Many millennial anime fans grew up watching Naruto. The show allowed audiences to grow up with the characters as they become adults. This meant that fans really felt that they knew the characters, and would be able to figure out what would be best for them. This was especially the case for "ships" or romantic relationship pairings.
Naruto Uzumaki, the main character of the series, starts off having a huge crush on his teammate Sakura. Because he's so infatuated with her there's a little bit of an indication that they may end up together in the end. Sakura though isn't really interested. She has her eyes on bad-boy Sasuke. Ultimately, Naruto ends up with a different character named Hinata and Sakura marries Sasuke.
This is a real point of contention for Naruto fans. For various reasons, it's widely believed that Naruto and Sakura should have ended up together. It's not necessarily that people hate Hinata, but she's a bit more of a side character than Sakura and doesn't have as much history with Naruto as Sakura does. People also don't love Sasuke's character or how he treats Sakura. But would the Naruto-Sakura pairing really be best?
Naruhina
Canonically in the show, Naruto ends up marrying and having children with Hinata. One of their children is the subject of the currently airing sequel series, Boruto. Hinata was originally an heiress to the Hyūga clan but was deemed unfit to take over and instead enrolled in the Konoha academy. She's generally very sweet and polite, and quite mild-mannered. She's quiet, but also powerful -- even facing powerful enemies like Pain to protect who she loves.
As they grew up, Hinata always admired Naruto. This is an aspect that makes their love story really sweet. Not only did she have a crush on him and want to be noticed by him, but she really genuinely admires him. Naruto tries really hard to do his best at anything, even things that don't come naturally to him. He has the dream of being Hokage and he will never let that go. Hinata believes in his dream wholeheartedly and is inspired to apply his actions to her own life.
The dynamic of inspiring each other and supporting each other no matter what makes for a pretty strong foundation of a marriage. It really does make sense that these two would end up with each other, and these qualities aren't necessarily ones that Sakura possesses.
NaruSaku
Sakura really couldn't be more different from Hinata in terms of looks or personality. She's part of Team 7, Naruto's team, and is a relatively over-the-top character. She's polite and kind, but also extremely confident. As audiences get to know her more throughout the time of the show, it's revealed that she has a lot of jealousy and rage inside her as well. She's also very boy crazy when it comes to Sasuke specifically. Her love of Sasuke went so far that she ended a relationship with her best friend Ino as they both had a crush on him.
Naruto and Sakura have a really interesting dynamic. They become very close and do have some chemistry and cute moments throughout the course of the show. Naruto also very clearly has a love for Sakura and shows a lot of interest in being with her romantically from the very beginning.
As the main character of the show, it makes sense that he would get the girl he wants to get. That's one of the main reasons people ship Naruto and Sakura. Another reason is that she ends up with Sasuke.
Sasuke and Sakura have a bit of a weird relationship. Many think he isn't nice enough to her because he takes a very long time to show any interest in her, and even after he does start to notice her more he can be pretty mean. As Naruto worships the ground Sakura walks on, a lot of fans think they would be the best for each other.
What's the best ship?
There's clearly a case for Naruto ending up with either of these ladies. Much of this will be left up to viewer interpretation, and it really is a subjective matter. With that being said, there are just too many red flags with Sakura and in many ways, Hinata was the right way to go.
Despite their history and chemistry, and despite his schoolboy crush, Sakura's heart just never belonged to Naruto. She's truly in love with Sasuke and throughout the series, that's very evident. When Sasuke leaves, Sakura begs Naruto to go get him back. She even trains to get herself stronger so she can get him herself. She's just far too devoted to him and Naruto would have been a second choice. Everyone can agree, he deserves better.
Naruto and Hinata's connection is very real and their foundation is strong, which is needed when building a family together. Ultimately, the canonical ship seems to be the right one.
