What if Sakura didn't lie to Naruto that fateful day? What if she took matters into her own hands and had the guts to challenge Sasuke? And managed to snuff out an already weakened Sasuke?
I think this would do six things. So let's get into it.
1) I think Sakura would gain respect from a lot of people.
Let's be honest. If it's one thing I learned about the Naruto fanbase, it's the fact that some fans have a hard time letting things go.
At least when it comes to Sakura.
But Sakura was a child and did childlike and foolish things.
As one would expect of a young teen.
I mean let's face it kids can be mean because they're still learning and figuring out the world, so we kinda got to shoot them some bail. There's a lot they don't understand that needs to be taught or learned. Ideally, the older they get, there should be less bail to shoot. Fewer excuses.
Anyway, a lot of people dislike Sakura because of her orphan comment toward Naruto.
She was practically a kid when she said that. But some people hold that against her and I don't think she deserves that. No one deserves to be held captive and FOREVER attached to their mistakes. I mean would you want that?
I wouldn't want that.
Especially if I'm making efforts to move past that.
We're human. We're designed to be faulty and make mistakes. I wouldn't want that kind of pressure on me, personally. To always be perfect and never mess up with anyone or anything.
It's not possible.
But anyway, I think that's the starting point of people jumping on the "I don't like Sakura" bandwagon and the moment she lost a lot of people's respect.
So let's jump forward to Shippuden. Where there was a lot of hope in Shippuden to correct this perception of Sakura, but it was brief. I mean, Sakura had a strong start in Shippuden and I thought he was going to really turn things around for her, especially after she had just saved Kankuro.
And then had that amazing fight with Chiyo to take down Sasori.
She helped take down an Akatsuki member and was the first to do it!
But Kishimoto might as well have said "nope" because he quickly nipped that in the bud. She should've been able to shine far more than she was allowed. And what better way to correct that and further show off her skill than putting her against Sasuke?
Especially since people don't really credit Sakura for her fight against Sasori because she had help from Lady Chiyo. Now I'll admit that it might be a little repetitive because Tsunade battled with Orochimaru, but it would show that Sakura has a backbone and won't let Sasuke do whatever he wants.
Even if she does have feelings for him and that's respectable because at least this way she's not relying on Naruto. She's not in the corner crying about it; she's actually doing something while trying to actually protect and relieve Naruto the RIGHT way in the process.
Part of me feels like people may STILL discredit Sakura even if she managed to take down Sasuke because it seems like people always find a way to discredit her, but it would be a step in the right direction for her character.
Regardless if Sasuke was weakened or not.
2) This would cause a rift between Naruto and Sakura and pave a better story for Naruto and Hinata.
So once again let's say Sakura decides to relieve Naruto of her promise the right way. Let's say she never goes to confront Naruto and thus never talks to Naruto. Instead, Sai's conversation with her gives her the motivation to confront Sasuke and finally take him down. Naruto would feel many things. He'd probably feel robbed, betrayed, and angry. I'm not sure if he would forgive Sakura.
At least not immediately.
This would be yet another person he couldn't save because keep in mind he couldn't do anything about Jiraya. This would be another blow to Naruto.
I feel like Naruto genuinely felt like he had a chance of bringing Sasuke back, so that's what I mean when I say robbed. Then, Naruto would probably feel betrayed because they're all a member of Team 7 at the end of the day and to be snuffed out by your teammate is a pretty big deal. But would Kakashi understand and be on Sakura's side? After all, Kakashi was willing to take out Obito but Minato stopped him during the War. Would Kakashi understand that you have to wash your hands at a certain point?
Plus the rest of Konoha 11 were all willing to cut ties with Sasuke.
So maybe they would understand because Sasuke isn't really considered a teammate at this point.
Naruto, on the other hand, may not ever understand or want to understand that because he had a bond with Sasuke he wanted to restore.
All in all, this would put a major strain on his relationship with Sakura and any feelings he would have for her. This would 100% push him towards Hinata. He will probably never look at Sakura the same and always think of losing Sasuke whenever he looks at her. This would be an interesting and creative way to write a love story. It'd be unique.
3) Naruto May Not Become Hokage
Naruto was extremely hard on himself when it came to bringing Sasuke back. He was also really hard on himself when it came to how he felt about Sakura. When Sai asked Naruto if he was going to tell Sakura how he felt, Naruto felt as if he didn't deserve to mention anything.
All because he didn't bring Sasuke back.
Imagine how Naruto would feel if there was no possibility of bringing Sasuke back period.
Naruto would feel as if he failed to save Sasuke and I'm not sure if he'd forgive himself. Naruto said many times that if he couldn't save one friend, he didn't deserve to become Hokage, and becoming Hokage was Naruto's dream from the start. Sasuke was that important to him.
Personally, I think Naruto put too much of Sasuke's problems on himself.
At the same time though, Naruto is a really good friend.
Probably too good of a friend. Cause it definitely wouldn't be me. Naruto goes to such lengths to restore a bond that it's one of those things that can only apply to anime. It can't be applied to real life. I would not waste my time trying to save a friend that doesn't want to be saved and one that tried to snuff me out every time I tried to help.
No thanks.
4) Sakura Would Be Promoted?
Alright, so at this point, Sasuke was considered a terrorist. The Raikage was beefing with Sasuke because of what he did to Killer Bee. Not to mention, Sasuke joined Akatsuki and stormed the summit. It got so bad that no one would really come to Sasuke's aid or defense but Naruto and possibly Kakashi.
Even the rest of Konoha 11 were done with him.
Naruto was legit the only ninja crazy enough to still defend Sasuke.
So what does this mean for Sakura?
I think she would be recognized as a hero worldwide. I'm not sure what rank she would be promoted to, maybe the next one up or whatever. But this would definitely be on a different scale than when Naruto saved the village from Pain. I could be wrong when I say this, but I feel like no one really cared about the Akatsuki until it became a problem for them, so it's not that quite of a big deal. But Sasuke is different because literally, everyone wanted his head.
5) The War would be different and the world would probably end.
I won't get into all of the things that would be different, but here's something important to consider. The First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage wouldn't have been revived because remember Sasuke sought them out for answers. He basically wanted to decide if he was going to destroy the Leaf.
This means Naruto wouldn't have gotten to see his dad again for their final moments together and Naruto wouldn't have gotten his hands on the yin chakra, which Obito later transferred into Naruto. The only reason Naruto was able to get the Yin half of Kurama was because of Minato's presence.
And Minato was only there because Sasuke summoned him.
So Naruto probably wouldn't have made it.
And let's say that Naruto did make it somehow, how would he form the seal in order to release the infinite Tsukuyomi? Did he not have to join hands with Sasuke? How would Naruto stand against Madara or even Kaguya? In short, I think the world would have been destroyed and it would have been a dark ending for the Shinobi World. Sasuke played a bigger role in the war than people may realize.
6) No Sarada Uchiha & No more Uchihas
This one is a bit obvious. If there's no Sasuke, then there's no chance of Sasuke and Sakura.
Which means they never get together and they never have a child together. I know a lot of people ship Sakura with Lee, so maybe that's something that would have happened instead. Who knows? All we know is that she definitely wouldn't be together with Sasuke and Naruto probably definitely wouldn't desire her either.
This also means that the Uchiha bloodline ends with Sasuke.