But the questions is , who can fix this train wreck? or who want to invest their resources (time and money) for this rotting invested maggot cow?

As someone who has started reading the manga proper and is a tad invested in the ongoings of early canon, it would take someone who has a newly discovered passion for the source material and in a position with resources and ability to do a new adaptation of the story. Rurouni Kenshin had a new adaptation of the Kyoto arc in 2011, and Hunter X Hunter had a full new series as well.

If they can change the ending for Rurouni Kenshin like it was done in the OVA, they can do it for other series, so it is not out of the realm of possibilities for an anime to take things in a different direction, especially if we only need to to redo say, the last 5 volumes of the manga.

I have tried to watch Boruto but the characters are just not as developed as in the beginning of Naruto, and that is saying something considering Kishimoto is not a strong writer. I just finished the first 2 volumes of Naruto, so my memory is fresh to compare.

I do like that Naruto and Sakura still have a good friendship in the series, because I liked them for that. It did not need contrived plots and manufactured drama for a "relationship" to materialise.

I was scrolling through tumblr and saw posts about Naruto and Sakura's friendship moments in Boruto i.e. Naruto recalling Sakura while smiling, recounting her strengths to others etc.

If there were more of these moments, would it seem like our analysis of the relationship in Naruto is vindicated or would it be even more bitter of what could have been a great dynamic and future instead of the steaming pile of horse manure we have now with the next generation?

I'm not sure if I can take another series ending like Bleach, which has some similarities to Naruto, and I did not like the ending for Bleach. However, while Bleach has a piss poor ending, the desecration of Naruto started much earlier. I think I will stop just before the end of the War arc.

Thank you for the welcome, Yyubie. It is mangas like Naruto that make me want to rewrite the last third of the manga, even though I can't draw for nuts. There is so much potential in part due to how big the world of Naruto turned out to be, and yet, we are saddled with what could have been. I'm not sure I would want to start on Boruto, even though some of the next generation characters could be interesting.

I remember the Chunnin exams, the fights in the saving Gaara arc and some parts of the War arc to be the most interesting in the anime. Once Obito became the villain with the balloon animal sob story was when my interest took a drastic turn Kagura coming in made me check out completely. I actually liked the confession scene, because I thought it would spur on further development on both Naruto and Sakura's part, but we know how that turned out. I might start on the first 10 volumes, skip a few then continue into the introduction of the Akatsuki.

I have been a long time lurker, since about 10 years ago. While I realised the flaws of the manga early on such as lack of characterisation and plot development, I still enjoyed watching episodes here and there and reading threads discussing the progress of the manga.  Some of the things I enjoyed was the macro development and continuity of the arcs, and of course, the development of the friendship and presumed relationship between Naruto and Sakura.

That being said, I have been looking for an epic manga series to read. Despite its flaws, Naruto stands out overall. I have already caught up with Hunter X Hunter, however, the long hiatuses leads me to find something else to read. Would it be a good idea to plod through Naruto, despite the horrendous ending? As long time fans of the manga, would you have read it, now knowing what happens in the end?