Posted 30 May 2011 - 09:29 PM
I hesitate to post this because so much of it is redundant after 20-some pages of great posts, but for my own sake I'd like to put my thoughts in writing. Apologies in advance, long post is long.
Yesterday I ran across a comment in another forum stating unequivocally that since Hinata's introduction in the manga it has been "clear" that Kishi's intended pairings are Naruto/Hinata and Sasuke/Sakura. It boggled my mind how a seemingly rational person could make such a definitive statement. However, in an attempt to be objective I took some time to think about it.
Is it possible Kishi intends Naruto/Hinata and Sasuke/Sakura as the final pairings? Yes, at the moment it's still possible. Until the final panel of the story is published, anything could happen. Technically. But in order for those pairings to make any sense from a story construction perspective, in my opinion Kishi would have to do a lot of work yet to make it even remotely believable.
There are just some things I can't ignore:
1. Sakura is a sensitive girl who has literally been in the middle, influenced by the personalities, emotions, and goals of both boys from the very beginning. It should be no surprise that she loves them both, and could be very confused by what those loves mean.
2. Kishi has painstakingly revealed Sakura's heart throughout the story, contrasting the form of her feelings for Sasuke with the substance of her feelings for Naruto. It's a very important distinction, and one that takes time for a young girl to resolve.
3. Sakura may feel love for both boys, but only her love for Naruto is real, based on an actual dynamic relationship, and reciprocated. She is not stupid. She knows the difference, and she chose to confess her love for Naruto in front of a serious gallery of witnesses, willing to commit herself to him if he accepted. That shouldn't be forgotten just because she has lingering confusion about Sasuke.
4. Sakura's dedication to Sasuke is a reflection of Naruto's own unwillingness to give up on him. The problem is, she has believed the source of her dedication to be romantic love, when in fact it began as a self-esteem issue that morphed into a teammate bond and a sense of friendship. She and Naruto are more on the same page regarding Sasuke than either one realizes, and neither has figured out how much their respective feelings for Sasuke have influenced the other. Which leads me to...
5. A key element of Naruto and Sakura's early bond was their affection for Sasuke. They have, separately and together, repeatedly vowed (in various forms) to return/save/restore him -- each making the vow with the other's feelings at heart. All without success. Since this shared motivation remains unresolved, maybe the point is that only through unification -- of heart, soul, and mind -- will Naruto and Sakura find the answer to reaching Sasuke...?
6. Naruto cares for Hinata as a person, as a ninja, as a Konoha villager, but there has not been one single hint that he feels romantic love for her. If he suddenly did, it would be a departure from Naruto's established personality -- not to mention a reversal of 540 chapters of carefully constructed plot. Naruto's heart could be changed in Hinata's favor, but I don't think Kishi has enough story left to manage it without betraying Naruto's character and sacrificing his credibility as a storyteller. Likewise, I don't see Sasuke becoming a hero of equal or greater value than Naruto -- redeemed such that he could realistically end up with Sakura. I have to believe that if Kishi had something like that planned, he wouldn't have called the story Naruto.
7. Kushina's request that Naruto find a girl like her, and the obvious parallels between Kushina and Sakura. What possible point could Kishi have had to include that if he didn't intend Naruto/Sakura?
8. Naruto loves Sakura, so much that it's at the expense of his own happiness. Unless I'm forgetting something, this fact is currently beyond debate.
9. Despite loving her, Naruto has inadvertently contributed to Sakura's romantic confusion by his own actions during the bench scene back in Chapter 3, and because he has not openly declared the sincerity and depth of his feelings for her since.
This is interesting if you think about it in the bigger picture. Declarations are a hallmark of Naruto's personality; he declares himself constantly, even when it's a smokescreen for his lack of confidence. Initial claims of super skill, his intention to become Hokage, his rivalry with Sasuke, his "never give up" nindo, his determination to bring Sasuke back, his dedication to peace and Jiraiya's quest, you name it. He can hardly open his mouth without making a declaration.
And yet when Sai asked Naruto if he'd ever declared himself to Sakura, Naruto said he couldn't because he hadn't kept his promise to her. Hmm...and now that promise has supposedly been voided. Did Naruto really accept that, or is he still on a collision course -- his nindo vs. his feelings for Sakura?
Sakura declared her love for Sasuke, Hinata declared her love for Naruto, Sakura then declared her love for Naruto, and Sasuke declared his love for revenge and murder. But so far Naruto -- the crown prince of declarations -- has not declared his love for Sakura. Kishi has to be holding this back for just the right moment. Naruto is a profoundly loving young man, earnest, sincere, and utterly persuasive. If/when he finally does make a real do-or-die play for Sakura, it'll be worth the wait.
10. So far, at least, Naruto's instincts have always been right. His unshakeable, selfless, and patient love for Sakura speaks volumes. As long as Naruto believes in her, we should believe in her, and rest in idea that Naruto will find a way to make everything work out.
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Granted, Sakura certainly had her moments of kitteniness, but in all honesty, Naruto was normally instigating it by acting immature, perverted, or doing something that she felt was going to get him in trouble (like screaming in the waiting room of the chuunin exams that he wasn't going to lose to anyone there, I'm pretty sure Sakura thought he was going to get jumped for saying that lol). Her kitteny moments were interspersed with a lot of kindness and concern that people just seem to completely ignore and / or forget.
