I think I won't care much one way or the other. I've moved on and made my peace with this series as much as I can, so there's really not anything to forgive. What's done is done. Kishimoto made his bed and he can lie in it.
Even if Kishimoto did come out and say that this ending was not the one he wanted, I'm not sure I'd be able to believe he were being truthful and not just trying to save face with an unsatisfied and alienated fan base. Nowadays I take everything he says with a huge grain of salt, he's always contradicting himself and changing his story. I think he never really knew what to do without a good editor at his side because the manga started going downhill when his original editor (whatever his name is) quit, and only ever got worse. In the end, I think he just gave up and stopped caring and decided to just 'give the fans what they want.'