In terms of love, it was always Iruka for Naruto.
Relevant quotes from Naruto manga chapters 535-536:
“ENOUGH! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TO ME?! You’re one of my most important students. And… …you’re as close to me as a little brother.” -Iruka to Naruto
“Our enemy is seeking you out to kill you. How am I going to stand here and let that happen?” -Iruka to Naruto
“Why should you continue to bear the burdens of everyone else?” -Iruka to Naruto
“Come back alive!!!” -Iruka to Naruto
“Forgive me Naruto. I’m weak. I think of myself as your big brother, but I’ve never actually been able to protect you.” -Iruka
“Killer Bee? I need something from you. Keep Naruto safe, please sir!!!” -Iruka to Killer Bee
“You’re part of Naruto’s private clan. Naruto needs you. Whatever you done. To Naruto you shine like the sun.” -Killer Bee to Iruka
“Naruto listens to all you say. He’ll owe you his life till his dying day.” -Killer Bee to Iruka
“You’re the first person to ever acknowledge me, Master!!” -Naruto to Iruka
#he truly loved Naruto the person
#he didn't love Naruto the demon or Naruto the savior of prophecy
#Iruka and Naruto are the most healthy and powerful depiction of love in Naruto and its truest depiction of what real love looks like
#canon found family, iruka’s literally in Naruto’s private clan
#Iruka and Naruto as a depiction of brotherhood, in contrast to all the other depictions of brotherhood in the story of Naruto... a powerful contrast fr
#to love is to act compassionately
#Iruka changed for Naruto. He changed how he thought about Naruto, who was the feared vessel of the monster that killed Iruka’s parents and a disruptive, troublemaking, poor student.
#Iruka changed in order to love Naruto like the kid deserved, or is it that Iruka was changed by loving Naruto? Both. The answer is both.
#Naruto changed by being loved by Iruka. Everyone else was comfortable in inaction in regards to Naruto’s childhood. Iruka took action to love Naruto. Iruka’s love healed Naruto.
#Naruto is changed forever by being loved by Iruka, he is a different person before and after Iruka starts loving him.
#And Naruto goes forward in life sharing this love with others. That’s the whole show, that’s the source of every Talk No Justu.
#Naruto was loved powerfully by someone when he was ‘hard to love’ and resistant and lonely and damaged and troublesome, he knows how life changing love and compassion is to someone who is suffering from a lack, so he’s determined to help them.
#Naruto intimately understands that giving love to people who need it most can be difficult. He knows that love requires patience, consistency, effort, empathy, listening, and understanding.
#It’s why Naruto never stops trying to reach Sasuke. Naruto knows how it felt for everyone in the village to be okay with his suffering.
#Naruto knows it only took one person deciding to take action and take responsibility despite what everyone thinks of him.
#Naruto is about the transformative power of love.
#Naruto is about how love breaks cycles.
#It’s about how love bears fruit and its fruit bear fruit.
#Kishimoto wrote this so well. You can tell that the power of love and relationships between people are what Kishimoto cares most about exploring through his art.
#So beautiful that Iruka felt inspired to love Naruto because Iruka was shown love by Hiruzen back when Iruka was a troublemaking orphan.
#Compassion begetting compassion.
#Naruto is a love story, in that it’s a story about love.
#It’s not just about love despite suffering, it’s about love especially because there is suffering. It’s about suffering because of a lack of love, to which the only antidote is love and understanding.
#Naruto is about people who are difficult to love and understand being loved and understood anyways, and how this completely transforms the narrative.
#Naruto is about the people who are determined to do the work of loving and understanding someone despite all the forces against them.
#Naruto is about how the rotten work of love breaks generational curses, quite literally.