Reborn as Sakura: Genius Ninja?

"Sakura, wake up!"

The unfamiliar voice jolted Li Ying from his dream.

Li Ying had been the top student and a member of the MENSA Club, currently pursuing his doctorate.

Surveying the girlish room, Li Ying took a deep breath to steady himself and began to piece together his situation:

He remembered finishing his dissertation and heading out for a stroll, only to fall just outside the door. The sky had spun around, and it seemed he had traveled to a different world after falling down the stairs. Although Li Ying was highly rational, he had to accept this new reality.

He began checking his physical condition, and as he touched his body, a girl's angry voice rang in his head:

'Who are you? How did you take over my body? Stop it, you're not allowed to play around with it! Stop it, don't do that!'

Li Ying immediately stopped his hands.

Suddenly, a sharp pain surged through his entire body, as if it had been torn apart and reassembled with something else.

"Ah..." Li Ying cried out in pain.

'Ah, that hurts!' The voice in his head echoed the pain.

Hearing her daughter's screams, Haruno Meibuki rushed upstairs and burst into Sakura's room to check on her.

She saw her daughter curled up on the bed, crying out in agony, her body drenched in sweat.

"Sakura, what's wrong with you? What's happening?"

But at that moment, both Li Ying and Haruno Sakura were in so much pain that they could not speak.

'It seems that the pain was caused by the fusion of souls,' Haruno Sakura thought.

After three minutes of intense pain, Li Ying's soul and Sakura's soul had fully fused, and from this moment on, both Li Ying and the original Sakura no longer existed. Only the newly formed Haruno Sakura remained in the world.

"It's okay, Mom."

Sakura managed a strained smile, her face pale.

"What's wrong, Sakura? Are you sick?"

Her daughter's weak state did not reassure Haruno Meibuki.

"It's just some pain from excessive chakra training. I'm not used to it yet."

Sakura made up an excuse to placate Haruno Meibuki, who was not a ninja.

"Then do you want to take the day off? I can ask for your leave."

"Sure, a day off sounds good."

The new Haruno Sakura agreed, needing time to adjust.

Soon after, Sakura woke up, washed up, and began eating breakfast. As she ate, she contemplated her current situation:

'According to Li Ying's memories, I'm actually in the world of a certain anime! Wow, and I'm the heroine of this world! That's amazing! But... why do I feel like I don't play a major role in the anime, and I'm not that great?

Instead, Sasuke Uchiha seems more like the real heroine! That won't do!

I'm going to become stronger than the original and change the name of the series to "The Legend of Sakura!"'

Determined, Sakura finished her breakfast, went to her room, and began listing her strengths compared to the anime in her notebook:

My biggest advantage is knowing the plot of this world and being able to predict most major events before they happen.

However, Li Ying had only seen the plot from the Chunin Exams to Naruto's defeat of Pain, and, due to the extreme effectiveness of talk-no-jutsu, he had stopped watching.

Therefore, Sakura couldn't rely solely on her memory.

The second advantage is Li Ying's high IQ and vast knowledge base, which now gives Sakura a perspective far beyond the Shinobi world.

The third advantage is Sakura's superior chakra control, which even Kakashi would envy, combined with the wisdom and intelligence gained from the fusion, enabling her to develop a fighting style far surpassing her anime counterpart.

Having identified her strengths, Sakura tore out the two pages of notes and discarded them.

Fortunately, it was the last semester of ninja school, and there were still over three months until the graduation exams. She had time to get stronger before the drama began.

Soon after, Sakura went to the ninja school but instead of attending class, she waited in Iruka's office.

"Sakura, didn't you take the day off today?"

Iruka, who had just returned to the office, saw the pink-haired girl reading a book and asked.

"Mr. Iruka, I need to discuss something with you."

Sakura looked serious.

"What is it?"

Iruka's curiosity was piqued.

"Mr. Iruka, I want to take a three-month vacation to practice on my own until the graduation exams."

Although Sakura had always excelled in written exams, her practical test performance was average.

Iruka frowned at Sakura's request.

"Sakura, why do you want to train alone? Have you found another master?"

"No, Mr. Iruka. I just feel that my theoretical knowledge is solid, and I want to focus on real-world training before graduation.

Although I could receive guidance from school teachers, their time and energy are limited. With the current curriculum, I can't concentrate on practical training."

Iruka's question subtly confirmed whether Sakura was dissatisfied with her level. Sakura, having fused her souls, answered smoothly.

"Why the rush to improve? After becoming a ninja, you'll have a ninja instructor in every class to help you improve faster."

"Because I realized that if I don't work hard, I won't be able to catch up with the ninja clans.

Without clan support, my strength will fall further behind that of my classmates. Therefore, I must demonstrate my own value and strive for the village's resources."

Sakura decided to appeal to Iruka from the perspective of a civilian ninja needing to work hard.

As a fellow civilian ninja, Iruka could easily relate to the gap between himself and the ninja clans and empathize with Sakura.

"So that's your reasoning, Sakura."

Iruka's gaze softened, and his eyes grew a bit misty. It was as if he saw his past self in Sakura.

"Then, Mr. Iruka, what's your decision?"

"I understand; your application is approved. But remember, the graduation exam is crucial. If you don't pass, you'll have to stay at the ninja school."

"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Iruka."

Sakura flashed a bright smile.

"Goodbye then, Iruka-sensei."

Waving to Iruka, Sakura turned and left.

"Hey, don't run in the corridor!"

Iruka followed her out the door, admonishing her retreating figure.

But soon, Sakura was out of sight. Iruka shook his head, smiling bitterly, and sighed, "What an innocent and cute child."

He didn't realize that the good girl he remembered was all calculations and no real feelings.

"Motherfucker, you're wasting my time. So talkative. I think Naruto got his talkative nature from Iruka."

Sakura thought as she ran toward the training ground.