Naruto may be a shonen anime full of action and young ninja who fight for what they believe in, but that doesn't mean the story is completely void of romance. In fact, most of the main characters in the spin-off series, Boruto, are the children of characters in Naruto who ended up falling in love.

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Though there were only subtle hints of romance throughout the series, it was always apparent that Naruto had two potential love interests: Sakura and Hinata. Fans who stayed until the end know that Naruto eventually married Hinata while Sakura ended up with Sasuke, but it certainly did not go without much debate. Here are several reasons why Naruto should've chosen Sakura and just as many reasons why Hinata is the one for him.

Updated August 25th, 2020 by Josh Davison: Naruto's romantic decisions are a central part of the anime as well as its successor, Boruto. This is partly because of the anime's own focus on Naruto's crush on Sakura and Hinata's crush on Naruto, but it's also because of the nature of anime fandom. The crushes and romantic interests are a magnet for fan obsession, and the anime itself invites that kind of interest and focus. Shipping and theorizing about fictional relationships are two exceedingly enjoyable practices, and, as such, we are going to further analyze the reasons that Naruto Uzumaki was a better fit for Hinata Hyuga as well as reasons he should have paired off with Sakura Haruno.

14 SAKURA: Naruto Had A Crush On Her From Childhood

Naruto Sakura Scroll Forest Of Death

Naruto had held a flame for Sakura Haruno from his childhood. Naruto simply couldn't help but faun over her. He had been tending a flame for Sakura for a very long time by the time of Naruto: Shippuden.

While we don't always know what is best for ourselves, it is significant that Naruto, the main and title character of the series, personally pined for Sakura--and she seemingly gives Naruto openings to pursue this crush.

13 HINATA: She Had A Crush On Him From Childhood

Naruto and hinata young during the Chunin Exams

On the flip side, Hinata Hyuga has pined for Naruto since she was a child. Hinata has always been shy and has daydreamed about pairing off with Naruto from afar. Naruto never rebuffed her intentionally--he was simply too oblivious and focused on various goals to notice.

Hinata never knew how to approach Naruto about her feelings when she was younger, and she didn't really confront Naruto on these feelings until she neared adulthood. By then, she had been wishing for a romantic relationship with him for years while Naruto simply had never considered coupling with Hinata.

12 SAKURA: She's Smart And Balances Naruto

Naruto is far from the smartest shinobi in the village. He's committed, brave, and skilled, but he's not especially intelligent. That's where Sakura Haruno comes in, as she is one of the smarter shinobi of their generation. She's contemplative, thoughtful, and prefers planning to blind action.

This means that, in a way, she helps Naruto survive. He wants to go out and fight whatever foe faces the Hidden Leaf Village, but Sakura would help hold him back, and possibly live longer.

11 HINATA: She's Quiet And Balances Naruto

Naruto And Hinata Covered In Chakara In The Last

Naruto is brash and very vocal about his feelings. Whether or not it's tactful at the moment, Naruto Uzumaki is more than willing to let friends and enemies know exactly how he feels about a specific situation.

By contrast, Hinata is quiet and, whether she means to be or not, stealthy in regards to her intentions. This instinct helps Naruto be more restrained and deliberate rather than bumbling into every social and combat situation yelling his intentions at the top of his lungs.

10 SAKURA: Naruto Had To Work To Earn Her Respect

Naruto and Sakura upset

Initially, Sakura hated Naruto's guts while he was completely infatuated with her. When they were placed into Team Seven together with Sasuke and Kakashi, Naruto saw this as an opportunity to impress his crush.

Time after time, Naruto would try to look cool and overshadow Sasuke in hopes of stealing Sakura's attention away from her crush. It wasn't until missions became more dangerous and serious that Sakura started to gain respect for the boy she had previously looked down upon. By the time the Chunin Exams came around, they were close comrades who would fight to protect one another.

9 HINATA: Naruto Inspired Her As She Admired Him From Afar

As the shyest genin around, Hinata always envied the gutsy troublemaker with a big mouth. Unlike Sakura who was forced against her will to be on the same team as Naruto, Hinata was too shy to approach him and had to watch him from afar.

But despite the distance and lack of interaction, Hinata still saw the good qualities in Naruto that many other people failed to see. Even through his failures, Naruto unknowingly inspired Hinata to have more confidence and never give up. He played the biggest role in helping her blossom into an excellent shinobi.

8 SAKURA: They've Been Through A Lot Together

Because Sakura was both Naruto's teammate and the main female character of the series, she inevitably had many more interactions with him than Hinata had. From the very first bell exercise with Kakashi to the final battle in the Fourth Shinobi War, Sakura and Naruto have been with each other through thick and thin.

Even after Team Seven went their separate ways to train under the Legendary Three Ninja, Naruto and Sakura still reunited a few years later without Sasuke. Because of their time spent together as shinobi, the two were able to gain a better understanding of one another to deepen their bond as allies and friends.

7 HINATA: Opposites Attract

Naruto and Hinata are the perfect example of how opposites attract. At one end of the spectrum, Naruto is the rowdy and reckless kid who causes trouble for attention. At the other end, Hinata is an extremely shy and well-mannered girl who has a hard time branching out from the shadows.

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Although Hinata has always secretly been interested in Naruto, Naruto first took interest in her during her match again Neji in the Chunin Exams. After Hinata expressed how she wished to change and become stronger as a person, Naruto was the one who encouraged her to stand up and fight for what she believed in. Despite losing her match, Hinata was later approached by Naruto who complimented her directly for the first time.

6 SAKURA: Their Potential Child Would Be An Underdog Worth Cheering For

Naruto and Sakura Boruto

Seeing as Sakura and Naruto both ended up having genius kids with elite Uchiha or Hyuga blood running through their veins, it would be interesting to see how their hypothetical child would've turned out if they had ended up together.

Rather than being blessed with the powerful perks of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans like Boruto and Sarada, the child of Naruto and Sakura would be a lot less fortunate without any special techniques from the Uzumaki and Haruno clans. This would make their child more suited as an underdog protagonist than Boruto who seems to have everything going for him.

5 HINATA: Their Children Have So Much Potential

If Naruto and Hinata didn't end up together, Boruto and Himawari wouldn't exist! That would be terrible, considering how talented the children are at such a young age.

Unlike Naruto who was considered a failure as a child, Boruto definitely stands out amongst his peers as a naturally gifted ninja. Though Boruto hasn't yet awakened the Hyuga clan's Byakugan, his younger sister has. With her Byakugan and monstrous strength, Himawari is powerful enough to scare even her own father, the Hokage. If she's already showing this much strength before entering the ninja academy, there's no telling how deadly of a ninja she'll be in the future.

4 SAKURA Naruto Treated Her Way Better Than Sasuke Ever Did

Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, & Sakura Haruno pose (Naruto)

Maybe Sakura should've ended up with Naruto just for the sake of her not ending up with someone like Sasuke. While Sasuke is not necessarily a terrible guy, he certainly could've treated Sakura a lot better than he did.

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After going rogue and becoming a serious criminal, Sasuke was willing to kill his former friends, including Sakura, if they stood in his way. This was a huge red flag, and yet, Sakura still ended up with Sasuke instead of Naruto who would've done anything to protect her and never kill her.

3 HINATA: She's More Committed To Naruto

Unlike Sakura who made her feelings for Sasuke very clear since the beginning of the series, Hinata only had eyes for Naruto. Therefore, it's only natural that Hinata would be much more committed to Naruto than Sakura would.

Even though Sakura tried to set aside her feelings for Sasuke after recognizing him as a criminal, she could never truly bring herself to fall out of love with him. This would've inevitably and always been a problem if Naruto and Sakura were in a relationship because she would forever be secretly in love with someone else. Meanwhile, Hinata would have no one if she didn't have Naruto because he was the only one she ever loved.

2 SAKURA: Naruto Was There For Her When Sasuke Wasn't

When Sasuke fled Konohagakure in his quest for power despite Sakura's pleas for him to stay, Sakura was devastated. Not only did she lose a friend, but her love was also rejected.

Despite the fact that Sasuke selfishly abandoned his friends and village, Naruto made a promise to Sakura to bring their teammate back. Naruto knew how much Sasuke meant to Sakura, and he would do anything to save their friendship. If Naruto hadn't been there in that moment to assure her that everything would be okay, Sakura would've had a much harder time coping with the severed bond.

1 HINATA: She Will Always Be Naruto's Number One Fan And Supporter

From the very beginning, Hinata was one of the few people who fully believed in Naruto. While everyone else shunned him for the Nine-Tailed Fox inside him, Hinata saw him in a positive light, full of admiration.

After Naruto's true strength and courage were apparent to the village and his peers, including Sakura, everyone started to gain more respect for him--especially after he became Hokage. However, he never once had to prove himself to Hinata. Hinata had always accepted and supported everything about Naruto, from when they first met to after they started a family together.

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