Do you guys remember how Kishimoto was supposed to work on "Mario" once Naruto was finished ? You know, the manga he called "the best manga I've ever written" ?
I guess Mario being totally unknown to the public wouldn't have been profitable to him. However, milking the series that's already an international success even more ? Easy peasy ! Just have to use the characters he already had !
But just think about it people. If NaruSaku had been canon, what would have happened to Sasuke ? And Hinata (well, Hinata shouldn't count as she isn't an important character) ? Sasuke wouldn't have been able to marry anybody (and this is coming from a SasuKarin shipper, but he doesn't love her back JUST LIKE he doesn't love Sakura back). And Hinata would have ended alone...
Which wouldn't be a problem normally, BUT he needed a lot of pairings to happen so he'd have new characters (the kids) for the new project.
So you see, even Kishimoto gave up on his "ideal" manga (Mario) for a bad compromise... so you shouldn't be wondering why Naruto didn't get his "ideal" either... as mangaka, as protagonist, I guess. This is disgusting.