deafdrum

This is what makes the most sense to me at this point as to the status of the pairings: Sakura has feelings for Naruto, but lingering feelings for Sasuke. This is where things start getting a little dicey for me though.

So far, Naruto has not taken a proactive step toward developing a romantic relationship with Sakura since he asked her out on a date way back at the beginning of Part II, and even that could be considered a platonic gesture, given what occurred in Part I. In my mind, he made the decision to step aside when he witnesses Sakura hugging Sasuke after he got traumatized by Itachi at the hotel (seriously, that sad smile he gives speaks so many words). And thus far, he’s held himself to that, even to the point of rejecting her “confession.” True, he wants to save Sasuke for his own reasons which contributed to his decision to reject her, but he still thinks back to all those times Sakura spoke of Sasuke and how deep her feelings for him were. Thus, it is evident that Sakura’s happiness is a part of it too.

The irony of all this is not lost on me. For so long, we have been talking about and waiting for Sakura to come around and to finally realize that Naruto is the guy she’s always wanted—the guy she always wished Sasuke would be. We watched her take small steps progressing from tolerance, to respect, to admiration, to friendship, to caring deeply for him. But as we near the end, I realize that it is not so much Sakura, but Naruto who must provide the necessary reaction to canonize the pairing. We know his feelings for her, but something must change if he is to act on them. So ultimately, we are left with a question: what can possibly happen to cause Naruto to pull the trigger? It is true that Sakura still has a little ways to go as well; she must make it clear that she has genuinely put her feelings for Sasuke to the side in order for her to have a solid relationship with Naruto, but it must be done in a way that Naruto can accept without believing that she still wants to be with Sasuke.

Honestly, I have a hard time seeing this happen without Sasuke removed from the equation completely, i.e. dying. If he is somehow redeemed and lives, that would seem to strengthen Sakura’s feelings for him, since she would once again be able to justify them to herself (then again, some manga have a theme of “love needs no justification; it simply exists”).

I’m wondering if Naruto might be influenced in this current arc through Obito’s history. As we have seen from the flashbacks and from Kakashi Gaiden, Obito never confessed to Rin because he was so concerned about her feelings for Kakashi. True, he hasn’t really revealed his feelings about it out loud for Naruto to hear since he’s in the middle of carrying out his plan to destroy the world, but this may be something we hear about later.

Is it possible that through the events that are currently transpiring, Naruto could be prompted to confess to Sakura? He’s spent this whole time thinking solely of others’ needs and feelings, but maybe it’s time he finally did something just a little selfish. What would the impact be if he came to Sakura at the end and told her, “Look, I know you still have feelings for Sasuke, but I still want you to know that I love you and I want to always be by your side.” To me, this just might be powerful enough of a statement to turn the tables solidly into his favor.