veil_of_dreams - An Enduring Faith, part 2

06:41 pm - An Enduring Faith, part 2

- Part 2. Why NaruHina irks me "in canon" -

I. The lack of NaruHina in the current manga

I.1. Reminder: they've interacted for less than 2 hours in their lives...

Yes, and in those two hours, Hinata changed from ‘a shy dark weirdo’ to ‘a kind of person I really like’ in Naruto’s mind.

To paraphrase Darkhope: Development does not equal screen time. Naruto/Hinata has a good deal of development considering the relatively small amount of interaction between them. I bet you guessed this was coming: http://community.livejournal.com/ship_manifesto/157549.html

Besides, Naruto is a shounen manga. Kishimoto probably doesn’t plan on spending a lot of screen time on making an intricate romance.

“But wait! What about Naruto/Sakura?” Maybe, but Kishimoto has been keeping the feelings surrounding team 7 post-timeskip (Intentionally?) vague. It’s still not established whether or not Naruto still registers as just a friend (One of her best friends, undoubtedly, but a friend nonetheless) in Sakura’s mind, or how much Sakura has gotten over her feelings for Sasuke, if at all.

Still, I agree it would be disappointing for Hinata to appear, confess, and then BOOM! Instant Naruto/Hinata. If Naruto/Hinata happens, hopefully Kishimoto is going to add more development in that direction before the pairing actually emerges. During the upcoming team 8 arc, perhaps?

However, it should be noted that even if a romantic confession happens like this, it is highly unlikely that Naruto would shoot her down due to three factors:

1)      Like I said before, it’s already been established that Naruto likes Hinata. And interestingly enough, he likes her for the exact same reason he likes Sakura: Her desire for acknowledgment. To deny that Naruto can develop romantic feelings for Hinata is to deny the core reason Naruto likes Sakura.

2)      Though Naruto’s prime concern (at the moment) is rescuing Sasuke, in the past he has demonstrated a strong desire for a romantic kind of acknowledgment. Why else would he pursue Sakura so relentlessly in part 1, when she kept making it quite clear she wanted nothing to do with him, and everything to do with Sasuke? If Hinata is the first person to confess to having romantic feelings for Naruto, it will have a significant impact on him. While Naruto wouldn’t jump to the marriage altar the moment she confesses, he would definitely give Hinata a decent chance.

3)      Remember that the theme of part 2 is “people accepting other people”.

Oh, and this isn’t meant to be taken as a serious argument, but Kishimoto once said this in a shounen jump interview about part 2: “I also want to put in romance that I wasn't able to in part 1. It seems difficult though.” It’s difficult to create a believable romance between two characters who have a pretty much permanent reason to be near each other on a regular basis? Maybe if Kishimoto sucks at romance (If you want to argue that, go for it). But building a believable romance between two characters who don’t have a convenient excuse to be near each other constantly... Now, that sounds a bit trickier. ;)

Lastly, as for Hinata focusing on Naruto’s problems to help herself instead of him, you're leaving out some important details.

As you say, Hinata did not try to reach out to Naruto during the academy days. However, like you say in part 2, section I, point 5, when a character is trying to relate to another’s pain, he/she needs to be able to not “talk out of his/her ass”. What could Hinata have said to Naruto? After all, from her own experience, a weak person like her could do nothing but fail, and she lost faith in her self worth. She may have thought he was admirable for constantly trying despite his failures, but could not truly say if his efforts would amount to anything. Imagine: Naruto and Hinata, the academy talk: “Don’t worry Naruto, I’m sure your efforts will pay off. I base this on the fact that I’ve done nothing but fail up to this point, and, well, you really haven’t done much better than I have, either.” I'm sure Naruto feels a lot better now.

However, despite Hinata focusing on Naruto's inspiration for her own benefit, she has shown the inclination to help Naruto on three separate occasions:

1)      Offering him the chance to cheat off her test.

2)      Offering him the medicinal cream after Naruto v. Kiba

3)      Encouraging him on the training field before Naruto v. Neji

So while Hinata has used Naruto’s inspiration to help herself, she apparently has no qualms returning the favor if she thinks there’s something she can do.

Besides, from a storytelling standpoint, Hinata becoming closer to Naruto before even Iruka acknowledged him would have been way too easy. In such a scenario, Naruto/Hinata would likely already be canon.

I.2. Hinata didn't see Naruto's pain just for what it is, but by relating to him through the underdog aspect.

Yes, I agree Hinata did not know how lonely Naruto was. Remember what Kakashi told Inari? It’s likely that by the first time Hinata met Naruto, he had grown tired of crying, and refused to show any chinks in his armor of optimism and stubbornness. For Hinata to have had a chance to see how lonely he was, she most likely would have had to follow Naruto home, and despite what many anti-Hinata people say, she isn’t a stalker. -_-

“But wait! Iruka didn’t follow Naruto home, and he knew how lonely Naruto was. Why didn’t Hinata?” Simple: Because Iruka didn’t figure out Naruto’s loneliness by himself. Iruka was told of Naruto’s situation by the much wiser third hokage.

However, I wouldn’t discount Hinata’s shyness. This is how I see it:

Naruto was hated by the people of Konoha, but due to the Hokage’s law, there was nothing they could do. So people did what they usually do when there’s a problem they can’t fix: They ignored it. Naruto grew to hate being constantly treated like he wasn’t there, like he didn’t even exist, and became loud and pulled his pranks and stunts to get any attention he could, even negative.

By contrast, Hinata, as the heir to the main househould, likely received tons of attention. However, given her weakness and dislike of conflict, she was poorly suited to the role of a ninja, a role the Hyuuga clan required and expected of her. With Hinata being the heir to the Hyuuga clan, the Hyuugas didn’t have the option of ignoring her. As such, she constantly received nothing but negative attention (illustrated by Hiashi’s treatment of Hinata in flashbacks) to the point that she grew to fear the attention of others. That would explain her painfully shy nature and her habits of hiding and avoiding notice. It’s possible she never made any friends until she was placed on team 8, and had no choice but to interact with Kiba and Shino.

Of course, the time from Hinata’s rejection from the family to her graduation is tricky to predict, since we don’t know what Kurenai’s relationship with Hinata was/is. Perhaps she was Hinata’s Iruka, or perhaps she kept a professional distance from her and acted as little more than a tutor. However, considering Hinata credits Naruto for her transformation, the relationship between Hinata and Kurenai probably leans more towards the latter.

Yes, it’s true that her shyness was pathetic. Hell, regardless of the veracity of my speculation, the manga has made it clear that Hinata used to be a pathetic person. But in such a scenario, can you truly blame her?

Besides, like I said before, Naruto knowing of Hinata's acknowledgment before Iruka would've been way too easy.

I.3. But as such: how Hinata's impact on Naruto's life is pretty much overblow. She cheered him on the point that she related too, but missed Naruto's much greater pain of loneliness.

I’ve already explained my reasoning on Hinata being unaware of Naruto’s loneliness, and why Hinata probably did not reach out for him during the academy days.

By the way, this is the first image Hinata appears in.

It's a nice sized group of people, but still considerably smaller than the crowd you show.

I.4. In fact, the motivational speech itself barely had an impact on Naruto's life, or even on the Naruto vs Neji match: how Naruto was then motivated by other reasons.

Hinata’s speech didn’t mean any more than Lee’s speech, because he thought of both of them as reasons to keep fighting? By that logic, gold, silver, and bronze all have the same value, since I think of them whenever I think of metals. But that’s not the case, is it?

So Naruto changed from someone held down by his doubts to someone who "totally believes in himself", and the only thing that happened between these two extremes is Naruto's talk with Hinata.

Don't even try to downplay Hinata's encouragement. Sure, Naruto still would've lost in the end without the Kyuubi's chakra, but Hinata herself has demonstrated how one's state of mind can be the difference between being crying, trembling, and ready to forfeit, and being prepared to fight with your all against the odds.

Once again, I don’t see why you think people have to suffer in the same ways to be viable partners, but I’ll remind you that on this little scale of yours, Sakura doesn’t relate to Naruto’s pains any better than Hinata; Sakura is merely in a better position to help him. I’ll discuss that in part 2, section II, point 3.

In addition, when it comes to Naruto’s pains, the (questionable) advantage of “losing one of his first bonds” that Sakura has over Hinata is likely to be a very temporary one. With Naruto’s foreshadowing of Sasuke’s redemption and the increasingly short time limit before Sasuke loses his body, the pain of losing Sasuke is probably not going to be a factor for long.

Well, that’s assuming Sasuke doesn’t die redeeming himself, but that’s still up in the air.

I.5. A broader look on the usage of themes and plotlines in Naruto

I agree with just about everything you’ve said here, except for my differing perspective on what needs to happen for Hinata (And Neji) to reach a full resolution, which I’ve already covered. Once again, if you care, check my extra “The Hyuuga Clan Conclusion” at the end of this essay.

II. How it's unlike to improve in the future: Hinata's total lack of connection to Naruto's current pains. Which don't represent any plotlines, they're the Main plotlines

You seem to have a strange obsession with pain. Your real name isn’t Hidan, is it?

II.1. The pains Hinata related to Naruto on are no longer his current pains

Actually, one of Naruto’s ‘current pains’ is one Hinata can relate to quite well. The genjutsu by pseudo-Itachi exhibits just how much Naruto feels pressured by obligations (Self imposed obligations, but obligations nonetheless) to not let people down.

If you add Naruto’s two failures to save Sasuke on top of this, it becomes quite apparent that Hinata and Naruto still have a ‘shared pain’ with which they can relate. After all, Hinata’s history was shaped by her failure to live up to the expectations of others.

That said, I still don’t see why Hinata needs to suffer in the same way as Naruto for them to have a relationship, especially considering that Sakura is no better at relating to Naruto’s pains than Hinata is, with the sole exception of the (likely temporary) Sasuke pain. You even said so yourself in your Naruto/Sakura manifesto with this:

(Part 2, section II, point 1) “Yet his [Naruto’s] own pain far surpassed anything she [Sakura] could have ever felt. And Sakura does not back down.”

So you excuse Sakura’s inability to understand his pain because she keeps trying to help him. Yet when it comes to Hinata, your view seems to sound more like this:

“Yet Naruto’s own pain far surpassed anything Hinata could have ever felt. That’s why Hinata can’t help him and they shouldn’t be together.”

The only true difference is that circumstance has given Sakura a better position to try to help Naruto than it has Hinata. I’ll elaborate more on that in just a bit, though.

II.2. The current plotlines, involving the "jinchuuriki" and the "Sasuke" plotlines, have been main guiding forces since the Start

Once again, the pain of losing Sasuke is likely a very temporary pain, and will probably be resolved before any of the other main plotlines in the series.

Why don’t you think any new plotlines could appear? The battles involving Hidan and Kakuzu count as a subplot of the main Akatsuki plotline, and has allowed for development of Asuma and team 10 (Though it has centered around Shikamaru). You mention Danzou’s political schemes as a plotline yourself, which wasn’t introduced until part 2, and looks to become quite important (In fact, given the common political background, it may be possible to fit a ‘Hyuuga Reformation’ plotline into the larger ‘Danzou’s Schemes’ plotline). If the manga just focuses on the main plotlines of “Save Sasuke. Destroy Akatsuki.” without introducing any subplots to resolve along the way, it’s going to be pretty boring.

Besides, Hinata (And anyone else in Konoha, for that matter) can tie into these plotlines, though not as directly as Naruto, since all three plotlines you mentioned involve enemies of Konoha as a whole. After all, Akatsuki may be tied directly to Naruto, but he hasn’t been going solo against all the Akatsuki members. Hell, he hasn’t even lifted a finger against Kakuzu and Hidan yet.

The Sasuke plotline is open to outside assistance as well. After all, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi are the only good guys who tie directly into this plotline (And recently Sai, sort of), but that certainly didn’t seem to stop Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Neji, Lee, the sand siblings, and Yamato from coming along. Nor did it stop Naruto from asking all his friends for help (To no avail) before setting out for ‘Rescue Sasuke, take 2’.

Lastly, keep in mind that Hinata still needs to fully resolve her transformation from a weakling into a respectable ninja. Considering all of the main arcs are going to involve combat (It’s a manga about ninjas, after all), Hinata can very easily receive necessary character development in pretty much any arc. Besides, since team 8 is the only team that has yet to have a decent part 2 appearance, it’s quite possible that Hinata’s time to shine is coming up next.

II.3. How Hinata doesn't tie into them in any way (isn't it obvious?), while someone else Does.

And now we hit this: Sakura’s side of the image here perfectly illustrates the true source of her advantage. Aside from understanding Naruto better on the (likely temporary) Sasuke issue, any advantage Sakura has over Hinata when it comes to relating to/helping Naruto stems purely from circumstance. Sakura was placed on team 7, Hinata was not. And as such, Sakura has spent more time around Naruto, and Hinata has not. Sakura was the one there to see Kyuubi, and Hinata was not. Sakura is the one to help her partner Naruto when he’s in a pinch, and Hinata is not. It comes from no personal merit of Sakura or personal fault of Hinata; Sakura is simply the one who was put on Naruto’s team, and Hinata was not.

REMEMBER: Hinata has her own missions and team mates to worry about. She doesn’t have the luxury of sitting around in Konoha all day waiting for a chance to rescue Naruto from trouble. This is not an indication of any unwillingness or inability to help Naruto; Hinata simply isn’t in a position where she can always be there to help him.

Not to say that it isn’t worth considering; as you say later on, “circumstances shape a relationship as much as everything else.” But if a relationship is to form between Naruto and Sakura instead of Naruto and Hinata, I for one would like to think it was for more reason than “Circumstance handed Sakura a better chance to be with Naruto than it did Hinata.”

If you consider this advantage of circumstance to be a legitimate enough reason on its own to favor Naruto/Sakura over Naruto/Hinata, well, it’s simply a difference of opinion between us and can’t be debated. If this is how you see it, then “Because I’m Here” is certainly an appropriate title for your Naruto/Sakura manifesto.

As for Naruto v. Neji, of course Naruto identified Hinata’s situation with Neji when he was fighting him. It was for two reasons:

1)      The identification between Naruto and Hinata had already been established. The connection is drawn between them in their shared ninja way, and again when Lee says that Hinata is very similar to Naruto. It’s also already established at that point in the manga that both Naruto and Hinata are desperately seeking acknowledgment.

2)      Naruto comparing Hinata to himself wouldn’t have meant anything to Neji. Imagine: Naruto says, “Hinata too has suffered. In truth, she and I are alike!” To which Neji replies, “Yes, you are both losers. So?” Ooh, Naruto sure got Neji with that one.

II.4. Maybe other themes? Bringing back the acknowledgement and confidence themes? Cheering up? Politics? Just romance?

As I said before, Hinata does not need to tie directly into any of the presently established plotlines to take part in them and develop. After all, what connection did Shikamaru have to akatsuki/Hidan and Kakuzu prior to the team 10 arc?

I agree that having Naruto’s friends turn on him or Hinata playing the ‘brother’ card would be stretching it. However, in the latter case, that certainly didn’t seem to stop Kishimoto from comparing Neji and Sasuke.

As for politics...

It’s possible that politics in the Narutoverse wouldn’t allow for such a union. Not that there’s currently a way of knowing, since the finer points of Konoha politics haven’t been covered. Nonetheless, even if Hinata doesn’t become clan head, she may still be able to aid him from a political standpoint, at least as far as advising goes. It’s possible that Hinata received some grooming for handling political situations before her training was abandoned, and it’s almost a definite that Hinata would naturally have a better head for such matters than Naruto (As would Sakura, admittedly).

As for Hinata’s role as clan head being overshadowed by Naruto’s role as clan head... I have a bigger bone to pick with you about this particular argument, but that will wait until my extra at the end of the essay. For now, I’m just going to point out one issue with this view of yours.

In this scenario of Hinata being clan head and married to Naruto, it’s obvious that Hinata has received the acknowledgment she wanted from both her father and Naruto. However, you still cite ‘being overshadowed’ as a reason the two should not be together. If you find it absolutely necessary that Hinata surpass Naruto in some ways, I’ll again remind you that she could easily do so in medics and intelligence.

“But wait! Wouldn’t Hinata’s academic intelligence and medical ability be outshined by Sakura’s?” Probably. But by the logic used here, that wouldn’t matter, since Hinata wouldn’t be in a relationship with Sakura and thus wouldn’t be compared to her. Hinata just needs to be better at it than Naruto.

Perhaps you might argue that since Hinata probably isn’t going to become legendary in those fields (like Sakura has been hinted to), it wouldn’t be enough for her to escape Naruto’s shadow. But like I said earlier, this scenario has already established that Hinata has successfully achieved the acknowledgment she wanted. If you still maintain that ‘being overshadowed’ means Naruto and Hinata shouldn’t be together in this situation, I can only see one possible rationalization for this viewpoint: You think Hinata shouldn’t marry Naruto because she probably won’t be as famous as him. And that kind of view leads perfectly into my rant at the end of this essay.

II.5. Things that don't help #1: how Kishimoto missed all these "opportunities" to develop NaruHina

By missed opportunities, I can only imagine you mean “parts in the manga where Hinata could’ve shown up, but didn’t”, since the vast majority of Hinata’s screentime has focused on her feelings.

"But why hasn’t Hinata gotten any real screentime since the training field?” Well, let's look at the arcs that have followed since the chuunin exams.

The 'Tsunade/sannin' arc: This arc was centered around the sannins. The other genins didn't have a place in this arc, not even Naruto's own team.

The 'Sasuke retrieval' arc: Hinata didn't come along for two manga-based reasons:

1: The same reason that Sakura didn't come along: At that point in the manga, neither Sakura nor Hinata had enough strength to realistically be any help to the mission. If either were to be brought along, Kishimoto would have needed to contrive a 'trump card' for them like he did for Chouji to justify them winning/surviving long enough for reinforcements to survive.

2: That would mean placing her on the same mission as Neji, who was a good deal stronger than her at that point. It would have resulted in Hinata's battle being a repeat of Neji's battle, except on a smaller scale.

"But why hasn't she helped Naruto post-timeskip?" Because the current pattern in the manga is focusing on one team at a time. The order thus far has been Team Sand, Team 7, and Team 10. Her turn hasn't come yet, but since Team Gai received a minor role in the Team Sand arc, Team 8 is likely next.

Also, considering that Naruto and Hinata are now friends with each other, and considering Hinata's apparent desire to confess her feelings for him, it would be pretty hard to develop Naruto/Hinata further without things turning romantic. The end of the manga still seems to be a ways off; if the next arc featuring Hinata will push Naruto and Hinata into a romantic relationship, then Kishimoto may have avoided Hinata’s character thus far to avoid resolving a relationship between Naruto/Hinata too soon.

I know you’ve stated that you prefer the more gradual development Naruto/Sakura seems to be making (Assuming it’s romantic), but that may not be Kishimoto’s intent for Naruto/Hinata (Assuming it happens). Still, the pace of Naruto/Hinata development during the chuunin exams was satisfactory to me; if Kishimoto can at least maintain his track record for their development in Hinata’s next appearance, then I don’t imagine I’ll be disappointed by the time a resolution for the pairing rolls around.

As for your list...

Once again, all these advantages Sakura has are purely circumstantial. While I can certainly see how this is a factor in her favor from a storytelling standpoint (More screentime around Naruto = more opportunities to have development with his character), it does nothing to prove that Sakura is a better match or Hinata is a worse match for Naruto character-wise.

Lastly, while I’d be surprised if Hinata didn’t do her part to help Naruto, she doesn’t have to be the main one to ‘save’ him to have a relationship with him. If a character can only have a relationship with someone who has ‘saved’ him/her, then Kishimoto needs to include Naruto/Hinata. After all, Naruto’s inspiration saved Hinata from being a pathetic failure.

II.6. Things that don't help #2: Kishimoto preferred to introduce two brand-new characters to deal with these aspects of Naruto rather than force Hinata into dealing with them

Hinata is a previously established character who still has her own theme in need of resolution. It’d be strange to twist her character to try and fit her into a role her character wasn’t designed for (But remember, Sakura’s character wasn’t designed for it either).

Besides, Hinata (or Sakura, for that matter) saving Naruto from Kyuubi ‘through the power of love’ would just be TOO cheesy. Yamato’s KWGoD method is preferable. ;)

II.7. In short: how she's really, Really unlikely to help Naruto deal with his problems, thus take this relation out of shallow one-sided admiration into two-sided Mutual admiration and respect

I’ve already explained how Hinata is capable of helping with Naruto’s problems and overcoming her idolization.

Your sarcasm is really pushing it. As I said before, it’s unfair to call Hinata’s feelings static before she’s had a significant appearance in a part 2 arc. The disdain with which you speak of Hinata’s ‘viewpoint’ when it hasn’t been established if this is true really makes it hard to believe you when you say you are a Hinata fan (Her brief post-timeskip appearance was only meant to show off her new character design and show that her feelings still exist, it does nothing to prove her character is static).

And once again, aside from the Sasuke situation, Sakura doesn’t relate to Naruto’s current pains any better than Hinata does. Sakura is merely in a better position to try and help him. Plus, as I said before, Sakura saving Naruto does not mean Sakura and Naruto will get together.

III. Why I'd think it off character-wise as well

III.1. Reminder #1: Naruto has never been romantically attracted to Hinata. "I like people LIKE you." Not "I like you."

Naruto’s interest in Hinata truly manifested itself during the Hinata v. Neji fight. However, he was too infatuated with Sakura at the time to look at anyone else. It wasn’t until his ‘promise of a lifetime’ that he accepted the fact that he’s probably just going to stay a friend in Sakura’s eyes. Not to say Naruto isn't still open to the idea of a relationship with Sakura; all I mean is he's no longer making any real effort to pursue her.

And then, there’s never really been an opening for Naruto/Hinata to develop afterwards, timeline-wise. He jumps immediately from the hospital after the failed mission into the training journey with Jiraiya. Then almost immediately after he gets home, he gets wrapped up with saving Gaara. As soon as he gets home after that, he learns that he’s got another opportunity to save Sasuke (Though he met Hinata during this time, he’s not going to stick around and chat when a chance to save his friend is right in front of his face). Then immediately after that, Naruto focuses himself on his training.

By the way, remember that Naruto likes Hinata for the exact same reason he likes Sakura: Her desire to be acknowledged. Though he hasn’t considered Hinata in a romantic light thus far (At the time, he was still focused solely on Sakura), the door is open for a relationship between them.

III.2. Reminder #2: Hinata's attitude towards Naruto is more positive idolization (with a resulting crush) than tragic unrequited love

When Hinata finally makes her reappearance in the manga, we’ll see just how much she does (or doesn’t) understand Naruto.

III.3. Unless something happens, Naruto has no real reason to prefer Hinata over Sakura. No, Hinata hasn't "always been there" for him. Naruto's actually grown fonder of Sakura's personality

So sorry, but you can’t have it both ways. If Sakura can realize what she’s been missing by always looking at Sasuke instead of Naruto, Naruto can realize what he’s been missing by always looking at Sakura instead of Hinata. To say otherwise is a double standard.

Your argument for why Naruto/Sakura wouldn’t be a ‘consolation prize’ can just as easily be adapted to Naruto/Hinata: “The reason Naruto never bothered with Hinata before is because he had always thought she was just some ‘shy dark weirdo’, and even after Naruto learned otherwise, he still didn’t know Hinata as well as Sakura, and was still determined to win Sakura’s heart. But now that he’s willing to accept he may never be more than friends with Sakura, he may give Hinata a chance and come to realize Hinata’s someone he could love just as much, if not more.”

As for ‘what she can offer’...

- Acceptance?

As you said, Hinata already has accepted Naruto, and learning of the Kyuubi wouldn’t change this. Hinata’s acceptance would be unconditional as well.

- someone to admire?

Because Naruto wasn’t impressed by Hinata during her fight with Neji? “I never realized Hinata was so incredible...” Naruto isn’t impressed by the abilities of people like Lee, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, or any of his other peers? Or by Sakura, who is currently a chuunin, despite her potential?

Naruto isn’t an elitist asshole who would look down on people, saying “Sorry, but I could beat you. You’re not worth my time.”

- company?

Hinata’s lack of screentime is by no means an indication that Naruto and Hinata can’t get along. Naruto communicates just fine with Hinata; the only barrier between them is Hinata’s nervousness when in his presence.

Again, Hinata’s databook 1 profile: “The reserved and shy Hinata. She freezes and can't do anything in front of the one she likes, Naruto. She's always thinking of how she wants to change that part of herself.”

Like I said before: Considering that Hinata’s core theme is change, and she wants to change this part of herself, do you really think this issue with their communication is there to stay?

- Possessing the desire for acknowledgment that Naruto likes so much? (Shortened from your especially long note)

Funny, acknowledgment is exactly what Hinata wants most as well. From Naruto, no less (V9_C80_P13 and 14).

And once again, for the relatively little amount of time Hinata and Naruto have spent together, the potential for a relationship between them developed quite well. Do I even need to link it?

- post-timeskip, he seems to enjoy Sakura's company just as much, if not more now.

Yeah, Sakura is a close friend to him, certainly.

- And look at that happy smile on his face the first time Sakura blew up the ground below Kakashi.

He wore a very similar ‘happy smile’ not long after that one, when he was remembering the chuunin exams. Here, let's do a side by side comparison:

Same small smile, same slightly narrowed eyes, slightly different angle. I wonder what he’s thinking? “The chuunin exams... Back then, I actually saw Hinata fairly often. Those were the days...” Maybe. ;)

Once again, about the idolization issue: If Hinata never ‘reaches Naruto’s side’, her core theme of change will likely be left unfulfilled. The time will come when Hinata sees Naruto as a peer to stand beside, instead of an idol to chase after.

IV. Wait, but since I don't dismiss the possibility of NaruHina happening Anyway, then... how?

And I don’t dismiss the possibility of Naruto/Hinata happening regardless of whether or not Sasuke/Sakura happens.

Once again, you can’t have it both ways. If Sakura can realize what she was missing in Naruto, Naruto can realize what he was missing in Hinata. If Hinata is Naruto’s consolation prize for not being able to win Sakura over, Naruto is Sakura’s consolation prize for being unable to win Sasuke over. If you twist two edges of a cracker in opposite directions, it’s going to break.

I certainly don’t want my pairing of choice to be a ‘consolation’ pairing, and you obviously don’t want yours to be one either, so I say we should agree that the former scenario is the correct one.

IV.1. Possibility #1: Kishimoto goes "out of his way" to stick Hinata into the story. I really doubt it's happening though. Hello, Naruto has bigger priorities

Kishimoto hasn’t had to ‘go out of his way’ to insert Naruto/Hinata development thus far. The closest thing to that is the meeting in the training field, and that didn’t seem out of place.

Again, Hinata does not have to be the central figure in helping Naruto solve his problems to have a romantic relationship with him.

Of course, I agree that Naruto isn’t going to actively pursue a relationship with Sasuke’s time limit hanging over his head.

IV.2. Possibility #2: "Chichi/Goku". A relationship "out of nowhere." And worse: a consolation relationship. No thanks

Can’t have it both ways, blah blah blah.

Honestly, it annoys me when people say “This could happen in Naruto because ‘such and such’ happened in other mangas!” If Naruto/Hinata or Naruto/Sakura happen, I’d rather it be because Kishimoto intended for it to happen for the sake of his story, not because he was following a precedent established in other stories.

IV.3. So you're saying that Naruto can only end up with Sakura?

We’ve already been over the issue of shared and unique aspects, the issue of idolization, and the issue of overshadowing/acknowledgment.

I’ll remind you that Hinata has only shown a desire for acknowledgment from Naruto and Hiashi/the Hyuuga clan. If Hinata is married to Naruto and is the Hyuuga clan head, it’s obvious that she’s managed to achieve both, regardless of whether or not Naruto overshadows her/is more famous than her.

And as I said before, your ‘overshadow’ argument really irks me, but I’ll hold my tongue just a while longer.

- Part 3. Why the fandom really doesn't help. -

It’s an unfortunate fact that almost all fanfics (Not just Naruto/Hinata ones) either suck or are mediocre.

I’m skipping most of this since it’s just bashing the fandom, and honestly, I agree completely, except for:

I. The thing is, the manga has already provided a situation in which she had near-exclusive acknowledgement of Naruto (not counting Iruka). It shows what she did: nothing

I already covered my reasoning for this scenario in part 2, section I, point 2.

VI. The fact that there isn't really anything in Hinata's character that would have made Naruto naturally attracted to her also doesn't help

There’s nothing in Hinata’s character to naturally attract Naruto to Hinata? You mean other than desire for acknowledgment, which is the main quality that attracted Naruto to Sakura?

Conclusion: An enduring faith

It seems to me that you believe Kishimoto is unable to write a quality Naruto/Hinata relationship into the manga at this point. However, there are two things to consider:

1)      We don’t know how much longer the manga will go on. For all we know, there could be plenty of time for Kishimoto to write in a believable Naruto/Hinata romance.

2)      Kishimoto may have a more minimalistic idea of what qualifies as a romance than either of us, and/or he may decide to leave the pairings open-ended at the manga’s conclusion, either of which would probably make this entire point moot.