19964 replies to this topic

[kirabook]

Flat chested or not is all based on opinion. I'm a full B, but many still consider me flat chested. Added onto that, the shape of my breasts are not really visible unless I'm wearing tight clothing (which is rare)

I'd say Sakura is maybe about my size, a little smaller. Definitely a B, and in my opinion, A size breasts are 'flat', B-C average, D and above large.

[Paptala]

As for all this talk about Sakura's body and attraction and love, I agree with the other posts here. Sakura's body type will appeal to some, while Hinata's will appeal to others. Sakura is very athletic, and in my opinion her more streamlined body visually complements her physical ninja qualities -- concentrated strength, power, and evasion among others. (Tsunade obviously has strength too, and the opposite of a streamlined body, lol, but she's supposed to have a mature figure.)

What's important is that Naruto likes and accepts Sakura the way she is. There's no explaining physical attraction. It just... happens. Back in chapter 3, Naruto thought of Sakura as "a total babe," and since then it's become obvious that Naruto feels a complex and complete attraction to her. It's like Sai said, Naruto smiles a lot around her. Something about her charges his batteries. Even Sai knew, as he stood there and could feel the vibe, that Naruto is in love with Sakura in a real and meaningful way.

Naruto's interactions with Hinata have never had anything even close to the same giddy, smiling, "you make me happy just being near you" quality that his moments with Sakura can have. As I have pointed out before, when Naruto realizes Hinata is seeking acknowledgement he sounds like a leader. A coach. He tells her she's strong and a good person, and she should believe in herself. It's focused on Hinata's feelings and contribution as a ninja.

By contrast, Sakura rarely needs or seeks acknowledgement from external sources about her skills or capability as a ninja. She interally doubts herself and her feelings, and agonizes over her personal mistakes, but she tries to take control of them herself -- albeit with questionable results, lol.

And really, one of the only clear instances of Sakura expressing a need for acknowledgement was also back in #3 -- when she told Naruto-henged-as-Sasuke that Sasuke's notice and opinion of her was very important. But despite how that must have hurt his feelings, what was Naruto's reaction? He admitted to himself that he was starting to understand what he loved about Sakura.

So far, at least, Naruto only relates to Hinata in terms of supporting her as a fellow ninja. He relates to Sakura in very personal terms. She's in his heart. There's really no comparison.

ETA: Another moment when Sakura sought acknowledgement? Was to ask Naruto if he thought she looked more womanly. Also very... personal.

^ THIS. Excellent, excellent post.

One of the best things about Naruto and Sakura's relationship is that they are inherently aware of each other's flaws and strengths, and love each other selflessly in spite of it all. They both mess up and make mistakes, but in the end, their hearts are in the right places and they never stop caring for each other despite these mistakes. They are simply comfortable, and undeniably happy just being around one another.

And you are absolutely correct that this is lacking in Naruto and Hinata's relationship. I was thinking about the recent filler arc, and how if it were Hinata in Sakura's place, chatting with him on the roof and being concerned about his health, then it would be taken as a pairing hint for NH. And it struck me how weird it would be, because we never see Naruto and Hinata just casually hanging out and teasing one another playfully, or anything of the sort.

Hinata simply doesn't make Naruto happy, or feel head over heels, in the way that Sakura does. Not only does Naruto's treatment of and around Sakura indicate that she holds a special place in his heart among his peers and other girls, the mere fact that she is the only girl he's ever addressed with the 'chan' suffix is also pretty telling, imo.

For the love of god these people are so infuriating to contend with. You guys mentioned that avoiding any arguments is a good idea but the difficulty in doing that, restraining yourself from trying to protect your perspective, is just an incredibly difficult task. I don't see how it doesn't bother any of you to refrain from becoming involved in disputes that have to do with Sakura's character or the pairing.

I'm sorry if this sounds repetitive but it's very frustrating. Are there any personal methods that you guys have with dealing with this kind of situation? Like maybe some particular thoughts that you have when reading negative discussions that help prevent you from getting involved in something that you'll regret?

Honestly, I just try and avoid the places where I might see such posts all together. Because I know from experience that these debates never go anywhere, and you just end up even more frustrated for your troubles.

There are ignore/block functions on pretty much every forum that I'm aware of, so that might help too, with users you know are prone to making such arguments.

[swagosaurus]

so I'm drunk right now, but I've been having this thought all night:

What if Kishi was planning Naru/Saku from the beginning? And everything was just purposeful just to add to the tension?

I got this guy figured out. kishi isn't hiding anything from me, son.

[Anguyen92]

^^ Well, that's a pro for having drunken thoughts (not that I endorse it), it leads to a suggestion/thought that might be very intriguing.

[Chucky-kun]

so I'm drunk right now, but I've been having this thought all night:

What if Kishi was planning Naru/Saku from the beginning? And everything was just purposeful just to add to the tension?

I got this guy figured out. kishi isn't hiding anything from me, son.

didnt kishi say that he originally created sakura solely as a love interest for naruto, but then discovered how much development she could potentially have and turned her into what she is today

[swagosaurus]

honestly, I think it was his plan all along.

brings sasuke back.

naruto and sakura get together.

sasuke get's together with karin to create the true peace between uchiha and senju (uzumaki are mixed with senju)

peace.

gg.

[KnS]

One of the best things about Naruto and Sakura's relationship is that they are inherently aware of each other's flaws and strengths, and love each other selflessly in spite of it all. They both mess up and make mistakes, but in the end, their hearts are in the right places and they never stop caring for each other despite these mistakes. They are simply comfortable, and undeniably happy just being around one another.

Yes, and these are the "love is friendship caught fire" aspects necessary to make a relationship go the distance. I'm pretty sure this is the kind of girl Kushina was wishing for her son.

And you are absolutely correct that this is lacking in Naruto and Hinata's relationship. I was thinking about the recent filler arc, and how if it were Hinata in Sakura's place, chatting with him on the roof and being concerned about his health, then it would be taken as a pairing hint for NH. And it struck me how weird it would be, because we never see Naruto and Hinata just casually hanging out and teasing one another playfully, or anything of the sort.

Right. Because Naruto and Hinata don't actually know each other. They have no personality traits in common or that even complement each other, and they have very few shared experiences. By contrast, Sakura and Naruto are so familiar with each other they can communicate volumes using incomplete sentences or no words at all. They have lived together on the road for years, had countless conversations about both silly and important subjects. They have no illusions about each other -- no fantasy impressions -- and yet their relationship has maintained an element of unrealized love and attraction.

There's so much understanding and trust between Naruto and Sakura. They definitely stumbled during her confession, but that's because it was all very personal and there was so much at stake. Both were in denial about Sasuke, although in different ways. That can't and won't last forever.

Hinata simply doesn't make Naruto happy, or feel head over heels, in the way that Sakura does. Not only does Naruto's treatment of and around Sakura indicate that she holds a special place in his heart among his peers and other girls, the mere fact that she is the only girl he's ever addressed with the 'chan' suffix is also pretty telling, imo.

I think you're right, no question.

And after the last post I made I was thinking about how confidence has influenced the shipping in this story. Bear with me.

Hinata is very shy and has little or no confidence in herself as a ninja, but seems unreserved when it comes to expressing her feelings for Naruto. The chance to tell him how she feels was worth her whole life. It strikes me that her thoughts have been so guarded and insulated that she doesn't seem to understand that real love requires reciprocation. She doesn't even seek reciprocation in a normal way. It's as if... her feelings for Naruto are something she's "good at" so she pursues them. Naruto has not given her a single sign to hang her hopes on, and yet she persists. That's an unusual (dark and weird?) paradox if you ask me.

Sakura is not shy and has considerable confidence in herself as a ninja. She was not shy in telling "Sasuke" that she was serious about him and wanted his acknowledgement. She was not shy about expressing her feelings and making an emotional display when trying to stop Sasuke from leaving. But I think it's very telling that she was actually more demure when she asked Naruto what he thought of the changes in her body, and she was a mixture of demure and assertive when telling Naruto she loved him in front of an audience. Of course, the jury's out on the sincerity of certain aspects of her confession, but there's no denying that Sakura did and said it all for Naruto's wellbeing.

Sasuke is not shy, he's just a cold fish. He displayed confidence during Sakura's confession because he believed she was into him and could easily accept it (then dismiss it) at face value. Beyond Naruto (and I don't mean this in a yaoi way) the only real interpersonal bond Sasuke has shown with anyone is Karin. It may be for entirely selfish reasons, but the way he would bite her for energy and healing is an intimate act -- creepy, maybe, but intimate because Sasuke knew how Karin felt about him and he depended on her.

Then there's Naruto. He generally brims with confidence, especially as a ninja -- even when it hasn't made sense for him to be confident. He's not shy. Despite knowing that Sakura has feelings for Sasuke, keeping his heart to himself, and doing everything he could to make Sakura happy, it's not as if Naruto has given up on his own feelings or suffered a lack of confidence. It's not as if he thinks he's an unworthy suitor with no chance, he's just doing what he feels is right for Sakura. If she wants Sasuke, he has wanted to do what he could to grant her that happiness even if it costs him his own. That's the ultimate confidence, isn't it?

Naruto and Hinata are not on the same page. He understood her when she was being judged and held down, but because of the unfairness of it. It was something he had experienced himself. But Naruto doesn't seem to connect with Hinata's lack of confidence in a personal way; I think that's why he always slips into coaching mode with her. And her lack of confidence is the only thing she has ever publicly projected -- other than her feelings for him, which he has not indicated he accepts or returns. So what foundation exists for a relationship? I don't see one.

By contrast, Naruto and Sakura are very much alike in the confidence department, and in the willingness to be selfless for each other. They are both bound to Sasuke, individually and together, but I really think that eventually they're going to realize that what they feel and have gone through for each other is greater.

Sorry this is tl;dr. I'm on call and had to stay up while co-workers were completing a full cluster disaster recover failover drill, so I wrote this to help me stay awake.

What if Kishi was planning Naru/Saku from the beginning? And everything was just purposeful just to add to the tension?

Well, considering that in the very first chapter in which Sakura appears Kishimoto (1) established that Naruto loves her; (2) established that Naruto instinctively knew exactly what Sakura wanted to hear from her imagined Mr. Right; and (3) established that Sakura's affection was misdirected toward Sasuke, a guy who didn't care about her or understand her, I think it's safe to say yes. Kishimoto was planning Naruto/Sakura from the beginning. At least from chapter #3.

[Sakamaki Izayoi]

honestly, I think it was his plan all along.

brings sasuke back.

naruto and sakura get together.

sasuke get's together with karin to create the true peace between uchiha and senju (uzumaki are mixed with senju)

peace.

gg.

Only naruto and sakura gets canon the rest is leave to fanfiction's work, he wont make a lot of pairings canon because this is not shoujo.

[redragon88]

Sakura is not that flat-chested as to say Rukia from Bleach or if we are going by Naruto, Karin. She just has them small. Probably the smallest out of K11 but whatever. Besides, I quite like her figure, especially the way Kishi drew her in her summer look back then. She has that athletic body which is pretty nice to me. Plus, she does have "that". I'll leave you with that. I'm already sounding like Jiraiya.

That's the running joke within the fandom, isn't it?

Hinata might have a good front, but Sakura has a nice behind.

[swagosaurus]

That's the running joke within the fandom, isn't it?

Hinata might have a good front, but Sakura has a nice behind.

[Sakamaki Izayoi]

why naruto looks fat sometimes?
when he's not

naruto! you forgot your doritos.

Edited by Dαrkrєrsŧ, 09 December 2012 - 01:35 PM.

[TouKen4Life3g]

KnS: Wow, two amazing posts and I don't think I could say any better. Well done and I really like what you think.

I don't blame you, Paptala. I said this before, whenever Naruto and Hinata talks to each other, it's for development. They hardly, if not never, have a normal conversation with each other. They don't have all those beginning of an arc segments starring Naruto and Sakura (recap and see) with guest stars. You would assume they would after Pain Invasion Arc, but no, we have more Naruto and Sakura's conversation. I also don't blame you that you can't vision Naruto and Hinata doing what Sakura doing in the latest filler arc. She will either keep stuttering and the chemistry will be pretty quiet. Naruto has nothing to say more to her because Hinata won't have anything to say but mainly about him being strong. Sakura can talk about pretty much anything of Naruto that revolves on his life.

That's the running joke within the fandom, isn't it?

Hinata might have a good front, but Sakura has a nice behind.

Lol. Boy, do I feel like a perv. But yeah, that's the case. If I may add, like I said before, I do like her body shape/form. I think the closest you get is that summer picture that was drawn by Kishi. You can tell regardless that he felt embarrassed to draw her with a bikini, the detail on her body is noticeable.

Yeah...funny how it takes anime to bring me fanservice. Kishi is like the total opposite of Hiro. I guess that's why when I see fanservice in Naruto, I feel good, rather than complaining about it. Well I don't hate them but it can be overdone, distracting the story. That all being said...that picture...nice...nice...

[redragon88]

@swagosaurus

No wonder Naruto never paid attention to Hinata. His true tastes reside with a different kind of... assets, ones that only Sakura possesses.

[TouKen4Life3g]

@swagosaurus

No wonder Naruto never paid attention to Hinata. His true tastes reside with a different kind of... assets, ones that only Sakura possesses.

Funny thing is I actually thought of a small fic moment. Like I had an imaginary character interacting Naruto and that guy is a perv. He was telling Naruto that Sakura has a nice back and Naruto didn't noticed till now, so that guy was like, "Hey, what did you like her then..." as in that Naruto didn't like her for that. Basically, it's true love, but a girl having something is an extra perk to a guy.

I don't blame Naruto. Perhaps we are the same in term of preference.....ok I said too much.

[swagosaurus]

So I made a little rant on my thoughts/predictions about NaruSaku, given the development and themes Kishi has used thus far. Give it a read!

Rant --Click here to view--

So, common sense time.

What if Kishi planned NaruSaku from the very beginning?

Honestly. Why would he establish Sakura as Naruto's love interest from the /very/ first time we see her, at the beginning? Why would he add her to a list of obstacles Naruto has to come across, if they aren't going to end up together?

The same could be said about Hinata (and to an extent, Sasuke). But they already have a purpose (once again, Sasuke to an extent in this category).

They add tension to the romantic subplot. It almost seems like Kishi has a pattern; he gives people NH/SS fanservice, then, out of nowhere, he smacks us in the face with NaruSaku. It's happened already: The Chuunin Exam Arc was the most SasuSakuish arc in the manga; Kishi finishes it off with the Invasion of Konoha and Naruto wrecking Gaara because he wanted to save Sakura. Literally, his feelings for Sakura changed Gaara into a good guy.

Then the end of Part 1; Sakura confesses her feelings to Sasuke in an effort to keep him there, and he thanks her. Then we have the Promise of a Lifetime; IMO, one of the biggest NaruSaku scenes. We see the true maturity of Naruto's feelings towards Sakura, and how much he's willing to sacrifice; we also see Sakura moving on from her initial dislike of Naruto. She now sees him as someone she can trust completely, which is a huge contrast to when she was first introduced.

Part 2 is just the same; we have the Pein arc. Hinata jumps down in an effort to save Naruto, and confesses her feelings. He watches her 'die', and goes Kyuubi. This is the biggest NH moment in the manga thus far.

Then WHAM. Romantic NaruSaku hug in front of the whole village. And then, a whole arc that revolves around Naruto's feelings.

But the question is why? Why would Kishi have Yamato talk about Sakura's feelings near the bridge? Why would Kishi put so much emphasis on Sakura and Naruto being 'together' (something that has come up a whole multitude of times)? Why would he put so much subtle foreshadowing into their bond, compared to SS/NH which are both completely one-sided?

Sure, we can say 'oh, but swagosaurus you devilishly handsome bastard, the manga is going the NH route; look at all of the recent happenings!'. Exactly. Like I said before, Kishi has a subtle sort of pattern. Be it intentional or unintentional, it's there, and it's happened multiple times. It's almost like NH/SS moments guarantee us a massive NS moment. You can also say, 'but swag, naruto doesn't love sakura anymore! in fact, he may like hinata now?'

No. Naruto never gives up; why would he relinquish his feelings for Sakura when it's not a detriment to his character? lack of NS, or really, any pairing fanservice has made us starved. We're overanalyzing everything. But I digress. Just because Naruto hasn't thought or spoken to Sakura in a while, doesn't mean he still doesn't love her.

Because he hasn't really thought about or spoken to Sasuke in over one hundred chapters, does that mean he doesn't care about him? nope.

Kishi has also made multiple parallels to Naruto, Sakura and Team 7. Jiraiya and Tsunade, Obito and Rin, Minato and Kushina, Yahiko and Konan. All of them ended in tragedy, save Naruto and Sakura. You can say that NS can't be proven by parallels, but it's definitely supported by it. Seriously, there is NO way that these are just coincidences.

Jira/Tsu and Obi/Rin are pretty much proven to be canon parallels. The other two are a bit of a reach; Yahiko and Konan requires some careful looking, but it's there. Yahiko is almost a carbon copy of Naruto, and he was in a romantic relationship with Konan, the female member on his team. Minato and Kushina, too, can be debated, but IMO, that's just plain obvious, especially given the recent movie. Some panels are even carbon copies of others (The bridal-style save, and looking back at the Uchiha that tried to hurt Kushina/Sakura).

Kishi is known to be subtle and he forshadows ALOT. If he were to actually do NaruSaku, it wouldn't be an asspull or forced; it's naturally progressed throughout the whole manga. The parallels back up the whole 'new generation surpassing the previous' motif that Kishi has used.

As a wrap up, it seems like Kishi is just waiting to get that NaruSaku moment in. It's so painfully obvious that's the route he's going, it's not even funny. In regards to Naruto's feelings, as I stated previously, we all know what they are; he loves Sakura. Plain and simple. For Kishi to put reaffirmation of Naruto's feelings in this awkward spot where it's the climax of the manga, but not so close to the end as he would like, would pretty much destroy NaruHina as a pairing. He's a smart guy; he's marketing Naruto like a boss. While I don't think NaruHina will happen, I doubt Kishi wants to lose that fanbase this early.

But yeah. Just my two cents on this whole debacle.

[Sakamaki Izayoi]

So I made a little rant on my thoughts/predictions about NaruSaku, given the development and themes Kishi has used thus far. Give it a read!

Rant --Click here to view--

So, common sense time.

What if Kishi planned NaruSaku from the very beginning?

Honestly. Why would he establish Sakura as Naruto's love interest from the /very/ first time we see her, at the beginning? Why would he add her to a list of obstacles Naruto has to come across, if they aren't going to end up together?

The same could be said about Hinata (and to an extent, Sasuke). But they already have a purpose (once again, Sasuke to an extent in this category).

They add tension to the romantic subplot. It almost seems like Kishi has a pattern; he gives people NH/SS fanservice, then, out of nowhere, he smacks us in the face with NaruSaku. It's happened already: The Chuunin Exam Arc was the most SasuSakuish arc in the manga; Kishi finishes it off with the Invasion of Konoha and Naruto wrecking Gaara because he wanted to save Sakura. Literally, his feelings for Sakura changed Gaara into a good guy.

Then the end of Part 1; Sakura confesses her feelings to Sasuke in an effort to keep him there, and he thanks her. Then we have the Promise of a Lifetime; IMO, one of the biggest NaruSaku scenes. We see the true maturity of Naruto's feelings towards Sakura, and how much he's willing to sacrifice; we also see Sakura moving on from her initial dislike of Naruto. She now sees him as someone she can trust completely, which is a huge contrast to when she was first introduced.

Part 2 is just the same; we have the Pein arc. Hinata jumps down in an effort to save Naruto, and confesses her feelings. He watches her 'die', and goes Kyuubi. This is the biggest NH moment in the manga thus far.

Then WHAM. Romantic NaruSaku hug in front of the whole village. And then, a whole arc that revolves around Naruto's feelings.

But the question is why? Why would Kishi have Yamato talk about Sakura's feelings near the bridge? Why would Kishi put so much emphasis on Sakura and Naruto being 'together' (something that has come up a whole multitude of times)? Why would he put so much subtle foreshadowing into their bond, compared to SS/NH which are both completely one-sided?

Sure, we can say 'oh, but swagosaurus you devilishly handsome bastard, the manga is going the NH route; look at all of the recent happenings!'. Exactly. Like I said before, Kishi has a subtle sort of pattern. Be it intentional or unintentional, it's there, and it's happened multiple times. It's almost like NH/SS moments guarantee us a massive NS moment. You can also say, 'but swag, naruto doesn't love sakura anymore! in fact, he may like hinata now?'

No. Naruto never gives up; why would he relinquish his feelings for Sakura when it's not a detriment to his character? lack of NS, or really, any pairing fanservice has made us starved. We're overanalyzing everything. But I digress. Just because Naruto hasn't thought or spoken to Sakura in a while, doesn't mean he still doesn't love her.

Because he hasn't really thought about or spoken to Sasuke in over one hundred chapters, does that mean he doesn't care about him? nope.

Kishi has also made multiple parallels to Naruto, Sakura and Team 7. Jiraiya and Tsunade, Obito and Rin, Minato and Kushina, Yahiko and Konan. All of them ended in tragedy, save Naruto and Sakura. You can say that NS can't be proven by parallels, but it's definitely supported by it. Seriously, there is NO way that these are just coincidences.

Jira/Tsu and Obi/Rin are pretty much proven to be canon parallels. The other two are a bit of a reach; Yahiko and Konan requires some careful looking, but it's there. Yahiko is almost a carbon copy of Naruto, and he was in a romantic relationship with Konan, the female member on his team. Minato and Kushina, too, can be debated, but IMO, that's just plain obvious, especially given the recent movie. Some panels are even carbon copies of others (The bridal-style save, and looking back at the Uchiha that tried to hurt Kushina/Sakura).

Kishi is known to be subtle and he forshadows ALOT. If he were to actually do NaruSaku, it wouldn't be an asspull or forced; it's naturally progressed throughout the whole manga. The parallels back up the whole 'new generation surpassing the previous' motif that Kishi has used.

As a wrap up, it seems like Kishi is just waiting to get that NaruSaku moment in. It's so painfully obvious that's the route he's going, it's not even funny. In regards to Naruto's feelings, as I stated previously, we all know what they are; he loves Sakura. Plain and simple. For Kishi to put reaffirmation of Naruto's feelings in this awkward spot where it's the climax of the manga, but not so close to the end as he would like, would pretty much destroy NaruHina as a pairing. He's a smart guy; he's marketing Naruto like a boss. While I don't think NaruHina will happen, I doubt Kishi wants to lose that fanbase this early.

But yeah. Just my two cents on this whole debacle.

I dont think he planned narusaku from the begining in part 1 it would lead to an open ending just saying.
Because even on part 1 with sasuke all around naruto had another objectives, it was clearly that he loved sakura but it wasnt his top priority, and he had to face/deal with serious stuff at same time sakura acknowledged naruto for his efforts but as a teammate because her eyes was on sasuke, everything of good that was happening she blamed sasuke, even when naruto rescued sakura from gaara she said thanks to sasuke, and on the battle at the roof of the hospital it was clear where her hearth belongs she views naruto as a teammate and sasuke as a love interest beyond friendship.
Sasuke departs and kick her ass, she got hurt naruto says that he understand what she's feeling becuase he were hurt too because he learned that she loved sasuke, and of course who didnt loved someome who was in love with another person of course it's painful too.
Leaving the village with jyraia was not the better for naruto to train too but better for his own heart it was good to keep a distance from sakura for a brief period of time.
When he returned sakura had expectation of him being more adult, naruto was he still the same, the distance she had from sasuke downgraded her feelings for him, and increased for naruto.
And so on...
[Here we go to part 2]

*The POAL -> for me was not a biggest NS scene, it was a statement of naruto's feelings and sakura fully accepting him as a teammate and a close friend
this made naruto someome who she can rely on, he became more close to her.
The biggest moment for NS was when sasuke departed naruto had to fill her pain and therefore becoming more than a friend time passes she missed more naruto then sasuke.
*Jira/Tsu -> it had 0 chance of happening trust me, even being a parallel to narusaku, tsundade had a boyfriend which died, it's a differense situation of sakura, it can be a parallel but with 0 chance to 100% chance.
Obi/RIn was almost there but obito died, or naruto's alter ego died there, saving rin, it had a chance of happenin around 100% because kakashi would not accept her and rin acknowledged obito and understand that kakashi was not a great man for her and the man who deserved her died protecting.
Jira/tsu = 0%, Obi/Rin = canon but almost.

Edited by Dαrkrєrsŧ, 09 December 2012 - 03:40 PM.

[PhenixElite]

I dont think he planned narusaku from the begining in part 1 it would lead to an open ending just saying.
Because even on part 1 with sasuke all around naruto had another objectives, it was clearly that he loved sakura but it wasnt his top priority, and he had to face/deal with serious stuff at same time sakura acknowledged naruto for his efforts but as a teammate because her eyes was on sasuke, everything of good that was happening she blamed sasuke, even when naruto rescued sakura from gaara she said thanks to sasuke, and on the battle at the roof of the hospital it was clear where her hearth belongs she views naruto as a teammate and sasuke as a love interest beyond friendship.
Sasuke departs and kick her ass, she got hurt naruto says that he understand what she's feeling becuase he were hurt too because he learned that she loved sasuke, and of course who didnt loved someome who was in love with another person of course it's painful too.
Leaving the village with jyraia was not the better for naruto to train too but better for his own heart it was good to keep a distance from sakura for a brief period of time.
When he returned sakura had expectation of him being more adult, naruto was he still the same, the distance she had from sasuke downgraded her feelings for him, and increased for naruto.
And so on...
[Here we go to part 2]

Since pairings are also a big deals in the story, they are normaly already decided in the beginning of the manga. Its not like it that you start writing a story and in the middle of it you decide to put 2 character togehter.
So im sure he was planing NS from the begining.

[swagosaurus]

true, true, but I'm not talking exactly about the characters. I'm talking about from a storytelling standpoint, Kishi already stated he had the ending planned out, it was just a matter of getting there. I may be a tad over confident, but IMO, narusaku was canon from chapter 3 onwards.

[TouKen4Life3g]

So I made a little rant on my thoughts/predictions about NaruSaku, given the development and themes Kishi has used thus far. Give it a read!

Rant --Click here to view--

So, common sense time.

What if Kishi planned NaruSaku from the very beginning?

Honestly. Why would he establish Sakura as Naruto's love interest from the /very/ first time we see her, at the beginning? Why would he add her to a list of obstacles Naruto has to come across, if they aren't going to end up together?

The same could be said about Hinata (and to an extent, Sasuke). But they already have a purpose (once again, Sasuke to an extent in this category).

They add tension to the romantic subplot. It almost seems like Kishi has a pattern; he gives people NH/SS fanservice, then, out of nowhere, he smacks us in the face with NaruSaku. It's happened already: The Chuunin Exam Arc was the most SasuSakuish arc in the manga; Kishi finishes it off with the Invasion of Konoha and Naruto wrecking Gaara because he wanted to save Sakura. Literally, his feelings for Sakura changed Gaara into a good guy.

Then the end of Part 1; Sakura confesses her feelings to Sasuke in an effort to keep him there, and he thanks her. Then we have the Promise of a Lifetime; IMO, one of the biggest NaruSaku scenes. We see the true maturity of Naruto's feelings towards Sakura, and how much he's willing to sacrifice; we also see Sakura moving on from her initial dislike of Naruto. She now sees him as someone she can trust completely, which is a huge contrast to when she was first introduced.

Part 2 is just the same; we have the Pein arc. Hinata jumps down in an effort to save Naruto, and confesses her feelings. He watches her 'die', and goes Kyuubi. This is the biggest NH moment in the manga thus far.

Then WHAM. Romantic NaruSaku hug in front of the whole village. And then, a whole arc that revolves around Naruto's feelings.

But the question is why? Why would Kishi have Yamato talk about Sakura's feelings near the bridge? Why would Kishi put so much emphasis on Sakura and Naruto being 'together' (something that has come up a whole multitude of times)? Why would he put so much subtle foreshadowing into their bond, compared to SS/NH which are both completely one-sided?

Sure, we can say 'oh, but swagosaurus you devilishly handsome bastard, the manga is going the NH route; look at all of the recent happenings!'. Exactly. Like I said before, Kishi has a subtle sort of pattern. Be it intentional or unintentional, it's there, and it's happened multiple times. It's almost like NH/SS moments guarantee us a massive NS moment. You can also say, 'but swag, naruto doesn't love sakura anymore! in fact, he may like hinata now?'

No. Naruto never gives up; why would he relinquish his feelings for Sakura when it's not a detriment to his character? lack of NS, or really, any pairing fanservice has made us starved. We're overanalyzing everything. But I digress. Just because Naruto hasn't thought or spoken to Sakura in a while, doesn't mean he still doesn't love her.

Because he hasn't really thought about or spoken to Sasuke in over one hundred chapters, does that mean he doesn't care about him? nope.

Kishi has also made multiple parallels to Naruto, Sakura and Team 7. Jiraiya and Tsunade, Obito and Rin, Minato and Kushina, Yahiko and Konan. All of them ended in tragedy, save Naruto and Sakura. You can say that NS can't be proven by parallels, but it's definitely supported by it. Seriously, there is NO way that these are just coincidences.

Jira/Tsu and Obi/Rin are pretty much proven to be canon parallels. The other two are a bit of a reach; Yahiko and Konan requires some careful looking, but it's there. Yahiko is almost a carbon copy of Naruto, and he was in a romantic relationship with Konan, the female member on his team. Minato and Kushina, too, can be debated, but IMO, that's just plain obvious, especially given the recent movie. Some panels are even carbon copies of others (The bridal-style save, and looking back at the Uchiha that tried to hurt Kushina/Sakura).

Kishi is known to be subtle and he forshadows ALOT. If he were to actually do NaruSaku, it wouldn't be an asspull or forced; it's naturally progressed throughout the whole manga. The parallels back up the whole 'new generation surpassing the previous' motif that Kishi has used.

As a wrap up, it seems like Kishi is just waiting to get that NaruSaku moment in. It's so painfully obvious that's the route he's going, it's not even funny. In regards to Naruto's feelings, as I stated previously, we all know what they are; he loves Sakura. Plain and simple. For Kishi to put reaffirmation of Naruto's feelings in this awkward spot where it's the climax of the manga, but not so close to the end as he would like, would pretty much destroy NaruHina as a pairing. He's a smart guy; he's marketing Naruto like a boss. While I don't think NaruHina will happen, I doubt Kishi wants to lose that fanbase this early.

But yeah. Just my two cents on this whole debacle.

Looks like you sober up. Good for you.

Nice post, of course. I like how you mentioned about the moments NH/SS have, only to have NS the strongest outcome. It is true that it has been going like that for a while. You should ask, "If Naruto and Sakura will only be friends, why continue to develop them in part 2?" Clearly, they already reached to that level of friendship that doesn't go elsewhere. The only option left is really romance. Naruto already loves her and continues to be mature about her and her feelings. Sakura is the one that has to decide who she truly loves. So you can say before part 2, we were half way there.

I like your parallels' explanation and yes, that's how I saw it too. I think the recent one is way too similar that nobody can't ignore it anymore. We have the villain confirming the parallel, so how much obvious can we go. So yeah, thank you for sharing and I couldn't say any more to it.

[Sakamaki Izayoi]

Since pairings are also a big deals in the story, they are normaly already decided in the beginning of the manga. Its not like it that you start writing a story and in the middle of it you decide to put 2 character togehter.
So im sure he was planing NS from the begining.

He said he had a ending planned but what was the ending it could be without pairing of course and trust me he do change stuff in the middle of the story, that why he stopped talking about naruto's future.
only about things he already wrote.

Orochimaru ressurrection wasnt something that he planned from the very start, he ressurrected orochimaru to make the manga last longer, because he planned to end naruto next year and had to delay it due to jump that didnt find a substitute for naruto, actually she didnt even find a substitute for bleach.
the last arc which will be the next one will be longer as our current arc.

Edited by Dαrkrєrsŧ, 09 December 2012 - 03:45 PM.