Naruto Manga Discussion *MEGA Spoilers possible*

[JtkBasketball]

I really think you guys should give this some time. A close friend just died, they are in the middle of a war, the most powerful being in all of existance and the most powerful shinobi in all of existance are up against them, and a bunch of other stuff is going on.

I do not think this is the time for Naruto to make up his mind, nor the moment to stop the battle and swoo Hinata. Now is just not the time in my opinion.

Also Naruto is awkward around girls he likes and so is Hinata so that is against them right now too. It will all play out eventually, and Sasuke and Sakura will die together too.

[pkmnmaster88]

Naruto has had time. Hinata expressed her love nearly 200 chapters ago. The fact that he never acknowledged that is what upsets me the most.

[BrainBlow]

^ Yes, but this really isn't the best time.

[pkmnmaster88]

^ Fair enough, but all I'm whining about is that he should have done it prior to this war. She seems far more resolved than he is. She said she would be by his side and then when the alliance arrived, she protected him and indeed stood by his side. I would just appreciate it if Naruto showed some effort. Even this latest chapter isn't conclusive. It's kind of a shallow display.

[EvilGenius]

Well, even when Hinata confessed, a lot of things happened. First, there was the situation involving Sasuke and then the war...I think Naruto is too focused trying to solve his problems that he tends to ignore anything that is not a problem.

As for now, I think even Naruto is smart enough to realize that thinking about anything other than the their enemies could leave them all impaled.

I think after everything is over (the war, Sasuke etc.) and Naruto's brain is free of any major immediate (or world-ending) problems that he has to solve, may be he'll think back and there might be some progress...

[JtkBasketball]

Plus Naruto is 16. Speaking from the male perspective I will say this. At 16 years old I had no idea what was important to me, and I did not know how to properly treat girls. Girls develop faster so Naruto is probably still a socially awkward kid deep down.

So when Hinata says, "I love you" I think he is thinking, "uhhh uhhh WHERE"S SASUKE" lol

For the record I was a gentlemen. At 16 you just simply do not understand women.

[pkmnmaster88]

Adding spoiler tags...

Something just seems off. He may be socially awkward but how many times has he pursued Sakura, especially in the first part of the series? He even pushed for a date at the beginning of Shippuden. He has feelings for girls anyway, even if he doesn't always acknowledge it. The fact that he pursued Sakura is evidence of that. He even went on to say in response to his mom's final wishes that Jiraiya taught him all about the three-vices of a shinobi, one of which is women. He can't be that unaware of women.

Obviously at the beginning of Shippuden he was criticized for being unaware of Sakura wanting to appear more girl-like. But even so, since then he's experienced much more death, met his parents, conquered the Kyuubi, resolved himself against Sasuke, even got to speak with Negato and Itachi more in-depth. He's learned a lot and grown way up. The people of the village even fully accept him now.

I just think it's lame to have some character say she loves him and that she would die for him, then go on to do so inciting Naruto into rage and fear, unleashing and being taken over by the Kyuubi as a result. The fact that he got so upset should say something about his feelings for her. I would be at least a little satisfied if he had at least said something to her. I mean, when Sakura said she loved Naruto during the Kage Meeting Arc he at least responded to her... -_-

[Fargo]

I think

He might also not be sure what to think of it and might be taking advantage of everything that's been going on to put off giving an answer because he still isn't sure how he feels about it or how to respond to her.
Or, he may actually have forgotten. The confession happened right before he turned 6-Tails and he usually showed memory loss of what happened by the time he returned to normal.

[pkmnmaster88]

But

After the conversation with The Fourth he acknowledged the destruction he caused while in fox mode. He even thought back to Hinata on the ground and grabbed his heart. So I don't think he forgot.

[SeiyaManG]

Originally Posted by pkmnmaster88

Adding spoiler tags...

Something just seems off. He may be socially awkward but how many times has he pursued Sakura, especially in the first part of the series? He even pushed for a date at the beginning of Shippuden. He has feelings for girls anyway, even if he doesn't always acknowledge it. The fact that he pursued Sakura is evidence of that. He even went on to say in response to his mom's final wishes that Jiraiya taught him all about the three-vices of a shinobi, one of which is women. He can't be that unaware of women.

Obviously at the beginning of Shippuden he was criticized for being unaware of Sakura wanting to appear more girl-like. But even so, since then he's experienced much more death, met his parents, conquered the Kyuubi, resolved himself against Sasuke, even got to speak with Negato and Itachi more in-depth. He's learned a lot and grown way up. The people of the village even fully accept him now.

I just think it's lame to have some character say she loves him and that she would die for him, then go on to do so inciting Naruto into rage and fear, unleashing and being taken over by the Kyuubi as a result. The fact that he got so upset should say something about his feelings for her. I would be at least a little satisfied if he had at least said something to her. I mean, when Sakura said she loved Naruto during the Kage Meeting Arc he at least responded to her... -_-

It's a messy love triangle-thing. Hinata likes Naruto. He likes Sakura. She likes Sasuke. Sasuke likes himself. Naruto's whole purpose in life right now is bringing Sasuke back for the girl he loves, so she can be happy. He genuinely cares about Sakura, enough that he wants her to be happy even if it's not with him.

In terms of actual time gone by, Naruto has liked Sakura openly for years, while Hinata has only fairly recently revealed her feelings. Of course she had to because he's too dumb to see it on his own.

I think he's being careful enough about her feelings. *We* all want Naruto to change his affections and start liking Hinata, but who knows if/when that will actually happen. In the meantime, he obviously cares for her on some level, even if he's not exactly sure what level that is and he hasn't shot her down so it's not completely hopeless.

Plus, like everyone has clearly stated, this is probably not the best time to think about it, giant battle and all.