From this article here https://www.animenew...omic-con/.94186
Mari Morimoto:
So the fans wanted Naruto to get together with Sakura?
Well, there's definitely camps of fans who felt that way, and there were also those that were very happy he ended up with Hinata. But there were quite passionate opinions on both sides!
I almost caused a rift in my own household too, because my wife was very upset also that Naruto didn't get together with Sakura. In fact, she complained quite vehemently to me!
Jo Otsuki:
Quite few of the female staff at Studio Pierrot that produces the anime, apparently were also upset.
Whoah. So how did you handle that, especially with your wife?
I tried to defuse the situation by assuring my wife that SHE was actually the model for Hinata. (laughs)
As you were saying that, I thought, I wonder if your family life was more like Hinata and Naruto's family or Sasuke and Sakura's? (everyone laughs)
Masashi Kishiimoto: Well it might not actually be like either. My wife is quite strong as well, she's a strong character.
Oh, so kind of like Sakura!
So I think my wife might secretly realize that Hinata wasn't really the model for her (laughs)
Ah yes, I remember reading this article back in 2015.
The interview that ends all Kishimotos interviews. His career as a mangaka pretty much went downhill from that point onwards. I suppose hes already wealthy enough and he can retire.
You can tell that hes trying hard to do damage control. They knew theyre loosing a segment of the customer with the ending. They just dont know the magnitude of killing NS (more than ~95% manga sales drop if we go by the stats).
Fast forward, Naruto franchise is not even in top 50 annual sales. His new manga barely sold 10k copies per volume and was cancelled at volume 5. Hes forced to return to Boruto, and took it over from the previous writer, only to have its sales continue declining.