I also thought just like you and my earlier posts were based on these thoughts... I explicitly wrote that Hinata got popular and that’s why Kishimoto went for her.
But then I got this Question, "He made Sakura to be an absolute Asshole towards Naruto... Okay. As a story teller, he definitely knew the rules of Basic Story Telling 101 that if you make one character to be an ass towards the most likeable character in the show... Then people would inevitably hate the bully. This is just a basic knowledge, pure common sense. Mission Accomplished. Done. But doesn't he also know that if he create a character who supports/stan Naruto, a girl at that... Will be eventually shipped with Naruto by the Audience??? Like why would he make her seemingly likeable in part 1 but only to flip the bird in the part 2????"
Only after careful introspection I got it...
[[The following may look borderline N/arusaku... But It’s not... Just know that I hate N/aruSaku just as much as SS/NH ]]
Now the context from these panels are very evident... It shows how Naruto was being ignored by everyone in the Village.
And how he tries to get the attention by making pranks (throwing that noodle cup on that guy)...
And It is very deliberate of the Author to show that Hinata has been watching Naruto from her childhood just like Sasuke... and yet she never made any attempts to go acknowledge or become friends with him.
Atleast with Iruka, he needed a push from Hiruzen.... After realizing that Naruto was also suffering just like him... Iruka immediately reached him out in Chapter 1 and rest of them is a History.
And what did Hinata do???
She knew Naruto was suffering and yet she didn’t do anything other than stalking him.
Okay, Let’s just excuse the fact that she was also a child and hence she was shy.
Look at the contrast between Sakura and Hinata. Sakura is an asshole which is a known fact and yet she was showing her unanimous support for her teammate Naruto outloud...
Whereas Hinata was seen hesitating/shy not because she was in a dilemma as to whether to support Kiba or Naruto... but because she was afraid that Kiba will be mad for supporting Naruto. She is neither loyal to her teammates nor Naruto...
Another supportive act from Sakura whereas Hinata was left with Naruto-kun’s bubbles.
Hinata feeling the pain of Naruto... Love of the century😍😍😍
Whereas Sakura kept on motivating Naruto...
The point is... Sakura, despite being a bully towards Naruto, she could able to encourage/help out Naruto openly whereas the girl who 'supposedly' loved Naruto does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
One or two panels maybe a coincidence... But not more than 2... And we have some more... Which I’ve talked about it here as to how the Author used NS to spite NH at every given chance... This thing started from Chunin Exams onwards, and it was we, who never realized these meaning because we were only looking at the surface level kind act of Hinata. But as her story progressed we saw her true colors.
Meaning, Hinata openly started to support Naruto only when it’s convenient. Like, She acknowledged him only after everyone around her (Shikamaru, Sakura, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Ino, Choji) started to acknowledge him... This is not called Goodness. It’s called being Opportunistic. Hinata was always an Opportunistic supporter of Naruto. And nothing more.
So, it’s not like Kishimoto got angry because the Publication pushed him to... He always knew that he was writing a Gay love story and these two girls were always a Gay shields to begin with... Since there was a need to go for a sequel and he has to establish an Hetero Ending, that’s when he started to go full-on mockery with Hinata...