The 5 Kage Summit arc highlighted how Naruto desperately suffered amidst a punishing shinobi world that refused to show any leniency to Sasuke. I also find it interesting that Naruto's anguish over Sasuke not being shown "mercy" was conceptually linked to the insufficiency of the "friend" label with regards to their relationship.
"Justice," no matter how skewed the enactment of it may be, is clearly a crucial tenet of the shinobi world. The ability to dispense it is linked with strength and masculinity. Naruto rejecting this form of gender consolidation and the mode through which he did so (Kakashi and Yamato also tried to help Naruto convince the Raikage, but they weren't looked down upon the way Naruto was) affirms the connection between gender performativity and sexuality.
