Kakashi Hatake
Sakura is a young ninja who is a part of Team 7 alongside Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha under the leadership of their "sensei" Kakashi Hatake. Within Sakura resides "Inner Sakura", a manifestation of her inner emotions; in addition to comic relief, Inner Sakura represents Sakura's actual opinion on things when she outwardly displays something opposite. As Sakura has a deep infatuation for Sasuke, many of her earlier appearances are dedicated to her continued effort to win his affection. She accompanies the rest of Team 7 during all of its early missions, though she does little to contribute to the battles that take place. Sakura lacks any unique traits that would set her apart from the rest of Team 7, although Kakashi notes that she has an excellent control over her chakra early in Part I. As a result, Sakura stays on the sidelines, content in allowing her teammates to protect her and defeat their opponents. During the Chunin Exams, when the rest of Team 7 is left in need of her protection, Sakura realizes that relying on others to fight her battles has been unwise. She resolves to better her ninja abilities from that point further, and she takes a more active role in Team 7's battles throughout the rest of the series. After Sasuke's defection from Konohagakure at the end of Part I, Naruto's failure to bring him back, and Sakura's inability to help either of them, she becomes Tsunade's apprentice so that she can do more for her teammates in the future. Since then, Sakura makes it her personal goal to bring Sasuke home.