Bail o' Lies

Ah the home stretch and its cooler out.

Whether it's NS, SS, or NH, it doesn't matter. Naruto is not a shoujo manga. It's a shonen manga with a primary focus on fights, villains and plot. The pairings were just secondary plots that shipping fans gave too much importance due to the drama Kishimoto created and pairings wars inside the Fandom.

 

But whether you like it or not, Sasuke is the second main character of the manga. More than half of the manga and its arcs revolve around him and the Uchiha clan. He was Sakura's first love and the one she ended up with. He was also the main link that brought Sakura and Naruto together in Part 2 and the central theme of their interactions.

 

That's why I created this topic to discuss what a Part 2 for Sakura and Naruto would be like with Sasuke  in the village and without any major drama surrounding him like in Part 1. 

Ah you remembered that Naruto was a shounen manga and not a Shoujo...Wonder how long that will last?

The overfocus is because the Uchiha clan was one of the few elements Kishimoto developed early on. When he got into the later parts of the manga where he wasn't allowed to slow down because the anime was constantly at his heels. So he increasingly made it more and more important both because of a lack of other stories to work with and to justify the eternal chase after Sasuke.

Why that line sound very familiar to me. In fact, it sound like the general warning I gave after you got into a fight over SS with Blue in my Boruto Nicknames topic. As the person that has been the most on topic in this discussion. i find it very rude that you are lording over the members within the first page. Anyways your topic isn't about just about what NS would be like if Sasuke was in the village for part two. For one, you pretty much imply you don't believe they had any friendship at all unless Sasuke was gone, having no bond in part one, and only having a bond about Sasuke in part two. Which anyone who had any understanding of Naruto would have to disagree with. Two, you asked them various scenarios and the likelihood of SS happening in those. Which I am the only one, as far as I can tell, who has even tried to go through those. Hell, I have been going over you posts when I had time over the weekend to see what you are even going on about in this discussion.

Sasuke also had a tragic past marked by the Uchiha clan massacre. Additionally, characters like Itachi, Madara, and Orochimaru constantly manipulated him, trying to sway him down the wrong path. These events played a crucial role in Sasuke's departure from Team 7, the ensuing drama and his descent into "darkness" of Part 2.

 

The issue is that you want a Sasuke who pines for Sakura or openly asks her out on dates like Naruto. He's a character with a completely opposite personality. That will never happen.  However, in Part 1, it was clear that Sasuke cared about Sakura deeply, even to the point of being willing to die to save her. This was before the drama with the Uchihas unfolded and he left the village. Additionally, she had a level of influence over him, as seen when she helped break the cursed seal with her hug.

 

Even if less important characters could change after Naruto TnJ , it was naive to believe that Sasuke would never return, find a new purpose, or acknowledge Sakura in the end.  "SasuSaku" was never dead until Sakura moved on from Sasuke. Sasuke had already demonstrated his capacity for a complete turnaround without any Naruto TnJ. His decision to abandon his plan to destroy the village and instead fight in the war to protect it as clear evidence of this.

Sasuke also did nearly die to save Naruto from Haku's attack. Are you saying he was in love with Naruto then? Hell it was instinctual when he did it for Naruto. So, based on that is he more in love with Naruto or Sakura? He at least talks to and spends time with Naruto. Again, Sasuke did care for Sakura like he care for Naruto, but he ended his bond with Sakura when he left the village. And he made it clear he never loved her.

Though granted, you kind of made it clear you will ignore anything Sasuke says or feels when it doesn't suit your narrative. You don't care what he says, how he feels, what he thinks, what he wants, or even who he loves. He just a big sexy dreamy bad boy you can fix and anything to the contrary? He better shut his mouth.

Wait wasn't the TnJ and the eternal chase just Kishimoto trolling or something to you or something? It so hard to remember when and when not Kishimoto is trolling according to your standards. 

If he didn't like it, Kishimoto had the pen and the authority to avoid making them official and stopping emphasizing Sakura's feelings altogether. The idea that Kishimoto was forced to do anything by the shipping fandom or editors is absurd. As the creator and owner of the franchise, he had complete creative control over everything in his manga, including secondary plots pairings. Especially at the end of the manga when Kishimoto was doing whatever he wanted. Or did some editor forced Kishimoto to make Kaguya?   Madara was much more popular than her . 

  

Sasuke ultimately accepted Sakura's feelings, while Rin ended up dead by Kakashi's hand, leaving Kakashi filled with guilt and resentment.  Kakashi could have easily dismissed Sakura's love as childish and foolissh and emphasized Naruto's loves for Sakura at this moment like he did with Rin. But he never did. Furthermore, Kakashi defended Sakura's feelings for Sasuke when she confessed for the second time, arguing that Sasuke was wrong to reject them.

 

While there are parallels between Team 7 and other characters, fundamental differences prevent them from being mere clones.  Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura  has their own unique identities. Additionally, there's no Hinata's equivalent in the other teams and neither Kushina and Minato have any ""Sasuke"" in their life.

 

Theoretically, Sakura surpassed Rin. She didn't die and won the love of her teammate. Naruto surpassed Obito. He didn't become a simp obsessed with a girl for his entire life and achieved his dream of becoming Hokage.

 

Sakura surpassed Tsunade. She didn't lose any loved ones and managed to save Sasuke and Naruto, unlike Tsunade who lost Dan and Nawaki. Naruto surpassed Jiraiya. He managed to save his friend and became Hokage.

 

It was never stated that the only important aspect of the parallels was Naruto simply winning Sakura's love. It's not like Naruto gives this the same importance to that as he does to Sasuke or his dream of becoming Hokage. He never said:  "How I can become Hokage without Sakura-Chan as my wife?"  But he did say he couldn't be Hokage without Sasuke back.

 

The POAL, which was once was  requirement for Naruto to confess his feelings to Sakura, was simply disregarded when Sakura "confessed". Instead, Naruto declared his unwavering resolve to save Sasuke, regardless of Sakura's approval.

You seem to underestimate the power of corporations. They order Kishimoto to do something and he does it or he loses money to feed his family. By the time of the ending Naruto stop mattering as the only thing that mattered was setting up the sequel Boruto. Eventually, there was a point he wasn't allowed to say no because there was too much money put into the Next Generation project. 

Its strange you hate Ikemoto so much when he is the primary reason SS happened.

Kaguya was to make the Hyuuga's more important to the plot and introduce the second sage who was the ancestor the the Hyuuga clan. To justify Hinata becoming the Heroine, and to replace the branch seal plot that died with Neji. As well as connect the story to the Last's plot.

The same logic can be applied to both SS and NH. Why did Kishimoto make Hinata confess her love for Naruto and kill Neji if he didn't have plans for NH? Why did Kishimoto make Sakura admits that she still loved  Sasuke in chapter 540, have her declare her love so many times throughout the series?

 

The Last began it's production in 2012. So, by then, Kishimoto had already decided the main couples.  Probably, he just threw the Kushina/Sakura  to keep the NaruSaku fandom interested in the manga until the end, prolonging the dramas or pairing wars between SS/NH/NS until the last chapter. 

 

Not that I agree with this stupid logic of deceiving a portion of the manga readers. But he himself admitted to using it as a form of trolling and red herrings in a interview later.

His new editor during the Pein arc was a nH fan and wanted her to replace Hinata. For Neji death, Derock says that one anime staff member literally wouldn't stop whining about how much he hated Neji and demanding Kishimoto kill him. 540 was the Iwa ninja who gave her a love letter for healing him, her turning him down, and he praises the guy she likes. She then has a negative look on her face when she thinks of Sasuke. The readers was not suppose to take that as a good thing, but well people like you did.

Was the Last always intended to be canon? Or was it originally going to be another anime movie till Kishimoto decided he was going to end his cash cow manga, and various companies came up with ideas how to keep it going so they can make money from it?

You be surprised what people will say to get their paychecks. Mark Hamill didn't like The Last Jedi and thought he wasn't even playing Luke Skywalker. Fans who didn't like the movie use his statements for support. Mark Hamill stop making statements critical of Star Wars. Kishimoto interviews after the ending convince fans the ending was last minute change so they leave. Kishimoto starts giving interviews where nH/SS was the plan along. Quite the quandary isn't it?

I've always disagreed with this  argument that Sakura's role as a main female hinges on her ending up with Naruto.

Sakura's prominence throughout the manga and her significance as Team 7's member solidify her place as a main female of the franchise, regardless of whether she ended up alone or married to any random character.

 

Sakura remained far more important than Hinata until the final chapter of the manga written by Kishimoto.

I cannot recall Hinata having any significant role in the war aside from holding Naruto's hand and constantly mentioning his name like a robot.

• It was Sakura who unraveled White Zetsu's plan. 
• Sakura received the Byakugou and healed the entire Ninja Alliance, surpassing Tsunade. 
• Sakura saved Naruto while Hinata tripped over a rock. 
• Sakura saved Sasuke and played a crucial role against Kaguya while Hinata remained trapped alongside the other secondary characters. 
• Sakura received her character conclusion in the final volume and chapter of the manga. 
• Sakura had a Gaiden dedicated to her daughter in the manga and later saved Sasuke, Naruto, and Sarada from a powerfull enemy.
• To this day, Sakura receives far more novels, merchandise, and official events than Hinata.

 

At most, Hinata was the heroine of The Last. In the Boruto manga in trash anyway and her presence is practically nonexisten

If popularity were a criterion for defining the manga's heroine, Sakura crushed Hinata in the last popularity poll. Hinata did not become the heroine nor did she become more popular for ending up as Naruto's housewife.

You can be as upset of it as much as you want. But that was Sakura's role and when she lost that she lost most of her relevance to the plot. She went from either the second or third most important character in the story to non-existent. Neither facts nor the truth rest solely on your approval of them.

They thought she was unpopular and could be replaced. It backfired. And that poll last years showed that to everyone.

Around 70% of the fandom was focused on power levels and the plot. Meanwhile, pairing fans were constantly discussing their parallels, pairings, getting embroiled in shipping wars and mocking rival fans on Tumblr, blowing things out of proportion.

 

For example, I've even encountered many NaruSaku Shippers who believe Naruto failed completely as a character because he 'lost' Sakura and moved on.    

 

Maybe if these fans had dedicated themselves more to the actual manga plot instead of talking about ship wars and pairings all the time, the shock and rage wouldn't have been so great for the losing side. Inevitably, in a love triangle dragged out for so long, some part of the fandom will feel like losers, whether they were SS, NH, or NS fans.

 

 

Anyway, this isn't exclusive to Kishimoto or Naruto manga. Ichigo and Rukia fans were outraged that Ichigo ended up with Orihime. Even today, there are shipping wars in the Avatar fandom, with Zutara and KataAang fans insulting each other and Zutara fans refusing to accept the canon.

Yet the pairing debates are what make the Naruto fanbase infamous and notoriously toxic that it puts off potential new fans. Don't worry most of the blame from what I have seen and heard falls largely on the nH fans, before the ending. Then when nH/SS happened. Instead of peacefully enjoying their victory. They both started fighting each other and chasing every other faction off.

Well lets see before the ending when Naruto loved Sakura he was successfully working towards his goal. After the ending he is a failure at everything he accomplishes. So it natural to think when they only difference he was no longer with Sakura and the only goal her failed to achieve before the ending was getting together with her. Maybe if he had gotten with her the sequel and everything else would be better.

One thing I learned after 700 chapters of Naruto and 6 years following the manga  It's that there's one thing Kishimoto loves more than trolling and drama. Those are plot twists, no matter how surprising or poorly done, especially after a Talk no Jutsu from Naruto. A discerning reader will readily identify the recurring pattern.

Oh that old chestnut. Right for people that might not know or forgotten. Both Oda and Kubo had online accounts and used to tease and troll their fans. So people assumed Kishimoto must be the same and used that to explain any storyline or plot development they didn't like. Hinata wasn't the heroine having non-stop sex scenes with Naruto every chapter was because Kishimoto was trolling them. Sakura didn't fight was because Kishimoto was trolling them. The story is generic because Kishimoto is trolling them. NS was just one big long troll by Kishimoto he spent most of the manga developing that pairing to the point of almost completely ignoring the others beyond making them look bad because he was planning a 15 year long joke.

This of course ignores the fact that one, outside of events like Jumpfesta he never interacts with fans. I don't think he even has any social media accounts. Two, the interviews he gives never come off as him enjoying his 15 year long joke but a guy that gave into pressure and wondered if he did the right thing. Well, till he threw up his hands and stopped caring. Also the simple question. If Kishimoto is some great genius artist that was half-assing Naruto for a joke, Why did Samurai 8 flop!?

6 Years? Its been 10. Were you in a coma for 4 years? Are you alright? Comas that long have been know to be cause by or result in severe brain damage.

One thing I learned after 700 chapters of Naruto and 6 years following the manga  It's that there's one thing Kishimoto loves more than trolling and drama. Those are plot twists, no matter how surprising or poorly done, especially after a Talk no Jutsu from Naruto. A discerning reader will readily identify the recurring pattern.

 

Zabuza saying he didn't care about Haku and he didn't mean nothing to him, but after a Talk no Jutsu, he went on to love him. 

 

Gaara, hated by the village and killing everyone, then became the Kazekage after a Talk no Jutsu. 

 

Nagato reviving the entire village after Naruto's TnJ.

 

Itachi, a psychopath who killed the clan in front of his brother and tortured him to the limits of insanity, becomes a martyr and a loving brother after his death.

 

Kishimoto wouldn't throw in a second declaration of love for Sakura in the last volume of the manga for nothing. Everyone, including NaruSaku fans, should be aware of the possibility of Sasuke's 180-degree shift in relation to Sakura and the potential for repressed feelings to be shown after his fight against Naruto and Naruto's Talk no Jutsu.

Look, sometimes blue curtains in a story is just some blue curtains.

Naruto is a standard Shounen manga with standard moralities and tropes. Its not uncommon for Japanese stories to teach Japanese kids that they just need to understand their opponents and talk to them to make peace with them.

As for 693 I could try to explain that was likely Kishimoto showing how much he didn't like the pairing and didn't want to go through with it, but you won't believe it. Wait. Wait. You think Kishimoto is just a big troll and any issues with the manga are him trolling right? Well there is your answer. He is trolling the SS fans. Think about it. Why would such a great troll stop at a mere 15 years long joke? When he can make one that last an eternity that he could laugh at the entire time, including those 15 years? That why SS has no positive development even after they got together. He made a pairing with no positive elements beyond how hot the guy is. Just to watch pathetic women desperate for some hot fantasy that will never happen to them in real life try to justify it and laugh at their excuses. Now, isn't that what a Great Troll like Kishimoto would do? 

I  consider only the Boruto manga non canon because it wasn't written, illustrated and even  Kishimoto's supervision hasn't been confirmed yet.

 

Regardless of the theory – whether Kishimoto always had everything planned out or if he changed his mind due to some editorial influence – the fact remains that he written and illustrated everything in the original Naruto manga.    Therefore, everything written in those chapters should be taken into account.

He handed it off to Ikemoto and hasn't taken it back despite it failings. It is canon for now and it happened because of nH/SS. Its failing are in part those pairing fault.

"Whatever Kishimoto makes is canon." Just not the thing you personally disagree with it seems. Or when its "who cares my pairing is canon."

Kishimoto should at least have shown a flashback to this scene at some point during 700 + 10 chapters  to demonstrate how iconic this moment was for Sakura. However, this never happened.

He was writing for a Japanese audience not an American one, where you have to beat a point every second in hopes they may get it. They rarely do. Hell, you ignore all the times Sasuke made clear he doesn't like Sakura.

I'm getting annoyed at all the pictures and having to keep requoting.

The Confession at the end of part one was suppose to be the end of SS. To show her love means nothing to Sasuke and he is ending his bond with her. Saying 'thank you' to a confession is a polite way of decline it in Japan. The reason confessions are a big thing in Japanese stories is they believe confession must be accepted or rejected on the spot. To not do so is considered very rude, and when you reject you do it politely by saying, "thank you."  It is not kishimoto's fault some fans refused to accept that and wanted them together. Went over the second enough times already on this thread alone.

"So, Sakura shouldn't get with Naruto out of guilt for how she treated him (agreed,) but Sasuke should get together with Sakura out of guilt for how he treated her?" That about sum up your stance on the pairings?

If SasuSaku happens in part 1 or early part 2, then yeah I can imagine NaruSaku wouldn't develop much of a bond. We can see their bond is non-existent post the ending and in Boruto as evidence for that.

Their connection and friendship for much of the series was on getting Sasuke back and as soon as Sasuke was back, they don't act much more than acquaintances. That's why I always thought the brother/sister arguments were weak arguments. I don't see one moment of them acting like best friends or brother/sister in Boruto.

Once you remove any notion of romance for Naruto and Sakura, then there is basically nothing left for their relationship for ikemoto or kishimoto to write about.

That's because executive/editorial mandate made it so they no longer had a bond. As Naruto and Sakura had gotten so close they would come off as more of a couple than the pairings that actually happen. Sakura was no longer a main character and was all but cut out of Team 7. Her only role of importance now is to be the mother of Sarada and she is only important as she is the most likely love interest of Boruto.

Which also weakens the IPs story. As restoring Team 7 was a major plot line in part two of Naruto if not the most important. Why should anyone care about the story if when they accomplish this goal the bond of team 7 ceases to exist?

It's true that Sasuke didn't give a damn about any fangirl, like Ino.

The conviviality on Team 7 played a key role in making Sakura stand out.

Eventually, Sasuke came to consider her an dear person to him and want to protect her.

Meanwhile, Sasuke made it clear Naruto became his best friend. Sakura's importance to him, however, remained open-ended. Was she just another best friend?

 

I'm not saying Sasuke will ask her out. never.

But it's possible that eventually, he will come to accept her feelings, if she were to grow even more in importance to him.

 

Just like he had no problem accepting her romantically at the end of the manga when he stopped to being obsessed about revenge and let his past go...

 What made her stand out from just another fangirl was chapter three where she disgusted him on a personal level with her comment on orphans.

"Sasuke saw Naruto as his best friend so he must have saw Sakura as his girlfriend." You are making an assumption and an assertion that is not supported anywhere in the manga.

Lets go to Sasuke leaving the village where Sakura pours her heart out and Sasuke make it clear how he feels about her.

To sum it up:

Sasuke: "I am leaving the village and abandoning everything for the sake of power so i can avenge my clan as that is most important to me."

Sakura: "Please stay out of the love you bear for me, remember when you complimented my forehead."

Sasuke: "I don't know what you are talking about, I don't love you, I see you as a teammate, and I am ending that bond here. Bye"

I talk about this last year in comparison to what they did with Nail. So I don't mind explaining it again. The tragedy of Sasuke leaving the village is that each of his teammates had the chance and could have convince him to remain in the village, but only Naruto was able to reach him at the point he had come too far to go back.

Sakura did have the chance to convince Sasuke as much as the rest of her teammates but the conversation showed how much the Forehead Compliment while it was prevented NS also damaged SS far worse. As Sakura always had a misunderstanding that Sasuke always had feelings towards her. So she never really got to know him or bond with him. So she tried to convince him with a love that wasn't there instead of any friendship that might have formed. Also as shown in 693, Sasuke picked up on the fact that Sakura had always assumed Sasuke had feelings for her when he never gave any indication of that in his mind, leading to a major factor in him disliking her and thinking she was delusional.

I don't think this is relevant. Sakura had several opportunities to ask about this moment, but never brought it up to Sasuke throughout Part 1.

 

When Sasuke left and she tried to stop him, it was the perfect chance to question him about the Forehead scene. But she remembers the later moment when he called her annoying because of her comment about loneliness.

 

When Sasuke returned, Sakura could have questioned him about this moment. But she preferred to ask if she could go with him. This led to the Forehead poke, which ironically, touched at the point of Sakura's insecurity.

 

And again, Sakura didn't relate or even remember the fake Sasuke complimenting her forehead at Chapter 3.

She did bring it up. He said he didn't remember. So she dropped it.

Sasuke doesn't really care about Sakura liking him because he has made it clear he doesn't like her that way.

She did remember the compliment that why she brought up the bench scene or do you really think she was remembering only when he called her annoying?

I believe the NaruSaku relationship would develop much slower or almost become nonexistent in Part 2, just as it was in Part 1 and the post-manga period.

 

What brought Sakura and Naruto closer together was their mutual desire to bring Sasuke back, along with all the drama that surrounded him + POAL. With Sasuke present, this desire that united them and the POAL simply dissipates.

 

Of course, Sakura would continue to support Naruto and his dream of becoming Hokage, as she did during the Chūnin Exam.

However,  things would dramatically change for NaruSaku relationship in Part 2. For example:

• Naruto would not have most of Sakura's attention in Part 2, as he would not be the only member of Team 7 close to her. Sasuke would be present too.
• Sakura would not have doubts about her feelings and would not be sad with a Sasuke who hasn't committed crimes.

Another important question: Would Sakura ever spontaneously confess her feelings to Naruto without the pressure from Sai about the POAL, and Sasuke in the village?

 

Probably not, while she would probably confess her feelings to Sasuke at some point, as she did twice in the canon.

Right, I am going to tell you a basic rule in the Guy Code that you clearly don't know about. "If one of your friends seriously likes a girl, even if she into you, you helped him out to see if can they work together; before you even try to go for her."

Men in the Audience! SOUND OFF:

As you said, Naruto is Sasuke best friend and clearly like Sakura while he doesn't. Team 7 are slowly growing closer with each other. In Part Two and even in part one, Naruto and Sakura naturally click even as just friends. What is preventing Sasuke from helping his best friend get with a girl who he likes and naturally clicks with? He doesn't like her and the longer they are on a team more chance he will just go. "Sakura maybe you should go on a date with Naruto, instead of keep bugging me for one. As I don't like you as wanting you as a girlfriend."

You also have Karin that may enter the village due to wanting to be with Sasuke. If she is discovered to be an Uzumaki she is Naruto's relative. While there is a rule to not date a friend's relative, especially without tell them or they are required to beat the kitten out of you while you take it. Naruto would probably want to help out his only living relative. Which leads to another if you do you treat them with the utmost respect and seriousness, or suffer a beating far worse than the dating one.

The majority of NaruSaku moments were directly influenced by Sasuke and POAL.

• The POAL revolved around Sasuke as a central character.
• Naruto's four-tailed transformation was triggered by Sasuke, causing guilt in Sakura because of the POAL.
• During their hospital visit, Naruto once again brings up Sasuke, mentioning their shared goal of catching up to him. This inspires Sakura to help Naruto later by feeding him.

• Naruto mentions POAL as a condition for confessing to Sakura.

• Finally, Sakura's confession, fueled by Sai's words about the POAL and Sasuke's transformation, was an attempt to free Naruto from the POAL.

In her confession to Naruto, Sakura cites Sasuke's aloofness and unavailability as justifications, contrasting them with Naruto.

 

This paints her confession to Naruto as a consolation prize, offered not out of genuine love, but because of the circumstances surrounding Sasuke and Sai's guilt trip about the POAL. 

 

The only genuine NaruSaku moments without Sasuke's name in the picture are: When Sakura considers giving up on the Chunin Exam to protect Naruto's dream.  In a  similar context to the CPR scene in the war, where Sakura saves Naruto with his Hokage dream in mind.

 

If Sasuke had returned to the village after killing Itachi without discovering the truth about the village and joined the Akatsuki, Sakura might not have had any trouble forgiving him and jumping into his arms  more easily than at the end of the manga. 

 

But let's set aside scenarios where Sasuke reciprocates Sakura's feelings  or accepts her confession at the end of Part 1. Imagine a scenario where Sasuke simply remains on Team 7 throughout Part 2 treating Sakura in the same way as part 1. Essentially, Part 2 without the drama of saving Sasuke or his descent into Darkness.

 

Interestingly, in this scenario, Sai and Yamato were not even introduced to Team 7. They were created only due to Sasuke's absence or to replace him. Karin also doesn't exist.  Sakura is the only girl Sasuke even interacts with.  Would Naruto and Sakura's relationship develop in the same way with Sasuke closer to Sakura in the village during Part 2 and without any POAL, with Sakura feeling no guilt towards Naruto?

There are moments where Naruto and Sakura bond that doesn't involve Sasuke... but you either dismiss or ignore them. So why bother bringing any of them up?

As for the moments that do involve Sasuke in some way. A major part of the story is the Bond of Team 7 a goal for the main cast is to bring Sasuke back to restore that bond. So they have to talk about bringing Sasuke back to the village.

Any scenario that Sasuke does not feel guilt for how he treated Sakura and needs to atone; he will not end up with her because he isn't romantically interested in her.

Yamato was brought in because of his Wood release. Sai was Danzo pushing one of his men onto the team. It is not unreasonable to assume they would be in Team 7 due to the Akatsuki and Naruto's increase use of Kurama's power. Karin meet Sasuke in the chunin exam and fell in love with him due to him saving her from a bear. He doesn't leave the village she might just join the village. As she joined Orochimaru to follow Sasuke.

...Wait. i forgot. She can't be in love with Sasuke or he could have feeling for her, because you don't identify with her.

Right. I'm going to address the "SS had a better chance than NS or was stronger than it in part one," argument. NS and SS were the same at the start of part one with an equal likelihood of happening. That is to say none. The two pairings 'mirrored' each other. How Sakura treated Naruto is how Sakura was treated by Sasuke.

Chapter 3: Sakura considered Naruto annoying for never leaving her alone so she could flirt with Sasuke. Sasuke thought Sakura was another annoying fangirl that won't leave him alone so he could train, but considered her personally annoying due to her orphan comments.

Before The Chunin exam. Sakura lectures Naruto that he shouldn't be trying to get a date with her and instead should train. Sasuke lectures Sakura that she should train instead of trying to get a date with him because she has fallen behind Naruto, the dead last of their class. 

Both also have something that prevents their love interest from dating them, The Forehead Compliment and Sasuke's desire for revenge.

The difference between the two is that Naruto trains and slowly improves himself in the eyes of Sakura, Sakura does not.

So by the end of part one, Sakura see Naruto as a teammate and friend she can put her faith in; while Sasuke see Sakura as just a teammate he is more than willing to abandon any bond he has with her for power.

Part Two when Naruto returns to the village it is made very clear he has become quite handsome. To the point Sakura both flirted with and was swooning over him till the sexy jutsu improvements were brought up. Sasuke has stop caring about Sakura so he doesn't care about how beautiful she had become.

Afterwards Naruto and Sakura were able to spend time together and bond. The original plan for the story was for Kakashi during the final battle to ask Sakura to think who she really loves. Then she realize that she at some point had fallen in love with Naruto. The truth about Forehead Compliment is more to make it plain Sasuke never had those type of feelings for Sakura. So she could move on from Sasuke without any lingering feelings.