The ending of the Naruto: Shippuden series disappointed many fans who had hoped to see Naruto and Sakura finally together as a couple.
Even Kishimoto’s wife was opposed to the idea, he claims: “I had no idea there was such a stir. In fact, I nearly caused a schism in my own home because my wife was upset that Naruto married Hinata rather than Sakura.”
Many people can see that Naruto and Sakura had a good friendship and may have complemented each other in some way, but according to Masashi Kishimoto, they would never end up together, and the creator explained why.
When Kishimoto first introduced Sakura, he thought of her as just another character. Kishimoto revealed that Sakura was on the same level as Kiba or Shikamaru, so Naruto and Sakura being a couple didn’t bother her.
The Naruto manga author also revealed that he baited fans by showing Naruto and Hinata together. The series creator also explains why this romance did not begin sooner.
“To be honest, there wasn’t a lot of room or time to include such details. Naruto is a fighting manga, not a love story. You must decide what to emphasize, based on your assumptions about what readers want to see,” says Masashi Kishimoto. “So I never considered making them a couple, but I did include some bait to make readers think so. Naruto and Hinata had planned to marry from the start,” he added.
