a bond of support

Team Seven - Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Now one might ponder why add an own section about Team Seven to a SasuNaru shrine which clearly has not much Sakura in it? That's easy to explain; simply because Sakura plays an extremely important role in both of their lives - in Sasuke's as well as in Naruto's.

When the three of them got picked together as a team, each of them had their own intentions in mind: Naruto wanted to be with Sakura, the girl he has a crush on, but also definitely with any academy student other than Sasuke. Sakura however, wanted to be with Sasuke no matter what and didn't care at all for Naruto - and Sasuke himself?

Well, Sasuke only saw both of them as a burden which would only slow him down. I don't think I have to mention the tension that had constantly filled the air, now do I?

Apart from that, while the two boys already had to experience a lot of pain in their childhood, Sakura in comparison, didn't know anything about being alone and suffering. She enjoyed an ordinary life together with her parents and her friends, and not to forget some sort of "first love".

But now when Team Seven was formed, Sakura also showed that she was an extraordinary talented ninja as well, being incredibly bright and having such a great chakra control. Sadly though, whenever it came to battle, Sakura withdrew. On the one hand she tried to give her best, if you take the 1st fight in the wave country as an example. But on the other hand she just didn't get a real chance to show what she's capable of- after all, Sasuke and Naruto were always there to protect her. One could say, Sakura somewhat disappeared in the shadows of the the two boys fighting in front of her.

During the Chuunin exam, everything started to change though. While both Naruto and Sasuke were knocked out, it was Sakura's turn to protect the two - and she succeeded. Slowly but surely, she herself realised that she'd been only watching all the time. Now, the time had come for the 2 boys to watch her back.

Ever since then Sakura continued to grow in a way which one probably would have never expected her to do. She became more mature, her childhood crush on Sasuke developed further into true affection, and as time went by, she also started to admire and acknowledge Naruto's strength. With that, Team Seven became not only a very well outbalanced team, but also a bond of friendship, which held the three of them together.

Team Seven was, and still is, a 3-men-team in every way. They provided each other with strength, comfort and support, and you can't clearly characterisize any of the 3 without mentioning the other 2. They're important and precious to each other and all 3 of them have proved to be able to put their life on the line, in order to save the other two.

As for Sasuke & Naruto, I consider Team Seven as their ultimate sanctuary. With both of them having their own tragic childhood memories which always painfully gnawed at them, Team Seven helped them escaping out of their own personal hells. As soon as the 2 boys got assigned together with Sakura as Team Seven, all 3 of them started to bloom and for once, started to live. Sakura is the rock that keeps Sasuke and Naruto on the ground, spending solace, giving both of them strength with simply being there for them. Like a family.

Team Seven is more than just 3 randomly picked out people who work together as a team; it implies much more feelings such as true care, tenderness, gentleness and warmth. For the 2 boys, but also for Sakura, I'm sure it's like being together with a family, people you dearly love and you'd do anything for.

For now, with Sasuke being gone, Sakura and Naruto are trying their hardest to retrieve their 3rd member, since - there's simply something missing. Neither of them can be without the other and there is no Team Seven without one of them. I'm sure, someday they will be able to save Sasuke from the darkness - and Team Seven will once more shine as bright as it always has.