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I am a staunch NaruSaku supporter, and will often debate with other people over at NarutoBase in support of this pairing (and Sakura herself). I just want to get other people's opinions.
Although most of the "arguments" given by NaruHina fans are easily countered and horribly biased at best, the following reasons are some of the few that actually made me think.
For a couple of these, I already have responses floating around in my head, but I really would like to get a good idea of what you guys think and how you would respond so that I can better reinforce my perspective in the future.
Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!
1) Hinata's Interference during the Pain fight
Us NaruSaku fans like to argue that Hinata's attempted "rescue" of Naruto was a selfish and pointless act- that it did nothing but cause further distress for Naruto and show just how little Hinata truly understands his desires.
A different point of view, however:
Do you not think that the fight had gone beyond the point of interference? He was pinned and unable to move, and moments from being... captured/killed/unsure-but-bad-things. Hinata admitted, largely, to being selfish (because she knew she would be unlikely to be able to save him).
Naruto had, seemingly, already given in to the idea that he would end up being captured - but still have largely succeeded in protecting his friends (assuming Pain simply left). It was also implied that he was at the limits of his Nindo (without relying on the fox and endangering his friends).
Hinata's Nindo overlapped and conflicted somewhat with his. Naruto's desire to not have his friends interfere was ultimately a desire for the same thing that was about to happen in chapter 615. Hinata was not about to give up on herself, or on Naruto - and decided that it was time to act regardless of the odds and consequences be damned. ~Aim64C of NB
2) Hinata understands Naruto more than Sakura ever could
Credit to Chatte for posing this question back then:
"Please explain how Hinata understands Naruto's bond with Sasuke, how she understands his loneliness, how she understands his complexes, how she understands that he needs to be cared for from time to time, how she understands his sensei's death."
The response:
She had a cousin who hated her existence - a father who considered her useless and turned her over to Kurenai as a lost cause. She's spent a considerable portion of her life merely wanting to be recognized as valid.
As for Sasuke - she's chased after Naruto and held a torch for Naruto for some time - while that's understanding on a tangent - it's something for her to empathize with. Though true empathy is, to some degree, understanding that there can only be so much empathy - so much understanding. She's also lost Neji - who was something of a brother, but a slightly different context than Naruto with Sasuke (though she did have to deal with Neji being caught up in revenge).
Losing a Sensei... well, she's currently lost Neji - who, if I remember correctly, is stated to have been training her. Again - something of a tangent and not exact. Though, for Naruto losing his sensei was less of losing a teacher and more of him losing a father (after not having one). Hinata was thrown to Kurenai by her father with the parting words of: "Don't care, she's useless to me."
There are small parallels that can give hinges for empathy. But, as I said - empathy is also understanding that you can never be the other person or completely experience their pain.
If Sakura understood Naruto better, then why was Sakura unable to reach through to Naruto's walls of "I don't deserve..." that Hinata so effortlessly shattered?
The answer is simple: Sakura doesn't really see that the wall exists. She hasn't been lonely - not like Naruto has. She's never felt the isolation of no one wanting you. The only thing she really empathizes strongly with Naruto is her feelings of loss over Sasuke... and even then - Sasuke was, quite literally, a brother to Naruto (or the only thing he could begin to identify as a brother). He was a friend and eye-candy to Sakura. ~Aim64C
3) Yamato himself was enraged at Sakura for her fake confession
We like to cite Yamato's line at the Heaven and Earth bridge as proof that Sakura possibly loves Naruto.
However, his reaction during Sakura's confession was one of suspicion and anger. If this doesn't almost retcon his line from before, it at the very least shows that he could tell Sakura was lying about loving Naruto at that moment.
4) Sai acknowledges Sakura loves Sasuke
We use Sai's flashback as proof of Naruto's love for Sakura. But after the fake confession, while Sai is revealing Sakura's true intentions for confessing to Naruto, he states that because of Sakura's love for Sasuke, she plans to kill him herself to make sure Sasuke doesn't sink any lower on the path of darkness. She may have Naruto's feelings at heart, but her main motivation remains to be Sasuke himself.
As to an analysis of Sakura herself:
While Sakura was awesome indeed during the Kazekage Rescue Arc, she has regressed horribly since then:
-Despite having specifically trained in evasion as a medic, one of the first things she does at the Heaven and Earth bridge is get knocked out and depend on Yamato to rescue her. When she awakes, she then runs crying towards Naruto, who is in his Four-Tails form. This serves as a reminder of her past role as a useless damsel in distress who simply serves to bring drama into a situation.
-The same thing happens in their first encounter with Sasuke, where she is the first one to get knocked out, and stays out of action for the rest of the confrontation.
-After the destruction of Konoha by Pain, she is the one who screams out helplessly for Naruto, again fulfilling her role as a person on the sidelines simply used to add dramatic flair to a situation
-During the second Team 7 confrontation, she puts herself in a damsel in distress situation as Sasuke is about to drive a Chidori through her chest. It's up to Kakashi to come and save her.
Later on in the fight the same exact thing happens again: she idiotically puts herself in danger and Naruto has to come to her rescue at the very last second.
-Despite being the one to uncover the plot involving White Zetsu, Sakura herself is tricked the next day by the Zetsus in disguise, and once again, Naruto must come rescue her from her damsel in distress role.
Really, it's as if Kishi dedicated an arc to her character development, then as soon as it was it was over let her return to the way she was for majority of Part 1: a useless damsel in distress. In this sense, she is not deserving of her title as the apparent "heroine" of the series.
How would you personally counter some of these arguments? Or are they legitimate reasons as to why NaruHina is the better pairing and why Sakura makes a bad heroine?
*edited the title, hopefully it sounds a lot tamer now. Sorry about that
