Naruto really is an underdog story about a literal nobody gaining fantastical power and saving the world, it's just that the titular character of Naruto is not that underdog.
Sakura is.
But I don't think you guys are ready for that conversation.
This isn't even a hard conversation to have tbh, Sakura haters just hate to admit it.
From the very first episode, it was stated that Naruto is not, in fact, a nobody, despite the narrative trying to frame him as such. He's the jinchuriki of the strongest biju, the son of the fourth hokage, descendant of a fearsome clan and the literal reincarnation of a god. Homeboy had every possible advantage and power up in his back pocket and the only thing that could make him out to be an "underdog" is that nobody hang out with him as a kid.
There's very few main characters that are clanless, not descendants of powerful individuals, not biju holders, and not products of godly power. And these are Lee, Ten ten and Sakura. They had an impact each on their own way, but Sakura had the song significant out of the three. And not only was she an underdog in the show, she's also one within the fandom. She represents everything the show is about, making her a more fitting main character than the actual main character or the almost main character.
And that's why we have Sakura-centric, fix-it fanfics.
Thus proven.
I think the biggest issue, which can in part be contributed to the demographic and in part to Kishimoto as the author, is the misconception that Sakura is somehow "weak" or "lesser" than Naruto and Sasuke despite all their literal god powers, when she essentially beats reality into submission to stay in their lane the whole way through.
She is the character who is allowed perhaps some of the most humanity in the series in how she acts like the teenage girl she is, and a lot of her power is less in the form of destructive might or large scale jutsu and more in terms of medical knowledge and healing ability. And these work against her almost more than they do for her.
Setting aside the obvious issues all fandoms have with the humanity of teenage girls, there is something to be said for a sort of unintentional sexism of a female lead having her power reserved for healing and nurturing as opposed to violence and survival like her male contemporaries. And a lot of criticism I see for Sakura kinda stops there on two separate sides of the issue, those who think she's weak because she isn't as destructive and those who think she's a weak character because she plays into tired tropes.
But Kishimoto has gone out of his way on a number of occasions to remind us just how powerful Sakura really is in spite of these perceptions, especially toward the end and after the end of the original Naruto run in the light novels and in Boruto content. Kishimoto was always open about how bad he was at writing female characters and how he struggled at it, and yeah, we all knew. But he has improved over time, as all writers do, and his depictions of Sakura have become more nuanced.
But in terms of being "weaker" or "lesser" than Naruto and Sasuke, she's still standing there fighting alongside them against the Ten Tails and Kaguya, two literal deities, and not only holding her own but being integral to their survival and victory. And not because of her healing abilities, but because of her battle prowess as a ninja.
Like, she sucker-punched Kaguya while her Byakugan was active by swooping in from the Byakugan's sole blindspot to send her flying back down into Naruto and Sasuke's seal and that was not at all a fluke. In her light novel, she fights multiple ninja with artificially induced 4+ tail Kyuubi Cloaks. You know, the one that Naruto fought back Orochimaru with back in early Shippuuden? And she solos them. Multiple 4TK Narutos, solo. With no real jutsu to speak of, just taijutsu and regen.
She's also immune to genjutsu. Like, 100% at this point. Outside of Infinite Tsukuyomi, even Sasuke couldn't trap her in one with his EMS. People always complained about how Kakashi mentioned her proclivity for genjutsu and how it was never explored, but it was, she just doesn't use it - she's immune to it. Even in Part 1, when Orochimaru attacked Konoha and that mass-sleep genjutsu was cast on the entire stadium, she was the only one who countered it. Her. Sakura. At 12 years old. As the "weakest genin".
She sussed out White Zetsu while he was transformed as someone else, something no one else has ever done. She took everything Tsunade accomplished, expanded on it, and did it better. She was neutralizing uncrackable poisons made by a woman who considered only Tsunade to be her equal in when she was only 15. Her raw physical strength is some of the greatest in the entire series bar none, and her chakra control is legitimately unparalleled which is *why* she's so good at healing, and enhanced strength, and breaking genjutsu.
Sakura is a tank. She is one of the single most powerful characters in her verse. She held her own against Shin Uchiha like he was nothing, the guy Danzo got his creepy arm from and who tagged Naruto and Sasuke both, with only her taijutsu. All his metal manipulation and jutsu meant nothing before her hands and feet alone.
And she's a nobody.
The child of the owner of a flower shop who belongs to no clan and has no ninja lineage.
It's not even, like, a popular flower shop. She's not a Yamanaka, she's not Ino. Her parents are literally the smallest of small business owners.
She was an ordinary, unremarkable girl whose only saving grace was her natural intelligence. Everything she has, she achieved through hard work and perseverance. Nobody else could have survived the training Tsunade put her though without the sheer strength of will that she possesses to never give up and never cede ground to her godkin teammates.
I really wish more of the fandom put the respect on her name that she deserves. Sakura is a beast, and between having to fight her, Naruto, or Sasuke, I'd pick Naruto or Sasuke any day of the week.
