Naruto: Does Sasuke Love Sakura? (Or Is It a One-Sided Love?)

After Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura are probably the second most beloved ship among the Naruto fanbase. While many didn’t really see how the two of them would end up together, in the end, Sakura’s honest love and care for Sasuke ended up showing him he could change. Sakura and Sasuke had a very complicated relationship, and many times, it would feel like a one-sided relationship. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the key points of their relationship and how it evolved over time. With that said, let’s see if Sasuke does love Sakura as much as she loves him.

Does Sasuke love Sakura?

The relationship between Sasuke and Sakura is quite complicated; some would say that the reason for their getting together later on in the series was because their timing was off. There is definitely something to think about there because when we go back to the beginning, Sasuke treated Sakura as a nuisance. This was when they first met and got assembled into a team.

The two of them were really young back then, so the initial crushes weren’t exactly yet mature enough as opposed to later when we saw them grow up. Another factor that played a part in their relationship not being able to go anywhere was because of Sasuke’s intense focus on revenge.

What happened to him as a child was highly traumatizing, and it left him with a lot of emotional problems. He didn’t let himself care for anyone because of his intent on killing his older brother Itachi. His brother was by then a part of a group called Akatsuki, and he was one of its strongest members.

Before encountering his brother we could see Sasuke starting to develop a feeling for his team, he cared about Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi, being with them on missions all of the time. Although things started to change during the Chunin exams, the three of them seemed to have gotten quite closer over time, but when Orochimaru attacked them and left his curse mark on Sasuke, he began to change.

There were a couple of instances where Sasuke would jump into direct conflict to save Sakura, and one of those times was during the exams. Sakura defended Sasuke when he couldn’t move much after he received the curse mark, and three other students attacked them. Sakura couldn’t fight them off, and when she was at her limit, Sasuke stepped in and saved her.

He was so angry after seeing what they did to Sakura he almost lost control, and that brings us to the next instance where we could see Sasuke show his feelings towards her. While he was beating on the students who attacked them, Sasuke lost control, and Sakura was the only one able to calm him down.

She managed to stop him from getting even more out of control, which was another moment where we could see that Sasuke did have certain feelings towards her. Unfortunately, after the Chunin exams, Sasuke decided to leave with Orochimaru to get stronger.

Once again, Sakura tried to stop him, but this time, it didn’t matter what she would say. Sasuke knew what he needed to do so he could get stronger and fight his brother. However, he did thank her for trying to help him, which seemed honest when he said it.

That was the last time she saw Sasuke in a very long time. It would seem that during that time, a relationship between the two just couldn’t happen since Sasuke’s only goal was to find his older brother and get revenge. While he was pursuing this goal, he didn’t really show interest in anyone else.

That’s why a lot of fans thought that Sasuke would most likely not end up having a partner by the end of the series. He always seemed like a loner type and had way too many problems to handle a normal type of relationship.

Some fans argue that there is no way that Sasuke could’ve loved Sakura after almost killing her one time, but Kakashi managed to save her just in time. At that time, Sasuke wanted to end any bonds he had gained over the years, including wanting to kill Naruto, Kakashi, and Karin.

This would suggest that it might not be coming from the lack of feelings but the completely opposite: he cared about all of the people mentioned. In a way, he was recreating what his brother did because he saw any kind of bond as something that would make him weaker.

After his final fight with Naruto, where both of them almost lost their lives, Sasuke finally accepted his friendship and decided to stop running away from his past. When Sakura found the two of them, Sasuke apologized to her for everything he put her through.

Sasuke decided then that he had to go on a new journey, make amends for what he had done, and try to find himself once more. This is where the question of timing came in once more, and when he was leaving Konoha again, he told Sakura she could come with him another time and poked her forehead just like his older brother did to him.

This gesture had a lot of meaning, and this is probably the first time we saw Sasuke show that he potentially sees Sakura in a more romantic light, but even more importantly, that he does care about her a lot.

What are Sasuke feelings for Sakura?

Sasuke’s feelings for Sakura grew over time, as we’ve mentioned earlier, since he had a lot of problems that he was carrying from the past, he couldn’t let people in. After the Fourth Shinobi War, he finally started to work on himself, and eventually, the two of them got together.

Later in the Boruto series, we see that Sakura and Sasuke have a child together, her name is Sarada. We see that their relationship is still somewhat complicated since Sasuke is not involved much in Sarada’s life, but the two of them are still together.

Does Sakura love Sasuke or Naruto?

Sakura’s feelings towards Sasuke have changed throughout the series, at first, it was just a crush she had, but later she developed deeper feelings. As young shinobi, they went through a lot of missions together, and this is where the bond grew. They had to put their lives on the line for each other, but after Sasuke left, Sakura was conflicted. She tried to suppress her feelings toward him, but they were always present in some way. Her relationship with Naruto changed over time as well; she initially viewed him as an annoying little boy who constantly tried to get her attention. With time, and as she saw him grow up into a confident young man, she found herself blushing at his presence here and there. At times it even seemed like she might be developing feelings toward him, which later faded when Sasuke was back in the picture.

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