I think Hinata is an extremely incompetent ninja, but it's obvious that she didn't mean for Naruto to transform. Her actions could have caused Naruto's suicide, and I do blame her when I get really annoyed with her (like whenever I think about her too much, ugh), but her intention wasn't malicious. Blaming for her incompetence as a ninja, her selfishness, the fact that she was a bystander etc etc is all fine IMO, as long as she's not characterized as malicious.
+1
As I've said many times, Hinata is not my definition of a skilled or successful ninja. Not only does she possess just average or below average abilities, her chronic lack of confidence, fortitude, and shinobi instinct suggests she is a neutral addition at best, and a liability at worst.
But that's not really her fault. That is, by definition, her role in the story. She's the reflection character who is meant to represent weakness and failure, and who was inspired to try harder because of Naruto's nindo and leadership.
Like many others, I cannot personally connect with Hinata or her issues. As I've said a zillion times, I think she is a nice girl and means well, but I have difficulty feeling any true respect or admiration for her. And I certainly don't see her as the right match for Naruto. I can see no way that a relationship between them would be healthy or happy for either of them. No, no, no. No.
Does Hinata care about him, or his nindo?
I think it's both, but overall it's more about his nindo. I believe Hinata has romantic feelings for Naruto, but I would also like to believe that, deep down, she is realistic about them. As we've all said many times she doesn't actually know much of anything about Naruto or his life. She hasn't been around him to understand what really drives him, how he feels about Sakura and Sasuke, his parents, you name it.
Hinata understands that at one point early on Naruto was an underdog like her, someone judged for not being a very skilled ninja. But he always had her beat confidence-wise, and since those days he has left her in the dust skill-wise and experience-wise. It's as if he's a boy she had a crush on in grade school, who then went on to become a celebrity. She knows him but she doesn't understand the journey he's made from childhood to public figure.
I may be in the minority, but I believe that Kishimoto has been walking this line with Hinata's feelings all along. Although he had her think about Naruto's big, strong hand in #615, later (don't remember the chapter) he had her think about how holding his hand gave her confidence, and reminded her that she wanted to be strong enough and brave enough to walk beside him -- on his much stronger and more sophisticated ninja path -- for the rest of her life.
It's a combination of her feelings -- her idolization of Naruto from a distance, her gratitude for his attention and inspiration, her thankfulness that he changed her and the path of her life, her desire to be worthy of his example, her hope to reach his level and stay there, along with some girlish feelings of romantic interest. She loves him, as a person and as a role model, but I'm not convinced she's in love with him the way he is with Sakura.
The way I see it, the foundation of Hinata's feelings for Naruto were always less about romantic love than dependence, fascination, attachment, and worship. When you contrast the way Hinata's feelings for Naruto were introduced with the way Naruto's feelings for Sakura were introduced, or Sakura's feelings for Sasuke were introduced, you can see that the element of romantic love and attraction was never stated. Fainting around a boy does not mean you're in love with him; it speaks more of being overwhelmed by a lack of confidence and feeling intimidated.
Just my opinion.