Haven't been on here in a while but I recently got back into Naruto bc I've been building a NAruto DnD campaign for my friends.
I sincerely doubt that Kishimoto really is so terrible at romance that he could rush NH the way he did. He wrote Mina/Kushi, Sai/Ino, Shika/Temari, Asuma/Kurenai, Jiraiya/Tsunade, etc. The fact that the majority of these are acknowledged as solid romances shows that Kishimoto understands it. And keep in mind that some of these were formed after Yahagi, the best editor, left. Several serious NaruSaku moments also happened after Yahagi left.
One of the things I despise about the Japanese fanbase is their love of SasuSaku. I just don't get it, sure maybe the fan girls go gaga for the bad boy, but SasuSaku has literally as many panels as Naruhina, and certainly nothing close to NaruSaku.
Imo it was a last minute choice based on the perception of NaruHina's popularity and SasuSaku's actual popularity in Japan, which is actually read as Sasuke + Insert Japanese Fangirl here. It's clear that Kishimoto tried, albeit stupidly, to improve Sakura's popularity. He claimed he was trying to make her look more pretty, and later on he tried to give her a last minute powerup through the POwer Seal, Katsuyu, and outright stating that she was on Naruto and Sasuke's level, or that she had caught up. But eventually he got the order, realized it was too late to build Sakura up, and said f it then threw her into the mud and tossed Hinata her unowned crown. Unfortunately for him now everyone wants Naruto and especially Boruto gone. Double4Anime and Forneverworld who went to the Last premier together currently hate eachother. Sawyer has disappeared like a fart in the wind. The only Naruto focused project, Shinobi Strikers, has died down pretty quickly and one search of the Boruto animated series on Youtube will draw hundreds of videos complaining about it.
I used to think that the greatest tragedy of Naruto was that NaruSaku had died. Then I thought it was that the fanbase which had loved it had turned against it, even part1 and the beginning of part 2. I always hated Sasuke's character, but after a couple years I have come to understand that he actually made a great amount of sense. Now though, I realize that Naruto has a lot of good in it even though it ended poorly, and the greatest thing about it is the lesson it gives. I am now writing my own series, having created my own world with its own characters, and I will carry my experience with Naruto close to the chest for it has much to teach. I will always enjoy Naruto, I will never enjoy Boruto and I thank Kishimoto for providing a truly unique and interesting world.