It's no secret that Naruto's Sakura Haruno is not a fan favorite. From a lack of contribution in countless battles to taking, sometimes unwarranted, jabs at Naruto, despite being a main character and core member of the famed Team 7, she's been called weak and annoying by fans for decades. However, Sakura has strengths that are often overlooked for the meme.
For example, it's hard to ignore the fact that she has intelligence and strength that captured the attention of Tsunade, one of the Three Legendary Sannin and the fifth Hokage. She traded blows with Kaguya and saved countless lives during the Fourth Great Ninja War, including Naruto's. The hatred she gets has tainted the legitimately good qualities of her character and, while Sakura definitely isn't portrayed as well as she could be, the foundations of her prowess as a shinobi have been clearly laid out.
Sakura has always had impressive chakra control. When Team 7 was learning to channel chakra into their feet to walk up trees, Sakura mastered the skill with ease and much quicker than both Naruto and Sasuke. Still, after training with Tsunade, her chakra control significantly improved and she learned the Hokage's signature technique: Strength of a Hundred Seal -- a jutsu from the Sage of Six Paths era. This jutsu allows the user to slowly store small amounts of chakra, accumulating over a period of time into a purple diamond of chakra on the forehead, which both Sakura and Tsunade have.
Essentially a chakra battery, the Seal increases the strength of the user's jutsu, allowing them to execute attacks without wasting any chakra. It even allows Sakura to heal in the middle of a battle without stopping or slowing down. Using these same chakra reserves, Sakura can channel a ferocious strength that shatters buildings and turns the Earth to dust. By using this technique to send chakra into her fists and release it into a target, Sakura was even to hurt Kaguya herself. Chakra control is Sakura's most prominent ability -- and it's an extremely valuable one.
Sakura's prowess in medical ninjutsu is yet another extension of her chakra control. From healing wounds to extracting poisons, she has refined her talents to become the ultimate battlefield medic, saving countless lives, including Naruto's. But not only does she know how to heal with chakra, but Sakura can perform complicated physical procedures, examine cells, identify poisons and antidotes, etc. This skillset has come in handy on numerous occasions, keeping her comrades in play long enough for them to save the day. For example, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Sakura kept Naruto from dying by manually pumping his heart. Without her, there'd be no Boruto. But even in Boruto, her skills have allowed her to become head of Konoha's medical department.
Tsunade's training took a long time and was incredibly taxing, but Sakura was still able to surpass the lofty expectations of the legendary sannin through diligence and an incredible mind. While Naruto and Sasuke excelled in combat, Sakura excelled where intelligence mattered most. In the chunin exams, participants were meant to cheat on the written test that was way above their current level of education, however, Sakura had no reason to cheat and completed the test without issue.
While Sakura had a particularly long journey, she was always at a disadvantage. She's not on the same level as Naruto, a Jinchuriki with immense Uzumaki chakra, or Sasuke, who hails from a powerful bloodline with extra-special trauma-boosted eyes. In fact, most characters are part of a known clan with their own unique jutsu. Shikamaru's Shadow Possession, Ino's Mind Body Switch technique, Neji and Hinata's Byakugan -- Sakura is one of few characters who don't come from a distinguished clan with a signature jutsu. She was, instead, just an ordinary ninja.
Despite all of the problems people have with Sakura's character, the foundations of her capabilities as a ninja are solid, backed by the recognition of her peers and betters. In Boruto, Sakura has grown to be feared and recognized for her many strengths. Much of the disapproval towards her character can be chalked up to her Part 1 snobbishness and a lack of emphasis on her journey and accomplishments, though it is also no secret that Kishimoto struggles with writing female characters.
While Sakura's abilities are often overshadowed by other factors, it does not erase the fact that she grew to become a powerful ninja and renowned medic. Despite how she is portrayed in Naruto and much of Naruto: Shippuden, her wide skillset definitively proves that she is not at all weak.
