Appreciation post for inosaku friendship ♡ ;a thread

During Sakura’s early childhood, she was the victim of bullying due to her large forehead. Ino eventually took notice of this, and introduced herself

She noticed Sakura’s futile attempts to cover it up,and encouraged Sakura to proudly flaunt her forehead, rather than try to hide it. Ino tried to make Sakura have more confidence in herself

Sakura’s bullying would return to haunt her once more. However, this time, she had Ino by her side, and the latter confidently dispatched of Sakura’s bullies

This made Sakura not only admire Ino even more because she just seemed to be so perfect at everything, but it also made her feel as though she was just sinking deeper and deeper under Ino’s shadow

Many people like to claim that Sasuke was the reason for Sakura initiating the break from their relationship, but that’s not true at all. Sasuke was only ever the trigger; the final push, but was never the main reason for the rift between Sakura and Ino.

What caused the rift was Sakura feeling that as long as she remained as she was, following Ino around like a lost puppy, she would never break out of her shell. And the thing is, Ino’s words herself clarified that to Sakura, when she stated that Sakura was “just a bud”

And you could tell this was the case because Ino’s condescending words from that time had resonated in Sakura’s mind. She obviously really took what Ino said to heart there, and used that as motivation to better herself and attain acknowledgement from her rival; her goal

She no longer wanted to be carried by Ino, only to continue living under her shadow; she was gonna succeed by herself. Whether that be in terms of fending away her bullies, succeeding in the academy, or winning Sasuke’s heart; she was determined to do it all by herself

Ino always believed that sakura had the potential.she knew that Sakura had what it takes to bloom into a flower even more beautiful than a cosmos

However, ino didn’t always believe sakura would realize that potential so sakura wanted to prove her wrong. She wanted to gain ino’s acknowledgement. Sakura knew she wouldn’t gain the acknowledgement that she so earnestly desired if she didn’t surpass ino herself

Its the scenario where one person strives to better themselves in order to gain the acknowledgement of their rival. We saw it with Jiraiya towards Orochimaru, Obito towards Kakashi, Lee towards Neji, and indeed Naruto towards Sasuke. And for each of those relationships, during+

person’s struggle to obtain their rival’s acknowledgement.
Kakashi even makes a point by comparing Sakura and Ino’s relationship to that of Naruto and Sasuke:

Sakura wanted to break free from Ino’s shadow and become her own person. And she then made a promise that when she puts her forehead protector on her forehead, it’d be an indication that she feels she’s reached that point

Ino acknowledged it as a good idea, joined her in the bet, and looked forward to when that time would eventually come

Ino made it crystal clear that she fully understood Sakura’s incentives and reasons for distancing herself from her. She got it, and put on her forehead protector. Because this wasn’t about Sasuke and it was never about Sasuke.

In the chunin exam fight,Ino would slightly demonstrate the overconfidenceby showing her agitation that Sakura was actually proving herself to be a match for her. Sakura would respond with a snide remark concerning how Ino prioritized her appearance over her skills

Sakura’s side jab at Ino apparently hit a sore spot, because it proved to get Ino very worked up to the point where she too cut the hair that she had been growing for years, in order to prove to Sakura that she was wrong; her appearance wasn’t a priority

at the end, a tie proved to be good enough for Ino, and in the end, she acknowledged it. Ino acknowledged that Sakura had indeed realized the potential that Ino knew she possessed from day one

Sakura never “abandoned” her friendship with Ino over Sasuke. Sakura distanced herself from Ino in order to grow as a person, And they were subsequently able to mend their relationship, while still retaining their dynamic as vitriolic best buds :)

The importance of what Ino did for Sakura during their childhood cannot be overlooked. She bestowed upon Sakura the confidence that she needed in order to become the world’s strongest Kunoichi that she is today, i have no choice but to stan

They both blossomed to be two beautiful flowers inside and out; inosaku friendship is so beautiful