@六道仙人 - Toasty is
Toasty Warrior here on H&E. There is a NaruSaku fanclub on DeviantArt (run by the lovely amandas-sketches), and he posted on a thread there.
Not to rub salt in an old wound, but what you said reminds me of the Southern Raiders episode in Zutarra/Kataang wars and their subsequent fight with Azula. Episode didn't seem romantic to me, but I remember what was said about that. I was a Taang shipper, so I didn't pay much attention, but I remember hearing Zutarra fans being really excited only to be crushed a short time later. Certainly possible, here, though I think I have less confidence about it that you do.
You know, I've actually thought a lot about Zutara vs. Kataang while this has been going on. Although, I think Zutara had much more to go on than NH (knowing that the pairing was originally meant to be Zutara by the creators, the whole prince and the peasant trope, hatred turning to love, Zuko saying he wished Mei had more fire and passion (hinted like Katara), etc. etc.), I keep thinking back to the ''Southern Raiders" and then in the end when Zuko asks her to go with him to fight Azula, his saving Katara, then Katara healing Zuko...I really felt like that was directed completely at the Zutara fans.
They got a whole episode together and then in the end had waaaay more physical contact than Kataang ever got. So even thought Kataang ended as the final pairing, Zutara fans clearly had more eyecandy where their ship was concerned. It kind of sucked for Kataang fans actually — all they got was a kiss at the end. Like FMA, no real explanation of what transpired, just a confirmation.
I sincerely hope that NH/NS doesn't go this way. That NH is laid on thick and heavy, only to be switched to NS at the last moment. I don't want Sakura's development to take a backseat to Hinata's, just for the sake of Hinata being developed as a love interest and nothing more.
But it's funny you've mentioned AtlA, because I've thought about that often here.
If NS is going to be the final pairing, then unfortunately the sky is the limit on what can be done to the NH pairing...as long as there is no confirmation of their pairing status. That kind of tension is only good for the plot...and awful for the fans! It's torture, but it's true.
As for the next chapter, we could see more NH, or we could see a bait and switch where Obito suddenly targets Sakura (aiming to mortally wound Naruto), or we could see the whole focus of the manga shift to Sasuke for the next month or so. It's all up in the air now.
Not to be pessimistic, but I'm not expecting anything to be resolved next chapter. Now that Hinata's character has been bumped up to this level of importance, I think she's not just going to immediately fade away. I think she's here till the end. And I think we're not going to see much of anything from Sakura until that climactic end, unfortunately. (I'd be happy to be wrong though!

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I knew it was only a matter of time before a weak-minded, thin-skinned so-called NS fan made a meltdown thread. Take a pill of calm the f**k down and wait to see how this plays out. BUT if you want to jump ship, bye and don't let the door hit you on the way out. You were never a real fan in the first place.
I wasn't kidding. Personal targeting in posts results in official warning. End of story.