19964 replies to this topic

[Transformers03]

Yes i hope so too and never gave up on them but it sucks, always when it seems like its going to happen it goes BOOM and kishi takes us back to the start.

I read this on a NF forum, which amplies to this; every time something seems to be going the predictable route, Kishi will throw something at the reader to make rethink. If it seemed like Tobi was Obito in the beginning, he made it seem as if he is Madara. If it seemed like Naruto and Sakura get together, he decided to make Sakura confess, possibly lying about loving him, and make her still be in love with Sasuke. These are what I like to call misdirection.

[PhenixElite]

I read this on a NF forum, which amplies to this; every time something seems to be going the predictable route, Kishi will throw something at the reader to make rethink. If it seemed like Tobi was Obito in the beginning, he made it seem as if he is Madara. If it seemed like Naruto and Sakura get together, he decided to make Sakura confess, possibly lying about loving him, and make her still be in love with Sasuke. These are what I like to call misdirection.

Yes thats kishi hope hes not doing something that destroys the manga/anime im watching/reading now for more then 5 years.

[Transformers03]

Here's an other long comment I've typed up. I do apologize if my comments get to long, but I would still appreciate it for people to still read them.

Something that have notice on many arguments against Narusaku is that many, including neutral fans, believe it is still a one sided crush. While there is plenty of manga evidence that shows that Sakura may have feelings for Naruto that are beyond friendship, with even the last data book claiming she didn't know her feelings for Naruto were (then again the ages of some characters were recently changed in the manga, so maybe the data books aren't the most accurate form of information on the series (despite Kishi still being credited as the author)). But no, because in Ch. 540/Ep. 278 it showed Sakura still in love with Sasuke (what a shock ), and there was nothing there that showed anything about her feelings for Naruto. That, and add the fact that they haven't really interacted for over 100 chapters does give the impression that maybe there was nothing to this whole Narusaku pairing outcome. I, of course, would argue that the recent development hasn't really cancel out the past development, and that we still have small things to work on (like the Minakushi and Obirin parallel, Naruto still calling Sakura "Sakura-chan" (which, according to a person I asked, means either cute or I really like you), etc...).

Admittedly going off of small things kind of makes us look desperate........if wasn't for the fact that there has been CONSISTENT small things like that through out the whole manga. Sakura secretly liking the prank that Naruto first did on Kakashi (eraser hitting his head), that could be nothing. Iruka's whole Heaven and Earth talk with Team 7 (and even says that Naruto is earth, and Sakura is heaven), that doesn't really show much pairing wise and could just be a way to show what both Naruto and Sakura lack in skills. Having Heaven and Earth be the name of the bridge where the whole four tails fiasco happen, now I'm starting to think you maybe telling saying, but then again a lot people could of missed it. Sakura making the same pose as Kushina when encouraging Naruto, that could be just be a coincidence. Having Sakura smile at Naruto at multiple occasions throughout the series (chunin test, when she found out he was the one that saved her from Gaara, when Naruto reassures her that Sasuke will not leave the village', when first meet up after the time skip, when she saw him sleep after the whole Team 7 reunion, etc...), that MAY be a coincidence....... In Ch. 573, what Sakura says echoes what Itachi told Naruto earlier (about you should rely on others, and all that), okay maybe NOW these may not just be coincidences. Though, admittedly again, most of those stuff could have been easily miss by others.

So, for now, lets now include the small things, let just accept that Sakura is still completely in love with Sasuke, and that Naruto's crush is still one-sided. And, lets also assume those manga hints that show Sakura having other feelings for Naruto is NOT about her having new feelings for him. So for now, lets just assume that all three of the main pairings (Narusaku, Naruhina, Sasusaku) are still one sided crushes. But even then, to me, even if I ignore some of our arguments (both the ridiculous one and the smart ones) Narusaku still has the most potential to happen. Even if Sakura is still in love with Sasuke, and doesn't have romantic feelings for Naruto (which I don't think so), she is still the one with most potential for her to fall in love with Naruto. Even if she isn't in love with him now, or hasn't been shown to slowly fall in love with him, she still has the best POTENTIAL to have her feelings change than the other character's one sided crushes. She is still the one who is part of Naruto's team, a team he holds dear. She is still the only one who has even blushed at him, which is more I can say about Naruhina and Sasusaku. She is still the only one that he calls her name with the prefix 'chan', does he just call her that by habit now if he's suppose to be falling for Hinata?

People have also been saying that if any of the pairings, including Narusaku, will happen now, it will be an a$$pull. Some of us will argue that Narusaku wont be that much of an a$$pull, because they already really close friends. I say it wont be an a$$pull because we already have a lot of things going for us at this point. Hell, SAKURA ALREADY CONFESSED THAT SHE LOVED NARUTO, even if she was lying that is still more than what Naruto has ever said to Hinata, or what Sasuke has ever said to Sakura. Also, the author could easily just write a scene revealing that she wasn't lying, and boom, the pairing makes sense again. Mind you, I don't think that will happen, but Kishi could easily come up with any scenario that will make the pairing naturally come back into play again, without it seemingly being an a$$pull. Hell, he has a perfect opportunity right now to make their relationship come into play again, what with Obito's relationship with Rin coming into play again in a big way. Mind you again, I don't think that will happen, at least not soon. But any of that will make so much more sense then to have Naruhina and Sasusaku happen all of a sudden, you just can't make it work as well as Narusaku. For Naruhina, he would have to show readers why Naruto will let go of his feelings for Sakura, and show how he started liking Hinata romantically. Though, then again, the current situations with Obito could show that Naruto needs to let go of his feelings for Sakura so that he wouldn't end up like Obito, but that wouldn't really give us a good reason of why he would then fall in love with Hinata. If he didn't fall in love with her after her confession (which he didn't, they wouldn't just have arc showing that Naruto has feelings for Sakura right after the arc Hinata confessed if he didn't already fall in love with her), then why would he then? For Sasusaku it is more difficult, because not only will he have to show Sasuke magically falling in love with Sakura, he would also have to go throw a probably awkward reunion between those two and show how the hell they can go through together with all the stuff that has happen between (like Sasuke abandoning the village, tried to kill her multiple times, went all coco for Coco-Puffs on her, then tried to stab her in back, AND THEN TRIED TO KILL HER AGAIN (at least the last time was in self defense............that makes it better, right?)). At least for Sasukarin he only tried to kill her once, and that was a moment of insanity (he has tried to kill Sakura when he wasn't mad). They at least shown that Sasuke's betrayal of Karin made a bigger impact on her character than the multiple times that Sasuke has tried to kill Sakura. But all Karin has to do is forgive Saskue for that one thing, that one BIG thing, for Sakura she will have to forgive Sasuke A LOT of big things. Though I'm sure, with whatever outcome that happens to Sasuke in the end, that Sakura will forgive him, but wanting to be his girlfriend............. Who knows, maybe Kishi is really trying to show us that as long a girl holds out for the guy she loves (who has done bad things to her), they will end up together because it is magic.

See, that's an a$$pull that could still happen. Narusaku can still come out as being an a$$pull, depending how he plays the story out. But the development in Narusaku already makes it less of an a$$pull than the other pairings happening. I don't think it will be an a$$pull, because all he has to do is do what he did when he revealed Tobi was Obito. While there's a lot of fans that call it out as an a$$pull, I don't think it was. There's has been hints that Tobi was Obito, and the last few chapters beforehand was suggesting that Tobi had a grudge on Kakashi. I don't know, as long as there's hints beforehand, and some build-up to it as it gets closer, I'm alright with how it's handle.

[Nefertieh]

^ Some good points you mentioned there, although I think you started going a bit off topic when you started talking about the other pairings and using dollar signs.

I just wanted to add that the manga does not portray Sakura's feelings towards Naruto as purely platonic. The famous thankyou hug, for example, made the people around them blush. Sai comments on how she treats Naruto differently. Perhaps it is best to wait and see what happens in the manga, but it would be unrealistic to say anyone has been permanently friendzoned.

Edited by Nefertieh, 07 September 2012 - 07:47 AM.

[TouKen4Life3g]

Great post.

Look, about the whole Obito fiasco, while I know there are more reasons why they don't like the fact that Tobi is Obito, the reason "Because it's predictable" is rather dumb to be honest. It could be predictable but it just needs to have a great impact and to me, it did it. The reasons can be explain soon, but for now, we shall wait. People can argue NaruSaku is predictable. If it is, so be it, but that's not why I support it. I support it because of all the developments and time Kishi put on for them to grow up and understand each other. Not to mention, I support Naruto (character) a lot as he has shown that he is the matured one (pointed out by many). Yes, there are some mistakes he make, but he learns them from people and experiences. Again, if Sakura said she loves someone else and it ends up being Naruto, don't you think it's anticlimatic? I do too.

Listen, heroine's realization of falling in love for the hero is often seen as a plot twist or a shocking moment. It's a big deal in Japan and probably in everywhere. Fans do go "OOOOOO" and stuff because let's face it, there are romance in everywhere, even in a kid movie. It's just there and heck, trailers sure love to spoil the romance (Oh look, a kiss scene). Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that her falling for Naruto IS a plot point and it will be a great impact for us. Trust me, it's coming. I can't even doubt it anymore. Now, if you want to ask, "What about Naruto or Sasuke?" Okay, the problem is that Sasuke is a villain/anti-hero. Often, a rival character goes with no one or ends with a girl that is a side character. Don't be surprised at this result at all. Plus, there's no shock or a support behind it at all. Look at NaruSaku, it has too much. When I read Yamato's conversation to Sakura, I was like "Wait, Sakura is in love with Naruto!?" Then in next page, all I saw is "TO BE CONTINUED". Parallels, well I won't go there since we covered that too much. Plus, not to be sexist, but in here, girls' feelings aren't a huge deal, especially where a lot of romance comes from a guy who tried to win a girl's love or earned it but dies in the process (Minato). Yes, this applies to Hinata. Again, no support behind it. The main problem is that there is nothing from Naruto, but good friend. In part 1, the development for her is to stand strong (vs. Neji). In part 2, it's about confidence (Charge at Pain). That's it. I don't see that Naruto's special smile that he always put up for Sakura. Once again, no support behind it. No "Naruto, in reality, you..."

If you ask me, and some of you may doubt me but I do believe in Kishi, I do think he remembers a lot of tidbits to his story. The problem is patient. We are so invested that we are craving for what's next. It seems that he remembers the flashback of Team Minato and back in part 1, he remembers Sakura's old thoughts on Naruto (he likes to see me suffering). No doubt, there is going to be a moment that she will gather all thoughts about Naruto from part 1 to now, along with supportive content (Yamato's statement, lover nin, Sai). It will be a great impact. That's why I always have hope for Kishi. I know there are flaws, but sometimes, we should calm down and enjoy the ride. That's all I want to say. Oh yeah, last thing to say.

Jiraiya: What if Naruto gets rejected by Sakura countless time/What if Sakura finally realizes that she has someone good, but it was too late (Naruto's death).

Obito: What if Naruto waited too long before confessing to Sakura (Naruto's death)/What if Sakura dies and Naruto knows

Yeah...Come on, guys...

[T XD]

Here's an other long comment I've typed up. I do apologize if my comments get to long, but I would still appreciate it for people to still read them.

Something that have notice on many arguments against Narusaku is that many, including neutral fans, believe it is still a one sided crush. While there is plenty of manga evidence that shows that Sakura may have feelings for Naruto that are beyond friendship, with even the last data book claiming she didn't know her feelings for Naruto were (then again the ages of some characters were recently changed in the manga, so maybe the data books aren't the most accurate form of information on the series (despite Kishi still being credited as the author)). But no, because in Ch. 540/Ep. 278 it showed Sakura still in love with Sasuke (what a shock ), and there was nothing there that showed anything about her feelings for Naruto. That, and add the fact that they haven't really interacted for over 100 chapters does give the impression that maybe there was nothing to this whole Narusaku pairing outcome. I, of course, would argue that the recent development hasn't really cancel out the past development, and that we still have small things to work on (like the Minakushi and Obirin parallel, Naruto still calling Sakura "Sakura-chan" (which, according to a person I asked, means either cute or I really like you), etc...).

Admittedly going off of small things kind of makes us look desperate........if wasn't for the fact that there has been CONSISTENT small things like that through out the whole manga. Sakura secretly liking the prank that Naruto first did on Kakashi (eraser hitting his head), that could be nothing. Iruka's whole Heaven and Earth talk with Team 7 (and even says that Naruto is earth, and Sakura is heaven), that doesn't really show much pairing wise and could just be a way to show what both Naruto and Sakura lack in skills. Having Heaven and Earth be the name of the bridge where the whole four tails fiasco happen, now I'm starting to think you maybe telling saying, but then again a lot people could of missed it. Sakura making the same pose as Kushina when encouraging Naruto, that could be just be a coincidence. Having Sakura smile at Naruto at multiple occasions throughout the series (chunin test, when she found out he was the one that saved her from Gaara, when Naruto reassures her that Sasuke will not leave the village', when first meet up after the time skip, when she saw him sleep after the whole Team 7 reunion, etc...), that MAY be a coincidence....... In Ch. 573, what Sakura says echoes what Itachi told Naruto earlier (about you should rely on others, and all that), okay maybe NOW these may not just be coincidences. Though, admittedly again, most of those stuff could have been easily miss by others.

So, for now, lets now include the small things, let just accept that Sakura is still completely in love with Sasuke, and that Naruto's crush is still one-sided. And, lets also assume those manga hints that show Sakura having other feelings for Naruto is NOT about her having new feelings for him. So for now, lets just assume that all three of the main pairings (Narusaku, Naruhina, Sasusaku) are still one sided crushes. But even then, to me, even if I ignore some of our arguments (both the ridiculous one and the smart ones) Narusaku still has the most potential to happen. Even if Sakura is still in love with Sasuke, and doesn't have romantic feelings for Naruto (which I don't think so), she is still the one with most potential for her to fall in love with Naruto. Even if she isn't in love with him now, or hasn't been shown to slowly fall in love with him, she still has the best POTENTIAL to have her feelings change than the other character's one sided crushes. She is still the one who is part of Naruto's team, a team he holds dear. She is still the only one who has even blushed at him, which is more I can say about Naruhina and Sasusaku. She is still the only one that he calls her name with the prefix 'chan', does he just call her that by habit now if he's suppose to be falling for Hinata?

People have also been saying that if any of the pairings, including Narusaku, will happen now, it will be an a$$pull. Some of us will argue that Narusaku wont be that much of an a$$pull, because they already really close friends. I say it wont be an a$$pull because we already have a lot of things going for us at this point. Hell, SAKURA ALREADY CONFESSED THAT SHE LOVED NARUTO, even if she was lying that is still more than what Naruto has ever said to Hinata, or what Sasuke has ever said to Sakura. Also, the author could easily just write a scene revealing that she wasn't lying, and boom, the pairing makes sense again. Mind you, I don't think that will happen, but Kishi could easily come up with any scenario that will make the pairing naturally come back into play again, without it seemingly being an a$$pull. Hell, he has a perfect opportunity right now to make their relationship come into play again, what with Obito's relationship with Rin coming into play again in a big way. Mind you again, I don't think that will happen, at least not soon. But any of that will make so much more sense then to have Naruhina and Sasusaku happen all of a sudden, you just can't make it work as well as Narusaku. For Naruhina, he would have to show readers why Naruto will let go of his feelings for Sakura, and show how he started liking Hinata romantically. Though, then again, the current situations with Obito could show that Naruto needs to let go of his feelings for Sakura so that he wouldn't end up like Obito, but that wouldn't really give us a good reason of why he would then fall in love with Hinata. If he didn't fall in love with her after her confession (which he didn't, they wouldn't just have arc showing that Naruto has feelings for Sakura right after the arc Hinata confessed if he didn't already fall in love with her), then why would he then? For Sasusaku it is more difficult, because not only will he have to show Sasuke magically falling in love with Sakura, he would also have to go throw a probably awkward reunion between those two and show how the hell they can go through together with all the stuff that has happen between (like Sasuke abandoning the village, tried to kill her multiple times, went all coco for Coco-Puffs on her, then tried to stab her in back, AND THEN TRIED TO KILL HER AGAIN (at least the last time was in self defense............that makes it better, right?)). At least for Sasukarin he only tried to kill her once, and that was a moment of insanity (he has tried to kill Sakura when he wasn't mad). They at least shown that Sasuke's betrayal of Karin made a bigger impact on her character than the multiple times that Sasuke has tried to kill Sakura. But all Karin has to do is forgive Saskue for that one thing, that one BIG thing, for Sakura she will have to forgive Sasuke A LOT of big things. Though I'm sure, with whatever outcome that happens to Sasuke in the end, that Sakura will forgive him, but wanting to be his girlfriend............. Who knows, maybe Kishi is really trying to show us that as long a girl holds out for the guy she loves (who has done bad things to her), they will end up together because it is magic.

See, that's an a$$pull that could still happen. Narusaku can still come out as being an a$$pull, depending how he plays the story out. But the development in Narusaku already makes it less of an a$$pull than the other pairings happening. I don't think it will be an a$$pull, because all he has to do is do what he did when he revealed Tobi was Obito. While there's a lot of fans that call it out as an a$$pull, I don't think it was. There's has been hints that Tobi was Obito, and the last few chapters beforehand was suggesting that Tobi had a grudge on Kakashi. I don't know, as long as there's hints beforehand, and some build-up to it as it gets closer, I'm alright with how it's handle.

you have some good points but it's manga, you're analyzing some of the things too much especially in the SS and NH pairings. these two pairings doesn't have a twinkle of a chance from the beginning. kishi is just playing with the roles of hinata's and sakura's crush, something that he used hinata's role of this in many times cause her character mostly is being around that she's interested in naruto and sakura is a main character so kishi chose that we'll have to see a longitude of her crush over sasuke, that's what kishi has made up his mind in the manga for her therefore he's just stretching the drama and romance cause he wants to progress the story very slowly plus he doesn't want from the manga to revolve about romance and action, he just wants more action.

Edited by T XD, 07 September 2012 - 02:07 PM.

[Paptala]

To me, NaruSaku is definitely the most logical possibility thus far.

In order for any of the pairings to become canon, someone's feelings need to change, right?

For NH to happen, Naruto's feelings need to change.
For SS to happen, Sasuke's feelings need to change.
For NS to happen, Sakura's feelings need to change.

Hinata's feelings wouldn't need to change for NS to become canon, nor would Naruto's feelings need to change in order for SS to become canon - yea, it would be kind of depressing for them NOT to change, but they don't NEED to change for the pairing in question to become canon. Those feelings can easily change over a timeskip or just end with them being happy for the other person, etc.

So basically, that takes Hinata's feelings out of the equation entirely (logically speaking).

Sasuke --Click here to view--

He has never shown any romantic or non-platonic interest in Sakura ever. He's never displayed any hint of physical attraction for her, or even any affection that goes beyond what a comrade would show for another comrade, or a friend would show for a friend. He thanked her for caring, and that's it. Even during her confession, it was BOTH Naruto and Sakura on his mind, as Team 7.

In part 2, Sakura hasn't been able to reach Sasuke's heart at all - its only been Naruto, and Itachi who have been shown to affect Sasuke as he is now, completely descended into madness. Even before he went mad, Sakura was never shown to have any special or singular affect on him - whereas Naruto, on the other hand, has (being the focus of Sasuke's attention in the first reunion, thinking of Naruto at the Great Naruto bridge, etc.). Any effect Sakura has been shown to have on him in part 2 was as part of his former team, not as an individual.

Thus, it makes it highly unlikely, even when he's redeemed (if he lives), that he's going to fall in love with her.

Naruto --Click here to view--

Naruto has had romantic feelings for Sakura since chapter 3, and they've only grown stronger since then. By mid-part one, he was willing to risk death to save her (basically putting his feelings for Sakura where Hinata's feelings for him were in 437), has shown serious pain over Sakura loving someone else, and has been willing to put her feelings before his own for years despite this causing him emotional pain. She makes him happy, as he's stated himself.

Many anti fans claim that Naruto began moving on from Sakura from the summit, that his "I hate people who lie to themselves" signified him fully getting over her. But there's nothing in the manga to support that. Naruto got angry with her, as she got angry with him, came to understand that what she was doing was his best interest's at heart, and he got over it. He treats her no less affectionately than he did before - he is still protective of her, still the only girl he addresses with the -chan suffix (which wouldn't be significant if he addressed other girls that way), and still is just as friendly around her.

Chapter 457 showed that Naruto isn't likely to take the initiative with his feelings until after he fulfills the POAL. Outside forces may prompt him to say something earlier, but until then, Naruto has a whole list of other things that he feels he needs to accomplish first (some to even feel worthy of telling her how he feels).

So just because his feelings haven't gotten any focus recently doesn't mean that they've changed.

As for his feelings for Hinata, he has never shown any romantic or non-platonic feelings for her ever. If Hinata's interactions with him during the chuunin exams meant anything special, then why wasn't she one of the people Naruto felt had saved him from the hell of loneliness during his fight with Gaara? After briefly wondering where she was in the aftermath of his fight with Neji, she didn't cross his mind even once until he meets up with her again in part 2. He didn't even smile, much less blush or shown any attraction to her developed figure, when they reunited. Even after her confession, he didn't show anything beyond friendship. It took roughly 120 chapters for Naruto to even address her actions during the Pein fight (despite multiple chances to interact with her - immediately after the confrontation with Nagato - Saura hug, Sakura chat, Inari and Tazuna and Kumo nin; returning from the summit - eating ramen).

And then all Hinata got was a "thanks for saving me", "don't be so hard on yourself" and a "you're strong". No blush, no especially affectionate exp​ression - just a generic smile tossed over his shoulder, giving a belated thanks and a pep talk. Absolutely nothing to indicate that he's looking at her any differently than he used to - a friend that he respects and is mildly grateful to.

All of this makes the chances of Naruto changing his feelings incredibly unlikely.

Sakura --Click here to view--

Regardless of what some people say, Sakura has definitely, undeniably shown feelings for Naruto that go beyond friendship. Whether she is not completely in love with him yet, or she is and simply hasn't realized it yet, it is something more than platonic.

She has displayed physical attraction towards him, acting in non-platonic manner towards him (the offer to feed ramen, the hug - both eliciting blushes), has shown that Hinata's romantic feelings for Naruto bothered her on some level (or that she felt upset that while Hinata nearly died for Naruto, and she felt unhappy because she felt that she hasn't done nearly as much for Naruto, going back to her "I can only do the stupidest things for Naruto"), and has received multiple comments about her feelings for Naruto from other characters (aka Sai and Yamato).

NONE of that has been shown from Naruto>Hinata or Sasuke>Sakura in the entirety of the manga. Nothing even close.

Further, she has the most negative perception of her canonic love interest. Her view of Sasuke went from the 12/13 year old boy her thanked her for caring to him, to the malevolent 16 year old he is now, shown thinking how he is NOT a great guy, and being upset over whatever she still feels for him.

tl;dr:

• It seems pretty clear that Sakura is in the best position for her feelings to change at this juncture - both in getting over her previous love interest, and in falling in love with Naruto.
• Given the complete lack of Naruto's romantic feelings in NH, and the complete lack of Sasuke's romantic feelings in SS, it only makes sense that the girls' romantic feelings in those instances are purely for character development and to add some suspense/drama to the romance subplot

Add to that the fact that NaruSaku fits all of the themes given thus far in the manga (complicated bonds, accepting other people, new generation surpassing the old), how the last theme applies to the romantic parallels (i.e. Naruto succeeding in winning he hear to of the girl where Jiraiya and Obito failed, and living together happily to an old age where Minato and Kushina weren't able to), and the fact that Naruto and Sakura is by far the most focused on and developed hetero bond in the series overall, and NaruSaku definitely has the strongest chances of becoming canon.

[candycane-chan]

/\ great post , i agree with everything you said,though i woukd like for naruto's feelings to be adressed some time soon maybe after the war and when that happens NH will be over

[Gravenimage]

To me, NaruSaku is definitely the most logical possibility thus far.

In order for any of the pairings to become canon, someone's feelings need to change, right?

For NH to happen, Naruto's feelings need to change.
For SS to happen, Sasuke's feelings need to change.
For NS to happen, Sakura's feelings need to change.

Hinata's feelings wouldn't need to change for NS to become canon, nor would Naruto's feelings need to change in order for SS to become canon - yea, it would be kind of depressing for them NOT to change, but they don't NEED to change for the pairing in question to become canon. Those feelings can easily change over a timeskip or just end with them being happy for the other person, etc.

So basically, that takes Hinata's feelings out of the equation entirely (logically speaking).

Sasuke --Click here to view--

He has never shown any romantic or non-platonic interest in Sakura ever. He's never displayed any hint of physical attraction for her, or even any affection that goes beyond what a comrade would show for another comrade, or a friend would show for a friend. He thanked her for caring, and that's it. Even during her confession, it was BOTH Naruto and Sakura on his mind, as Team 7.

In part 2, Sakura hasn't been able to reach Sasuke's heart at all - its only been Naruto, and Itachi who have been shown to affect Sasuke as he is now, completely descended into madness. Even before he went mad, Sakura was never shown to have any special or singular affect on him - whereas Naruto, on the other hand, has (being the focus of Sasuke's attention in the first reunion, thinking of Naruto at the Great Naruto bridge, etc.). Any effect Sakura has been shown to have on him in part 2 was as part of his former team, not as an individual.

Thus, it makes it highly unlikely, even when he's redeemed (if he lives), that he's going to fall in love with her.

Naruto --Click here to view--

Naruto has had romantic feelings for Sakura since chapter 3, and they've only grown stronger since then. By mid-part one, he was willing to risk death to save her (basically putting his feelings for Sakura where Hinata's feelings for him were in 437), has shown serious pain over Sakura loving someone else, and has been willing to put her feelings before his own for years despite this causing him emotional pain. She makes him happy, as he's stated himself.

Many anti fans claim that Naruto began moving on from Sakura from the summit, that his "I hate people who lie to themselves" signified him fully getting over her. But there's nothing in the manga to support that. Naruto got angry with her, as she got angry with him, came to understand that what she was doing was his best interest's at heart, and he got over it. He treats her no less affectionately than he did before - he is still protective of her, still the only girl he addresses with the -chan suffix (which wouldn't be significant if he addressed other girls that way), and still is just as friendly around her.

Chapter 457 showed that Naruto isn't likely to take the initiative with his feelings until after he fulfills the POAL. Outside forces may prompt him to say something earlier, but until then, Naruto has a whole list of other things that he feels he needs to accomplish first (some to even feel worthy of telling her how he feels).

So just because his feelings haven't gotten any focus recently doesn't mean that they've changed.

As for his feelings for Hinata, he has never shown any romantic or non-platonic feelings for her ever. If Hinata's interactions with him during the chuunin exams meant anything special, then why wasn't she one of the people Naruto felt had saved him from the hell of loneliness during his fight with Gaara? After briefly wondering where she was in the aftermath of his fight with Neji, she didn't cross his mind even once until he meets up with her again in part 2. He didn't even smile, much less blush or shown any attraction to her developed figure, when they reunited. Even after her confession, he didn't show anything beyond friendship. It took roughly 120 chapters for Naruto to even address her actions during the Pein fight (despite multiple chances to interact with her - immediately after the confrontation with Nagato - Saura hug, Sakura chat, Inari and Tazuna and Kumo nin; returning from the summit - eating ramen).

And then all Hinata got was a "thanks for saving me", "don't be so hard on yourself" and a "you're strong". No blush, no especially affectionate exp​ression - just a generic smile tossed over his shoulder, giving a belated thanks and a pep talk. Absolutely nothing to indicate that he's looking at her any differently than he used to - a friend that he respects and is mildly grateful to.

All of this makes the chances of Naruto changing his feelings incredibly unlikely.

Sakura --Click here to view--

Regardless of what some people say, Sakura has definitely, undeniably shown feelings for Naruto that go beyond friendship. Whether she is not completely in love with him yet, or she is and simply hasn't realized it yet, it is something more than platonic.

She has displayed physical attraction towards him, acting in non-platonic manner towards him (the offer to feed ramen, the hug - both eliciting blushes), has shown that Hinata's romantic feelings for Naruto bothered her on some level (or that she felt upset that while Hinata nearly died for Naruto, and she felt unhappy because she felt that she hasn't done nearly as much for Naruto, going back to her "I can only do the stupidest things for Naruto"), and has received multiple comments about her feelings for Naruto from other characters (aka Sai and Yamato).

NONE of that has been shown from Naruto>Hinata or Sasuke>Sakura in the entirety of the manga. Nothing even close.

Further, she has the most negative perception of her canonic love interest. Her view of Sasuke went from the 12/13 year old boy her thanked her for caring to him, to the malevolent 16 year old he is now, shown thinking how he is NOT a great guy, and being upset over whatever she still feels for him.

tl;dr:

• It seems pretty clear that Sakura is in the best position for her feelings to change at this juncture - both in getting over her previous love interest, and in falling in love with Naruto.
• Given the complete lack of Naruto's romantic feelings in NH, and the complete lack of Sasuke's romantic feelings in SS, it only makes sense that the girls' romantic feelings in those instances are purely for character development and to add some suspense/drama to the romance subplot

Add to that the fact that NaruSaku fits all of the themes given thus far in the manga (complicated bonds, accepting other people, new generation surpassing the old), how the last theme applies to the romantic parallels (i.e. Naruto succeeding in winning he hear to of the girl where Jiraiya and Obito failed, and living together happily to an old age where Minato and Kushina weren't able to), and the fact that Naruto and Sakura is by far the most focused on and developed hetero bond in the series overall, and NaruSaku definitely has the strongest chances of becoming canon.

Well tell that to the people who are still doubting the pairing and still clinging that Sakura loves Sasuke.

[Paptala]

^Let them cling - it doesn't change the fact that Sasuke doesn't love her, and has never shown any non-platonic/romantic interest in her in the entirety of the manga.

I honestly feel as though I couldn't be looking at the situation more objectively than I just did - everything really does seem to logically point in NaruSaku's favor, especially in that Sakura is the only one who has shown anything close to reciprocation, and Naruto and Sasuke have shown nothing beyond platonic to the girls who have unrequited love for them.

That isn't an interpretation that could be distorted by pairing bias - its fact that Sakura has shown more for Naruto romantically than the others have for the girls.

[TouKen4Life3g]

To me, NaruSaku is definitely the most logical possibility thus far.

In order for any of the pairings to become canon, someone's feelings need to change, right?

For NH to happen, Naruto's feelings need to change.
For SS to happen, Sasuke's feelings need to change.
For NS to happen, Sakura's feelings need to change.

Hinata's feelings wouldn't need to change for NS to become canon, nor would Naruto's feelings need to change in order for SS to become canon - yea, it would be kind of depressing for them NOT to change, but they don't NEED to change for the pairing in question to become canon. Those feelings can easily change over a timeskip or just end with them being happy for the other person, etc.

So basically, that takes Hinata's feelings out of the equation entirely (logically speaking).

Sasuke --Click here to view--

He has never shown any romantic or non-platonic interest in Sakura ever. He's never displayed any hint of physical attraction for her, or even any affection that goes beyond what a comrade would show for another comrade, or a friend would show for a friend. He thanked her for caring, and that's it. Even during her confession, it was BOTH Naruto and Sakura on his mind, as Team 7.

In part 2, Sakura hasn't been able to reach Sasuke's heart at all - its only been Naruto, and Itachi who have been shown to affect Sasuke as he is now, completely descended into madness. Even before he went mad, Sakura was never shown to have any special or singular affect on him - whereas Naruto, on the other hand, has (being the focus of Sasuke's attention in the first reunion, thinking of Naruto at the Great Naruto bridge, etc.). Any effect Sakura has been shown to have on him in part 2 was as part of his former team, not as an individual.

Thus, it makes it highly unlikely, even when he's redeemed (if he lives), that he's going to fall in love with her.

Naruto --Click here to view--

Naruto has had romantic feelings for Sakura since chapter 3, and they've only grown stronger since then. By mid-part one, he was willing to risk death to save her (basically putting his feelings for Sakura where Hinata's feelings for him were in 437), has shown serious pain over Sakura loving someone else, and has been willing to put her feelings before his own for years despite this causing him emotional pain. She makes him happy, as he's stated himself.

Many anti fans claim that Naruto began moving on from Sakura from the summit, that his "I hate people who lie to themselves" signified him fully getting over her. But there's nothing in the manga to support that. Naruto got angry with her, as she got angry with him, came to understand that what she was doing was his best interest's at heart, and he got over it. He treats her no less affectionately than he did before - he is still protective of her, still the only girl he addresses with the -chan suffix (which wouldn't be significant if he addressed other girls that way), and still is just as friendly around her.

Chapter 457 showed that Naruto isn't likely to take the initiative with his feelings until after he fulfills the POAL. Outside forces may prompt him to say something earlier, but until then, Naruto has a whole list of other things that he feels he needs to accomplish first (some to even feel worthy of telling her how he feels).

So just because his feelings haven't gotten any focus recently doesn't mean that they've changed.

As for his feelings for Hinata, he has never shown any romantic or non-platonic feelings for her ever. If Hinata's interactions with him during the chuunin exams meant anything special, then why wasn't she one of the people Naruto felt had saved him from the hell of loneliness during his fight with Gaara? After briefly wondering where she was in the aftermath of his fight with Neji, she didn't cross his mind even once until he meets up with her again in part 2. He didn't even smile, much less blush or shown any attraction to her developed figure, when they reunited. Even after her confession, he didn't show anything beyond friendship. It took roughly 120 chapters for Naruto to even address her actions during the Pein fight (despite multiple chances to interact with her - immediately after the confrontation with Nagato - Saura hug, Sakura chat, Inari and Tazuna and Kumo nin; returning from the summit - eating ramen).

And then all Hinata got was a "thanks for saving me", "don't be so hard on yourself" and a "you're strong". No blush, no especially affectionate exp​ression - just a generic smile tossed over his shoulder, giving a belated thanks and a pep talk. Absolutely nothing to indicate that he's looking at her any differently than he used to - a friend that he respects and is mildly grateful to.

All of this makes the chances of Naruto changing his feelings incredibly unlikely.

Sakura --Click here to view--

Regardless of what some people say, Sakura has definitely, undeniably shown feelings for Naruto that go beyond friendship. Whether she is not completely in love with him yet, or she is and simply hasn't realized it yet, it is something more than platonic.

She has displayed physical attraction towards him, acting in non-platonic manner towards him (the offer to feed ramen, the hug - both eliciting blushes), has shown that Hinata's romantic feelings for Naruto bothered her on some level (or that she felt upset that while Hinata nearly died for Naruto, and she felt unhappy because she felt that she hasn't done nearly as much for Naruto, going back to her "I can only do the stupidest things for Naruto"), and has received multiple comments about her feelings for Naruto from other characters (aka Sai and Yamato).

NONE of that has been shown from Naruto>Hinata or Sasuke>Sakura in the entirety of the manga. Nothing even close.

Further, she has the most negative perception of her canonic love interest. Her view of Sasuke went from the 12/13 year old boy her thanked her for caring to him, to the malevolent 16 year old he is now, shown thinking how he is NOT a great guy, and being upset over whatever she still feels for him.

tl;dr:

• It seems pretty clear that Sakura is in the best position for her feelings to change at this juncture - both in getting over her previous love interest, and in falling in love with Naruto.
• Given the complete lack of Naruto's romantic feelings in NH, and the complete lack of Sasuke's romantic feelings in SS, it only makes sense that the girls' romantic feelings in those instances are purely for character development and to add some suspense/drama to the romance subplot

Add to that the fact that NaruSaku fits all of the themes given thus far in the manga (complicated bonds, accepting other people, new generation surpassing the old), how the last theme applies to the romantic parallels (i.e. Naruto succeeding in winning he hear to of the girl where Jiraiya and Obito failed, and living together happily to an old age where Minato and Kushina weren't able to), and the fact that Naruto and Sakura is by far the most focused on and developed hetero bond in the series overall, and NaruSaku definitely has the strongest chances of becoming canon.

And this is why you're our FC leader in NF. Great post.

[deafdrum]

This is what makes the most sense to me at this point as to the status of the pairings: Sakura has feelings for Naruto, but lingering feelings for Sasuke. This is where things start getting a little dicey for me though.

So far, Naruto has not taken a proactive step toward developing a romantic relationship with Sakura since he asked her out on a date way back at the beginning of Part II, and even that could be considered a platonic gesture, given what occurred in Part I. In my mind, he made the decision to step aside when he witnesses Sakura hugging Sasuke after he got traumatized by Itachi at the hotel (seriously, that sad smile he gives speaks so many words). And thus far, he’s held himself to that, even to the point of rejecting her “confession.” True, he wants to save Sasuke for his own reasons which contributed to his decision to reject her, but he still thinks back to all those times Sakura spoke of Sasuke and how deep her feelings for him were. Thus, it is evident that Sakura’s happiness is a part of it too.

The irony of all this is not lost on me. For so long, we have been talking about and waiting for Sakura to come around and to finally realize that Naruto is the guy she’s always wanted—the guy she always wished Sasuke would be. We watched her take small steps progressing from tolerance, to respect, to admiration, to friendship, to caring deeply for him. But as we near the end, I realize that it is not so much Sakura, but Naruto who must provide the necessary reaction to canonize the pairing. We know his feelings for her, but something must change if he is to act on them. So ultimately, we are left with a question: what can possibly happen to cause Naruto to pull the trigger? It is true that Sakura still has a little ways to go as well; she must make it clear that she has genuinely put her feelings for Sasuke to the side in order for her to have a solid relationship with Naruto, but it must be done in a way that Naruto can accept without believing that she still wants to be with Sasuke.

Honestly, I have a hard time seeing this happen without Sasuke removed from the equation completely, i.e. dying. If he is somehow redeemed and lives, that would seem to strengthen Sakura’s feelings for him, since she would once again be able to justify them to herself (then again, some manga have a theme of “love needs no justification; it simply exists”).

I’m wondering if Naruto might be influenced in this current arc through Obito’s history. As we have seen from the flashbacks and from Kakashi Gaiden, Obito never confessed to Rin because he was so concerned about her feelings for Kakashi. True, he hasn’t really revealed his feelings about it out loud for Naruto to hear since he’s in the middle of carrying out his plan to destroy the world, but this may be something we hear about later.

Is it possible that through the events that are currently transpiring, Naruto could be prompted to confess to Sakura? He’s spent this whole time thinking solely of others’ needs and feelings, but maybe it’s time he finally did something just a little selfish. What would the impact be if he came to Sakura at the end and told her, “Look, I know you still have feelings for Sasuke, but I still want you to know that I love you and I want to always be by your side.” To me, this just might be powerful enough of a statement to turn the tables solidly into his favor.

[Transformers03]

Something I just realize, and I'm quite surprise the opposing pairing fandoms haven't pointed this out (or they have, and I've just haven't been looking that hard). You know how Hinata says she is always getting stronger because of Naruto, isn't that the same as Obito getting stronger to impress Rin? Weren't they both essential getting stronger because of the person they love?

While really that just shows Hinata's loves Naruto, which isn't a surprise to anyone. But it's the consistence of showing her love in a positive way, and showing how it's similar to other aspects of other characters love (like always being happy when Naruto's around, and this), that often makes me wonder what the heck Kishi has planned out for her. Having her love seem more genuine gives the impression that her love can be recuperated, but he also showing us many parallel hints between the Narusaku pairing (even though Obito and Hinata have the whole love makes you strong thing, Obito and Rin still act (and look) more like Naruto and Sakura) and have more development between them. It gives off a kind of confusing message, that while Narusaku is still the most likely outcome, what's the point of Hinata. Even if she is just a pairing fodder, why have so much focus on her crush, and it make it seem like real love, if that isn't the direction that author is going to (with her ending with her crush)? Also, cause her love matches certain aspects of other love (like the happy part, getting stronger, etc...), even if Narusaku happens as it matches with many of the manga's themes (like never giving up, surpassing the previous generation, etc...), Hinata not getting with Naruto will undermine some of those themes. So if Naruto got with Sakura because he truly loves her and he is always happy around her, them why didn't Hinata get with Naruto with those same reason?

Admittedly, seeing Naruto succeed is a lot more important than see a secondary character succeed. But it will still undermine some of the morals that it is trying to place out that involves love, and will make Hinata's role seem sadly pointless. That's unless, of course, Kishi decides to end it with Naruhina. But than why didn't he add a lot more scenes of them together, and more development? Also, why would he give us so many obvious parallels of Narusaku and other hints, if he just planned for the series to end with Naruhina? While everything seems fine in the good old Narusaku possibility, both Naruhina and Hinata's role don't look to well.

[T XD]

Something I just realize, and I'm quite surprise the opposing pairing fandoms haven't pointed this out (or they have, and I've just haven't been looking that hard). You know how Hinata says she is always getting stronger because of Naruto, isn't that the same as Obito getting stronger to impress Rin? Weren't they both essential getting stronger because of the person they love?

While really that just shows Hinata's loves Naruto, which isn't a surprise to anyone. But it's the consistence of showing her love in a positive way, and showing how it's similar to other aspects of other characters love (like always being happy when Naruto's around, and this), that often makes me wonder what the heck Kishi has planned out for her. Having her love seem more genuine gives the impression that her love can be recuperated, but he also showing us many parallel hints between the Narusaku pairing (even though Obito and Hinata have the whole love makes you strong thing, Obito and Rin still act (and look) more like Naruto and Sakura) and have more development between them. It gives off a kind of confusing message, that while Narusaku is still the most likely outcome, what's the point of Hinata. Even if she is just a pairing fodder, why have so much focus on her crush, and it make it seem like real love, if that isn't the direction that author is going to (with her ending with her crush)? Also, cause her love matches certain aspects of other love (like the happy part, getting stronger, etc...), even if Narusaku happens as it matches with many of the manga's themes (like never giving up, surpassing the previous generation, etc...), Hinata not getting with Naruto will undermine some of those themes. So if Naruto got with Sakura because he truly loves her and he is always happy around her, them why didn't Hinata get with Naruto with those same reason?

Admittedly, seeing Naruto succeed is a lot more important than see a secondary character succeed. But it will still undermine some of the morals that it is trying to place out that involves love, and will make Hinata's role seem sadly pointless. That's unless, of course, Kishi decides to end it with Naruhina. But than why didn't he add a lot more scenes of them together, and more development? Also, why would he give us so many obvious parallels of Narusaku and other hints, if he just planned for the series to end with Naruhina? While everything seems fine in the good old Narusaku possibility, both Naruhina and Hinata's role don't look to well.

it's like you're saying the same thing for lee, who has said that he's becoming stronger for many reasons and one of them is sakura.
hinata's part not fulfilled will not undermine those themes cause hinata is a side character who's mostly her character role, beside a ninja in team 8, is a person who has interest in the protagonist and chosen to be just fitted in that role and something that kishi has done too to sasuke ( the side character ino) and sakura ( the side character lee). this is part of kishi's ideas for the manga as he chose a trio side characters that are interested in the trio main characters plus, if we're talking protagonist issues, a side character that secretly has a crush on him as the manga revolves about naruto. i can say i saw many manga whose writers chose those same options which they are valid to be in manga.

Edited by T XD, 08 September 2012 - 11:22 AM.

[Sakamaki Izayoi]

Something I just realize, and I'm quite surprise the opposing pairing fandoms haven't pointed this out (or they have, and I've just haven't been looking that hard). You know how Hinata says she is always getting stronger because of Naruto, isn't that the same as Obito getting stronger to impress Rin? Weren't they both essential getting stronger because of the person they love?

The difference is that she has a weak will, it's shown when naruto arrives and they have that talk.
naruto has his determination but it's for himself, obito yes he wanted to impress rin but he had his own determination, when he talk to kakashi with that i'll break the idea of a shinobi he had his objectives and dreams, he wanted to become a hokage it was his biggest dream, hinata is different it's all about naruto.

Edited by dovahkiin, 08 September 2012 - 10:54 AM.

[candycane-chan]

The difference is that she has a weak will, it's shown when naruto arrives and they have that talk.
naruto has his determination but it's for himself, obito yes he wanted to impress rin but he had his own determination, when he talk to kakashi with that i'll break the idea of a shinobi he had his objectives and dreams, he wanted to become a hokage it was his biggest dream, hinata is different it's all about naruto.

this is a good and bad thing for me I mean whenever i see hinata she's about her feelings for naruto and everything(few things) she did was revolved around him which makes me think that all her character davelopment is romance and that she is not sutible to be a heroine or get involved with naruto and on the other hand yes lee and ino are still holding on to their feelings but why focus so much on hinata's,lee has a life and a rival and dreams and ino has her rival and she had development when her sensei died ,this thing has to have changed her a bit but hinata is all about naruto which makes me doubt on whether or not she will have what she wants,i know that she's a side character but untill naruto's feelings are adressed i wont take NH out of the picture

[PhenixElite]

this is a good and bad thing for me I mean whenever i see hinata she's about her feelings for naruto and everything(few things) she did was revolved around him which makes me think that all her character davelopment is romance and that she is not sutible to be a heroine or get involved with naruto and on the other hand yes lee and ino are still holding on to their feelings but why focus so much on hinata's,lee has a life and a rival and dreams and ino has her rival and she had development when her sensei died ,this thing has to have changed her a bit but hinata is all about naruto which makes me doubt on whether or not she will have what she wants,i know that she's a side character but untill naruto's feelings are adressed i wont take NH out of the picture

No, i dont think so since part 1 nearly everything naruto made was for sakura and if he would get with hinata in the end, the whole story and all he has done for sakura would be useless so i see no chance for NH.

There is more possibility that naruto dies for sakura then getting with hinata

[candycane-chan]

No, i dont think so since part 1 nearly everything naruto made was for sakura and if he would get with hinata in the end, the whole story and all he has done for sakura would be useless so i see no chance for NH.

There is more possibility that naruto dies for sakura then getting with hinata

really?! well i know that naruto hasnt shown non-platanoic feelings for hinata but why does kishi always squeeze apanel for her thinking about naruto ,that' the oly think that makes me doubt ,i know i'm gonna be slacked for this if only naruto's feelings were adressed like they were in part 1

[PhenixElite]

really?! well i know that naruto hasnt shown non-platanoic feelings for hinata but why does kishi always squeeze apanel for her thinking about naruto ,that' the oly think that makes me doubt ,i know i'm gonna be slacked for this if only naruto's feelings were adressed like they were in part 1

Hmm i cant remeber narutos feelings beeing adressed in part 1 but kishi will have to do something about hinata maybe she dies or naruto will tell her that he loves someone else ( i thinks this will happen).

Also what would sakura do if he gets with hinata. She wouldnt have anyone, even if sasuke comes back he has no intrests in her.

[TouKen4Life3g]

No, i dont think so since part 1 nearly everything naruto made was for sakura and if he would get with hinata in the end, the whole story and all he has done for sakura would be useless so i see no chance for NH.

There is more possibility that naruto dies for sakura then getting with hinata

This.

The problem is that he's the guy that will NEVER change his feelings. He only matures them. He saw Sasuke as his best friend/brother, so from part 1 to now, nothing has changed, only evolved (knows how revenge feels like). Naruto's bonds are developed throughout the story, but never change. Each arc has a different development of understanding. The most you get from him is developed a new friendship. That's it. Once he said Team 7 and Iruka are his precious bond of them all, nothing will change that. Ever. That's why I'm upset at hearing people saying Naruto is the one to move on. Why? He don't have a good reason to move on. None. What makes you think he will stop now? Hell, how many times we have to hear Kurama to say that once his goals are set, nothing will change it. I can't wait for the current arc to end.

To be honest, I find Hinata's development exarggerated from people. Why I said that, well I only see 2. One from part 1 and one from part 2. That's it. I don't see why she got to be important. For the record, there are anime that has a shy girl loving the main character but loses (but don't go all suicide). Again, she only got two. I just saw her as a another character that needed a development. That's all. Like someone said, where's that Naruto's smile that always show in front of Sakura? It's not there for Hinata. Just a friend smile. Couldn't even make her smile cute as Sakura. Let's face it, Sakura's smile gives me that warm feeling and at times, I can see why he loves her. To be honest, here's something interesting that my best friend thought of. He thinks the next arc could be heavy center on Naruto's character. Think about it. Sasuke escaped this arc with the recent development, so we most likely get a full fledged focus on Naruto. You get tidbits for each arc, but we may finally see his life in a complete form, including when did he fall for Sakura. I mean the manga starts off him liking her already. When did it start for him? Actually, I can see a flashback revolving around her. Remember, some of us used to think that the rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke happened in chapter 3 but now we know it's far back than we remember.

Something tells me that may happen in this arc or after, especially if Kakashi tells him the story of Obito. It will be interesting that's for sure.