we are already toward the end of the manga :o
How do you know we're toward the end of the manga? You're making an awfully big assumption that the war will conclude everything.
As I've said in other threads, it follows to me that (thematically) there should be a part 3. Part 1 was introducing Naruto, the world of Naruto, and the major conflicts; part 2 is making Naruto into a powerful ninja and gaining him the respect of his fellow villagers; part 3 should be about Naruto learning how to be and being a leader, and not just a warrior, so he can fulfill that "hokage greater than all the hokage" pledge.