Naruto Creator Reveals His Thoughts On Its Controversial Love Triangle

01/30/2017 10:36 pm EST

In the world of Naruto, it seems fans have always been stuck between two poles: Do they ship Naruto with Hinata or Sakura. Despite the series being a shonen title, readers were still entranced by the prospect of Konoha's knuckle-headed ninja getting together with one of the village's most powerful heroines. Of course, fans were finally treated to an answer on the matter when the Naruto manga came to an end, and Naru/Saku shippers were left dismayed by the outcome. Now, the creator of Naruto is speaking out about the controversial ending, and it seems like Masashi Kishimoto never thought the series would end with the pink-haired ninja falling for Naruto.

UP NEXT: Boruto: Naruto The Movie English Dub Trailer Released

Thanks to Viz Media, fans can finally read a translated interview the creator did for the Shonen Jump late last year. It was there that Kishimoto was asked about his thoughts on Naruto's love life and relationship with Hinata and Sakura. Here's what the creator had to say:

"When I introduced Sakura, I only considered her as another character. I didn't do it to bring her in as a special female character. She was at the same level as characters like Kiba or Shikamaru, so there was nothing set in my mind at all about Sakura and Naruto being a couple. Obviously, they'd be friends and teammates. For Hinata, I decided pretty early on that they'd be together. Then I figured it'd be more interesting if Sakura would be in the middle, creating a messy love triangle," he explained.

"But to be honest, there wasn't much space and time to include stuff like that. Naruto's a battle manga, not a romance story. You have to decide what to focus on, what you think the readers want to see. So I never thought about making them a couple, but I did throw in some nuggets to make the readers think that. It was all about Naruto and Hinata getting married from an early stage."

Of course, fans are divide about the final status of Naruto's love life. Fan-wars are still being waged over the topic, and those battles only heightened when Boruto: Naruto The Movie made its debut. Now, the film is preparing to makes it dubbed debut in the U.S., so fans might want to grab shelter from the release's fallout if they have no stake in Naruto's marriage.

You can read the summary for Boruto: Naruto The Movie below:

"With Naruto as the Seventh Hokage, Hidden Leaf Village is planning to host the Chunin Exams to train new shinobi from the village and from their allied villages. Among the entrants are Sasuke's daughter, Sarada, Mitsuki, an exceptionally talented yet mysterious shinobi… And Boruto, Naruto's talented but impetuous son.

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Meanwhile, Sasuke who's been on a mission in another dimension appears before Naruto to warn of a strange impending danger. Shrouded with an evil aura, Momoshiki and Kinshiki appear and attempt to assassinate Naruto. Petrified, Boruto is shielded by Naruto, only to disappear in front of Boruto's own eyes."

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