Our feelings are connected.

It's exactly as you say, anon: Sasuke basically did everything out of love. He loved his family so much he became a revenger when it was taken from him, he loves Team 7 so he pushed them away from him to not get them involved with his sins, he loved Itachi so he swore revenge once again when he learned his story.

And damn yes he loves his wife and daughter so he sacrifices precious time with them to make sure they live a long, happy and safe life. This man is all about love, it's not hard to see. Tobirama told us long ago for those who didn't figure it out before.

Anon, say it louder for those in the back, all of this!

You know, I just rewatched the very first episodes of Naruto just for fun and nostalgia, and paid special attention to Sasuke's behavior and nonverbal communication. I actually don't need to tell you, because I know you know, judging from your text. But it's so crystal clear that Sasuke always cared about Naruto and had a thing for Sakura, from the very beginning, despite playing the cool guy and probably not understanding his feelings himself because he didn't have the mind to think about it. He (rightfully) scolds Sakura for being disrespectful towards Naruto and he means it when he first calls her annoying, yet he doesn't avoid or ignore her, and is relaxed in her presence. He takes note of her scream when she's caught in Kakashi's genjutsu, he says her name gently when she walks by him being stuck in the earth, he stays with and waits for her to wake up when she passes out. He rejects her hug only halfheartedly, he tells her (though only cryptically) about his trauma after having been on a team with her for just one day.

Dude's head was full of revenge, yes, and since the massacre he had been unable to show his feelings openly, yes, but he was also just a 12-year-old boy and he liked and cared about both his teammates from the very beginning.

Oh I have a lot of headcanons for that, anon!

My favorite is a very funny situation. Like Sasuke and Sakura just casually coming back with baby Sarada, as if it's nothing out of the ordinary, and Naruto and Kakashi being stunned for a moment. Not necessarily surprised, they probably saw it coming - well, at least Kakashi did - but just shocked they actually did it lol. After that initial shock they'd probably laugh and just be very very happy for their teammates.

Alrighty here comes another mainstream ranking by shannarous lol

1. Team 7 (the original™️)

My babies. 'Nuff said.

2. Team 10 (InoShikaCho)

The definition of teamwork! I also love their dynamic.

3. Team Gai

Fun as heck, with characters who are all individually very likeable.

4. Team 8

They didn't have the best of teamworks, but still always seemed to get along very well. I love how they treated each other with lots of respect.

I don't really have a #5 tbh. I know there are a few others but I don't like them enough to be in this ranking (or not at all), sorry!

Well, apart from the bond they share between each other, the most important for each of them has to be with Naruto. He's both their best friend, and they have lived through all the good and bad times together. As a team as well as in pairs. But I've talked about that before.

For Sasuke individually, I think Itachi is the next most important bond. We all know why that is.

For Sakura, it's Ino. She had a huge part in shaping her personality and as Sakura's best female friend, it's obvious their bond is crucial for both their growth and development.

We can absolutely agree on that, anon.

The friendship between Naruto and Sakura is so wonderful, so important, so deep. They always had each other's backs and have deep respect for one another.

I don't get why some people refuse to see how quickly she overcame her initial dislike for Naruto. It literally took her like one conversation in the very first chapters/episodes to realize her behavior towards him was wrong.

People need to see that Sakura is more than her crush/love for Sasuke. She cares deeply about all of her teammates, that's why she became a doctor.

I'm having a great day, thanks anon! I hope you do too! <3

It would be an understatement to say I like Team 7 - because I love them to bits! All of them, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi too.

From the very beginning I liked their team dynamic, which is a classic shounen dynamic, but I'm weak for those mainstream characters. Apart from liking them all individually, I adore their friendships too. Be it Naruto and Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura or, of course, Sasuke and Sakura (I mean their love is based on a friendship too). Initially they had little love for each other (except for Sakura's crush on Sasuke), but as they got to know each other better, they bonded. Through all the hardships their friendship survived and became unbreakable, and that is something I'm weak for. Maybe because I have several friends myself who I went through thick and thin with and who mean the world to me because of that.

Last but not least, I literally grew up with these characters. I was 12 when I got into the Naruto fandom, just as Team 7 was 12 in the beginning. When Shippuden started, Naruto and his friends were 14-16 years old, and so was I when it aired in Germany. I was 19/20 when the manga ended and The Last was released, just as the characters. Needless to say, I could always identify with Team 7 a lot, as I have always been in the exact target group of the story. That's why they will always have a place in my heart, no matter how old I get.

Good question, anon, but also a hard one.

First of all, let's remember that Sakura is only hated that much in Western fandoms. Afaik she's quite popular in Japan, but at the very least, they don't hate her so much. This probably has cultural reasons, but I admit I lack the knowledge necessary to go deeper into that.

I can try to analyze some of the Western hate though. I think there are several reasons for it:

1. She's often reduced to the person she was in the very first episodes, despite changing quite fast after that. She started as a weak girl, probably one of the weakest kunoichi in their class when it comes to physical abilities, though she was always one of the smartest and did show a certain talent for ninjutsu too. But at that time she didn't know how to put her talents to use, and while she was trying to figure that out, she wasn't that much of a help in her team - especially since Naruto and Sasuke were improving their skills really fast. You probably know that's why many haters like to call her "useless". On top of that, she needed a little time to realize she wasn't all that good yet, though that realization really didn't take her long. The first impression of her, however, you can call it arrogant. She was overestimating her skills and she disrespected Naruto because he was a "loser" and had bad grades. As we all know, that only lasted for the very first chapters/episodes, yet for some fans this short time was enough to always hate her for that, no matter how much she changed afterwards. Forever.

2. She's a girl. Now, I'm not a big feminist tbh, but it's undeniable that this is a reason she's getting hate. Naruto is a shounen series, it's aimed primarily at young boys. This is also why shounen MCs are almost always male, and females rarely get much screentime or chances for development. You can see that in so, so many stories of that genre, and Naruto, as a very typical shounen, is no exception. There are many (of course, not nearly all!) male fans who are simply annoyed of Sakura, because she has never been and never will be able to compete on the same level as the "heroes" Naruto and Sasuke since she wasn't given the necessary spotlight. They see her as an unnecessary burden who cries all the time and slows the main characters down. And she has the audacity to be in love with one of the guys, fueling the hate of fujoshis too (we all know Sakura's haters aren't all male).

3. They're hating on an "inaccurate" version of Sakura, because her depiction in the anime sometimes differs from the one in the manga. And this might be where the cultural differences become important. Japanese people tend to read the manga first, since they have the best access to it, and if they're interested they watch the anime afterwards once it's released. Western fans most often than not do it the other way around, most of them never even read the manga but only watch the anime. Well, the problem is, the Naruto anime is full of fillers which are written by the studio (SP), and apart from the filler stories mostly being very bad, they also mischaracterize a lot. Especially Sakura. Now, my claim is that someone who only ever watches the anime sees a different Sakura than someone who only reads the manga. And that leads to a lot of hate too.

Tbh the list goes on, there is more I could elaborate on. But it's getting late here and this post is already quite long, so I'll make a cut here. Maybe I'll come back to this ask at a later time. Thanks for the question, anon!

There is absolutely nothing weird about this, anon, and please don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

I know what you mean though and I think it's sad that there are fans who try to force this view on others.

Oooh it's actually been a while since I spent some deeper thought on Naruto characters, but challenge accepted!

Female:

1. Sakura*

2. Sarada (if we include the new generation too)

3. Ino

4. Hinata

5. Temari

*actual QUEEN LEVEL

Male:

1a. Sasuke

1b. Naruto

3. Shikamaru

4. Kakashi

5. Neji

Gods I just realized how freaking mainstream my ranking is, I'm sorry hahaha

It's Team 7 all the way for me!