Speaking of the movies, anyone know when more information is gonna be released for the one set to come out this year?

While I'm not particularly worried about NH becoming canon or anything like that, I find it very funny that the anime team not only put the handhold in the opening, but in the closing as well..

They're really trying hard to advertise that pairing.

In my opinion, either Naruto/Sasuke will appear back on the battlefield to save the day, seemingly skipping any reaction in the other dimension and jumping right into the action (then later a flashback occurs showing what interaction happened between Naruto and Sakura then Obito while they were away) or we will actually see the scene soon and possibly be exactly like the OVA.

As cool as the second one sounds, I don't see it being all that likely. Knowing Kishi, he'll probably just jump right back into the action and save the romance stuff until after the war. But who knows! Maybe we'll see something sooner rather than later.

Honestly, if Kishi said there would be one confirmed couple in the end, who else could it be except for Naruto and Sakura? I mean I'm not bashing NaruHina, but exactly what evidence in the series would lead you to believe that those two would be together? Naruto is never shown to have ever had any of romantic feelings at all toward Hinata. Yet his feelings for Sakura are unwavering throughout the entirety of the series. Kishi really doesn't leave a whole lot to the imagination there.

Very nice post @tricksie. Never had I put together how Sakura's character is described as "honest", so that would in fact clear up quite a bit of the fog surrounding the confession. While we still aren't completely sure what Sakura's true intentions were with it, we can make an educated guess. All of these questions will be answered soon enough, though. I would say we could get some sort of address to the confession here shortly, with Naruto being brought back to life and all. Sakura may clear the air around the whole situation with her excitement of seeing Naruto alive and well again.

I think we will see here very soon that Sakura's heart has changed fully over to Naruto. Her lack of trust in Sasuke and seemingly waning feelings for him are some supporting textual evidence for that ideology. Also, when Naruto wakes up, there is bound to be some reaction from Sakura. But who knows, we'll find out soon enough.

Hey guys I'm new here, but I've been keeping up with this thread as an outside looking in spectator for some time now. I've watched and read Naruto off and on ever since the beginning of the series and I can honestly say that I've been pulling for Naruto and Sakura as a couple ever since their first interactions.

Now in light of recent events within the manga, I've noticed quite a few things.

1. As an aspiring writer, I spend much of my free time studying books and crafting stories to put into my own works. And as someone who has a great appreciation of epic stories, romance is one of the top priorities in my opinion. Romance is a part of life and if that is so then any great story should have some ties to it, in my opinion. (Albeit there are exceptions, don't get me wrong.) So with this in mind and the direction Kishi is heading, yes I can honestly say Naruto and Sakura are end game. Foreshadowing, interactions, and basic storytelling inferences all hint at this. Many are just too caught up in their pursuits of seeing their favorite character end up with someone else to recognize this.

2. Why on earth would Kishi put Sakura in the position she's in with Naruto's life support, and Karin as Sasuke's own respective aid, as well as Hinata as obviously falling short of being capable of rescuing Naruto, if there wasn't some meaning to it? Also, the girlfriend comment, the Kushina parallel, the obvious themes of attaining one's dreams. Are some people really gonna say that these mean nothing? That Kishi is just writing a whole bunch of random events and then concluding the story in a way that completely contradicts everything he's put his life's work into? Heck no. Kishi is a distinguished writer, I have much respect for the man and I will stand behind whatever story making decisions he has. But I know where he's heading. Unfortunately for NaruHina, it's not in their direction.

Well that's my two cents on the subject. Just thought I'd make my voice heard. But I really don't devote my life to this pairing or this particular series. As I said earlier, I am an aspiring writer and a lover of literature. That includes analysis, and I do love to analyze and break down literature. But guys in my opinion, out of all the books and stories I've studied, I'm pretty sure about this one. It is almost certain that Naruto and Sakura are endgame.