Its funny, because even though I STILL did not get a chance to start writing this epic I have in mind, its still in my head. I'm feel like Masashi at the moment. I have a beginning, a middle and an end but I'm still processing the in-between. But anyway, but after that, it will lead to a full fleshed reboot. Tricksie, you just mentioned the following girls, Fu (jinchuriki) and Samui, the girls I felt that needed spotlight they deserved instead of the Sasuke dominant-spotlight and Hinata worshiping. Fu is the girl I want to bring back because her design was interesting. I'm mad that Masashi did not get a chance to have her shine because she has legitimacy to be an intriguing character to the audience. Samui reminded me of Android 18, expression-wise, but she can work as well, in designs and abilities. I'm disappointed that Masashi didn't push her as the next Oppai like Tsunade because he did had some time to work on it (but then again, he had those Hinata-fans behind the scenes as his editors and Pierrot).
I don't know when I will work on the epic. I'm still in brainstorming mode, especially with character interactions, an important OC and her role, the villain (need to think of a design still, got the personality and goals though), the dynamics and story progression, and (I'll have to admit this), where the hell Boruto and the spawns/BS storyline currently active, fit into this. But the themes are done.
Yeah, writing is hard like that. It's like making a giant dot-to-dot picture. Where some of the dots are big and easy to see, and some of them haven't even been drawn in yet. In writing, some scenes are there in blazing color, while other in-between scenes just haven't materialized yet...and you are somehow supposed to connect all those dots to make an image/story that other people can actually recognize and understand!! Sometimes writing the big stuff down makes the little stuff fill in faster. But I feel ya. It's hard.
And once you start writing in the Narutoverse, you realize just how lacking of characters there are. Only a few get real plot lines. So it makes it difficult to expand a universe when you realize that they may be ninjas...but the threats are super-localized to the main characters. We're told the rest of the nins go out and have strife with other nations, but we'ver never shown it. In Naruto, it's all defeat the big bad, and you win the world! lol. In writing this, I've found that creating other character interactions — like your new villain — was much more important that I ever thought. And that all takes time to develop. Keep at it! I think the fan works are so much better than the original manga!
As for Fu and Samui....yes, yes, yes. So much more there. I was so excited to see new and interesting female characters, just to have them killed (Fu) or forgotten about (Samui). And wasn't there was an image in the manga of Tsunade and Konan staring each other down? And the anime with Sakura punching Konan in one of the openings? Really seemed like there was going to be some interaction there. A new story arc for either Tsunade or Sakura. But, uh...no. So much lost potential with those characters.
Funny thing is that, given how Fu is described in profiles and what little she was able to say in the manga, she actually seems like someone who would probably very quickly be great friends with Naruto, which is a very good foundation to eventually build up into a romantic relationship. Not to mention that, as a fellow, Jinchuriki, she would, like Naruto was with Gaara, know and understand precisely the kind of life he lived whereas Hinatatas to this day most likely has zero idea, much less understanding, and even Sakura wouldn't completely get.
So, in one of my fics, I have a Naruto/Fu pairing for a little while. What would it be like if Naruto got to be with someone like himself? Would they hit it off, or knock heads? Would they work out well together or get sick of each other? Or be ultra competitive? (In my fic, he and Fu really hit it off, but ultimately the experience ends up maturing Naruto because he gets to see his own boisterous personality from the outside.) And you're exactly right - Naruto would likely gravitate toward another life-of-the-party like him. Not a wallflower like Hinata.
Obviously, I feel the only reason Hinata was settled on is Studio Pierrot majorly and likely his editors at Shueisha, as well as a lot of the fans in America, with Studio Pierrot's bias against Sakura being evident, they felt as it was that Kishimoto wouldn't care if he adjusted his whole damn story to fit their own interests, only for their plan to try to manipulate what Naruto as a series is all about backfiring spectacularly because of their assumption everyone was gonna enjoy the ending they wanted.
But nope! What we got was a huge mess that contradicts canon, turns Naruto into the worst scumbag as Japanese fans have called him, made Sakura into a horrible woman who never seemed to love Naruto at all even after all she was shown and all she had done for him up until the ending, and other things.
And as said earlier, it's why we see whenever Naruto has appeared, he's in his Ninja War design and with his powers as they are from the fight with Kaguya. It's the case I've seen a lot of times, and even games like Naruto x Boruto focus so much on old school Naruto, yet they don't address the reasons besides the ending of Naruto that Boruto: Naruto Next Generations isn't popular; it is also heavily due to how bratty Boruto is, even if Naruto doesn't help it because of the fact it feels like since his "family" has cost him so much in a lot of ways, like Himawari's temper tantrum at Boruto accidentally ripping her teddy bear during Naruto's inauguration leading her to Gentle Fist him out cold for the WHOLE THING. But that's just speculation on my fault that he's using work as an excuse to avoid his family.
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. To all of it. I think they gave in and picked the fans they had the most hope of making profit off of in the future. NH won. And Naruto, in the end, became a parody of everything he wanted to be in the beginning. And Boruto's attitude makes no sense, whereas Naruto's when he was a kid did. But then again, the pairings, their personalities and actions...none of it makes any sense anymore. We're just stuck with it.