Note really on the pairing side of things, but apparently Kishi said this just recently:
In the interview, Kishimoto stated that Naruto's journey to become a Hokage is much like his own journey to become a manga artist.
“I was unable to do well in school and felt a strong sense of inferiority,” he said. “When Naruto said, 'I will be Hokage,' people surrounding him laughed at his dream. Since childhood, I also told others that I would be a manga artist but had no foundation."
Reflecting on his series' journey, Kishimoto thinks he broke new ground with the story's approach to conflict. The series' protagonist did not always resort to brute force to defeat his enemies.
"Boys' comics inevitably feature violent scenes. But I wanted to tell (readers) that enemies who resort to violence probably do so because of unavoidable reasons,” Kishimoto said. “And if (the protagonists) defeat them without understanding their motivation, it could end up leading to a repeat of the same thing.”
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Those are things he said in the interview.
Link incase anyone wanted to check it out: http://www.animenews...-formula/.80958
I doubt Indra fought his brother Ashura and started the cycle of hatred for unavoidable reasons though. . .