruto was near death after the Nine-Tails was extracted, she used the Strength of a Hundred Seal along with artificial respiration and heart compressions to forcibly snatch her comrade's life back from the hands of death.]
[She also used the Strength of a Hundred Seal to concentrate chakra into her fist, creating the extremely destructive 'Cherry Blossom Impact,' which could shatter a Ten-Tails split body with a single punch.]
[Especially in the new generation, Sakura's reputation has continued to improve.]
[Mainly because by this period, the female shinobis who had previously shown both wisdom and courage in the Shinobi World had all become housewives who only worried about daily necessities after marriage. The few who succeeded in their careers were all uniformly "older unmarried women." In other words, their strength seemed to serve only their family.]
[Sakura, however, was clearly different. At this time, she alone raised her daughter and bore the family's financial responsibility, yet unlike other female shinobi who after marriage only worried about daily necessities, she continued to serve as medical director, established a medical ninja training school, and passed her skills on to the new generation, becoming a representative of independent women in the new era.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Hokage Office]
Tsunade looked at the positive evaluations of Sakura on the screen and nodded in satisfaction. This was more like her disciple!
She had flaws, but more importantly, she had merits.
Who hadn't made mistakes when they were young? What mattered was whether she could stand up afterward.
Jiraiya leaned on the sofa, legs crossed. "Tsunade, you really know how to pick disciples."
Tsunade gave a humph: "Of course. Look at whose disciple she is."
Hiruzen smoked his pipe, looking at the screen, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
---
[Konoha, Year 83. Sasuke and Sakura's home]
Sarada sat on the sofa, both hands propping up her chin, watching the descriptions about her mom on the screen without saying a word.
Sakura walked out of the kitchen, apron still tied at her waist, carrying a plate of fruit. She saw her own image on the screen, then looked at her daughter's expression, and couldn't help smiling.
"Sarada, what's wrong?"
Sarada looked up at Sakura. "Mom, when you were young, were you really this bad?"
Sakura's smile stiffened for a moment, then she sighed. "Yeah, Mom did indeed do many wrong things when she was young."
"And afterward?"
Sakura put down the fruit plate, sat down beside her daughter, and reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulder. "Afterward, Mom slowly grew up and became sensible. She learned what should be done and what should not."
Sarada leaned against Sakura's shoulder: "Mom, you're amazing."
Sakura was stunned for a moment: "What?"
"Raising me alone, working alone, holding this family up alone."
Sakura's eyes reddened slightly, and she hugged her daughter tightly. "That's only natural, I'm your mom, after all."
"What about Dad?"
"He has his own matters too. When he comes back, I'll make him apologize to you."
Sarada curled her lip. "He won't apologize."
"He will."
In the air, a giant hawk pierced through the sky, flying toward Konoha.
[But what is somewhat funny is that the Konoha villagers who inherited the Will of Bullying, despite Sakura's later reputation reversal and her becoming a high-ranking member of Konoha, with her husband being the second strongest in the Shinobi World, still bullied her.]
Hearing that, the people of the various Shinobi World Timelines were completely dumbfounded!
What the hell was the Will of Bullying?
Were the Konoha villagers really that brave?
Meanwhile, in the sky, that giant hawk flew even faster.
*****
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