Analysis of Naruto and Sakura’s relationship
The relationship Sakura has with Naruto is noteworthy and remarkable for all the right reasons - it is messy and not always right, it is growing, it is vibrant with the both of them openly participating, and it proved to be good for the both of them.Not to get all 3rd period psychology class here, but if anything, Sakura's character is pretty real. That's where a big part of the backlash comes in. It's the kind of real that a lot of people wish wasn't real, in its full ugly glory: unrequited infatuation with a toxic person. Someone that a person has every reason in the world to want nothing to do with, but just can't quit. Completely unbelievable on paper but completely believable at the same time. Equally romanticized and reviled. An undeniable thing that people work very hard to deny. Something people both hate to watch from a distance and experience firsthand, but happens every single day. It's not just something that can be written off as "bad writing", but something that forces people to face the inherent "bad writing" of real life itself.
I know that Sakura would of decided to devote her entire affection to Naruto - she did confess her love to him, after all. Kishimoto himself said that Sakura was honest - she wasn't the type to lie to anyone, much less herself. Throughout Part 2, we actually see this development as Sakura grows into a strong character who isn't afraid to speak her mind. She surely knew of the consequences of her action before approaching Naruto with her confession - she knew that, if Naruto decided to reciprocate her feelings, they would probably have to get into a relationship at one point. If she isn't the type to lie to herself, then the prospect of entering into a relationship halfheartedly wouldn't be something she would even consider - yet she still confessed to Naruto knowing full well that it may mean sacrificing her childhood crush Sasuke for the sake of his well being.
Her willingness to be held to her admission of love proves that she actually meant what she said - she was very much willing to get together with Naruto at that point in time, probably because she truly did love him. As stated earlier, this whole thing may have given Sakura more resolve to kill Sasuke, and perhaps she would have stabbed him with the poisoned kunai, all in an effort to ease Naruto's pain and finally free him from the burden of stopping the cycle of hatred that Sasuke was fueling at the time. No one would get in the way of their romance, and they may have even gotten married, with Naruto never getting the chance to acknowledge Hinata's feelings (prior to The Last, it's good to note that Naruto remained oblivious to Hinata's affection towards him). My point is, she was very close to entering a relationship with Naruto - had Naruto only accepted her confession/given up on Sasuke, and she seemed to be perfectly fine with it despite her personality.
That, if anything, proves that Kishimoto wrote her character with the intention to portray romantic motives that would never really end in an actual formation of an intimate relationship. Having said all of these, that doesn't mean she doesn't love Sasuke. On the contrary, she probably loves him more than she does Naruto, seeing as they're happily married and have a kid by the time Part 3 came around. How I perceive this is a case of a girl liking two guys at the same time, yet realizing that she is more meant to be for one over the other. She loves Sasuke, but that doesn't mean she doesn't see Naruto in a romantic light as well. I guess she just decides to push for Naruto and Hinata to get closer with each other in the end because she believes that Hinata, who had loved Naruto since childhood, would be a better match for Naruto than she is.
By the time the war came around, Sakura had already probably decided that she would not give up in her pursuit of Sasuke, having realized her mistake through Naruto's rejection of her confession and being emboldened by his resolve to save his best friend. This is possibly a factor in her reasoning of choosing Sasuke over Naruto in the end, aside from the fact that she simply had a crush on him since they were kids. Despite this, I still believe that Kishimoto wants to imply that a small part of Sakura would always love Naruto, and vice versa. Furthermore, I truly believe that if Sasuke got taken out by some weird twist of events, then NaruSaku would have most likely become endgame.
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