It's hard to believe people are STILL calling her useless.
What criterion is it that they use to support their argument of Sakura's actions having no impact on the story? They need to stop to think on what would have became of Naruto and the outcome of this fight if there was a lack of participation on her end. Naruto's ailing body - by itself - wasn't going to endure long enough without oxygen if Sakura never involved herself with her medical expertise. Who do they think was capable of taking over Sakura's role during that bleak ordeal? Tsunade? Shizune? Some anonymous medic who happened to be amongst the crowd of fodder? Tsunade and Shizune were both out of chakra, moreover, for such a delicate procedure, they would have needed someone with the diligence, training, and personal conviction to keep Naruto's heart pumping. I'm not implying that the various other medics on the battlefield were somehow incompetent, but for something this delicate, in a combat situation where the Alliance needed every available man they could muster to help against Spiral Zetsu, the only one that could be spared to help Naruto was Sakura.
In a scenario like this one where the medical personnel has such a close relationship with their patient, it helped strengthen their determination to keep him stable long enough to be resuscitated. And before anyone brings up Hinata's "heartfelt" desire to be beside Naruto in his time of need - all while leaving her own team to fend for themselves, one should add - there wasn't much that she would be able to do besides act as moral support. Contrary to what Studio Pierrot might have underhandedly revised about Hinata's character in order to try and paint her as this dark horse medic who's been secretly learning enough about healing techniques to rival Tsunade's disciple (oh, and the only other person that has been shown to have been taken under the wing of the Slug Princess is Shizune, sorry Ino), Hinata has never been shown to have any knowledge or capability in the field of restoration. Offering some ointment for a few minor cuts and pulling a shoulder back into joint is not the equivalent to what Sakura and Tsunade's profession entails. Hell! Kakashi seems to have a better understanding of medical techniques when he showed that he could surgically close a wound in his stomach.
The significance of Sakura's presence in the Kaguya fight should be self-explanatory. With the possible exception of Hashirama, there is no one else in the Alliance with reserves of chakra large enough to create portals in Kaguya's dimensional worlds. Who do they think could have replaced "usless" Sakura with in that particular instance? It would need to be someone who not only has the reserves to help sustain a Space-Time portal to a faraway dimension, but the exactness and accuracy of control so there isn't any excess chakra wasted that could be preserved for additional prolonged attempts. You're not going to find anyone like that from the Rookies or the various other shinobi from other nations. Tsunade was the only other shinobi who's shown to be capable of transferring chakra, unless you include Onoki transferring his jutsu powers to his bodyguards and Raikage (though he probably lacks the chakra reserves necessary to create and/or sustain Obito's portal anyway)
At this point, Sakura is a chakra monster. There are only a handful of characters that can match her stamina now. Anyone else would have been ill-suited to attempt the rescue mission. Furthermore, her strength is almost unmatched. She manages to land a punch on Kaguya's horn and it's still only just powerful enough to force her back down in front of Naruto and Sasuke - that's a testament to Kaguya's resilience. Few others have the kind of momentum behind their techniques to accomplish what Sakura did.
I would say that Sakura has done plenty to distinguish herself from the common soldier. It may not be as glamorous or substantial as her teammates' roles, but she's made herself into an exemplary figure of the Alliance using her power alone.
Edited by Atheck, 23 August 2014 - 03:45 AM.
