Sasuke and Sakura

As a boy, Sasuke begs Itachi to show him shurikenjutsu, only to be told his brother is tied up and should ask their father instead. Reading the constant excuses as dislike, Sasuke sulks, but Itachi denies it, taps him on the forehead, and promises to make time once their parents are away. Over dinner the family confirms that Fugaku and Mikoto will be visiting Mikoto's relatives.

They offer to bring Sasuke along and are caught off guard to hear Itachi has agreed to train him. The next day Itachi coaches Sasuke on throwing kunai, cooks him dinner, and the two bed down outdoors. When Fugaku and Mikoto return, they find Sasuke asleep alone, Itachi having slipped off on his own errand.

The second half follows a young Sakura, who dashes through the woods to a private little hideaway stocked with flowers and decorations. Studying her reflection, she frets over her hair, and at dinner her father floats the idea of trimming her bangs, though her mother suspects Sakura keeps them for a reason. The reason is her forehead, which she is desperate to conceal.

While gathering flowers, Sakura meets Ino, who gives her a ribbon and tells her the teasing only continues because she keeps hiding. Sakura brings Ino to her secret spot, where Ino tidies up the flowers, and Sakura confides both her crush on Sasuke and the rumor that he prefers girls with long hair. Ino abruptly departs and later, in front of other girls, flatly denies any friendship. Sakura tries approaching Sasuke but is brushed aside, and she takes up training as Naruto watches.

The way Ino discovers Sakura's crush here clashes with earlier tellings. Both the manga and a previous anime episode showed the two surrounded by their other friends, with one of those girls piecing it together rather than Sakura openly admitting it while alone with Ino. A small background detail places a statue resembling the Virgin Mary inside Sakura's hidden retreat.