Maybe

Purple death

At the end of the day, Sakura slowly made her way back to her house.

Her body hurt everywhere. Her head was spinning, black dots appeared in her vision and her legs wouldn't stop shaking, threatening to give out...

She felt ready to throw up.

Shakily, she pushed her front door open and took a few steps before collapsing on the couch.

Her body refused to move, so Sakura made the decision to spend the night in her living room.

It wasn't like she had much of a choice anyway.

She woke up the next day with a splitting headache and muscles so sore she looked like a penguin disguised as a girl.

But Sakura ignored the pain and got ready for another day of training.

That time, Nanami-san had asked her to go directly to the clearing where they had trained the day before. Once she arrived, her sensei ordered her to do some stretching exercices while she explained the day's program.

"Tomorrow is the first day of the chunnin exams, so today we won't do the same sort of training as yesterday, we don't want you to faint or something."

Sakura sighed in relief.

"BUT, that doesn't mean you get to laze around." the dark haired woman continued, "Yesterday, you trained your body, today, you'll train your mind. A ninja is someone who is both smart and strong, someone always on their feet, capable of thinking clearly in any situation. You are only a child, no, don't scowl like that, it's the truth. You're a child and it's natural you don't know everything. You may be smart, smarter than most but you lack something extremly important.

You lack EXPERIENCE"

The medic nin waited, for effect, before continuing.

"No training can give you that, but it can prepare you to what you'll have to face. Because you don't hail from a clan you weren't trained like the other competitors were. You only have basic knowledge and that's just not enough. You don't have the techniques, the chakra or the strength to defend yourself. The only thing you can rely on is your brain, so use it wisely."

Sakura, who had finished stretching a while back, was now sitting. She looked at the woman in front of her thoughtfully.

It was true. All of what Nanami-san had said was true. Right now she did not have any special jutsu or hidden ace to fall back on. Even Naruto had his incredible stamina, recovery rate and a newly acquired technique, the shadow clone.

Sakura, well... she had nothing.
While it was true she had an incredible memory, and knowledge that matched a jonin's, she was useless in a fight.
(She was just a paper ninja. A burden on mission. Only good behind a desk.)

(Burdenburdenburdenburden)

"What should I do?" She asked her sensei, eyes pleading.

Nanami smirked.

"If you are against an oponent stronger, faster, and older than you, what should you do?" She answered the girl's question with one of her own.

Sakura rubbed her chin. This mystery ninja she was upposedly fighting was going to kill her. She knew nothing about him, only that he outmatched her. She needed him to...

"I immobilse him"

"Good." The woman's grin reminded Sakura of a wild animal "And how do you do that?"

"With..." No jutsu, no straightforward attack "poison?"

"Exactly!" Nanami giggled, flipping her onyx hair over her shoulder "Like a good ol' kunoichi. You poison him."