Sakura is often a prime target for hate from certain factions of the Naruto fandom. She is frequently labeled a “burden,” perceived as someone who constantly causes trouble for others.

This sentiment birthed a dedicated group of Sakura haters who not only love nitpicking her every mistake but actively try to recruit other fans to despise her as well.

However, no matter how intense their hatred might be, it’s highly unlikely that absolutely everything about Sakura makes them angry.

Throughout the Naruto anime’s run, these haters have likely found themselves smiling—or even feeling a genuine sense of joy—watching Sakura’s various predicaments, despite claiming to despise her.

Here are 7 of the absolute favorite moments for Sakura haters:

1. Sakura Narrowly Avoids the Chidori and Rasengan

Tensions reached a boiling point during the brutal brawl between Naruto and Sasuke on the roof of the Konoha Hospital. Naruto charged up his Rasengan while Sasuke readied his Chidori. Both intended to test their ultimate strength in a catastrophic head-on collision.

Sakura sprinted forward to stop the fight. However, one must admit she has an incredible knack for positioning herself in maximum danger. This time, she placed herself dead-center at the exact collision point of Naruto’s Rasengan and Sasuke’s Chidori.

Fortunately, Kakashi arrived just in time. With blinding reflexes, he intercepted both attacks before they could clash, hurling Naruto and Sasuke into nearby water tanks and saving Sakura’s life from absolute peril.

Are you a Sakura hater? Just admit it! Deep down, a part of you probably thought, “Wow, it would be awesome if Sakura took a Chidori and Rasengan at the same time!” But don’t do that. It would be genuinely horrifying if that actually happened!

2. Sakura Takes a Kick from Omoi

When Naruto and Sakura finally reunited with Sai, they immediately bombarded him with questions about Danzō, demanding to know what he was like and the motives behind his actions. They were furious that Danzō had been appointed acting Hokage and had formed a special task force to assassinate Sasuke Uchiha.

Suddenly, Omoi and Karui appeared. Karui drew her sword on Sakura, aggressively demanding that Naruto, Sakura, and Sai continue their conversation about Sasuke. Having eavesdropped on their chat, Karui was convinced the three were Sasuke’s close friends.

Naruto reacted instantly. He snatched Sai’s sword from his back and deflected Karui’s blade as it threatened Sakura. Naruto then used his elbow to parry Omoi’s hand as he reached for his own weapon, while a Shadow Clone intercepted a slash Karui aimed at him.

With Karui and Omoi’s movements temporarily locked down, Sai and Sakura prepared to counterattack. However, Omoi deftly dodged Sai’s kick. When Sakura stepped in to punch Karui, Omoi beat her to the punch—landing a devastating kick square to Sakura’s face that sent her flying toward some massive boulders. Luckily, Naruto moved fast, catching Sakura before her body slammed into the rocks.

Omoi and Karui then dropped a bombshell: Sasuke was an Akatsuki member who had attacked the Hidden Cloud Village and kidnapped their master, Killer Bee. Naruto and Sakura were completely stunned. This was the first time they had heard this, never imagining Sasuke would stoop to joining the Akatsuki.

Sakura broke down, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. Unsympathetic, Karui barked at the weeping kunoichi, firmly stating that she and Omoi were the ones who truly had the right to cry, given that their master was the one abducted.

Are you a Sakura hater? Just admit it! You were secretly thrilled watching Sakura get kicked by Omoi and yelled at by Karui while she cried. But remember, don’t enjoy it too much!

3. Sakura Trapped in Poison Gas

During the fierce battle between Sakura, Granny Chiyo, and Sasori (wielding his favorite puppet, the Third Kazekage), a deadly clash of puppet masters unfolded. Chiyo used her mastery to control Sakura’s body like a “living puppet,” while Sasori manipulated the Third Kazekage.

After luckily surviving a massive barrage from the Kazekage’s thousand-arms attack, Sakura faced immediate lethal danger when the puppet spewed a cloud of purple poison gas, completely engulfing her.

Though Granny Chiyo pulled with all her might to drag Sakura out of the gas using her chakra threads, Sasori countered by wrapping a kunai-attached rope around Sakura. This bound her tight, trapping her deep inside the toxic cloud.

A critical, high-stakes tug-of-war ensued: Chiyo desperately tried to yank Sakura free, while Sasori fought to keep her trapped. Meanwhile, Sakura struggled to hold her breath to avoid inhaling the fatal toxins.

However, luck favored Sakura once again. Having just evaded the thousand-arms attack, she managed to save herself from the poison trap by detonating an explosive tag. The resulting blast created a gust of wind that blew the purple smoke away, freeing her from danger.

Are you a Sakura hater? Just admit it! You were probably happy seeing Sakura trapped in the poison gas and hoping she’d get poisoned, right? But don’t dwell on negative thoughts for too long! It’s better to focus on positive things, like learning to invest in stocks or crypto for your future.

4. Sakura Impaled by Sasori’s Sword

In the heat of the intense skirmish between Granny Chiyo’s ten puppets and Sasori’s hundred, Sakura followed Chiyo’s order to throw a sealing tag onto Sasori’s body. The seal struck true, seemingly killing him and causing all of his puppets to collapse.

Unbeknownst to Chiyo and Sakura, Sasori had transferred his living core to another puppet right before his main body was sealed. This new puppet became his primary vessel.

Sasori then lunged at Granny Chiyo’s unprotected back with his sword. Moving purely on instinct, Sakura threw her body in the way to block the thrust. While Chiyo was saved, Sasori’s blade violently impaled Sakura right through the torso.

Even though Chiyo immediately injected an antidote into Sakura’s system, the blade had struck a vital organ—an injury that should have been instantly fatal even without the poison. As Sakura struggled to pull the embedded sword from her flesh, Sasori prepared a second strike to finish off the paralyzed kunoichi.

However, Sasori failed to anticipate Granny Chiyo, who had collapsed weakly beside Sakura. With the absolute last of her strength, Chiyo used her chakra threads to control the “Mother” and “Father” puppets, driving their swords directly into Sasori’s living core, finally killing him for good.

Once again, Sakura survived through sheer, incredible luck. She avoided the lethal poison because Chiyo still had a dose of antidote, and she escaped Sasori’s execution strike because Chiyo managed to kill him first. Even so, the strike to her vitals absolutely should have killed her. Yet her luck held out: Granny Chiyo was the sole practitioner of a rare life-giving technique, the Reanimation Jutsu, which miraculously pulled Sakura back from the brink of death.

Are you a Sakura hater? Just admit it! You were probably annoyed watching Granny Chiyo’s rare healing technique save Sakura from death. But remember, as human beings, we must help one another—and that includes Sakura!

5. Sakura Knocked Unconscious by a Flying Kabuto

Tensions skyrocketed during the confrontation at Tenchi Bridge between Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Team 7 (led by Yamato).

Orochimaru blatantly provoked Naruto, taunting that if he wanted to take Sasuke back, he had to defeat him first. Furious, Naruto instantly tapped into his One-Tailed form, dashed forward, and delivered a brutal slap to Orochimaru’s face, sending him flying an immense distance.

Unfazed, Orochimaru returned and provoked him again, claiming he wanted to test Naruto’s current strength to see who was truly superior between him and Sasuke. This pushed Naruto completely over the edge, triggering his Three-Tailed form. The dense chakra swirling around him formed a massive energy vortex, whipping up fierce, searing winds.

Reacting to the escalating threat, Kabuto charged his hands with chakra and sprinted toward the Three-Tailed Naruto. Naruto retaliated instantly, firing a high-speed blast of compressed air from his mouth. It slammed directly into Kabuto, sending him hurtling backward. Unfortunately, Kabuto’s flying body crashed violently into Sakura, knocking her out cold on the bridge.

Are you a Sakura hater? Just admit it! You were secretly delighted seeing Sakura knocked unconscious by Kabuto’s flying body. But don’t enjoy it too much! Have a little sympathy.

6. Sakura Falls and Sai Ignores Her

When the Three-Tailed Naruto prepared to fire a massive chakra blast at Kabuto, the sheer kinetic force of the attack shattered Tenchi Bridge, causing it to completely collapse. As a result, the unconscious Sakura was left sliding toward the fractured edge, in imminent danger of plummeting into the rushing river below.

Although Yamato desperately tried to catch the collapsing debris with his Wood Style to keep her from falling, it wasn’t enough to secure her. Sakura eventually slipped and began plummeting toward the water.

Yamato yelled to Sai—who happened to be flying on his Super Beast Scroll ink bird directly beneath the bridge—to save her. However, despite being in the perfect position to catch her, Sai deliberately chose not to help, watching passively as Sakura plummeted. Thankfully, Yamato quickly sprouted tree roots that coiled around Sakura’s body, snatching her out of the air just before she hit the water.

Are you a Sakura hater? Just admit it! You were thrilled seeing Sakura fall off Tenchi Bridge and nearly get swept away in the river, especially when Sai intentionally chose not to help her.

7. Sakura Whipped by the Kyuubi’s Tail

After regaining consciousness, Sakura watched in horror as the Four-Tailed Naruto was impaled by Orochimaru’s giant Kusanagi Sword. Moments later, the berserk Naruto deflected the blade, sending the massive sword hurtling straight toward an off-guard Sakura. Yamato moved swiftly, intercepting the blade and saving her life.

Following this, Sakura broke down in tears, devastated to see Naruto completely lose his humanity to the Four-Tails. Weeping, she ran toward him, screaming, “That’s enough, Naruto! I will save Sasuke for you!”

In response, the beast violently lashed out with one of its tails, striking Sakura with crushing kinetic force. She was sent tumbling back, suffering a severe injury to her arm.

To make matters worse, she was nearly struck by the tail a second time. Thankfully, Yamato managed to physically restrain the Four-Tails using his Wood Style jutsu, shielding her from the follow-up attack.

Are you a Sakura hater? Just admit it! You totally loved seeing Sakura nearly get sliced by Orochimaru’s giant Kusanagi Sword. And you definitely enjoyed seeing her get slammed in agony by the Kyuubi’s tail. But still, you have to feel a little bad for her—thank goodness for Yamato, the unsung hero!