Right. I'm going to address the "SS had a better chance than NS or was stronger than it in part one," argument. NS and SS were the same at the start of part one with an equal likelihood of happening. That is to say none. The two pairings 'mirrored' each other. How Sakura treated Naruto is how Sakura was treated by Sasuke.
Chapter 3: Sakura considered Naruto annoying for never leaving her alone so she could flirt with Sasuke. Sasuke thought Sakura was another annoying fangirl that won't leave him alone so he could train, but considered her personally annoying due to her orphan comments.
Before The Chunin exam. Sakura lecture Naruto that he shouldn't be trying to get a date with her and instead should train. Sasuke lectures Sakura that she should train instead of trying to get a date with him because she has fallen behind Naruto, the dead last of their class.
Both also have something that prevents their love interest from dating them, The Forehead Compliment and Sasuke's desire for revenge.
The difference between the two is that Naruto trains and slowly improves himself in the eyes of Sakura, Sakura does not.
So by the end of part one, Sakura see Naruto as a teammate and friend she can put her faith in; while Sasuke see Sakura as just a teammate he is more than willing to abandon any bond he has with her for power.
Part Two when Naruto returns to the village it is made very clear he has become quite handsome. To the point Sakura flirted and was swooning over him till the sexy jutsu improvements were brought up. Sasuke has stop caring about Sakura so he doesn't care about how beautiful she had become.
Afterwards Naruto and Sakura were able to spend time together and bond. The original plan for the story was for Kakashi during the final battle to ask Sakura to think who she really loves. Then she realize that she at some point had fallen in love with Naruto. The Forehead compliment truth is more to make it plain Sasuke never had those type of feelings for Sakura.