Sarada Uchiha

is a kunoichi from Konohagakure's Uchiha clan. Because she grew up without having her father, Sasuke, around, Sarada initially struggles to understand who she is or what she's supposed to be. After meeting Sasuke with the help of Naruto Uzumaki, Sarada learns that she is defined by the connections she has with others. As a member of Team Konohamaru, she seeks to someday become Hokage so that she can connect with as many people as possible.

Background
Sarada is the only child of Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha. She was born while Sakura was accompanying Sasuke on a mission, delivered by Karin; as such, there is no record of her birth in the Konoha Hospital. After that, the Uchiha family returned to Konohagakure to raise Sarada. However, Sasuke left the village for a top secret mission when Sarada was a toddler. Sasuke's infrequent visits and his long absences made Sarada sad, so Sakura did her best to comfort her, assuring Sarada that Sasuke loved her and that, when he completed his important mission, he'd come home. When these conversations went on for too long, Sakura poked Sarada's forehead and promised to continue them some other time, which is Sasuke's usual sign of affection.

Sarada started wearing glasses when she was young. In the flashbacks, Sarada was not initially wearing glasses. She was only shown as wearing them after she had been seriously sick and had a seriously high fever.

Personality
As a child, Sarada was portrayed to be like Sasuke: unfriendly, unsmiling and sullen, but this changed around the time of her Academy graduation. According to Naruto Uzumaki, Sarada's personality takes after Sakura's, which he bases on the suspicion that Sarada is "scary" when she's angry. Sarada does indeed have somewhat of a temper, which flares up more often after her appointment to Team Konohamaru. In these and other moments of particularly strong feeling, Sarada often exclaims her mother's characteristic "Shannarō!". Anger aside, Sarada displays a normal range of emotions, from laughing to crying to blushing in appropriate situations, contrasting with Sasuke's typical stoic reaction to every circumstance. In most situations, Sarada is kind-hearted, polite to others and considerate of her friends and family, wishing well for them and standing up for them when they need her. She doesn't mind saying what she's thinking, whether it's a question she wants the answer to, an opinion she holds firmly, or a frustration she can't let go of. Like Sakura, Sarada is quite well-read: she feels comfortable arguing the differences between a panda and a normal bear; she is apparently the only participant in the Chūnin Exams to have heard of the book series called Shinobi Strategist Detective Story, much less read all four volumes.

Sasuke's prolonged absences upset Sarada, and she would periodically ask Sakura about him during her childhood. Sakura would do her best to field Sarada's questions about who Sasuke was, what he was doing, and how he felt about Sarada, yet at the same time she would speak cryptically, either giving vague answers or avoiding topics entirely. Although she put up with this for many years, Sarada starts to feel that Sakura is withholding something from her in the days just before her graduation from the Academy; she extends this assumed dishonesty to all medical-nin since Sakura is one. After getting into an argument about what Sakura may be hiding from her, Sarada comes to suspect that Sakura is not actually her mother, a suspicion that is briefly, if wrongly, confirmed to her. This at first causes her to angrily rebel against Sakura, feeling she owes nothing to a woman she isn't related to by blood. Sarada reconsiders this after talking to Naruto, who reminds her that family is defined by how people feel for each other and not by their genes. Because Sarada loves Sakura and has had countless examples that Sakura loves her too, Sarada reconciles with her mother, thereafter restoring the good relationship of trust and honesty they'd otherwise had.

Sarada's temporary strain with Sakura occurs as a result of her attempt to cope with Sasuke's absence in her life; when she can no longer endure not having her father around, she blames her mother for her inability to see or know about him. She decides to personally seek out Sasuke so that she can finally meet him and ask him directly all the things she's wanted to know, such as if he actually cares about her; the excitement of getting to be in the same room as him causes her Sharingan to awaken. Sarada is accordingly disappointed when, on seeing him, he is cold and indifferent to her, providing her with none of the answers or comfort she craved. She therefore becomes angry with him, berating him for neglecting his own family. As with Sakura, Naruto defends Sasuke, telling Sarada simply that Sasuke is a great shinobi. From witnessing Sasuke's impressive abilities, Sarada concedes this is true. Moreover, she also sees the emotionless shinobi exterior lifted in his brief moments of kindness to Sakura and herself. Although he is never as forthcoming as she wants him to be, Sasuke is able to convince Sarada that he cares about her by reminding her that she singularly represents his bond with Sakura. He also makes a greater effort to spend time with her and console her when he must be away, which, although it makes her sad, she understands. When she does get to see him, Sarada is happy, according to Sakura even happier than herself.

Sarada is appreciative of Naruto for his help in mending her relationship with her parents. She develops a very positive impression of him during their time together, finding him to be kind and warm. She also becomes quite interested in his Will of Fire, wherein he tries to form bonds with everyone — particularly villagers of Konoha — that he can. Because of Naruto, Sarada decides to make her dream to become Hokage, preferring the kind of life Naruto has to the life of her father.

Appearance
According to Naruto, whereas Sarada's personality takes more after Sakura, her appearance takes more after Sasuke: she has onyx eyes and hair, which she keeps shoulder-length resembling her father's adult hairstyle, parts to the right, and tucks behind her ear like her mother's. Even though she inherited both Sasuke's hair colour and eye colour, Sarada inherited most of her facial traits from Sakura: the wide, cat-like eye shape, the eyelashes, the big forehead and the face shape. Sarada's eyelids take more after Sasuke's. She wears a pair of red glasses, which are a gift from Karin.

Early in her Academy career, Sarada wears a vermilion jacket, under which is a cream colored vest, under which is a high-collared white shirt with a red tie. She also wears a red skirt and black open-toed boots. As she nears graduation, she begins wearing a red sleeveless qipao shirt - similar to what Sakura wore in Part II - with the Uchiha crest on the back. She also wears a pair of light-coloured shorts, dark purple thigh-length stockings, black shinobi sandals, and long dark purple arm warmers. Once she receives a forehead protector, she wears it around her forehead with her bangs hanging over

In Boruto, Sarada wears a sleeveless, buttoned dull red dress bound by a black tie and wears black bandages underneath. She also wears black fingerless gloves and a pair of black ankle-length, open-toed high-heeled sandals with wooden soles.

Abilities
As the daughter of Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha, Sarada is naturally gifted, leading Mitsuki to call her an "elite genin" by birth. Even with just her Uchiha lineage, her classmates in the Academy expect she will easily pass her graduation exam. Like many Uchiha and according to Boruto, Sarada has an affinity for ninja tools, being skilled enough with shurikenjutsu to throw her weapons quickly and with precision.

From Sakura, Sarada inherited naturally good control over her chakra. Even before graduating from the Academy, she is able to collect chakra into her fists and release it on contact with a target to devastating effect, such as cratering the ground or sending an opponent flying into the distance. From Sasuke, Sarada inherited his natural talent.

She awakened the Sharingan at age 11, allowing her to use and dispel genjutsu and giving her the heightened perceptiveness needed to avoid attacks and immediately react to threats.

Nature Transformation
Sarada is able to utilise the Lightning Release nature transformation, which allows her to perform the Lightning Flash technique.

Epilogue
Classes at the Academy are dismissed early due to the Five Kage Summit taking place in Konoha. Sarada follows Boruto Uzumaki around the village and watches as he tries to gain the attention of his father, Naruto. When she returns home, she observes to her mother, Sakura, that she and Boruto are similar because of their wishes to see their fathers more.

Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring
As their graduation from the Academy approaches, Sarada's classmates all train with their fathers to help them prepare for their final exams. Sarada becomes jealous of the time everyone else is having with their fathers and returns home to ask Sakura about her own father, Sasuke. When Sakura struggles to answer a question as simple as if Sasuke used to wear glasses like Sarada does, Sarada asks if Sakura and Sasuke are even married. Sakura destroys their house in a fit of frustration, and then faints when she realises what she's done. After leaving Sakura with Shizune, Sarada goes through the rubble of their home to look for sentimental belongings. While doing so, she discovers that what she thought was a picture of her parents together is actually two separate pictures; in Sasuke's, he is standing next to a woman (Karin) with similar glasses to Sarada's.

Suspicious about Karin, Sarada asks Shizune about the details of her birth; who was present and when and where. Shizune isn't able to answer her questions, so she seeks out her friend and classmate, Chōchō Akimichi, for comfort. Chōchō shares her own suspicions that Karui and Chōji aren't her real mother and father and that she wants to go looking for her actual parents. Sarada finds Chōchō's suspicions unsubstantiated, but this nevertheless gives her the idea to go looking for Sasuke in order to ask him her lingering questions directly. She goes to see Naruto, the Seventh Hokage, but outside his office overhears that he is planning to meet with Sasuke anyway. She starts following Naruto as he prepares to leave the village, with Chōchō accompanying her, believing that they are searching for her parents and not Sarada's.

As they're about to follow Naruto out of Konoha, Sarada notices Boruto arriving late to deliver a lunch to his father. Sarada offers to deliver it for him, what will be her excuse for following Naruto. As she and Chōchō hurry to catch up with Naruto, they are confronted by a boy with Sharingan named Shin Uchiha. Sarada is surprised by him, having been told there were no other Uchiha, and so refuses Shin's request to go with him. He attacks them. Although Sarada and Chōchō do a good job of defending themselves, Naruto intervenes, having sensed that they were following him. Naruto easily blocks all of Shin's attacks, forcing him to retreat. Although he would prefer to send Sarada and Chōchō back to Konoha, Naruto decides it would be safer for them to come with him.

As Naruto eats the lunch from Boruto, he asks Sarada if she's looking forward to seeing Sasuke. She confesses that she has no memories of him and asks Naruto to tell her about him. He complies, explaining that, although she looks a lot like Sasuke, Sarada's personality is more similar to Sakura's. Sarada is happy to hear this and, when they near the rendezvous point with Sasuke, Sarada runs ahead to meet him; her desire to see him is so strong that it awakens her Sharingan. When Sasuke sees her, however, he assumes she is one of Shin's cohorts and uses his sword to threaten her for information. Sasuke realises his mistake when Sarada calls him "papa", at which point he turns on Naruto, reprimanding him for bringing her. Sarada defends Naruto, saying that she came without his permission because she wanted to ask Sasuke if Sakura is really her mother.

Sasuke ignores her question and refuses to tell why he's been absent from her life for so long. Sarada cries at his indifference and storms out. Naruto follows and tries to comfort her, but they are interrupted by another attack by Shin and his father, who is also named Shin Uchiha. Naruto defends Sarada while Sasuke attacks Shin, but Naruto is quickly incapacitated after being stabbed by a sword and Sasuke is forced to protect Sarada with his own body. Before Shin's father can finish them as he intends to, Sakura appears and badly injures him with her punch. Shin escapes with his son using a Sharingan Spying Creature and takes Sakura with him. Unable to go after him, Naruto and Sasuke take Sarada and Chōchō to Orochimaru's hideout to see if he knows anything about Shin and his location.

While Orochimaru explains that Shin is one of his experiments now run amuck and that his "sons" are actually his clones, Sarada pulls Suigetsu Hōzuki aside, whom she recognises from the picture of Team Taka. She shares her belief that Karin is her mother, which Suigetsu is unable to confirm or deny. They go through Karin's belongings - Karin herself being at another hideout - and find an umbilical cord that Suigetsu believes is from when Karin was born. They compare its DNA with Sarada's and find there's a match, which initially seems to prove that Karin is Sarada's mother. Suigetsu becomes uncomfortable and leaves; Naruto, who was eavesdropping, enters after him to remind Sarada that they need to rescue Sakura. Sarada refuses, stating that she owes nothing to Sakura if she isn't truly her mother, especially if she's been lying to Sarada about it her whole life.

Sarada accuses Naruto of being part of the conspiracy to lie to her. Naruto doesn't actually know what the truth is, but he objects to what she says about family. He, as Hokage, regards every villager of Konoha, even though they have no genetic ties, as part of his family and he wants to protect them. In the same way, even if Sarada and Sakura had not been related by blood, they would have been family because of their history together and their feelings for each other. Sarada is reminded of all the times in her life that Sakura was there for her and how she always tried to make Sarada happy. Sarada cries at this reminder that she and Sakura love each other and decides she wants to help save her. They reunite with Sasuke, who transports them and Chōchō to the dimension where Shin has taken Sakura.

When they arrive at Shin's lair, they find Sakura already in combat with Shin. After being protected by her husband who crashed Shin with his Susanoo, Sakura regroups with them. Sarada is happily looking at her parents as Sasuke tries to help his wife up, realising that Sasuke does care for Sakura. Shin is mortally stabbed by several of his clones. He attempts to escape using a Sharingan Spying Creature, but Sarada crushes the creature before it can take him away and Shin dies from his injuries. Shin's clones then start attacking, several dozen of which Sarada defeats at once with Cherry Blossom Impact, which surprises everyone except for Sasuke, who smirks proudly at his daughter. Naruto frightens the clones into surrendering, giving Sarada a chance to talk to her parents. Sakura hugs Sarada, reassuring her that she truly is her real mother, and Sarada apologises for doubting her and tells her that everything that matters is that their feelings are connected. Sarada next expresses concern for Sasuke's relationship with Sakura due to his long absences, but he explains that she, as their daughter, is proof enough of their strong connection. Sarada cries of happiness after hearing this.

Sasuke accompanies them back to Konoha. As they approach the village, Chōchō finally "meets" her father: Chōji Akimichi; Sarada laughs. After spending some time with Sarada and Sakura, including posing for an official family picture, Sasuke departs Konoha again. Sarada and Sakura see him off and, when he notices that Sarada's sad, Sasuke hugs her, pokes her forehead and promises to see her again. Sakura offers Sasuke a bento and then he leaves. Later, in class at the Academy, Boruto thanks Sarada for delivering the lunch to his father. Sarada insists that she should thank him instead, as it's because of delivering that lunch to Naruto that she's decided her dream in life is to become Hokage.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie
Upon graduating and becoming a genin, Sarada is teamed together with Boruto and Mitsuki under Konohamaru Sarutobi's leadership. While their team is on a mission to capture an animal that's been attacking a local farm, Sarada unsuccessfully tries to convince her team-mates that the animal is not a panda as they believe, but merely a normal bear that only looks like a panda. The bear/panda is nevertheless captured and they report their successful mission to Naruto. Boruto ends up getting into an argument with Naruto and storms out before he can be told about their invitation to join the Chūnin Exams. Sarada and Mitsuki track Boruto down afterwards to tell him about it, but he's uninterested, even when told that they can't enter without him. Sarada becomes angry with him, accusing him of interfering in her dream to become Hokage. He scoffs at her, telling her that to be Hokage means disappointing everyone around her.

Sarada and Mitsuki continue to pressure Boruto to enter the Chūnin Exams, but it's only Sarada's reminder that Naruto will watch the performances of the finalists that gets Boruto to agree. In preparation for the Chūnin Exams, Boruto trains with Sasuke, who has briefly returned to Konoha. When Sasuke appears unappreciative of the hard work that Boruto puts into learning the Rasengan, Sarada informs Sasuke of how rare it is for Boruto to do any work at all; Sasuke replies that he didn't intend to seem critical of Boruto and thinks he is doing good work. On the day of the first stage of the exams, Sakura sees Sarada off and wishes her luck. Before she goes, Sarada teases Sakura about how happy she is now that Sasuke is back, which Sakura blushes at.

For the first stage, competing teams are given a true-or-false question about the fifth volume of a particular book. Boruto and Mitsuki turn to Sarada for the answer, but she doesn't know it, having not been aware that there even was a fifth volume of that book. They select true, and for their answer they are dumped into a pit. Boruto assumes that they've failed and makes no attempt to stop himself from falling, forcing Sarada and Mitsuki to catch him as well as themselves. Because of their willingness to not give up, their team passes to the second stage. During the second stage a few days later, the teams compete against each other in games of capture the flag. Sarada and Mitsuki go off to capture the opposing team's flag while Boruto defends their own. When they reach the flag, they find that there are actually several hundred. Sarada dispels this genjutsu with her Sharingan in order to locate the real flag and capture it.

For the final rounds matches, the remaining participants compete in a series of one-on-one matches in front of a packed stadium crowd. In her first match, Sarada defeats Tarui with a single punch, which Sakura cheers loudly from the crowd and embarrasses Sarada. Immediately after Boruto is caught cheating during his own match, the stadium is attacked by Kinshiki and Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki. While Sarada is helping spectators evacuate, a piece of debris almost falls on her, though she is saved by Sasuke. Sasuke takes Sarada to where Naruto and Boruto are so that he and Naruto can combine efforts to protect their children, but Momoshiki is too strong. Naruto has Sasuke focus on protecting Boruto and Sarada while he fights Momoshiki and Kinshiki alone. Boruto passes out as they watch the fight, and when he wakes up in the hospital later Sarada informs him that Naruto was captured.

Boruto joins a team organised by Sasuke to rescue Naruto, and before he goes he asks Sarada and Mitsuki to look after everybody while he's gone. Naruto is ultimately rescued and life in Konoha returns to normal. While their team is out on a mission to recapture the same bear/panda from before, Sarada scolds Boruto for cheating during the Chūnin Exams, which he apologises for. She asks if he plans to take after his father by becoming Hokage, to which he replies that he'd rather be like her own father, being her right-hand man when she becomes Hokage herself. After the bear/panda is captured, Mitsuki notes that as amazing as Sarada and Boruto's parents are, they don't compare to his own parent, Orochimaru. Having met Orochimaru before and being confused at the time, Sarada asks if Orochimaru is Mitsuki's mother or father, which she receives no conclusive answer to.

Video Games
In Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Sarada uses the lightning and fire natures, which she respectively combines with the enhanced strength she learned from Sakura and the shurikenjutsu she learned from Sasuke.

Trivia

 * is the Japanese pronunciation of the Portuguese word "salada". Her name is also derived from Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge. It is also the name of Sarada Devi; wife and spiritual counterpart of Ramakrishna.
 * According to character trivia from Boruto:
 * Sarada's hobby is reading (history and mystery).
 * Her favourite foods are things that are based on black tea flavours.
 * Her least favourite food is tomato.
 * Her attributes are: 160 in strength and negotiation, 150 in chakra, 145 in intelligence, 140 in perception, and 130 in dexterity.
 * She has four stars in marksmanship, genjutsu, and ninjutsu knowledge.
 * In artwork for Boruto, Sarada is depicted with a dōjutsu reminiscent of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Quotes

 * (To her mother about Boruto) "Mama...boys are sooo...stupid. Well, he is...kinda similar to me in some ways too... When it comes to dads...we're both totally Shannarō!"
 * (To Boruto about bento made by his mother) "Besides...a boxed lunch isn't just about food, right? When you know how special the person who made it for you is..."
 * (To Naruto after believing Karin is her real mother) "Why do I have to go rescue someone who's not my mom?! You guys have deceived me all my life! Go to hell!"
 * (To her mother) "As long as we love each other...and our feelings are connected."
 * (To Boruto) "I plan on becoming Hokage by choosing a different path than my dad!"