I do not own Naruto, but my daughter does have all 27 published mangas in her room; somewhere.

Will Born in Adversity

Aside from the pranking, Naruto and Hinata still had to attend the Academy. The Hokage had focused all the resources needed to get the school finished quickly. The school had been rebuilt after four months and was a much better place to learn than before. Naruto joined Hinata's class under Iruka-sensei. The other members of the class included the group he has seen on the stairs during the fire as well as a dozen more. The dark brooding Uchiha Sasuke was no longer the sole focus of a fan club. Several had turned their sights onto Naruto. Of course, Naruto took no notice of the girls crushing on him as his time not in school was filled with the prank missions.

The other kids he had seen on the stairs during the fire all became his friends fairly quickly. Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba were all like Hinata in that they all considered Naruto a hero. The way they accepted Naruto warmed his heart and helped him adjust much better than any class he had been in before. Uchiha Sasuke was cold and distant and just considered Naruto beneath his notice. Any time he even spoke to Naruto he made it into an insult.

Hinata took it upon herself to help Naruto. She made him focus on doing his class work by threatening to drop out of the missions it he failed as much as a quiz. It was also Hinata that realized Naruto put way too much chakra into his efforts on basic jutsu. When Naruto used chakra, it was like using a fire hose to water a fern instead of using a watering can. It could be done but more care was needed than Naruto normally used. Once he learned how to use a minimum amount, his jutsu were turning out like they were supposed to be and left a pleased Iruka to chuckle at how cute the couple looked when Naruto pouted and Hinata playfully scolded him.

Haruno Sakura was frowning while watching the too cute couple. It was bad enough that Naruto had managed to pull out of dead last status but now Hinata was doing better across the board as well. That improvement had not only pushed Sakura out of her spot as top girl in the class but also left Sakura as the last place person in taijutsu among the girls. It did not matter that she was without peer in chakra control and genjutsu in school. All people saw was that she was weak physically.

On top of all the school problems Sakura seemed to be developing, the Sasuke fan club had a rapidly depleting membership. Since the fire and the Uchiha's callus abandoning of the rest of the class to sprint out of the building, fewer girls saw him as something special. Even Ino had told Sakura that if the pink haired girl wanted that 'moody coward' she was welcome to him. Sakura's enraged attack on Ino during taijutsu class made things that much worse. Ino simply assumed a neutral stance and literally slapped Sakura's pitiful attacks to the side.

"You know, Forehead, I've spent the last few months practicing once I realized I was spending all my time fawning over some worthless emo boy. All you did was tell everyone he was misunderstood. They treat him like a prodigy and hero because he survived the massacre. You know what? He wouldn't even be a prodigy among his own clan. His brother's record makes him look like a loser. The age Sasuke is now, his brother was an ANBU. Sasuke is just an Academy student and has not even activated his Sharingan yet. Most Uchiha clan members had it activate before they were twelve. Not much of a prodigy or genius there, huh Forehead?"

Ino then went on the offensive as tears streamed down Sakura's face. A single hit to the stomach made Sakura bend over and lose her breath and a follow up downward strike to the jaw laid Sakura down to the grass. "Drop the illusions, Forehead. If you want the best you already missed out; because he is blonde and taken. You should just quit the Academy. You're weak." Ino just bowed to the instructor and left the sparring field.

Sakura lay there just thinking about Ino's taunts. They had stung her badly. Once classes were over for the day, Sakura merely wandered the village. She never paid attention to where she was going and walked right into someone. Looking up she saw the white robes and aged face of the Hokage. Sakura blushed and apologized for bumping into him but he waved it off. He led her to a small bench nearby and sat them down on it.

"You seemed deep in thought, Sakura. Mind telling an old man exactly what is making your young face so troubled besides that monster of a bruise on it?"

'Wow, the Hokage knows my name.' "Um, I've been having some doubts about a few things, Hokage-sama. I'm not even sure if I should stay in the Academy anymore."

"My my, that is a troubling situation. It is close to the end of the term as well. What is causing your doubts?"

"Well, I've been seeing how everything changed since the fire at the Academy. The new building is great and all but a lot of attitudes have changed. I like a boy that everyone seems to have turned against recently. I know that sounds shallow but I think I could help him if he would let me."

Sakura, I think I know who you are talking about. He has a lot to deal with and people have not had him confront his problems at all. They just tell him he is a genius and in many ways he is. He learns things quickly and well but he never needs to really try very hard to learn these things. Because he never needs to train as hard as others do, he looks down on people that cannot accomplish tasks as quickly as he can. He could be a great ninja for Konoha but he is lacking the one thing that makes Konoha ninja special. He only cares for himself, not for others. That is a trait too many Uchiha have had in the past."

"But I think your troubles are coming from something else, Sakura. What else is bothering you?"

Sakura sighed deeply as she sat quietly fighting back tears for a minute before speaking softly. "Today … today at sparring practice, I lost to my old friend Ino. It wasn't even a contest. She just stood there and batted away my taijutsu like it was nothing then beat me in two hits. She just put down Sasuke-kun during the fight and called me weak after it. She said I should quit the Academy." Sakura broke down crying. "I don't want to be weak, Hokage-sama. I know I can be strong but I'm not sure how to get there. I've run and lifted weights and done everything the instructors expect of us but I never get any stronger. Then suddenly Ino, who has always been on the same level as me, is kicking my butt. I don't know what to do anymore." Sarutobi just wrapped his arms around the crying girl and held her until she had cried out her despair.

"Sakura, being strong is more than something physical. It means you have the inner fire to overcome the things that bother you. I think you should go have this talk with Iruka. He is a much better teacher than he lets on. I believe he can help you find out what you're doing wrong and get you back on track to where you want to be headed. But remember, it has to be something you want before you can improve, Sakura. Now, run along home, I am sure your parents are wondering why you're late for dinner."

Sarutobi watched the pink haired girl rush down the street before disappearing from view. 'Maybe there is something there that can be worked with. She reminds me of someone from a long time ago. I should check this one out a bit harder.'

It was completely dark by the time Sakura finally got home. "Sorry I'm late, Mom. I got into something after school and I even got to talk to the Hokage a little while ago."

Sakura was walking into the kitchen and both her parents stopped what they were doing to stare at the pink haired girl. Sakura noticed them looking and turned to look behind herself before going "What?"

"Sakura, the entire left half of your face is nothing but a bruise. What happened to you?"

"Oh, that. It was sparring practice with Ino at the end of school today. She got in a lucky shot and decked me. It's nothing, really."

Haruno Sumomo arched an eyebrow at her daughter's evasive answer. She never really approved of her daughter's desire to be a ninja. No one in the family had been one since her grandfather and he was never that good at it. He had been crippled back in the Second Ninja War. She figured if she married a nice bureaucrat then she would never have to worry about ninja in the family. 'If only her father had enough spine to keep her from going to the Academy.'

"Well you sit down and I'll get the first aid kit. We should at least get something on that before it swells anymore. It even looks like you were crying. It must really hurt if you were crying from it."

Sakura blushed a bit when her mother mentioned crying. "It stung a little at the time. But really, Mom, its nothing. I'll have to deal with a lot more than a little bruise when I make genin."

"Making genin seems to be all you think about lately. You are never home after school anymore. You're always out chasing after that Uchiha boy." Sumomo grumbled.

Sakura flinched as she knew her mother was going to go into another tirade about ninja and she should be worried about finding a nice boy to get engaged to in a few years. She tried to sneak out of the kitchen to her room but walked into her mother instead.

"You. Sit." Sumomo pointed to the chair at the table. Sakura sat and let her mother work on her face. After a liberal application of ointment, Sakura tried to leave again.

"You know Sakura, your father works very hard at his job to support us. His boss is looking to find a bride for his son and he has expressed an interest in meeting you. Why don't we get you out of that silly ninja school? With your brains and head for numbers, I am sure you could be a great help for his department in the payroll office. You could meet his boss' son and we could arrange a future for you."

"Mom, I don't want to work in Dad's office and his boss' son is a gross fat kid that was not even accepted into the Academy. I'm doing the things I wanted to by going to the Academy. Dad understands that and that is why he let me go in the first place. That IS my future."

"But Sakura, it's so dangerous. I mean you could be crippled like your great grandfather or worse captured by enemies and raped or enslaved. Or even just have your throat cut and be dumped in a ditch like trash."

Sumomo was in tears at her pleas but Sakura was not buying it. She knew how her mother manipulated her father on a daily basis with those tears and would not fall for it herself.

But a shadow of doubt crept into Sakura's mind. Ino had beaten her so easily today. It had not even been a contest this afternoon. Two hits and boom, down went Sakura into the dirt. Now with her mother ranting on about the dangers of being a kunoichi, Sakura could not help but pause at all the possible dangers that lay in her future.

"Mom …" Sakura whispered. "Mom, I'll think about it this time, ok?"

The following morning, Sakura arrived early for class to speak to Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei, I need to ask something and I need an honest answer. Am I weak?" she asked

Iruka was slightly shocked by the outright question. "Well, I would not go calling you weak, Sakura. You are a very intelligent girl and have excellent chakra control. Those are things that can let you go far as a ninja."

"No Sensei. Am I weak physically? Am I cut out to be a ninja? Yesterday, Ino beat me in sparring without even having to try. Please, Iruka-sensei, tell me the truth."

Iruka sighed. He had heard this line from students for years. Mostly it was right before they dropped out of training. He did not want to lose another student this year but he also felt hiding the truth would be worse than lying since it could mean a dead genin in a few months time.

"Sakura, I know you think you work hard at your training, but actually you tend to just coast through it. You do the minimum required to pass at the physical things. As I said in chakra control and genjutsu, no one else at the same training level can touch you. But you never have to try on those. It is a natural gift you have in those aspects of being a ninja. That same work ethic doesn't apply in the physical things. Yes, you can meet the lowest physical requirements to become a genin but if you tried harder you could do so much better. Natural ability will only take a person so far but it is only through hard work that a person can excel."

"So, I am weak."

"Sakura, it's not so much a matter of you being weak physically. It's a case of you not putting out the effort needed to get better. That's what you need to do Sakura. You need to get out and push yourself physically. It will get you stronger and more capable. Look at Hinata and Naruto. A few months ago both were near the bottom of the class. They both found new ways to work on their flaws. See how much better they're both doing now? You could have that sort of improvement. It is up to you, though. I can honestly say if you don't get better physically, I might have to recommend that you not be allowed to take the Genin Exam at the end of term."

"So, it's either step up or step out Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka slowly nodded. He hated this part. Better to crush a child's dream now than to have to see another one buried. He waited for Sakura to tell him she was quitting.

Sakura stood there quietly for a minute, looking down. She thought back on all the things she had gone through to get to this point.

The taunts and teasing she went through when she was smaller before Ino became her friend. The feeling that simple act had given Sakura was one she still treasured in spite of all the disagreements later on. Ino had made her feel safe and protected. Sakura later had applied for ninja school along with Ino because she had wanted to make others feel safe as well. Her father had taken her for a walk the night she asked her parents to let her attend the Academy.

"A ninja huh? You know your mother is going to raise a huge stink over this don't you? Well, don't let her know this but I tried to get into the Academy in my youth. Those Sannin had inspired so many of us. I was telling everyone I knew how I was going to be the one to defeat all the enemies of Konoha. I tried my best but I knew after a little while I couldn't even generate an ounce of chakra to save my life. I was still there ten minutes after they told me I failed, still trying to make even a bit of chakra. Then this blonde kid no one knew came up and stunned everyone with the amount of chakra he had. I never got his name then but years later he was named Fourth Hokage. Seems funny that your old dad the dependable reliable working stiff had dreams of being like that in his past huh? Well, I believe you can do this. Go after your dreams Sakura and I'll be a hero as well and deal with what your mother has to say."

Her father had just kissed her on her forehead and true to his word allowed Sakura to attend the Academy, never once backing down from that choice. He was stronger than she had ever thought he could be. He gave her the chance for her own dreams. Could she walk away from those dreams? She could give up becoming a ninja and find a well off husband without trying. Her mother would see to that.

She looked up at Iruka-sensei. He was waiting for Sakura to say something. She could see the look on his face. He knew she was going to back out and quit. A flash of her father came again, that look superimposed on his face almost broke her heart. Her father believed in her dream. Could she face him without trying?

"Sensei …"

Sakura paused again as one last thought danced across her mind. Trying. The entire problem suddenly became simple. It all came down to trying. Her father had tried. He failed but it was not the fact that he had been rejected that was important. He had gone out knowing he couldn't and attempted it anyhow. He had failed on his terms by giving his best effort.

She could do this but the most important point is she had not been putting out the effort. That was the simple truth she had been missing these past few years. She had lost her focus. It went from to be a ninja to instead gain the attention of a handsome boy with dark eyes and a mysterious air.

She had come in with a dream; to be a ninja; to protect others from bullies, to protect her parents and friends and village.

Her father gave her the opportunity.

Her teachers gave her the knowledge.

Now all she had to do was put out the effort to take the last step. This late in the year she might not be able to improve enough physically. But what if she tried? She was faced with the choice, to go quietly or to go out on her own terms.

"Sensei, what do I need to do? Can you help me?" Sakura looked Iruka in the eye. The green orbs of Sakura's eyes seemed to light up in an inner fire that was not there earlier. "I want to get stronger."

Sarutobi was enjoying his evening stroll through the village. As he passed the Academy, he noticed a sweaty pink haired girl running laps around the track. He chuckled at the sight. After his research and seeing this, he decided that he would have an ANBU leave a small scroll in her family's mailbox tomorrow.

Chapter Notes

: I got the name Sumomo which means prune from an online translator. At first I was looking at flowers but then switched to fruit. I had liked Ume which means plum but I realized if you dry a plum you get a prune which also fits the idea I got regarding Sakura's mother in the only line of dialogue in the anime.

I had originally planned on this chapter to be much shorter and a part of what will be the next one but while proofreading I realized I had entirely left out Sakura's motives for change. As for Ino, when your crush runs off and leaves you to possibly die, you tend to re think things a bit

Edited and Reposted