Yes, in fact the detail about NH being suggested to him is very telling. I've said all along it wasn't a creative decision but a business one. The rights would have been signed away long ago to have so many different versions of the brand. However I think in 'the end' of the manga should be seen as the end of Kishimoto's day-to-day involvement with the series. It will continue, but under different hands and different guidance than just Kishimoto. (Kishimoto will probably retain some limited creative control...along with receiving his fat royalty check.)
The comment about NH being suggested by someone above him is very telling. The downside of sharing the rights, basically creating by committee, is that Kishimoto would not have had a choice. If they decided NH was best for the brand, then that's how it was going to be.
And I still believe, no matter what crazy answers he gives in various interviews, that HInata's usurping of heroine status didn't begin until after RtN was pretty far in the works. If NH is going to be the end pairing, why even have RtN? It's not like they care about smoothing over the other pairings. So RtN wasn't a token movie to make NS fans happy.
I think, in the end, Kishimoto stopped caring about the plot and the characters. He left the story with the least possible plot explanations, and he gave the vaguest examples of how the pairings ended up. Then he ended it. I think he knew it was out of his control, and that after him the animators and other illustrators were going to take the story in a very different direction. So why even try. There was simply no resolution for any of them. Not even an attempt to tie in their goals or explain why some pairings happened. Sasuke's surprise love for Sakura is a perfect example. It makes zero sense.
I think it's because Kishimoto no longer cared. And for the same reason he's giving terrible interview after terrible interview. None of them speak of any support for the story, or give you the feeling he cares. It's not like listening to JKR, where you get the feeling the author is invested in their work. After every Kishimoto interview I am left thinking, 'Did he actually read what he was producing?' Because it always feels like he's just a guy from the office who occasionally reads Naruto. Not the guy who actually creates the damn thing.
His careless attitude about the characters speaks volumes. I think he's an author who no longer cares about his work.